Sudan is suffering from the largest humanitarian crisis globally and its civilians are continuing to pay the price for inaction by the international community, NGOs and the UN have said, as the country’s civil war enters its third year.
Two years to the day since fighting erupted in Khartoum between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, hundreds of people were feared to have died in RSF attacks on refugee camps in the western Darfur region in the latest apparent atrocity of a war marked by its brutality and wide-scale humanitarian impact.
European State of the Climate report ‘lays bare’ impact of fossil fuels on continent during its hottest 12 months on record
The home-wrecking storms and floods that swept Europe last year affected 413,000 people, a report has found, as fossil fuel pollution forced the continent to suffer through its hottest year on record.
Dramatic scenes of cars piled up on inundated streets and bridges being ripped away by raging torrents were seen around the continent in 2024, with “high” floods on 30% of the European river network and 12% crossing the “severe” flood threshold, according to the European State of the Climate report.
What does the British Steel crisis reveal about the UK’s critical infrastructure? Jasper Jolly reports
On Saturday, when MPs were supposed to be on their Easter holidays, a rare emergency sitting was called. Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, told the House of Commons that they were meeting “in exceptional circumstances to take exceptional action in what are exceptional times”.
MPs passed a bill to save the Scunthorpe steelworks, a vital part of the UK’s critical infrastructure and the last remaining maker of mass-produced virgin steel. The emergency legislation allowed the government to instruct the Chinese owners of the British Steel plant, Jingye, to keep Scunthorpe open or face criminal penalties.
US president issues scathing view of Chinese counterpart’s motivations amid escalating trade war with Beijing
Xi Jinping’s tour of South-east Asia this week is likely intended to “screw” the United States, President Donald Trump has suggested, as the Chinese leader embarks on five-day tour of some nations hardest hit by Trump’s tariffs.
China’s president arrived in Hanoi on Monday, where he met Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, called for stronger trade ties, and signed dozens of cooperation agreements, including on enhancing supply chains.
Education department says $2.3bn in funds to be frozen after university rejects slew of demands as political ploy
The US education department is freezing about $2.3bn in federal funds to Harvard University, the agency said on Monday.
The announcement comes after the Ivy League school has decided to fight the White House’s demands that it crack down on antisemitism and alleged civil rights violations, including shutting down diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Republicans increase pressure on Trump after 35 killed in Sumy, with US president calling for ‘death and destruction to stop’. What we know on day 1,147
Ukraine held a press conference with Chinese soldiers captured on the frontline after Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of recruiting fighters from China using social media. The men were led into a press centre handcuffed and flanked by armed Ukrainian guards and it was unclear if they were speaking of their own volition. The pair told journalists they hoped to be part of a prisoner swap.
Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has accused Moscow of dragging Beijing into its invasion, saying that several hundred Chinese nationals were fighting at the frontline. The Kremlin has denied it claim while Beijing has warned parties to the conflict against making “irresponsible remarks”.
Zelenskyy accused Vladimir Putin of remaining focused on continuing the war, saying Russia had openly refused to engage in ceasefire talks. “There is only one reason for this – in Moscow, they are not afraid. If there is no strong enough pressure on Russia, they will keep doing what they are used to – they will keep waging war.”
Republicans supporters of Ukraine are pointing to Russia’s latest strikes as evidence Donald Trump needs to take a firmer tone with Putin, the Russian president, if he wants a ceasefire deal, Andrew Roth writes. GOP lawmakers – who generally tread carefully considering Trump’s apparent affinity for the Kremlin – have become invigorated and vocal in recent days after the deadly Palm Sunday strike in the Ukrainian city of Sumy.
Democrats in the US House introduced legislation to boost support for Ukraine after a similar move by those in the Senate, including funding for security and reconstruction. The bill would also include stiff sanctions on Russia if lawmakers deem it unwilling to engage in good-faith peace efforts.
Trump insisted on Monday he was working “diligently to get the death and destruction to stop” in Ukraine, while falsely blaming Zelenskyy and the previous US president, Joe Biden, for allowing the invasion to take place. Trump wrote on Truth Social: “We have to get it to stop, and fast.”
Russia has claimed the attack on Sumy, which killed at least 35 people, including two children, was targeting a gathering of Ukrainian troops, not civilians. A spokesperson for the Kremlin accused Kyiv of using civilians as shields by holding military meetings in dense city centres. Russia gave no evidence to back up its claims, and during the war there have been widespread Russian attacks killing many civilians.
Ukrainians mourned victims of the Palm Sunday strikes at gatherings on Monday. “It was chaos. There were mountains of corpses,” a combat medic who helped the injured said. “My shoes were covered in blood. I haven’t cleaned them yet, it’s the blood of the wounded.”
Ukraine’s air force said another Russian missile and guided bombs struck the outskirts of Sumy on Monday – no casualties were reported.
The US held “constructive” talks with Ukraine last week about a proposed minerals deal, a senior official said on Monday. The two countries were supposed to finalise a pact in March to extract Ukraine’s mineral resources, but those plans were derailed after Trump and Zelenskyy clashed at the White House.
Paige Bueckers became the latest UConn standout to go first overall in the WNBA draft on Monday night as the Dallas Wings selected the 23-year-old guard before several hundred spectators at the Shed in New York City.
Her selection capped a dominant final season at Connecticut and marked the start of an eagerly anticipated professional career. Bueckers helmed the Huskies to a drought-busting 12th national championship eight days ago and becomes the sixth UConn player to be drafted No 1, joining Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Breanna Stewart.
Frank Lampard watched on from the stands as his playoff-chasing Coventry side were held to a 1-1 draw at struggling Hull. Lampard served a one-match touchline ban at the MKM Stadium and was fined £2,000 after his sending off at the end of the defeat by Burnley earlier this month for an outburst at referee James Bell.
While Coventry largely dominated Hull and went ahead through a deflected strike from Matt Grimes, who earlier produced two goalline blocks to deny Kasey Palmer, substitute Abu Kamara equalised. Lampard’s side therefore stay sixth, moving three points clear of seventh-placed West Brom, and the manager may rue his team’s lack of a clinical edge as Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur made several important saves.
It falls to the squeezed middle to breathe life into the 2024-25 Premier League season. The battle for European places is some way off being decided. Thanks to an early goal and a dogged defensive display that went against type, Bournemouth have relaunched their candidacy.
After ransacking champions-elect Liverpool, inconsistencies have stopped Marco Silva’s Fulham being a true contender for the top five. Victory in Dorset could have placed them in the Justin Rose, striking-distance position. Instead, Bournemouth leapfrogged the Londoners into eighth.
Howe watched win over Manchester United from hospital
Eddie Howe remains in hospital on Tyneside but is said to be on the road to recovery after being diagnosed with pneumonia.
The Newcastle manager was admitted late on Friday night and, as he underwent a series of tests over the weekend, anxious club officials offered no updates regarding his condition. That changed on Monday afternoon when they released a statement announcing his diagnosis and including a message from Howe thanking medical staff for their care and the wider football community for their good wishes.
The 44-year-old handled another Augusta near miss with class and his place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team looks assured
There was one very happy man at Augusta on Monday morning, and there were 52 all in a stew, turning over thoughts of what went right and what went wrong, that short putt on the 6th, that wayward chip on 12, that sliced drive on 15, or whatever it was that cost them their shot at winning the 2025 Masters.
While Rory McIlroy can enjoy what was, everyone else in the field is wondering what might have been. Justin Rose will feel it most. Rose, the antagonist in Rory’s story, scored 65, 71, 75, 66 – the last of them, he said, “a bogey away from being the greatest round I’ve ever played”.
Manager wants Villa Park to be ‘a fortress’ on Tuesday
Villa trail French champions 3-1 from first leg in Paris
Unai Emery urged his Aston Villa players to “write history” by recording a memorable comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Villa must overturn a two-goal deficit after a first-leg defeat in France and the Villa manager doubled down on his belief that his side can cause a shock, with Emery adamant the “fortress” atmosphere at Villa Park on Tuesday can help his players find a winning formula.
Emery said PSG’s 3-1 lead does not alter the task at hand. “I have experiences coming back from results, positively and negatively,” he said. “Now it is something different, we want to write here the history with Aston Villa. Last year [we played] in the Conference League and this year in the Champions League and [now] hopefully for a long time in Europe. My experiences before were different … sometimes losing away and winning at home, sometimes losing at home and winning away. More winning than losing … but I had some negative experiences as well.”
Notices show Trump administration setting stage for levies on both sectors on national security grounds
The Trump administration is kicking off investigations into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of a bid to impose tariffs on both sectors on national security grounds, notices posted to the Federal Register on Monday showed.
The filings scheduled to be published on Wednesday set a 21-day deadline from that date for the submission of public comment on the issue and indicate the administration intends to pursue the levies under authority granted by the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Such inquiries need to be completed within 270 days after being announced.
JD Vance, the man entrusted as America’s back-up in times of emergency, may not be the safest pair of hands if Monday’s events are anything to go by. The vice-president ended the Ohio State football team’s visit to the White House by fumbling the team’s national championship trophy.
After laudatory speeches by Donald Trump, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day and Vance on the South Lawn, the Vance – an Ohio State graduate – tried to lift the trophy. He didn’t appear to realize that the top of the trophy is detachable from its base. After a moment of struggle, the vice-president lost his grip on the two pieces. OSU running back TreVeyon Henderson, standing behind Vance, grabbed the football-shaped top of the trophy, but the base fell to the ground, forcing Vance to grasp around as it rolled away from him.
Napoli three points off top after beating Empoli 3-0
Atlético overcome lowly Valladolid 4-2 in La Liga
Napoli cruised to a 3-0 home win over Empoli on Monday, with Scott McTominay striking twice and Romelu Lukaku also on target as the hosts kept pace with Inter.
Antonio Conte’s side were feeling the pressure after Inter’s 3-1 home win against Cagliari on Saturday, but they cut the gap back to three points with six matches to go. Napoli are also seven points clear of Atalanta in third as the Serie A title battle narrows to a two-horse race.
Mahdawi was at a naturalization interview in Vermont when he was taken in move his lawyers say is ‘retaliation’
Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green card holder and student at Columbia University, was apprehended by US immigration authorities in Vermont on Monday, according to his lawyers and a video of the incident.
Mahdawi, who was a leader of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia last spring, was arrested by Ice on Monday morning in Colchester, Vermont, while he was attending a naturalization interview, his lawyer said in a statement to the Guardian.
Australians are increasingly avoiding travel to the US under Donald Trump’s second presidency, fresh data shows, with forecasters expectingtourist numbers to plummet further throughout the year.
Official statistics from the US International Trade Administration reveal the number of visitors from Australia in March 2025 was down by 7% compared with March 2024 – a reduction of 4,559 people.
Two students traveling on spring break were arrested and charged with assault in Copenhagen, police say
Two American college students traveling for spring break were arrested in Copenhagen, charged with assault, and held in a Danish prison for two weeks following an alleged dispute with an Uber driver, Danish police said.
The family of Owen Ray, a 19-year-old studying at Miami University in Ohio, said he and an unnamed friend have been forced to forfeit their passports and remain in the country.
The actor’s take on a damaged young soul fighting for autonomy is a punchy, watchable delight. The second season is slower and narrower in scope, but it is just as gutsy and thoughtful
Season one of The Last of Us was a lot. It must have surprised some viewers to find that an adaptation of a video game was among the best dramas of 2023 – although it wasn’t too unexpected for anyone who noticed that it was co-created by Craig Mazin, writer of the magnificent Chernobyl. More to the point, The Last of Us was relentless, constantly shifting and weaving to deliver devastation and heartbreak in brutal new ways. On its return for a second season, it has earned the right to take a breath and slow down.
A quick recap. A fungus-based pandemic has splintered civilisation as we know it, turning the millions of “infected” into groaning, lurching sub-humans who are not undead but are still monsters whose only impulse is to bite the healthy. Joel (Pedro Pascal), a man whose 14-year-old daughter died at the start of the outbreak 20 years ago, has travelled from Massachusetts to Wyoming with Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who was also 14 when they met and is one of the very few who are immune to the fungal lurgy. Season one’s cross-country odyssey ended with the conclusion of Joel’s quest to deliver Ellie to a resistance group who were working on a cure; when he realised the procedure would involve experimenting on Ellie’s brain, sacrificing her for the good of humanity, he killed everyone in the building to save his adopted child.
The US says it can’t aid in his return as he’s in El Salvador; El Salvador says to help would be like ‘smuggling’ him back
It is difficult to find a term more fitting for the fate of the Maryland father Kilmar Abrego García than Kafkaesque.
Abrego García is one of hundreds of foreign-born men deported under the Trump administration to the Cecot mega-prison in El Salvador as part of a macabre partnership with the self-declared “world’s coolest dictator”, Nayib Bukele.
Owner of Michelin-starred Veeraswamy, London, heads to high court to object to ‘heartless’ plans to upgrade building
It has been a fixture of British-Indian dining since it first opened its doors in April 1926 on the day of Elizabeth II’s birth, serving guests over the decades ranging from Marlon Brando to the late Queen herself.
Yet despite surviving the Blitz and London’s relentlessly competitive restaurant sector, a dispute with the current monarch’s property developer threatens the survival of London’s oldest Indian restaurant just short of its 100th anniversary.
Hotter seas supercharge storms and destroy critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefs
The climate crisis has tripled the length of ocean heatwaves, a study has found, supercharging deadly storms and destroying critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefs.
Half of the marine heatwaves since 2000 would not have happened without global heating, which is caused by burning fossil fuels. The heatwaves have not only become more frequent but also more intense: 1C warmer on average, but much hotter in some places, the scientists said.
Nick Faldo has more majors and Seve Ballesteros was a majestic shotmaker but the career grand slam is priceless
In Northern Ireland, debate is already raging as to whether Rory McIlroy has presented himself as the country’s greatest ever sportsperson.
The answer is surely obvious. Step aside, George Best. McIlroy’s Masters triumph may even force Sports Personality of the Year to afford due recognition to golf. It is only April but it feels highly unlikely the scene immediately after McIlroy claimed the Masters on Sunday will be matched. His pounding of the turf; his tears absorbed more than a decade of such deep frustration. The moment reverberated beyond sport; Rory had done it. Grown men, lots of them, shed tears on his behalf as he broke his Augusta hoodoo.
Title X, with services like STI tests and cancer screenings, in limbo after Trump administration pauses $66m in funds
More than 10 days after the Trump administration froze roughly $66m of federal funds that had been earmarked for no- and low-cost family planning services,the providers that had been scheduled to receive that money are staring down the possibility of financial collapse.
Title X, the country’s largest federal family planning program, provides clinics across the country with more than $200m each year for services such as contraception, STI tests and cancer screenings. In 2023, more than 2 million people received healthcare through Title X, which helps people regardless of income, age or citizenship status. For many, Title X is their only source of healthcare.
Alerts rang out as residents felt large earthquake in areas around San Diego, with epicenter in rural town of Julian
Southern Californians were rattled on Monday morning when a strong earthquake shook the areas around San Diego just after 10am local time.
Initial measurements from the United States Geological Survey rated the temblor as a magnitude 5.2, with an epicenter in Julian, a mountain town in San Diego county with roughly 2,000 residents known for its apple pie, located roughly 35 miles north-east of San Diego and 120 miles south of Los Angeles.
‘Swansea has a strong identity,’ says Croatia captain
Midfielder’s contract with Real ends in the summer
The Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has acquired a minority stake in Swansea.
The 39-year-old Croatia captain, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has made his first foray into football ownership after being attracted by the “exciting opportunity” on offer in south Wales.
As crucial London peace talks set to begin, report seen by the Guardian raises questions over ‘multiple’ flights into bases in Chad
Pressure is mounting on the United Arab Emirates over its presence at a crucial conference in London aimed at stopping the war in Sudan after a leaked confidential UN report raised fresh questions over the UAE’s role in the devastating conflict.
The UAE has been accused of secretly supplying weapons to Sudanese paramilitaries via neighbouring Chad, a charge it has steadfastly denied.
From biscuits to paintings, images of the champion golfer are everywhere in his County Down birthplace
The torture was over, the sun shone and images of the familiar toothy grin were sprouting across Holywood, the birthplace of the embodiment of agony and ecstasy known as Rory McIlroy.
It was Monday afternoon and the Northern Ireland town could finally flaunt images of its most famous son without risk of jinxing him, because he had won the Masters and history was in the bag.
The deal signed last week between the centre-right CDU and centre-left SPD paves the way for vital investment in Europe’s biggest economy
Some years ago, hundreds of German finance ministry staff dressed in black and formed a giant zero to salute their boss, Wolfgang Schäuble, as he left office. It was a tribute to Mr Schäuble’s extreme fiscal conservatism, which had delivered Germany’s first balanced budget in the postwar period. Amid resurgent prosperity in the Angela Merkel years, the so-called black zero – symbolising a constitutional prohibition on public debt – had gradually acquired cult status.
As a new administration prepares to take power in Berlin, it seems unlikely that human euro signs will welcome the latest politician to take on Mr Schäuble’s former role. But in dramatic fashion, the spending taps are set to be turned on. Via a swiftly staged March vote in the outgoing Bundestag, “debt brake” dogma was consigned to history by the chancellor‑elect, Friedrich Merz. The way was thus paved for groundbreaking expenditure on defence, and the overhaul of an economy being left behind in a changed, suddenly menacing world.
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Fourth spell begins for club’s eighth head coach inside three seasons, in wake of fourth defeat in a row
Just before two o’clock on Palm Sunday, as Holy Week began and religious brotherhoods started their slow, swaying progress through the streets of Seville, first La Paz, then La Hiniesta, then the rest, a man entered the city at Santa Justa. Aged 69, diagnosed with leukaemia five years ago, wearing a grey cardigan, blue jacket and a slightly manic smile, he’s thinner than before but couldn’t be more familiar. Joaquín Caparrós has coached Sevilla more times than anyone, across three spells, the first a quarter of a century ago; now he was returning for a fourth. “My face is a reflection; it says it all,” he said, leaving the station and stopping on the corner, searching for the car coming for him.
Caparrós arrived on a train, alone and as their saviour. As somebody’s saviour, anyway: someone to get behind, someone to hide behind too, for a little while. Two days earlier Sevilla had lost 1-0 at Valencia. That night, manager Xavier García Pimienta said he would be with his players until the end of the world but he didn’t make it to the end of the weekend. On Thursday, the president José Maria del Nido Carrasco had declared it “time to be close to the coaching staff” and on Saturday they took training as normal; 24 hours later, they had been sacked. Caparrós had already been called. He will be their eighth coach in less than three seasons.
Pope Francis recognises the ‘heroic virtues’ of the creator of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família basilica in first step of process
He’s long been nicknamed “God’s architect” by those who point to his piety and the religious imagery woven through his soaring spires, colourful ceramics and undulating lines.
Now it seems the Vatican may be ready to make it official. It said on Monday that Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect behind Barcelona’s Sagrada Família basilica, had been put on the path to sainthood.
As the US president hangs a fist-pumping portrait of himself in the White House and seeks to purge museums of ‘improper ideology’, our writer finds chilling parallels at a new show about the Nazis’ ridiculing of modern art
Donald Trump has unveiled a new portrait of himself and it’s the most autocratic yet. A painted version of his fist-pumping stance after being shot in July 2024 now greets visitors in the entrance hall of the White House. This “Fight, fight, fight!” canvas is true strongman art.
It is just the latest in a series of artistic moves by Trump that look disturbingly tyrannical. When he complained that a portrait of himself in the Colorado State Capitol building was “purposefully distorted” it was taken down as quickly as if the US were Stalin’s Soviet Union. And he has ordered JD Vance to purge the Smithsonian museums of “improper ideology”. But how seriously should any of this be taken? Is it an urgent threat to democracy and culture or mere muscle-flexing?
Trump officials claim they’re not legally bound to bring Kilmar Abrego García back despite supreme court ruling
The president of El Salvador said in a meeting with Donald Trump in the White House on Monday that he would not order the return of a Maryland man who was deported in error to a Salvadorian mega-prison.
“The question is preposterous,” Nayib Bukele said in the Oval Office on Monday, where he was welcomed by Trump and spoke with the president and members of his cabinet. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I’m not going to do it.”
Lawmakers use Kremlin’s deadly attacks as latest evidence to convince president he must increase pressure on Putin
Republican supporters of Ukraine are using the Kremlin’s deadly missile strikes as their latest evidence to convince Donald Trump that he must increase pressure on Vladimir Putin if he wants to reach a ceasefire deal.
Pro-Ukraine lawmakers and aides in the Republican party have carefully navigated Trump’s apparent affinity for Putin and avoided direct intervention in their efforts to shift his support toward Kyiv. But following the Russian strikes during Palm Sunday celebrations in the city of Sumy, advisers and allies have been highly vocal in condemning the attack using language meant to resonate with the US president’s conservative, religious base.
Arrested man was allegedly aided by a forensic pathologist said to have falsely certified the decomposition of bodies
Police in Sicily have arrested a former gravedigger and are investigating 18 others accused of illegally removing bodies from tombs to make way for new corpses.
The former gravedigger’s assistant was also arrested on Monday in the investigation dating from 2023 for alleged corruption and bribery in Trapani, on the west coast of the Italian island.
Mike Budenholzer is the latest NBA coach to be fired as the Phoenix Suns announced they are parting ways with him after just one season in charge.
The team announced Budenholzer’s departure in a short, terse statement on Monday. “Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season,” the statement said. “Our fans deserve better. Change is needed.”
The progressive icon, 78, may be the frontrunner, but a more moderate contender may represent much-needed change
Barbara Lee represented Oakland in Congress for a quarter-century. Now, in what would probably be the capstone of her storied political career, the 78-year-old progressive icon is vying for the chance to lift the “city I love” out of crisis.
“I’m always ready to fight for Oakland,” Lee said, announcing her bid to lead the city of roughly 440,000 residents, known for its liberal politics and deep legacy of civil rights activism. When she entered the mayoral race in January, she was widely seen as the presumptive frontrunner.
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