The Guardian - March 03, 2025

In this issue

March 03, 2025

At least 25 police spies duped sexual partners

At least 25 undercover police officers who infiltrated political groups formed sexual relationships with members of the public without disclosing their true identity to them, the Guardian can disclose.

2 mins

PM calls for 'coalition of the willing' to end Ukraine war

We are at crossroads of history, Starmer says after London summit • Von der Leyen to unveil plan this week to 'urgently rearm Europe'

4 mins

At least 25 police spies duped sexual partners

At least 25 undercover police officers who infiltrated political groups formed sexual relationships with members of the public without disclosing their true identity to them, the Guardian can disclose.

1 min

Ability to treat patients impaired by tiredness, one in three doctors say

One in three doctors in the NHS are so tired that their ability to treat patients is impaired, according to a report that reveals medics are more sleep-deprived now than during the Covid-19 pandemic.

3 mins

'No stresso' - singer says he loves Italy as Eurovision entry offends

Estonia's entry for this year's Eurovision song contest has said he never intended to offend Italy with his song that pokes fun at Italian stereotypes of coffee-drinking, spaghetti-eating mafiosi - and said he submitted the song after his grandmother cried over it.

1 min

From peaks to jungle, contrasting tunes share nature prize

One is a dreamy soundscape collected from the peaks of the Dolomites. The other is a drum'n'bass track that samples a nightingale's quickfire song.

2 mins

Balancing act PM takes a personal and pragmatic approach to sudden crisis

After Friday's visceral and unprecedented scenes in the Oval Office, there was an immediate call for quick answers, new eras, pages of history being turned.

4 mins

Royal welcome King hosts Ukraine's president at Sandringham

The king met Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday at his Norfolk estate, Sandringham, shortly after Ukraine's president attended the prime minister's summit for European leaders.

2 mins

Despite the muddle and contradictions, we need to believe there's a plan here

If I were Volodymyr Zelenskyy, I'd be thinking, either Keir Starmer has a fiendishly intelligent and subtle mind, or he is bananas. Starmer channelled the giants of British history (everyone we're not embarrassed of: basically, Winston Churchill) yesterday. He said we were at a \"crossroads in history\". He used the phrase \"we are gathered here today\", which I suppose was literally true, as they were, but also had a strange churchy overtone, as if he were trying to borrow the actual authority of God.

2 mins

A big gesture' Starmer hurries to show support for Kyiv with action, not words

As Keir Starmer and his aides discussed their response to Friday's calamitous White House meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the prime minister's team pondered whether to issue a statement on social media.

4 mins

White House Suggestion that Zelenskyy should quit

The White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz, has said the US needs a Ukrainian leader who is willing to secure a lasting peace with Russia.

1 min

Is peace possible? Deep divisions remain at almost every turn

Deep divisions remain at almost every turn

3 mins

Anger in Odesa City under attack struggles to make sense of Trump and Putin's relationship

Olena Palash heard a loud buzzing above her flat in the Ukrainian port of Odesa. It was 11pm. First one drone, and another, then more. Soon afterwards, one of the Shaheds crashed into the children's clinic where she works.

4 mins

Europe Hopes a credible military coalition will keep White House on board

Europe and the UK are hoping they are on the brink of assembling a credible military coalition that Donald Trump can only refuse to support at the risk of appearing openly to ally with Vladimir Putin - an alliance many grassroots Republicans reject.

2 mins

Fault lines Populist tactics mean EU states cannot present a united front

A fortnight after Vladimir Putin sent his troops to attack Ukraine, the 27 leaders of the European Union gathered at the palace of Versailles and condemned Russia's invasion, promised support to the people of Ukraine - \"we will not leave them alone\" - and vowed to \"take more responsibility for our security\".

3 mins

US Protesters Back Ukraine After Vance Berates Zelenskyy

Protests against the Trump administration over its meeting with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy erupted across the US on Saturday, including near a ski resort where the vice-president, JD Vance, was on holiday with his family.

1 min

Musical chairs reinvented as TV gameshow by creator of Big Brother

A new television show based on the children's party game musical chairs is to be launched, tapping viewers' cravings for nostalgia and happy childhood memories.

2 mins

Minister's pledge to abolish 'feudal, unfair' leaseholds

The housing minister has promised to abolish the centuries-old leasehold system in England and Wales before the end of this parliament as the government takes the next steps towards an outright ban on new leasehold developments.

3 mins

Increase in Statutory Sick Pay to Benefit Lowest Paid in Workforce

More than one million of the lowest paid workers are to be guaranteed sick pay worth up to 80% of their weekly salary from the first day of sickness as part of changes intended to boost living standards.

1 min

Starmer's 'voice coach' says press coverage of her work was misogynistic

The media storm around Keir Starmer's lockdown \"voice coaching\" was revolting, inaccurate and misogynistic, the woman at the heart of the row has told the Guardian.

2 mins

UK watchdog to investigate how TikTok uses children's data

TikTok is to be investigated by the UK's data protection watchdog, which is looking into whether social media algorithms are serving up harmful content to children.

1 min

Labour's plans for school arts 'out-Tory the Tories'

Leading cultural figures have expressed doubts about the government's commitment to restoring the creative arts in English schools, with one warning that Labour has \"lost the plot\" and \"the current signs are they are worse than the Tories\".

2 mins

Sighs and whispers: stressed young people using ASMR videos to relax

Younger adults are increasingly overwhelmed by in-person interaction and are soothing themselves with wildly popular sensory online content known as ASMR, says a report.

2 mins

Review Trusted formula still works for comedy craftsman

Some people's art evolves over time. If you're waiting for Harry Hill's to do so - curious, perhaps, to see what late-period Hill has in store - might I suggest you don't hold your breath?

1 min

Deceived and betrayed: The officers who duped lovers with their fake IDs

The Guardian has identified the undercover officers who deceived members of the public into sexual relations, while concealing their true identities.

2 mins

Unmasking the spy cops How women tricked into sexual relationships learned the truth

Helen Steel was in her 20s and deeply in love with a man who told her he would \"like to spend the rest of his life\" with her.

4 mins

We're taking it seriously' How police in Manchester cut burglaries by a third

When Sean Edwards found his car and his neighbours' houses had been broken into in Longsight, Greater Manchester, in 2022, he was not expecting much from the police based on previous experiences.

2 mins

£17m gift will allow Highland estate rewilding

Scottish conservationists hope to convert a Highland sporting estate into a rewilding showcase after a mystery benefactor gave them more than £17.5m to buy it.

2 mins

Under siege: Undisguised aid blockade puts residents in fresh peril

Briefing the Israeli press after Benjamin Netanyahu's order to turn off the aid supply to Gaza, government officials claimed that the Palestinian territory had several months' worth of food stockpiled from earlier deliveries.

2 mins

Israel attempts to force a change to terms of ceasefire agreement by cutting off aid to Gaza

Israel has cut off humanitarian supplies to Gaza in an effort to force Hamas into accepting a change in the ceasefire agreement to allow for the release of hostages without the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

3 mins

Hospitals overwhelmed in Congolese city by civilians injured as army withdrew

Patients at hospitals in the second-largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have described how they sustained serious injuries during the chaotic withdrawal of the Congolese army and its allies in the days before Rwanda-backed M23 rebels marched in.

2 mins

Greek PM promises rail upgrades as protests shake his leadership

The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has pledged to prioritise upgrading the country's railways as his embattled government braces for a vote of no confidence after huge protests over a 2023 train crash that killed 57 people.

1 min

'America is going down': Chinese retired colonel in warning to people of Taiwan

The damage caused by Donald Trump to America's reputation is creating opportunities for China, particularly over Taiwan, a retired senior colonel in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has said, as the Taiwanese know the US is \"going down\".

3 mins

Walz 'sucked into' tackling pet abduction lies in election

Tim Walz, Kamala Harris's running mate in the presidential election won by Donald Trump, has said he regrets how much time he spent addressing the opposing campaign's false, racist claims of pets being abducted and eaten by Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.

2 mins

Time to say goodbye: Rio's biggest samba singer bows out after leading 50 Carnival parades

Tonight, as 100,000 people gather in the stands and VIP boxes of the Marquês de Sapucaí Sambadrome to watch the second night of parades at Rio de Janeiro's world-famous carnival, a voice that has resonated for half a century will be heard there for the last time.

3 mins

Pope thanks well-wishers from hospital

Pope Francis thanked well-wishers for their support yesterday after missing his Sunday Angelus for a third week in a row as he remained in hospital with pneumonia.

1 min

US Company's Blue Ghost Spacecraft Lands on Moon - and Stays Upright

A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the moon yesterday, marking only the second private mission to achieve the milestone – and the first to do so upright.

1 min

Top pay soars at HSBC and Barclays after scrapping of UK bonus cap

The demise of the UK banker bonus cap has sent pay soaring at Barclays and HSBC, where the highest-paid bankers have received their biggest payouts since at least 2014.

1 min

UK Could Be 'Dumping Ground' for Exploitative Firms, MPs Say

The government must close loopholes that enable firms exploiting workers to undercut British businesses or risk the UK becoming a \"dumping ground\" for goods made in poor conditions, MPs have said.

2 mins

HS2: How a neglected part of the capital has benefited

Overlooking one of Europe's biggest building sites may not be every luxury apartment dweller's ideal view, but at least one man is revelling in it.

2 mins

Bitcoin price falls 17.5% as boost from Trump election win fades

Bitcoin has recorded its largest monthly loss since June 2022, pushing it into a bear market as the euphoria over cryptocurrencies after Donald Trump's election win faded.

1 min

'Everything has changed' New world order means Labour needs to rethink economy

Principled political resignations are rare at Westminster, so Anneliese Dodds' departure on Friday over Labour's cuts in aid to fund defence spending was a significant moment.

4 mins

Great leap forward 'Like landing on Mars': can a woman really run a sub four-minute mile?

The day before Eliud Kipchoge's first attempt at a sub-two-hour marathon in 2017, a Nike vice-president described it to me as \"a moonshot\".

4 mins

India maintain their momentum in Dubai

Varun Chakravarthy picked up five for 42 in only his second ODI as India beat New Zealand by 44 runs in the Champions Trophy.

1 min

Archer may yet help England's pace ploy

Fast bowler's wickets in Pakistan hopefully sign of things to come for India series and Ashes in Australia

3 mins

Tearful Maher departs with try in defeat as Gloucester reach final

Ilona Maher signed off her time in English club rugby with a try for Bristol but it was not enough to prevent a 36-20 defeat against their west country rivals Gloucester-Hartpury in the women's Premiership semi-final.

3 mins

Leeds crush Castleford while Australia women thrash England

The former Headingley hero Danny McGuire endured a painful return to his former club as Castleford were beaten 38-24 by Leeds in the Super League.

1 min

Battle for alpha status Ireland and France poised to renew rivalry based on brilliance with title on line

Saturday is a day that has been ringed in the calendar for months.

4 mins

FA Cup of darts' provides amateurs with shot at glory

Unique setting of UK Open pits part-timers against professionals in a way that's becoming increasingly rare, with competition to break into the elite never greater

5 mins

Million-dollar Girma has Chelsea debut cut short

The USA centre-back Naomi Girma's debut for Chelsea ended early as she was brought off with an injury in their 2-2 draw at Brighton.

3 mins

Radical plan could lead to expansion of Championship

Responsible for running the women's game confirmed discussions will continue.

1 min

Card games Newcastle may appeal against 'harsh' decision

Eddie Howe hinted Newcastle might appeal against Anthony Gordon's \"harsh\" straight red card in their home FA Cup defeat by Brighton, but he seemed virtually resigned to being without the England winger in the Carabao Cup final.

1 min

Welbeck dink extra special after Gordon and Lamptey see red

When the dust finally settled on a tie featuring two red cards and an incessant stream of high calibre drama crowned by Danny Welbeck's extra time winner, Brighton were in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

3 mins

Leno's heroics in shootout send toothless holders out

As this FA Cup fifth-round penalty shootout reached its climax, Victor Lindelöf and Joshua Zirkzee were the unfortunate players whose kicks were saved, ending Manchester United's trophy defence and sending Fulham through to the last eight.

3 mins

Fulham's sensible plan punishes fading institution with Amorim's stubborn tactics falling short

This year, the FA Cup can provide no fig leaf for Manchester United, no veneer to mask a collapse of standards.

3 mins

I'm not naive': Amorim swipes at Rooney as United crash out of Cup

Ruben Amorim has hit back at Wayne Rooney, after the FA Cup holders Manchester United crashed out, by claiming that being the club's head coach \"at 40\" shows he is not naive.

1 min

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