6 h. ago Senegal women's basketball team members denied US visas, prime minister says

The Senegalese women’s basketball team has scrapped plans to train in the U.S. for the upcoming AfroBasket tournament in the Ivory Coast next month after several players and team officials had their visas denied

Politics

12 h. ago Canada poised to pass infrastructure bill despite pushback from Indigenous people

Bill prioritizes ‘nation-building’ pipelines and mines, causing concern that sped-up approvals will override constitutional rightsCanada’s Liberal government is poised to pass controversial legislation on Friday that aims to kick-start “nation building” infrastructure projects but has received widespread pushback from Indigenous communities over fears it tramples on their constitutional rights.On its final day of sitting before breaking for summer, parliament is expected to vote on Bill C-5. The legislation promised by Mark Carney, the prime minister, during the federal election, is meant to strengthen Canada’s economy amid a trade war launched by Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago Deputy FM accuses Leo Varadkar of reinventing himself after Irish unity comments

Emma Little-Pengelly took a swipe after he said that Irish unity would become ‘centre stage’ if Nigel Farage became UK prime minister.

Politics

14 h. ago Assisted dying Bill: How Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and cabinet members voted

MPs passed a bill which would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives

Politics

19 h. ago Malaysian court drops money laundering charges against jailed ex

A Malaysian court has dropped three money laundering charges against jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak in a case linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of a state fund

Events

20 h. ago Russian attacks on Ukraine continue as Odesa hit by drones – Europe live

One person was reported killed and 14 injured when Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian city of Odesa overnightNorwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre is about to give a press conference on Norway’s contribution to Nato shortly.Let’s see if he has anything to say on Spain’s objections, too. Continue reading...

Events

23 h. ago New Zealand Prime Minister Luxon talks trade in meeting with China's Xi

The prime minister of New Zealand has stressed the importance of his country’s trade ties with China in a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping

Politics

29 h. ago Thai PM apologises over leaked call with Hun Sen as crisis threatens to topple government

In the phone call, Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra discusses a border dispute with former Cambodian leader and calls him ‘uncle’Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, apologised on Thursday for a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen that provoked widespread anger and threatened to break up her ruling coalition.As pressure grew on Thursday, Paetongtarn apologised at a news conference alongside military chiefs and senior figures from her Pheu Thai party. Continue reading...

Events

32 h. ago London MP resigns from the government in protest over proposed welfare cuts

The resignation follows a backlash from MPs over Sir Keir Starmer’s planned welfare reforms

Politics

33 h. ago Donald Trump delays decision on Iran strikes as Keir Starmer calls for restraint

The US president said he would decide on military action within the next two weeks

Politics

33 h. ago From Beersheba to Babylon: Netanyahu casts himself as liberator of Iran

Speaking at a hospital hit by an Iranian missile, the Israeli prime minister invoked ancient Persia as he hinted at a historic missionIt was in the Beersheba, about a thousand kilometers and 2,500 years from Babylon, that Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Thursday that the time had come for the Jews to repay their ancient debt to Cyrus the Great and bring liberation to Iran.The Israeli prime minister had just made a tour of Beersheba’s Soroka hospital which a few hours earlier had sustained a direct hit from an Iranian ballistic missile on one of its buildings. It was for that reason the scene of an escape which was already being dubbed miraculous by Israel’s leaders. Continue reading...

Politics

35 h. ago Thawing of relations between Pakistan and US raises eyebrows in India

Trump ends isolation of country once snubbed so badly Imran Khan had to take the subway to the UN general assemblyAfter years in the diplomatic deep freeze, US-Pakistan ties appear to be quickly thawing, with Donald Trump’s effusive welcome for Pakistan’s army chief, Gen Asim Munir, signalling a possible major reset.Once snubbed so badly that Imran Khan, a former prime minister, rode the New York subway to the UN general assembly in 2019 unescorted, Pakistan is now enjoying top-level access in Washington, including a White House lunch for Munir on Wednesday and meetings with top national security officials. Continue reading...

Politics

35 h. ago The Guardian view on Trump and Iran: Netanyahu’s war has no visible exit | Editorial

The US president promised to keep his country out of conflicts. The Israeli prime minister has other ideasThe maxim that wars are easy to start and hard to end does not appear to be troubling Benjamin Netanyahu. For the Israeli prime minister, conflict is an end as much as a means, extending his political survival. Under international pressure – however belated and insufficient – over the slaughter in Gaza, he launched the attack on Iran. Initially presented as essential to prevent Tehran from the imminent acquisition of a nuclear bomb, a claim running counter to US intelligence, it is increasingly discussed as the path to bringing down the regime. The defence minister, Israel Katz, has said that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “can no longer be allowed to exist”.Donald Trump has generally seen armed conflict as a trap rather than an escape route. He said that the US would “measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the war...

Politics

35 h. ago Spain rejects Nato plan for member states to spend 5% of GDP on defence

PM Pedro Sánchez says he wants a ‘more flexible formula’ that would make target optional or allow Madrid to opt outSpain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has rejected Nato’s proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP, saying the idea would “not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive”.Sánchez said that he was not seeking to complicate next week’s Nato summit in The Hague, but he wanted there to be a “more flexible formula” that would either make the target optional or allow Spain to opt out. Continue reading...

Politics

36 h. ago Netanyahu stuns Israelis by describing ‘personal cost’ of postponing son’s wedding

Israeli prime minister prompts furious backlash for remarks in front of missile-struck hospital at height of Iran conflict Middle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu has evoked the spirit of London during the blitz, and pointed to his own family’s sacrifice amid the blood, toil, tears and sweat of his nation: the second postponement of his son’s wedding.The Israeli prime minister’s remarks, solemnly delivered to the cameras against the backdrop of a missile-struck hospital building in the southern city of Be’er Sheva, set off a howl of derision that echoed around the Hebrew-language internet, at the height of a war that Netanyahu unleashed on Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

36 h. ago Netanyahu stuns Israelis by describing ‘personal cost’ of Iran war

Israeli prime minister prompts furious backlash for remarks in front of missile-struck hospital at height of Iran conflict Middle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu has evoked the spirit of London during the blitz, and pointed to his own family’s sacrifice amid the blood, toil, tears and sweat of his nation: the second postponement of his son’s wedding.The Israeli prime minister’s remarks, solemnly delivered to the cameras against the backdrop of a missile-struck hospital building in the southern city of Be’er Sheva, set off a howl of derision that echoed around the Hebrew-language internet, at the height of a war that Netanyahu unleashed on Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

37 h. ago Nigel Farage as British PM would put Irish unity ‘centre stage’ – former premier

Leo Varadkar, who stood down as taoiseach last year, said it is possible Mr Farage will be prime minister in four years or nine years time.

Politics

37 h. ago Netanyahu is using Muslim women’s 'rights’ to justify his war. What hideous, hollow hypocrisy | Mona Eltahawy

As his troops slaughter civilians in Gaza, he claims to be standing up for Iranian women’s autonomy. He is far from the first warmonger to do soThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has invoked the Iranian regime’s heinous women’s rights record to justify his heinous war on Iran. This is the man whose genocide of Palestinians in Gaza killed more women and children in its first year than the equivalent period of any other conflict over the past two decades.“They’ve impoverished you, they’ve given you misery, they’ve given you death, they’ve given you terror, they shoot down your women, leaving this brave, unbelievable woman, Mahsa Amini, to bleed on the sidewalk for not covering her hair,” he told Iranians in an interview with Iran International.Mona Eltahawy writes the Feminist Giant newsletter. She is the author of The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls and Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual RevolutionDo you have an opinion on the issues rais...

Events

37 h. ago Angela Rayner praises ‘amazing’ Independent Brick by Brick campaign as family fleeing abuse get safe haven

Exclusive: The deputy prime minister and housing secretary said helping vulnerable families and children into safe and secure housing ‘is a matter that I hold close to my heart’

Events

38 h. ago Starmer wishes Lionesses luck ahead of Women’s Euro 2025 tournament

The Prime Minister announced plans for new school sport partnerships as he met the England women’s team at St George’s Park.

Politics