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Bill will not return to Commons until government finds common ground over role of active security service officersLabour will not bring the Hillsborough law back to the Commons for debate until it can reach agreement with the families, the Guardian understands.Keir Starmer was forced to delay the bill again on Monday after talks broke down last week with families from Hillsborough and the Manchester Arena attack. Central to the disagreement is how the duty of candour in the public authority (accountability) bill would apply to serving intelligence officers. Continue reading...

Sarah Rogers says prosecuting people for merely' expressing support does more harm than good'Arresting supporters of Palestine Action is censoring" their free speech and does more harm than good", a Trump administration official has said.Sarah Rogers, the US undersecretary for public diplomacy, was asked in an interview with the news platform Semafor whether the British government should allow supporters of the proscribed terror group to protest. Continue reading...

The US president said he would 100%" push ahead with his plans to hit European nations with tarrifs if he doesn't get Greenland

Poet's sixth collection explores the destruction of the natural world, with a perspective shaped by her upbringing in rural CanadaThe Canadian poet Karen Solie has won the 2025 TS Eliot poetry prize for a collection of work, Wellwater, which explores the destruction of the natural world.Solie was announced as the winner at a ceremony held at the Wallace Collection on Monday evening, and will receive 25,000 in prize money from the TS Eliot Foundation. Wellwater, her sixth collection, co-won the Forward prize for best collection last October, alongside Vidyan Ravinthiran's Avidy. Continue reading...

Officials say death toll likely to rise as rescuers continue to comb through wreckage in remote area of AndaluciaSpain will begin three days of mourning on Tuesday as rescuers continue to comb through the wreckage of twisted train cars and scattered debris to locate victims after a train collision that killed at least 40 people and injured dozens.On Monday, more than 18 hours after a high-speed train carrying about 300 Madrid-bound passengers derailed and collided with an oncoming train, people across the country were still scrambling to make contact with missing loved ones caught up in Spain's worst rail disaster in more than a decade. Continue reading...

Russia says it is seeking to clarify all the nuances' of offer it claims Washington has made before respondingThe Kremlin has announced that Vladimir Putin has been invited to join Donald Trump's board of peace", set up last week with the intention that it would oversee a ceasefire in Gaza.The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on Monday that Russia was seeking to clarify all the nuances" of the offer with Washington, before giving its response. Continue reading...

Two sides blame each other for release of inmates, as Syria's president looks to gain control of north-eastDozens of inmates from a jail holding Islamic State prisoners have been freed in Syria amid clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and government-affiliated forces in the north-east of the country.Videos released by the SDF showed what it said were IS members being broken out from a jail in Shaddadi by figures in black balaclavas. It said it had lost control of the building after an attack by government-affiliated fighters that killed or wounded dozens. Continue reading...

Development minister defends Keir Starmer playing down the prospect of retaliatory tariffsBut, Starmer says, the future of Greenland is for a matter for Denmark and Greenland to decide on their own.There is a principle here that cannot be set aside, because it goes to the heart of how stable and trusted international cooperation works.And so any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone. That right is fundamental and we support it.On Greenland, the right way to approach an issue of this seriousness is through calm discussion between allies.And let's be clear, the security of Greenland matters, and it will matter more as climate change reshapes the Arctic, as sea routes open and strategic competition intensifies. Continue reading...

Esther Ghey says daughter's eating disorder and self-harm had been exacerbated by harmful online contentThe mother of the murdered teenager Brianna Ghey has urged Keir Starmer to ban social media for under-16s, adding to growing pressure on the prime minister before a crunch vote on the issue on Wednesday.Esther Ghey wrote to Starmer on Monday explaining in detail how she felt her daughter's eating disorder and self-harm had been exacerbated by TikTok influencers with whom she had become obsessed. Continue reading...

His eponymous label is renowned for its opulent, elegant take on women's fashion and has a legion of famous fansValentino Garavani, the designer central to pioneering Italian glamour with his eponymous fashion house, has died aged 93.Valentino Garavani passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones," his foundation said on Instagram on Monday. Valentino Garavani was not only a constant guide and inspiration for all of us, but a true source of light, creativity and vision," it added. Continue reading...

US president says he no longer feels the need to think purely of peace' in letter to Norwegian prime ministerDonald Trump has linked his repeated threats to seize control of Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel peace prize, as transatlantic tensions over the Arctic island escalated further and threatened to rekindle a trade war with the EU.In an extraordinary text message sent on Sunday to the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Store, the US president wrote that after being snubbed for the prize, he no longer felt the need to think purely of peace". Continue reading...

Malcolm Phillips, 92, is accused of abuse between 1976 and 1994, while former assistant is alleged to have helped himA care home manager in West Yorkshire isolated and sexually abused vulnerable and unwanted" children using his unfettered access" to them over a period of almost two decades, a court has heard.Malcolm Phillips, 92, is accused of using children for his sexual gratification" at Skircoat Lodge care home in Halifax between 1976 and 1994. His assistant of 16 years, Linda Brunning, 66, is accused of helping him abuse children at the home and indecently assaulting one boy herself. Continue reading...

IOPC asked to investigate former chief constable after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned from Aston Villa matchThe disgraced former head of West Midlands police has been referred to the police watchdog 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 the second largest police force in England on Friday, two days after a damning report led Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, to declare she had lost confidence in him. Continue reading...

Oscar-nominated actor says his lawyer was trying to reimburse those who had donated money to a GoFundMe appeal set up allegedly to raise funds for the starThe actor Mickey Rourke has again spoken out against the GoFundMe appeal set up in his name, purportedly to raise funds for the star, who is currently in financial hardship.Earlier this month, the actor - who made his name in 1980s action and romance films before being Oscar nominated for his 2008 comeback, The Wrestler - declared he had nothing to do with the crowdfunder. Continue reading...

Reuters obtains letter from union last year raising worries over potholes and power lines amid investigations into cause of devastating crashKing Felipe of Spain has expressed his concern about the terrible accident" in which at least 39 people have been killed.Speaking from Greece, the monarch was quoted as having told the media:We have been in contact with Sanchez and Juanma Moreno to learn the details. As soon as we finish, we will return as soon as possible. I understand the anguish of the families of the victims and the injured.We know that many residents of Adamuz assisted the victims immediately, and we express our gratitude to them for that. Continue reading...

The award, run by Hachette UK and Libraro, aims to sidestep the traditional barricades of the book industry' and give readers a role in discovering new talentA new 50,000 writing prize that allows readers to select the shortlist from submitted manuscripts - and rewards them with cash prizes for their involvement - has been launched by the publishing platform Libraro, in partnership with Hachette UK.The Libraro prize aims to sidestep the traditional barricades of the book industry", according to organisers. Writers upload full manuscripts to the Libraro platform, where readers champion their favourite entries to create a shortlist of six books. Continue reading...

Tribunal ruling follows Airwars investigation into Britain's conduct in bombing campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq

Howard League charity fails in battle to halt government's decision to make Pava available to prison staffAn attempt to halt the use of pepper spray on children held in young offender institutions (YOIs) has failed after the high court ruled on Monday that the weapon's rollout was lawful.The Howard League for Penal Reform challenged the Labour government's decision to authorise the use of Pava, a synthetic form of pepper spray, in three prisons in England holding boys as young as 15. Continue reading...

President announces 30-day order after inmates also took 46 people hostage at three prisonsGuatemala's president has declared a 30-day nationwide state of emergency to combat criminal gangs after authorities accused them of killing eight police officers and holding hostages at three prisons.The killings occurred in the capital, Guatemal City, and surrounding areas a day after gang-affiliated inmates took 46 people hostage in the three prisons across the country to demand incarcerated gang leaders be moved to lower-security facilities. Continue reading...

PM says US tariffs are in no one's interests - and Greenland row should be resolved through calm discussion'

New LGBTQ+ festival included McKellen in a fiery monologue and Norton in conversation, as well as a queer ceilidh and kilted yoga'Sir Ian McKellen is on stage blowing up a red balloon. For a man of 86, he has impressive lung capacity. He lets it go and watches it take a satisfyingly theatrical trajectory, rising to a height, then plummeting. Free the spirit," he says, in character as Ed, an elderly gay man searching for release.There was a lot of spirit-freeing over the weekend at Pitlochry Festival theatre. In a bold pre-season move by new artistic director Alan Cumming, the UK's most idyllic venue launched its first LGBTQ+ festival in an atmosphere of exuberance. Programmed by Lewis Hetherington, Out in the Hills was a three-day compendium of talks, scratch performances and workshops that turned a sedate theatre into a buzzy social hive. Continue reading...

Which? survey ranks many of Great Britain's biggest suppliers near bottom, with British Gas and EDF Energy also scoring poorly

Medical Justice report finds Home Office approach has led to near total disregard for identified vulnerabilities'The Home Office has been accused of failing to protect survivors of trafficking and torture detained as part of the government's one in, one out" scheme.Medical Justice, a charity that sends independent clinicians into immigration detention centres, has surveyed 33 detainees waiting to be returned to France by the Home Office in a new report, the first to assess the welfare of this group of detainees. Continue reading...

Sanae Takaichi has told senior figures in the ruling LDP she intends to dissolve the lower house on 23 JanuaryJapan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called a snap election as she attempts to capitalise on high approval ratings since becoming the country's first female prime minister three months ago.Takaichi, a conservative who is embroiled in a deepening dispute with China over the security of Taiwan, said on Monday she would dissolve the lower house of the Diet - Japan's parliament - on 23 January, with an election to follow on 8 February. Continue reading...

Markets down on Monday after threat to impose up to 25% tariffs on eight European countries over GreenlandRachel Reeves has pulled out of a planned appearance at the London Stock Exchange to celebrate a new golden age" for the City, following Donald Trump's threat to implement tariffs until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.The chancellor's withdrawal from the event, which was designed to be a celebration of business in the UK following the FTSE 100 soaring above the 10,000 mark for the first time, came as markets opened down on Monday morning after the US president's threat. Continue reading...

NSW Ambulance treat man at Manly beach in Sydney's north after attack by shark on Monday evening

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...

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...

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Watch and act alert issued for Tooperang, Nangkita, Mount Jagged and Mosquito Hill as firefighters continue to battle blaze

Decision expected on Monday or Tuesday, potentially smoothing relations before Keir Starmer's visit to China

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...

Negotiations between prime minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Sussan Ley are constructive', sources say

Anthony Albanese moves motion in parliament honouring courage of first responders and affirming right of Jewish Australians to live in peace

PM confirms Australia was asked on weekend to join new body focused on Gaza reconstruction and Middle East peace efforts

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...

Data collected by Oxfam shows 48 billionaires hold more wealth than bottom 40% of the population - 11 million people - combined

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...