Hundreds feared dead in attempt to cross Mediterranean during cyclone

Fifty killed in one incident as Italian authorities estimate 380 people may have drowned last week
Up to 380 people may have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean last week as Cyclone Harry battered southern Italy and Malta, the Italian coastguard has said, as a shipwreck with the loss of 50 lives was confirmed by Maltese authorities.
Just one person, who was hospitalised in Malta, survived the shipwreck, which happened on Friday.
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Crocodile warnings as floods devastate southern Africa

More than 100 people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe
Devastating floods have killed more than 100 people in southern Africa since the beginning of the year and displaced hundreds of thousands, as authorities and aid workers warn of hunger, cholera and attacks by crocodiles that have spread with the waters.
More than 70 people have died in Zimbabwe and 30 in South Africa, where hundreds of people were evacuated from Kruger national park earlier this month after a deluge of rain.
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‘It’s the sovereignty of the country’: Guinea-Bissau says US vaccine study suspended

Despite US pushback, officials in west Africa say controversial hepatitis B study on pause amid ethics concerns
US health officials insisted it was still on. African health leaders said it was cancelled. At the heart of the controversy is the west African nation of Guinea-Bissau – one of the poorest countries in the world and the proposed site of a hotly debated US-funded study on vaccines.
The study on hepatitis B vaccination, to be led by Danish researchers, became a flashpoint after major changes to the US vaccination schedule and prompted questions about how research is conducted ethically in other countries.
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ActionAid to rethink child sponsorship as part of plan to ‘decolonise’ its work

Development charity’s new co-chief executives signal shift from controversial sponsor a child scheme launched in 1972 to long-term grassroots funding
Child sponsorship schemes that allow donors to handpick children to support in poor countries can carry racialised, paternalistic undertones and need to be transformed, the newly appointed co-chief executives of ActionAid UK said as they set out to “decolonise” the organisation’s work.
ActionAid began in 1972 by finding sponsors for schoolchildren in India and Kenya, but Taahra Ghazi and Hannah Bond have launched their co-leadership this month with the goal of shifting narratives around aid from sympathy towards solidarity and partnership with global movements.
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Head of US Africa bureau urges staff to highlight US ‘generosity’ despite aid cuts

Email sent to diplomats by state department office’s new boss is labelled ‘racist’ after dismissing Africa as a priority
US diplomats have been encouraged to “unabashedly and aggressively” remind African governments about the “generosity” of the American people, according to a leaked email sent to staff in the US state department’s Bureau of African Affairs this January and obtained by the Guardian.
“It’s not gauche to remind these countries of the American people’s generosity in containing HIV/Aids or alleviating famine,” says the email.
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Mexico’s president says cancellation of oil shipment to Cuba is ‘sovereign’ decision

Claudia Sheinbaum denied move was response to pressure from the US, after Trump said ‘zero’ oil would go to Cuba
Mexico has cancelled a shipment of oil to Cuba, the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, appeared to confirm on Tuesday, but she insisted the decision was “sovereign” and not a response to pressure from the US.
Fuel shortages are causing increasingly severe blackouts in Cuba, and Mexico has been the island’s biggest oil supplier since the US blocked shipments from Venezuela last month.
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Five-year-old deported to Honduras despite being US citizen is latest child victim of Trump crackdown

Mother whose visa application was pending says she will send girl back to US soon accompanied by another relative
Five-year-old Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos misses her cousins, classmates and kindergarten teachers in Austin, Texas. Despite being a US citizen, she was deported on 11 January alongside her mother, Karen Guadalupe Gutiérrez Castellanos, to Honduras, a country Génesis had never known.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were acting on an administrative deportation order against Gutiérrez, 26, issued in 2019, before Génesis was born.
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Canadian ex-Olympian pleads not guilty to 17 felonies including drug trafficking

Authorities allege Ryan Wedding, 44, ‘turned to a life of crime’ after his snowboarding career ended
Ryan Wedding, the Canadian former Olympic snowboarder accused of cocaine distribution and orchestrating several murders, appeared on Monday in a southern California courtroom for arraignment.
The 44-year-old has been charged with drug trafficking, conspiracy to murder, witness tampering and money laundering, among other charges. Authorities allege that after his snowboarding career, Wedding “turned to a life of crime” as a narcotics trafficker and led an organization that moved cocaine from South America to the US and Canada.
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Guyanese businessman facing US extradition elected opposition leader

Azruddin Mohamed’s election comes six months after he formed political party that became country’s second largest
A Guyanese businessman facing extradition to the US on gold-smuggling and money-laundering charges has been elected as the country’s opposition leader, six months after he formed a political party that quickly became the second largest in the South American country.
Azruddin Mohamed, 38, was confirmed as Guyana’s opposition leader after 16 lawmakers from the We Invest in Nationhood party (Win) and another from a single-seat outfit voted in his favor. The tally made Win the second-largest party in parliament, securing Mohamed’s election even as a magistrate’s court hears state arguments for his extradition to the US.
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UK supermarkets push for Amazon soy safeguards after traders abandon ban

European retailers urge traders to adhere to commitments after Brazilian lawmakers wreck forest protection pact
Leading British and European retailers are trying to salvage the core elements of the Amazon soy moratorium after the world’s most successful forest protection agreement was wrecked by Brazilian lawmakers and abandoned by international traders.
In an open letter, high street brands including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda say the breakdown this month of the 20-year-old agreement will damage consumer confidence unless new arrangements are put in place to ensure grain production is not linked to deforestation.
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Australia news live: minister refutes ‘troubling’ claim by Bragg that Muslims bear responsibility for Bondi shooting; bushfire smoke over Sydney

Pat Conroy says Muslim community are ‘incredibly valued Australians’. Follow today’s news live

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The minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy, has refuted claims made by shadow frontbencher Andrew Bragg about the Muslim community.
Earlier Bragg accused Australia’s Muslim community of needing to “take some responsibility” for the Bondi terror attack and for the federal government to make sure funding doesn’t go to “hate preachers”.
We’ve been very clear these acts were committed by people who believed an extreme perversion of Islam and to try and hold the entire Islamic community responsible for these acts, I think, is anti to social cohesion. It’s incredibly unfair, and it’s not a recipe for taking this country forward.
Some of the earliest people condemning the vile attacks in Bondi were leaders of our Muslim Australian community, and we’ll continue to support their right to practise in peace.
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‘Very low bar’: analysts say Starmer faces slim pickings in China

Experts say business with China is always a double-edged sword let alone when its overheated economy can offer only marginal gains

Starmer vows to remain ‘clear-eyed’ over national security as he flies to China

Keir Starmer’s trip to China is billed as an attempt to revitalise diplomatic relations but eight years after Theresa May paved the way for a never-materialised “ambitious” post-Brexit deal, the prospect of the prime minister landing any meaningful trade deal is slim, experts have warned.
The visit to Beijing, involving a delegation of British companies led by Starmer, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the business secretary, Peter Kyle, is the first since May’s 2018 visit, and will revolve around joint trade and investment efforts.
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‘I lost part of my heart’: last of Japan’s pandas leave for China as ties fray

Hundreds at zoo in Tokyo say farewell to Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, as China ends ‘panda diplomacy’ with Japan
Hundreds of people have gathered to say farewell to two popular pandas departing Tokyo for China, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time in 50 years, as ties between the Asian neighbours fray.
Panda twins Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao were transported by truck out of Ueno zoological gardens, their birthplace, disappointing many Japanese fans who have grown attached to the furry four-year-olds.
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Trump says he will impose new tariffs on South Korea as he criticises delays in trade deal

US president says tariffs on automobiles, lumber and pharmaceuticals will rise to 25%, accusing Seoul of not living up to a trade deal struck last year
Donald Trump has said he is raising tariffs on South Korean goods including automobiles, lumber and pharmaceuticals, accusing the country of not living up to a trade deal struck last year and briefly sending shares in Korean carmakers tumbling.
In a post on social media, the US president said the tariffs paid on South Korean exports into America would rise from 15% to 25% because the “Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative”.
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Fate of China’s top general more likely to do with power struggle than corruption

Experts suggest Xi Jinping is asserting his authority by sidelining an officer who has significantly betrayed his trust
Standing inches from Xi Jinping at a military ceremony in late December, China’s highest-ranking general, Zhang Youxia, may have had little inkling about the fate that was to befall him just a few weeks later when he was put under investigation.
The 75-year-old’s physical proximity to China’s leader, who stands to his right, reflects the position he holds in China’s hierarchy. As vice-chair of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the ruling body of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), he is the second-most powerful person in China’s military, after Xi, the commander-in-chief.
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Sussan Ley has two factors working in her favour as rumours of a Liberal leadership mutiny swirl

As Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor emerge as likely challengers, two things could buy Ley some time

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In the chaotic few hours after the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, blew up the Coalition, one thing appeared clear to many Liberal MPs.
Sussan Ley’s leadership of the Liberal party was all but over.
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Guardian Essential poll: One Nation’s primary vote soars to record high amid Coalition chaos

Pauline Hanson’s party polls a primary vote of 22%, while Labor’s response to the Bondi terror attack wins widespread support

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One Nation’s polling surge has continued with a record-high primary vote of 22% in the latest Guardian Essential poll off the back of ongoing Coalition chaos and rising social tensions.
Meanwhile, there is widespread public support for the Labor government’s response to the Bondi beach terror attack, with a majority backing crackdowns on guns, hate speech and protests. However, most poll respondents say Anthony Albanese has poorly handled the fallout from the antisemitic shooting.
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Through the heatwave haze, the hypocrisy of Australia’s fossil fuel policy shines bright | Clean Air

The heatwave in Melbourne and Adelaide this week is likely to become the norm. We should prepare now

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On Tuesday, Australia’s second-largest city baked through one of its hottest days since modern instrumental records began in 1910. Several Melbourne suburbs topped 45C. The country’s fifth-largest city, Adelaide, reached that temperature on Monday. Its residents then suffered through their hottest night ever, with a minimum of about 34C.
Remote communities were even harder hit. It was was 48.9C in Hopetoun and Walpeup in Victoria’s north-west, and 49.6C in Renmark, over the South Australian border. An out-of-control bushfire burned in the Otways region, south-west of Melbourne, near areas that just two weeks ago faced flash flooding.
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Heat records tumble in Victoria as authorities warn against complacency amid significant blazes

BoM to check if Walpeup and Hopetoun broke state’s official heat record – set during 2009’s Black Saturday

What happens to the human body in 49C heat? Australians are finding out

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Victoria may have sweltered through its hottest temperatures on record, with preliminary readings of 48.9C at two locations in the state’s north-west both higher than that recorded during 2009’s Black Saturday.
According to initial data recorded by the Bureau of Meteorology, the Mallee towns of Hopetoun and Walpeup reached 48.9C on Tuesday afternoon. This would exceed the previous highest temperature of 48.8C, recorded at Hopetoun on 7 February 2009.
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Police release new photos of vehicle as search for alleged Lake Cargelligo shooter continues – as it happened

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Heat records tumble in Victoria as authorities warn against complacency amid significant blazes

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Victoria to open nation’s first offshore wind auction this year
Australia’s first offshore wind auction is set to kick off this year, with the Victorian Government announcing it would invite tenders for 2 gigawatts of capacity in August.
We want to give industry the certainty it needs to invest and help us keep building the renewable energy Victoria needs to push down energy bills.
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Russian drone strike on Ukrainian passenger train kills five

Attack in Kharkiv region was denounced as terrorism by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said it undermined ‘efforts to end the war’
A Russian drone strike on a passenger train in north-eastern Ukraine has killed five people, prosecutors said, an attack denounced as terrorism by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Prosecutors said fragments of five bodies had been found at the scene of the strike on the train, which occurred on Tuesday near a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
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‘A militia that kills’: uproar in Italy over ICE security role at Winter Olympics

Milan mayor says agents ‘not welcome’ in co-host city and Italy can take care of security itself
A unit of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will have a security role in the Winter Olympic Games in Italy, sparking uproar and petitions against the deployment.
Sources at the US embassy in Rome confirmed a statement from ICE, the agency embroiled in a brutal immigration crackdown in the US, saying that federal agents would support diplomatic security details during the Milan-Cortina Games but would not run any enforcement operations.
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Spain approves decree to regularise half a million undocumented migrants

Move affecting those who have been in Spain five months or more runs counter to anti-migration policies across Europe
Spain’s socialist-led coalition government has approved a decree it said would regularise 500,000 undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, rejecting the anti-migration policies and rhetoric prevalent across much of Europe.
The decree, expected to come into effect in April, will apply to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and people in Spain with irregular status. To qualify for regularisation, applicants will have to prove they do not have a criminal record and had lived in Spain for at least five months – or had sought international protection – before 31 December 2025.
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EU-India deal ‘accelerated’ over past six months amid Trump’s tariff threats – Europe live

Wide-ranging deal will cut tariffs to zero over seven years as Modi hails ‘largest free trade agreement’ in India’s history
The European carmakers’ association has welcomed the EU’s trade deal with India, saying it sent “a strong statement of intent by both parties to furthering more open and mutually beneficial trade relations.”
“It will greatly help European automobile exports enter a market of 4 million passenger cars that, until now, has been protected by prohibitively high import tariffs of up to 110%,” the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA, added.
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Europe’s supermarket shelves packed with ‘misleading’ claims about recycled plastic packaging

Manufacturers use method that labels plastic as ‘circular’ and climate-friendly, despite being mostly fossil-based
Europe’s supermarket shelves are packed with brands billing their plastic packaging as sustainable, but often only a fraction of the materials are truly recovered from waste, with the rest made from petroleum.
Brands using plastic packaging – from Kraft’s Heinz Beanz to Mondelēz’s Philadelphia – use materials made by the plastic manufacturing arm of the oil company Saudi Aramco.
This article is part of a cross-border investigation, supported by IJ4EU and coordinated by the independent journalist Ludovica Jona, with the media outlets the Guardian, Voxeurop, Mediapart (France), Altreconomia (Italy), Público (Spain), Investigative Reporting Denmark, Deutsche Welle (Germany) and with reporters Lorenzo Sangermano and Lucy Taylor
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US announces multi-day aerial military drills in the Middle East amid Iran tensions

Exercises described by President Trump as an ‘armada’ to be led by the USS Abraham Lincoln amid standoff
The US has announced plans to hold multi-day military exercises in the Middle East as it deploys what Donald Trump has called an “armada” led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to the region as part of a tense standoff with Iran.
The display of US air power was announced as the White House has suggested it could launch new strikes on Iran after the government’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that has left thousands dead and many more in detention with their fates uncertain.
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Mother of man jailed in Syria for Islamic State links calls for his repatriation to UK or Canada

Sally Lane fears son Jack Letts, who left UK aged 18, may face death penalty if airlifted to Iraq under US operation
The mother of a British-born man detained for nearly nine years without trial in Syria has called for his repatriation to the UK or Canada as the US plans to airlift 7,000 Islamic State-linked prisoners from Syria to Iraq.
Sally Lane, the mother of Jack Letts, 30, said she was “frantically trying to find out as much as possible” and that it was unclear if he would face the death penalty in Iraq or remain in Syria – or be sent to Canada or the UK in line with US demands.
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Remains of last Israeli held in Gaza after 7 October 2023 returned

Return of police sergeant Ran Gvili’s body should pave way for progress on second phase of Trump ceasefire plan
The remains of the Israeli police sergeant Ran Gvili, who was killed fighting Hamas-led militants on 7 October 2023, have been returned to Israel.
Militants took Gvili’s body to Gaza to use as a bargaining chip. He was the last of 251 people captured that day still held in the territory.
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Iranian government braces for possible attack as US navy arrives in region

American forces, aided by Israel, could have enough firepower to mount attack designed to topple regime
The Iranian government is bracing itself for a fresh US and Israeli missile assault after it was announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group has now deployed key assets to the region, observers have said.
It is thought that Washington has the firepower in conjunction with Israeli aircraft to mount an attack designed to topple the government accused of brutally suppressing protests and killing thousands of Iranians.
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Saudi Arabia ordered to pay £3m to London dissident over Pegasus spying

High court finds kingdom responsible for hacking phones of Ghanem al-Masarir and for physical attack on him
A judge has ordered Saudi Arabia to pay more than £3m in damages to a London-based dissident whose phones were targeted with Pegasus spyware.
In a judgment handed down on Monday, Judge Pushpinder Saini ruled that Ghanem al-Masarir was entitled to compensation for psychiatric harm sustained after discovering that his iPhones had been hacked, as well as a physical attack on him outside Harrods in central London.
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