World News Hub

Trump China visit live: Rubio hoping for ‘positive response’ to appeal for release of Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Secretary of state says US made clear America’s position on Taiwan, as Trump-Xi talks continue for second dayXi warns Trump of ‘clashes and even conflicts’ with US over TaiwanAnalysis: For anxious Taiwan, Trump’s silence after Xi talks is best possible outcomeDonald Trump and Xi Jinping are set to meet on Friday to wrap up a high-stakes two-day state visit that has featured pomp and business deals...

‘Stone-cold racism’: Newsom condemns GOP redistricting efforts; Louisiana approves plan to erase majority-Black district – as it happened

The Guardian • 4 months ago

This live blog is now closed.Sign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump will drive through a Chinese capital that is smoggier than it was on his last visit in 2017, when the authorities launched emergency measures to clear the skies of pollution days before his first state visit to Beijing.Factories were ordered to halt production and heavily polluting cars were banned from the roads in th...

US justice department accuses Yale medical school of illegally using race in admissions

The Guardian • 4 months ago

A 2023 supreme court decision banned the use of affirmative action in college admissionsThe justice department on Thursday accused Yale University of illegally considering race in admissions to its medical school – the second institution to face discrimination allegations by the federal agency this month.In a letter to a lawyer for Yale, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights...

High-stakes courtroom drama of Musk v OpenAI hears closing arguments

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Nine-person jury to consider whether AI firm bilked world’s richest person and unjustly enriched themselvesClosing arguments began on Thursday in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, bringing the weeks-long courtroom battle between the two tech moguls nearer to a decision. A nine-person jury is set to deliberate and return a verdict on whether they believe the AI firm and Altman are ...

NSPCC reports sharp rise in children being blackmailed over sexual images in UK

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Charity says calls to its Childline service about online sexual abuse and exploitation have risen 36% in a yearChildren reported a rise in online blackmail attempts involving sexual images in the UK last year, according to a leading charity.The NSPCC said contacts with its Childline service relating to online sexual abuse and exploitation rose by 36% last year, driven by an increase in cases relat...

High-stakes courtroom drama of Musk v OpenAI begins closing arguments

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Nine-person jury to consider whether AI firm bilked world’s richest person and unjustly enriched themselvesClosing arguments began on Thursday in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, bringing the weeks-long courtroom battle between the two tech moguls nearer to a decision. A nine-person jury is set to deliberate and return a verdict on whether they believe the AI firm and Altman are ...

Renowned feminist artist and film-maker Valie Export dies aged 85

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Export’s performances scandalised Austria in the 1960s, but are now recognised for exposing the objectification of the female bodyValie Export, the Austrian performance artist and film-maker who inverted the male gaze in ways that were provocative, shocking and often outrageously fun, has died aged 85.The artist’s own foundation announced on Thursday evening that Export died in Vienna earlier the ...

CIA director has met officials in Havana for talks, Cuba claims

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Visit comes after US-Cuba relations deteriorated significantly, with Washington imposing a fuel blockade on the island in JanuaryCIA director John Ratcliffe met Cuban officials in Havana on Thursday as a way to improve dialogue between the US and the communist-run island, the Cuban government said.The meeting took place “in a context marked by the complexity of bilateral relations, with the aim of...

Tape shows Bolsonaro son asking jailed banker for $26.8m to fund film on father

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Flávio Bolsonaro, Brazil’s leading rightwing presidential hopeful, caught on tape asking banker for millionsFlávio Bolsonaro, Brazil’s leading rightwing presidential hopeful, has been caught on tape asking a banker accused of corruption for $26.8m (£20m) to fund a film about his father, the former president Jair Bolsonaro.The leaked voice memos and text messages were published on Wednesday by the ...

Australia news live: migrant advocates accuse Angus Taylor of using budget reply to ‘chase votes with dogs whistles’

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Taylor claimed that migrants were coming to Australia and claiming benefits before they were becoming citizens, a situation he said Australians did not accept. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning, it’s Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s get to it and see what Friday holds.Big news to start the morning: Australia’s Delta Goodrem...

Eurovision 2026: Delta Goodrem sends Australia to the grand final with note-perfect performance

The Guardian • 4 months ago

There was wind, there was fire, there was Goodrem’s remarkable upper-range – resulting in a refreshingly self-assured offering from Australia‘Sung by a silver robot from 1984!’ The 11 biggest bangers in Eurovision 2026Standing before a glistening crescent moon and adorned in more than 7,000 Swarovski crystals, Australia’s 2026 Eurovision hopeful Delta Goodrem has delivered a powerful performance o...

Supreme court allows abortion pill mifepristone to continue to be available by mail

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Louisiana had sued the FDA in a bid to curtail the regulatory agency’s rules on prescribing mifepristone remotelySign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe US supreme court upheld nationwide access to mail-order mifepristone, an abortion medication, in a shadow-docket decision on Thursday.Louisiana sued the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October in a bid to curtail the regulato...

UK ministers accused of weakening legal protections for torture victims

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Council of Europe members plan to change interpretation of ECHR to make it easier to deport refused asylum seekersKeir Starmer’s government has been accused of trying to water down legal protections for torture victims as ministers from 46 countries including the UK prepare to make it easier to deport refused asylum seekers and foreign criminals.Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is expected to...

River Thames in London gets first official bathing spot on Friday

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Thames at Ham designated as one of 13 new swimming areas across England to be monitored for water qualityThe first designated bathing water area on the River Thames in London will welcome swimmers for the official start of the bathing season on Friday as one of 13 new monitored swimming areas across England.The Thames at Ham, in south-west London, has been designated as a new river bathing water a...

UK ministers accused of weakening legal protections for torture victims seeking asylum

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Council of Europe members plan to change interpretation of rights laws to make it easier to deport peopleKeir Starmer’s government has been accused of trying to water down legal protections for torture victims as ministers from 46 countries including the UK prepare to make it easier to deport refused asylum seekers and foreign criminals.Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is expected to agree a ...

Israeli nationalists chant ‘death to Arabs’ in violent Jerusalem Day march

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Members of radical Jewish groups scuffle with Palestinian residents, with both sides throwing chairs until being separated by policeIsraeli nationalists chanted “Death to the Arabs”, “May your villages burn” and “Gaza is a graveyard” in a state-sponsored march through Jerusalem to mark the anniversary of the city’s capture and annexation.The annual assertion of Jewish control over Palestinian East...

News live: Australia through to Eurovision grand final after Delta Goodrem wows Vienna; Angus Taylor accused of ‘dog whistle’ budget reply

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Australian pop star performs song Eclipse in second semi-final before Sunday’s final. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning, it’s Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s get to it and see what Friday holds.Big news to start the morning: Australia’s Delta Goodrem has qualified for the Eurovision final. Continue reading...

Photo of US-China delegation criticized over absence of women: ‘masculine, militarized and exclusionary’

The Guardian • 4 months ago

‘Backward’ photo panned for display of patriarchy, signaling that ‘women’s voices don’t matter in shaping global order’By the time Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Thursday, the bilateral had featured all the expected pomp and pageantry: a meticulously choreographed display of Chinese soldiers, children waving American and Chinese flags, and rows of senior o...

Louisiana senate passes bill to eliminate one of two majority-Black congressional districts

The Guardian • 4 months ago

If state’s house passes bill, redrawn map could could give state Republicans a 5-1 congressional majoritySign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailOn Thursday, the Louisiana state senate voted 27-10 to pass a new congressional map that would eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black House districts. The resulting map could give Louisiana Republicans a 5-1 congressional majority.The su...

‘Stone-cold racism’: Newsom condemns GOP redistricting efforts; Louisiana approves plan to erase majority-Black district – live

The Guardian • 4 months ago

California governor calls efforts to dismantle majority-Black districts ‘Jim Crow 2.0’; Louisiana moves forward to eliminate one of two such districtsSign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump will drive through a Chinese capital that is smoggier than it was on his last visit in 2017, when the authorities launched emergency measures to clear the skies of pollution days before his first sta...

California Democrat linked to Newsom and Becerra pleads guilty to fraud

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Dana Williamson, who has ties to Gavin Newsom, conspired to steal gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra’s campaign fundsSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Dana Williamson, a top California political strategist with ties to the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, and gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra, pleaded guilty on Thursday to fraud charges, an admission that is poised to fuel othe...

Andy Burnham has path to challenge PM but must win byelection first

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Greater Manchester mayor would need to win Makerfield seat before launching campaign for Labour leadershipAndy Burnham now has a potential route back to parliament and a chance to become Labour’s next leader after an MP said he would trigger a byelection by standing down from his seat.The move ended days of speculation about whether Burnham could secure a possible path back into Westminster and un...

Is Andy Burnham about to return to Westminster? - podcast

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Andy Burnham has announced he will attempt to return to Westminster after the Labour MP Josh Simons said he will vacate his Makerfield seat in order for Burnham to run in a byelection. It follows a day of breaking news in which the health secretary, Wes Streeting, resigned, saying he has lost confidence in the prime minister, and Angela Rayner announced she had been cleared by the HMRC. Where does...

Australia news live: Delta Goodrem hits the stage in Eurovision semi; Angus Taylor accused of ‘dog whistle’ budget reply

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Australian pop star performs song Eclipse in second semi-final before Sunday’s final. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThere was a harp. There was a sparkly dress. A lot of smoke. A crescent moon.Yes, there was a mid-song key change, in the best traditions of Eurovision cheese. Continue reading...

Top California Democratic strategist pleads guilty to $225,000 fraud charges

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Dana Williamson, who has ties to Gavin Newsom, conspired to steal gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra’s campaign fundsSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Dana Williamson, a top California political strategist with ties to the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, and gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra, pleaded guilty on Thursday to fraud charges, an admission that is poised to fuel othe...