World news | The Guardian

About 150 people expected to leave Gaza on first day border is unsealed out of 20,000 adults and children who need medical care

• Middle East crisis – live updates

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.

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Island’s first tropical storm of season may bring 150mm of rain – meanwhile, eastern Europe freezes with possible night-time lows of -30C

At least three people have died and nearly 30,000 people have been affected by flooding after Madagascar’s first tropical storm of the season hit over the weekend.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia formed to the north-west of Madagascar over the northern Mozambique Channel on Thursday.

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Report covering 23 conflicts over last 18 months concludes more than 100,000 civilians have been killed as war crimes rage out of control

An authoritative survey of 23 armed conflicts over the last 18 months has concluded that international law seeking to limit the effects of war is at breaking point, with more than 100,000 civilians killed, while torture and rape are committed with near impunity.

The extensive study by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights describes the deaths of 18,592 children in Gaza, growing civilian casualties in Ukraine and an “epidemic” of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Rubaya mine produces about 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, used in mobile phones

More than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, a spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located, told Reuters on Friday.

Rubaya produces about 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum – a heat-resistant metal that is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines. The site, where local people dig manually for a few dollars a day, has been under the control of the M23 rebel group since 2024.

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Motorcycle-riding militants launch strikes using heavy weaponry and drones, damaging planes belonging to Ivorian carrier and Togolese airline

Islamic State in the Sahel has claimed responsibility for an audacious assault at the international airport and adjacent air force base in Niamey, the capital of Niger, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity and communications worldwide.

The attack, which began shortly after midnight on Thursday, reportedly involved motorcycle-riding militants who launched a “surprise and coordinated” strike using heavy weaponry and drones, according to statements released via IS in the Sahel’s propaganda arm, Amaq news agency.

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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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Demand by US that it take control of Arctic island is for many a reminder of troubling imperial past

On a bitterly cold recent morning in the Canadian Arctic, about 70 people took to the streets. Braving the bone-chilling winds, they marched through the Inuit-governed territory of Nunavut, waving signs that read: “We stand with Greenland” and “Greenland is a partner, not a purchase.”

It was a glimpse of how, for Indigenous peoples across the Arctic, the battle over Greenland has become a wider reckoning, seemingly pitting the long-fought battle to assert their rights against a global push for power.

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Rightwing populist elected in landslide after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to cocaine trade

The rightwing populist Laura Fernández has won Costa Rica’s presidential election in a landslide after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade.

Fernández’s nearest rival, centre-right economist Álvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40% needed to avoid a runoff.

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Ahead of a major exhibition in London documenting the South American wetland as it faces unprecedented threat, Lalo de Almeida recounts the stories behind his award-winning images

Lalo de Almeida is a documentary photographer based in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2021 his photo essay Pantanal Ablaze was awarded first place in the environment stories category at the World Press Photo contest. In 2022, he won the Eugene Smith grant in humanistic photography and World Press Photo’s long-term project award for his work Amazonian Dystopia, which documents the exploitation of the world’s largest tropical forest.

I have been photographing socio-environmental issues for more than 30 years, especially in the Amazon. 2020 was no different. News of the uncontrolled fires devastating the Pantanal began to catch my attention. So, together with a fellow journalist, I decided to go and see what was happening for myself.

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After stories revealed high levels of contamination in neighborhood around factory processing US toxic waste, government announces sweeping array of tactics

The Mexican government has announced it will pursue a sweeping array of tactics to combat industrial pollution, from $4.8m in fines against a plant processing US hazardous waste to the rollout of a new industrial air-monitoring system, following investigations by the Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab, a Mexican investigative unit.

Those stories revealed high levels of heavy-metal contamination in the neighborhood around the factory, Zinc Nacional, in the Monterrey metropolitan area, and showed the broader extent of industrial pollution in the region, linked to Monterrey’s role in manufacturing and recycling goods for the US market.

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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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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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PM flies out after courting world’s second biggest economy aware of difficult balance of risks and potential rewards

The last British prime minister to visit China was Theresa May in 2018. Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material.

Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if anything, increased since the former Tory prime minister was in town.

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Prime minister suggests US president was ‘talking more about Canada’ when asked for reaction to Beijing visit

Prominent Hong Kong and Uyghur activists living in exile in the UK have accused Starmer of seeking China’s desperate approval, after the prime minister visited Beijing for the first time in eight years this week.

Pro-democracy campaigner and prominent critic of the Communist Party, Finn Lau said the Hong Kong community is disappointed by Starmer’s visit, but unsurprised by the government’s “short sightedness”.

“While British citizen Jimmy Lai remains imprisoned and Uyghurs continue to suffer atrocity crimes, we take no comfort in this decision and will not be silenced.

We look forward to receiving urgent assurances from the government regarding those who were placed under sanction together with us, and take this opportunity to express our ongoing solidarity with the Uyghur people, whose cause we will not drop.

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Starmer confirms immediate removal, but it is unclear if sanctions remain on former MP, academic and barrister

China has lifted the sanctions it imposed on serving British MPs and peers in a significant sign of warming relations after Keir Starmer travelled to Beijing for landmark talks with Xi Jinping.

Nine UK citizens were banned from China in 2021, including five Conservative MPs and two members of the House of Lords, targeted for highlighting human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur community.

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Reserve Bank due to announce decision on interest rates this afternoon. Follow today’s news live

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Liberals need ‘divine intervention’ as MPs attend church service

Liberal politicians have joked they need “divine intervention” at a church service before parliament resumes today.

We know that inflation’s higher than we would like. People are under more pressure than anybody wants. And that’s why the responsibility that we have … is to continue to manage the budget in a responsible way, continue to roll out this cost of living relief.

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Labor can afford a few moments of glee now, but spending, emissions, AI and Aukus are just some of the challenges on the road to the next election

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Labor MPs could hardly contain their delight on Monday. Even before today’s start of parliament, the Nationals had debated a leadership spill and Sussan Ley looked firmly on borrowed time.

They cheered Anthony Albanese at a caucus meeting, in which he likened the disorganisation of the Coalition to a messy break-up on the reality TV show Married at First Sight.

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There are factors beside inflation that the board needs to consider, most notably the labour market

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The Reserve Bank is overwhelmingly expected to hike rates at its first policy meeting of the year – but should it?

There’s a powerful consensus for a cash rate rise to 3.85%, from 3.6%, on Tuesday.

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Data shows Boele – who won seat by only 26 votes – received almost $700,000 in donations from Climate 200

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Nicolette Boele spent $2.26m to claim a nail-biting victory in the Sydney seat of Bradfield, making her 26-vote win the most expensive campaign of any teal independent.

Boele narrowly beat the Liberal candidate, Gisele Kapterian, in 2025, outspending cashed-up fellow teals including Allegra Spender and Monique Ryan, who each spent $2.1m when they ousted Liberals from traditionally blue-ribbon seats in the 2022 election.

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Bernardi served under Liberal leaders including Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott before leaving the party to launch Australian Conservatives

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Former Liberal senator Cory Bernardi is the latest conservative politician to join One Nation as Pauline Hanson attempts to translate surging support in the polls into seats in parliament.

Hanson said Bernardi would lead One Nation’s ticket for the legislative council at the South Australian election in March.

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PM Sébastien Lecornu pushes budget through using constitutional powers that avoided vote in parliament

France has finally passed a budget for this year after the minority government survived a series of no-confidence votes in a long-running political saga that has unsettled debt markets and alarmed the country’s European partners.

The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, told parliament on Monday, after months of wrangling, that French people “refuse this disorder and want our institutions to function”.

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Detention of Marius Borg Høiby comes as Epstein files pile pressure on his mother, crown princess Mette-Marit

The son of Norway’s crown princess, Marius Borg Høiby, has been arrested on new charges just days before the start of his rape trial, as his mother continues to face questions over her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The Oslo police district said Høiby had been arrested on Sunday evening on suspicion of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order.

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Former Italian PM and ECB chief says Europe must urgently unify on defence and foreign affairs

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country’s energy system remained “seriously” challenged by the impact of recent Russian strikes.

More than 200 buildings are still without heating in Kyiv, as temperatures plummeted to -17 Celsius, with “crews from many regions of Ukraine … deployed for the repair work.”

“Europe absolutely can defend yourself. Please stop whining. Why is this so much whingeing about [on], you know, if the US leave, what are we going to do? Come on.

… Europe … why are we so scared: ‘please, don’t leave the US leave…’ Please stand up to my president. Hold us accountable. Make us live up to our talking points.”

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Auditor calls renewable energy targets ‘unrealistic’ unless ‘EU ups its game’ in mining, refining and recycling of metals such as rare earths

The EU is struggling to free itself from dependence on China and countries in the global south for critical minerals and rare earths needed for everything from smartphones to wind turbines and military jets.

A damning report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in Luxembourg found that the bloc’s targets for 2030 were “out of reach” because of lack of progress in domestic production, refining and recycling.

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Charge is designed to protect much-loved monument from overtourism, but not all visitors like the idea

Teresa Romero is in Rome to celebrate a milestone birthday and one of the first things she did on Monday was visit the Trevi fountain to participate in the ritual of tossing a coin into the waters of the late baroque masterpiece.

But before the Portuguese tourist could get close to the fountain, she had to hand over €2 (£1.70) – the cost of an access fee that has finally been enacted by Rome council officials after years of discussions.

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Abbas Araghchi suggests nuclear programme negotiations could begin imminently, as American forces amass in region

Iran’s top diplomat has said the government is ready for negotiations with the US as the two countries reportedly prepared to send top envoys to Istanbul for high-stakes talks on the Iranian nuclear programme later this week.

As US warships and aircraft have amassed in the region for a potential strike on Iran, the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, suggested that talks could take place imminently. Donald Trump on Saturday said Iranians were “seriously talking to us” as he hinted at a deal to avert military strikes against Tehran.

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• Sick and wounded Palestinians enter Egypt after Israel reopens Rafah crossing

More than 400 European former top diplomats and officials have urged the EU to increase pressure on Israel to end “excesses and unremitting violations of international law” over Gaza and the West Bank.

The statement, due to be sent to EU leaders on Monday, calls on the bloc and its member states to take action in line with its support for a UN resolution for a two-state solution and a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

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US naval battle group gathers off Iran’s shores as supreme leader in Tehran warns attack would spark regional war

Donald Trump has said Iran is talking to the US, hinting at a deal that would avoid the use of military strikes, as Iran’s supreme leader warned that any attack by the US would spark a regional war.

The US president’s comments came as Washington deployed a naval battle group led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off Iran’s shores, after Trump’s threats to intervene in Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

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Officials say Gaza residents travelling on foot only will be allowed through border point, which was shut in May 2024

Gaza’s main border crossing in Rafah will reopen for Palestinians on Monday, Israel has said, with preparations under way at the war-ravaged territory’s gateway, which has been mostly closed for almost two years.

Before the war, the Rafah crossing with Egypt was the only direct exit point for most Palestinians in Gaza to reach the outside world as well as a key entry point for aid. It has been largely shut since May 2024.

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Pressure mounts after government said it would publish names of those killed during recent unrest

Calls are growing inside Iran for an independent inquiry into the number of people killed during recent protests after the government said it would oversee the publication of the names of the deceased.

The highly unusual government move, announced on Thursday, is designed to head off claims that crimes against humanity have been committed and that as many as 30,000 Iranians have been killed. Iran’s official death toll released by the Martyr’s Foundation is 3,117, including members of the security services.

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Officials say calm restored to province day after dozens killed in suicide and gun attacks in at least 10 cities

Pakistan’s security forces have intensified their operations against separatist militants in Balochistan province who launched a large-scale assault on Saturday in which at least 31 civilians and 17 security personnel were killed.

A day after the militants carried out suicide attacks in the heart of the province’s capital, Quetta, the chief minister of the south-western region, Sarfraz Bugti, said 145 people he described as militants had been killed in 40 hours and that their bodies were in the custody of the authorities.

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Five years after the junta’s coup, the civil war devastating Myanmar has reached a turning point. The military is carrying out large-scale counter-offensives across the country to reclaim territory seized by pro-democracy rebels of various ethnic and religious backgrounds

In Tanintharyi, the southernmost region of Myanmar, the local resistance has managed to contain the military. After five years of guerrilla warfare, the revolutionary youth there remain determined to restore democracy through armed struggle.

A long, narrow stretch of land at the southern tip of Myanmar, between the Andaman Sea to the west and Thailand to the east, Tanintharyi region is one of the areas where the resistance challenges the military’s authority. For decades, the region has been home to an armed rebellion led by the Karen ethnic minority, which operated mainly in the peripheral mountains.

Soldiers from the Karen National Union (KNU) inspect the ruins of a Buddhist monastery destroyed by a junta airstrike in Myeik district, Tanintharyi region

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• Concern raised over politicisation of sport

• Bangladesh pulled out of men’s World T20 after row

Bangladesh’s withdrawal from the men’s T20 World Cup could have implications for India’s 2036 Olympic bid amid concern at the International Olympic Committee over the potential politicisation of sport.

Bangladesh pulled out of next month’s tournament last weekend after the International Cricket Council declined a request to move their group matches from India to the co-hosts Sri Lanka, after a long-running political row triggered by Kolkata Knight Riders’ decision to remove the Bangladeshi bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their Indian Premier League squad.

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Human rights groups and some western countries have denounced the election, the first held since the 2021 coup, describing it as neither free nor fair

Myanmar’s military-backed party has completed a sweeping victory in the country’s three-phase general election, state media said, cementing an outcome long expected after a tightly controlled political process held during civil war and widespread repression.

The Union and Solidarity Party (USDP) dominated all phases of the vote, winning an overwhelming majority in the two legislative chambers in Myanmar. It secured 232 of the 263 seats up for grabs in the lower Pyithu Hluttaw house and 109 of the 157 seats announced so far in the Amyotha Hluttaw upper chamber, according to results released on Thursday and Friday.

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Voting ends in month-long poll derided internationally as sham designed to cement army’s grip on power

Voting in Myanmar has ended with the military-backed party expected to win a landslide victory after a month-long election that has been widely derided as a sham designed to cement the army’s grip on power.

The junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, has rejected criticism of the vote, saying it has the support of the public and presenting it as a return to democracy and stability.

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Gordon Brown calls for inquiry over Peter Mandelson’s apparent disclosure of highly sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein

Peter Mandelson “leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans”, the Financial Times is reporting.

In his story, Jim Pickard says:

The memo, dubbed “Business Issues”, was written on June 13 2009 by Nick Butler, who at the time was special adviser to the then prime minister Gordon Brown.

The confidential document, which was released by the US Department of Justice as part of a tranche of millions of files relating to Epstein, had been sent to British government officials including cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood.

It is right that Peter Mandelson is no longer a member of the Labour party. Disciplinary action was underway prior to his resignation.

Jeffrey Epstein’s heinous crimes destroyed the lives of so many women and girls, and our thoughts remain with his victims.

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Met police assessing reports of alleged misconduct in public office after government information apparently shared

Peter Mandelson is facing a possible police investigation into his alleged leak of market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein at the height of the financial crisis.

New disclosures from the Epstein files appear to show Mandelson sent a string of emails to the late sex offender containing confidential information that the government was receiving to deal with the global crash while he was business secretary under Gordon Brown.

A confidential UK government document outlining £20bn in asset sales.

Mandelson claiming he was “trying hard” to change government policy on bankers’ bonuses.

An imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.

A suggestion that the JPMorgan boss “mildly threaten” the chancellor.

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The latest revelations and reaction to them may mean he has finally encountered a scandal he is unable to outrun

It was the evening of 6 May 2010 and months after being released from jail for procuring a child for prostitution, Jeffrey Epstein was curious as to the result of Britain’s general election.

“Well?” he emailed Peter Mandelson, the then de facto deputy prime minister in Gordon Brown’s government.

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British Medical Association members back further action as union’s chair says ‘a deal is there to be done’

• UK politics live – latest updates

Resident doctors in England have voted to strike for another six months in their long-running jobs and pay dispute with the government.

Their decision means that, unless an agreement emerges, the campaign of strikes by resident – formerly junior – doctors will enter its fourth year, as the industrial action began in March 2023.

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Demand for year 7 pupils is expected to fall by 7.6% over the next four years, with similar numbers expected in primary schools

Schools in London could lose £45m in funding over the next four years as pupil numbers continue to fall, a report has warned, with secondary schools facing staff and curriculum cuts as budgets dwindle.

Until now, primary schools in the capital have been worst hit by falling birth rates, leading to about 90 school closures or mergers in the past five years. But the crisis is now spreading to secondary schools, which are expected to see steep declines in pupil numbers.

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Ruling clears Denmark’s Ørsted to resume construction on its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York

All five offshore wind projects halted by the Trump administration in December can resume construction after a federal judge’s ruling on Monday that cleared Denmark’s Ørsted to proceed with its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York.

Ørsted’s request for an injunction blocking the interior department order was the fifth brought by an offshore wind developer since the 22 December pause on five leases. The agency stopped work on the multibillion-dollar facilities due to national security concerns around radar interference.

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US president, who is also threatening to sue comedian Trevor Noah over Grammys joke, says he will sue Michael Wolff and reasserts he ‘wasn’t friendly’ with Epstein

House speaker Mike Johnson is set to swear in Christian Menefee, a Democrat who recently won a runoff election for a reliably blue seat in Texas.

Menefee’s victory, however, means the margin in the House is even more slim: 218 Republicans to 214 Democrats. His current term will end at the end of the year, and he’ll have to start campaigning almost immediately for the 2026 midterms. But this time, it will be for a new district, after the GOP-controlled legislature successfully gerrymandered the state’s congressional map.

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The full House is headed towards potential votes on criminal contempt of Congress charges against Clintons

• US politics live – latest updates

The Republican congressman James Comer has rejected an offer from former president Bill Clinton to conduct a transcribed interview for a House committee’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, pushing the threat to hold both Clintons in contempt of Congress closer towards a vote.

The full House is headed towards potential votes this week on criminal contempt of Congress charges against the Clintons. If passed, the charges threaten both Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton with substantial fines and even incarceration if they are convicted.

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Action could begin next week in some of state’s largest districts including San Diego, San Francisco and LA

California is facing the prospect of massive teacher strikes across the state as conflicts over working conditions, pay and special education staffing reach a boiling point.

The strikes, which could begin as soon as next week, have been approved by thousands of educators – affecting schools in some of the state’s largest districts including San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles.

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Allies downplay president’s links to Epstein but newly released documents offer slightly more complicated picture

• US politics – live updates

Almost immediately after deputy attorney general Todd Blanche announced the justice department was releasing 3m additional pages of files related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, Fox News published an exclusive interview with him seeking to shape what Americans could expect to find in the files.

After reviewing years of Epstein’s correspondence, Blanche said, the justice department determined that there was nothing in them in which Epstein said anything criminally implicating Trump.

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