Gérard Depardieu arrives at Paris court for trial over sexual assault allegations | Gérard Depardieu

Gérard Depardieu arrived at a Paris court on Monday for his trial over alleged sexual assaults on a film set, a case that places one of France’s best-known film stars at the heart of the country’s broader reckoning over sexual violence. Depardieu, 76, has faced allegations of rape or sexual assault from more than a … Read more

Comedians roast Trump as Conan O’Brien honored at Kennedy Center | US news

Leading comedians have defied Donald Trump’s takeover of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in a show that one described as “the most entertaining gathering of the resistance, ever”. Trump did not attend Sunday’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor honouring Conan O’Brien for lifetime achievement in comedy. But his ears may … Read more

UK charities urge ministers to stop scapegoating nature for planning failures | Planning policy

Nature charities with a combined membership of about 8 million people are pressing the prime minister and chancellor to stop demonising wildlife and to urgently strengthen environmental protections in new planning laws. Organisations which are household names, such as the RSPB, the National Trust and the Wildlife Trusts, are calling on MPs to back amendments … Read more

Donald Trump criticises George Clooney as ‘second-rate movie star and failed political pundit’ | George Clooney

Donald Trump has taken aim at the actor and prominent Democrat activist George Clooney, dismissing his interview on US TV news programme 60 Minutes as a “total puff piece”. The Oscar-winning star was the subject of Sunday’s show to promote his Broadway debut, in a stage version of the film Good Night, and Good Luck, … Read more

Chalmers upbeat on eve of budget despite grim debt outlook and jitters over Australia’s ‘fiscal firepower’ | Australian politics

Australia’s debt burden will continue to grow in this financial year, Treasury has confirmed, even as Jim Chalmers claimed credit for the country’s much stronger fiscal position than was predicted leading into the last election. On the eve of Labor’s fourth budget, the latest official estimates show gross debt – or the outstanding face value … Read more

Drones, informers and apps: Iran intensifies surveillance on women to enforce hijab law | Iran

Like many women in Iran, Darya is used to feeling under surveillance. Yet in recent months, the 25-year-old finance analyst from northern Tehran says that she never knows who could be watching her every move. She says she has received messages from the police before warning her of suspected violations of the country’s strict hijab … Read more