Trump extends deadline for Iran to open strait of Hormuz by 10 days

President claims talks with Tehran regime are ‘going very well’ and says he is pausing ‘Energy Plant destruction’

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Donald Trump has extended his deadline for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz by 10 days to 6 April after saying talks are “going very well”.

The president made the statement on Thursday in a social media post, saying: “As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Aryna Sabalenka sinks Rybakina to set up Miami Open final showdown with Gauff

• World No 1 wins semi-final 6-4, 6-3 at Hard Rock Stadium

• American beats Muchova 6-1, 6-1 to continue domination of rival

Aryna Sabalenka believes she is ready for the challenge of facing her rival Coco Gauff in the Miami Open final as she stands one win away from winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same year for the first time in her career.

“She’s a fighter,” Sabalenka said of Gauff. “She’s a great player, of course. We played a lot of matches, a lot of tight matches, a lot of big finals. And, yeah, she’s a great player and I’m really excited to face her in the final. I think it’s going to be a great battle and I cannot wait to play that match.”

Experience: I’ve spent decades collecting over 260 postboxes

It started with an obscure railway postbox that had been thrown in a skip – now my museum has pieces from Scotland, Ireland and Hong Kong

Back in 1994, I went to north Wales to see the miniature steam trains – I was a fan of railways. On a platform at Rhyl station, I noticed the painted outline of a postbox – it was all that remained of one that had stood there since the late 1800s.

It turns out it had been vandalised, set alight and chucked in a skip. I asked the station manager if I could see it and he jokingly said: “Give me 20 quid and you can take it away with you.”

Progressive Paris has many weapons to fight the far right, but the best? Spaces where you can simply hang out | Alexander Hurst

Drop into any of the French capital’s ‘third places’ and you’ll find food, culture, community – and an antidote to the disaffection extremists feed on

Paris’s success in removing cars from its streets has been more widely praised than its progress in opening up mixed-use spaces. But the city’s enthusiasm for bringing what urbanists call “third places” to life is exactly why I found myself, just hours after voting in the first round of Paris’s municipal elections, dancing in telecoms company Orange’s former offices in Ménilmontant, the “seventh-coolest neighbourhood in the world”..

The building currently housing Print, a new pop-up, offers a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower, poised against the sunset – and, for now at least, it is an ephemeral temple to Millennial culture. It’s a five-storey space hosting photography exhibits, a coffee shop, sourdough pizza, two bars, a red-lit and mirror-adorned dance area and a sunset terrace. As well as pizza and fancy coffee, you can buy hoodies and art and design books – but most importantly, Print contains plenty of space where you can just be, without needing to spend a single euro.

Alexander Hurst writes for Guardian Europe from Paris. His memoir Generation Desperation is out now

Senate fails to advance DHS funding for 7th time, Trump promises to restart TSA pay

President Trump said he would sign an executive order to "immediately" pay TSA officers, who have gone without pay for more than a month.

A surprise resignation could open the door for an independent to win a Montana Senate seat

Two-term GOP Sen. Steve Daines shocked Montana when he announced his retirement. Democrats worry a new independent candidate will split their party's vote.

Partner of flight attendant missing in Colombia: "I want to believe that he's alive"

A search is underway for an American Airlines flight attendant whose disappearance while on a layover in Medellín, Colombia, has left his loved ones desperate for answers.

Human rights experts raise concerns over Olympics transgender women athlete ban

• Critics say new IOC guidelines violate fundamental human rights

• AOC backs new rules but accepts issue is ‘challenging and complex’

Over 100 human rights, sports and scientific groups, including the United Nations, have criticised the International Olympic Committee’s new gender eligibility guidelines as “a blunt and discriminatory response that is not supported by science and violates international human rights law”.

The IOC’s new guidelines, announced on Friday, mandate genetic sex tests for all athletes competing in its women’s categories, as well as blanket bans of people who identify as transgender, intersex or with sex differences.

More than 100 daily high temperature records expected this week

As a searing heat wave slowly expands over the western two-thirds of the U.S., more than 100 daily temperature records are forecast through Sunday.

House Dem accused of stealing FEMA funds faces rare ethics "trial"

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida is accused of using part of the $5 million to bolster her campaign and on luxury goods.

Two humanitarian aid boats heading to Cuba have gone missing, Mexico says

Navy searching for two boats that left Isla Mujeres last week bound for Havana with nine crew members of different nationalities on board

Mexico’s navy said on Thursday it had activated a search-and-rescue operation in the Caribbean to locate two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid to Cuba after the vessels failed to arrive in Havana as scheduled.

In a statement, the navy said the two boats left Isla Mujeres, in the Mexican Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, last week bound for Havana with nine crew members of different nationalities on board.

Anthropic wins preliminary injunction in DOD fight as judge cites 'First Amendment retaliation'

A federal judge in San Francisco granted Anthropic's request for a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against the Trump administration. 

Maduro held in a "jail inside of a jail" under special restrictions, sources say

Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife appeared Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. Here's a look at his life behind bars.

Sen. Warren rips Federal Reserve chair pick Kevin Warsh: 'You have learned nothing from your failures'

Kevin Warsh's nomination as chair of the Federal Reserve has been in limbo because of a criminal investigation of Chair Jerome Powell.

Trump says he's granting Iran's request to extend pause on energy site strikes

President Trump announced the extension of the pause "per Iranian government request."

Why this week's social media verdicts could hold tech giants to account

Experts say the rulings could expose tech companies to more litigation and pressure them to make changes to their apps.

Phillies’ Alec Bohm sues parents for millions alleging they siphoned money from his accounts

• Player says parents paid for their own expenses

• Daniel and Lisa Bohm deny any wrongdoing

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has sued his parents for millions of dollars, accusing them of siphoning large amounts of his money into financial accounts they managed for him and then using some of the cash to pay their own expenses.

Bohm’s lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in a Philadelphia court, comes after the 29-year-old reviewed his personal and financial affairs in recent months, and said that his parents refused to give him access to the accounts or provide him with the information he sought about them.

The depleted Education Department will move out of its headquarters

In August, Education Department employees will relocate to a smaller office roughly a block away, and the larger Energy Department will take over the old headquarters.

Trump says he'll order DHS to start paying TSA officers as shutdown drags on

President Trump said he will sign an executive order to restart pay for TSA officers, who have gone more than a month without a full paycheck.

Black Hawk chopper crossed path of United flight in California, FAA says

United Airlines said the pilots saw the helicopter, received a traffic alert and leveled the aircraft.

Maduro held in near-total isolation inside Brooklyn jail as legal fight unfolds

Nicolás Maduro, the deposed Venezuelan leader, and his wife both appeared in federal court in Manhattan nearly three months after American forces invaded his country and brought him to the U.S. to face narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges. Lilia Luciano has details.

Newsom signs California bill to rename Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day

Lawmakers earlier passed bill to rename 31 March holiday following sexual abuse allegations against labor leader

California governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day in the wake of shocking allegations that the labor leader sexually abused women and young girls.

The bill, passed by the state senate earlier on Thursday, authorized the renaming ahead of the state holiday on 31 March. The state has observed the holiday honoring Chavez, who in the 1960s built a major farm-worker labor rights movement California’s agricultural heartland, for more than two decades.

Savannah Guthrie says she fears her fame made her mom a target

In her first interview since her mother Nancy's kidnapping, "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie says she feared her fame made her mom a target. Jonathan Vigliotti has more.

‘Accountability has arrived’: dual US court losses show shifting tide against Meta and co

With two unprecedented trial defeats, big tech firms face crisis akin to that faced by cigarette makers in the 1990s

In the span of just two days, the most powerful social media company in the world faced a more severe public reckoning than it has in years.

Jurors in California and New Mexico gave back-to-back verdicts this week that for the first time ever found Meta liable for products that inflict harm on young people. For years, lawmakers, parents and advocates have raised red flags over how social media can hurt children, but now the tech firms are being held to account via court rulings that could set long-lasting precedents.

8th grader has the only perfect March Madness bracket left

People filled out more than 40 million NCAA tournament brackets across the men's and women's games, but there is just one bracket left that is perfect. Tony Dokoupil has the story.

Close call in California involving United Airlines flight and Black Hawk helicopter

A California Air National Guard Black Hawk helicopter crossed the path of a United Airlines flight headed towards John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. Kris Van Cleave has more.

TSA officers selling plasma to make ends meet as travelers miss flights

Over 40 days into the partial government shutdown, nearly 500 TSA officers have quit. Jason Allen reports.

Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration's Anthropic ban

The order briefly stops the government from labeling tech company Anthropic a "supply chain risk," calling that "classic First Amendment retaliation."

Trump says he'll sign order to pay TSA agents as Congress struggles to reach funding deal

It's an extraordinary move that came as senators were reviewing a "last and final" offer to end the funding impasse that has jammed airports and disrupted travel, just as TSA workers faced another missed paycheck Friday.

Siblings indicted after explosive device found outside Air Force base

MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, is home to U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air Force's Air Mobility Command.

Siblings indicted after explosive found outside MacDill Air Force Base

Two siblings have been charged after an improvised explosive device was left outside MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, earlier this month, federal prosecutors announced. Cristian Benavides has details.

Trump says he will sign an executive order to 'immediately pay' TSA agents

Lawmakers are stalled on funding the Department of Homeland Security as airport delays mount.

UK government must urgently apologise for forced adoption, MPs say

Ministers urged to work with survivor groups on formal apology as many victims are nearing end of their lives

The UK government must urgently issue a formal apology for the state’s role in forced adoption as many victims are nearing the end of their lives, a cross-party group of MPs has said.

A report from the education select committee said ministers should provide an initial commitment to an apology and begin working with survivor groups as quickly as possible on its wording.

C-3PO head used in Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back sells for more than $1m at auction

Memorabilia from Jaws, Cast Away and The Lord of The Rings also went under the hammer

A light-up C-3PO head used in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back has fetched more than US$1m at an auction.

The prop was part of a collection of film and TV memorabilia that went under the hammer on Wednesday as part of the Spring Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction at Propstore auction house in Los Angeles.

Putin asks oligarchs to donate to Russia’s dwindling defence budget

Russian president expected to continue invasion of Ukraine until his forces have secured remaining areas of eastern Donbas

Vladimir Putin has asked Russia’s oligarchs to donate to the country’s dwindling defence budget to continue its invasion of Ukraine, it has been reported.

The Russian president is expected to continue the conflict, which began in February 2022, until Moscow has secured the remaining areas of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region not under its control, according to the Financial Times.

At least two businessmen have told Putin they would be willing to make contributions to the defence budget after talks on Thursday, the newspaper reported.

Putin is understood to be pressing ahead with the invasion after Ukraine refused to withdraw unilaterally from Donbas during recent negotiations brokered by the US.

Russia will be in contact with the US about a new round of talks on a peace settlement as soon as conditions allow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov said Russia had not lost interest in peace talks but added that key issues – including territory – had yet to be settled.

The Kremlin’s defence bill has increased by 42% to reach Rbs13.1tn (£121bn) last year and it has sought to stabilise its economy through taxation.

The economy minister, Maxim Reshetnikov, said on Thursday that Russia was considering another windfall tax this year if the rouble continues to weaken. Russia raised Rbs320bn (£2.95bn) through a one-off 10% windfall levy on some large companies in 2023.

In January, the Kremlin increased VAT to 22% in a bid to raise an extra Rbs600bn over three years from small and medium-sized businesses.

Russia’s budget deficit for January and February swelled to more than 90% of the figure projected for the whole year as US sanctions forced Moscow to sell oil at significantly discounted prices.

Earlier, Putin cautioned that Russian companies and the government should take a guarded approach when deciding how to spend windfall gains from higher oil prices resulting from the war in the Middle East.

“Now that the prices of our traditional exports are rising, but the markets are in turmoil, there may be a temptation to take advantage of the situation,” he told business leaders in Moscow.

Putin added this temptation could involve squandering the extra revenue, paying it out in company dividends or, in the state’s case, expanding budget spending.

“We must remain prudent. If the markets swing one way today, they could swing the other tomorrow,” he added.

“A moderate degree of conservatism and a moderately conservative approach are needed, both in the corporate sector and in public finances.”

Quadruple amputee cornhole player accused of murder in Maryland

Dayton James Webber, a quadruple amputee and professional cornhole player, was arrested and charged with murder in Maryland.

American Airlines in talks with Starlink and Amazon for Wi-Fi upgrade, weighs return of seatback screens

American Airlines is considering a big upgrade to its in-flight entertainment and internet providers, including potentially bringing back seatback screens.

Trump to sign order for DHS to pay TSA agents ‘immediately’ amid funding standoff

President says order will ‘address this Emergency Situation’ as TSA employees have gone without pay during dispute

Donald Trump announced Thursday he will sign an order instructing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pay Transportation Security Administration agents immediately.

“I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump wrote on social media. “I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports.”

Trump's signature to be featured on U.S. paper currency, Treasury says

The Treasury Department plans to add President Trump's signature to new U.S. paper currency, a first for a sitting president.

Ireland dreams end in shootout heartbreak after Krejci’s late goal rescues Czechs

A familiar tale of World Cup playoff agony awaited the Republic of Ireland in Prague, but this was no hard luck story. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team twice had the Czech Republic where they wanted them, in normal time and in a penalty shootout, and twice they let them off the hook. Dreams of a first World Cup in 24 years evaporated as a consequence.

Ireland led 2-0 after 23 minutes of a scrappy semi-final and 3-2 after the first six penalties of the shootout, but the momentum built on the back of outstanding qualifying wins over Portugal and Hungary could not be sustained. The misery of this latest playoff defeat – Ireland’s fifth loss in six World Cup playoff fixtures – will be heightened by the realisation it was so unnecessary.

Wales agony as Bosnia and Herzegovina win penalty shootout to end World Cup hopes

Two years to the day since penalty shootout heartbreak against Poland, more agony from 12 yards for Wales, this time to deny them a shot at reaching this summer’s World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina prevailed 4-2 on spot-kicks after a typically absorbing night in the Welsh capital, one that went the distance, more than 133 minutes passed before Brennan Johnson spooned over and Neco Williams saw his penalty saved by Nikola Vasilj.

For so long it had seemed Daniel James, whose spot-kick was saved by Wojciech Szczesny to kill hopes of reaching Euro 2024, would be the match-winner but Edin Dzeko, who turned 40 this month, glanced in a corner to take the game to extra time. For the second successive qualifying campaign, the locals left the Cardiff City Stadium numb. The sobering reality is Wales now have to rouse themselves for a non-event against Northern Ireland here on Tuesday, when Bosnia host Italy for a spot in the finals.

Trump extends pause on attacking Iran energy facilities to April 6

Trump announced the U.S. would continue a pause on energy sites in Iran as key stock market indexes fell and oil prices rose.

Russia bans Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin

Russian court alleges film promotes ‘negative attitudes’ about the Russian government and the war in Ukraine

A Russian court banned the Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin from several streaming platforms on Thursday, alleging it promoted “negative attitudes” about the Russian government and the war in Ukraine.

The film documents pro-war propaganda lessons delivered at a school in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, using two years of footage secretly filmed and smuggled out of the country by the school’s videographer, Pavel Talankin.

3/26: CBS Evening News

A close call in the skies over Southern California; siblings indicted after a bomb was found at an Air Force base.

Trump signature to appear on US bills in first for sitting president

Treasurer’s signature to be removed for first time since 1861 in change made to mark US’s 250th anniversary

Donald Trump’s signature will soon appear on US paper currency, the treasury department announced Thursday.

The move marks the first time a sitting US president’s signature will appear on legal tender. To accommodate this change, the treasurer’s signature will be removed for the first time since 1861.

Venezuelans deported by US detail fresh claims of torture and abuse at El Salvador mega-prison

Petition seeks accountability from Salvadorian authorities over human rights violations at notorious Cecot facility

A group of 18 Venezuelan men whom the US expelled a notorious Salvadorian mega-prison are demanding that Salvadorian authorities be held internationally accountable for violation of human rights – detailing new allegations of torture, sexual assault and medical neglect.

A new petition, filed on Thursday before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleges that El Salvador violated the human rights of these men, who were expelled to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) last year without charge.

Elon Musk's Boring Co. tunnels aren't wanted by most Nashville residents

A new survey by Vanderbilt University found that most Nashville residents don't want Boring Company tunnels in their city.

Dolphins, stingers and ‘salt tongue’: an epic ocean swim around New Zealand’s east coast

Jono Ridler has battled loneliness and fatigue as he aims to break the record for the longest unassisted staged swim – and raise awareness about fragile marine life

First he hears a faint chatter coming from the ocean depths, then clicks and squeaks as the creatures draw closer. From the murky edges of his goggles they appear, swift and agile, darting within 10cm of his bare outstretched arms and following him for a time, as he swims hundreds of metres off the coast of New Zealand.

Jono Ridler, an ultra-distance swimmer who is 1,254km (779 miles) into his world record attempt for the longest-ever unassisted staged swim, has learned to hear dolphins more than 15 minutes before they reach him and long before his support boats can see them.

Viktor Gyökeres hits hat-trick as Sweden and Graham Potter see off Ukraine

Graham Potter may be in it for the long haul but the immediate outlook looks pretty bright too. This was his third game in charge of Sweden and the biggest compliment to pay is that they looked like themselves. A strong, diligent defensive performance nullified a lightweight Ukraine and it helped that, at the other end, they could call upon a centre-forward head and shoulders above anyone else on view.

That was Viktor Gyökeres, a talisman for his country even if Arsenal fans are yet to be fully enamoured. An object lesson in No 9 play brought a deserved hat-trick and ensured Sweden will reach the World Cup if they beat Poland at home on Tuesday. It is some turnaround from the directionless, disconsolate side Potter inherited; virtually ignored by a meagre travelling support when they were routed by Switzerland on his debut in November, this time they were serenaded by a jubilant yellow mass of 3,000 in the north-east corner.

Tonali and Kean end Northern Ireland World Cup hopes to send Italy into playoff final

Game seven of Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy tenure eventually delivered comfort. In number eight, he will look to end the painful wait of a nation by returning his country to the World Cup for the first time since 2014. Northern Ireland’s future, a bright one with this young squad, means looking towards Euro 2028. This was a campaign too soon.

Gattuso has a stated aim of making World Cup impact, not simply qualifying. There were long spells in this playoff when the coach’s aspirations felt ludicrous. Perhaps Italy laboured, especially in the first half, under expectation. Yet it is an undoubted truism that they will require a huge uplift in performance level to feature prominently in the summer. Italy edged rather than swaggered towards their meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only the brave will call the outcome of that. “We have to win, we have no other choice,” said Gattuso. “We are playing a team full of experienced players. It will be another hugely challenging match.”

Human rights groups cheer ‘watershed’ verdict in social media addiction trial

As many organizations celebrate outcome, some are skeptical as to what it means for privacy protections

The verdict in a landmark social media trial that Meta and YouTube deliberately designed addictive products has sparked calls for reform across borders. International human rights and tech freedom groups issued statements after the decision, praising jurors for holding social media companies accountable for harms to children and urging tech giants to change their design features to ensure children are safe.

Amnesty International said in a statement on Thursday that “this court decision is clear: these platforms are unsafe by design and meaningful change is urgently needed”.

DOJ close to finalizing deal to hand over voter roll data to DHS, sources say

DOJ plans to turn over voter data it's collecting from states to DHS for use in immigration and criminal investigations, sources say.

Fraud probe bill from Reps. Ro Khanna and Tim Burchett would order an audit of all states' use of federal funds

Khanna, who is leading Democrats on a wealth tax bill, told CNBC in December he would introduce the fraud probe bill when he found a Republican cosponsor.

Minnesota elections office subpoenaed in probe over state voter rolls, sources say

The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office has been ordered to turn over certain voter records.

Federal Reserve urges judge to deny bid to revive Jerome Powell probe subpoenas

President Donald Trump, in his latest jibe at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, called him a "moron,' and blasted him over keeping interest rates too high.

Thomas Tuchel confident Ben White will not be booed by England crowd

• Defender called up for first time since exiting 2022 World Cup

• ‘There are strong opinions but he deserves a second chance’

Thomas Tuchel has acknowledged that Ben White needs to clear the air with his teammates after returning to the England squad, but the head coach is confident the defender will not be booed by the Wembley crowd during tonight’s friendly against Uruguay.

White has not been part of the setup since exiting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar early for personal reasons and the decision to end his international exile has not gone down well with some people. The Arsenal player has never explained the reasons for his departure and subsequently making himself unavailable for selection for the rest of Gareth Southgate’s time in charge.

3/26: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Republicans send Democrats "last and final" DHS funding offer; President Trump extends pause on Iranian energy plant strikes.

The Olympic committee bans trans athletes from women's events, raising many questions

The International Olympic Committee will require all athletes who want to participate in women's events to undergo genetic testing. The policy takes effect for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

As TSA agents miss another paycheck, what's happening at airports with private security?

At 20 airports around the U.S., security screeners are getting paid as usual despite the ongoing DHS shutdown — because they're private contractors. Will more airports look at privatizing security?

A smile and a handshake as Maduro case drags Venezuela crisis to New York court

The deposed Venezuelan president and his wife appeared in a Manhattan courtroom as rival protests took place outside

The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro had a smile on his face as he walked into a Manhattan court with shackles around his ankles and affably shook hands with attorneys at the defense table.

But though he appeared at ease on Thursday, Maduro, who was captured in Caracas by US special forces on 3 January, faces a “narco-terrorism” indictment that could land him in federal prison for life.

Flatterers out in force to fill Trump’s head with Venezuelan statue dreams

President’s popularity top of mind at another weird and wild cabinet meeting – riff on merits of Sharpies included

They have become so notorious for displays of flattery and obsequiousness that critics have drawn comparisons with North Korea. Thursday’s cabinet meeting at the White House was no different.

Doug Burgum, the US interior secretary, outflanked his fellow praise singers by saying he believes that Venezuela – which the US attacked in January – intends to honour the president with a statue.

MLB faces a historic shift as potential lockout, media rights and other league changes loom

Several changes await MLB after this season, including its CBA's expiration, new media partners, and potential expansion and league realignment.

Meta's stock drops almost 8% as 2 court defeats add to Zuckerberg's recent woes

Meta suffered stinging defeats in two separate trials involving child safety that underscore shifting public sentiment toward the social media industry.

Couple on unusual activity at neighbor's home: "I think they finally killed him"

When Gary Herbst, described by his Minnesota neighbors as confrontational, disappeared on July 8, 2013, it appeared he walked out on his wife and teenage son. Years later, a startling discovery would confirm what neighbors thought they might have witnessed.

Trump has deployed ICE agents to the nation's airports. What's their role?

The president says ICE agents are being stationed at airports to help reduce long wait times. Here's a look at what they're authorized to do.

RNC considering Dallas to host special midterm convention

RNC representatives toured the American Airlines Center last month.

The Guardian view on China and Iran: the war poses bigger questions for Beijing than where to get its oil | Editorial

The limits of its partnership with Tehran are unsurprising. But this conflict raises broader issues for the superpower

For years, official Chinese rhetoric on Iran invoked their shared historical status as grand civilisations that have struggled against western aggression. Bilateral ties date back more than half a century. In 2021, they signed a comprehensive strategic agreement pledging $400bn of Chinese investment. And China’s economy is already flagging; it has just set its lowest growth target since 1991, underlining the importance of stability for Beijing.

So its muted response since the US and Israel launched their war is striking. Beijing condemned the attack, but it was Washington that postponed the summit between their leaders because of the conflict. As Gulf states that previously mediated back away, China shows no interest in stepping up.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Hungary charges journalist after claims minister was in touch with Moscow

Investigative reporter Szabolcs Panyi covered story alleging foreign minister had passed information to Sergei Lavrov

The Hungarian government has filed charges against one of the country’s most prominent investigative journalists, accusing him of spying for Ukraine, as officials grapple with the fallout of allegations that Budapest shared confidential EU information with Moscow.

The claims of espionage cap off a tumultuous week in Hungarian politics, in which relations with the EU plummeted to new lows and polls suggested that Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party is still lagging behind in support before next month’s election.

United Airlines, flight attendants reach labor deal for first raises since pandemic

United Airlines and its flight attendants union reached a new labor deal.

Volunteer Met officer ‘sought to intimidate Al Jazeera journalists’

Scotland Yard investigating off-duty officer’s apparent involvement in altercation with journalists covering arson attack in Golders Green

A volunteer police officer is being investigated over claims he sought to intimidate Al Jazeera journalists who were covering a suspected antisemitic hate crime in north-west London on Monday, Scotland Yard has said.

David Soffer, who was off-duty at the time of his alleged involvement, has been referred to the Metropolitan police’s department of professional standards over his apparent involvement in the altercation between Golders Green residents and the TV journalists.

From Laurel Hubbard to sex testing in five years: why the Olympics U-turned on transgender rules | Sean Ingle

The IOC’s shift in position on trans women in elite sports is seismic, but new president Kirsty Coventry is reflecting a changed political climate

By any measure, it amounts to one of the most astonishing U-turns from a governing body in modern times. Four and a half years ago, the International Olympic Committee was lauding the appearance of the first transgender weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard, at an Olympics, and issuing a framework to sports saying that transgender women “should not be deemed to have an unfair or disproportionate competitive advantage” over biological women.

Now it has not only ripped up every last morsel of that guidance but also performed a spectacular 180-degree turn.

Fannie Mae accepts first crypto-backed mortgage product

Better Home and Finance is partnering with Coinbase on a crypto-backed mortgage that conforms to Fannie Mae guidelines.

Nicolás Maduro appears again in New York court on ‘narco-terrorism’ charges

Deposed Venezuelan president and his wife, who both pleaded not guilty, were captured by US military in January

The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday for his “narco-terrorism” case after his capture by US military forces earlier this year.

The hearing opened with the defense and prosecution arguing over whether Maduro should be allowed to use Venezuelan government funds to pay for his defense. The defense has insisted that the US is violating the deposed leader’s constitutional rights by blocking government money from being used for his legal costs.

DOJ admits ICE courthouse arrests relied on erroneous information

Hundreds of immigrants have been arrested at immigration courthouses. It is unclear whether the federal government's admission could lead to some of those arrests being overturned.

Americans face calls to cut their energy usage as Iran war drags on

As oil prices surge, some experts are urging consumers to take energy-conserving steps like working from home or driving less.

The delusion of easy victory from the air may have seduced the US into another war

Air superiority is supposed to deliver a quick triumph. But history has shown that promise to be written on the wind

• Middle East crisis – live updates

To explore the roots of Donald Trump’s Iran military strategy and the pugnacious rhetoric of his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, means looking back 105 years. In 1921, a year before Benito Mussolini and his blackshirts marched on Rome to launch the Fascist era, an Italian general named Giulio Douhet published The Command of the Air, proposing a revolution in warfare.

Victory in the future, he said, would no longer come from the grinding trench combat of the great war. Instead it meant large-scale aerial bombardments, targeting not just combatants but civilians and civilian infrastructure and logistics.

Finnish MP convicted for saying homosexuality is ‘developmental disorder’

Christian Democrat Päivi Räsänen, who was fined €1,800, was supported by conservative US group Alliance Defending Freedom

A Finnish member of parliament has been found guilty by the country’s supreme court of inciting hatred after claiming that homosexuality was a “developmental disorder”, in a conviction that prompted criticism from far-right government ministers.

Päivi Räsänen, of the Christian Democrats, made the claims in a pamphlet first published in 2004 and reproduced on the website of the Luther Foundation Finland and the Finnish Evangelical Mission Diocese in 2007.

Iran says Trump ‘negotiating with himself’: what next for war? - The Latest

Donald Trump insists Iran is still interested in cutting a peace deal despite Tehran rejecting the US plan. Iran has now put forward a five-point counterproposal and says the war will end on its own terms. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s senior international correspondent, Julian Borger

‘Tehran’s tollbooth’: a visual guide to how a trickle of ships still passes through strait of Hormuz

Many of the vessels willing to make the crossing are taking an alternative route through Iranian waters

Threats to shipping have effectively closed the strait of Hormuz since the US-Israel war on Iran began four weeks ago – upending global oil and gas supplies and sending energy prices soaring.

In normal times, tankers carry about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies through the narrow channel and on to the rest of the world, while about a third of the global fertilisers necessary for half of the world’s food production pass through in dry bulk vessels.

Brussels opens investigation into Snapchat amid concern over children’s safety

European Commission says social messaging app is exposing children to grooming and sexual exploitation

Brussels has opened an investigation into Snapchat over concerns the social messaging app is exposing children to grooming, sexual exploitation and other criminality.

In a separate decision on Thursday, the European Commission also said four pornographic websites were failing to prevent minors seeing adult content, harming young people’s mental health and fuelling negative gender attitudes.

The Quad God reborn: Ilia Malinin leads world championships after Olympic shock

• American on course for victory after short program

• 21-year-old had disastrous skate at Winter Olympics

Ilia Malinin bounced back from his disappointment at this year’s Winter Olympics by leading after the short program at the figure skating world championships on Thursday.

Malinin, sporting a new haircut, gave fans what they expected from the defending two-time world champion at O2 Arena in Prague.

Israel says it has killed Iran naval chief overseeing Strait of Hormuz blockade

Israel's Defense Forces said Thursday that Iranian naval commander Alireza Tangsiri has been killed in a "precise strike" in the port city of Bandar Abbas.

Israeli strike hits Deir al-Balah camp in Gaza, killing at least one person – video

At least one person was killed and several others were injured after an Israeli strike hit the Deir al-Balah camp. Witnesses told the Associated Press that they had received warning calls from apparent Israeli military personnel before the strike, asking them to evacuate and move about 500 metres away from the tent camp. Gaza's health ministry says at least 680 people have been ⁠killed by Israeli fire since the October ceasefire. Israel says four soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza in the same period

Alexander Kluge, author and key film-maker in the New German Cinema movement, dies aged 94

A winner of the Golden Lion at Venice, Kluge was a committed pacifist and one of the last living torchbearers of the Frankfurt school of neo-Marxist cultural criticism

Alexander Kluge, a German film-maker and author who elevated cinematic collages into an art form and won the top prize at the Venice film festival in 1968, has died aged 94, his publisher has announced.

A former assistant of expressionist master Fritz Lang, Kluge was an accomplished director of intellectually rewarding, if at times oblique filmic essays, and an ever-productive writer of short fiction.

America's first AI-fueled war is unfolding right now in Iran. This is how we got here

Bloomberg journalist Katrina Manson discusses the Pentagon's secretive campaign to build America's AI warfare capabilities and the obsessive Marine colonel behind it. Her new book is Project Maven.

Sperm get lost in space, Australian research into microgravity impacts suggests

Study into how fertilisation could work in space finds sperm may get disorientated when trying to find an egg

Sperm in space are likely to get disoriented and lost while struggling to find their way to an egg, a new study has found.

When exposed to microgravity in experiments, sperm tumble around like an untethered astronaut, according to Adelaide University researchers.

Would you use cadaver fat for a boob job or butt lift? Some people already do

Cadaver fat from organ and tissue donors is being used for cosmetic procedures – and yup, it’s legal in the US, writes advice columnist Jessica DeFino

Hi Ugly,

I recently became aware of new cosmetic injectables derived from cadaver fat – as in, made of dead people. Apparently the fat is harvested from organ and tissue donors and used for procedures like Brazilian butt lifts and boob jobs.

Why is this column called ‘Ask Ugly’?

How should I be styling my pubic hair?

How do I deal with imperfection?

My father had plastic surgery. Now he wants me and my mother to get work done

Hegseth prays at Pentagon service for ‘overwhelming violence’ against enemies

Remarks come after defense secretary calls for changes to military’s chaplain corps, which had been ‘watered down’

• Middle East crisis – live updates

The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, prayed during a religious service at the Pentagon that there be “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy”.

The Christian worship service, held on Wednesday before military and civilian workers at the Pentagon, was Hegseth’s first since the Iran war began, the Associated Press reported.

Rebecca Hendin on Donald Trump’s 15-point peace plan – cartoon

Continue reading...

Uruguay faces dilemma from the deep: what to do with a salvaged Nazi eagle?

Sculpture was retrieved from German battleship sunk in 1939 Battle of the River Plate but its future is controversial

The enormous bronze sculpture of an eagle clutching a swastika in its talons spent nearly 70 years lying at the bottom of the River Plate, off the coast of Uruguay.

After being salvaged in 2006, it briefly went on display in the Uruguayan capital – before the government reconsidered the wisdom of granting such prominence to a Nazi emblem, and the eagle was hidden away on a military base.

Google warns quantum computers could hack encrypted systems by 2029

Banks, governments and tech providers urged to upgrade security because current systems will soon be obsolete

Banks, governments and technology providers need to be prepared for quantum computer hackers capable of breaking most existing encryption systems by 2029, Google has warned.

The tech company said in a blogpost that quantum computers would pose a “significant threat to current cryptographic standards” before the end of the decade and urged other companies to follow its lead.

Trump says Justices Barrett, Gorsuch ‘sicken me’ after Supreme Court tariff ruling

The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, said President Trump did not have authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs.

Tom Brady says he's asked NFL about potential comeback: 'They don't like that idea very much'

Tom Brady has asked the NFL about its policy of allowing minority owners to return as players, but he has no plans on returning the field, he told CNBC.

The Two Roberts by Damian Barr audiobook review – love and lost dreams in bohemian London

This fictionalised account of the relationship between real-life artists Bobby MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun vividly depicts their romance and rise to fame – and the fall from grace that followed

The artists Bobby MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun first met in 1933 as talented young students at the Glasgow School of Art. From that moment on, these two working-class men from Ayrshire lived, worked and loved together at a time when homosexuality was still illegal. Moving to London, they found fame in the art world, where they were nicknamed MacBraque and McPicasso. Against a backdrop of war, they drank, partied, were photographed by Vogue and spent more money than they earned.

In his fictionalised biography, Damian Barr charts the relationship of this largely forgotten pair, which spanned 26 years, drawing on what is known about their lives and work, and using creative licence to fill in the gaps. We first meet them as students lying on a hillside above Glasgow, “curled like commas, naked in the nest they’ve rolled in the high golden grass”. The pair lodge in the attic of a wealthy widow, where they subsist on stew and form a protective barrier around themselves. They are, observes Barr, “as careful as scared people should be”.

Paul McCartney: Days We Left Behind review – this wistful, lovely song is as McCartney-esque as it’s possible to be

(MPL/Capitol)
This nostalgic new single suggests a convincing mature style, without the unnecessary straining for relevance that marred some recent solo releases

• Paul McCartney announces 18th solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane

At 83, Paul McCartney remains one of rock’s most dependable arena-fillers, still packing out multiple nights in the biggest venues of whichever country he chooses to visit. But his recent solo albums have proved a decidedly mixed bag. There are always lovely songs that only Paul McCartney could have written: Seize the Day, Hosanna and I Don’t Know all offered compelling evidence that the extraordinary melodic instincts of the Most Successful Songwriter in the History of Popular Music were entirely intact as he stared down his ninth decade.

But they coexisted alongside ungainly lurches for contemporaneity that you rather wish he had left out: thumpy post-Mumford folk on 2013’s Everybody Out There; what appeared to be a Queens of the Stone Age pastiche in the shape of 2020’s Slidin’; a dreadful collaboration with pop songwriter for hire Ryan Tedder called Fuh You that even its co-author seemed to have misgivings about. “This doesn’t amount to anything – y’know, I wrote Eleanor Rigby,” he protested, which was a fair point but raised the question of how it still made the tracklisting of 2018’s Egypt Station.

Suit asks court to force Trump administration to use 'The Kennedy Center' name

The motion is part of a lawsuit challenging President Trump and the Center's board, who now refer to the complex as "The Trump Kennedy Center."

Nigeria takes its place on world stage in quest to become regional superpower

Nigeria and UK look to strengthen trade and economic ties amid growing calls from Africa and Caribbean for reparative justice

“There are chapters in our shared history that I know have left some painful marks,” King Charles said during a state banquet to welcome the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, to the UK, in a year in which the monarch is expected to come under renewed pressure to make a formal apology for transatlantic slavery and colonialism.

But while demands grow from African and Caribbean nations for the UK to further reparative justice, Nigeria and the UK are looking to the future of global trade.

Daunting, inspiring, comforting, terrifying: the writers who can make silence as eloquent as words

From the hush of medieval lullabies to striking poems about Grenfell, great authors know how to deploy the power of silence

On a snowy Sunday morning in February 1808, the poet William Wordsworth was walking along Fleet Street in London. He’d just been to visit his friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in his lodgings on the Strand. Coleridge was at a low ebb: stuck in an unhappy marriage, weighed down by perennial financial difficulties, mentally blocked from writing, in poor health and addicted to opium. The visit had a lowering effect on Wordsworth’s own spirits. Walking along Fleet Street, eyes downcast, “ear sleeping”, feet moving automatically, he was absorbed in sombre thoughts.

But then something made him look up. A vision lay before him: Fleet Street blanketed with snow, “silent, empty, pure white”, and, at the end of it, the “huge and majestic form” of Saint Paul’s Cathedral. It was a spellbinding moment: the great thoroughfare temporarily devoid of carts and carriages, the cathedral looming blurrily out of the still-falling snowflakes – a real-life snow globe. “I cannot say how much I was affected at this unthought-of sight,” Wordsworth told his friend and patron, Sir George Beaumont, in a letter he wrote a few days later. “What a blessing I feel there is in habits of exalted imagination.” The great London silence was another piece in his accumulating pile of evidence that intuiting something beyond yourself is the route to becoming morally magnificent.

Will Stephen Colbert’s Lord of the Rings film be Tom Bombadil’s time to shine?

The US talkshow host’s script will focus on chapters three to eight of Tolkien’s first volume – a section Hollywood originally thought disposable but is now circling back to monetise

As I write this, there are at least five days to April Fools’ Day. Yet the news that Stephen Colbert, the American late night host, is about to write a new Lord of the Rings movie based at least in part on some (more) bits of the JRR Tolkien tome that didn’t make it into Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning trilogy certainly feels like a prank.

We already knew we are about to get an entire film, directed by and starring Andy Serkis, titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, and based on a sequence that was told in brief flashback during 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s due out next year. And there were rumours that more movies would be coming. The Scouring of the Shire, perhaps, based on the bit at the end of The Lord of the Rings when the hobbits go home and discover Saruman has set himself up as King of the Hobbits? Something centred on long forgotten segments of The Silmarillion or The Book of Lost Tales that have somehow not been covered by Amazon’s megabudget Rings of Power TV show? Perhaps an action adventure based on Farmer Giles of Ham?

EPA approves sale of higher-ethanol fuel in bid to lower gas prices

Higher blend has been prohibited in warm weather because of concerns it could worsen smog

The US Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday that it would temporarily allow widespread sales of a higher-ethanol gas blend in a move that it hopes will tamp down consumer prices that have soared since the Iran war began.

The higher-ethanol blend has been prohibited in warm weather because of concerns it could worsen smog.