Up to 380 people may have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean last week as Cyclone Harry battered southern Italy and Malta, the Italian coastguard has said, as a shipwreck with the loss of 50 lives was confirmed by Maltese authorities.
Just one person, who was hospitalised in Malta, survived the shipwreck, which happened on Friday.
High court finds kingdom responsible for hacking phones of Ghanem al-Masarir and for physical attack on him
A judge has ordered Saudi Arabia to pay more than £3m in damages to a London-based dissident whose phones were targeted with Pegasus spyware.
In a judgment handed down on Monday, Judge Pushpinder Saini ruled that Ghanem al-Masarir was entitled to compensation for psychiatric harm sustained after discovering that his iPhones had been hacked, as well as a physical attack on him outside Harrods in central London.
Norwegian’s wife is heavily pregnant with their first child
Twelfth seed had faced nervy wait with due date nearing
Casper Ruud suffered a frustrating 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Ben Shelton in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday night, but the silver lining of the three-time grand slam finalist’s loss is that he will finally be able to return home.
Ruud, the 12th seed, has had one eye on events back home during his time in Melbourne owing to the fact that his wife, Maria, is heavily pregnant with their first child and is due to give birth this weekend. Ruud had repeatedly stated that he would withdraw and immediately begin the long journey home if she went into labour during the tournament.
Monochrome catering was all the rage at the VIP screening on Saturday for Ratner’s officially sanctioned $75m feature-length documentary about the First Lady. Have the photos whetted your appetite?
This week sees the release of Melania, Amazon’s official feature-length documentary about Melania Trump. Melania was directed by Brett Ratner, and has a reported $40m production budget. And, obviously, you’re probably not going to watch it.
Of course you’re not. Coming days after the killing of Alex Pretti by a US Border Patrol agent, an authorised vanity project about the current wife of a globally unpopular political leader – and directed by a man accused of sexual assault by multiple women, and whose production and release carried the smell of institutionalised media timidity – seems like just about the least appealing prospect ever. But, hey, any excuse for a party, right?
Exclusive: Hundreds of works by the artist and poet Peter Kien have a new home in the UK, thanks to Judy King
They survived the Nazis but were confiscated by the communists, and for the last three decades they have been jealously guarded and bound in red tape by a museum in the Czech Republic.
Indeed, due to the attentions of an overzealous Czech customs guard and the vagaries of the British weather, a happy conclusion had been in doubt to the very end.
Dingo experts have said a decision to kill a 10-strong pack of the animals linked with the death of Canadian tourist Piper James on K’gari could push the island’s population towards extinction while doing little to protect humans.
The Queensland government revealed on Sunday it had already killed six of the pack seen around the body of the 19-year-old in a move that has angered the island’s traditional owners who have said they were not consulted.
I had always associated scrapbooking with grandmas and bored children, so, imagine my surprise when – as a twentysomething with a Big Girl Job – I found myself enamoured of printing, cutting, and sticking random bits and bobs into a book.
If, like me, you’ve racked up a disconcerting amount of screen time, you may have stumbled across a multitude of craft-inspired social media posts made primarily by young women. Described as “junk journalling”, the hobby is distinguishable by an affinity with collecting and storing physical mementoes, such as tickets, receipts, packaging and Polaroids.
I wasn’t able to reach the exact future I had dreamed of as a child, but I know now that the hardships and failures on the way all counted
My first year out of school was not the easiest. I was lost, full of yearning and big dreams.
I didn’t realise the ways in which my time at school had been containing my anxiety. I was too busy, along with all the other girls, being excited about the future. School and its expectations were there to be railed against, and teachers and rules are to be left far behind. Bring on the future! I would leave home and move to the city to study! I would perform in plays! How thrilling! And wonderful!
The abundantly muscled action stars are estranged siblings avenging their father in this enjoyable action-comedy throwback
Here is a straight to streaming action-thriller-comedy that is a throwback to the kind of pulpy stupid fun fare that minted money back in the 80s and 90s. The presence of a Phil Collins banger on the soundtrack and a reference to Jean-Claude Van Damme are tells. One assumes the target audience are males of all ages with a bloodlust for highly choreographed casual violence and stunts interspersed with quips. As such, it gets the job done, plus it throws in the bells and whistles you’d expect, such as fireballs erupting in the background as characters flee the scene, scads of civilians getting killed along the way while evoking not a drop of regret from the protagonists, and estranged siblings getting in touch with their feelings about their errant, recently deceased father, and learning lessons about love along the way.
Yes, you read that last bit right, because The Wrecking Crew offers a mildly enlightened, post-therapy 2020s spin on the genre – going so far as to give one of the main characters a child-psychologist wife (Roimata Fox) who is ready to diagnose emotional dysfunction when the script requires. Otherwise, the action is dominated by Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa, playing excessively muscled, abundantly inked, initially estranged half-brothers James and Jonny, who spend the film trying to work out who killed their father Walter (Brian Keaulana) in a hit-and-run incident. James is the one with the child psychologist wife; he trains Marines and is a disciplined, solid citizen only slightly simmering with rage. Jonny, an Oklahoma-based cop, is more flamboyantly booze-sozzled, roistering and irresponsible – a classic younger brother according to all those TikTok videos about sibling birth order.
Picture books help children to develop their imaginations, find empathy for others and take pride in what makes them unique – all of which make for good adults
Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” – Emilie Buchwald
I can’t think of a better way to start the year than having one of my books chosen in the Guardian’s readers’ poll for the best Australian picture books of all time. Come Over to My House, co-written with musician Eliza Hull and illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett, is a rhyming picture book that explores the home lives of children and parents who are d/Deaf or disabled. I am so proud to have been a part of creating this book, and so thrilled to see it on this list among so many extraordinary titles.
Sally Rippin is an award-winning children’s author and the outgoing Australian children’s laureate for 2024-25. The next laureate will be announced on 10 February
Joël Guerriau is alleged to have drugged centrist member of parliament Sandrine Josso in order to sexually assault her
A former French senator has gone on trial in Paris accused of drugging a fellow politician in order to sexually assault her, in a case that has shaken French politics.
Joël Guerriau, 68, was a centrist senator for Loire-Atlantique in the west of France in November 2023 when he is accused of spiking a glass of champagne with MDMA and serving it to Sandrine Josso, a centrist member of parliament.
More than 100 people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe
Devastating floods have killed more than 100 people in southern Africa since the beginning of the year and displaced hundreds of thousands, as authorities and aid workers warn of hunger, cholera and attacks by crocodiles that have spread with the waters.
More than 70 people have died in Zimbabwe and 30 in South Africa, where hundreds of people were evacuated from Kruger national park earlier this month after a deluge of rain.
Inter and Juventus exchanged remarkable home victories, while dominant Roma were held to a draw at home by Milan
Lady Gaga’s electropop banger Born This Way is 15 years old, but by the standards of some Serie A stadium DJs that makes it positively modern. Thumping out at the Olimpico on Sunday night it somehow felt timely. Roma were on the right track, baby, after a first half in which they thoroughly dominated Milan.
The expected goals counter had them up by 1.8 to 0.02. Sure, the actual scoreboard still showed 0-0, but the way Donyell Malen kept making space for himself inside the box was enough to convince fans his swaggering debut against Torino seven days before could be no flash in the pan.
The TV cook and food writer replaces Prue Leith, who has stepped down after nine seasons on the show
Nigella Lawson has been announced as the new judge on The Great British Bake Off. She replaces Prue Leith, who stepped down after nine seasons of judging contestants’ culinary creations, so she could spend summers enjoying her garden, explaining: “I’m 86 for goodness sake!”
Lawson will join the programme for its next series, the 17th, which will launch later this year. She will serve alongside Paul Hollywood, who will continue in the role he has held since the baking competition launched on BBC Two in 2010.
Team with an average age of just under 29 finally ended their losing streak since turn of the year
The biggest cheer of the afternoon at the BayArena was a result from elsewhere. A stunning first league defeat of the season for Bayern Munich at home to Augsburg was not important in any sort of title race context – any faint thoughts of that disappeared a while back, and not just for Bayer Leverkusen. No, the shock result of the afternoon, the week, the month, the season means Xabi Alonso’s 2024 double winners remain the only unbeaten Bundesliga champions.
“You’re welcome,” said Augsburg’s English language X account, quote-tweeting Leverkusen’s acknowledgment that their record would endure for at least a season more. And if ever Die Werkself needed a lift, it was here and now. They may have stopped the rot with a single-goal win over Werder Bremen, following a run of four losses in their previous six Bundesliga matches, but it was as bare minimum as the scoreline suggested. Against similarly out-of-form opponents (more so, in fact – Bremen last won on 7 November, nine games ago), they crawled to three points. “We are very relieved,” admitted Kasper Hjulmand with laudable candour.
Dylan Phelan accused of encouraging man in Louisiana to take his own life over video call
A British man has been charged with encouraging the suicide of an American via a video call.
Dylan Phelan, of Churwell, near Leeds in West Yorkshire, is accused of encouraging a 21-year-old man, who lived in Louisiana, to take his own life over a video call on 30 October 2024, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Captain says it is a ‘good factor’ in Premier League push
Arsenal ‘not good enough’ against Manchester United
Martin Ødegaard says that Arsenal’s near misses in the Premier League over the past three seasons are on the players’ minds – but only in a way to motivate them to go all the way this time.
The captain sought to push a line that Mikel Arteta has also mentioned – the need to stay in the moment and blot out the external noise – as he reflected on Sunday’s 3-2 home defeat by Manchester United. However, the Norwegian midfielder did admit that his club’s run of three successive runners-up finishes was a part of the picture.
There’s lots of deep umami flavour in this crunchy, rubbly side or salad
Brussels sprouts are for life, not just for Christmas. They’re still making a regular appearance in our house, from shredded and stir-fried with chilli and spice, to roasted and dressed, as in this salad. And what a salad it is: with a caesar-esque dressing, it is crisp, salty and crunchy, and hits all the right notes. You can bulk it out, if you like, by topping it with a few soft, jammy boiled eggs cut into wedges or some shredded leftover chicken. However, it is pretty perfect as it is, as a light lunch or side.
The investigation was launched after reports about the abuse of some recruits at army enlistment medical examinations but its scope has been expanded to include the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s decision to block Andy Burnham from standing for parliament, a move which has triggered a major backlash against the prime minister from parts of his own party.
Starmer said on Monday that he and his fellow officers on Labour’s ruling executive committee had decided not to let Burnham quit as mayor of Greater Manchester to avoid triggering a costly mayoral election.
Many alerts remain in place with power outages in some regions
Here are some photos that show just how severe the snow storm has been in New York:
Freezing rain that coated roads and brought trees and branches down on power lines was the main peril in the South over the weekend. In Corinth, Mississippi, heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar told employees at its site to stay home today and tomorrow.
It already was Mississippi’s worst ice storm since 1994 with its biggest-ever deployment of ice-melting chemicals — 200,000 gallons (750,000 liters) — plus salt and sand to treat icy roads, Governor Tate Reeves said at a press conference on Sunday.
Critics believe ‘drip drip’ of releases after Maduro’s dramatic seizure an attempt by regime to ‘keep the US satisfied’
In the days after Nicolás Maduro was accused of stealing Venezuela’s 2024 election, the relatives of hundreds of protesters captured during the ensuing clampdown flocked to the Zone 7 police detention centre in search of incarcerated loved ones.
Now, after the tables turned dramatically and Maduro finds himself locked up in the US, the families have returned to demand the immediate release of every last one of their country’s political prisoners.
Witnessing the free climber’s ascent of the Taipei 101 without ropes on Skyscraper Live was an astonishing experience. But beneath panicked viewers’ sweaty palms, there was a queasy truth about the future of television
Well, have your balls descended back out of your body yet? Netflix’s Skyscraper Live has been and gone, and it may well qualify as the single most stressful viewing experience on record. Alex Honnold’s unassisted ascent of the 508 metre Taipei 101 was an absolutely extraordinary achievement. Whether or not it represents the future of television, though, is a completely different matter.
Honnold’s work is already well-known. As the star of Free Solo – a feature documentary once again so nerve-racking that the only way to comfortably enjoy it was under the influence of industrial sphincter relaxants – he has long been the poster boy of people climbing up stuff without ropes.
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