Exclusive: Formal validation for claret reflects hotter conditions, falling consumption and shift towards chillable redsBordeaux's wine industry has historically adapted to consumer habits. In the 1970s the region leaned towards white, but by the 2000s was famed for powerful oak-aged reds.Now it's turning to a much older form of red with a name familiar to anglophones: claret. With origins in the 12th century, when it was first shipped to Britain, claret was soon our favoured wine, an unofficial byword for bordeaux red, which in recent decades has become increasingly full-bodied. Continue reading...
by Sarah Marsh Consumer affairs correspondent on (#737QF)
University researchers say growth of the hidden fast food industry may pose risks to public healthOne in seven food businesses on major delivery platforms, including Deliveroo and Just Eat, is now a dark kitchen", a university study shows.The findings, which shine a light on the scale of the hidden takeaway industry, found that 15% of all online food retailers in England were dark kitchens. Continue reading...
Paul W Brown reportedly voiced concerns about the FBI's unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in Fulton countyThe special agent in charge of the FBI's Atlanta field office was reportedly removed from his post after questioning the Trump administration's renewed interest in investigating the role of Fulton county, Georgia, in the 2020 election.The agent, Paul W Brown, had expressed concerns around the unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in Fulton county, which have been perpetuated by Donald Trump since he was defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to an MS NOW report on Friday. Citing sources, MS NOW also reported that Brown refused to carry out searches and seizures of records connected to the election that Trump lost four years before winning a second presidency in 2024. Continue reading...
Newly released documents reveal Lutnick sent email to Jeff' and floated plan for Sunday evening for dinner'Howard Lutnick, currently serving as Trump's US secretary of commerce, arranged to visit Jeffrey Epstein's island in 2012, according to Epstein-related files released by the Department of Justice on Friday.According to the newly released documents, on 20 November 2012, Epstein's longtime assistant emailed Lutnick saying that Jeffrey Epstein understands you will be down in St Thomas some over the holidays" and that Jeffrey requested I please pass along some phone numbers to you so the two of you can possibly get together." Continue reading...
The brothers' mother was taken by ICE and Minnesota educators were forced to bring the children to herUS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken custody of two children who attend the same Minnesota elementary school as Liam Ramos, the detained five-year-old, according to school officials.The superintendent of the school district in Columbia Heights, a Minneapolis suburb, told the Guardian that two brothers, in second and fifth grades, were detained with their mother on Thursday. The mother has a pending asylum case and the family has since been transported to a Texas detention facility, the school official said. Continue reading...
Rubaya mine produces about 15% of the world's coltan, which is processed into tantalum, used in mobile phonesMore than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, a spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located, told Reuters on Friday.Rubaya produces about 15% of the world's coltan, which is processed into tantalum - a heat-resistant metal that is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines. The site, where local people dig manually for a few dollars a day, has been under the control of the M23 rebel group since 2024. Continue reading...
George Zinn, 71, further admitted to possessing child sexual abuse material and pleaded no contest to allegationsA man accused of trying to thwart authorities investigating Charlie Kirk's killing by falsely confessing to the deadly shooting faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to the allegation - and separately admitting to possessing child sexual abuse material.The case centering on George Zinn, 71, all but concluded at a court hearing on Thursday in Provo, Utah, about 5 miles away from the college campus where the Turning Point USA executive director was fatally shot on 10 September 2025. Continue reading...
Newly released files from DoJ show the pair making plans in 2012 and 2013 for the Tesla CEO to visit Epstein's islandElon Musk had more extensive - and more friendly - communications with the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein than previously publicly known, according to documents released on Friday by the Department of Justice. Emails in the files appear to show the two cordially messaging each other on two separate occasions to make plans for Musk to visit Epstein's island.The documents include Musk and Epstein emailing in both 2012 and 2013 to determine when Musk should make the trip to Little St James. Neither exchanges appear to have resulted in Musk visiting the island, due to logistical issues. Continue reading...
by Shrai Popat in Minneapolis, Lucy Campbell and Sara on (#737JT)
Deputy attorney general makes announcement over fatal shooting in Minneapolis as fierce protests there continueThe US deputy attorney general announced on Friday that the justice department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of the Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti last Saturday by immigration officers, as fierce protests continued on the streets there.We're looking at everything that would shed light on that day," Todd Blanche, deputy to the attorney general, Pam Bondi, said at a press conference on Friday morning in Washington DC. Continue reading...
Madonna labelled it heaven' on a recent visit, but the cost of living is hitting the seaside town hardNot many chefs working in small, family-run restaurants expect global megastars to turn up for dinner and to design them a menu from scratch.But that's what happened to Simona Di Dio last weekend, when she cooked dishes inspired by her Italian grandmother's recipes for Madonna, who sat on the single wooden dining table in their cosy, candlelit Italian restaurant in Margate's old town. Continue reading...
by Thomas Graham in Tijuana and Ruaridh Nicoll in Hav on (#737GH)
Island country only has oil enough to last 15-20 days, and 12-hour blackouts have become commonplaceMexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has warned that Donald Trump's move to slap new tariffs on countries sending oil to Cuba could trigger a humanitarian crisis on the island, which is already suffering from chronic fuel shortages and regular blackouts.The US president signed an executive order on Thursday declaring a national emergency and laying the groundwork for such tariffs, ratcheting up the pressure to topple the communist government in Havana. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#737A6)
Far-right activist tells X followers to vote for Reform's Gorton and Denton candidate, Matthew GoodwinLabour have accused the Reform UK candidate for the Gorton and Denton byelection, Matthew Goodwin, of representing toxic politics" after he was endorsed by the far-right agitator Tommy Robinson.The move will be uncomfortable for Nigel Farage, who has consistently kept the parties he leads separate from Robinson, an anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK's leading far-right figures. Continue reading...
Services running normally again after trains into Euston on UK's main intercity line held up as far back as WarringtonTrain services on Britain's main intercity rail line are running normally again after being disrupted for much of Friday because of a fire close to the tracks in north London.Trains to and from London Euston serving Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow were among those suspended due to the blaze in Primrose Hill, Camden. Continue reading...
by Sarah Haque (now); Taz Ali (earlier) on (#7373H)
Prime minister suggests US president was talking more about Canada' when asked for reaction to Beijing visitProminent Hong Kong and Uyghur activists living in exile in the UK have accused Starmer of seeking China's desperate approval, after the prime minister visited Beijing for the first time in eight years this week.Pro-democracy campaigner and prominent critic of the Communist Party, Finn Lau said the Hong Kong community is disappointed by Starmer's visit, but unsurprised by the government's short sightedness".While British citizen Jimmy Lai remains imprisoned and Uyghurs continue to suffer atrocity crimes, we take no comfort in this decision and will not be silenced.We look forward to receiving urgent assurances from the government regarding those who were placed under sanction together with us, and take this opportunity to express our ongoing solidarity with the Uyghur people, whose cause we will not drop. Continue reading...
Nestle has already recalled several batches due to concerns they may trigger nausea and vomitingThe Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed the presence of a toxin that can cause food poisoning in some Nestle baby formula products.At the start of this month, the Swiss food and drink company recalled several batches of its SMA infant formula and follow-on formula due to concerns they contained cereulide, which can trigger nausea and vomiting when consumed. Continue reading...
Viktor Orban reiterates stance on EU membership as spokesperson claims Brussels wants to give Ukraine access to next budgetBut just as Volodymyr Zelenskyy doubles down on his 2027 accession target, so is Hungary's Viktor Orban in opposing the move.In clips published by Hungary's international spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs, Orban has claimed that during the last EU summit the leaders were given a document describing Brussels plans to admit Ukraine in 2027. Continue reading...
Milestone appears to resolve escalating tensions over the question of Kurdish autonomy in north-east SyriaThe Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces have reached an agreement to extend a fragile ceasefire into a permanent truce, laying a framework for integrating Kurdish forces into the state and ending nearly a month of fighting.The agreement on Friday appeared to resolve escalating tensions between the two sides over the question of Kurdish autonomy in north-east Syria and paved a way for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to join Syria's new army through negotiations, rather than battle. Continue reading...
Deng Chol Majek stabbed Rhiannon Whyte 23 times in sadistic' attack at railway stationA Sudanese asylum seeker has been jailed for at least 29 years for the sadistic" murder of a woman who was working at the hotel where he lived.Deng Chol Majek is believed to have entered the UK by small boat less than three months before stabbing Rhiannon Whyte, 27, with a screwdriver 23 times at Bescot Stadium station in Walsall in October 2024. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#7377M)
Trump now has the firepower in place, but using it might not end wellA fortnight ago, when Donald Trump first threatened Iran's regime, telling protesters in the country that help is coming", there were not enough US military assets in the Middle East to back up the rhetoric. That has now changed, although plenty of questions remain about what an attack on Iran could achieve.An aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, has arrived in the Indian Ocean, dispatched from the South China Sea alongside three destroyers equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles. Its eight-squadron air wing includes F-35C and F/A-18 jets and, critically, EA-18G Growlers to suppress anything that is left of Iran's air defences after last year's war with Israel. Continue reading...
by Tiago Rogero South America correspondent on (#7376R)
Law will give private companies more control but experts unsure whether reforms go far enough for USVenezuela's acting president has signed into law a bill making significant changes to the country's oil sector after pressure from the US to open it up to foreign private investment.The new hydrocarbons law promises to give private companies control over oil production and sales, ease taxes and allow for independent arbitration of disputes, while largely maintaining state control over oil production. Continue reading...
Victims of terrorist attacks say BAT's operations in North Korea helped fund weapons used in the Middle EastHundreds of US military service members, civilians and their families have filed a lawsuit for unspecified damages against British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the world's largest tobacco companies, and a subsidiary, claiming the company spent years illicitly helping North Korea fund terrorism weapons that were used against Americans.BAT formed a joint venture in 2001 with a North Korean company to manufacture cigarettes in the country. The venture quietly continued, a 2005 Guardian investigation revealed, even as the US government publicly warned North Korea was funding terrorism and imposed sanctions on the country. Amid mounting international pressure in 2007, the company claimed it was ending business in North Korea, but secretly continued its operation through a subsidiary, the US justice department said in 2023. BAT's venture in North Korea provided around $418m in banking transactions, generating revenue used to advance North Korea's weapons program," Matthew Olsen, then the justice department official in charge of its national security division, said during a 2023 Senate hearing. Continue reading...
Maj James Hook and Col Samantha Shepherd charged with offences relating to case of soldier who took her own lifeTwo serving British army officers face criminal charges over the handling of a case of sexual assault of the teenage soldier Jaysley Beck, who later took her own life.Beck, a Royal Artillery Gunner, was assaulted during a training exercise in Hampshire in July 2021, when she was 19, and killed herself five months later. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: As boardedup units spread from coastal towns to former industrial centres, a new Guardian investigation reveals how our high streets have become a litmus test for public frustration and political choicesGood morning. There is a familiar refrain about Britain's high streets - that they are now little more than a procession of shuttered units, former bank branches, barbers, vape shops and fast food outlets, symbols of a country that feels as though it is quietly running down.This week, a Guardian investigation set out to explain why the decline of the high street has accelerated, why it is now so visible, and why it has become a proxy for whether people feel their area - and their lives - are moving forwards or backwards.China | Keir Starmer has taken a big step towards rapprochement with China, opening the door to a UK visit from Xi Jinping in a move that drew immediate anger from British critics of Beijing.Iran | The creators of a messaging app accused of handing user data to the Iranian regime live on a windswept hill in a British coastal town, the Guardian can reveal.Reform UK | A Reform UK council chair has resigned after it was found he was illegally running two unsafe rental properties, according to a neighbouring local authority.Banking | The boss of Lloyds Banking Group has warned that bankers will need to re-skill themselves" to survive the oncoming AI boom that stands to transform the financial services sector.US politics | Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic US senator, announced she will run for governor of Minnesota, after the incumbent governor, Tim Walz, dropped out of the race in early January. Continue reading...
Human rights groups and some western countries have denounced the election, the first held since the 2021 coup, describing it as neither free nor fairMyanmar's military-backed party has completed a sweeping victory in the country's three-phase general election, state media said, cementing an outcome long expected after a tightly controlled political process held during civil war and widespread repression.The Union and Solidarity Party (USDP) dominated all phases of the vote, winning an overwhelming majority in the two legislative chambers in Myanmar. It secured 232 of the 263 seats up for grabs in the lower Pyithu Hluttaw house and 109 of the 157 seats announced so far in the Amyotha Hluttaw upper chamber, according to results released on Thursday and Friday. Continue reading...
Older men seen as gaining wisdom' but women must keep looking younger or be idiosyncratic', review hearsOlder women disappear from presenting roles across the BBC while older men are regarded as gaining gravitas and wisdom", according to an internal review of the broadcaster's record on representation.A noticeable mismatch" in the number of staff and freelance male and female presenters over the age of 60 was uncovered by the review. Continue reading...
Book The Crown's Silence details how crown profited from and protected trade in enslaved African people for centuriesMPs, experts and campaigners have called on King Charles to make a formal apology for transatlantic slavery, after research highlighted how the British crown and Royal Navy extended and protected the trade in enslaved African people for hundreds of years.The king has previously expressed personal sorrow" at the suffering caused by slavery and has spoken of committing to finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure". However, the British crown has never issued a formal apology. Continue reading...
A plan to resettle third-country nationals from the US to the Pacific nation faces an uncertain future amid unease over the dealA controversial Trump administration deal to relocate deportees from the US to the small Pacific nation of Palau faces an uncertain future, after the senate voted to block the deal as concern about the agreement grows.The deal, which allows up to 75 third-country migrants facing removal from the US to live and work in Palau, was signed by president Surangel Whipps Jr in December. Palau's lower house now has to consider the deal, and the final decision rests with Whipps Jr. Continue reading...
by Pippa Crerar in Beijing and Rowena Mason on (#736Z6)
PM says trip to China has put relationship in stronger place, but possible return visit angers British criticsKeir Starmer has taken a big step towards rapprochement with China, opening the door to a UK visit from Xi Jinping in a move that drew immediate anger from British critics of Beijing.During the first visit by a UK prime minister to China in eight years - a period which Starmer has described as an ice age" - he said talks with the Chinese president had left the bilateral relationship in a stronger position. Continue reading...
The high-profile defendant, who was excused from appearing, pleads not guilty further charges over a car crash in July that left a driver with serious injuries
Former broadcaster, 84, has pleaded not guilty to 25 charges of indecent assault and two charges of sexual touching against nine alleged victims over 17 years
Woman and man accused of sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol faced what is likely to be one of the severest punishments since Aceh province adopted sharia lawSharia police have caned a couple 140 times each in Indonesia's Aceh province for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, likely one of the severest such punishments since the deeply conservative region adopted Islamic law.Sexual relations between an unmarried couple are strictly outlawed in Aceh, the only place in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, to impose sharia law. Continue reading...
by Eromo Egbejule West Africa correspondent and agenc on (#736XN)
General Tchiani accuses France, Benin and the Ivory Coast of links to attack near Niamey's airport and thanks Russian troops for defence effortsHeavy security has been deployed around the main airport in Niger's capital, Niamey, after overnight gunfire and explosions that the country's military ruler blamed without evidence on France, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire.The shooting and detonations began shortly after midnight on Wednesday, according to residents of a neighbourhood near the airport, which is next to Base Aerienne 101, a military base previously used by US and then Russian troops. Continue reading...
Media company also buys digital advertising billboard company QMS for $850mThe nation's biggest media company, Nine Entertainment, has sold its talkback radio stations to a Sydney pub baron for $56m and bought outdoor advertising company QMS Media for $850m, in a major upheaval for Australia's media landscape.Nine Radio, which owns 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278 and 4BH, has been offloaded as talk radio profits dwindle and the audience skews ever older. Continue reading...
US president says he made appeal to Russian leader, but no ceasefire has been confirmed by Moscow or KyivDonald Trump has claimed that Vladimir Putin has agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for one week after he issued a personal appeal to the Russian leader due to the extreme cold in Ukraine.Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did not immediately confirm the ceasefire was in place, but said that Trump had made an important statement ... about the possibility of providing security for Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during this extreme winter period". Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian