63 m. ago Trump administration briefing: hundreds fired from US climate agency as Americans feel economy getting worse

Democrats warn that cutting jobs at Noaa ‘will cost American lives’ – key US politics stories from Wednesday at a glanceThe Trump administration has fired hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency housed within the Department of Commerce, the Guardian learned on Thursday.“This will cost American lives,” said Democratic congresswoman and ranking member of the House science, space and technology committee, Zoe Lofgren, in a written statement. Her comments were issued alongside congressman Gabe Amo’s, the ranking member of the subcommittee on environment, after news of the firings broke. Continue reading...

Politics

80 m. ago Rare planetary parade to be visible in UK skies today for last time until 2040

Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus, Neptune, Mercury and Saturn to line up for last time until 2040

Politics

2 h. ago Peppa Pig to have new brother or sister, mother of popular TV character says

‘I’m due in the summer, and we’re all so excited,’ Mummy Pig, voiced by actor Morwenna Banks, announces on Good Morning BritainThe animated television character Peppa Pig, famed for her love of jumping up and down in muddy puddles, is to have a new brother or sister, the character’s mother has announced.Peppa Pig, the phenomenally popular children’s show that has been translated into over 40 languages, tells the story of Peppa and her family – Daddy Pig, Mummy Pig and younger brother George, whose most treasured possession is his toy dinosaur. Continue reading...

Culture

2 h. ago Cop16 countries strike crucial deal on nature despite global tensions

Delegates hammer out compromise on delivering billions of dollars to protect species and their habitatsDelegates from across the world have cheered a last-gasp deal to map out funding to protect nature, breaking a deadlock at UN talks seen as a test for international cooperation in the face of geopolitical tensions.Rich and developing countries on Thursday hammered out a delicate compromise on raising and delivering the billions of dollars needed to protect species, overcoming stark divisions that had scuttled their previous Cop16 meeting in Cali, Colombia last year. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago The new signs of wealth revealed, including a kitchen island and a cleaner

If you have a kitchen island and have a driveway at your home, many people in the UK nowadays will view you as wealthy, according to a new study by HSBC. Pic: Stock image.

Politics

3 h. ago Jeffrey Epstein: more files released related to late sex offender and financier

Attorney general indicated justice department would release files related to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019The US justice department has released additional files related to the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The justice department gave a statement on Thursday evening, saying the release largely contains documents that have been “previously leaked but never released in a formal capacity by the US government”. Continue reading...

Economics

4 h. ago HebCelt 25: Scots pop legend to headline islands festival where almost three quarters of performers are women

More than 70 per cent of acts at this year’s HebCelt festival are female or led by women

Politics

4 h. ago Luke Humphries claims first Premier League darts win over Luke Littler to take control of table

World number one sits seven points clear of teenage sensation

Politics

4 h. ago Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s mass firings at federal agencies

Judge says office of personnel management lacks power to order firings, including those of probationary employeesA federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ordering the US defense department and other agencies to carry out the mass firings of some employees.The US district judge William Alsup said in San Francisco on Thursday that the US office of personnel management (OPM) lacked the power to order federal agencies to fire any workers, including probationary employees who typically have less than a year of experience. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago White Island volcano eruption: criminal convictions for island owners thrown out

Twenty-two people died in the 2019 New Zealand disaster, mostly US and Australian cruise ship passengers on a walking tourThe owners of an island volcano in New Zealand where 22 tourists and local guides died in an eruption had their criminal conviction for failing to keep visitors safe thrown out by a judge on Friday.The release of the decision followed a three-day hearing last October for the owners’ company at the high court in the city of Auckland where they appealed against the charges laid by New Zealand’s workplace health and safety regulator after the 2019 eruption of Whakaari, also known as White Island. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago Students chant support for Palestinians at Barnard College protest in New York

Dozens of anti-war protesters gathered to demand the reinstatement of two students expelled for disrupting a class on IsraelDon’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.Several dozen anti-war student protesters gathered outside Columbia University and Barnard College in New York on Thursday to protest against the expulsion of two students who interrupted a class on Israel last month.Wearing keffiyehs in solidarity with Palestinians, students chanted a series of anti-war slogans amid a heavy New York police department (NYPD) presence outside the sister schools, where only students and faculty with ID cards are allowed in. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago ‘Cruel and thoughtless’: Trump fires hundreds at US climate agency Noaa

Employees informed by email that their jobs would be cut off at end of day in move a worker called ‘wrong all around’Don’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.The Trump administration has fired hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency housed within the Department of Commerce, the Guardian has learned.On Thursday afternoon, the commerce department sent emails to employees saying their jobs would be cut off at the end of the day, in a move that one worker called “wrong all around”. Other government agencies have also seen massive staffing cuts in recent days. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Trump says Putin would keep his word on a Ukraine peace deal

President claims presence of US workers in Ukraine would deter Russian aggression after talks with Keir StarmerStarmer visits Trump: latest updatesDonald Trump has insisted that Vladimir Putin would “keep his word” on a peace deal for Ukraine, arguing that US workers extracting critical minerals in the country would act as a security backstop to deter Russia from invading again.During highly anticipated talks at the White House with the prime minister, Keir Starmer, the US president said that Putin could be trusted not to breach any agreement, which could aim to return as much of the land as possible to Ukraine that was seized by Russia during the brutal three-year conflict. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Tell us: what’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you?

We want to hear about chance encounters and acts of kindness that have restored your faith in community – or humanityFrom wise words to good deeds, sometimes an interaction with a total stranger can be exactly what you need.Guardian Australia is looking for readers willing to share their memorable moments with unfamiliar folk for our series Kindness of strangers. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Women’s Super League to consider scrapping relegation in major revamp

Proposal for more teams in new-look top flight Championship set to be rebranded as WSL2The Women’s Super League is considering abolishing relegation as part of a radical proposal to grow the sport that will be discussed by the clubs at a meeting on Friday.The Guardian has learned that the 23 WSL and Championship clubs have been called to a strategy summit by the newly formed company that runs both competitions, Women’s Professional Leagues Ltd, who will ask them to explore a range of options to increase the profile, sustainability and profitability of women’s football. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Social Security Administration could lay off up to 50% of its workforce, source says – live

Social Security Administration expected to lay off at least 7,000 people, but a source tells Associated Press reduction could be as high as 50%As Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk work zealously to slash tens of billions in federal spending by axing thousands of jobs and gutting some government agencies, Musk faces mounting claims he has conflicts of interest and no oversight, legal and ethics experts say.Trump’s largest campaign donor and the world’s wealthiest man, Musk was tapped by the president to lead the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) in a radical and opaque cost-cutting drive that allows him to keep control of SpaceX, Tesla and other huge companies with billions of dollars in federal contracts.We expect that today’s meeting will be the first in a series of such expert consultations that will bring us closer to overcoming the disagreements that have arisen with the American side, strengthening confidence-building measures. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago The São Paulo connection: a Brazilian gang is spreading its cocaine business into Australia

The PCC – First Capital Command – formed in a Sāo Paulo prison but is now spreading its tentacles around the worldIn September 2020, the Australian Border Force intercepted 552kg of cocaine concealed in 2,000 boxes of frozen banana pulp that had arrived at the port of Sydney on a ship from Brazil.Two years later, a diver was found floating dead next to 52kg of cocaine near the port of Newcastle, in New South Wales, Australia. Police later discovered that he was a Brazilian national who had been attempting to retrieve drugs from a cargo ship’s hull. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago An uncertain future for agricultural students at Black colleges after Trump cuts: ‘a clear attack’

The 1890 National Scholars program gives full rides to HBCU students in fields like botany, forestry and food safetyDr Marcus Bernard was shocked to learn last week that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had suspended the 1890 National Scholars program that funds undergraduate students’ education in agriculture or related fields at about 20 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).Bernard is dean of the college of agriculture, health and natural resources at one of those institutions, Kentucky State University. At Kentucky State, close to 40 of the scholars have enrolled since the project’s inception in 1992. Nationwide, the program has supported more than 800 students, according to the USDA. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago Soucek extends West Ham’s revival and Van Nistelrooy’s Leicester woe

It has been a midweek of Premier League certainties being secured at both top and bottom. Place Leicester in the certainty category. Defeat at West Ham extended Leicester’s doomed, zombified lurch towards relegation to 11 defeats in 12, 11 from 16 since Ruud van Nistelrooy replaced Steve Cooper in November.If Cooper was the wrong man at the wrong club then so is the Dutchman. Perhaps no manager had a chance with the squad Leicester assembled to attempt survival. Graham Potter, previously linked with Leicester, has meanwhile restored order to West Ham. Jarrod Bowen made things happen for both first-half goals, involved in the move for the first from Tomas Soucek, the second an own goal from Jannik Vestergaard the Hammers captain’s zest had enforced. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago Chris Eubank Jr doubles down on egg incident as war of words with Conor Benn continues

Tuesday’s press conference descended into brawl after Eubank Jr slapped Benn with an egg

Events