Gunmen kill more than 160 people in attacks on two west Nigeria villages

Local politician says armed men rounded up residents, bound their hands behind their backs and shot them
More than 160 people have been killed in two villages in western Nigeria in the country’s deadliest armed assaults this year, as communities reel from repeated and widespread acts of violence perpetrated by jihadists and other armed groups.
The death toll from Tuesday’s attacks in Woro and Nuku in Kwara state stood at 162 on Wednesday afternoon, according to Mohammed Omar Bio, a member of parliament representing the area.
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Ugandan opposition leader still in hiding as feud with president’s son escalates

Bobi Wine’s whereabouts unknown since he fled what he said was night raid on his home by police and military
Bobi Wine, Uganda’s most prominent opposition figure, remains in hiding nearly three weeks after a disputed election, as a high-stakes social media feud with the east African country’s military chief escalates.
Wine’s whereabouts have been unknown since 16 January, when he fled what he said was a night raid by the police and military on his home, leaving his family behind.
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Death of Nigerian singer after snakebite highlights crisis of ‘preventable’ fatalities

Ifunanya Nwangene died in hospital after being bitten in her Abuja home, raising questions about the availability of effective antivenoms
In a last message to her friends, Ifunanya Nwangene wrote: “Please come.”
The 26-year-old singer and former contestant on The Voice Nigeria had been bitten by a snake while asleep in her flat in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and was in hospital, anxiously awaiting treatment.
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Trump-led abuses amid ‘democratic recession’ put human rights in peril, HRW report says

Rights group says growing authoritarianism and abuses in US, Russia and China threaten global rules-based order
The world is in a “democratic recession” with almost three-quarters of the global population now living under autocratic rulers – levels not seen since the 1980s, according to a new report.
The system underpinning human rights was “in peril”, said Philippe Bolopion, executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), with a growing authoritarian wave becoming “the challenge of a generation”, he said.
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Handful of sick and wounded Palestinians allowed through Rafah crossing on first day

Numbers Israel permitted to enter Egypt after reopening border were far lower than expected following delays
A small number of sick and wounded Palestinians have begun crossing into Egypt to seek medical treatment after Israel permitted a limited reopening of the Palestinian territory’s Rafah border post as fragile diplomatic efforts to stabilise the conflict inch forward.
About 150 people were due to leave the territory on Monday, and 50 to enter it, according to Egyptian officials, more than 20 months after Israeli forces closed the crossing. However, by nightfall, Reuters reported that Israel had permitted 12 Palestinians to re-enter the territory, according to Palestinian and Egyptian sources. A further 38 had not cleared security and would wait on the Egyptian side of the crossing overnight, it said.
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The people betting on catastrophic world events – podcast

Prediction markets allow you to put money on everything from the US attacking Iran to Jesus returning. Saahil Desai explains their dizzying rise
In the early hours of 3 January, Donald Trump ordered a surprise attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to kidnap the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro. Millions of Venezuelans’ lives were thrown into uncertainty. Politicians at home and abroad scrambled to respond. It seemed this was something no one had seen coming. Except one person did actually predict it.
In the hours before the attack, someone – and we have no way of knowing who – placed a series of bets that Donald Trump would oust Maduro on a prediction market platform, netting them nearly $500,000 when it happened. These platforms allow their users not just to bet on whoever’s going to win the Super Bowl, but also on world events. Heavily regulated under the Biden administration, these apps have enjoyed a huge boom in popularity since Trump came to power.
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Colombian president and Trump put aside insults for amicable White House meeting

Leaders had been trading hostile remarks for months but Gustavo Petro’s visit ended with warm words from US counterpart
After months of trading insults – from “sick man” and “drug trafficking leader” on one side, to “accomplice to genocide” with a “senile brain” on the other – the first meeting between Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro ended with pleasantries, autographs and a Maga cap.
The Colombian president was received by his US counterpart for a closed-door meeting at the White House, with no press access.
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Judge blocks Trump administration’s stripping of Haitians’ protected status

Up to 350,000 Haitians legally live and work in the US due to being granted temporary protected status
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from stripping temporary protected status from up to 350,000 Haitians, a status that allows them to legally live and work in the United States amid the turmoil in their homeland.
Judge Ana Reyes issued a temporary stay that prevents Kristi Noem, the US homeland security secretary, from implementing her decision to remove the status known as TPS, which was scheduled to expire on Tuesday.
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Mexico’s president pledges to send aid to Cuba despite US efforts to cut oil access

Move from Claudia Sheinbaum comes after Trump signed an order threatening tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has pledged to send humanitarian aid this week to Cuba and said Mexico was “exploring all diplomatic avenues to be able to send fuel to the Cuban people”, despite efforts from Washington to cut off oil to the Caribbean nation.
Donald Trump last week signed an executive order allowing the US to slap tariffs on countries sending crude oil to Cuba and on Saturday said that Sheinbaum had agreed to halt shipments of oil at his request – a claim the Mexican leader rejected.
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Brazilian influencer who defended US immigration crackdown arrested by ICE

Trump supporter Júnior Pena falsely claimed migrants being rounded up, including Brazilians, were ‘all crooks’
A rightwing Brazilian influencer who claimed Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown targeted only “crooks” has been arrested by ICE agents in New Jersey.
Júnior Pena, whose full name is Eustáquio da Silva Pena Júnior, declared his support for the US president in a recent video message to his hundreds of thousands of social media followers.
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Harry Potter’s Draco Malfoy becomes mascot for year of the horse in China

Mandarin transliteration of character’s name regarded as auspicious, prompting wave of memes and fan art
Draco Malfoy, one of Harry Potter’s most recognisable villains, has become an unlikely lunar new year icon across China, as fans embrace the character for the year of the horse.
In Mandarin, Malfoy’s name is transliterated as “mǎ ěr fú”. The first character means “horse” while the final character, “fú”, means “fortune” or “blessing” – a powerful symbol found across lunar new year celebrations.
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China to ban hidden car door handles on all EVs over crash safety concerns

Sleek car doors reduce vehicle drag but are prone to losing operability in the event of a crash, officials say
China will soon ban concealed door handles on electric vehicles (EVs), becoming the first country to do so after several deadly incidents triggered global scrutiny of the controversial design first popularised by Tesla.
According to regulations announced on Monday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, cars sold in China will now be required to have a mechanical release on both the inside and outside of every door except the boot.
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Trump unveils $12bn critical minerals stockpile scheme in apparent move to counter China’s dominance

Other countries are expected to join Project Vault, which US president said would ensure that US businesses are ‘never harmed by any shortage’
Donald Trump has announced the creation of a critical mineral reserve worth nearly $12bn, a stockpile that could counter China’s ability to use its dominance of the hard-to-process metals as leverage in trade talks.
“Today we’re launching what will be known as Project Vault to ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage,” Trump said at the White House on Monday.
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US, UK, EU, Australia and more to meet to discuss critical minerals alliance

About 20 countries including G7 states in talks on rare earths including calls for US to guarantee minimum price
Ministers from the US, EU, UK, Japan, Australia and New Zealand will meet in Washington this week to discuss a strategic alliance over critical minerals.
The summit is being seen as a step to repair transatlantic ties fractured by a year of conflict with Donald Trump and pave the way for other alliances to help countries de-risk from China, including one centred on steel.
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Living hell of North Korea’s ‘paradise on Earth’ scheme back in spotlight in Japan

Plaintiffs in case say they were lured from Japan, exploited for labour and cut off from families for generations
It has been more than six decades since Eiko Kawasaki left Japan to begin a new life in North Korea. Then 17, she was among tens of thousands of people with Korean heritage who had been lured to the communist state by the promise of a “paradise on Earth”.
Instead, they encountered something closer to a living hell. They were denied basic human rights and forced to endure extreme hardship. Official promises of free education and healthcare plus guaranteed jobs and housing had been a cruel mirage. And to their horror, they were prevented from travelling to Japan to visit the families they had left behind.
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Australian politics live: Wong acknowledges ‘depth of feeling’ on Herzog visit but calls for would-be protesters to ‘recall the context’

Israeli president to arrive in Australia next week. Follow today’s news live

Who is Israel’s president Isaac Herzog and why is his visit to Australia expected to prompt mass protests?

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Wong says she understands there are many different views held over Herzog’s visit with some, including the Palestine Action Group, still planning to protest Herzog’s arrival in Sydney next week.
Asked whether those groups should be allowed to protest, Wong says:
We are a country, a democracy where we know people have differences of views, and I do understand very keenly that people have different views about this visit. There is a depth of feeling in different communities across Australia. We see that, we feel that. What I would ask people to recall is the context and circumstances of this visit and the purpose of it, which is to honour the victims of the antisemitic terror attack.
I really do understand the depth of feeling about this visit, the depth of feeling in the community about what we’ve seen in Gaza, which is why we’ve been so clear about working, we’re pressing for peace with others in the international community for civilians to be protected and for aid to flow.
We always consider legal advice in relation to our obligations. I’ve made the point. We have invited him.
I have said previously that Israel will be judged by the International Court of Justice on its compliance with the Genocide Convention. And I’ve also said previously that it must accept its responsibility for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
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US congressional report explores option of not delivering any Aukus nuclear submarines to Australia

Report offers alternative of the US navy retaining boats and operating them out of Australian bases

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A new United States congressional report openly contemplates not selling any nuclear submarines to Australia – as promised under the Aukus agreement – because America wants to retain control of the submarines for a potential conflict with China over Taiwan.
The report by the US Congressional Research Service, Congress’s policy research arm, posits an alternative “military division of labour” under which the submarines earmarked for sale to Australia are instead retained under US command to be sailed out of Australian bases.
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ADF veterans warn selloff of 60 historic defence properties will take a decade and cost billions

RSL, federal opposition and local MPs cast doubt on the plan, which Labor says will result in about $3bn for defence

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Veterans say the government’s planned sell-off of more than 60 defence properties will take at least a decade and cost billions, urging Labor not to repeat the mistakes of previous divestment drives.
The RSL, the federal opposition and local MPs expressed doubts about the plan announced on Wednesday, set to raise as much as $1.8bn from the sale of properties including training sites, bases, warehouses and disused land, all deemed to offer no strategic value.
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Condemnation of Elon Musk’s AI chatbot reached ‘tipping point’ after French raid, Australia’s eSafety chief says

A number of countries including Australia are investigating X over Grok-produced sexualised deepfakes

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The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, says global regulatory focus on Elon Musk’s X has reached a “tipping point” after a raid of the company’s offices in France this week.
The raid on Tuesday was part of an investigation that included alleged offences of complicity in the possession and organised distribution of child abuse images, violation of image rights through sexualised deepfakes, and denial of crimes against humanity.
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Australian universities to be graded on how well they deal with protests under antisemitism report card

Exclusive: Leaked documents show how universities will be assessed under new system, which was fast-tracked after Bondi terror attack

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Universities will be graded on how well they “deal with” protests, encampments and the display of flags as part of a controversial antisemitism report card system adopted by the Albanese government after the Bondi terror attack, according to documents seen by Guardian Australia.
The antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, devised the report card system as part of a wide-ranging plan handed down to the federal government last July to combat antisemitism, which also proposed withholding government funding from universities that “facilitate, enable or fail to act against antisemitism”.
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EU deal on Ukraine loan could boost UK if it agrees to help pay costs

British firms could get more opportunities to supply defence equipment to Kyiv if agreement can be reached
The UK could reap greater benefits from a €90bn (£78bn) EU loan for Ukraine, if it agrees to help pay the cost of borrowing, after European countries signed off long-awaited financial aid for Kyiv.
British firms could have greater opportunities to supply defence equipment to Ukraine funded by the loan if the government agrees a “fair” contribution towards EU borrowing costs.
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Son of Norway’s crown princess ‘does not remember’ taking videos of alleged sexual assault

Marius Borg Høiby, 29, on trial accused of 38 crimes, broke down in tears as he claimed press had harassed him for years
Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norway’s crown princess, has told a court he does not remember taking pictures and videos found on his phone that police say show him sexually assaulting a woman at a royal residence.
Høiby, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is on trial accused of 38 crimes, including four rapes and assaults.
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Angel that looked like Giorgia Meloni removed from Rome church fresco

Vatican appears to have ordered removal of restored work, which artist confessed he had made to resemble PM
The face of a winged angel bearing a striking resemblance to the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has been erased from a fresco in a historic Rome church, putting an end to a debacle that embarrassed the Vatican.
The image on the wall painting in a chapel of the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina in central Rome was removed overnight, leaving the cherub headless.
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Ukraine-Russia talks under way in Abu Dhabi in wake of ‘massive’ strikes on Kyiv – as it happened

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The Kremlin has reacted to comments made by French president Emmanuel Macron that he was looking to resume contact with Putin on the war in Ukraine.
According to Reuters news agency, the Kremlin confirmed ongoing technical discussions between Russia and France, but provided no further details or indicated any dialogue between Putin and Macron.
At night, the enemy carried out a massive attack with strike drones on the Odesa region. Damage to civilian, residential and industrial infrastructure was recorded.
In the city of Odesa, about 20 residential buildings and cars were damaged. Four people were rescued from the rubble, but one person was unfortunately injured.
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‘When did empathy become exceptional?’: what’s behind Sánchez’s plan to ‘regularise’ 500,000 undocumented migrants in Spain

As anti-migration policies sweep the continent, the Spanish PM is going against the tide by announcing plans to legalise the status of undocumented migrants
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You don’t need a degree in political science to understand why so many supposedly centrist European leaders have begun talking about immigration in terms that would have been unthinkable even a few years ago.
Far-right parties across the continent have fuelled their rise by seizing on the issue as a political cosh with which to beat their more mainstream and established rivals, whom they accuse of complacency, inaction and a failure to defend borders.
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US and Iran talks brought back from the brink after White House relents on move to Oman

Talks that had been scheduled in Turkey salvaged after Arab states convince White House not to walk away from negotiations
Talks between the US and Iran scheduled for Friday have been brought back from the brink of collapse after the US initially rejected Iran’s request to move them from Turkey to Oman without the presence of a group of Arab states.
Iran’s foreign minister said late on Wednesday that the talks would proceed in Oman after reports of a last-minute effort by Arab states to convince the White House not to walk away from negotiations.
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Mandelson’s links with US tech firm Palantir must be fully exposed, campaigners warn

Government faces call for transparency on former peer’s involvement amid fears he may have leaked more sensitive information
Peter Mandelson’s involvement with the US tech company Palantir must be exposed to full public transparency, campaigners have said, amid fears he may have leaked more sensitive information than is alleged in his emails to Jeffrey Epstein.
Palantir, a $300bn startup that provides military technology to the Israel Defense Forces and AI-powered deportation targeting for Donald Trump’s ICE units, has UK government contracts worth more than £500m. Global Counsel, a lobbying company Mandelson co-founded and part-owns, also works for Palantir.
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Florida bill seeks to ban use of ‘West Bank’ in schools and state agencies

The bill would mandate use of the biblical term ‘Judea and Samaria’ after a similar effort passed in Arkansas
Florida legislators are pushing to pass legislation that would ban the use of the term “West Bank” in K-12 public schools and state agencies, including public colleges and universities, and mandate use of the term “Judea and Samaria”.
The West Bank is the internationally recognized term for the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory west of the Jordan River that was seized from Jordan by Israel in 1967. The rightwing Israeli government refers to the area as “Judea and Samaria” in reference to the biblical kingdoms of ancient Israel as part of broader efforts to bolster historical and religious claims to the land. The international community, on the other hand, broadly recognizes the West Bank as occupied land that must be part of a future Palestinian state.
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Murdered son of Muammar Gaddafi was perceived as a threat to Libya’s elite

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, shot dead on Tuesday, appealed to ‘a nostalgia for a past that is remembered as more secure’
The assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the second son of Libya’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, is a reminder of both how violent Libya remains more than 15 years after his father’s demise – and how much Saif had come to be perceived as a threat to Libya’s governing elite.
The loyalist Gaddafi green movement remained a potent gathering point for some Libyans nostalgic for a return to imagined past security that Saif’s father symbolised.
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Israeli strikes kill at least 21 in Gaza as Rafah patient crossings halted

Six children among dead as Israeli agency restricts evacuations two days after crossing to Egypt reopened
Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes have killed at least 21 people, including six children and seven women, in Gaza, and Israel has halted the evacuation of patients through the Rafah border crossing just two days after it reopened.
Among the casualties was a medic who rushed to the scene to assist the wounded and was killed by a second strike on the same location in the southern city of Khan Younis. Tents in al-Mawasi, an encampment of displaced people in Khan Younis, were shredded by the blasts.
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