A further 75 people hospitalised after two trains collided and derailed near Adamuz in Cordoba provinceAt least 39 people have been killed and 24 others seriously injured after two trains collided in southern Spain on Sunday night in what the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, called a night of deep pain for our country".A high-speed Iryo train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near the municipality of Adamuz in Cordoba province, crossing on to the other track where it hit an oncoming train, Adif, Spain's rail infrastructure authority, posted on X. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: The largely autonomous Danish territory, sparsely populated but strategically vast, sits between North America, Europe and Russia - and as the Arctic ice melts, its importance is growing fastGood morning. Donald Trump's recent outburst that it would be unacceptable" if the US can't gain control over Greenland continues to drag the world's largest island into the centre of global geopolitics. The largely autonomous Danish territory, sparsely populated but strategically vast, sits between North America, Europe and Russia - and as the Arctic ice melts, its importance is growing fast.Climate heating is shrinking the Arctic ice cap, opening up sea routes that were once the preserve of icebreakers and exposing valuable mineral resources beneath Greenland's retreating ice sheet. Now what was once seen as a frozen backwater is being viewed increasingly as a strategic prize, helping to explain why Trump's previously outlandish-sounding threats are being taken far more seriously in Europe's capitals. They have begun to push back against his declaration of tariffs.UK politics | Robert Jenrick was described as the new sheriff in town" and the politician needed to give Reform UK political heft", according to a leaked media plan. Romford MP Andrew Rosindell has also defected.Jeffrey Epstein | A New York City artist who said Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell shopped her around to men is among the survivors claiming that Esptein used the lure of a university education to ensnare her.Iran | President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday that any attack on the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would be a declaration of war.Social media | More than 60 Labour MPs have written to UK prime minister Keir Starmer urging him to back a social media ban for under-16s, with peers due to vote on the issue this week.China | China's proposed mega embassy in London is expected to get the go-ahead this week, after years of wrangling. Continue reading...
Economy weathered a fraught geopolitical landscape to reach 5% target but structural challenges at home are not going away', say expertsChinese authorities can say they hit their growth goals last year, but Donald Trump's ongoing trade aggression, a slow-motion housing market collapse and unhappy consumers remain major challenges for the world's second-largest economy.Data released on Monday showed the Chinese economy grew by 5% in 2025, steady on the year before and hitting the official target of around" that pace. Continue reading...
Doctors told to consider a second opinion or order more tests if a patient has three appointments but no diagnosisMillions of patients in England will this week be urged to ask their GP to think again if they have not had a diagnosis for their symptoms after three appointments.From Monday, GP practices across the country will use posters to promote Jess's rule, a new system aimed at preventing serious illnesses from being missed and needless deaths. It is named after Jessica Brady, a 27-year-old who contacted her surgery 20 times before dying of cancer in 2020. Continue reading...
Average price of a home coming up for sale rises almost 10,000, the largest monthly jump in a decadeThe UK housing market is enjoying a new year bounce, with the average price of a home coming up for sale increasing by the largest monthly amount in a decade, data shows.The property website Rightmove said almost 10,000 was added to the average asking price of a British home in the space of five weeks. Continue reading...
Two people detained in Kermanshah, including 16-year-old, tell group they were subjected to sexual abuse during arrestA 16-year-old was among protesters sexually assaulted in custody by the security forces in Iran during the nationwide uprising that has left thousands dead, according to a human rights group.Two people, one of them a child, detained in the city of Kermanshah in western Iran told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) that they were subjected to sexual abuse by riot police during their arrest. Continue reading...
Government's truce with Syrian Democratic Forces follows advance on Kurdish-held areas amid struggle to control entire countryThe Syrian government on Sunday announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the north-east for over a decade.The announcement comes as tensions between government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, eventually resulting in a major push by government forces towards the east. The SDF appeared to have largely retreated after initial clashes on a tense frontline area in eastern Aleppo province. Continue reading...
Valentyna Poltavchenko and Michael Britvan warn against rushing new legislation in response to attack, and thank woman who saved their younger daughter
With Rob Minkoff, Allers directed 1994's The Lion King, which remains the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all timeRoger Allers, the Disney film-maker who co-directed The Lion King and worked on films including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, has died aged 76.Allers' colleague at the Walt Disney Company, Dave Bossert announced his death on social media on Sunday morning, remembering him as an extraordinarily gifted artist and film-maker, a true pillar of the Disney Animation renaissance". Continue reading...
Moderate socialist Antonio Jose Seguro came out on top in the first round, followed by Andre Ventura of the far-right Chega partyModerate socialist Antonio Jose Seguro came out on top in the first round of Portugal's presidential election on Sunday, followed by the far-right leader Andre Ventura, and the two will face off in a runoff on 8 February.In the five decades since Portugal threw off its fascist dictatorship, a presidential election has only once before required a runoff - in 1986 - highlighting how fragmented the political landscape has become with the rise of the far right and voter disenchantment with mainstream parties. Continue reading...
Thousands of new mothers feel unsafe, unsupported and overwhelmed, according to the National Childbirth TrustWomen in the UK are being failed by a postnatal care system that is dangerously underfunded and understaffed", a damning report has warned.Thousands of new mothers feel unsafe, unsupported and overwhelmed in the weeks and months after giving birth, according to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT). Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#72XZS)
Despite much soul-searching over UK's inability to build infrastructure, two sections of HS2 under Chilterns are being hailed for their engineeringSeventy metres down, in deep incognito beneath a disguised ventilation shaft in the Chilterns countryside, lies HS2's buried treasure: two 10-mile tunnels, built to avoid an area of outstanding natural beauty, eerily spectacular in gleaming concrete.They are, laments a staffer on the high-speed railway scheme, what all of the route should look like by now: pristine, fully constructed, and just waiting for a railway to run through them. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#72XWD)
UK prime minister holds phone call with US president as European leaders scramble to protect Danish territoryKeir Starmer has told Donald Trump he is wrong to threaten tariffs against Nato allies to try to secure Greenland, as part of a flurry of diplomatic calls intended to tackle the crisis.The UK prime minister spoke to the US president on Sunday, as well as to Mette Frederiksen, the Danish PM, whose country's territory includes Greenland; Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission; and Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general. Continue reading...
Emmanuel Macron calls on fellow leaders to use powerful anti-coercion instrument if US goes ahead with tariffsThe EU was weighing up retaliatory tariffs on American goods and even deploying its most serious economic sanctions against the US as European leaders lined up to criticise Donald Trump's threat to levy new taxes on imports from eight nations who oppose his attempt to annex Greenland - which one minister called blackmail".Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," the leaders of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland said in a joint statement. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty." Continue reading...
Veteran MP says time to put country before party' citing Conservative position on Chagos IslandsAndrew Rosindell, the Conservative MP for Romford since 2001, has announced his defection to Reform UK, the second such departure to Nigel Farage's party in four days.Rosindell, who was a shadow Foreign Office minister under Kemi Badenoch, announced in a statement on X that he was joining Reform, giving as the main reason his opposition to the UK's handover of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Continue reading...
Proposed change relating to spies was criticised by campaigners and MPs as allowing an opt-out for senior officialsThe government has pulled an amendment to its proposed Hillsborough law amid concerns from campaigners and MPs that the legislation was being watered down and had become a car crash" for the government.The public office (accountability) bill aims to force public officials and contractors to tell the truth after disasters. Continue reading...
US demand to own Greenland leaves little scope for compromise, and forcing the issue would entail end of NatoGreenland, with a population of fewer than 57,000, might not seem to be the territory on which the future of the relationship between Europe and the US, the viability of Nato as the world's most successful defence alliance, or even the fractured relations between the UK and Europe would be determined.But battlefields are sometimes the product of chance, rather than choice. It now feels as if Donald Trump's threat to impose 10% tariffs on eight fellow Nato states for sending troops last week to support Greenland's sovereignty may be one of those clarifying moments in which Europe had no option. Successive European leaders condemned Trump's blackmail and intimidation on Sunday and they sounded as if they meant it. Continue reading...
Influential MPs including committee chairs say millions could benefit with minor changes to financial inclusion billA group of Labour MPs have called on Rachel Reeves to support a huge expansion of credit unions to increase access to cheap credit for millions of people on low incomes.The move coincides with celebrations on Monday to mark the 10-year anniversary of the UK's military credit unions, which are supported by Queen Camilla and provide an ethical and affordable alternative to high-cost lenders" for service personnel.Every employee, starting with teachers and nurses, should have a right to save" and be able to request that their employer allows them to save directly with a credit union via the pensions auto-enrolment scheme.Every social housing provider should promote credit unions to their tenants and staff.The City watchdog, the Prudential Regulation Authority, should ease the rules on credit unions lending to each other to help them manage their financial security and expand the range of financial services they can offer. Continue reading...
Opinion polls suggest three candidates, including anti-immigration Chega party leader, close to final twoPortuguese voters queued at polling stations on Sunday to elect a new president, with opinion surveys showing three candidates, including the leader of the far-right Chega party, close to a spot in a probable top-two runoff.In the five decades since Portugal threw off its fascist dictatorship, a presidential election has only once before - in 1986 - required a runoff, highlighting how fragmented the political landscape has become with the rise of the far right and voters' disenchantment with mainstream parties. Continue reading...
Korey LaVergne, 37, jailed Friday evening on three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to officialsAuthorities in south-west Louisiana recently arrested a Roman Catholic priest on accusations of behaving indecently with a child, igniting a new scandal in the diocese where the US church's reckoning with clergy abuse began - an institution that just disclosed it could lose up to $162m over pending litigation.Korey LaVergne was jailed Friday evening on three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to Acadia parish sheriff KP Gibson, whose agency arrested the priest. LaVergne had presided over mass at St Edward church in Richard - where the Lafayette diocese had assigned him as pastor - hours before he was booked into the Acadia lockup. Continue reading...
by David Smith in Concord, North Carolina and Nick Ro on (#72XK4)
Vice-president has emerged as key defender of Maga flame - and is backed by big tech billions. Is this the heir apparent?We did not have a lot of money," said JD Vance, placing hand on heart as he recalled his childhood in Middletown, Ohio in the 1990s. I was raised by a woman who struggled often to put food on the table and clothes on her back."There was an earnest cry from the audience. Mamaw!" shouted a man. Continue reading...
Prime minister and opposition politicians condemn threat to impose 10% tariff unless deal reached to buy the Arctic islandKeir Starmer has said Donald Trump's decision to impose 10% tariffs on the UK and seven other European countries over Greenland was completely wrong".The US president said on Saturday that the levies would apply from 1 February to Nato members - including the UK, France and Germany - who have deployed troops to the territory in response to growing uncertainty over its future. Continue reading...
Country says some appointments to the group, which will oversee the administration and reconstruction of Gaza, are contrary to its policy'Israel has objected to the White House's pick of world leaders who will join the so-called Gaza board of peace", meant to temporarily oversee governance and reconstruction in the strip.The White House and other sources announced a flurry of appointments and invitations to the organisation over the last two days, including Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoan, the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, former UK prime minister Tony Blair and the president of Argentina, Javier Milei. Continue reading...
Despite the ceasefire, more than 100 children have died in the territory since OctoberA 27-day-old baby died in Gaza on Saturday from severe cold, bringing the number of children in the region who have died of hypothermia since the start of the current winter season to eight, according to the Palestinian health ministry.Medical sources confirmed to the news agency Anadolu that the newborn, named Aisha Ayesh al-Agha, died as a result of freezing temperatures, and that when she was brought to Nasser hospital in Khan Younis it was already too late to save her. Continue reading...
Museveni's opponent, Bobi Wine, alleges that members of polling staff were kidnapped and called for peaceful protestsYoweri Museveni, has won the Ugandan election and his seventh term with more than 70% of the vote, state election authorities have said, amid an internet shutdown and claims of fraud by his opponent.His opponent, a youthful musician known as Bobi Wine, condemned what he called fake results" and alleged that members of polling staff were kidnapped, among other election irregularities. He called for peaceful protests to pressure the authorities to release what he called the rightful results". Continue reading...
Exclusive: Amazon, Meta and X among firms holding hundreds of meetings with people at heart of government, data showsTech companies have been meeting government ministers at a rate of more than once per working day, enjoying high-level political access that dwarfs that of child safety and copyright campaigners, who called the pattern shocking" and disturbing".Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Elon Musk's X, whose Grok AI image generator has sparked outrage with its sexualised images of women and children, were among the US tech companies holding hundreds of meetings with people at the heart of government, a Guardian investigation has found. Continue reading...
Vincent Chan, who already pleaded guilty to 26 offences, accused of possessing indecent images of childrenA nursery worker who was convicted of dozens of sexual attacks on children left in his care has been charged with a further 15 offences.Vincent Chan, 45, previously pleaded guilty to 26 offences between 2022 and 2024, including sexually assaulting four girls aged between two and four at the north London nursery where he worked, and offences relating to more than 25,000 indecent images of children. Continue reading...
President's pardon of Adriana Camberos comes amid a flurry of other pardons Trump issued on ThursdayDonald Trump has pardoned a woman who ended up imprisoned for fraud a second time after he afforded her clemency during his first presidency.Adriana Camberos initially had a sentence commuted by Trump just before his first stint in the White House ended in 2021. That came after she was convicted as part of an effort to divert 5-Hour Energy drink bottles acquired for resale in Mexico and instead keep them in the US. Prosecutors said she and several co-conspirators attached counterfeit labels and filled the bottles with a phony liquid before selling them. Continue reading...
Betting exchange appeared to miss multiple opportunities to stop VIP' customer betting with stolen moneyBetfair is under pressure to hand tens of thousands of pounds to the victim of a fraudster and gambling addict, after appearing to miss multiple opportunities to stop the VIP" customer betting with stolen money.Andrew Morford, a former finance manager, was given a two-year suspended sentence on Wednesday, after admitting a 340,000 fraud against his former employer, carried out between May 2019 and February 2024. Continue reading...
Grieving, bruised and divided on the wisdom of foreign-backed revolt, how can the Iranian people achieve change?The Japanese writer Haruki Murakami in his novel 1Q84 may have foreshadowed the great and indelible rift Iranian society is about to experience. The ones who did it can always rationalize their actions and even forget what they did. They can turn away from things they don't want to see. But the surviving victims can never forget. They can't turn away. Their memories are passed on from parent to child. That's what the world is, after all: an endless battle of contrasting memories."Inside Iran, contrasting memories are already being brought into even sharper relief and made more traumatic by the blanket propaganda from Iran state TV portraying protesters as drug-crazed or pawns of a foreign power attracted to a violent terrorist culture reminiscent of Islamic State. Continue reading...
Report claims unrestricted online access will be a government privilege', limited to individuals vetted by regimeIran is planning to permanently break from the global internet, only allowing individuals vetted by the regime to connect online, according to Iranian digital rights activists.A confidential plan is under way to turn international internet access into a governmental privilege'," according to a report from Filterwatch, an organisation monitoring Iran's internet censorship, citing a number of sources in Iran. Continue reading...
by Adeshola Ore Community affairs reporter on (#72WYK)
Deputy state coroner concludes 21-year-old, who died after exiting a moving vehicle, was exploited' and exposed to potentially criminal' conduct in five weeks in Australia
Wanda Vazquez Garced, who accepted plea deal over campaign finance violation, endorsed Trump in 2020Donald Trump reportedly intends to pardon Puerto Rico's former governor Wanda Vazquez Garced, who was indicted in 2022 on federal corruption charges surrounding her earlier gubernatorial campaign.In addition to Vazquez, Trump plans to pardon her co-defendants including Julio Martin Herrera Velutini, founder of Britannia Financial Group; as well as Mark Rossini, a former FBI agent who served as a consultant for Herrera, according to CBS, which first reported the development on Friday. Continue reading...
Virginia joins states from California to Florida in mid-decade redistricting push after party-line senate voteVirginia lawmakers approved a measure on Friday that could ultimately clear the way for Democrats to redraw the state's congressional maps and add as many as four Democratic-leaning seats.The legislature sent voters a constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to redraw the lines this year and circumvent a panel that is supposed to be in charge of drawing district lines. Democrats currently represent six of Virginia's 11 congressional districts, and have said they will pursue a plan in which they are favored in either nine or 10 of the state's congressional districts. Continue reading...
Ads to be placed alongside answers as OpenAI looks to beef up revenue for flagship AI productChatGPT will start including advertisements beside answers for US users as OpenAI seeks a new revenue stream.The ads will be tested first in ChatGPT for US users only, the company announced on Friday, after increasing speculation that the San Francisco firm would turn to a potential cashflow model on top of its current subscriptions. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker, Kiran Stacey and Pippa Crerar on (#72WKV)
Two sides trade blows over defection while Conservative polling suggests economy is key weakness for ReformThe Conservatives plan to intensify their attacks on Reform's economic policy as they gear up for a fight to the death between the two big parties of the right, a battle brought to new levels of acrimony by Robert Jenrick's defection.While Jenrick, the former shadow justice secretary, insisted he was uniting the right" in signing up to Reform, Kemi Badenoch portrayed her former colleague as dishonest and no loss to the Conservatives, saying: Nigel Farage is doing my spring cleaning for me." Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#72WH5)
Craig Guildford retires after inquiry found greatly exaggerated' intelligence was used to justify banThe head of England's second biggest police force has stepped down after an official inquiry found that greatly exaggerated" intelligence was used to justify a ban on fans of an Israeli football team attending a match.Craig Guildford retired with immediate effect as chief constable of West Midlands police on Friday, two days after a damning report led Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, to declare she had lost confidence in him. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#72WKY)
Pre-empting rival's defection cements her position as leader and gives pause for thought for any others who may followIt is never ideal in politics to have a senior colleague defect, hurling insults as they depart, but as the dust settles on Robert Jenrick's move to Reform UK, many of the remaining Conservative MPs agree on one thing: it has left Kemi Badenoch stronger.Historically, the party has suffered from two weaknesses: too many people trying to bring down the leader, and not enough leaders getting rid of those people," one shadow minister said. Hopefully now we're all pulling in the same direction. Losing a senior shadow minister is not ideal. But given those basic facts, the day could hardly have gone better." Continue reading...
by Lucy Campbell (now); Jakub Krupa (earlier) on (#72W7P)
US president further steps up threats after US special envoy to Greenland says Trump is serious' about his plans to control islandMeanwhile, Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto does not seem to be convinced about the merits of European military deployments to Greenland.Speaking to journalists, he wondered what a hundred, two hundred, or three hundred soldiers of any nationality could do" in Greenland. It sounds like the beginning of a joke."It's not a competition to see who sends the military around the world."A part of me is not sure how much of this is a distraction, to try and take the attention of the American people away from some very real issues that we have in the United States right now.The cost of living is a real concern for Americans [and] Donald Trump got elected saying he was going to address the cost of living. Continue reading...
Trump administration struck policy requiring news outlet to have civilian editor and independent ombudsmanPress freedom advocates have condemned a move by the Pentagon to seize editorial control of the independent Stars and Stripes newspaper, a daily publication for service members that has covered the US armed forces since the US civil war.The Trump administration announced on Thursday that the outlet would no longer cover woke distractions", and instead modernize its operations ... and adapt to serve a new generation of service members". Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian