The Guardian

This is ‘probably one of the most alarming times for Britain’s defence since the second world war’, says Lib Dem leader Ed Davey as he calls for more spendingThe government’s suicide prevention adviser has said that legalising assisted dying in England and Wales may cause major issues in suicide prevention work if the state effectively concedes that taking one’s own life should be allowed in some circumstances.Prof Louis Appleby, who chairs the government’s national suicide prevention strategy advisory group, also said he took issue with MPs who said it was offensive to call assisted dying “suicide” – saying that it

US government stripping funds from domestic and overseas research amid warnings for health and public safetyThe Trump administration is stripping away support for scientific research in the US and overseas that contains a word it finds particularly inconvenient: “climate.”The US government is withdrawing grants and other support for research that even references the climate crisis, academics have said, amid Donald Trump’s blitzkrieg upon environmental regulations and clean-energy development. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/21/trump-scientific-research-climate Author : Oliver Milman Publish date : 2025-02-21 12:00:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Democratic party chair, Lo Kin-hei, would not comment on whether Beijing put pressure on membersHong Kong’s oldest pro-democracy party, which became an influential voice of opposition before Beijing cracked down on dissent, will start preparations to shut down, its leader has said.Lo Kin-hei, chair of Hong Kong’s Democratic party, said on Thursday: “We are going to proceed and study on the process and procedure that is needed for the disbanding.” Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/21/hong-kong-democratic-party-disbanding-lo-kin-hei Author : Staff and agencies Publish date : 2025-02-21 10:52:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

French president and UK prime minister are due to meet Donald Trump next weekSweden is investigating a possible breach of an undersea cable off the island of Gotland on the country’s southwestern coast in the Baltic Sea, the coastguard said on Friday, in an area where multiple seabed cables have been damaged in recent months.The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the Nato alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Most were caused by civilian ships dragging their anchors, Reuters noted. Continue reading... Source

The opposition leader picked up on News Corp claims that Tony Burke was conducting ‘industrial-scale’ ceremonies. Labor denies it has anything to do with the electionThis is the first in a series that will run throughout the election campaign pulling apart contested claims from politiciansFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThis week Peter Dutton has claimed Labor wants to “expressly push” new Australians through citizenship ceremonies ahead of the federal election – allegations the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has strongly denied, accusing critics of a “whinge”.In the

Critics say NGA decision ‘is nothing less than a disgraceful act of censorship’ that is ‘rooted in political cowardice’The National Gallery of Australia claims it covered Palestinian flags in a major exhibition after undertaking a security threat assessment, but critics say the decision was “rooted in political cowardice”.The Guardian this week revealed two Palestinian flags on a large tapestry hanging in an exhibition currently showing in Canberra have been covered with white fabric.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/21/national-gallery-of-australia-says-it-covered-palestinian-flags-on-tapestry-after-security-assessment-ntwnfb Author : Nour Haydar Publish date : 2025-02-21 06:39:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs

From bats to moths, species working the night shift are suffering as light pollution soarsWhen we think about invertebrates, most of us picture bees, butterflies, worms, crabs or perhaps even a jellyfish. But did you know that at least two-thirds of invertebrates are active at night, meaning many are unlikely to be seen? Invertebrates carry out many of the same functions as their daytime counterparts, in some cases doing so with greater efficiency and variety.For centuries, artificial light has been a symbol of progress. From the flickering flames of early fires to the dazzling LED displays of modern cities, light

Agriculture Victoria says H7N8 strain of avian influenza has been detected at a poultry farm at EuroaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has been detected at a third property in Victoria, with farmers warning it could exacerbate Australia’s egg shortage in coming months.Agriculture Victoria on Thursday said the H7N8 strain of avian influenza had been detected at a third poultry farm at Euroa in Victoria’s north-east.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/21/australia-bird-flu-outbreak-victoria-farm-euroa Author : Adeshola Ore Publish date : 2025-02-21 03:57:00 Copyright

Statement from IDF comes hours after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders further crackdown on occupied West Bank over bus explosions Middle East crisis - live updatesOne of the four bodies returned by Hamas to Israel on Thursday is not that of Shiri Bibas, Israel’s military has said, calling it a “violation of utmost severity” of a ceasefire deal that was already precarious.The Israeli military confirmed that two of the bodies belonged to Bibas’ children, Ariel and Kfir, in the early hours of Friday. However, it added “During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not

Train passengers will be able to tap-and-go with a bank card, phone or smart watch early next year, with trams and buses to followFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastTrain passengers in Victoria will finally be able to pay their fare using a bank card, phone or smartwatch from next year, in a long-awaited update to the state’s ticketing system.The public transport minister, Gabrielle Williams, on Friday announced more than 20,000 new card readers would be installed across the metropolitan and V/Line networks over the coming

Israel has demanded the return of Shiri Bibas after it said testing showed that one of the four bodies released by Hamas did not belong to any other hostageThe Israeli military has said the two Bibas boys were “murdered by terrorists” in Gaza.The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said earlier that Ariel and Kfir Bibas had been identified after their bodies were released by Hamas on Thursday under the current ceasefire agreement.According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and forensic findings from the identification process, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally murdered by terrorists

Andrew Buen found guilty of homicide in death of Christian Glass, 22, who showed signs of mental health crisis at sceneA former Colorado sheriff’s deputy was convicted Thursday in the shooting death of a 22-year-old man in distress who called 911 for help after his car got stuck in a small mountain community.Jurors found Andrew Buen guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the June 2022 death of Christian Glass, whose death drew national attention and led to changes in how officers are trained to respond to people in mental health crises under a $19m settlement with his family. Continue reading...

Reserve Bank boss Michele Bullock to appear at parliamentary committee hearing. Follow today’s news headlines liveFormer treasury secretary Ken Henry has been speaking on radio this morning after a speech at Per Capita’s community tax summit yesterday where he said recent governments have carried out “wilful acts of bastardry” and created intergenerational inequality and environmental destruction that will leave younger voters worse off.As part of his speech he recommended indexing tax thresholds to inflation. Freezing tax thresholds increases people’s taxable income as wages go up with inflation. This results in additional revenue to the government, in a phenomenon called “fiscal

Vice-president also reaffirmed the administration’s Ukraine stance at largest conservative voters conferenceUS politics live – latest updatesJD Vance marked one month since the Trump administration returned to power on Thursday by again claiming uncontrolled immigration was “the greatest threat” to both Europe and the United States.The vice-president took the stage at the country’s largest conservative voters conference in National Harbor, Maryland, to double down on his criticism that stunned European leaders last week when he accused them of suppressing free speech and “running in fear” from voters’ true beliefs. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/20/jd-vance-cpac-trump Author : Joseph Gedeon in

National security adviser says Ukraine is wrong to push back against Trump’s approach to peace talks with RussiaWhite House officials have told Ukraine to stop badmouthing Donald Trump and to sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US, saying a failure to do so would be unacceptable.The US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, should “tone down” his criticism of the US and take a “hard look” at the deal. It proposes giving Washington $500bn worth of natural resources, including oil and gas. Continue reading... Source link

Arts Everywhere Fund will improve cultural offerings in communities and on the curriculumUK politics live – latest updatesCulture has been “erased” from communities and curriculums, according to the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy who vowed to make the arts more accessible by announcing new funding for Britain’s “crumbling” cultural infrastructure.The £270m fund will support attractions “in urgent need of financial support to keep them up and running, helping to carry out vital infrastructure work and improve long-term financial resilience”, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/20/lisa-nandy-announces-fund-uk-cultural-infrastructure Author : Lanre Bakare Arts and

Plane caught fire and flipped at Toronto’s Pearson airport, hospitalizing 21 of 80 people onboardDelta Air Lines is offering passengers of a jet that caught fire and flipped over on a Toronto runway $30,000 each – “no strings attached”.Flight 4819 crashed after touching down at Toronto’s Pearson airport on Monday afternoon. Videos of the crash were captured by witnesses and then passengers inside the plane. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/20/delta-payments-toronto-plane-crash Author : Jessica Glenza Publish date : 2025-02-20 15:34:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said Ukraine should ‘tone it down, take a hard look and sign that deal’ on minerals with the USFormer US state secretary John Kerry said “the basic playing field for making peace in Ukraine is there,” as he rejected Donald Trump’s suggestions that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war with Russia and dismissed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s logic for invasion as “lies.”Speaking at a London conference organised by the consultancy Brand Finance, Kerry, who served as the US state secretary in Barack Obama’s Democratic administration, said this:Putin individually decided, contrary to what

Push to end birthright citizenship could be headed to supreme court after judges deny appeal; VP due to give speech at conservative conferenceIf confirmed in a Senate vote this afternoon, Kash Patel would take over an FBI gripped by turmoil while facing allegations that he played a key role in a purge of the bureau’s agents while his nomination was pending.Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, claimed last week that he had “highly credible information” that Patel had given orders to sack senior personnel when he had no power to do so as a private citizen.It

Sandal maker, founded in Germany in 1774, had wanted to stop ‘copycats’ from selling similar productsThey may be the footwear of choice for Hollywood A-listers and pop stars, but Birkenstock sandals are not works of art, Germany’s top court ruled on Thursday.The German sandal maker had sought a ruling that its footwear, known for its cork and latex soles, could be classified as art and thus afforded strong copyright protections. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/20/birkenstocks-are-not-works-of-art-top-german-court-rules-in-copyright-case Author : Agence France-Presse in Frankfurt Publish date : 2025-02-20 11:57:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Downing Street says the two leaders spoke overnight, after Donald Trump accused the Ukrainian president of being a ‘dictator’As well as appearing on the airwaves this morning to promote Labour’s £270m Arts Everywhere fund, culture secretary Lisa Nandy also supplied some quotes for the press release accompanying the launch.She said:Arts and culture help us understand the world we live in, they shape and define society and are enjoyed by people in every part of our country. They are the building blocks of our world-leading creative industries and make a huge contribution towards boosting growth and breaking down barriers to opportunities

European manufacturer reports 8% drop in income for 2024 but says there is ‘solid demand’ for its productsAirbus has said it aims to make 820 planes this year as the world’s biggest aerospace manufacturer attempts to overcome problems in its supply chain.The European company said that deliveries would rise by 7% compared with the 766 planes made last year, as it reported an 8% drop in income for 2024 excluding various charges, to €5.4bn (£4.7bn). Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/20/airbus-plans-to-make-820-planes-this-year-despite-supply-chain-problems Author : Jasper Jolly and agencies Publish date : 2025-02-20 09:22:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked

Bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, who Hamas says were killed in an Israeli airstrike, as well as Oded Lifshitz, 83, handed overThe handover of the four bodies from Hamas to the Red Cross is now complete.The vehicles are on their way to Israel, and the crowd in Khan Younis is beginning to disperse. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/feb/20/israel-gaza-war-hostages-shiri-bibas-ariel-kfir-oded-lifshitz Author : Hamish Mackay Publish date : 2025-02-20 07:54:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

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