The Guardian

Official says blockade on ‘shadow fleet’ would be illegal, and raises prospect of retaliation against European vessels Europe live – latest updates A senior Russian official has said Moscow could deploy its navy to protect Russian-linked vessels from potential European seizures, raising the prospect of retaliatory action against European shipping as pressure on the Kremlin’s so-called shadow flee…

Billionaire says he exercised ‘terrible judgment’ in maintaining contact with sex offender and Ghislaine Maxwell The billionaire Thomas Pritzker has stepped down as executive chair of the hotel chain Hyatt, after revelations over his ties with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Pritzker said he had exercised “terrible judgment” in maintaining contact with the sex offender and Ghislaine …

A fixture in civil rights and Democratic politics since the 1960s, Jackson was once close to Martin Luther King Jr The Rev Jesse Jackson , the civil rights campaigner who was prominent for more than 50 years and who ran strongly for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, has died. He was 84. “Our father was a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, a…

Chris Baghsarian’s relatives say ‘our family is living through a nightmare we never thought possible’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The family of Chris Baghsarian, who was kidnapped by mistake from his Sydney home last week, say they are “living through a nightmare” and the 85-year-old’s abduction “feels surreal”. Baghsarian was alone in his North Ryde home when he …

Police appeal for information after Chris Baghsarian was taken from his home in North Ryde and bundled into an SUV allegedly by underworld figures Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Police have called on Sydneysiders to report any “not normal activity” as they search for 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian, who investigator…

Party’s leader expected to announce holders of four roles, with Robert Jenrick expected to take the Treasury brief Unemployment in the UK has risen to 5.2%, the highest level in nearly five years, while wage growth continues to slow, raising the prospect of another cut to interest rates in the spring. Tom Knowles has the story. Most people in a Reform UK cabinet would not be career politicians, Z…

Singer-songwriter Sam Battle has built online fanbase through building and playing unusual instruments The YouTuber and experimental singer-songwriter Look Mum No Computer will represent the UK at the Eurovision song contest in Vienna in May, the BBC has announced. The performer and self-professed Eurovision fan, whose real name is Sam Battle, launched his YouTube channel in 2016. He has amassed …

Falls in inflation and interest rates could leave Britain better off this year, but at the cost of high unemployment UK unemployment rate hits five-year high Private sector pay increased on average by just 3.4% in December, according to the latest official labour market data released on Tuesday, the same as the rise in inflation at the end of last year. No wonder the vast majority of workers are …

Zelenskyy calls for allies to ‘respond to all these strikes against life’ as US-brokered talks between senior Russian and Ukrainian officials begin Asked about the talks in Geneva last night, US president Donald Trump said: “ Ukraine better come to the table, fast. That’s all I’m telling you. We are in a position we want them to come.” Continue reading...

Hopes of success remain low after Trump points finger at Zelenskyy and as Russia keeps up hardline demands Senior Ukrainian and Russian officials are to meet this week in Switzerland for a third round of talks brokered by the Trump administration, days before the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The two-day meeting, kicking off on Tuesday, is expected to mirror negot…

Opposition leader picks Tim Wilson as shadow treasurer while rewarding his supporters and elevating some strong performers Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast It is almost impossible to overstate the challenge facing Angus Taylor just days into the job as opposition leader. Announcing a new frontbench to fight Labor on Tuesday afternoon, his remade shadow ministry lineup …

Programme launched by last Tory government was worked on by Deloitte and IBM but was paused in 2024 Business live – latest updates The UK government has shelved a project to simplify trade border processes post-Brexit, after spending £110m on a contract with Deloitte and IBM for it, according to reports. The last Conservative government promised in 2020 to create the “world’s most effective borde…

Australian Antarctic Program scientists say virus on Heard Island has spread to new species Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here The gentoo penguin has become the first bird to test positive for the H5N1 bird flu on an Australian territory, with samples confirming the virus has spread on a su…

Figure from ONS will be closely watched by Bank of England as it makes interest rates decision Business live – latest updates Unemployment in the UK has risen to 5.2%, the highest level in nearly five years, official figures have revealed. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of unemployment was 5.2% in the three months to the end of December, the highest rate since the quarter …

Reina Sofía’s three-year rehang of works by artists from Spain and beyond is billed as a ‘critical reinterpretation’ The Reina Sofía’s new rehang opens, quite pointedly, with a painting of a detained man sitting, head bowed and wrists shackled, as he waits for the arbitrary hand of institutional bureaucracy to decide his fate. The picture, Document No …, was painted by Juan Genovés in 1975, the y…