World
Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Dubai, Virginia Harrison and Sarah Basford Canales in Canberra and Justin McCurry in Tokyo
US president says it is ‘only appropriate’ for Europe to help, and warns failure to do so would be ‘very bad’ for Nato
Jane Clinton
Americans criticize US state department, with one person saying she felt ‘betrayed’ and treated like ‘an afterthought’
Ashifa Kassam
Absurdist video urges policymakers and users to resist deliberate deterioration of platforms and devices
Martin Belam
In today’s newsletter: Six million fewer of us supported charities last year compared to a decade ago, but reversing the declining culture of giving is not a hopeless cause
Guardian staff and agencies
Foreign countries and firms should not be able to bypass the government, Zelenskyy says. What we know on day 1,482
Callum Jones
Another weekend of violence compounded global market concerns over war in the Middle East, following US strikes on the vital oil hub
Australia
Nick Visser and Australian Associated Press
Activists fear the families of players have been placed under pressure by the Tehran regime to make them change their minds
Kelly Burke
US-based Zubeyda Muzeyyen, AKA DJ Haram, claimed a ‘Zio-Australian-Epstein empire’ was responsible for silencing dissenters
Luca Ittimani and Penry Buckley
NRMA says record-high fuel may be here to stay in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane after prices soared early in the Middle East conflict
Kris Swales
Transport minister says sending a ship to the strait is ‘not something we’ve been asked or we’re contributing to’
Daisy Dumas
Passenger on Flight VA 328 alerted the crew who responded by ‘containing the device’ before plane landed
Caitlin Cassidy
NSW police allege child was sitting on lap of 45-year-old man who was experiencing ‘significant fatigue’ but was operating pedals while boy steered
Opinion
Jonn Elledge
Self-appointed patriots are up in arms about a plan to replace historical figures with cute wildlife. The Bank of England shouldn’t duck this debate, says author Jonn Elledge
Frances Ryan
Deliver me from the hassle of multiple platforms, ‘double paywalls’ and the nagging feeling I’m helping to fund Jeff Bezos’s next yacht, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan
Nesrine Malik
In the Middle East, the occupation is the original sin. And those who banked on this US-backed ‘stability’ now find it giving way beneath them, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
Nathalie Tocci
Prevarication on the war’s legality stands in sharp contrast to the outcry from France and Germany when Bush invaded Iraq, says Guardian Europe columnist Nathalie Tocci
John Quiggin
There’s no doubt artificial intelligence will produce real productivity improvements. It’s imperative these benefits are shared with workers
Society
Kevin Rawlinson
A year 13 pupil and a University of Kent student have died after contracting the disease, while 11 people remain seriously ill in hospital
Kat Lay Global health correspondent
Health service in England has saved more than £14bn hiring from overseas, report says, as doubt is cast on aim to reduce international recruitment to 10%
Luke Butterly and Lisa O’Carroll
Flawed Home Office travel records identified thousands of parents suspected of claiming while living abroad
Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor
Letter sent to Starmer claims ‘small number of peers have been using procedural tactics’ to stymie its progress
Patrick Butler Social policy editor
Charities Aid Foundation says giving no longer a ‘deeply embedded cultural norm’ amid rising cost of living
Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent
Young people who received the no-strings sum when leaving care also spent less on alcohol, tobacco and drugs
Sally Weale Education correspondent
Study showed average time on screens each day was 41 minutes, with some watching more than three hours a day
Hannah Devlin Science correspondent
Pretending not to hear parents or hiding toys are among children’s early ploys, while by age of three they may be telling lies such as ‘a ghost ate the chocolate’, research finds
Film
Steve Rose
Its wins are a testament to Ryan Coogler’s vision. His highly personal film foregrounds the Black experience and its essential humanity is a lesson for us all
Gwilym Mumford
Audiences were gradually turned off by the Marty Supreme actor during his Oscars campaign trail, with the growing sensation that he was more like his smirking, fame-hungry character than they first imagined
Jamie Graham
The latest in our ongoing series of writers looking back on their most rewatched comfort films is a tribute to an action classic that also defined an important friendship
Phuong Le
Documentary about a Venezuelan migrant’s struggles in Switzerland is a timeworn tale of marginalisation and financial precarity
Jess Cartner-Morley
The best actress winner was a red carpet triumph in her blood red and rose pink gown, the colours bringing an emotional warmth and a singularity that stood out among the familiar choices of black or gold
Phuong Le
Art and reality merge in Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani’s debut feature, which depicts its subjects as sweetly anthropomorphic animals
Raphael Rashid
Performance of Golden during Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony hailed for bringing Korean culture into the heart of Hollywood
Xan Brooks
In honouring One Battle After Another, Academy voters finally welcomed Hollywood’s prodigal son into the fold
Lanre Bakare
The Haitian director was given unprecedented access to George Orwell’s archives – and found a fellow crusader for truth. His extraordinary new film highlights the sinister links between Big Brother, Trump and Putin
Adrian Horton, Benjamin Lee and Owen Myers
This year saw some Chalamet exhaustion, wins for Warner Bros and memorable music while one winner was nowhere to be seen
Michael Sun
From Conan O’Brien roasting Timothée Chalamet to several winners getting political, here are the night’s best quotes
Catherine Shoard
Key names were omitted from this year’s tribute to industry figures who have died over the last 12 months
Owen Myers
As One Battle After Another swept, Paul Thomas Anderson, Javier Bardem and Conan O’Brien gave a welcome reality check to the glitzy ceremony
Adrian Horton
In a year that largely stuck to script, host O’Brien’s antics and the It Was Just an Accident director’s stare at Kevin O’Leary got the internet talking
Catherine Shoard
Film studio – currently in acquisition talks with Paramount – earned 11 awards thanks to films by Ryan Coogler and Paul Thomas Anderson
Catherine Shoard
Songwriter first nominated for ballad Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now in 1987 and is beaten this year by K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Golden
Benjamin Lee
Paul Thomas Anderson’s revolutionary epic took home six awards while Sinners scored four including for best actor
Andrew Pulver and Catherine Shoard
Buckley, who plays Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, was favourite to win after victories in all preceding ceremonies
Andrew Pulver and Catherine Shoard
Jordan is the sixth black actor to take the award – and the first person to take the prize for portraying twins
Andrew Pulver and Catherine Shoard
Anderson wins for film starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-revolutionary, taking Oscar in this category for the first time
Catherine Shoard
Victory for South Korean sensation is film’s second of the evening, after best animated feature
Andrew Pulver and Catherine Shoard
Joachim Trier’s family saga is about a film director estranged from his adult daughters
Andrew Pulver
Cinematographer asks all the women in the room to rise as she thanks cast, crew and her family
Catherine Shoard
Primary school teacher Pavel Talankin’s record of the indoctrination of his pupils to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine beats contenders
Catherine Shoard
The actor and singer remembered her co-star in 1973’s The Way We Were, who died in September
Catherine Shoard
The star of When Harry Met Sally, one of Reiner’s most enduring movies, honoured the director and his wife
Catherine Shoard
Much-loved actor, who died in October aged 79, remembered in emotional segment at the 98th Academy Awards
Andrew Pulver and Catherine Shoard
Coogler, who also directed the film, becomes only the second black writer to win this award, after Jordan Peele
Andrew Pulver and Catherine Shoard
Director won the Oscar for his critically acclaimed film based loosely on Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland
Catherine Shoard
Film’s star Chase Infiniti pays tribute to Kulukundis, who has cast nearly all of Paul Anderson’s films since Magnolia
Andrew Pulver
With this, his third Oscar – he won best actor for Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009 – Penn joins an elite band of triple winners, including Daniel Day-Lewis and Jack Nicholson
Adrian Horton
Host bobs and weaves through a number of third-rail topics in Academy Awards speech that’s at turns silly and sincere
TV & Radio
Jack Seale
In this affecting documentary, an epidemiologist asks six couples struggling to conceive to reduce their exposure to plastics and see if it helps. The results are startling – and prove that we should all make changes now
Alexi Duggins and Hannah J Davies
The stars of the smash hit Birmingham-set series tell all to Edith Bowman. Plus, the shocking 1969 Israeli plan to secretly transfer 60,000 Palestinians to Paraguay
Hollie Richardson, Graeme Virtue, Ali Catterall and Jack Seale
Marianna Spring goes Inside the Rage Machine. Plus: the finale of the brilliant comedy Small Prophets. Here’s what to watch this evening
Sport
Andrew Lawrence
Crooks is one of college basketball’s most fascinating stars, blending power and touch in a throwback game that could carry the Cyclones deep into March
Jo Khan
The club has again apologised for an ‘error of judgment’ that resulted in the Jewish community not being mentioned in a tribute to victims of the Bondi attack
Greg Wood
Attendances and British-trained winners were on the up but low points included more starting trouble and jockey spats
Robert Kitson
France’s dramatic triumph in the most extraordinary tournament was proof Test rugby played at full throttle ranks among the most compelling spectacles
Jo Khan
‘He just went bang,’ said Darren Cheek of his son Sam, who scored 402 off 137 balls after being dropped on a duck in a suburban Adelaide league match
Jack Snape
The rugby league world – including a Roosters fan who was first on the scene – found it impossible not to cheer as the South Sydney flyer broke the NRL’s all-time try-scoring record
Reading Recommendations
Chris Stein
US News · 2577 words
In the last US Senate hearing before Kristi Noem’s ouster, some of the fiercest criticism the homeland security secretary received came not from outraged Democrats, but from an ally of Donald Trump. “What we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms Noem, disaster,” said Thom Tillis, the senior Republican senator from North Carolina, at the outset of a 10-minute skewering of the secretary he dubbed a “performance evaluation”. Tillis has become known in Congress for giving people and policies he does not like such treatment in recent months, after he achieved something rare for…
Martin Belam
World · 1995 words
Good morning. Britain donated an estimated £14bn to charity last year, but that seemingly large headline figure masks both a dip in donations and a deeper shift in giving. A new report from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) finds that 55% of the UK population gave to charity last year, down from 69% a decade ago – leaving around six million fewer donors supporting charities. For years, the sector has relied on a shrinking group of committed supporters giving more. But with donations falling for the first time in five years, researchers warn that Britain’s culture of giving is becoming…
Nesrine Malik
Opinion · 1228 words
A war spiralling in the Middle East. A death toll now in the thousands across Iran and Lebanon. Energy prices soaring. The Gulf seized up with Iranian strikes. It’s one of those eras that feels bewildering, incomprehensible, out of control. But there is, at the heart of it, a simple logic: everything that is unfolding is a result of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinians. As the conflagration spreads, the connection to Palestine becomes obscured. But it is clear how much of the stability of the Middle East was secured at the expense of the Palestinians. Look at the region before 7 October…
Jane Clinton
World · 1553 words
US citizens living in the Middle East say they’re “angry” at the US state department, criticising the Trump administration for having no “backup plan” to help them leave the region in the hours and days after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran. One person, whose family voted for Trump for his anti-war stance, said she felt “betrayed” and what she perceived as the treatment of US citizens as “an afterthought”. A state department official said: “Through the department’s Task Force, we have directly provided security guidance and travel assistance to about 32,000 impacted Americans. Most…
Nathalie Tocci
Opinion · 1150 words
When crisis strikes, we divide, and division breeds inaction. This is the assumption generally made about Europe’s place in the world. But a look at events in the Middle East – past and present – suggests that this is not always the case. Europe is more paralysed than divided over the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran. Yet rather than fostering a shared sense of purpose, this crisis is hollowing out Europe’s identity and undermining its ability to act independently in the world. Rewind to 2003. The Iraq war was the quintessence of European division. France and Germany vehemently opposed the…
Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor
Technology · 1243 words
Samsung’s latest Ultra superphone promises to keep shoulder surfers out of your business with a first-of-its-kind privacy display built into its huge 6.9in screen. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s top-of-the-line phone costing £1,279 (€1,449/$1,299/A$2,199) and is one of the most feature-packed handsets you can get, with four cameras on the back, an integrated stylus and AI assistance in every corner. That includes a choice of three built-in AI chatbots, such as Google’s Gemini, Samsung’s revamped Bixby and Perplexity, and new predictive AI features that bring the Samsung in line with…