US president intoned ‘death, death, death’ as he waved articles purporting to show violence against white minority

It was an ambush crafted straight from a reality-TV playbook. The Oval Office meeting with South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, started with exchanges of pleasantries, before Donald Trump said “turn the lights down” and a video was played to support his false claims that white South African farmers are being murdered for their race.

Ramaphosa came prepared with champion white South African golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, whom the golf-mad Trump referred to as “friends”, as well as South Africa’s richest person, Johann Rupert.

Eight people apparently deported as their lawyers say they are at ‘risk of harm’ and that there is ‘no clarity’

A federal judge has ruled the US government’s attempt to deport migrants to South Sudan “unquestionably” violated an earlier court order.

Brian E Murphy, the US district judge in Massachusetts, made the remark at an emergency hearing he had ordered in Boston following the Trump administration’s apparent removal of eight people to South Sudan, despite most of them being from other countries.

World’s youngest country is facing renewed outbreak of tensions that have plagued it for years

An attempt by the US to deport South Asian migrants to South Sudan has cast a spotlight on the world’s youngest country, which is experiencing a renewed outbreak of the political tensions that have plagued it over the years.

On Wednesday, a US federal judge said the deportation of migrants from the US to South Sudan “unquestionably” violated a court order requiring that any people being deported to a third country should receive due process.

Ernie Els and Retief Goosen reportedly part of delegation as president seeks to reset ties after white ‘genocide’ claims

The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is expected to take the golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen with him to meet Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday, as the government attempts to reset relations with the US amid Trump’s accusations that it is fomenting a white “genocide”.

Ramaphosa’s appeal to Trump’s love of golf, with the potential inclusion of Els and Goosen reported by South African local media, is part of his efforts to avoid a public dressing down of the kind Trump gave to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in February.

Cocoa one of six commodities vulnerable to environmental threats in ‘extremely worrying picture’ for food resilience

Climate breakdown and wildlife loss are deepening the EU’s “chocolate crisis”, a report has argued, with cocoa one of six key commodities to come mostly from countries vulnerable to environmental threats.

More than two-thirds of the cocoa, coffee, soy, rice, wheat and maize brought into the EU in 2023 came from countries that are not well prepared for climate change, according to the UK consultants Foresight Transitions.

G7 finance ministers and central bank governors pledge to address ‘economic imbalances’, without naming China

Top finance officials from the world’s seven wealthiest democracies set aside stark differences on US tariffs and agreed to counter global “economic imbalances”, a swipe at China’s trade practices.

In a communique issued on Thursday, the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors, meeting in the Canadian Rockies, left out their traditional defense of free trade and toned down their references to Russia’s war in Ukraine compared with last year. But they did agree that further sanctions on Russia could be imposed if the two countries do not reach a ceasefire.

Legislation would dismantle regulations in farming, mining and energy, increasing risk of widespread destruction

Environmental activists in Brazil have decried a dramatic rollback of environmental safeguards after the senate approved a bill that would dismantle licensing processes and increase the risk of widespread destruction.

The upper house passed the so-called “devastation bill” with 54 votes to 13 late on Wednesday, paving the way for projects ranging from mining and infrastructure to energy and farming to receive regulatory approval with little to no environmental oversight.

Celia Ramos was one of thousands of women subjected to government’s brutal policy in the 1990s. A ruling by the inter-American court of human rights could open way for reparations

The case of a forced sterilisation carried out in Peru in the 1990s will be heard by an international court on Thursday, 28 years after the procedure – one of many thousands – resulted in a woman’s death.

Celia Ramos was 34 when she died in 1997, 19 days after surgery for a tubal ligation caused respiratory failure. The mother of three was “harassed” into accepting the procedure, which was part of a nationwide family planning programme.

Officials at animal refuge near Culiacán, capital of violence-torn Sinaloa state, faced threats from powerful drug gangs

Hundreds of animals including elephants, crocodiles, lions and tigers have been moved from a violence-torn Mexican cartel heartland to a new home in an operation described as a “21st-century Noah’s Ark”.

The transported species, which also included exotic birds, had been housed at the Ostok animal refuge near Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state, home to one of the country’s most powerful drug gangs.

Officials say ship must be operated by specialized harbor pilot as investigation into crash that killed two continues

The Mexican navy has said that the pilot navigating the training ship Cuauhtémoc during its Saturday night crash into the Brooklyn Bridge was New York-based.

“The ship must be controlled by a specialized harbor pilot from the New York government,” Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles said at a press conference.

Inland revenue targets eight outlets, union, 20 journalists and their families with supposed ‘random’ checks

Hong Kong authorities have targeted journalists and media outlets with what are supposed to be “random” tax audits, in a move the industry union says adds pressure to waning press freedoms.

The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Selina Cheng, detailed what she said were “strange” and “unreasonable” accusations by Hong Kong’s inland revenue department. Requests or audits were made against the association, at least eight independent media outlets, and at least 20 journalists and their family members, including Cheng and her parents, she said at a press conference on Wednesday.

South Korea said the destroyer was lying sideways in the water after ceremony to launch the new 5,000-tonne ship

A ceremony to welcome a new addition to North Korea’s naval fleet has ended in embarrassment following a major accident during the ship’s launch that the country’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, described as a “criminal act”.

Kim was present when the 5,000-tonne destroyer appeared to go off balance during its launch in the eastern port city of Chongjin on Wednesday. The tipping caused damage to sections of the hull, the state-run KCNA news agency said on Thursday.

Call for UK PM to act urgently over pro-democracy campaigner who has spent 1,602 days in solitary confinement

Former prisoners and hostages wrongly held abroad have urged the UK prime minister to urgently secure the release of the pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai before he dies in a Hong Kong jail.

The 77-year-old media mogul, who is a British citizen, has been held in solitary confinement for 1,602 days and his family fears he might not survive another summer in Hong Kong, where temperatures can reach 40C (104F).

Comments from Jensen Huang come as Beijing accuses the US of ‘bullying and protectionism’

US chip exports controls have been a “failure”, the head of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, told a tech forum on Wednesday, as the Chinese government separately slammed US warnings to other countries against using Chinese tech.

Successive US administrations have imposed restrictions on the sale of hi-tech AI chips to China, in an effort to curb China’s military advancement and protect US dominance of the AI industry. But Huang told the Computex tech forum in Taipei that the controls had instead spurred on Chinese developers.

Taku Etō’s remarks drew fury as cost of rice has nearly doubled in a year amid soaring food prices

Japan’s agriculture minister has resigned after saying he never buys rice because he gets it free, a remark that drew public fury in a country facing soaring food prices.

Taku Etō’s resignation has added to pressure on the prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, whose failure to rein in soaring rice prices and address a wider cost of living crisis has angered voters ahead of upper house elections in July.

BoM says heavy rainfall will extend south through NSW today with some areas set to receive up to 160mm. Follow Australia news and NSW floods live updates today.

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Darren Chester says focus on Coalition split ‘frustrating’

Nationals MP Darren Chester says “there are bigger issues” than the makeup of the coalition.

It’s been frustrating to be talking about ourselves at a time when, you know, much of the mid coast, the central coast and north coast of New South Wales is facing devastating floods including loss of life. And in close to home in Victoria central and western Victoria and northern Victoria right through South Australia there’s a devastating drought.

We need to resolve our issues as quickly as we can, because there are bigger issues facing rural and regional Australians than the make-up of the coalition. We need to make sure we get back being a strong and incredible opposition as quickly as possible and I’m hoping that these negotiations can consider – can continue now in a positive and constructive way.

Severe weather warning for areas further south as 48,000 stranded and water levels at their highest for 100 years

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The death toll in the New South Wales flood disaster has risen to four after a man’s body was found in a car in flood waters near Coffs Harbour on Friday morning.

Police said a passing driver had reported seeing a vehicle that had run off the Orara Way at Nana Glen, about 30km from the mid-north coast city. Officers found the body of a man, believed to be in his 70s. Police said he appeared to be the vehicle’s only occupant.

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Environment groups say nature and biodiversity has also been short-changed by the Victorian budget

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Dozens of Victorian public schools will be waiting until after the next state election for key infrastructure projects – promised by the then premier, Daniel Andrews, in 2022 – to come to fruition.

Before the November 2022 state election, Andrews pledged to spend $850m upgrading 89 schools, to be completed by the end of 2026. The upgrades were later extended to 96 schools.

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Reconciliation would be a win for Sussan Ley but, according to one senior Liberal MP, jeopardises David Littleproud’s leadership of National party

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Liberal MPs are prepared to accept the Nationals’ watered-down demands to preserve the Coalition, clearing the path to reunite the parties after a split that has exposed deep internal divisions, bruised both leaders and bolstered Anthony Albanese’s grip on power.

But the split is expected to have ongoing repercussions even if it is patched up, as both sides privately accuse the other of capitulating during negotiations.

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With more intense rain forecast, the SES has a fleet of 500 boats and nine helicopters trying to assist 48,000 people isolated in flood waters

• NSW floods death toll rises to four

• Drowned herds. Towns underwater. Farmers in NSW are facing ‘absolute devastation’

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The body of a 60-year-old woman has been found in flood waters on the NSW mid-north coast, bringing the death toll to three, with authorities still holding grave fears for another person who is still missing.

The region is battling flooding which has “smashed through” communities on the mid-north coast and parts of the Hunter. The NSW premier, Chris Minns, told reporters on Thursday “we’re seeing levels of rise in local tributaries, creeks [and] rivers that we haven’t seen since 1920”.

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A 135-metre container vessel ran aground in Byneset, near Trondheim, narrowly missing a house

A Norwegian man has spoken of the “unreal” moment he woke up to discover that a 135-metre container ship had crashed into his front garden.

The cargo vessel, the NCL Salten, had run aground just before 5am on Thursday after entering the Trondheim fjord on its way to the western town of Orkanger.

Friedrich Merz visits Lithuania to mark the official formation of Germany’s first permanent overseas military unit since the second world war. This blog is now closed, you can read our report here

Portugal wants European energy regulators’ agency ACER to lead an independent investigation into the causes of the huge power outage that brought most of Spain and Portugal to a standstill last month, its acting energy minister told Reuters.

Maria da Graça Carvalho said prime minister Luís Montenegro wants an independent investigation led by the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators to complement the technical report being prepared by the European network of transmission system operators ENTSO-E.

• Insults were directed towards Brazilian in December 2022

• La Liga hails judgment as ‘unprecedented milestone’

• Luka Modric to leave Real Madrid after Club World Cup

Five Valladolid fans who abused the Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior have been given suspended prison sentences, in what La Liga described as a landmark ruling that condemned racist insults hurled in a football stadium as a hate crime.

The case goes back to Madrid’s 2-0 win in December 2022 at Real Valladolid’s José Zorrilla Stadium, during which several fans hurled racist abuse at the Brazilian. The individuals were later identified using images and videos published on social media.

Heavy combat unit of 4,800 soldiers and 200 civilian staff inaugurated in Lithuania on Nato’s eastern flank

The German chancellor has visited Lithuania to mark Berlin’s first permanent foreign troop deployment since the second world war, as he called on allies to dramatically expand their efforts to bolster European defences against a hostile Russia.

As a crowd waved Lithuanian, German and Ukrainian flags, Friedrich Merz and his defence minister, Boris Pistorius, attended a ceremony launching the official formation of an armoured brigade aimed at protecting Nato’s eastern flank.

Scientists warn of profound impacts as sea temperatures rise by up to 4C above average for springtime

The sea off the coast of the UK and Ireland is experiencing an unprecedented marine heatwave with temperatures increasing by as much as 4C above average for the spring in some areas.

Marine biologists say the intensity and unprecedented nature of the rise in water temperatures off the coasts of Devon, Cornwall and the west coast of Ireland are very concerning. As human-induced climate breakdown continues to raise global temperatures, the frequency of marine heatwaves is increasing.

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• Children and elderly are dying from starvation in Gaza, says health minister

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused unnamed European officials on Thursday of “toxic antisemitic incitement” he blamed for a hostile climate in which the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington DC took place.

Israel has faced criticism from Europe as it has intensified its military campaign in Gaza, where humanitarian groups have warned that an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid supplies has left the Palestinian territory on the brink of famine.

There is a direct line connecting antisemitic and anti-Israel incitement to this murder.

This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and organisations, especially from Europe.

These libels about genocide, crimes against humanity and murdering babies pave the way exactly for such murders.

Exclusive: Neria Ben Pazi and Zohar Sabah witnessed visiting base set up to drive Palestinians from homes

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Two violent Israeli settlers on whom sanctions were imposed by the UK government this week have joined a campaign to drive Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank village of Mughayyir al-Deir.

Neria Ben Pazi’s organisation, Neria’s Farm, had sanctions imposed by London on Tuesday, as the UK suspended negotiations on a new free-trade deal with Israel over its refusal to allow aid into Gaza and cabinet ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” by expelling Palestinians.

Warning issued after US intelligence reportedly understood Israel might attack if Iran-US talks broke down

Iran has said it will hold the US responsible for any Israeli attack on its nuclear sites in remarks that set a fraught backdrop for the fifth and probably most important round of talks between Iran and the US on the future of Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, issued the warning on Thursday after reports appeared in the American media claiming US intelligence understood Israel was planning an attack on Iranian nuclear sites – with or without American support – if the talks broke down.

UN spokesperson says about 90 aid trucks have entered Gaza, but Palestinian Red Crescent says deliveries have not arrived

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Twenty-nine children and elderly people have died from starvation in Gaza in the last two days, the Palestinian Authority health minister has said , as Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people since dawn amid a renewed military offensive across the territory.

The warning came as food aid is expected to start reaching Palestinians in Gaza this week after Israel began allowing limited goods through after nearly three months after global pressure to lift the blockade and halt a newly expanded offensive.

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• Israeli troops fire ‘warning shots’ at 25 diplomats visiting occupied West Bank

Reuters has spoken to Mahmoud al-Haw at one of the soup kitchens in Gaza. The father-of-four says he has been regularly waiting in crowds for up to six hours to obtain food, and sometimes returns empty-handed.

“I have a sick daughter. I can’t provide her with anything. There is no bread, there is nothing,” the 39-year-old told the news agency.

Three children and two adults killed in attack on bus en route to army public school in Balochistan province

Pakistan has blamed India for a suspected suicide attack on a school bus in its south-western province of Balochistan on Wednesday morning that killed three children.

The bus was en route to the army public school in the city of Khuzdar. According to local officials, an attacker drove a vehicle into the bus and then detonated explosives.

They lost their Nepalese citizenship years ago and are now living in a ‘stateless limbo’ amid Trump’s deportations

Aasis Subedi, a Bhutanese Nepali refugee, finds himself back in the same Nepal refugee camp he spent part of his youth, once again stateless.

Last month, Subedi and two dozen community members from across the US were deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers to Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan country where they had never previously set foot. At least four, including Subedi, were immediately rejected by Bhutanese authorities and then expelled to India, where they fled to a refugee camp in Nepal.

Trump’s interventions have infuriated India, which has emerged from conflict not as triumphant as it had hoped

Against the odds, the ceasefire that followed India and Pakistan’s almost-war has held; fragile, uneasy but still unbroken. Yet in the aftermath of four days of cross-border drones and missile strikes – the most technologically advanced conflict either side has ever engaged in – the question remains: what now?

While both India and Pakistan have claimed victory, some experts fear that a return to hostilities is almost inevitable.

Residents of India-administered Kashmir worry root cause of conflict remains and return of violence is inevitable

A week after fleeing artillery fire from across the border, Rina Begum returned to find her home in Kashmir devastated. The walls were cracked, the roof crumbling, windows blown inward, and glass shards scattered across the floor, mingling with the ashes of her daughter’s books.

The 45-year-old gazed out through a fractured window frame at the looming mountains. “Hell has been raining down from there,” she said.

President rebukes tech firm after reports it will switch assembly of iPhones for US market from China to India

Donald Trump has admonished Apple and its chief executive over the tech firm’s reported plans to source production of US-bound iPhones from India.

The US president said he had a “little problem” with Apple’s Tim Cook, after reports that the company is planning to switch assembly of handsets for the US market from China to India.

Northern Irish group say charge is ‘political policing’ to stop them speaking out about ‘genocide in Gaza’

The Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap have claimed a campaign is being mounted to prevent their performance at Glastonbury this summer, at a surprise gig staged a day after one of its members was charged with a terror offence.

The group told the crowd at the 100 Club in central London on Thursday night that they were being used as a “scapegoat” because they “spoke about the genocide [in Gaza]” at Coachella in April.

Research also shows deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent high streets

The number of vape shops on high streets across England has increased by almost 1,200% over the past decade, while deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent ones, according to research.

In 2014, only 33.8% of 317 local authorities in England had a vape shop, rising to 97.2% in 2024. Similarly, in 2014 less than 1% of local authorities in England had 10 or more vape shops, rising to 28% in 2024.

Committee says Karen Kneller’s position no longer tenable in damning report on miscarriage of justice watchdog

The miscarriage of justice watchdog for England, Wales and Northern Ireland has continually failed to learn from its mistakes and its chief executive should follow the organisation’s chair out the door, MPs have said.

In a damning report on the leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the House of Commons justice committee said Karen Kneller had provided it with unpersuasive evidence and her position was no longer tenable.

Popular stop on M5 tops Which? survey with Tebay second, while Bridgwater is judged the worst with one-star rating

There are less than 80 miles between them, but the gulf in quality is massive, according to a Which? survey that ranked Gloucester services top of the stops, and Bridgwater bottom.

For many people motorway service stations are a place to take a break, grab a snack and use the toilet, but the rankings from the consumer recommendation group, which surveyed users of nearly 100 service stations across Great Britain, highlight the best and worst.

Whoever leaked deputy PM’s memo to the Telegraph, some believe it will have helped her leadership chances

What is Angela Rayner up to? To every Labour MP reading the leaked memo in the Daily Telegraph setting out the deputy prime minister’s alternative tax-raising measures, it felt like firing the starting gun on a race to succeed Keir Starmer as leader.

It has infuriated Starmer loyalists because of long memories of the breakdown in relations after Labour lost the Hartlepool byelection just a year into Starmer’s leadership, when he considered quitting and allies of Rayner encouraged her to stand against him. Starmer then attempted to demote her, leading to a fierce standoff and Rayner emerging with a clutch of new job titles.

Detained Palestinian activist granted contact by judge who blocked Trump administration’s efforts to separate family

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate and detained Palestinian activist, was finally allowed to hold his infant son for the first time Thursday – one month after he was born – thanks to a federal judge who blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to keep the father and infant separated by a Plexiglass barrier.

The visit came before a scheduled immigration hearing for Khalil, a legal permanent resident who has been detained in a Louisiana jail since 8 March.

Detained Palestinian activist allowed contact after federal judge blocks Trump administration from separating family

Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, has accused unnamed European officials of “toxic antisemitic incitement” he blamed for a hostile climate in which the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington took place, Reuters reports.

Israel has faced a blizzard of criticism from Europe of late as it has intensified its military campaign in Gaza, where humanitarian groups have warned that an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid supplies has left the Palestinian territory on the brink of famine.

Sound Talent Group says three employees killed as officials investigate what caused Cessna 550 plane to crash

Several people have died, including the co-founder of a music agency, after a small aircraft crashed in a neighborhood in San Diego early on Thursday morning, clipping one home and damaging several vehicles.

Sound Talent Group, which has represented artists such as Sum 41 and Vanessa Carlton, confirmed on Thursday that three of its employees died on the private plane. Among those who died was the agency’s co-founder Dave Shapiro, who was listed as the owner of the plane and has a pilot’s license, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Microsoft president declares ‘victory’ in Call of Duty maker deal as FTC chair says case doesn’t fit with Trump’s agenda

The US Federal Trade Commission dropped a case that sought to block Microsoft’s $69bn purchase of the Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, saying on Thursday that pursuing the case against the long-closed deal was not in the public interest.

Andrew Ferguson, the FTC chair, is seeking to use the agency’s resources for cases that fit with Donald Trump’s agenda, such as an investigation related to whether advertisers colluded to spend less on X.

Committee says newest vaccines should be updated and formalizes rules that limit vaccine access for Americans

The Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee unanimously recommended that newest vaccines for Covid should be updated to target a variant of strains currently on the rise, during a meeting on Thursday – the first since the Trump administration took office.

The meeting focused on selecting a Covid strain to target in upcoming vaccines as well as formalizing new FDA rules that limit vaccine access to Americans.