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French coastguard says small boat was carrying more than 100 people during failed crossing attemptFive people have died in an attempt to cross the Channel near the town of Wimereux, south of Calais, French police have said.A spokesperson for France’s national police told Reuters that five asylum seekers had died, while the French coastguard confirmed there was a failed attempt to cross the Channel...

Man worked as assistant to Maximilian Krah, top candidate in European parliament elections, say prosecutorsAn aide to a German far-right politician standing in the European elections in June has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, German prosecutors have said.The man, named only as Jian G, was accused of sharing information about negotiations at the European parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and...

Commissioner expresses grave concern after Rishi Sunak’s asylum policy passes parliamentary stagesThe Council of Europe’s human rights watchdog has condemned Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme, saying it raises “major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law”.The body’s human rights commissioner, Michael O’Flaherty, said the bill, expected to be signed into law on Tuesday after passing its parliamentary stages on...

In today’s newsletter: After months of wrangling, Parliament passed the government’s controversial plan to tackle small boats• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition Continue reading...

In move seen by the opposition as an attempt to de-sinocise Taiwan, the ruling party is pushing ahead with plans to rid the island of monuments to the dictatorTaiwan’s government has pledged to remove almost 800 statues of Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese military dictator who ruled the island for decades under martial law, but whose legacy remains a point of contentious debate.In 2018 the...

Plan to expand Ruaha national park has been beset by allegations of abuse, leading bank to withhold final $50m of $150m budgetThe World Bank has suspended financing intended to develop tourism in southern Tanzania after allegations of killings, rape and forced evictions.The bank began investigating last year after being accused of enabling abuses around Ruaha national park, which was due to double in size...

Drag star celebrated with massive support at home after taking top prize in the long-running US reality showA drag queen has sparked national celebration as the “pride of Taiwan” and won praise and congratulations from the island’s president after winning RuPaul’s Drag Race at the weekend.On Saturday, the long-running, Emmy award-winning US reality show, in which drag queens compete in challenges including lip-sync performances,...

While conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine have captured global attention, the civil war in Sudan has been largely ignored. That can’t be allowed to continue, says the Guardian’s Nesrine MalikWith so much of the world’s attention on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, one of the worst humanitarian crises of recent times is playing out almost unnoticed. Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023...

Celebrity fashion designer, who recruited couriers to transport bags from her native Colombia to US on commercial flights, receives 18-month sentence A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the Sex and the City TV series has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling...

George Kelly, 75, charged with second-degree murder over death of Mexican Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, 48, on his property last yearAn Arizona judge declared a mistrial on Monday in the case of a rancher accused of fatally shooting a Mexican man on his property near the US-Mexico border.George Kelly, 75, was charged with second-degree murder in the 30 January 2023 shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, 48, who...

Bathroom in Noe Valley neighborhood, which became focus of ire for reported $1.7m cost, actually came in at about $200,000 San Francisco made international headlines in 2022 when news broke that a project to build a public restroom in a town square would cost $1.7m. This weekend the toilet affair finally came to an end as the city celebrated its newest lavatory.Residents gathered for...

Inquiry has not backed up allegations of ties to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which led to loss of $450m as people died in drovesIsrael has yet to provide evidence of Unrwa staff terrorist links, Colonna report saysUnsupported Israeli allegations about Unrwa links to terrorism led major donors to cut $450m in funding to the main humanitarian agency working in Gaza at a time when...

Nikol Pashinyan urges calm after making concessions in attempt to avoid war with his country’s heavily armed neighbourNikol Pashinyan, the Armenian prime minister facing four days of protests against his decision to hand four villages to Azerbaijan, has urged Armenians to recognise that the way the issue is handled will determine the viability of the future peace process with its neighbour.In an interview with...

Opposition says prime minister targeting Muslim minority with ‘hate speech’ and violating election rulesIndia’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been accused of hate speech during a campaign rally where he called Muslims “infiltrators” who had “many children” and claimed they would take people’s hard-earned money.The opposition accused Modi of “blatantly targeting” India’s 200 million Muslim minority with comments made while addressing voters at a...

Bruges court heard how defendant had condition called auto-brewery syndrome sometimes brought on by intestinal problemsA Belgian man has been acquitted of drunk-driving because he has auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), an extremely rare condition whereby the body produces alcohol, his lawyer has said.Anse Ghesquiere said on Monday that in “another unfortunate coincidence” her client worked at a brewery, but three doctors who independently examined him...

Prosecutors say trio are accused of passing on technical military knowledge and export of a laser without permissionsThree German citizens, a married couple from Düsseldorf and a man from Bad Homburg, have been arrested on suspicion of spying on behalf of China, prosecutors have said, in the second high-profile alleged espionage case reported in the country in days.The three are accused of passing on...

Aipac and other groups targeting candidates critical of Israel’s war in Gaza – but progressives are not going down without a fight Pro-Israel groups are pumping millions into this year’s heated congressional races, singling out progressives who have voiced criticism of the Israeli government and its relentless campaign in Gaza.The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) is betting that $100m will be enough to...

Andrzej Duda says country could host arms if Nato decides to deploy the weapons in the face of Russia reinforcing its armaments in Belarus and KaliningradEurope “cannot relax” its support for Ukraine following US lawmakers’ approval of a $61bn (€57bn, £49bn) aid package, Kyiv’s most vocal allies in the region have said.Baiba Braže, Latvia’s new foreign minister, warned against slackening the EU’s efforts to...

Maj Gen Aharon Haliva is first senior figure to step down over role in deadliest assault in country’s historyMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe head of Israel’s military intelligence directorate has resigned over the failures surrounding Hamas’s unprecedented attack on 7 October, the military said, becoming the first senior figure to step down over his role in the deadliest assault in Israel’s history.Maj Gen...

Anticyclonic conditions have allowed temperatures to reach 35-45C across much of the countryMexico has been undergoing its first heatwave of the season. The heatwave started on Sunday 14 April, when Mexico City saw a new date record with a high of 32.9C, surpassing the previous record of 32C from 1998.Anticyclonic conditions over the region have been responsible for this heatwave by inhibiting cloud formation,...

Environmentalists fear focus on economy may undermine country’s climate transition – one of most radical in EuropePortugal has been among Europe’s more ambitious countries in terms of climate action, but the rise of the far right in recent elections could threaten the positive steps the country has taken.At the end of 2023, Portugal broke records as it went for six consecutive days relying solely...

Former chief Middle East correspondent was longest-held western hostage of Shia Muslim groups during crisisTerry Anderson, a US journalist who was held captive by Islamist militants for almost seven years in Lebanon and came to symbolise the plight of western hostages during the country’s 1975-90 civil war, has died aged 76, his daughter said.The former chief Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press, who...

Expected measures are under Leahy law and against the Netzah Yehuda battalion, accused of human rights violations against PalestiniansBenjamin Netanyahu has said he will fight against any efforts to impose sanctions on Israeli military units, amid reports that an Israel Defense Forces battalion is facing US sanctions over its treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.The US outlet Axios reported on Saturday that...

Jury of seven men and five women to weigh testimony related to $130,000 payment from ex-fixer Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial in his hush-money case starts in earnest Monday morning with opening statements that mark a momentous day in US history.Trump is the first American president, former or sitting, to face a criminal trial and the proceedings also play...