6 h. ago California State students protest aid blockade in Gaza with hunger strike

Two dozen fasting students also press university system to divest from weapon manufacturers in list of demandsAround two dozen California State University students began a hunger strike last week to protest starvation in Gaza due to Israel’s aid blockade, marking the latest act of political protest on college campuses.The strikers – students from San Jose State, Sacramento State, San Francisco State and CSU Long Beach – began their fast on 5 May Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago AP PHOTOS: UN agencies warn that Israel's plans for aid distribution will endanger lives in Gaza

International aid agencies warn that plans presented by Israel to control aid distribution in Gaza will only increase suffering and death in the devastated Palestinian territory. They called on Friday for an end to Israel’s total blockade of Gaza that has blocked all food and other supplies from reaching its 2.3 million people for nearly 10 weeks.

Events

20 h. ago Hamas announces it will release another hostage as it's revealed terror group are in direct talks with Trump administration amid cautious hope of progress towards Middle East peace plan

The terrorist group hopes the release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander will pave the way to reopening crossings and allow humanitarian aid back into Gaza.

Events

23 h. ago The Guardian view on Israel and Gaza: Trump can stop this horror. The alternative is unthinkable | Editorial

The US president has the leverage to force through a ceasefire. If he does not, he will implicitly signal approval of what looks like a plan of total destructionDonald Trump would like a big foreign policy win as he embarks on his tour of the Middle East this week. He could secure one – and save lives – by demanding that Israel agree to a lasting ceasefire in exchange for the release of all hostages held in Gaza. He might prefer to avoid the issue, but no other leader has the leverage to force its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to end this war. If Mr Trump instead backs Israel’s current proposals, he will put the US imprimatur on what looks like a plan of total destruction.Israel’s attacks have already killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities – the vast majority of them civilians, many of them children. Bakeries, hospitals and schools have been obliterated. Aid has been blocked for two months. Gaza faces famine. Last week, Isr...

Politics

26 h. ago Whoops, waves, tears: Faithful react to Pope Leo's first Sunday blessing in St. Peter's Sqaure

Tens of thousands of faithful Catholics gathered in St. Peter’s Square to watch Pope Leo XIV deliver the first Sunday blessing of his pontificate exactly at noon

Politics

26 h. ago ‘Never again war’: Pope Leo calls for peace in Ukraine in first Sunday address

New pontiff also urges a ceasefire and humanitarian aid in Gaza and welcomes truce between India and PakistanPope Leo XIV has called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and pleaded for an end to global conflicts, which he likened to a “third world war in pieces”.In his first Sunday address at the Vatican, the new pontiff urged an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid in Gaza and the release of all hostages. He also welcomed the truce between India and Pakistan and referenced the end of the second world war in 1945. Continue reading...

Events

28 h. ago Pope Leo XIV delivers his first Sunday blessing calling for peace in Ukraine and Gaza ceasefire as he addresses HUGE crowd in St Peter's Square

Pope Leo XIV has delivered his first Sunday blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica.

Events

35 h. ago What is the traditional Sunday blessing that popes deliver in St. Peter’s Square?

The new pope Leo XIV is scheduled to deliver his first Sunday blessing from the loggia where he first appeared in public after being elected three days ago

Politics

50 h. ago Israeli airstrikes kill 23 in Gaza as outcry over aid blockade grows

Health officials say Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday have killed at least 23 Palestinians in Gaza

Events

3 d. ago UN agencies warn Israel plans for aid distribution endanger lives in Gaza

International aid agencies warn that plans presented by Israel to control aid distribution in Gaza will only increase suffering and death in the devastated Palestinian territory

Events

3 d. ago Aid groups voice alarm as US pushes Israeli plan for Gaza assistance

Groups say plan to resume limited humanitarian assistance under strict Israeli rules ‘risks enabling war crimes’US politics live – latest updatesAid groups have voiced alarm at US moves to pressure them into accepting an Israeli proposal to resume limited humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged territory under strictly controlled conditions.The Trump administration has attempted to strong-arm international agencies – including the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) – into accepting Israel’s stringent rules for resuming deliveries, according to sources familiar with the discussions and news reports. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Harry Styles baffles fans after being pictured in Vatican City at Pope announcement

One Direction's Harry Styles has confused fans after he was spotted at the Pope's announcement in Vatican City after Pope Leo XIV delivered his first public statement in his new role

Politics

3 d. ago Harry Styles leaves fans stunned as he's spotted at Pope’s first address at the Vatican

The singer was spotted at St. Peter’s Square among the crowd as the newly elected pope delivered his first address

Culture

3 d. ago Harry Styles fans in meltdown after he's spotted in crowd greeting new Pope in St. Peter's Square

The Grammy-award winning artist, 31, was seen in the crowd as Pope Leo XIV delivered his first public remarks in his new position.

Politics

3 d. ago Solution to get food and aid to Gaza is ‘steps away’, US state department says – live

Gaza is on the brink of catastrophe after two months of a total blockade by Israel, aid workers say, with many families down to one meal a dayThe winners and losers of Trump’s first tariff war strongly suggest that bankruptcies and farm consolidation could surge during his second term, with major corporations best placed to benefit from his polices at the expense of independent farmers.New analysis by the non-profit research advocacy group Food and Water Watch (FWW), shared exclusively with the Guardian, shows that Trump’s first-term tariffs were particularly devastating for farmers in the Maga rural heartlands. Continue reading...

Society

4 d. ago Leading aid group shuts down its soup kitchens across Gaza over Israel's blockade

A leading aid group says that Israel’s ongoing blockade of humanitarian assistance for Gaza has forced it to shut down its community soup kitchens

Politics

5 d. ago Children so malnourished they’re losing their sight: Inside Israel’s aid blockade on Gaza

The blockade has led to famine-like conditions for the two million people living on the Strip, and at least 9,000 children have been admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition since the start of the year

Politics

5 d. ago UN experts demand action to avert ‘annihilation’ of Palestinians in Gaza – Middle East crisis live

More than 20 experts call on countries to act or ‘witness the slaughter of innocents’‘Desperate people’: Gaza faces wave of looting, theft and violenceThe Dutch government, seen as one of Israel’s most loyal allies in the European Union, is calling for an urgent review of the EU Israel association agreement, the basis for the EU-Israeli free trade agreement, the Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp told the Guardian.Veldkamp described the Israeli ban on the supply of aid into Gaza as “catastrophic, truly dismal” and in clear breach of international humanitarian law.You cannot starve the people of the Gaza Strip. It is against international law. It’s morally wrong. It’s dangerous. I don’t think it’s in Israel’s own interest. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Palestinians ‘desperate for food but getting bombs’, says UN as it criticises Israel’s Gaza aid plan – Middle East crisis live

Reports say that Israel is planning to use private American security contractors in move that OCHA says falls short of ‘humanitarian principles’China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, said Beijing is “highly concerned about the current Palestine-Israel situation”.“We oppose Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza, and hopes all parties continuously and effectively implement the ceasefire agreement,” Jian said.The government of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, hopes that the Israel Defense Forces’ call-up of tens of thousands of reservists, the threat of the new offensive and the prospect of Israel seizing swaths of territory will force Hamas’s leaders to make concessions.If it fails to do so, then physical possession of terrain will offer useful leverage in future negotiations and allow Hamas to be squeezed further in the meantime Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Francis’s popemobile to become a mobile clinic for children in Gaza

Catholic charity says the late pontiff endorsed the idea of creating a ‘vehicle of hope’ to deliver medical aidJust over a decade ago, the converted Mitsubishi whisked Pope Francis through the streets of Bethlehem before it was left to gather dust. Now, in keeping with one of the late pontiff’s last wishes, the popemobile is being given a second life – as a mobile health clinic for children in the Gaza Strip.In a region ravaged by more than 18 months of war, the initiative is both symbolic and practical, said Peter Brune, the secretary general of the Catholic charity Caritas Sweden. Continue reading...

Politics