Ontario’s police force using ‘growing ecosystem’ of Israeli spyware – report

Findings raise questions about extent and scope of Canadian authorities’ use of cyberweapons

Researchers have uncovered “possible links” between Ontario’s provincial police force and an Israel-based military-grade spyware maker called Paragon Solutions, raising questions about the extent and scope of Canadian authorities’ use of cyberweapons.

The new findings were published by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, which tracks and identifies digital threats against civil society, and come three years after a parliamentary committee in Canada called for Ottawa to update the country’s privacy laws in the wake of press reports that the national police force had been using spyware to hack mobile phone devices. No laws were ever passed to address the controversy.

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British couple held by Taliban due in court on unknown charges, family say

Peter Reynolds, 79, and wife, Barbie, 75, expected to appear in Kabul on Thursday after detention last month

A British couple in their 70s imprisoned by the Taliban are due in court in Kabul on Thursday but have not been informed of the charges, their family has said.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife, Barbie, 75, who run a training business in Afghanistan, were detained last month when they travelled to their home in Bamiyan province.

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EU accuses Google and Apple of breaking its rules, risking Trump clash

Tech companies could be fined billions if EU finds they have breached the Digital Markets Act

The European Commission has accused the US tech companies Google and Apple of breaking its digital rules, in a landmark action that could escalate transatlantic tension with Donald Trump.

The US president has sought to exert pressure on the EU to back away from tougher regulation of American technology groups, warning that he could retaliate by imposing tariffs on foreign companies.

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First thing: Russia attacks Ukraine hours after partial ceasefire agreed in Putin-Trump call

Zelenskyy says he will contact US president to discuss the call with Russian leader following the attack. Plus, dolphins welcome Nasa astronauts back to Earth

Good morning.

Russia attacked Ukraine with kamikaze drones and S-300 surface-to-air missiles overnight, Ukrainian authorities said, hours after Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he would sign up to a partial and temporary ceasefire.

What has Volodymyr Zelenskyy said? The Ukrainian president said he would reach out to Trump today to discuss the call with Putin, adding that the “next steps cannot be done without us”.

What could be repealed? One of the most consequential actions will see the EPA reconsider a landmark 2009 finding that greenhouse gases harm human health, which has been used to underpin laws aimed at addressing the climate crisis.

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Value of Elon Musk’s X ‘rebounds to $44bn purchase price’

Dramatic reversal of fortune for platform since billionaire owner became key ally of Donald Trump

The value of Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has reportedly soared back to the $44bn he paid for it, in a dramatic reversal of fortunes since the billionaire became a key ally of Donald Trump.

Investors valued the site formerly known as Twitter at $44bn (£33.9bn) in a secondary deal earlier this month, in which they exchange existing stakes in the company, according to a Financial Times report.

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Israel launches Gaza airstrikes on second day of resumed offensive

Gaza health officials say five killed in two strikes as Israeli evacuation order may suggest plans for ground operations

Israel has launched a new wave of airstrikes in Gaza on the second day of its resumed offensive in the devastated Palestinian territory.

The attacks were far less intensive than the massive strikes early on Tuesday morning, which killed more than 400 and shattered the relative calm since a 19 January ceasefire paused the 18-month war.

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Scientists hail ‘avalanche of discoveries’ from Euclid space telescope

Data from European Space Agency’s mission has allowed researchers to create detailed catalogue of 380,000 galaxies

Astronomers are predicting an “avalanche of discoveries” after the first major release of observations from a European space telescope built to study the mysterious dark matter and dark energy that comprise the bulk of the universe.

The European Space Agency’s Euclid mission has captured images of 26m galaxies, covering 10bn years of cosmic history. They give researchers unprecedented insight into the forces that shape the cosmos and the galaxies it holds.

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Istanbul mayor arrested days before likely presidential nomination

Ekrem İmamoğlu of CHP opposition party detained alongside 100 others accused of corruption and links to terror groups

Turkish police have arrested the mayor of Istanbul, detaining the primary challenger to the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in dawn raids that also ensnared 100 politicians, businesspeople and municipal officials accused of corruption and links to terror groups.

Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor, released a video statement as police gathered outside his residence in Istanbul, speaking to the camera as he put on a shirt and tie before his arrest. In a caption accompanying the video posted to social media, he wrote: “This is a blow to the will of the people.”

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Israeli strikes latest bloody chapter in war of extraordinary civilian casualties

International rules of combat to deter impact on noncombatants have been loosened or ignored – and other regimes may follow

It is a casualty rate that would have unimaginable before the start of the Israel-Hamas war. More than 400 Palestinians have been reported killed after 10 hours of resumed Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday, including, according to one early report, at least six members of one family in an attack on a car east of Khan Younis.

Though it is too soon to determine how many noncombatants died in attacks that Israel says were directed at Hamas military commanders and political officials (casualty totals from Gaza’s health ministry do not distinguish combatants from the uninvolved), the likelihood is that civilians will have been killed in large numbers.

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So bold are Putin’s ceasefire demands, it’s hard to believe he is entirely serious

The extraordinary demands of the Russian leader to weaken Ukraine would make a mockery of any peace deal

Donald Trump began his conversation with Vladimir Putin with a simple demand: a 30-day ceasefire on land, sea and air which Ukraine has already signed up to, as an initial measure on which to build towards a peace.

Instead, what the US president got from Putin were questions, half-offers and limited concessions – and, above all, an extraordinary demand from the Russian leader to weaken Ukraine that would make a mockery of any peace agreement.

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Netanyahu banks on political dividends as he restarts Gaza war

Israeli prime minister bows to pressure from far right over majority who prioritise deals to bring back hostages

As the ceasefire in Gaza extended from days into weeks, and newly freed hostages began sharing grim details of their captivity, Benjamin Netanyahu’s political room for manoeuvre seemed to shrink.

He was caught between the far-right parties propping up his government, keen to return to war in Gaza, and the majority of Israelis who prioritised the fate of the remaining hostages over the “total defeat” of Hamas demanded by their prime minister.

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Mexico City introduces ‘bloodless bullfighting’ in win for animal rights activists

Activists celebrate move, but note that ‘a bull event without violence does not mean one without suffering’

Mexico City’s congress has voted to ban traditional bullfights and replace them with a new form of bloodless spectacle, marking the latest episode in a years-long legal battle to outlaw the practice in the capital.

Animal rights activists celebrated the move on Tuesday – even if it wasn’t the total ban on bullfighting they had been pushing for.

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Trump waging ‘sickening’ psychological war, deported Venezuelan’s lawyer says

One detained man’s lawyer says he is gay artist who had fled persecution in his home country, not a gang member

A lawyer for one of the Venezuelan immigrants sent from the US to a notorious mega prison in El Salvador has accused the Trump administration of waging a “sickening” campaign of psychological warfare against asylum seekers and migrants.

“In my 15 years of representing people in removal proceedings in the United States, this is the most shocking thing that I’ve ever seen happen to one of our clients,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, a California-based lawyer for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) group.

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France preparing ‘survival manual’ for every household, report says

Booklet to give guidance on preparing for ‘imminent threats’ including armed conflict and natural disaster

The French government is reportedly planning to send a “survival manual” to every household in the country with instructions on how to prepare for an “imminent threat” including armed conflict, a health crisis or a natural disaster.

If approved by François Bayrou, the prime minister, the 20-page booklet will be sent to households before the summer, French media reported.

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Hungary bans Pride events and plans to use facial recognition to target attenders

Amnesty International describes legislation as ‘full-frontal attack’ on country’s LGBTQ+ community

MPs in Hungary have voted to ban Pride events and allow authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attenders and potentially fine them, in what Amnesty International has described as a “full-frontal attack” on the LGBTQ+ community.

The legislation – the latest by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his rightwing populist party to target the community – was pushed through parliament on Tuesday. Believed to be the first of its kind in the EU’s recent history, the nationwide ban passed by 136 votes to 27 after it was submitted to parliament one day earlier.

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How every German MP voted on reforming the debt brake

German MPs have voted to pass a motion to loosen the country’s strict borrowing rules, altering the constitution. The measure had been proposed by Friedrich Merz, the presumptive incoming chancellor, in the outgoing Bundestag, or federal parliament

A motion put before the outgoing Bundestag to alter the German constitution to allow for greater investment and borrowing, in part to fund higher defence spending. The vote needs a two-thirds majority to pass.

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Downing Street rejects Lammy’s claim Israel broke international law in Gaza

Foreign secretary receives rare public rebuke as No 10 rows back by saying Israel ‘at risk’ of breaching rules

Downing Street has rejected David Lammy’s assessment that Israel has broken international law by blocking aid to Gaza, in a rare public censure for the foreign secretary.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said on Tuesday morning Israel was “at risk” of breaching humanitarian law, despite Lammy having told the Commons on Monday that the country had definitely done so.

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German man with green card ‘violently interrogated’ by US border officials

Berlin checking if US immigration policy has changed after Fabian Schmidt becomes third German to be detained

Berlin is investigating whether US immigration policy has changed, after a German national who is a permanent US resident was detained and “violently interrogated” by US border officials.

Fabian Schmidt, 34, is being held at a detention centre in Rhode Island after attempting to return to his home in New Hampshire after a trip to Luxembourg.

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Israeli protesters say airstrikes are ‘cover’ for Benjamin Netanyahu to keep power

Groups representing Israeli hostages plan protests and issue statements calling for an immediate ceasefire

Protesters in Israel have accused Benjamin Netanyahu of ordering the airstrikes that shattered the ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to provide “cover” for a campaign to dismantle Israel’s democratic system and to maintain his own grip on power.

Political tensions in Israel surged after the Israeli prime minister announced on Sunday that he would seek to fire the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, an unprecedented move that legal experts said may be unlawful.

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Canada’s Liberals on course for political resurrection amid trade war, polls show

Mark Carney-led ruling party projected to form majority months after political wipeout seemed inevitable

In January, Canadian pollsters and political pundits struggled to find fresh ways to describe the bleak prospects of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party, musing whether it would be a wipeout of existential proportions, or merely a catastrophic blowout.

But fresh polling released by three companies this week shows a stunning reversal of fortunes for the party: newly minted prime minister Mark Carney’s Liberals are projected to secure a majority government.

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