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Maduro's Sorbonne-educated successor is talking up an era of reform and opening up' modelled on China's post-Mao boomAfter years of political and social upheaval, hunger and despair, the Great Helmsman departs and is replaced by a francophile economic reformer who catapults a traumatised country into a new era of prosperity and growth.That is what happened in China half a century ago when the croissant-loving communist Deng Xiaoping became paramount leader after Chairman Mao Zedong's 1976 death and set in motion one of history's biggest economic booms. Continue reading...

Former PM called for national register and accreditation for imams, sparking backlash from Muslim leaders

Queensland MP to challenge for the leadership next week, in move colleagues say is unlikely to succeed

As it grapples with two fatal tragedies, questions emerge over how to protect the country from more landslides - its deadliest natural hazardNew Zealand could experience an increase in landslides - its most deadly natural hazard - as global warming triggers more intense and frequent storms, experts have warned in the wake of two landslide tragedies in the North Island.New Zealand's landscapes are scarred with the evidence of landslides - they are responsible for more than 1,800 deaths since written records began - more than earthquakes and volcanoes combined. Continue reading...

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Authorities say suspect, who escaped from facility in 2024, ran from traffic stop and fired shots at helicopterA shooting involving a border patrol agent near the US-Mexico border in Arizona has left an accused smuggler in critical condition, local authorities said Tuesday.Border patrol agents attempted to stop a car at about 7am, Pima county sheriff Chris Nanos said at a press conference. Several people exited the car and ran off, and the vehicle drove away, Nanos said. About half an hour later, agents relocated the car and attempted to stop it again. The driver fled on foot, and a border agent chased after him. Continue reading...

Three boys in Texas die after falling into icy pond, while outages mean many in US south still without powerA colossal winter storm was responsible for more than 40 deaths as it brought more snow to the north-east and maintained icy conditions in the south, leaving many across the US without electricity.The deaths were registered in more than a dozen states afflicted by severe cold, according to reports. There were still about 550,000 power outages in the nation on Tuesday morning, according to poweroutage.us. Most of the outages were in the south, where weekend blasts of freezing rain caused tree limbs and power lines to snap, inflicting crippling outages on northern Mississippi and parts of Tennessee. Officials warned that it could take days for power to be restored. Continue reading...

Bushfires still burning out of control in Victoria after state's all-time maximum daily temperature record of 48.9C broken on Tuesday

Findings follow death of woman at Marlo Altitude music festival in 2023, with coroner recommending state urgently update 2013 code of practice

Singer's former assistant alleges he sexually assaulted her when she worked for Manson Records between 2010-2011A judge in Los Angeles has reinstated a lawsuit against heavy metal star Marilyn Manson under a new law enabling old sexual assault cases to be heard in court.The lawsuit, filed in May 2021 by a former assistant to the musician, had been dismissed in December because it exceeded the statute of limitations, a maximum time period for initiating legal proceedings after the related events took place. Continue reading...

Rapidly rising consumer prices led to annual inflation growing from 3.4% to 3.8%

Joel Guerriau sentenced to four years in prison after spiking lawmaker's champagne with ecstasyA French court has found a former senator guilty of drugging a female lawmaker with ecstasy with intent to sexually assault her.Joel Guerriau, 68, was sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday, of which 18 months must be behind bars.In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...

Manchester toddler Jude Owens becomes youngest person to perform bank shot and double pot just weeks apartA two-year-old has become the holder of two Guinness World Records by becoming the youngest person to perform a pair of trick shots in snooker.Manchester toddler Jude Owens successfully performed a pool bank shot at two years and 302 days old on 12 October last year. Continue reading...

Study also says almost half have a mental health issue such as anxiety or depression

Advertising Standards Authority says firm advised by George Osborne trivialised risks of cryptocurrency'A cryptocurrency company advised by George Osborne has been banned from showing a set of adverts that suggested using its services could be a solution to the cost of living crisis.Coinbase, which appointed the former Conservative chancellor to chair its global advisory council last year, has been told by the UK's advertising watchdog that its adverts were irresponsible" and trivialised the risks of cryptocurrency". Continue reading...

Effect of heavy rain and strong winds prompts calls for more investment in resilience to extreme weatherA major incident has been declared in Somerset after swathes of south-west England were left flooded and cut off by Storm Chandra.The heavy rain and strong winds prompted calls for more resources to be invested in making the region more resilient in extreme weather. Continue reading...

PM promises stability and clarity' in approach on first visit to Beijing by UK leader in eight years

Proposals would require clearer pricing and transparency as CMA finds fees have risen at nearly twice rate of inflationThe biggest shake-up of the UK veterinary sector for 60 years should push down costs for pet owners by requiring practices to make their pricing clearer, the government has said.Ministers have announced a package of measures after an investigation into reported high prices found problems in the vet sector could be costing UK households at least 1bn over five years. Continue reading...

Attack in Kharkiv region was denounced as terrorism by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said it undermined efforts to end the war'A Russian drone strike on a passenger train in north-eastern Ukraine has killed five people, prosecutors said, an attack denounced as terrorism by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Prosecutors said fragments of five bodies had been found at the scene of the strike on the train, which occurred on Tuesday near a village in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. Continue reading...

Poet laureate tackles daunting' commission from Yorkshire Cancer Research to mark charity's centenary yearCancer is a subject the poet laureate Simon Armitage has always shied away from. I find it very daunting," he said. I've lost friends and family to cancer."But when he was commissioned to write a poem to mark World Cancer Day, he was forced to confront the realities of the disease. I think I saw part of my task as being slightly demystifying and maybe de-mythologising or de-demonising cancer a little bit to myself," Armitage said. Continue reading...

In her first town hall, Weiss expressed some regret over her decision to pull 60 Minutes segment at the last minuteDuring her first address to CBS News employees as editor in chief, Bari Weiss acknowledged that there had been a lot of noise" about her tumultuous tenure and said that some staffers might decide they don't support her or want to continue working at the company.I just want to start by saying: I get it. And I get why, in the face of all this tumult and noise, you might feel uncertain or skeptical about me and about what I'm aiming to do here," Weiss said on Tuesday morning, according to an audio recording of her comments obtained by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Company cites impact of mandatory age checks introduced in summer 2025 under the Online Safety ActPornhub is to stop new users accessing its site in the UK from next week, citing the impact of mandatory age checks that were introduced last summer under the Online Safety Act.The pornography website, which is one of the most visited in the world, announced that from 2 February only users who have already verified their age will retain access through their existing accounts. The change also affects YouPorn and RedTube, explicit websites operated by the same Cyprus-based company, Aylo. Continue reading...

Critics say government concealing true cost of deal despite being forced to admit financial burden will grow year on year'Ministers are under growing pressure to end the secrecy" around the UK's deal with the US over the cost of medicines, which critics claim is a Trump shakedown of the NHS".MPs from Labour and several opposition parties want the government to publish its impact assessment of the agreement it reached last month with Donald Trump's administration. Continue reading...

Claudia Sheinbaum denied move was response to pressure from the US, after Trump said zero' oil would go to CubaMexico has cancelled a shipment of oil to Cuba, the country's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, appeared to confirm on Tuesday, but she insisted the decision was sovereign" and not the response to pressure from the US.Fuel shortages are causing increasingly severe blackouts in Cuba, and Mexico has been the island's biggest oil supplier since the US blocked shipments from Venezuela last month. Continue reading...

First of two 1,600-tonne boring machines drilling the 4.5 miles from Old Oak Common station switched on in LondonMinisters have pledged that a redeveloped Euston HS2 station will be big enough to serve the nation" as tunnelling began for the last miles of high-speed railway into central London.Excavating the 4.5-mile tunnels from Old Oak Common in west London is expected to take between 12 and 18 months - although details of the terminus, and how it will be funded, are yet to be revealed. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer's former number two will be a focus of the renewed speculation about party's future leadershipThe political world abhors a vacuum of intrigue and gossip. The scuppering of Andy Burnham's return to Westminster has therefore brought renewed attention to other potential successors to Keir Starmer. That is in turn likely to involve renewed scrutiny of Angela Rayner.Starmer's former number two and housing secretary has been quietly loyal since she resigned as a minister nearly five months ago after what she said was the inadvertent underpayment of stamp duty on a flat in Hove. Continue reading...

Proposed cuts by DHSC and DfE came despite concerns about inactivity among children contributing to obesityA row between government departments has broken out after the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) proposed cutting all its funding for physical education in schools, the Guardian understands.The DHSC is now intending to restore the funding despite insisting privately for weeks that it would end its contribution, until the Guardian contacted the department. Ministers are understood to have overruled the cuts. Continue reading...

Craft retailer says there is risk to health' after some vials in Giant Box of Craft set contained fibrous tremolite asbestosHobbycraft has issued a full recall of children's coloured play sand after confirming some bottles contained asbestos, presenting a risk to health" .The Guardian revealed at the weekend that the craft retailer had stopped selling the kit containing the vials after being alerted to the risk, but stopped short of alerting customers who had already bought the item. Continue reading...

Rapper and fashion mogul, legally known as Ye, gives details of mental health treatment and speaks of making amends with those in his personal lifeKanye West has elaborated on his mindset during manic episodes in which he made strongly antisemitic comments.On separate occasions, the rapper and fashion designer, legally known as Ye, had said There's a lot of things that I love about Hitler" and I'm a Nazi ... I love Hitler", had accused Jewish people of trying to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda", and designed clothing featuring swastikas. Continue reading...

The YouGov poll also suggests that almost half of Britons think it would be good for the country if Starmer were replacedAs Dave Burke reports for the Daily Mirror, the Reform UK MP Lee Anderson posted a picture on social media of himself and activists campaigning in the Gorton and Denton byelection - standing outside a hotel that is actually in Angela Rayner's neigbouring Ashton-under-Lyne constituency. Rayner told the paper: Farage's Reform can't even find the Gorton and Denton constituency on a map. Perhaps it's because they're too busy filling their party full of former Tories who failed the country."The British Property Federation has said that the government's plan to cap ground rents could discourage investment into the UK. It is also saying that landlords should get compensation. In a response to the announcement this morning (see 8.57am), Danny Pinder, director of policy at the BPF, said:While we agree that rapidly escalating ground rents should be addressed, the proposed cap will interfere with investments made by pension funds and institutional investors over many years and undermine the government's pursuit of investment in this country. The various documents published by the government today make clear that these changes will have an impact on freeholders - the value of their assets and their ability to match index-linked pension liabilities - but that they intend to proceed, nonetheless. We have long been clear that adequate compensation must be provided to these entities as they have invested in good faith in order to meet their liabilities and continue to fund everyone's pensions - today's announcements is silent on that point ...There are billions of pounds invested in large-scale residential and mixed-use developments, and it is essential that reform is mindful of the rights of property owners as well as leaseholders. In our legal system contract is sacrosanct and legislative changes that cut across and undermine existing commercial agreements will raise the risk premium that investors attach to the UK at a time when the government is seeking to attract domestic and private capital for its growth agenda. Continue reading...

Chief judge orders Todd Lyons to appear, saying patience is exhausted as migrants remain jailed despite rulingsMinnesota's top federal judge has summoned the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to appear before him on Friday, warning he may be held in contempt for allegedly defying court orders.Chief US district judge Patrick Schiltz demanded ICE lead Todd Lyons explain himself personally in a three-page order issued Monday evening, declaring that the court's patience is at an end". Continue reading...

First-of-its kind suit filed by civil rights attorneys on behalf of families centers on 14 October strike in Caribbean Sea that killed sixCivil rights attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the United States government on Tuesday on behalf of the families of two men from a small fishing village in Trinidad who were killed in a US military airstrike on a small boat in the Caribbean Sea on 14 October.The lawsuit, shared in advance with the Guardian, says that Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, both of Las Cuevas, Trinidad, were returning to Trinidad from Venezuela when they and four other people were killed in the strike. It was the fifth attack announced by the White House under Donald Trump's campaign against the small go-fast boats the administration claims are connected to cartels and gangs. Continue reading...

Fears of closures and job losses prompt temporary rates cap in England and Wales, with review for hotels sector

More than 800 employees sign petition calling for withdrawal of ICE agents and cancellation of contractsMore than 800 US tech workers have signed a petition calling for tech CEOs to demand the Trump administration remove US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from US cities and cancel contracts with the agency.We know our industry leaders have leverage: in October, they persuaded Trump to call off a planned ICE surge in San Francisco," the petition reads. Now they need to go further, and join us in demanding ICE out of all of our cities." Continue reading...

As Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor emerge as likely challengers, two things could buy Ley some time

Pauline Hanson's party polls a primary vote of 22%, while Labor's response to the Bondi terror attack wins widespread support

Manchester mayor suggests claims he was told Labour would not give him permission to stand were untrue

All the nominees for the 2026 Bafta film awards have been announced, ahead of the winners' ceremony on 22 February at London's Royal Festival HallHamnet

1,500 people evacuated from Niscemi after battering by Cyclone Harry triggers 4km-long chasm in hillsideThe mayor of a hilltop town on Sicily said the situation is dire" after a powerful storm brought down a long section of hillside, leaving houses perched perilously on a cliff edge.About 1,500 people have so far been evacuated from their homes because of the landslide, which began to show signs of movement on Sunday before developing a 4km-long front. The chasm continues to widen, raising fears it could swallow the town's historic centre. Continue reading...

Leaders and voters who formerly applauded US president's aims have been growing increasingly uneasyDonald Trump's attempted Greenland grab has driven a wedge between the US president and some of his ideological allies in Europe, as previously unstinting enthusiasm and admiration collides with one of the far right's key tenets: national sovereignty.Trump's subsequent disparaging remark that Nato allies' troops stayed a little off the frontlines" while fighting with US forces in Afghanistan has only deepened the divide, piquing far-right patriotic sentiments and prompting an avalanche of criticism. Continue reading...

Delivery firm aims to overcome choice overload' using voice assistant in its UK app, with global rollout planned

Sally Lane fears son Jack Letts, who left UK aged 18, may face death penalty if airlifted to Iraq under US operationThe mother of a British-born man detained for nearly nine years without trial in Syria has called for his repatriation to the UK or Canada as the US plans to airlift 7,000 Islamic State-linked prisoners from Syria to Iraq.Sally Lane, the mother of Jack Letts, 30, said she was frantically trying to find out as much as possible" and that it was unclear if he would face the death penalty in Iraq or remain in Syria - or be sent to Canada or the UK in line with US demands. Continue reading...

Meta, YouTube and TikTok accused of making products intentionally addictive and harmful to young peopleFor the first time, a massive group of parents, teens and school districts is taking on the world's most powerful social media companies in open court, accusing the tech giants of intentionally designing their products to be addictive. The blockbuster legal proceedings may see multiple CEOs, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, face harsh questioning.A long-awaited series of trials kicks off in Los Angeles superior court on Tuesday, in which hundreds of US families will allege that Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube's platforms harm children. Once young people are hooked, the plaintiffs allege, they fall prey to depression, eating disorders, self-harm and other mental health issues. Approximately 1,600 plaintiffs are included in the proceedings, involving more than 350 families and 250 school districts. Continue reading...

Paul Allen's comments came when people were demonstrating against ICE's killing of Renee Nicole GoodA veteran Minneapolis sports radio broadcaster has apologized and says he is taking a few days off" after invoking a conservative conspiracy theory that people demonstrating against the Trump administration's deadly immigration crackdown were being paid to protest.Paul Allen's comments about the protesters on Friday came a little more than two weeks after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot Renee Nicole Good to death on 7 January as she drove away from an encounter with him in Minneapolis, igniting street protests. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer says move is good news for homeowners' in TikTok video announcing changeGround rents are to be capped at 250 a year for leaseholders in England and Wales, Keir Starmer has announced, as his government unveiled proposals to ban leaseholds for new flats.New leasehold flats will be banned and existing leaseholders will get the right to switch to commonhold in an attempt to give homeowners greater control over their properties, under proposals to be put out to consultation. Continue reading...

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Hacker published images of Bonnie Blue, Lily Phillips and unflattering photo of Anthony Albanese on national broadcaster's Facebook page

Wayne Birkett warns nothing's changed' after watchdog found failings in killer Valdo Calocane's mental health careA survivor of the 2023 Nottingham attacks has said a similar incident could happen again without improvements to mental health services in the region.Wayne Birkett criticised the lack of changes at the Nottinghamshire healthcare NHS foundation trust, which was responsible for Valdo Calocane's mental health care between May 2020 and September 2022, and called on the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to directly intervene. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: By putting out one fire, Labour might have ignited several othersGood morning. The King of the North" will not be marching south - at least not for now.Andy Burnham has been barred from standing as an MP in the forthcoming Gorton and Denton byelection, after a 10-strong officers' group" of Labour's ruling body, which includes the prime minister, voted overwhelmingly to reject his request to stand. It has left the party, once again, in turmoil.US news | Donald Trump's efforts to deploy militarised immigration agents in US cities may finally be reaching a reckoning as he faces widespread opposition across the US, dissenting lawmakers in his own party, and impending court rulings after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.UK news | Former home secretary Suella Braverman has defected to Reform UK, making her the third sitting Conservative MP to join Nigel Farage's party in little more than a week.Europe | As many as 380 people may have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean last week during Cyclone Harry, as a shipwreck that killed 50 is confirmed by Maltese authorities.Saudi Arabia | A judge has ordered Saudi Arabia to pay more than 3m in damages to London-based dissident Ghanem al-Masarir, whose phones were targeted with Pegasus spyware.Ukraine | A US security agreement for Ukraine is 100% ready" to be signed, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, after two days of talks involving representatives from Ukraine, the US and Russia. Continue reading...