World news | The Guardian

The Herds project from the team behind Little Amal will travel 20,000km taking its message on environmental crisis across the world

Hundreds of life-size animal puppets have begun a 20,000km (12,400 mile) journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle as part of an ambitious project created by the team behind Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian girl that travelled across the world.

The public art initiative called The Herds, which has already visited Kinshasa and Lagos, will travel to 20 cities over four months to raise awareness of the climate crisis.

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Chadema spokesperson says party’s vice-chair John Heche and secretary general John Mnyika held on way to protest over treason charges

Tanzania’s main opposition party said on Thursday at least two of its officials had been arrested on their way to a rally to support the leading government opponent Tundu Lissu, who refused to appear at a virtual court hearing to face a charge of treason.

Authorities in the east African country have increasingly cracked down on the opposition Chadema party ahead of presidential and parliamentary polls in October.

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Both sides say they have resolved to end conflict through peaceful means after ‘frank’ talks facilitated by Qatar

The Democratic Republic of the Congo and a coalition of militias including the Rwanda-backed M23 have agreed to work toward a truce to end the fighting that has engulfed the eastern part of the country since January.

In similarly worded statements released on Wednesday night, the government and Alliance Fleuve Congo (Congo River Alliance) said their representatives had held talks facilitated by Qatar and resolved to end the conflict through peaceful means.

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After two actors died in Owerri, Imo State, AGN head Emeka Rollas drew comparisons to events last year, when popular Nollywood actor Junior Pope drowned

The president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria has called for mass prayers and increased unionisation after the death of two actors in Owerri, the capital city of Imo State.

Posting on Instagram, Emeka Rollas advocated spiritual intervention and better workplace regulation to try to prevent future tragedies after the two men, who have not yet been named, died on Friday.

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People traumatised by conflict have queued outside the Saint Vincent de Paul neuropsychiatric hospital in Goma each day since free scheme launched

On a sunny morning in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where fighting between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army raged earlier this year, men and women rushed towards a line of chairs outside a medical facility.

Since 24 March, the Saint Vincent de Paul neuropsychiatric hospital, a medical facility for people with mental health issues, has been offering free consultations on a first-come first-served basis for people affected by the fighting. Dozens have lined up to be seen each day.

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Footage of apes consuming fermented breadfruit leads researchers to ask if it may shed light on origins of human feasting

Humans have gathered to feast and enjoy a tipple together for thousands of years, but research suggests chimpanzees may also bond over a boozy treat.

Wild chimpanzees in west Africa have been observed sharing fruit containing alcohol – not in quantities to get roaring drunk but, possibly, enough for a fuzzy beer buzz feeling.

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Critics fear decision to list Brazil-based firm JBS, long linked to Amazon’s deforestation, will add to the climate crisis

Environmental groups are outraged that the world’s biggest meatpacking company, JBS, which has long been linked to Amazon’s deforestation, has received approval from US authorities to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

The decision, announced on Tuesday by the Securities Exchange Commission, follows reports that JBS subsidiary Pilgrim’s was the biggest donor to the inauguration committee of Donald Trump. Since taking power, Trump has reduced the independence of the SEC and other agencies, demanding their work be “controlled” by the president.

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Family incarceration has been revived after Biden – and Jade, Jason and Gabriela are speaking out about their distressing treatment in Texas

When Jade and her family first arrived at the detention facility in Karnes county, Texas, she wasn’t really sure what to think.

“I guess I was confused and scared,” said the 13-year-old. Her parents were doing their best to reassure her that everything would be OK, but she knew they were in danger of being deported.

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Brazil has been the world’s leading coffee producer due to the forced labour of enslaved Africans and Afro-Brazilians

“John” was just days from turning 16 when he was allegedly recruited to work on a Brazilian coffee farm that supplies the global coffeehouse chain Starbucks.

Soon after his birthday, he embarked on a 16-hour bus journey to the farm in the state of Minas Gerais – only to discover that none of what he had been promised would be fulfilled.

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Gustavo Petro hits back after Álvaro Leyva accused him of going awol during official visit to France

A prominent Colombian politician and former minister has accused the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, of being a drug addict who allegedly went awol during an official visit to France.

In a damning letter to the South American leader, the former foreign minister Álvaro Leyva painted a dire picture of his one-time boss and ally, later publishing the text on his official X account.

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Salvadorian president denounced as ‘tyrannical’ as he floats trading 252 prisoners with fellow authoritarian regime

The families of prisoners being held by the authoritarian governments of El Salvador and Venezuela have condemned President Nayib Bukele’s offer to swap 252 Venezuelan detainees sent to his jails by the Trump administration for the same number of political prisoners incarcerated by Nicolás Maduro’s regime.

Nelson Suárez, whose brother was among the Venezuelan immigrants sent from the US to a notorious maximum-security jail in El Salvador last month, said he was desperate for the release of his brother, from whom he has heard nothing in five weeks.

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About 7.3m people have cast ballots over four days of advanced voting in sign of elevated interest in 28 April poll

• Canada elections: who are the key players and what is at stake?

A record 7.3 million people have cast their ballots over four days of advanced voting in Canada’s election, official figures showed on Tuesday, in a possible sign of elevated interest in the 28 April poll.

Elections Canada said its estimated tally for voting from Friday through Monday marked a 25% increase over the 5.8m advanced ballots cast in the 2021 vote.

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State’s nominal GDP reaches $4.1tn, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn, ranking it behind the US, China and Germany

California’s economy has surpassed Japan’s, making the Golden state the fourth largest economy in the world, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday.

The state’s nominal GDP reached $4.1tn, according to data from the International Monetary Fund and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn nominal GDP. California now ranks behind the US at $29.18tn, China at $18.74tn and Germany at $4.65tn.

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President’s comments follow Chinese government’s denial of ‘baseless’ claim that Washington was close to deal

The US and China held talks on Thursday to help resolve the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, Donald Trump said.

“We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China,” the US president told reporters at the White House.

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China again biggest jailer of writers in 2024, followed by Iran – with Israel in fifth place, says organisation’s annual report

Writers in the US are at growing risk amid a worldwide crackdown on free speech that has begun to spread to countries previously renowned for unfettered expression and openness, according to a leading writers’ advocacy group.

PEN America said it was concerned about an emerging threat from the Trump administration as it published its annual Freedom to Write index report, which showed that the number of writers jailed worldwide had jumped for the sixth year running to 375 in 2024, compared with 339 the year before.

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Allegations come days after Japanese authorities increased efforts to deter crimes by US servicemen on island

Two US marines based on the Japanese island of Okinawa are being investigated for alleged rape, days after local authorities stepped up efforts to deter sexual and other crimes by US service personnel.

A marine in his 20s is suspected of raping a Japanese woman in a bathroom at a US military base last month, while a second man, also a marine in his 20s, allegedly raped a woman at a base in January, according to media reports.

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Taiwan to send former vice-president despite Vatican being one of country’s few diplomatic allies

• Pope Francis’s funeral – latest updates

Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, will not attend the funeral of Pope Francis, despite his foreign ministry saying earlier it was their “most important aim” in negotiations with the Vatican that he be there in person.

The ministry announced on Wednesday that Taiwan would be sending its former vice-president, Chen Chien-jen as special envoy. Chen has deep ties with the Vatican and met Pope Francis six times, but the decision means Taiwan’s delegation will be without a serving government official, despite the Vatican being one of Taiwan’s few diplomatic allies.

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Weeks of tough talk from the US president, who now says he will be ‘very nice’ to China, had rattled investors

Stock markets have risen around the world after Donald Trump said his tariffs on China would come down “substantially” and he had “no intention” of firing the chair of the US central bank, Jerome Powell.

Weeks of tough talk on trade from White House officials have rattled investors and Trump now appears to be softening his tone. The president told reporters in Washington on Tuesday he planned to be “very nice” to China in trade talks and that tariffs could drop in both countries if they could reach a deal, adding: “It will come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.”

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The person disrupted a welcome to country at the Kings Park dawn service, shouting obscenities. Follow today’s news live

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Good morning,

Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started this morning.

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Exclusive: Former navy officer Grange Chung, candidate for the Sydney seat of Reid, uses images of himself in military uniform

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The Liberal candidate for Reid, Grange Chung, has apologised for distributing a four-page booklet commemorating Anzac Day that also encouraged people to vote from him and linked to a how-to-vote card.

The Anzac Day booklet, authorised by the NSW Liberal party, contained images of Chung, a former navy officer, dressed in military uniform. The defence department has repeatedly urged veterans to refrain from using pictures of themselves in uniform, to avoid any suggestion the military is politically partisan.

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Complaints about the book focus on cartoon sex scenes, one of which has been described by critics as ‘pornographic’ and ‘paedophilic’

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Gender Queer, a graphic novel on gender identity, has been reapproved for sale in Australia following a conservative campaign against the book forcing the Classification Review Board to reconsider its initial decision.

The federal court last year ordered the board to reassess its decision to give the Maia Kobabe memoir an unrestricted M classification, after rightwing activist Bernard Gaynor challenged the ruling.

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Small group booed and yelled at Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown’s welcome and Victorian governor’s acknowledgement of country

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A man is expected to be charged for offensive behaviour after a group including an alleged neo-Nazi booed and heckled a welcome to country at Melbourne’s main Anzac Day dawn ceremony.

A small group of people booed and yelled throughout the welcome delivered by Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown at the 5:30am service at the city’s Shrine of Remembrance.

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Police confirm 53-year-old was found unresponsive at the Silverwater Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre late Thursday

The man accused of killing 19-year-old Central Coast woman Audrey Griffin has died in custody, just days after being charged with her murder.

A 53-year-old man was found unresponsive in his cell at the Silverwater Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at about 4.50pm on Thursday, New South Wales police said in a statement. His death was not being treated as suspicious.

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The 46-year-old allegedly recorded video on her phone of abuse against elderly patients at a home in Grasmere

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A woman has been charged after allegedly sexually abusing residents at the aged care facility where she worked, recording the assaults and sharing the videos with her partner, a 54-year-old man who was also arrested for possessing and disseminating bestiality material.

The 46-year-old will face a New South Wales court after an investigation into alleged sexual violence against residents at the home in Grasmere in Sydney’s Macarthur region.

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Tens of thousands of mourners have queued for hours to pay their last respects to pontiff, whose coffin will be closed on Friday evening

The Vatican will make final preparations on Friday for Pope Francis’s funeral as the last of the huge crowds of mourners file through St Peter’s Basilica to view his open coffin.

Many of the 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs attending Saturday’s ceremony in St Peter’s Square, who include US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are expected to arrive in Rome on Friday.

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Exclusive: EU Transparency Register shows law firms also among lobbyists working for fossil fuel companies

A handful of “small but dirty” public affairs and law firms in Europe are enabling pollution by lobbying extensively for big oil, an analysis has found, with most major companies in the industry working for at least one fossil fuel client.

Several of the top spenders on activities to influence EU policymaking are on the payroll of oil and gas companies, according to an analysis of the EU Transparency Register by the Good Lobby nonprofit, but fossil fuel clients represent just 1% of the industry’s revenue.

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Two Bayeux scholars at loggerheads over whether dangling shape depicts dagger or the embroidery’s 94th phallus

In a historical spat that could be subtitled “1066 with knobs on”, two medieval experts are engaged in a battle over how many male genitalia are embroidered into the Bayeux tapestry.

The Oxford professor George Garnett drew worldwide interest six years ago when he announced he had totted up 93 penises stitched into the embroidered account of the Norman conquest of England.

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This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, read our latest reports:

• ‘Vladimir, stop!’ Trump issues rare rebuke to Putin
• Zelenskyy says Ukraine cannot accept US recognition of Crimea as Russian

We understand that while the visit will be cut short after Zelenskyy’s meeting with Ramaphosa, their media activities will still proceed, meaning we should hear from the Ukrainian president in the next few hours.

Rachel and I will keep an eye on this development to see if Zelenskyy takes part in a scheduled press conference in Pretoria in case he wants to say more about the attacks overnight.

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Intervention comes as US president makes renewed push to end war, reportedly on terms favourable to Moscow

Donald Trump has issued a rare rebuke to Moscow for an air attack that killed 12 people in Kyiv, telling the Russian president in a social media post: “Vladimir, STOP!”

The US president’s remarks come as he makes a renewed push to end the Ukraine war, reportedly on terms favourable to Russia that include recognition of Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, something the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said he cannot accept.

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Allegation against Rinaldo Nazzaro, founder of the Base, could shed new meaning on group’s efforts inside Ukraine

Alleged former members of an international neo-Nazi terrorist organization are claiming its Russia-based and American leader is a Kremlin spy, according to online records reviewed by the Guardian.

The allegation that Rinaldo Nazzaro, a former Pentagon contractor and founder of the Base, listed as a designated terrorist organization all over the world, is an alleged Russian intelligence asset could bring new meaning to his group’s latest effort: sabotage and assassination missions inside Ukraine to weaken the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Haaretz report comes as supreme court gives Israeli PM more time to respond to affidavit from fired Shin Bet chief

New developments have come to light in the killing of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip last month, with evidence reportedly contradicting the Israel Defense Forces’ claim that soldiers did not fire indiscriminately at the medical workers.

The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Wednesday that its analysis of the IDF’s own materials collected as part of an internal investigation into the incident contradicted the army’s claim that soldiers did not shoot indiscriminately at Palestinian ambulances and a fire engine in the early hours of 23 March.

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International aid workers fear for Palestinians who have fled their homes in search of safety

Israel has quietly stopped designating areas of Gaza as humanitarian zones since it resumed strikes on the Palestinian territory last month.

The move has heightened fears among aid workers for the safety of civilians sheltering in places previously deemed protected.

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Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has past convictions for supporting terrorism, attended fundraiser at Trump’s resort

Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was set to address a meeting at Yale University, a day after being honored at a lavish dinner at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

Ben-Gvir, who has past convictions for supporting terrorism and was considered persona non grata under the Biden administration, attended a fundraising event at the Florida resort on Tuesday, where he told attendees about harsh new measures implemented against Palestinian prisoners.

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Israel launches wave of airstrikes as Arab negotiators make new ceasefire proposal

At least 25 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, including 11 in the bombing of a school turned shelter, the strip’s civil defence agency said, as Israel’s war against Hamas in the besieged Palestinian territory grinds on despite a new ceasefire proposal from Arab mediators.

Intense Israeli bombings hit several areas of Gaza on Wednesday, killing 11 in a school sheltering displaced people in al-Tuffah, a neighbourhood of Gaza City. The strike ignited a huge fire that claimed most of the casualties, said a civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Bassal.

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Ban comes week after 16 members were arrested, accused of threatening national security

Jordan has said it is shutting down the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and banning membership of the Islamist political group.

The ban came a week after Jordan said it had arrested 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood accused of threatening national security by training militants, making explosives and plotting to strike targets in Jordan with rockets and drones.

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Irish language group uses Coachella gig to denounce Gaza attacks, saying ‘Palestinians have nowhere to go’

Sharon Osbourne has urged US authorities to revoke work visas for Kneecap after the Irish language rap group used a performance at Coachella to denounce Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The TV presenter accused the band of hate speech and supporting terrorist organisations and said it should not be allowed to perform in the US. “I urge you to join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa,” she exhorted followers on X on Tuesday.

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Islamabad closes airspace to Indian aircraft and tells Delhi any interference in water sharing will be seen as act of war

Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan have moved closer to military confrontation as Islamabad closed its airspace to Indian aircraft and warned that any effort by Delhi to interfere with the supply of water under a decades-old treaty would be viewed as an act of war.

In a series of escalating tit-for-tat moves since a massacre of Indian tourists in the disputed region of Kashmir earlier this week by Islamic militants, India ordered its citizens to return from Pakistan, while Pakistan expelled a number of Indian diplomats.

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Corporation responds to ‘urgent need’ following earthquake by taking over Voice of America’s former channel

The BBC has stepped in to launch a news service in Myanmar after the devastating earthquake in the country, replacing a US service that Donald Trump has ceased to fund.

A direct-to-home satellite video channel delivering BBC News Burmese content will be launched to cater for what the corporation sees as an urgent “audience in need”.

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Tensions rise between nuclear-armed neighbours who have fought three wars over territory as Delhi vows to respond

The brutal militant attack that killed 26 people in one of Kashmir’s most scenic spots has shattered the region’s relative calm, turning a popular tourist destination into a scene of horror – and raising fears of a fresh conflict between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan.

Soon after the attack in which gunmen emerged from dense pine woods and opened fire on families picnicking and riding ponies, India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, vowed a “loud and clear response”.

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Water treaty also suspended amid hunt for militants said to have executed men unable to recite Islamic verses

India has closed a key land border with Pakistan, cancelled a water-sharing treaty and barred Pakistan’s citizens from entering under a visa exemption scheme after Tuesday’s attack by Islamic militants in Kashmir that killed 26 tourists.

India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, said those who carried out and planned the Kashmir region’s worst attack on civilians in years, including those “behind the scenes”, would see a swift response.

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Group of gunmen open fire on holidaymakers in Indian-controlled region in midst of US vice-president’s visit to country

At least 26 tourists have been killed and ten injured after suspected militants opened fire at a popular local tourist destination in Kashmir during a scheduled four-day visit to the country by the US vice-president JD Vance.

Most of the victims were Indian, although two foreign nationals were also reportedly among the dead.

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Heat spreads eastwards into the Baltics and western Russia, although colder air will sweep in by the weekend

After a spell of record-breaking heat last week, eastern Europe and western parts of Russia will experience further unseasonable warmth in the next few days. The burst of mid-spring warmth began during the middle of last week, when temperatures climbed to the high 20s celsius in eastern Germany and Poland. By Friday, the northern coastal town of Łeba in Poland recorded a maximum temperature of 29.6C (84.2F), nearly 20C above the town’s April average.

By the end of the week, the heat had spread eastwards into the Baltics and western Russia, bringing record-breaking temperatures there during the day and overnight. In Lithuania, four stations climbed to above 29C on Friday, smashing the country’s April maximum temperature record of 23.1C, set 66 years ago in 1959. Neighbouring Latvia and Estonia also set new national April temperature records late last week, registering maximum temperatures of 28.4C and 28.8C respectively.

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Charity set to reduce its workforce by more than a fifth this year amid mounting financial pressures

Scope expects to cut more than a fifth of its staff this year amid mounting financial pressures, with about a third of those affected to be disabled employees.

The disability charity announced a consultation last week over plans to place 124 of its 326 corporate roles at risk of redundancy, a move likely to result in about 70 job losses in the summer.

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Spending watchdog warns £6.5bn in funding may not offer value for public money amid ongoing sustainability concerns

A government spending watchdog has questioned the value of the multi-billion pound subsidies granted to the Drax power plant in North Yorkshire – and said that plans to hand over billions more may not represent value for money.

The government has provided about £22bn of public money to businesses and households that burn biomass pellets as fuel over the past three years, including £6.5bn for the owner of the Drax plant.

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GfK index falls by four points in April to -23 as domestic tax increases and rising bills also weigh on households

Consumer confidence in the UK has fallen to the lowest level for more than a year amid concern that Donald Trump’s trade wars could further drive up living costs for British households.

The latest barometer of sentiment from the data company GfK fell in April to its lowest level since November 2023, as a combination of domestic tax increases, rising bills, and worries over the US president’s tariffs weighed on consumers.

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Reckless cycling is currently prosecuted under legislation from the 1860s, with a maximum two-year jail sentence

Cyclists who kill pedestrians by dangerous cycling could face life imprisonment in England and Wales under new amendments to the crime and policing bill.

The offence of causing death by dangerous cycling would be brought into line with driving laws under amendments tabled on Thursday, the Department for Transport said.

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Employees of water firms who obstruct investigations into spills could face jail under new rules that come into force on Friday

Water company bosses have entirely escaped punishment for covering up illegal sewage spills, government figures show, as ministers prepare to bring in a new law threatening them with up to two years in prison for doing so.

Only three people have ever been prosecuted for obstructing the Environment Agency in its investigations into sewage spills, officials said, and none received even a fine.

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Department for Education criticised over funding rise from £2.58 to £2.61 per child per meal in September

Primary schools in England will be forced to subsidise free school meals for infants from their own budgets after the government’s “pitiful” 3p increase in funding, according to school leaders.

The Department for Education announced that its funding for universal infant free school meals would rise from £2.58 to £2.61 per child in September, with the 3p rise well below expected inflation and wage increases facing schools.

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Hearing scheduled for Friday as residents receive anonymous leaflets that downplay pollution dangers

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is stirring controversy in Memphis, Tennessee. That’s where he’s building a massive supercomputer to power his company xAI. Community residents and environmental activists say that since the supercomputer was fired up last summer it has become one of the biggest air polluters in the county. But some local officials have championed the billionaire, saying he’s investing in Memphis.

The first public hearing with the health department is scheduled for Friday, where county officials will hear from all sides of the debate. In the run-up to the hearing, secretive fliers claiming xAI has low emissions were sent to residents of historically Black neighborhoods; at the same time, environmental groups have been amassing data about how much pollution the AI company is likely generating.

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South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he talked about the war in Ukraine and the need to foster good bilateral relations with the US in his phone call with Donald Trump.

“We both agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths... to meet soon to address various matters regarding US-South Africa relations,” Ramaphosa wrote in a post on X.

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‘Nobody has been harder … about Donald Trump than me,’ Maher says after fellow comedian compared his meal with US president to meeting Hitler

Bill Maher has responded to Larry David’s satirical essay in the New York Times that compared Maher’s glowing account of having dinner with Donald Trump to dining with Adolf Hitler.

Maher, a vocal critic of Trump in the past, had dinner with the US president and a group of his high-profile supporters, including their mutual friend Kid Rock, on 31 March. On an episode of his talkshow Real Time on 11 April, Maher described Trump as “gracious” and “much more self-aware than he lets on”, saying: “Everything I’ve ever not liked about him was – I swear to God – absent, at least on this night with this guy.”

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Defense chief had line set up to bypass official security protocols and use Signal app on personal computer, AP says

Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, had an unsecured internet connection set up in his Pentagon office so that he could bypass government security protocols and use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told the Associated Press.

ABC News also reported that Hegseth had what is known as a “dirty line” – what IT professionals call a commercial internet line that is used to connect to websites blocked by the Pentagon’s unclassified and classified lines. Defense department computers connect to the internet through two different systems: SiprNet – or secure internet protocol router network, which is the Pentagon’s network for classified information – and NiprNet – the non-classified internet protocol router network, which handles unclassified information.

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President directs attorney general to investigate supposed foreign contributions, an unsubstantiated rightwing claim

The Republican president is taking aim at a Democratic fundraising platform, issuing a presidential memorandum to crack down on supposed foreign contributions to elections, an unsubstantiated claim from the right..

Donald Trump announced the memo on Thursday, directing the attorney general to investigate, and report to the president, “concerning allegations regarding the use of online fundraising platforms to make ‘straw’ or ‘dummy’ contributions and to make foreign contributions to US political candidates and committees, all of which break the law”.

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Donald Trump, who has seen his approval rating sink, has not ruled out serving a third term – though most spectators consider that highly unlikely

Donald Trump’s online store is selling clothing emblazoned “Trump 2028”, the year of the next US presidential election, in which the Republican is constitutionally banned from running.

The 78-year-old, who has seen his approval rating sink in recent opinion polls, has not ruled out serving a third term – though most spectators consider that highly unlikely.

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