The Guardian

In today’s newsletter: Zelenskyy described Trump’s claims as “disinformation” – only for the US president to double down. But his claims have no plausible basis in factGood morning. Donald Trump’s view of Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un: “The smartest one gets to the top”. Donald Trump’s view of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who won Ukraine’s presidency in a landslide, enjoys continued popular support, and had to postpone new elections because his country was, as you will remember, invaded: he’s a dictator.Zelenskyy earned that astonishing designation yesterday by rejecting Trump’s claims that he is very unpopular, that Ukraine brought the invasion

US president issues order aimed at preventing taxpayer dollars supporting illegal immigration and another designed to get rid of regulationsDonald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at ending federal benefits for people in the country illegally, his latest in a blizzard of moves to crack down on immigration.The White House said the order seeks to end “all taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens” but it was not clear which benefits will be targeted. People in the country illegally generally do not qualify except for emergency medical care. Children are entitled to a free K-12 public education regardless of immigration status

Former sponsors walk away from 2025 event – while organisers say they do not meet partnership requirementsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGoogle and Meta do not meet the requirements to partner with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the organisation has said, after the two tech giants ended their official involvement and ditched diversity obligations in the US.At the 47th annual Mardi Gras parade up Oxford Street next Saturday, a notable absence will be the two tech firms, previously event sponsors.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking

GFG chair Sanjeev Gupta says SA government is on the ‘wrong course’ after it forced the operation into administrationFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA support package of $2.4bn will be poured into the Whyalla Steelworks to protect thousands of jobs and “invest in the nation”, the prime minister says.The federal and South Australian governments would “combine dollar for dollar on administration” to ensure the steelworks keep operating, and staff and creditors are paid, while a new owner is found, Anthony Albanese told steelworkers . Continue reading... Source

Independent review asked to recommend cuts to public service to reduce workforce by 5%-6%Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThousands of public service jobs in Victoria are to be slashed after a review ordered by the state’s new treasurer, who has warned “difficult decisions” need to be made to bring the budget under control.Jaclyn Symes and the premier, Jacinta Allan, on Thursday announced an independent review into the Victorian public service (VPS), to be headed by Helen Silver, a banking executive and former head of the Department of

Ships’ presence off east coast follows incident in South China Sea in which a Chinese fighter jet released flares in front of Australian military planeFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia will “watch every move” of three Chinese warships which have been detected 150 nautical miles off Sydney, on Australia’s east coast, the defence minister has said.Three People’s Liberation Army-Navy vessels – the Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class cruiser Zunyi and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu – were detected off north-east Queensland last week and have been surveilled

Exclusive: Review found some of the safeguards of state’s once groundbreaking laws have impeded access to end-of-life choicesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFor Nick Carr, one of the hardest things to witness as a doctor is terminally ill patients in unbearable pain and knowing there is an option to end their suffering – but not being able to speak of it.“There’s been times where I’ve been sitting there, having to sit on my hands, having to shut my mouth because I want to say to them, ‘Do

Australia and Papua New Guinea to start negotiations on defence treaty. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAdam Bandt on Greens’ proposed Centrelink boostAnnouncing the plan (see previous post), Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt said:Finishing school and working out what’s next is a pivotal time for young people, but with rents, education fees and the cost of living all rising, many of them are finding completing further study is not a path they can afford.Starting out your adult life shouldn’t be this hard. Labor should be doing much more to support young people

‘In Brazil coup-mongers go to jail. In the US they get back into the White House,’ says one leading politicianBrazilian democrats have celebrated the strength of their country’s judiciary and institutions after former president Jair Bolsonaro was left facing political oblivion and jail time for allegedly plotting a coup, in stark contrast to the US’s failure to bring Donald Trump to justice for his anti-democratic acts.“In Brazil coup-mongers go to jail. In the US they get back into the White House,” said Marcelo Freixo, a leading leftwing politician on Wednesday after the attorney general formally accused Bolsonaro of engineering a

The order doesn’t fulfill campaign pledges, but does cement the administration’s reputation for promoting childbearingDuring Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, as support for reproductive rights mounted, the president promised to force insurance companies to pay for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order that, the White House said, “expands access to in vitro fertilization”.“PROMISES MADE. PROMISES KEPT”, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, posted in all-caps on Twitter/X. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/19/trump-ivf-executive-order Author : Carter Sherman Publish date : 2025-02-19 18:26:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Exclusive: rights group says use of algorithms and data is unfair, dangerous and reinforces discrimination in policingBritish policing’s use of algorithms and data to predict where crime will happen is racist and picks on the poor, a report from Amnesty International says.The human rights group says predictive policing tools, used by most police forces in the UK, are so unfair, dangerous and discriminatory that they should be banned. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/feb/19/uk-use-of-predictive-policing-is-racist-and-should-be-banned-says-amnesty Author : Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent Publish date : 2025-02-19 17:00:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Hundreds of shoppers complain that basics including bread and milk are unavailable because of glitchHundreds of Tesco customers have reported problems with the retailer’s app and website, saying they have been unable to place online orders.They took to social media to complain that a wide range of groceries were showing as unavailable when they tried to check out and complete their shop. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/19/tesco-customers-unable-buy-groceries-website-fails Author : Joanna Partridge Publish date : 2025-02-19 15:39:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Foreign posts told to end all ‘non-mission critical’ news subscriptions in Trump directive that will ‘endanger lives’The state department has reportedly ordered its outposts around the world to cancel all subscriptions to news and media outlets that are supposedly “non-mission critical” in another extraordinary Trump administration crackdown on normal information channels.An email memo was circulated to embassies and consulates earlier this month explaining that the move was a further effort to cut costs by the federal government, the Washington Post reported late on Tuesday. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/19/state-department-media-subscriptions-cancelled Author : Guardian staff Publish date : 2025-02-19 14:17:00 Copyright

Billionaire claims he is implementing ‘will of the people’ as he and US president praise each other so much, Sean Hannity says it is like ‘interviewing two brother’Musk and Trump put on lovefest in Sean Hannity interviewDonald Trump and Elon Musk lavished praise on each other while defending the Doge overhaul in a joint interview on Fox News.Musk boasted of a “thrashing of the bureaucracy as we try to restore democracy and the will of the people” when asked about criticism of the so-called “department of government efficiency”.Donald Trump has signed an executive order to expand access to in vitro

Diana Johnson defends Labour’s knife crime plan amid crisis in prison capacity in England and WalesKiran Stacey is a political correspondent based in WestminsterLeftwing activists in Britain are less likely to work with their political opponents than other groups and more likely to think those holding different views have been misled, a study has found. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/feb/19/knife-crime-supply-possession-labour-pmqs-starmer-badenoch-uk-politics-latest Author : Yohannes Lowe (now) and Martin Belam (earlier) Publish date : 2025-02-19 11:39:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

The US president said Ukraine could have ‘made a deal’ to avert warLavrov also speaks about Russia’s alliances with Belarus, North Korea, China and Iran, and countries in Africa.He says the “comprehensive partnership with China” was “at an unprecedented level and exceeding any prior alliances of a classic type,” with both leaders attending important anniversaries in each other’s countries.I will tell you something that is a key issue for us at this stage of international development, and that is our move towards a multipolar world. It is a historic process, and it is to do with the subjective trend of

Australia’s spy boss Mike Burgess highlights foreign intelligence operations, antisemitism and election disinformation in annual threat assessment speechGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAt least three countries have plotted to harm Australians abroad and on home soil, including a planned assassination to silence a human rights activist, Australia’s spy boss has revealed.Mike Burgess, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, highlighted a foreign intelligence operation foiled by his agency in his annual threat assessment speech on Wednesday night.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/19/mike-burgess-asio-annual-threat-assessment-speech-foreign-intelligence-operations-antisemitism-election-disinformation-ntwnfb Author : Sarah Basford

Annual January rate a blow to ministers as cost of living acceleratesUK inflation accelerated faster than expected at the start of this year, eating into workers’ wages and putting pressure on employers to boost monthly pay packets.The consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation rose to 3% in January, the Office for National Statistics reported, up from 2.5% in December. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/19/uk-inflation-increases-rising-prices-squeeze-households Author : Phillip Inman Publish date : 2025-02-19 07:02:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Higgins and partner David Sharaz were ‘terrified to leave the house alone’ because of online threats and abuse from David William WonnocottFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA judge has delivered a frank assessment of the man who threatened Brittany Higgins, her husband and her pet dog, saying he might just be an “awful person”.David William Wonnocott was sentenced to a minimum of one year and four months’ jail in Sydney’s Downing Centre court on Wednesday.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source

Move allows government to act on millions of dollars in debts owed by GFG Alliance and secure future of mid-north operationsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Whyalla steelworks has been placed into administration after the South Australian government rushed legislation through parliament.The move allows the government to act on millions of dollars in debts owed by GFG Alliance, which bought the steelworks in late 2017, and secure the future of the operation in the state’s mid-north.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source link

Scott Marshall and Tammie Farrugia charged regarding December graffiti attack in eastern suburbs but police say alleged ‘principal offenders’ not yet arrestedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA couple allegedly named on a police warrant as part of an investigation into a caravan laden with explosives has been charged in relation to a separate alleged arson and graffiti attack in Sydney’s east.New South Wales police on Tuesday charged Scott Marshall, 36, over an incident in Woollahra on 11 December last year when an allegedly stolen car was set

Anthony Albanese condemned a suspected Islamophobic attack in a Melbourne shopping centre last weekGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe prime minister has has condemned a suspected Islamophobic attack on two women at a suburban shopping centre, almost a week after the assaults.An unidentified woman allegedly assaulted a 30-year-old woman inside the shopping complex before she pushed a 26-year-old woman to the floor in a separate incident about 10 minutes later, Victoria police said. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/19/pm-praises-khawaja-as-a-great-australian-but-rejects-suggestion-he-is-ignoring-islamophobia-ntwnfb Author : Australian Associated Press and Mostafa Rachwani Publish date : 2025-02-19 02:10:00 Copyright for syndicated

Former president is charged by attorney general following police report that accused him of organising a conspiracy to stop Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva taking power.Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been charged with allegedly helping to mastermind a far-right conspiracy to cling to power through a military coup.The South American country’s attorney general, Paulo Gonet, levelled the charges against the radical rightwing populist and several key allies on Tuesday night. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/19/jair-bolsonaro-charged-alleged-brazil-coup Author : Tom Phillips and Tiago Rogero in Rio de Janeiro Publish date : 2025-02-19 00:43:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the

Veterinarians and conservationists respond to mass beaching, but experts warn inaccessibility and poor conditions may limit ability to helpFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than 150 whales have stranded on a beach near Arthur River, on Tasmania’s remote north-west coast.A group of 157 animals that appear to be false killer whales have stranded, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, with initial observations showing 136 animals were still alive. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/19/more-than-150-whales-stranded-on-beach-in-remote-north-western-tasmania Author : Donna Lu Science writer Publish date :

There are two awards apiece for the UK artists, while Nigerian singer Ayra Starr also wins two at Newcastle-hosted ceremony for Black musical excellenceSeventeen years since his debut single, British rapper Bashy has capped his long-awaited return to music with two wins at the 2025 Mobo awards, given each year to the best music of Black origin in the UK and overseas.The 40-year-old vocalist and actor, born Ashley Thomas, won best hip-hop act as well as album of the year for Being Poor Is Expensive. While it didn’t make the UK charts, the album earned critical acclaim and a dedicated