Category Archives: World News

Trump says there’s a ‘possibility’ he will attend Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Turkey – live

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Kremlin refuses to say whether Russian president will be part of delegation

“I worry a lot about a kind of world war one-type scenario,” former White House Russia adviser Fiona Hill told Lucy Hough, “in which the prevailing system is broken down, and you get a whole outbreak of conflicts that meld together.”

People are always asking: ‘What should we be worried about in the future?’ We should be worried about the here and now.

He wanted a very close relationship with Putin, kept talking about him as his friend, talking about phone calls he had when he hadn’t had phone calls. He’s done this with China as well.

It’s almost as if he’s saying: ‘Please call me.’ He’s laid out every way in which he can be manipulated, and that’s what Putin has done. Putin is an expert in manipulation.

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Von der Leyen’s texts with Pfizer boss can be shared, says EU’s highest court

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European court of justice says no ‘plausible explanation’ given for denying New York Times access to texts from pandemic

The EU’s highest court has cancelled a decision to withhold Ursula von der Leyen’s text messages with a pharmaceutical executive during the pandemic, in a significant defeat for the commission president.

The European court of justice on Wednesday annulled a decision taken by the European Commission in November 2022 to deny the New York Times access to the messages, after a freedom of information request by the paper.

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Israeli bombing wave kills dozens in Gaza including at least 22 children, say reports

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Bombardment signals new escalation after Netanyahu said Israel would ‘go in with full force to complete the operation’

An intense wave of Israeli bombing has reportedly killed dozens of people in Gaza, including many children, signalling a new escalation at a critical moment in regional politics.

The exact number of deaths from the attacks was unclear, with estimates ranging from about 30 to more than 50, making it one of the highest tolls in a single morning for many weeks.

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Trump meets Syria’s president after lifting US sanctions on country

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Meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia seen as key towards recognition of new Syrian authority’s legitimacy

Donald Trump has met Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia and said that Washington is exploring normalising ties with Syria, a day after an announcement that all US sanctions on Syria would be lifted.

The US president met Sharaa, a former militant who fought against US forces in Iraq, before a conference of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), part of Trump’s four-day visit to the Middle East, where he is expected to court Gulf allies for investments in the US. Trump is due to land in Doha next, where he will meet the Qatari leader, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

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Germany arrests three Ukrainians over alleged Russian parcel bomb plot

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Prosecutors say men intended to attack German cargo transport by sending packages that would explode in transit

Three Ukrainian nationals have been arrested on suspicion of plotting parcel bomb attacks in Germany on behalf of the Russian state, prosecutors said.

The German federal prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday that the men, identified only as Vladyslav T, Daniil B and Yevhen B, in line with German privacy rules, had been detained in recent days in Germany and Switzerland.

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Cassie Ventura tells court at day three of trial that Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs raped her

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Music mogul’s former girlfriend describes physical abuse, control and violence at trial in New York City

Singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs and a key witness in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of the music mogul, returned to the witness stand in New York City on Wednesday morning and testified that Combs raped her, assaulted one of his employees, and detailed abuse she says occurred in their over decade-long relationship.

Ventura, who is eight and a half months pregnant, began her second day of testimony by revisiting the hotel surveillance footage of her 2016 assault by Combs. She said Combs was yelling at her and then threw a vase at her in the elevator lobby.

In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.

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Critic of Covid boosters set to enact tough agenda as top US vaccines official

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Vinay Prasad, outspoken critic of pharmaceutical industry and of his peers in public health, to take over CBER

Vinay Prasad, an oncologist and hematologist who has called for more regulatory scrutiny of pharmaceuticals, including Covid vaccines, was named the top US vaccines official earlier this month.

Marty Makary, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced in a 6 May email obtained by the Guardian that Prasad would now lead the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), which oversees biological products like blood, vaccines, and cellular and gene therapies. Biotech stocks plunged at the news.

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China issues warning to UK over terms of US trade deal

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UK accused of aligning with US in move that could compel firms to exclude Chinese products from supply chains

China has warned the UK over its new trade deal with the US, accusing Britain of aligning with the US in a move that could compel British companies to exclude Chinese products from their supply chains.

The UK-US trade deal, signed last week, offers Britain limited relief from US tariffs on car and steel exports, but only if it complies with strict American security requirements. These conditions include scrutinising supply chains and ownership structures – a move widely interpreted as targeting Chinese involvement.

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Paris races to top of European rankings of cycling-friendly cities for children

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French capital overtakes Amsterdam, where there are concerns about rising road speeds under rightwing government

Paris was once notorious for speeding traffic and a parking technique involving gently nudging cars to squeeze into a spot – but now it has topped a European ranking of cycling-friendly cities for children, leaving Amsterdam in second place and Copenhagen in the dust.

Analysing 36 European cities in terms of their cycling infrastructure’s suitability for children, the report found that the French capital had raced to the top thanks to investments for the 2024 Olympics and a €250m (£210m) initiative to build 112 miles (180km) of cycling lanes under Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo.

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Wednesday briefing: Is Zelenskyy playing political poker – or Russian roulette?

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In today’s newsletter: the Ukraine president’s call for Putin to meet him in person represents a huge gamble in the prospect of peace

Good morning.

Talks. Istanbul. Thursday. In the geopolitical equivalent of a playground challenge, the latest move in the back-and-forth brinkmanship between Russia and Ukraine has seen President Zelenskyy call Putin’s bluff.

US politics | Donald Trump says he will lift sanctions on Syria and meet with the country’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, during his tour of the gulf states. Sharaa’s pitch to woo the US offered access to Syrian oil, reconstruction contracts and to build a Trump Tower in Damascus.

UK news | Peter Sullivan, who has spent 38 years in jail, has had his murder conviction quashed in what is thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history. Sullivan was wrongly convicted in 1987 for the frenzied murder of a florist and part-time pub worker, Diane Sindall, 21, in Merseyside.

Conservatives | An MP has been charged with sexual assault over alleged incidents at London’s Groucho Club in 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, was charged with two counts of sexual assault against two separate women, said the CPS.

Assisted dying | At least five MPs have decided to vote against the UK assisted dying bill, the Guardian understands. It comes as the Scottish parliament votes to consider a bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people for the first time.

UK news | A man has been arrested in connection with a series of suspected arson attacks on property linked to Keir Starmer, Scotland Yard has said. The 21-year-old was arrested in the early hours on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and remained in custody, the Metropolitan police said.

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After chaos of the Yoon era, South Korea prepares to pick a new president

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Koreans hope politics can return to a focus on record high youth unemployment and a cost of living crisis after impeachment drama

After the unprecedented turmoil of the past six months, South Koreans could be forgiven for breathing a collective sigh of relief that the political focus has shifted from an impeachment crisis to economic policy ahead of next month’s presidential election.

The economy is expected to dominate the campaign to elect a new president on 3 June, after the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, whose declaration of martial law in December triggered the South’s most serious political crisis for decades.

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Pressure grows on Fifa as reports warn of serious risk to workers amid Saudi World Cup building boom

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Two reports published today catalogue ‘gruesome yet avoidable accidents’ on construction sites despite the Gulf kingdom’s claims that work-related deaths have fallen

Thousands of migrant workers are likely to die in Saudi Arabia as a result of a building boom fuelled by the 2034 Men’s World Cup and other major construction projects, human rights groups have warned.

The Gulf kingdom has seen a surge in demand for cheap migrant labour, with a significant increase in foreign workers since 2021, as it starts preparations for hosting the World Cup and drives forward projects including the futurist megacity Neom.

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California judge resentences Menendez brothers to be eligible for parole

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Erik and Lyle Menendez given 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole and giving them chance at freedom

A California judge has given Erik and Lyle Menendez, who had been sentenced to life in prison for the murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home, a chance at freedom after 35 years behind bars.

Judge Michael Jesic shortened the brothers’ sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life. They’re now eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law because they committed the crime under the age of 26. They would still need approval from the state’s parole board to be released.

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José ‘Pepe’ Mujica, former guerrilla and ex-president of Uruguay, dies aged 89

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In a final interview, Mujica said: ‘We are too focused on wealth and not on happiness … Before you know it, life has passed you by’

Uruguay’s former president José Mujica, a onetime Marxist guerrilla and flower farmer whose radical brand of democracy, plain-spoken philosophy and simple lifestyle fascinated people around the world, has died. He was 89.

His death was announced by the current Uruguayan president. Yamandú Orsi. In a post on social media platform X, Orsi called Mujica a “president, activist, guide and leader”. Mujica had been under treatment for cancer of the esophagus since spring 2024, when the disease was diagnosed.

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Cassie Ventura claims ‘physical abuse’ from ex Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in sex-trafficking trial

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Singer said on the stand there were ‘violent arguments’ and ‘dragging’ in former relationship with the hip-hop mogul

The singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs and central character in the case against him, took the stand on Tuesday as the high-profile federal trial of Combs enters its second day in lower Manhattan.

She is expected to testify against her former partner for several days.

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Iran proposes partnership with UAE and Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium

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A consortium would help Tehran deal with US objections and tie in Gulf states to its enrichment programme

Iran has floated the idea of a consortium of Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to enrich uranium as a way of overcoming some US objections to Iran continuing to have its own enrichment programme.

The proposal would be one way of locking the Gulf states into supporting the Iranian position that it must be continued to be allowed to enrich.

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Gérard Depardieu found guilty of sexually assaulting two women

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French actor, 76, convicted of assaulting set dresser and assistant director during film shoot in Paris in 2021

Gérard Depardieu has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women during a film shoot in 2021 and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence, in a turning point for the #MeToo movement in France.

Depardieu, France’s biggest film star who has made more than 200 films and TV series, is the highest-profile figure in the French film industry to be convicted of sexual assault after years of the country being accused of being slow to take women’s claims of abuse seriously.

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Carney names new foreign minister in Canada cabinet shake-up

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PM, who led Liberals to re-election, replaces Mélanie Joly – who becomes industry minister – with Anita Anand

Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, has announced a major cabinet shake-up, including a new foreign minister, as he shapes a newly re-elected Liberal government.

Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau earlier this year and won the election last month, named Anita Anand as foreign minister, replacing Mélanie Joly, who becomes the minister of industry. Anand previously served in roles including defense minister.

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Zelenskyy repeats vow to wait in Turkey for face-to-face talks with Putin

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Ukrainian president says if Russian leader does not arrive it will indicate ‘that he does not want to end the war’

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has doubled down on his promise to wait in Turkey on Thursday for face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin, calling it a test of Russia’s willingness to pursue peace.

Speaking to journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said he planned to wait for Putin in Ankara alongside the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, adding that he would travel to Istanbul if Putin opted to hold the meeting there.

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Canada’s Liberals inch toward majority, but one vote could decide key contest

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Quebec recount awarded seat to Liberal challenger by one vote, but a missing ballot could throw contest into disarray

Canada’s Liberal party has inched closer to a majority government after a judicial recount found the party had won an electoral district by just a single vote. But a voter has also claimed her ballot wasn’t counted, throwing the result once more into disarray.

Officials at Elections Canada at the weekend finished a recount for the Quebec district of Terrebonne, where the incumbent Bloc Québécois candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné appeared to have beaten her Liberal challenger Tatiana Auguste.

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