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Migrant boat capsizes off Libya leaving 53 dead

The IOM says that almost 500 people have been reported dead or missing off Libya so far this year.

Prince William Visits Saudi Arabia for Delicate Diplomacy

The heir to the British throne will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as Britain and Saudi Arabia look to strengthen ties.

French riot officers go on trial accused of beating gilets jaunes protesters

Nine members of police’s CRS division allegedly ‘repeatedly struck non-hostile demonstrators’ in Paris in 2018 Nine officers from the French riot police have gone on trial in Paris accused of beating peaceful protesters who were sheltering from teargas during the “gilets jaunes” (yellow vests) anti-government demonstrations in 2018. The case at Paris’s criminal court is one of the biggest trials over alleged police violence during the unrest in 2018 and 2019 , when hundreds of thousands of pr...

UK, UN and EU deplore ‘monumental injustice’ of Jimmy Lai’s 20-year jail sentence

Son says Hong Kong media figure, 78, fears dying alone while legal team say Lai is now world’s highest profile political prisoner The UK, the UN, EE and rights groups have condemned the sentencing of the pro-democracy activist and publisher Jimmy Lai, a British citizen who has been jailed for 20 years in Hong Kong on national security convictions that critics say are politically motivated. Yvette Cooper, the UK foreign secretary, said: “For 78-year-old Jimmy Lai, 20 years is an effective life...

Files cast light on Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to cryptocurrency

Newly released documents detail convicted sex offender’s early backing of bitcoin and Coinbase Millions of files related to Jeffrey Epstein have brought to light his ties to the highest echelons of the cryptocurrency industry. Documents published last week by the US Department of Justice reveal Epstein bankrolled the “principal home and funding source” for bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, during its nascent stages; he also invested $3m in Coinbase in 2014, the largest cryptocurren...

Australian ministers met Japanese gas companies 20 times amid fossil fuel lobbying push

Thinktank analysis suggests Japan campaigns to prolong the carbon industry in Australia and hinder move to clean energy Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australian government ministers met Japanese gas company executives more than 20 times in the last term of parliament as Labor encouraged investment in the fossil fuel industry. The list of meetings is detailed in a report by the thinktank InfluenceMap that argues Japanese liquefied natural gas (LNG) companies have...

Whistle becomes key tool in protests against Trump’s ICE crackdown

Protesters have been blowing whistles to alert people to agents’ presence – and that has upset figures on the right When Justin Vernon of Bon Iver appeared on the red carpet at the Grammy awards he was wearing an accessory that has become a must-carry for activists in neighborhoods targeted by ICE: a whistle . The whistle has become a key part in the defense against Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, used to alert people to the presence of agents. But it has also become a target...

A tale of two Scott Farquhars: how one small change set back political transparency in Australia

Australia needs a balance between protecting the privacy of donors and preserving the transparency of how political parties are funded Want to get more charts in your inbox every fortnight? Sign up for The Crunch here In the latest round of political donation disclosures there was a curious detail. It appeared as if Scott Farquhar, the billionaire co-founder of Atlassian, had donated $22,250 to the Queensland Greens in addition to giving $1.5m to support Climate 200. Had the tech guru fallen ...

Queensland government to introduce new gun control laws advocates criticise as ‘weakest in Australia’

Under proposed changes in response to Bondi terror attack only Australian citizens will be able to obtain a gun licence, with no cap on number of weapons Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Queensland will be left with “the weakest guns laws in Australia”, according to gun control advocates, after the premier rejected increased limits on the number or type of firearms that people can own. On Monday, David Crisafulli and the police minister, Dan Purdie, announced what ...

Ebo Taylor, Ghanaian highlife pioneer and guitarist, dies age 90

Taylor, who did for Ghanaian music what his friend Fela Kuti did for Nigeria, has been called the greatest rhythm guitarist in history Ghanaian musician Ebo Taylor, a definitive force behind the highlife genre, has died age 90. His son Kweku Taylor announced the news on Sunday: “The world has lost a giant. A colossus of African music. Ebo Taylor passed away yesterday; a day after the launch of Ebo Taylor music festival and exactly a month after his 90th birthday, leaving behind an unmatched a...

A new town for the 21st century? Seven-village build to begin after 20-year journey

Gilston in Hertfordshire aims to be rebuke to cookie-cutter estates with network of 10,000 new homes within country parks and woodland After two decades of legal wrangling and planning bottlenecks, the first bricks will finally be laid on a project being hailed by developers as the blueprint for the future of community building in Britain. Gilston in east Hertfordshire will be transformed into a network of seven interconnected villages, comprising 10,000 new homes nestled within a sprawling 6...

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar to call on Keir Starmer to stand down

Sarwar said to be furious Starmer’s repeated mistakes have heavily damaged Scottish support before May elections UK politics live – latest updates Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, is to call on Keir Starmer to stand down as prime minister and Labour leader at a hastily arranged press conference in Glasgow. Sarwar is said to be furious that the prime minister’s repeated mistakes have heavily damaged support for Scottish Labour in the run-up to crucial Scottish parliament elections in M...

UK borrowing costs rise after departure of two key Keir Starmer aides

Yield on government debt up as investors weigh up prime minister’s survival chances Business live – latest updates UK politics live – latest updates UK borrowing costs rose on Monday as investors watched for signs of jitters in the markets over Keir Starmer’s future. The yield, or interest rate, on UK benchmark bonds increased as traders reacted to Sunday’s resignation of the prime minister’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney , over the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Wash...

Wedding in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show was the real thing

Unnamed couple actually married during performance by Puerto Rican singer, who served as witness Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show review – a thrilling ode to Boricua joy Yes, the wedding depicted during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show was real. About five minutes into the 13-minute extravaganza at Levi’s Stadium, the latter part of a wedding ceremony was shown, with a smiling officiant declaring the couple married, and the husband and wife, both wearing white, shared a kiss as danc...

Maxwell won't answer questions from Congress, lawyer says

Ghislaine Maxwell, the jailed associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, will invoke her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.

Fifteen killed in latest Lebanon building collapse, as warnings of neglect grow

Two blocks fall down in what is the fifth such disaster this winter, as warnings of neglect grow.

Epstein survivors call for full release of files in video

Millions of files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been released by the DOJ but many have redactions.

Melania drops 67% at US box office as Rotten Tomatoes defends record-breaking audience scores

Depite an expanded release to some 2,000 screens, the gushing enthusiasm recorded on the vox pop Popcornometer is not powering a word-of-mouth hit Melania, Brett Ratner’s authorised documentary following the first lady in the 20 days preceding Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration, has dipped 67% in its second week of release in the US. The film outpaced expectations over its first weekend, taking in $7.2m domestically and leading Amazon to expand their rollout from around 1,500 venues to ...

EU threatens to act over Meta blocking rival AI chatbots from WhatsApp

Firm accused of ‘abusing’ its dominant position for messaging in what appears to be breach of antitrust rules The EU has threatened to take action against the social media company Meta, arguing it has blocked rival chatbots from using its WhatsApp messaging platform. The European Commission said on Monday that WhatsApp Business – which is designed to be used by businesses to interact with customers – appears to be in breach of EU antitrust rules. Continue reading...

US federal contractor hired white supremacist leader for wildfire relief

Ian Michael Elliott of neofascist Patriot Front worked ‘crisis relief missions’ funded by Department of Agriculture A federal security contractor that has been awarded millions of dollars by the Department of Agriculture hired a prominent white nationalist leader to work on its patrols last year. Ian Michael Elliott, a longstanding senior figure in the neofascist group Patriot Front, was part of “crisis relief missions” undertaken on the US west coast by Knight Division Tactical, according to...