World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

Giuliani won't rule out Trump taking the fifth in Mueller's Russia investigation
Pro-Kremlin Cossack troops to ‘ensure public safety’ at World Cup
Trump CIA pick sought to withdraw over torture concerns
Hawaii volcano: 31 homes destroyed by lava from vents created by Kilauea
Low turnout in Lebanon election amid voter scepticism
Thai activists claim victory over luxury housing on forest land
India police arrest main suspect in teenager's rape and murder
Erdoğan vows fresh military action against Kurdish militants
Pakistani interior minister injured in shooting at rally
No hidden rooms in Tutankhamun burial chamber, says Egypt
Future of Air France 'in doubt' after boss quits amid strike action
Family pay tribute to volunteer blood biker killed in collision
Italy's festival of snake-catchers – in pictures
Dubai princess: 'Either I'm dead or I'm in a very, very, very bad situation' – video
Melania Trump steps out of Donald's shadow – after a year and a half
The Loneliness Project: stories shed light on 'part of being human'
Think it's funny that China is cracking down on Peppa Pig? Think again | Phoebe-Jane Boyd
Coalition and Labor strike deal over Murray-Darling basin plan
Film hailing Saudi progress on women's rights branded 'dreadful propaganda'
Child slavery victim sues Home Office after sexual assault at Morton Hall
Aerial footage shows volcanic lava destroying homes in Hawaii – video
Floodwaters wash away cars in Turkish capital – video
Tokyo Pride and a Moscow military parade: the best photos of the weekend

Giuliani won't rule out Trump taking the fifth in Mueller's Russia investigation

Posted: 06 May 2018 09:11 AM PDT

Lawyer fears 'prosecution for perjury like Martha Stewart'
Trump in 2016: 'If you're innocent, why are you taking the fifth?'

Donald Trump's new attorney, Rudy Giuliani, would not on Sunday rule out the possibility that the president would assert his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination in the Russia investigation.

Pro-Kremlin Cossack troops to ‘ensure public safety’ at World Cup

Posted: 06 May 2018 12:38 PM PDT

Organisation whose members attacked protesters at recent anti-Putin rally enlisted to help National Guard in Moscow

Pro-Kremlin Cossack fighters – like the ones who used leather whips to attack protesters at an opposition rally in Moscow at the weekend – are to patrol the streets of the Russian capital at the World Cup, according to reports.

The fighters, in traditional Cossack fur hats, joined forces with police and the National Guard security force to crack down on Saturday's protest ahead of Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a fourth presidential term on Monday.

Trump CIA pick sought to withdraw over torture concerns

Posted: 06 May 2018 12:56 PM PDT

Washington Post says Gina Haspel tried to withdraw on Friday
Now-defunct program used controversial interrogation techniques

Gina Haspel, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the CIA, offered to withdraw her nomination, two senior administration officials said on Sunday, amid concerns that a debate over a harsh interrogation program would tarnish her reputation and that of the CIA.

Hawaii volcano: 31 homes destroyed by lava from vents created by Kilauea

Posted: 06 May 2018 08:42 PM PDT

Ten vents, hundreds of yards long, spew lava and sulfuric gas
More than 1,700 residents evacuated from danger area

Thirty-one homes have been destroyed by lava shooting out of openings in the ground created by Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, as some of the more than 1,700 people who evacuated prepare for the possibility they may not return for quite some time.

Low turnout in Lebanon election amid voter scepticism

Posted: 06 May 2018 11:35 AM PDT

First parliamentary poll in nine years viewed as unlikely to shake up country's political order

Low turnout marred Lebanon's first parliamentary poll in nine years, with voters seemingly unconvinced that a new ballot – and system of voting – could shake up a political order that has remained beholden to regional interests since the end of the civil war.

The election had been hailed as potentially a breakthrough moment for a country central to power struggles between Iran and Saudi Arabia and rattled by decades of domestic turbulence. However, by the close of polls on Sunday, less than half of registered voters (47%) had cast ballots, 5% less than the last poll in 2009 – and far below projections.

Thai activists claim victory over luxury housing on forest land

Posted: 06 May 2018 09:39 AM PDT

Government bows to protesters and agrees to shelve development near Chiang Mai

Environmental activists in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai claimed victory on Sunday after the country's military government agreed not to continue the development of luxury property on forest land.

The decision follows a demonstration in Chiang Mai last week in which more than 1,000 people protested against the construction of a luxury development earmarked to house judges in the foothills of the Doi Suthep mountains.

India police arrest main suspect in teenager's rape and murder

Posted: 06 May 2018 09:13 AM PDT

Dhanu Bhuiyan accused of raping girl, 16, who was later burned to death in Jharkhand

The main suspect in the latest rape and murder to shock India has been arrested, police said on Sunday, as protests took place over a separate high-profile sexual assault case.

Dhanu Bhuiyan is accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, who was later burned to death, in the eastern state of Jharkhand on Friday. He was found hiding at a relative's house.

Erdoğan vows fresh military action against Kurdish militants

Posted: 06 May 2018 09:36 AM PDT

Operations in Syria and Iraq will continue, Turkish president says at election manifesto launch

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogğan, has promised new military operations against Kurdish militants along the country's border in Syria and Iraq as he presented his election manifesto.

Speaking in front of thousands of supporters in Istanbul on Sunday, Erdoğan described next month's snap presidential and parliamentary polls as a "milestone" for a strong Turkey. The country would "take the stage as a global power", he vowed.

Pakistani interior minister injured in shooting at rally

Posted: 06 May 2018 09:27 AM PDT

Ahsan Iqbal targeted in suspected assassination attempt in Punjab province

Pakistan's interior minister has been injured in a suspected assassination attempt during an election rally in Punjab province.

Ahsan Iqbal, 59, was shot in the right shoulder after he addressed a crowd in the town of Narowal.

No hidden rooms in Tutankhamun burial chamber, says Egypt

Posted: 06 May 2018 08:55 AM PDT

Antiquities ministry says radar scans give conclusive evidence there are no hidden rooms

Egypt's antiquities ministry has said new radar scans provide conclusive evidence that there are no hidden rooms inside King Tutankhamun's burial chamber.

Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said an Italian team had conducted extensive studies with ground-penetrating radar that showed the tomb did not contain any hidden, manmade blocking walls, as was earlier suspected.

Future of Air France 'in doubt' after boss quits amid strike action

Posted: 06 May 2018 09:28 AM PDT

French economy minister says state will not rescue company if union walkouts make airline uncompetitive

The future of strike-hit Air France hangs in the balance following the departure of its chief executive over a continuing strike over pay, the French economy minister warned on Sunday.

The airline's trade union members are planning to walk out for a 14th day on Monday as they press for a 5.1% pay increase this year from their loss-making employer.

Family pay tribute to volunteer blood biker killed in collision

Posted: 07 May 2018 02:25 AM PDT

Russell Curwen, 49, died after his motorcycle collided with a car in Lancaster on Saturday

A volunteer blood biker who was killed while transporting items for the NHS "died doing what he loved", his family has said.

Russell Curwen, 49, was riding for North West Blood Bikes when his motorcycle collided with a white Jaguar XJR in Lancaster at about 7.45pm on Saturday.

Italy's festival of snake-catchers – in pictures

Posted: 07 May 2018 12:00 AM PDT

The festival of snake-catchers (festa dei serpari) in Cocullo, Italy, is an annual religious procession in which the St Dominic's statue is carried in procession, covered with living snakes

Dubai princess: 'Either I'm dead or I'm in a very, very, very bad situation' – video

Posted: 07 May 2018 02:23 AM PDT

Sheikha Latifa, a daughter of Dubai's ruler, appeared in a YouTube video in March announcing she was about to flee the UAE. Concern is growing over her whereabouts and wellbeing after reports she was forcibly returned

Concerns grow for whereabouts of Dubai princess following failed escape

Melania Trump steps out of Donald's shadow – after a year and a half

Posted: 06 May 2018 10:00 PM PDT

On Monday, the first lady will launch policy initiatives focused on children. But speculation remains rife about her view of the role: 'She didn't sign up for this'

She is married to the most powerful man in the world. She does her duty and remains silent as he utters falsehoods, hurls insults and admits paying hush money to an actor in adult films who alleges an extramarital affair. Little wonder that one columnist dubbed her the "Slovenian Sphinx".

The Loneliness Project: stories shed light on 'part of being human'

Posted: 07 May 2018 12:01 AM PDT

A Toronto designer's online platform showcases experiences of people all over the world, aiming to destigmatise the topic

The screen shows a cluster of apartment buildings, some of them empty, some with the figure of a person silhouetted against the window. Click on an apartment and a story pops up on screen.

"I spent two hours alone, wandering around an Ikea, because I was too nervous to ask people to come with me," it reads. "I ate two hotdogs and bought nothing."

Think it's funny that China is cracking down on Peppa Pig? Think again | Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Posted: 07 May 2018 01:58 AM PDT

The censorship of children's entertainment for adult ends is an old story, and everyone is at it – including us

Peppa Pig, subversive symbol of the counterculture, in China video site ban

A girl-piglet and a boy-piglet, a mummy and daddy pig, no LGBTQ characters or focus on race or religion; Peppa Pig isn't an obvious target for controversy or counterculture worship. At first glance, it could be a pretty solid adult choice for boredom or sleep. Yet the Douyin video platform in China deems its influence to be a potentially harmful one, due to its growing popularity among the country's shehuiren. That's anti-establishment "gangster" internet users to some, or people who like memes and get tattoos of asinine cartoon characters because it's a bit funny to others.

Like people who spend a lot of time on Tumblr, Reddit, or 4chan, ironic Peppa Pig fans probably aren't a danger to the continuation of humanity as we know it. They might need tattoo-removal services at some point, but a government ban on the cartoons they like, as well as their associated hashtags, is a bit much. For many here in the UK, the ban in China has been taken as bizarre and hilarious. Peppa as a figurehead for "unruly slackers", a cult-like hero calling society's disaffected to rebel? The cartoon? It's always been a pedestrian watch, probably even for the generation of children it was designed for. To kids watching who come from single-parent families, have two mums, or are living in foster homes, Peppa Pig's cosily conservative family set-up may be as otherworldly as talking pigs and rabbits.

Coalition and Labor strike deal over Murray-Darling basin plan

Posted: 07 May 2018 01:47 AM PDT

Labor decides not to back Greens' motion, instead coming to an agreement with Coalition to keep plan intact
• Sign up to receive the top stories every morning

Proposed amendments to the Murray-Darling basin plan that will substitute water efficiency projects instead of buying back 605GL of water look set to survive a challenge in the Senate.

Labor has decided not to support a disallowance motion that the Greens planned to move on Tuesday after striking a deal with the government.

Film hailing Saudi progress on women's rights branded 'dreadful propaganda'

Posted: 07 May 2018 02:00 AM PDT

Footage of women using wingsuits fails to take off as critics condemn strapline suggesting great women are supported by men

A film intended to celebrate progress on women's rights in Saudi Arabia has been condemned by experts and rights groups as a "dreadful piece of propaganda" that will serve only to reinforce the existing culture of discrimination in the country.

Launched by the Saudi-based organisation Alwaleed Philanthropies, one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations, the film aims to highlight reforms in the deeply conservative state, where women can now attend sports events and will soon be able to drive cars.

Child slavery victim sues Home Office after sexual assault at Morton Hall

Posted: 06 May 2018 11:00 PM PDT

Government accused of 'catastrophic failure' after admitting teenager was being held illegally when attacked by immigration centre inmate

A Vietnamese victim of child slavery has launched legal proceedings against the government after he was sexually assaulted at Morton Hall immigration removal centre, the Guardian can reveal.

The Home Office has admitted that the 19-year-old – known as H – was being detained illegally when he was attacked by another inmate, who attempted to rape him in his cell in 2016.

Aerial footage shows volcanic lava destroying homes in Hawaii – video

Posted: 07 May 2018 02:42 AM PDT

Kilauea volcano has destroyed 31 homes after lava flowed through the Puna district. More than 1,700 people were forced to evacuate. Kilauea has been continuously erupting since 1983 and is one of the world's most active volcanoes

Hawaii volcano: 31 homes destroyed by lava from vents created by Kilauea

Floodwaters wash away cars in Turkish capital – video

Posted: 06 May 2018 09:14 AM PDT

A torrent of floodwater surged through Ankara on Saturday, sweeping away lorries and cars after heavy rain poured down on the Turkish capital. The country's minister for labour and social security said four people were injured in the floods, which damaged more than 160 cars and 25 businesses

Tokyo Pride and a Moscow military parade: the best photos of the weekend

Posted: 06 May 2018 05:01 AM PDT

The Guardian's picture editors bring you photo highlights from around the world