The Guardian
54 minutes ago
‘The era of invincibility is over’: the week that brought big tech to heel
Ruling that Meta and YouTube deliberately designed addictive products marks possible watershed moment for social mediaThe young woman at the heart of what has been called the tech industry’s “big tobacco” moment was on YouTube at six and Instagram by nine. More than a decade later, she says, she still can’t live without the social media she became addicted to.“I can’t, it’s too hard to be without it,” Kaley, now 20, told a jury at Los Angeles’ superior court. This week, five men and seven women handed down a verdict on the design of two of the world’s most popular apps that vindicated Kaley’s position. Continue reading...
The Guardian
54 minutes ago
Israel reports first missile attack from Yemen after Rubio says war to end in ‘weeks’
Missile fired from Yemen the first since the Iran war began, raising concerns Iran-aligned Houthis joining the conflictMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael said on Saturday it had detected a missile fired from Yemen, the first since the Iran war began, just hours after Marco Rubio said the US expected to conclude military operations within “weeks, not months”.While Israel was again hitting targets across Iran’s capital on Saturday, it identified what it said was a missile launched from Yemen. Hours earlier, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they were prepared to act if what the group called an escalation against Iran and the “axis of resistance” continued, but did not say what form any intervention would take. Continue reading...
The Guardian
58 minutes ago
KP Sharma Oli: Nepal’s former prime minister arrested over alleged role in deadly protest crackdown
At least 77 people killed in anti-corruption youth uprising in September, which began over a brief social media banNepal’s former prime minister KP Sharma Oli was arrested early on Saturday morning over his role in the deaths of dozens of people who took part in the gen Z protest that toppled his government last year.Police detained the three-time former prime minister at his residence in the capital Kathmandu, and also arrested his former home affairs minister Ramesh Lekhak. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 hour ago
‘No one has had a dry run’: weather warnings for storm-ravaged WA after Cyclone Narelle downgraded to tropical low
Major gas infrastructure hit by outages as weather system continues south-eastGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastZac Saber did not sleep a wink as ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle battered the Western Australian coast on Friday night.As fellow Exmouth locals took shelter in evacuation centres and homes, Saber spent the night listening to the sound of “super intense” winds rattling his walls. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 hour ago
Gulf countries warn of rising threat from Iran-backed militias and proxies
Fears grow that Tehran may start activating sleeper cells across Middle East as part of war with US and IsraelMiddle East crisis – live updatesGulf countries have raised concerns over the prospect of attacks by Iran-backed militias and proxy armed groups in the region, which they fear could destabilise their regimes and escalate the war in the Middle East.In a joint statement this week, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan condemned Iranian attacks on their soil, both as strikes carried out directly from Iran and “through their proxies and armed factions they support in the region”. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 hour ago
In an Istanbul market, I came across an old German phrase book – and a reminder of how not to speak to migrants | Carolin Würfel
Turkish immigrants to Germany in the 60s were seen as temporary labour, not people. Today’s government in Berlin is at risk of repeating the mistakeA few weekends ago, I went to the flea market in Bomonti, a neighbourhood on the European side of Istanbul. I go there regularly, and over the years I’ve accumulated a small collection of things: embroidered napkins, records, old issues of House & Garden, earrings, candle holders. It is usually on the days when you are not looking for anything in particular that you find the most interesting things – or, as the Turkish writer Sabahattin Ali once wrote, “some things we never know we need until we find them”.That particular Sunday, strolling through the stalls, I came across a book from 1965 titled Türkler için Almanca – Deutsch für Türken (German for Turks). It was among the first language textbooks of its kind, widely distributed to the so-called Gastarbeiter – “guest workers” – who came to West Germany in the 1960s and 70s. The economic boom of the 1950s had created an acute labour shortage, prompting the recruitment of workers from abroad. A bilateral agreement with Turkey, signed in 1961, facilitated the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Turkish men and women to come and work in German factories. Officially, their stay was meant to be temporary. Workers came alone; families stayed behind. A copy of the language book I found 60 years later at a flea market in Istanbul would have been in the suitcases of many of these workers.Carolin Würfel is a writer, screenwriter and journalist who lives in Berlin and Istanbul. She is the author of Three Women Dreamed of Socialism Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 hour ago
‘Changing a city is complicated’: Anne Hidalgo looks back on 12 years as Paris mayor
Political veteran says she faced ‘French misogyny and machismo’ while making Paris greener and more peacefulOn a sunny spring morning, the highway along the right bank of the Seine is packed with joggers, cyclists, families out for a stroll, roller skaters, dog walkers, picnickers and others taking the air.In a few months, sand will be spread along a stretch to create the annual artificial Parisbeaches, enjoyed by all but especially city dwellers struggling to make ends meet and unable to afford the real thing. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 hour ago
UAE targeted with missiles and drones – as it happened
This blog is closed. Follow our new liveblog hereMore now on India slashing taxes on diesel and petrol amid the global disruption in energy supplies: finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the move would “provide protection to consumers from rise in prices”.The country is one of the world’s largest crude oil importers and relies on foreign suppliers for more than 85% of its oil needs, with Russia being the biggest supplier. Continue reading...
The Guardian
4 hours ago
House Republicans are ‘the only thing standing’ in the way of ending DHS shutdown, Hakeem Jeffries says – as it happened
This live blog is now closed.Sign up for the Breaking US News emailsPeter Ticktin, an 80-year-old Florida lawyer who has various ties to Donald Trump and represents some 2020 election deniers, has become an outspoken advocate for an emergency executive order on US elections that would overhaul voting rules and rights by ending machine and mail-in voting.The exact nature and extent of Ticktin’s contact and influence with Trump and other administration officials is not clear. But election experts and analysts see Ticktin’s push for an executive order as worrying, and part of a broader drive by fellow election conspiracists who are now promoting similar and legally dubious emergency order plans to revamp voting rules this year in order to boost Republican fortunes in the fall elections. Continue reading...
The Guardian
4 hours ago
Ukraine war briefing: Rubio stridently denies US is demanding Kyiv give up eastern Donbas to Russia
US secretary of state says Zelenskyy’s claims ‘not true’ about Donbas; French TV criticised over Sergei Lavrov interview. What we know on day 1,494US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, rejected Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s assertion that the Trump administration is demanding Kyiv hand over its eastern Donbas region to Russia to receive US security guarantees in any ceasefire plan. Speaking on Friday, Rubio disputed Zelenskyy’s recent comments and said the US has made no such stipulation in its talks with Ukraine. “That’s a lie,” Rubio said. “And I saw him say that. And it’s unfortunate he would say that because he knows that’s not true and that’s not what he was told.” Zelenskyy this week told Reuters the US was making its offer of security guarantees for Ukraine contingent on the ceding of the Donbas region, the industrial heartland long coveted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.French public television came under severe criticism on Friday for airing a prime-time interview with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. The France 2 television channel aired 10 minutes of the pre-recorded interview during its Thursday evening news, while the full hour-long version was posted online. More than four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion on Ukraine, Lavrov on France 2 claimed Moscow was intent on defending “international law”. Lavrov said US-Israeli strikes on Iran that sparked the Middle East war had breached these rules. But he rejected any notion of Russia breaking international law in Ukraine, claiming its forces never targeted “exclusively civilian” targets.Ukraine’s ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchenko, said on X people must be wondering why French television had given a platform to “a war criminal”.And the French foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, responded by saying Russia does not defend international law either in Ukraine or Iran with its actions. “Mr Lavrov was able to calmly spread his propaganda last night on a French television channel … You do not defend international law by launching a war of aggression,” Barrot told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 meeting in France.Meanwhile, Moscow has denied reports that Vladimir Putin asked Russian oligarchs to donate to fund the Ukraine war, as covered earlier by Nadeem Badshah. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said one of the businessmen at a closed-door meeting on 26 March proposed donating money to the state, and Putin welcomed this initiative.Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said the US still has a critical role to play in ending the war with Russia, adding that he had met Rubio on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in France. “Ukraine’s proposals are realistic and doable. Pressure on Russia is key to make Moscow end the war,” Sybiha posted to X on Friday. “We also spoke about the developments in the Middle East. Ukraine’s position is that the regimes in Moscow and Tehran work together to prolong the war.” There are fears the US-Israeli war on Iran has diverted attention away from finding peace in Ukraine. Continue reading...
The Guardian
5 hours ago
Three killed as tourist helicopter crashes on Hawaiian island of Kauai
Two others injured after sightseeing aircraft comes down on remote beach on Na Pali CoastA tourist helicopter crashed on a remote beach off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, killing three people and injuring two others, authorities said.The helicopter was carrying one pilot and four passengers when it crashed on Thursday afternoon at Kalalau Beach, the Kauai fire department said. The beach is on the Na Pali coast on Kauai’s north shore. The area is otherwise reachable only by hiking or boat. Continue reading...
The Guardian
7 hours ago
‘Break your silence’: Jane Fonda leads rally against Trump crackdown on arts and media
Actor outside Kennedy Center urges Americans to ‘stand tall against authoritarianism’ and resist free-speech threatsThe actor Jane Fonda joined journalists, musicians and writers outside Washington’s John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday in urging US citizens to “break your silence” and “stand tall against authoritarianism”.At a damp but defiant rally hosted by Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment, around a hundred invited guests gathered to hear speakers and singers rail against book bans, political censorship and other threats to free speech under Donald Trump. Continue reading...
The Guardian
7 hours ago
Labor to use new fuel security powers to underwrite extra shipments to Australia
PM did not rule out later fuel rationing or work-from-home measures but said he strongly preferred ‘voluntary arrangements’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government will take on the financial risk of additional imports of essential products affected by the war in the Middle East, to get extra supplies of petrol, diesel and fertiliser into the country.The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced the new fuel security powers on Saturday after a month of soaring diesel and petrol prices and widespread shortages at service stations, particularly in regional Australia. Continue reading...
The Guardian
7 hours ago
Breonna Taylor shooting: charges dismissed against ex-police officers for falsifying warrant
Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany were accused of lying on document used to enter Taylor’s house on night of shootingA federal judge has dismissed charges against two former Louisville police officers accused of falsifying the warrant used to enter Breonna Taylor’s apartment the night police shot her to death.Charles Simpson, a US district judge, issued a one-page ruling on Friday throwing out charges against Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, two former officers involved in crafting the Taylor warrant. Continue reading...
The Guardian
8 hours ago
Connecticut officer fired after shooting man in mental health crisis as others tried to de-escalate
Mayor of Hartford has fired a white police officer who fatally shot a Black man in a mental health crisis nine timesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA white Connecticut police officer who fatally shot a Black man 30 seconds after arriving at the scene, where three fellow officers had spent several minutes trying to de-escalate the situation, was fired Friday.Arunan Arulampalam, Hartford’s mayor, said in a statement that he terminated Officer Joseph Magnano effective immediately in connection with the 27 February shooting of Steven Jones, who was on a city street holding a knife. The killing came eight days after a different Hartford officer fatally shot another man in a mental health crisis. Continue reading...
The Guardian
8 hours ago
Sony to hike PS5 prices by $100 as AI and Iran war push up memory chip costs
Updated prices of PlayStation 5 consoles to go into effect on 2 April as electronics makers face rising cost pressuresSony is raising global prices of its PlayStation 5 consoles, including a $100 increase in the US, marking its second hike in less than a year as the entertainment giant grapples with rising costs of key components such as memory chips.The tech industry’s race to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure has pushed memory makers to favor higher-margin datacenter chips, tightening supply for consumer devices like the ones Sony sells. Continue reading...
The Guardian
11 hours ago
Lloyds bank faces £66m court battle with car loan customers
Law firm is preparing claim on behalf of 30,000 consumers who fear the FCA’s redress scheme will shortchange themLloyds Banking Group is facing a court battle with 30,000 aggrieved car loan customers who are to abandon the City regulator’s official redress scheme amid fears it will shortchange consumers and favour lenders.The claims law firm Courmacs Legal is planning to file a £66m omnibus claim on behalf of borrowers who believe they were financially harmed by car loan contracts set up by Lloyds’ motor finance arm, Black Horse. Continue reading...
The Guardian
11 hours ago
Schools in England must be compelled to offer pupils healthy food, not junk
School dinners have suffered at the hands of politics and economics for almost 50 yearsAlmost a generation has passed since Jamie Oliver’s four-part Channel 4 documentary series Jamie’s School Dinners exposed the unhealthy reality of the food served to pupils at lunchtime, including – notoriously – fat-heavy, meat-light Turkey Twizzlers. It proved a shaming and effective intervention. His ensuing Feed Me Better campaign led the then prime minister, Tony Blair, to pledge to make school lunches more nutritious and hand schools more money to do that, given the average lunch at that time cost just 45p to make.Problem solved? Unfortunately not. Continue reading...
The Guardian
12 hours ago
The week around the world in 20 pictures
Crisis in the Middle East, a Russian drone attack in Lviv, cherry blossom in Tokyo and the return of BTS – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading...
The Guardian
12 hours ago
Missing private investigator evidence in Daily Mail’s case ‘stark’, high court told
Claimants say lost documents hide scale of alleged unlawful information gathering at publisher of the Daily MailThe amount of lost or destroyed documents relating to the Daily Mail publisher’s use of private investigators is “stark in the extreme”, the high court has heard.However, the thin surviving evidence of payments to private investigators contains “conspicuous and often shocking evidence”, according to lawyers for a group of claimants accusing the publisher of using unlawful techniques. Continue reading...
The Guardian
12 hours ago
Reform candidate in Wales steps down after apparent Nazi salute
Party announces Corey Edwards’ decision to quit Senedd election campaign on grounds of mental healthA Reform UK candidate for the Welsh Senedd elections in May has announced he is standing down because of his mental health, after a photograph emerged of him apparently making a Nazi salute as an imitation of Adolf Hitler.The announcement by Reform comes a day after Nigel Farage defended Corey Edwards, its lead candidate for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency, saying he may have instead been impersonating the John Cleese character Basil Fawlty. Continue reading...
The Guardian
12 hours ago
The Guardian view on social media in the dock: tech bros move fast – society is trying to catch up | Editorial
Two court cases have shown how companies can be forced to take responsibility for their impact on public healthDebate about online harms has tended to focus on abusive and hateful content. But the form in which content is delivered is at least as important. That point is central to this week’s momentous decisions against Meta and YouTube, by two US juries. It will take more than these cases to loosen big tech’s tight grip on much of the world’s attention. But the fact that both companies were found liable in California, for deliberately designing addictive products that harmed a child, is a massive win for the coalition of campaigners aiming to use the US courts to force the platforms to change their products.The second case against Meta, in New Mexico, found it liable over the use of Facebook and Instagram for child sex trafficking, with a Guardian investigation cited in the complaint. The jury ordered it to pay $375m in civil liabilities; the state’s attorney general is seeking platform changes and financial penalties.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. Continue reading...
The Guardian
12 hours ago
Swindon man accused over wife’s suicide tells court it was ‘worst day of his life’
Christopher Trybus is charged with manslaughter and two counts of rape and coercive and controlling behaviour A man accused of subjecting his wife to a campaign of “physical and sexual violence” said finding out she had died by hanging was the “worst day of my life”.Tarryn Baird, 34, was found dead at her home in Swindon, Wiltshire, on 28 November 2017. Christopher Trybus, 43, is charged with his wife’s manslaughter as well as with two counts of rape and coercive and controlling behaviour. He denies all the charges.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
The Guardian
12 hours ago
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