Ashley St Clair files lawsuit in state of New York over deepfakes that appeared on social media platform X
The mother of one of Elon Musk’s children is suing his company – alleging explicit images were generated by his Grok AI tool, including one in which she was underage.
Ashley St Clair has filed a lawsuit with the supreme court of the state of New York against xAI, alleging that Grok, which is used on the social media platform X, promised to stop generating explicit images but continued to do so.
Setback for president, who has called windfarms ‘losers’, as Empire Wind project allowed to move forward
A federal judge on Thursday cleared the way for a New York offshore wind project to resume construction, a victory for the developer who said a Trump administration order to pause it would probably kill the project in a matter of days.
District judge Carl J Nichols, an appointee of Donald Trump, ruled construction on the Empire Wind project could go forward while he considers the merits of the government’s order to suspend the project. He faulted the government for not responding to key points in Empire Wind’s court filings, including the contention that the administration violated proper procedure.
US to lower tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15% as chip and tech businesses pledge $250bn spending in US operations
The US said on Thursday that it had signed a deal with Taiwan to reduce tariffs on goods from the democratic island, while increasing Taiwanese semiconductor and tech companies’ investments in America.
The agreement, the US commerce department said, “will drive a massive reshoring of America’s semiconductor sector”.
The Venezuelan opposition leader did not confirm whether the US president accepted the award
The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has said she “presented” her gold Nobel peace prize medal to Donald Trump after meeting him in the White House, nearly a fortnight after he ordered the abduction of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
Machado, who received the award last year for her struggle against Maduro’s “brutal, authoritarian state”, told reporters she had done so “in recognition [of] his unique commitment [to] our freedom”. It was not immediately clear whether Trump had accepted the gift.
Officials to offer 50% subsidy up to $310,000 in effort to make one of world’s most expensive cities more affordable
San Francisco will offer free childcare to families earning less than $230,000 a year, and a 50% subsidy to those earning up to $310,000, in an expansion of the city’s childcare offerings designed to make one of the world’s most expensive cities more affordable for residents.
San Francisco’s mayor, Daniel Lurie, announced the initiative as part of his “Family Opportunity Agenda” on Wednesday, alongside a package of housing, education, food, healthcare, transportation and other programs focused on affordability.
Months after Trump spoke of ‘concepts of a plan’, framework offers few specifics – and could stall in Congress
Donald Trump has finally unveiled his long-awaited framework for healthcare affordability, almost a year and a half after announcing during a pre-election presidential debate that he had the “concepts of a plan” for healthcare reform.
The short document, titled the Great Healthcare Plan, provides four headline objectives, but few specific details as to how they will be achieved.
Robert Jenrick made a dramatic defection to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK on Thursday, declaring the Conservatives “rotten” and a “failed” party, after being sacked by Kemi Badenoch for plotting against her.
In a high-stakes day for the future of the British right, Jenrick became the most senior Tory to switch allegiance to Reform, launching into a fiery and personal denunciation of his former colleagues in the shadow cabinet.
In New York City’s winter months, I’m bundling up for runs and throwing on layers for the office. But compared to Alaska’s glacial mountains and Finland’s snowy forests, the streets of Manhattan are practically a tropical paradise.
If anyone knows exactly what to wear to stay warm in cold weather, it’s the people who live in these places. So I asked seven writers who reside in some of the coldest cities on Earth to recommend the gear they swear by. One writer in Mongolia wore a pair of foot warmers on a nine-day dog sledding adventure. Another in Winnipeg, Canada, shared a pair of gloves she’s dubbed “long johns for your fingers”.
Brazilian teenage tennis sensation says he cannot control expectations but is looking forward to challenging the best again in 2026, starting at the Australian Open
‘My dream is to become world No 1, win grand slam titles and make history for Brazil,” João Fonseca says with simple purity as we reach the crux of his huge ambition. Fonseca is 19 and he makes that succinct list of his goals sound almost as casual as a few fun things a more ordinary teenager might aim to do this weekend. But Fonseca is different.
He is a generational talent who, in recent years, has been spoken of as a future superstar amid predictions that he might have the best chance of denting the dominant hold that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner exert over men’s tennis. But, as time in Fonseca’s company proves, he is remarkably grounded and mature for his age. Those attributes underline his credentials far more effectively than the hype that has trailed him.
The 2026 World Cup is set to be a polarising event but, even if it will not be the first to be politically contentious, it will expose a growing unease
Five months out from the World Cup the politics are impossible to avoid. There are concerns relating to one of the host countries, the US, with armed immigration officials roaming through its cities and visa restrictions stepped up against foreign visitors. One qualifying nation, Iran, is experiencing a public uprising against its leadership, with the regime attacking its citizens in response. Among other qualifiers there are concerns over democratic backsliding in Tunisia, ecological crimes in Ecuador and , in the future host country Saudi Arabia. And that’s just for starters.
It sometimes feels as if this summer’s tournament, the one Gianni Infantino recently described as “the greatest show ever on planet Earth”, will serve as an inescapable reminder of the depressing state of the world in 2026. It could yet be an event that goes down in infamy. But it is hardly the only tournament to have prompted ethical concerns and serves as a reminder that the issue of how global sport should engage with such issues has remained largely unresolved.
The US president vowed to ‘end childhood cancer’. But his administration is dismantling the search for a cure and sending families scrambling for treatment
For seven years, Jenn Janosko cared for children with cancer on the ninth floor of New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital.
Spanish police have arrested 30 people and seized almost 2.5 tonnes of cocaine after breaking up a criminal network that used teams of young swimmers to hide the drugs on moving, Europe-bound ships which were then attacked and relieved of their unwitting cargo before reaching port.
The 15-month investigation began in October 2024 when Policía Nacional officers found 88kg of cocaine in a vehicle in the southern Spanish town of Mijas. The drugs led them to three gangs, including a Balkan cartel, who were working together to bring huge quantities of cocaine into Spain from Colombia.
The US president delights in his inconsistency. But his short-term victories have profound long-term costs for his country and the world
The Middle East was braced on Wednesday night, but the anxious petitioning of Gulf states and Iran’s attempts to appease the US president appeared to win out – at least for the moment. No bombs fell on Tehran. After all his threats, and with military options under discussion in Washington, Donald Trump stepped back, announcing that “the killing [of protesters] has stopped”.
Despite the telecommunications blackout, it seems clear that a ruthless regime has shed still more blood than in previous protest crackdowns. Rights groups say that thousands have been killed and vast numbers arrested; one official spoke of 2,000 deaths. Witnesses compared the streets to a war zone. If the large-scale killings have indeed ebbed, that is probably because Iranians have been terrified out of the streets – for now, at least. Iran’s foreign minister chose Fox News to insist no hangings were imminent, in case the identity of the message’s one-man audience was in any doubt. But while retribution may have been postponed, it will not be cancelled as it should be: the calls for the regime’s downfall are seen as an existential threat. The Iranian authorities can wait. Mr Trump will move on.
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.
Thousands sign petition calling on Iceland’s foreign minister to reject Trump ally Billy Long’s nomination
Thousands of people have signed a petition expressing anger after Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Iceland reportedly joked that the Nordic country should become the 52nd US state.
On Wednesday, hours before top officials from Greenland and Denmark were to meet with the US in the hope of warding off Trump’s threats to seize the Arctic island, the news outlet Politico said it had heard of musings regarding another Nordic island.
Even low levels of widely used agricultural chemicals were linked to accelerated ageing, research suggests
The lifespan of fish appears to be drastically reduced by pesticides, a study has found.
Even low levels of common agricultural pesticides can stunt the long-term lifespan of fish, according to research led by Jason Rohr, a biologist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
‘Iconic performers’ will visit 10 European cities, as event reels from boycott over Israel’s 2026 participation
The Eurovision song contest will go on its first ever tour to celebrate its 70th anniversary, its organiser has said, as it reels from a boycott due to Israel’s participation.
Five countries have pulled out of the contest over Israel’s war in Gaza, leaving 35 to participate in the world’s biggest live televised music event – the fewest since entry was expanded in 2004.
British roads will host the start of both races next year
First time both Grands Départs have been outside France
The men’s Tour de France will start in Scotland for the first time in 2027 and make its first visit to Wales when Britain stages the Grand Départ of the men’s and women’s races in the biggest festival of elite cycling on the isles since London 2012.
Across six days of racing on British roads, the men’s Tour will visit Edinburgh, Carlisle, Keswick, Liverpool, Welshpool and Cardiff, while the Tour de France Femmes races from Leeds to Manchester, then to Sheffield and also includes a central London stage. On Thursday night all host cities were illuminated by yellow beams in recognition of them staging the Tour.
US allies’ lobbying appears to have helped persuade president to hold off for now on military assault
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Oman urged Donald Trump not to launch airstrikes against Iran in a last-minute lobbying campaign prompted by fears that an attack by Washington would lead to a major and intractable conflict across the Middle East.
The warnings of chaos from the longstanding US allies appear to have helped persuade Trump late on Wednesday to hold off for the moment on a military assault. In the case of Saudi Arabia, its reticence led it to deny the US use of its airspace to mount any attacks.
Scot recovers to deny Zhao Xintong 6-5 in the last eight
Judd Trump faces Mark Allen in later Thursday match
John Higgins benefited from an outrageous fluke as he came from 5-3 down to beat world champion Zhao Xintong 6-5 on the final ball and reach the semi-finals of the Masters at Alexandra Palace.
Higgins made a horrible mess of a plant, only for one of the reds to fly into the opposite pocket and the cue ball to somehow land on the black, en route to squaring the match at 5-5. The 50-year-old Scot then took a tight decider, clearing the table from the final red to move one step closer to a third Masters title.
The Trump administration has paused immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries. We’re looking to speak to applicants, especially those close to a final decision, about the impact of the suspension
We would like to hear from people from countries on the visa ban list who are currently in the immigrant visa application process, particularly those who are at an advanced or final stage.
Survivors of the regime like me are reliving our nightmares as brave Iranians fight for their freedom. They say they have nothing to lose but their chains
It has been more than 40 years since I was imprisoned in Iran for speaking out against human rights abuses and state executions, and for defending women’s rights. I spent eight years behind bars in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. I was tortured. I remember it as if it happened yesterday.
Every few years, uprisings erupt across Iran – and each wave of resistance is deeper and more widespread than the one before. In 2022, it was women who led the Woman, Life, Freedom movement after the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the country’s “morality police”, and it revolutionised my country. Today, women wear what they want, go out in public with their boyfriends – even live with them – without fear of being arrested. Women earned these rights with their lives. In late December 2025, the spark was once again lit – this time in an old bazaar in Tehran.
Nasrin Parvaz is a women’s rights activist and torture survivor from Iran. Her books include A Prison Memoir: One Woman’s Struggle in Iran, and the novel The Secret Letters from X to A
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.
Robert Jenrick has been sensationally sacked from the shadow cabinet and suspended from the Conservative party after Kemi Badenoch said she was presented with ‘irrefutable evidence’ that he was planning to defect.
The shadow justice secretary was Badenoch’s leadership rival and had long been said to have been prepared to do a deal with Reform UK’s leader, Nigel Farage.
Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s head of national news, Archie Bland
After a series of cryptic billboards teasing fans, the As It Was singer reveals the title and release date of his first record since 2022
After a brief teaser campaign in which billboards around the world promised “we belong together” and “see you very soon”, Harry Styles has announced his fourth solo album.
Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally will be released on 6 March. It was produced by Kid Harpoon, the British songwriter and producer who has worked on all of Styles’ previous albums. The artwork shows the 31-year-old pop star wearing sunglasses and ducking beneath a disco ball seemingly suspended from the night sky.
A federal appeals court on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that ordered the release of the former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, delivering the Trump administration a victory in its efforts to deport the pro-Palestinian activist.
A 2-1 panel of the Philadelphia-based third US circuit court of appeals ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit Khalil filed challenging his detention after finding that federal immigration law stripped the lower court of jurisdiction over his claims.
Connexion
