Researchers found that muscles move to orient ears toward sound source in vestigial reactionWiggling your ears might be more of a pub party piece than a survival skill, but humans still try to prick up their ears when listening hard, researchers have found.Ear movement is crucial in many animals, not least in helping them focus their attention on particular noises and work out which direction they are coming from. Continue reading...

Politics

EXCLUSIVE: One former The Apprentice competitor has admitted that he and his fellow co-stars "damaged" the iconic contestant's house with their crazy antics

Society

As a sociologist, my career couldn’t be further from that of my father, who spent his life on the road as a truck driver. It’s only in recent years, as illness has struck, that I’ve started to truly understand him. By José Henrique Bortoluci. Read by Felipe Pacheco Continue reading...

Economics

‘To a country that doesn’t respect women? I don’t see it’RFEF in dicussions with Saudi Arabia over competitionFemale players in Spain have hit out at plans to take the women’s Supercopa to Saudi Arabia. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has been in negotiations with the Saudis to extend their agreement to play the men’s Supercopa semi-finals and final away from Spain until at least 2034 and include the women’s competition too.However, Barcelona players have now criticised the plans. “Taking the Supercopa outside of Spain and to a country that doesn’t respect women? I don’t see it,” the midfielder Patri Guijarro said after their semi-final win over Atlético Madrid in this year’s edition. Continue reading...

Sport

Some of those abandoning the frontline say the longer the war goes on, ‘the more people like me there will be’When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine three years ago, Viktor* was ready to die for his country. He volunteered to defend Kyiv as enemy tanks appeared and joined Ukraine’s armed forces. In the spring of 2023 he was fighting in the village of Tonenke, near the eastern city of Avdiivka. “When I arrived I was super-motivated. If necessary I would give my life,” he recalled.Gradually, however, he became disillusioned. The battle was furious. “The Russians would smash our positions to the ground,” he said. Senior Ukrainian commanders gave unrealistic orders. Then, while he was defending a ruined building, a panel fell on his shoulder. After receiving injections to reduce the pain, he was told to return to the front. “I realised I’m nobody. Just a number,” he said. Continue reading...

Events

Sundance’s Free Leonard Peltier outlines the decades-long efforts to free the Indigenous activist from prison – up to the commutation of his sentence one week before the premiereOf all the documentaries at the Sundance film festival this year, perhaps none is as timely as Free Leonard Peltier, Jesse Short Bull and David France’s film on the Indigenous activist imprisoned for nearly half a century.Peltier, now 80 years old, is serving consecutive life sentences for the killing of two FBI agents during a shootout at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1975, though he has maintained his innocence. Activists, celebrities and liberation advocates such as Nelson Mandela have called for his release for decades, citing railroaded justice and evidence of prosecutorial misconduct; the FBI and law enforcement, meanwhile, have campaigned vociferously against any commutation of his sentence. Continue reading...

Culture

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore expected to stay at space station a week but have been there almost eight monthsNasa’s two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together on Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in.Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore floated out to perform maintenance work and wipe the station’s exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive after launching from Earth and escaping through vents. Continue reading...

Technology

Trump’s pick endured tough questions from Bernie Sanders on Wednesday and was accused of ‘peddling half-truths’After Robert F Kennedy’s bruising performance in a heated three-and-a-half-hour Senate confirmation hearing to become America’s top health official on Wednesday, he’s off to the health committee on Thursday morning for round two.The 71-year-old faces another grueling day of questioning from a more health-minded crowd, with Republican chair Bill Cassidy – a physician who caught Kennedy confusing basic facts about Medicare and Medicaid in Wednesday’s session – likely to press further on his grasp of America’s healthcare system. Continue reading...

Science

The internet’s go-to gathering place for those who rate and revere sticks is big and growing fast. The appeal is simple ...The first stick was small, and shaped like a revolver.It was late summer 2023 and two friends, Boone Hogg and Logan Jugler, both 31, were on a late summer hike heading towards Delicate Arch, a 16m red rock formation in Utah’s Arches national park, when Jugler spotted it on the ground. He picked it up and began rating its attributes – colour, shape, flexibility – out of 10, while Hogg filmed. Then they uploaded it to Instagram. Continue reading...

Politics

Dubbed one of the 'scariest' runways in the world due to its proximity to the sea, the airport in the Caribbean island of St Marteen is a hotspot for aviation enthusiasts.

Society

Bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese replaced members at church-affiliated non-profit over $16m disputeThe archbishop of New Orleans’ bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese on Thursday abruptly fired and replaced top leaders at a church-affiliated food bank, with those dismissed saying it was because the non-profit refused to contribute to paying survivors of child sexual abuse by clergymen.The ousted members of Second Harvest’s board of directors say the changes “follow months of increasingly aggressive pressure placed on Second Harvest to contribute as much as $16m toward helping to resolve victims’ claims related to the church’s sexual abuse-related bankruptcy”, which has been pending since May 2020. Continue reading...

Economics

David Beckham fans went wild after he posted another sizzling picture on Wednesday - as they noticed a glaring detail about it.

Sport

National Transportation Safety Board announces recorders are now at a lab for evaluation; operation to recover bodies continuesFull report: cockpit voice and flight data recorders recoveredVictims: world champion Russian pair and US skaters were onboard crashed planeVisual guide – how did the DC plane crash unfold?What caused this tragic aviation disaster is not yet known, but the National Transportation Safety Board investigators has said it will have a preliminary report within 30 days.Despite the lack of clarity, newly inaugurated US president Donald Trump has accused his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden of lowering hiring standards and suggested the Federal Aviation Administration’s diversity push could have weakened its capabilities. Continue reading...

Events

The Human Authored online portal allows members to register their book and use a specially designed logo on covers and promotional materialsThe US body representing writers, the Authors Guild, has launched an online portal for members to confirm that their work “emanated from the human intellect” and not from artificial intelligence.The initiative, called Human Authored, will allow authors to log on to the portal and register their book. They will then be able to use a specially designed logo on book covers and promotional materials to show that their work has been created without AI. Continue reading...

Culture

Nearly 25 years after the first film, the actor, her co-stars and the writer Helen Fielding discuss the ultimate singleton, love and loss – and why Bridget Jones is the female James BondMark Darcy is dead. Bridget Jones fans have been grieving since 2013, when Helen Fielding’s third novel, Mad About the Boy, was published sans Bridget’s hot human-rights lawyer husband. The outcry made front page news (as did the copies that were accidentally printed with 40 pages from David Jason’s memoir). People could not believe that romcom’s favourite reindeer-jumper-wearing dish, who proved that – ding dong! – nice men do kiss like that, was no more.“Someone ran out of the pub shouting: ‘You’ve murdered Colin Firth!’” Fielding says over a video call, tulips arranged on a huge wooden table in the background, as well they should in a boho-posh Primrose Hill kitchen. “I just want to point out that he is fictional. Colin Firth is not dead.” Continue reading...

Politics

Ask most people for the number one thing they'd want more of in their home, and the answer would be space. Here are the clever solutions to maximise yours.

Society

Mumbai Indians owners pay £60m for Oval InvinciblesKnighthead Capital take stake in Birmingham PhoenixEnglish cricket’s landmark Hundred sale produced an eventful first day as the Ambanis, India’s richest family, and Knighthead Capital, owners of Birmingham City, secured the right to buy 49% stakes in Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix respectively.The Guardian has learned that Knighthead’s offer of about £40m for 49% of the Phoenix prevailed in a sealed-bids auction over that of private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. CVC had earlier lost out to Reliance Industries Ltd, owners of Mumbai Indians, in a three-way auction for the equivalent stake in Oval Invincibles. Continue reading...

Economics

David Beckham fans went wild after he posted another sizzling picture on Wednesday - as they noticed a glaring detail about it.

Sport

António Guterres issues call after saying he was ‘deeply moved’ by meeting with US doctors who worked in GazaSee all our Middle East coverageUN secretary-general António Guterres has called for 2,500 children to be immediately evacuated from Gaza for medical treatment after meeting with US doctors who said the children were at imminent risk of death in the coming weeks.The four doctors had all volunteered in Gaza during the 15-month-long war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas that has devastated the territory of more than 2 million people and its healthcare system. Continue reading...

Events

I lost my grandmother a couple of years ago. My grief’s sharpness has worn down, and I’m ready to lean into the soft landing of older ladiesI recently had a realisation about myself: I have entered “nanna mode”. This does not mean I’m knitting, drinking enough cups of tea to kill Paddington Bear, or showing the ceiling instead of my face on video calls – nonetheless, I have become steeped in Nanna.I’ve always had a soft spot for older ladies (and ladies of all ages). But I had this lightbulb moment while watching Matlock, a reboot of an 80s TV show starring Kathy Bates as a lawyer in her 70s coming out of retirement – and getting up to shenanigans. Continue reading...

Culture

In an exclusive interview, Fiame Naomi Mataʻafa tells the Guardian she is surprised at Trump’s pick for health secretary and criticised anti-vaxxers for their part in 2019 measles crisisSamoa’s prime minister, Fiame Naomi Mataʻafa, has criticised Robert F Kennedy Jr’s views and the spread of vaccine misinformation related to the deadly 2019 measles outbreak that claimed the lives of at least 83 people, mostly babies in her country.It comes as Kennedy, who is president Donald Trump’s pick to lead the top US health agency, faced attacks in Senate confirmation hearings this week with Democratic lawmakers accusing him of covering up his anti-vaccine views. Continue reading...

Politics

Trump’s health secretary pick transferred ownership of Maha slogan application to anti-vaccine ally Del BigtreeRobert F Kennedy Jr, the anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist nominated for US health secretary by Donald Trump, recently applied to trademark his own “Make America Healthy Again” slogan for use in marketing potential products including food supplements, vitamins, essential oils – and vaccines.Documentation filed with the Office of Government Ethics lists $100,000 earned from a “licensing agreement to use Maha brand marks”. Continue reading...

Economics

Bayern and Real Madrid head to playoffs despite winsLeverkusen and Lille in last-16 spots ahead of AtalantaReal Madrid and Bayern Munich both won their final league phase matches but finished a point short of a direct place in the last 16 – leaving their managers worried by the possibility of facing Manchester City in the Champions League playoffs.Real Madrid wrapped up their campaign with a 3-0 win over Brest, who drop into the unseeded playoff teams. Rodrygo gave Carlo Ancelotti’s side a 1-0 half-time lead and Jude Bellingham doubled the advantage shortly after Ludovic Ajorque’s goal was disallowed for the hosts. Continue reading...

Sport

National Transporation Safety Board announces recorders recovered, which are now reportedly at lab for evaluationOfficials say no survivors expected in DC plane crashFirst known victims include figure-skating championsVisual guide – how did the DC plane crash unfold?Multiple media including the New York Times, Reuters and CNN are saying the Black Hawk helicopter was carrying three soldiers. No senior army officials were onboard, they reported, citing US defence officials.Multiple sources are now saying that about 60 people were onboard the American Airlines plane that collided with the helicopter. Continue reading...

Events

An American Airlines passenger jet collided with a military helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan national airport near Washington DC. Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to conjoin in a fireball. The American Airlines Flight 5342 departed from Wichita, Kansas, according to the FAA. According to American Airlines’ website, the jet has a capacity for up to 65 passengersAmerican Airlines plane and military helicopter collide at airport near Washington DC Continue reading...

Culture

Few parents reading this will be surprised to learn that the Bank of Mum and Dad is fast running short of funds, with gifts of cash to help the young get on the housing ladder taking a tumble.

Politics

The Loose Women star, 35, has been busy redecorating her £1.2million Essex home and the latest stage of the work has taken on something of a Barbie-like feel.

Economics

A patchwork of armed opposition groups have made major gains over the past year, with the military facing further losses The streets of Lashio, a once bustling city in north-eastern Myanmar, are quieter than usual. Schools are shut, except for those run by volunteers from the pro-democracy resistance in the community. Months of airstrikes have left destruction. Even though the fighting has stopped, electricity is still not running properly. Instead, residents rely on solar power to charge their phones, and firewood and charcoal to cook.“We saw a lot of civilians who died during the battle [in those days]. We saw them on the streets, on the lanes, some of the bodies were decayed and some of them were freshly dead. Some died in their homes,” said Leo*, a 40-year-old driver, whose family spent months living with constant bombardments by the military, running to hide in the darkness of a homemade bunker each time jet fighters came. Continue reading...

Events

The Hampstead born singer and actress lived an incredible life of highs and lows, influencing a number of music icons as well as topping charts with her own smash hits

Politics

The supermarket is bringing back its popular price cuts - get ready for some serious savings 🛒

Economics

In the face of those who refuse to see our humanity, I choose to imagine that we are humane enough to believe in theirsMy grandmother, Holocaust survivor Olga Horak OAM, passed away in August 2024 just days after her 98th birthday. Just one week before, she attended her great-granddaughter’s Jewish day school to share her remarkable story of survival with the Year 6 students. Her parting message was simple: “Never forget. Don’t hate”. Although she could no longer stand up straight, in her decades-long commitment to Holocaust education as a volunteer at the Sydney Jewish Museum, she was indefatigable until the end.When she died, we lost an empire of knowledge. Just as we do whenever we lose a survivor. Her strength of character, her disarming candour, her twinkly eyes, her testimony and her light have secreted themselves in the hearts of the thousands of people she touched, like little mirrors reflecting flashes of her life. A giant photo mosaic. Continue reading...

Events

In 2014, for the BBC series Snow Wolf Family And Me, I travelled by helicopter to Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic.

Politics

Live coverage of business, economics and financial news as ECB cuts main interest rate by 0.25 percentage points in effort to support growthIt was a flash reading on the Eurozone economy, so we don’t have the details on what the drivers were. But it’s clear that it was a weak end to 2024.But the European Central Bank might be able to spur a bit of economic growth in the eurozone with looser monetary policy.This marks a weak end to last year, following positive growth in the first three quarters of 2024. As a result, first estimates suggest that the currency bloc as a whole grew by 0.7% in 2024. Declining activity in Germany – the Eurozone’s largest economy – has weighed on the bloc’s growth, with German GDP contracting by 0.2% on the quarter. This suggests Germany has now seen annual declines in activity for two consecutive years.In 2025, further loosening of monetary conditions is expected to provide a modest uptick in activity for both Germany and the Eurozone, with growth expecte...

Economics

This was a rare case of Tottenham turning an injury into a positive. The loss of Radu Dragusin was Dane Scarlett’s cue. Recalled from a disappointing loan spell at Oxford United earlier this month, the 20-year-old striker came on for Dragusin and set Spurs on course to victory over Elfsborg when he headed in his first goal for his boyhood club.It has been almost five years since Scarlett made his debut. He was an unlikely saviour but Ange Postecoglou was not complaining. There was more joy when another substitute, the 19-year-old winger, Oyindamola Ajayi, came on to score on his debut, then when Mikey Moore made it 3-0 with his first professional goal. Spurs had secured their place in the knockout phase. There was relief at avoiding two extra playoff games. Continue reading...

Events

Israel will reportedly free 110 Palestinian prisoners in exchange Away from Gaza and Israel, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived on Thursday in Damascus, Syria, Al Jazeera reported, the first visit by a foreign head of state since Bashar al-Assad’s fall.The Israeli military said on Thursday that freed Israeli female soldier Agam Berger had been handed over to the army by the Red Cross after her release in Gaza by Hamas. Continue reading...

Economics

One controller reportedly handled arrivals and departures, and also helicopter traffic – a job usually done by two peopleWashington DC plane crash – latest updatesFirst confirmed victims include figure-skating championsA collision on Wednesday between an American Airlines jet and a US military helicopter near Washington DC killed all 67 people onboard both aircraft and sparked questions over whether understaffing in an air traffic control tower played a role in the United States’ worst aviation disaster in years.As it approached Reagan National airport around 9pm, American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a US army Black Hawk helicopter, plunging wreckage of the two aircraft into the icy Potomac River and killing all 64 passengers and crew on the plane, along with three soldiers on the helicopter. Continue reading...

Events

Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London Jordan Kai Burnett impresses in a fun, heartfelt yet tonally uneven show, co-produced by Michelle VisageIn Tim Burton’s 1990 fairytale, you hear Edward Scissorhands before you see him, as Johnny Depp cowers in the shadows, metallic fingers clinking. But Jordan Kai Burnett, taking the lead role in this jukebox musical reinvention, is no wallflower. They storm the stage with the famous shears raised, imploring us to lift our hands and make some noise.Previously performed in Los Angeles, co-produced by Michelle Visage and ‘NSync’s Lance Bass, Scissorhandz lands in London like a fully fledged cult hit. Visage’s voiceover welcomes an audience of “beautiful weirdos” and treats us as a pre-existing fan club.At Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London, until 29 March Continue reading...

Politics

Group in northern Ontario argues crown failed to honour agreement and capped annual payments in 1874 at $4A group of First Nations in Canada is turning to the courts in the hope of securing billions of dollars in compensation, after accusing the government of failing to engage in “meaningful negotiations” for money owed under a 175-year-old treaty.“The governments’ refusal to come to grips with their treaty obligations has continued 175 years of broken promises, lies and neglect,” Wilfred King, chief of Gull Bay First Nation, said in a statement announcing plans to seek compensation that is “just, liberal, generous and honourable”. Continue reading...

Economics

Internal preliminary safety report suggests staffing was lower than it should be for ‘time of day and volume of traffic’, New York Times reportsOfficials say no survivors expected in DC plane crashFirst known victims include figure-skating championsVisual guide – how did the DC plane crash unfold?Multiple media including the New York Times, Reuters and CNN are saying the Black Hawk helicopter was carrying three soldiers. No senior army officials were onboard, they reported, citing US defence officials.Multiple sources are now saying that about 60 people were onboard the American Airlines plane that collided with the helicopter. Continue reading...

Events

On 68 minutes Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho combined for the Manchester United second that sealed passage into the last 16: over went a delivery from the No 17 and there was Mainoo to finish coolly.For two young talents who are on the market for the right price here was a satisfying moment that showed Ruben Amorim what can be harnessed if each are retained beyond Monday’s deadline. Continue reading...

Politics

Arsenal and Everton among others keen on Irish strikerWest Ham offered loan with buy obligation for PSV’s PepiWest Ham are in a strong position to sign Evan Ferguson from Brighton after Bayer Leverkusen’s need for a new forward was lessened by Al-Nassr choosing Jhon Durán over Victor Boniface.Leverkusen emerged as frontrunners for Ferguson this week but their interest could cool after Boniface’s proposed move to the Saudi Pro League was called off at the last minute. Al-Nassr are poised to sign Durán from Villa, with the 21-year-old set to undergo a medical on Thursday. Continue reading...

Economics

Discovery by coast guard comes five days after skiff containing five bodies found near Trinidad and TobagoThe coastguard of St Kitts and Nevis has discovered 13 decomposing bodies in a boat adrift off the coast, days after another five bodies were found in a skiff near Trinidad and Tobago.Officials of the two Caribbean countries said it was not immediately clear if there was any link between the two incidents, or who the deceased were. Continue reading...

Events

Canada and Mexico draw plans to mitigate effect of duties Trump has threatened, possibly sparking a trade warTrump’s tariffs explainedAmerica’s biggest trading partners are bracing for Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on their exports after the US president repeated his threat to hit Canada and Mexico with new duties.Officials in Ottawa and Mexico City have drawn up plans to retaliate against Washington with tariffs of their own, raising the prospect of a damaging trade war. Businesses inside the US and across the world have warned of widespread disruption if the Trump administration pushes ahead. Continue reading...

Politics

Live coverage of business, economics and financial news as ECB expected to cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points in effort to support growthThe decision to greenlight a giant new oilfield off Shetland has been ruled unlawful by the courts in a major win for environmental campaigners.The proposed Rosebank development – the UK’s biggest untapped oilfield, due to be developed by Norwegian oil company Equinor – had been given the go-ahead in 2023 under the previous government. Continue reading...

Economics

England will take on the reigning Six Nations champions in Dublin this weekend.

Events

Former England and Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson is open to quitting Ajax after just 12 months in Amsterdam with Monaco ready to sign him on a free transfer

Politics

Live coverage of business, economics and financial news as UK postal service set to deliver on alternate weekdays and drop SaturdaysGermany’s Dax stock market index is also in on the party with a new record high, while Spain’s Ibex benchmark is at its highest since 2008, before the Eurozone crisis crunched its economy for a decade.Spain’s stock market has risen strongly in the last couple of years, as the country has become the surprise leader of the European economy – with a growth rate far outstripping the EU’s largest economy, Germany.Posts record funds under management of £190.21bn at 2024-end, above analysts’ views of £187.4bn, according to company-compiled consensus. Continue reading...

Economics

Key Trump ally strives to extricate himself from statements he had made earlier, claiming ‘mischaracterization’Kash Patel sought to allay concerns about his fitness to serve as the FBI director at his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, but declined to engage with questioning that explicitly asked whether he would use his position to investigate some of Donald Trump’s top political opponents.The hearing revolved around Patel’s provocative public remarks attacking the FBI and his ability to resist political pressure from the White House, a topic that has come to the fore with the justice department rocked by the ouster of prosecutors who worked on cases against Trump. Continue reading...

Events

Trump’s nominee to lead FBI also denied having an ‘enemies list’; Tulsi Gabbard faces sharp criticism over past comments sympathetic to RussiaRFK Jr dodges clear answers on vaccines on second day of hearingsGabbard grilled on Snowden, Hezbollah and Putin in tense Senate hearingHere’s some more reaction to Donald Trump’s executive order instructing the military to prepare to house 30,000 immigrants at the US naval base in Cuba.“Guantánamo is a stain on our nation’s honor,” Jerry Nadler, a Democratic congressman from New York, said.For years, I have advocated for its closure, condemning the abuses and glaring lack of accountability that persist there. This massive expansion into a mass detention camp is morally indefensible & raises significant civil liberties concerns.We cannot allow this level of dehumanization to become normalized. We need to shut down Guantánamo once and for all. Continue reading...

Politics

Settlement originates from lawsuit by president against the platform, one of several filed after 6 January violenceMeta has agreed to pay $25m to settle a lawsuit with Donald Trump. The suit originated in 2021 when Trump sued the social media company for suspending his accounts after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The settlement was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and has been confirmed by a Meta spokesperson.The majority of the settlement, $22m, will go toward a fund to pay for Trump’s presidential library, according to the Wall Street Journal. The remainder will pay for legal fees and go to other plaintiffs listed in the case. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...

Economics

NFL star accused of ‘really degrading’ behaviorLawyers for Tucker say claims are ‘utterly baseless’Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has denied allegations accusing him of sexually inappropriate behavior towards massage therapists.The Baltimore Banner spoke to six massage therapists at four spas and wellness centers around the Baltimore area. The accusations include claims that Tucker exposed his genitals, brushed some of the therapists with his penis and left ejaculate on treatment tables. Two spas allegedly banned Tucker from returning. One therapist who spoke to the Banner described Tucker’s alleged behaviour as “really degrading”. Another said that “I can’t watch sports anymore. I see his face everywhere.” Continue reading...

Events

The Oscar-nominated star of Netflix’s musical made racist and Islamophobic remarks in several tweets from 2020Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofia Gascón is under fire after old tweets uncovered a range of troubling opinions on subjects including Islam and George Floyd.The Spanish actor, who recently became the first ever openly transgender person to receive an acting nomination at the Oscars, has since deleted a number of tweets after users, including writer Sarah Hagi, uncovered them. Variety and the Hollywood Reporter have since reported the news and translated older posts. Continue reading...

Politics

Israel freed 110 Palestinians in exchange for three Israelis and five Thai nationals held in GazaAs the line of white buses drew closer to the West Bank city of Ramallah at dusk, their most notorious passenger stood at the window of one of the buses and waved. Skinny in his grey Israeli prison tracksuit, his head shaved, Zakaria Zubeidi lifted two fingers to make a peace sign and gestured at jubilant crowds.The 49-year-old, a former leader of a Palestinian militant group jailed for attacks that killed several Israelis, was among 110 Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for three Israelis and five Thai nationals held by Palestinian militants in Gaza. The prisoners’ release was delayed by Israeli officials, who expressed dismay at the chaotic scenes in Gaza that accompanied the Israelis’ transfer to the custody of the Red Cross. Continue reading...

Events

The Oscar-nominated star of Netflix’s musical made racist and Islamophobic remarks in several tweets from 2020Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón is under fire after old tweets uncovered a range of troubling opinions on subjects including Islam and George Floyd.The Spanish actor, who recently became the first ever openly transgender person to receive an acting nomination at the Oscars, has since deleted a number of tweets after users, including writer Sarah Hagi, uncovered them. Variety and the Hollywood Reporter have since reported the news and translated older posts. Continue reading...

Politics

Donald Trump offered condolences before plunging into politics as he delivered air crash update in the White House briefing room on Thursday morning.

Events

Love Island invites a special guest to the villa on Thursday night who 'sets his sights' on Catherine - as fans of the ITV2 dating show call for him to be brought in as a bombshell

Politics

Andrew Cornish criticises ‘token’ appointmentsECB has set new targets and could withhold fundingMiddlesex’s chief executive, Andrew Cornish, has risked ­antagonising the England and Wales Cricket Board by appearing to criticise a central ­element of the counties’ new diversity rules that come into force on Saturday.At a club forum last week Cornish told Middlesex members “we’re not gonna be woke and just do ­political correctness” before criticising “token” appointments based on “gender or ethnicity”. Continue reading...

Events

Skeptical senators ruthlessly questioned Trump’s national intelligence director nominee ahead of confirmation voteUS politics live – latest updatesTulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s nominee for national intelligence director, refused to call the whistleblower Edward Snowden a “traitor” but sought to rein in her unorthodox views on foreign dictators and opposition to electronic surveillance during a tense confirmation hearing that could sink her nomination to oversee the country’s sprawling intelligence community.In a three-hour hearing before the Senate intelligence committee, Gabbard, a former congresswoman and member of the Hawaii army national guard, partially recanted her views that Russia was provoked into invading Ukraine, said she had “no love” for the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and denied meeting with Hezbollah representatives during a trip to Lebanon in 2017. Continue reading...

Politics

President turns collision briefing into rant about diversity policies despite no evidence linking DEI to the crash that killed more than 60 peopleOfficials say no survivors expected in DC plane crashFirst known victims include figure-skating championsVisual guide – how did the DC plane crash unfold?Multiple media including the New York Times, Reuters and CNN are saying the Black Hawk helicopter was carrying three soldiers. No senior army officials were onboard, they reported, citing US defence officials.Multiple sources are now saying that about 60 people were onboard the American Airlines plane that collided with the helicopter. Continue reading...

Events

Trump’s nominee to lead FBI also denied having an ‘enemies list’; Tulsi Gabbard faces sharp criticism over past comments sympathetic to RussiaRFK Jr dodges clear answers on vaccines on second day of hearingsHere’s some more reaction to Donald Trump’s executive order instructing the military to prepare to house 30,000 immigrants at the US naval base in Cuba.“Guantánamo is a stain on our nation’s honor,” Jerry Nadler, a Democratic congressman from New York, said.For years, I have advocated for its closure, condemning the abuses and glaring lack of accountability that persist there. This massive expansion into a mass detention camp is morally indefensible & raises significant civil liberties concerns.We cannot allow this level of dehumanization to become normalized. We need to shut down Guantánamo once and for all. Continue reading...

Politics

Deployment of special forces veterans is unprecedented and poses risk that Americans could be drawn into fightingA US security firm is hiring nearly 100 US special forces veterans to help run a checkpoint in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, introducing armed American contractors into the heart of one of the world’s most violent conflict zones.UG Solutions, a low-profile company founded in 2023 and based in Davidson, North Carolina, is offering a daily rate starting at $1,100 with a $10,000 advance to veterans it hires, according to a recruitment email. Continue reading...

Events

Albrecht Weinberg ‘horrified’ that MPs relied on far-right party to pass anti-immigration motionA 99-year-old Holocaust survivor has said he will return his federal order of merit to the German president in protest over MPs passing an anti-immigration motion in parliament with the support of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.Albrecht Weinberg, whose parents were murdered in Auschwitz, told the Guardian he was “horrified” on learning that a proposal submitted by the conservative parties had relied on the anti-immigrant, xenophobic AfD to get it over the line. Continue reading...

Politics

Kacper Dudek's girlfriend Molly, who was described as 'the most important love in his life', had written him a letter which was read in church during his funeral

Events

Resident agony aunt Coleen Nolan has advice for a reader who tried for a long time to have a child but is finding the exhaustion hard to cope with and feels lonely

Politics

Research shows voters losing faith in traditional centre-left and centre-right to deliver meaningful changeVoters in western democracies are turning away from mainstream political parties and towards populists because they are losing faith in their ability to implement meaningful change, a major report based on surveys of 12,000 voters has found.The popularity of traditional centre-left and centre-right parties across major democratic countries has plummeted from 73% in 2000 to 51% today, according to research by the Tony Blair Institute. Continue reading...

Events