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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...

Project employs technology that can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopesA hillside battery" outside Plymouth in Devon has begun generating electricity using a first of a kind hydropower system embedded underground.The pioneering technology means one of the oldest forms of energy storage, hydropower, can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopes rather than the steep dam walls and mountains that are usually required. Continue reading...

Lineup for 2026 includes a Moliere adaptation and a mash-up of Sophocles and Ingmar BergmanCate Blanchett, Sandra Oh and Letitia Wright will form part of the National Theatre's starry, female-led lineup for its 2026 season that its artistic director promises will theatrically explode".Oh, the Killing Eve and Grey's Anatomy star, makes her National Theatre debut in an adaptation of Moliere's social satire The Misanthrope, which is directed by the theatre's director and joint chief executive, Indhu Rubasingham. Continue reading...

The prime minister may have seen off the challenge for the moment - but what will be the cost to his leadership? Peter Walker reportsEver since Andy Burnham abandoned Westminster to become Greater Manchester's first ever mayor in 2017, he has been dogged with questions about returning to parliament for the top job. He never hid his ambition to become prime minister one day - he couldn't, really, given that he tried and failed twice to become Labour party leader. But he insisted time and again that he was perfectly happy back in his beloved north, and had no plans to get back to London.Then on Saturday night, he finally cracked. He wrote to Labour's ruling body to ask for permission to stand in Gorton and Denton, promising a hopeful and unifying campaign", in what he admitted was a risky move. Winning the byelection was not a given and he would have to give up being the mayor if he succeeded. But instead he was blocked by the committee, including Keir Starmer, from standing at all. Continue reading...

A 73-year-old pilot and a male passenger died after the wreckage caught fire on impact, with emergency services now working to contain the bushfire

Brandan Koschel was denied bail after appearing virtually before the court on Tuesday on charges of publicly inciting hatred on the grounds of racePolice have alleged in court today that there is information online that suggests the man who was charged under hate speech laws after an alleged antisemitic comment during a speech at an anti-immigration rally yesterday has links to or may have been a member of a now disbanded neo-Nazi group.Brandan Koschel was refused bail and remanded in custody after he appeared before the NSW Bail Division court on Tuesday from custody before magistrate Daniel Convington. Continue reading...

Pilot comes at same time as pledge to offer all smokers and ex-smokers lung cancer screening by 2030NHS England is to trial a combination of AI and robot-assisted care to speed up the detection and diagnosis of lung cancer, the UK's most lethal form of the disease.The trial comes at the same time as the health service pledges to offer all smokers and ex-smokers the chance to be screened for lung cancer by 2030. Continue reading...

Author says pace of change in GCSE English literature texts is too slow and tide is turning against inclusionThe Booker prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo has called for renewed efforts to diversify the school curriculum in England, warning that young people are growing up in a society where doors are closing" and the tide is turning against inclusion.There has been progress in the diversity of texts on offer in the GCSE English literature curriculum, but uptake in schools is still low with just 1.9% of GCSE pupils in England studying books by authors of colour, up from 0.7% five years ago, according to a report. Continue reading...

Sammy Yahood accuses Labor of tyranny' after the government cancelled his visa hours before his flight was due to depart

UN health body says Britain is one of six countries in Europe and central Asia where disease has become re-establishedThe UK has lost its status as a measles-free country after a rise in deaths from the disease and fall in the proportion of children having the MMR jab in recent years.The World Health Organization said it no longer classified Britain as having eliminated measles because the disease had become re-established. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester mayor's hopes of imminent return as MP appear remote as relationship with Starmer at low ebbAndy Burnham has not given up hopes of returning to Westminster and will try again, allies say, but would need to be convinced that Keir Starmer would not try to block him again before running.The Greater Manchester mayor's hopes of an imminent return to parliament appeared remote, however, as No 10 sources suggested that relations between the two men were at a low ebb and played down chances of a rapprochement. Continue reading...

Statement, since withdrawn, followed ex-minister becoming third Conservative MP to join Farage's party in just over a weekThe Conservatives are facing a backlash after claiming that Suella Braverman defected to Reform UK after mental health" issues, as the former home secretary finally joined Nigel Farage's party after months of denials.Braverman, who was sacked from the cabinet by both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, became the third sitting Conservative MP to defect in little over a week. She immediately went on the attack against her former party. Continue reading...

Four arrested during seizure which was part of largest shipment ever found on such a vessel bound for EuropePortuguese police have made a record seizure of almost nine tonnes of cocaine after intercepting a narco-sub" off the Azores carrying what is thought to be the largest shipment of the drug ever found on one of the Europe-bound, semi-submersible vessel.The Portuguese Judicial Police (PJ) said its officers had confiscated the haul in a recent joint operation with the country's navy and air force that had been conducted in coordination with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the UK National Crime Agency. Continue reading...

Only one ticket sold for premiere of film about US first lady at Vue's flagship London branch as insiders question launch strategyAs film exhibitor strategies go, counter-programming is one of the most reliable. It worked for The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia!, released in the US on the same day in 2008, as well as for Dunkirk and Girls Trip in 2017. In 2023, Barbie and Oppenheimer leveraged the tactic to the tune of $2.5bn in combined box office takings.This week we could see another example as Amazon releases its authorised documentary about Melania Trump in more than 100 UK cinemas. There it will compete against an already-eclectic slate of releases including the Jason Statham action film Shelter, the ape horror Primate, Bradley Cooper's comedy-drama Is This Thing On? and Richard Linklater's Jean-Luc Godard fictionalisation Nouvelle Vague. Continue reading...

Home secretary to regain authority to sack chief constables and set crime- fighting targets in England and WalesLabour has announced wholesale changes to policing with a pledge to increase crime fighting, but faces warnings that at the plan's heart is an unprecedented centralisation of powers.Shabana Mahmood said policing in England and Wales was the last public service to have survived unreformed for 50 years, despite being too costly and failing in parts. Continue reading...

Experts suggest Xi Jinping is asserting his authority by sidelining an officer who has significantly betrayed his trustStanding inches from Xi Jinping at a military ceremony in late December, China's highest-ranking general, Zhang Youxia, may have had little inkling about the fate that was to befall him just a few weeks later when he was put under investigation.The 75-year-old's physical proximity to China's leader, who stands to his right, reflects the position he holds in China's hierarchy. As vice-chair of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the ruling body of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), he is the second-most powerful person in China's military, after Xi, the commander-in-chief. Continue reading...

Roy Morton was 80 when he was stunned, restrained and arrested in bungled raid at his home in 2021Scotland Yard has settled out of court with a retired ballet dancer who sued the force after he was shot with a Taser weapon in his own home in a bungled dawn raid.Roy Morton, who has a pacemaker and lives alone, was stunned, restrained and arrested by firearms officers who forced entry into his home in Cricklewood, north-west London on 28 December 2021. Continue reading...

Aircraft carrier strike group assets aided by Israeli aircraft could have enough firepower to bring down regimeThe Iranian government is bracing itself for a fresh US and Israeli missile assault after it was announced that the US Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group has now deployed key assets to the region, observers have said.It is thought that Washington has the firepower in conjunction with Israeli aircraft to mount an attack designed to topple the government accused of brutally suppressing protests and killing thousands of Iranians. Continue reading...

Party see prevention of Greater Manchester mayor from running as an opportunity but a high Greens vote could allow Reform UK to win the seatThe Greens are set to stage an all-out fight to win the upcoming Gorton and Denton byelection, with officials in the party arguing they have a real chance of victory after Andy Burnham was barred from applying to be the Labour candidate.The Greens came third in the seat in the general election, nearly 14,000 votes behind Andrew Gwynne, the sitting MP who stepped down last week. But they plan to flood the constituency with activists in the hope of persuading locals they are the party more likely to defeat Reform UK. Continue reading...

Azruddin Mohamed's election comes six months after he formed political party that became country's second largestA Guyanese businessman facing extradition to the US on gold-smuggling and money-laundering charges has been elected as the country's opposition leader, six months after he formed a political party that quickly became the second largest in the South American country.Azruddin Mohamed, 38, was confirmed as Guyana's opposition leader after 16 lawmakers from the We Invest in Nationhood party (Win) and another from a single-seat outfit voted in his favor. The tally made Win the second-largest party in parliament, securing Mohamed's election even as a magistrate's court hears state arguments for his extradition to the US. Continue reading...

Her defection means there are now eight Reform MPs in the CommonsKeir Starmer was being interview by Beth Rigby from Sky News this morning when he defended the decision not to let Andy Burnham be a byelection candidate.After Starmer delivered his first answer (see 10.15am), Rigby asked him to what he would say to Labour MPs who think he is being cowardly" and just blocking Burnham to avoid the risk of a leadership contest.Millions of people will be better off if we have the continuation of a Labour government in Wales, and if we're able to win the government in Scotland and retain and win councils across England.When I came into politics in 2015, the first thing I did was support Andy Burnham's leadership campaign. The first team I worked in was for Andy Burnham. And in the job he's doing now, he and I work closely together ..So there's no question of me and Andy not working very well together. He's doing an excellent job.The battle of our times is the battle between patriotic, Labour party, Labour government, and the division of Reform. There's no doubt about that ... In that battle, we are all fighting this.I think everybody in the Labour party, everybody who's a Labour MP, wants to be in that fight, wants to fight alongside all their colleagues in a fight that matters hugely to the future of our country. Continue reading...

Many alerts remain in place with power outages in some regions

Mark Rutte said Europe would need to spend billions and billions of euros' on defenceThe European Commission got also asked about the regular US criticism that it is targeting" US big tech companies and that, in doing so, it undermines free speech.Digital spokesperson Regnier replied:Again, we don't target any company ... based of its origin.Now on your censorship point: I think if anyone dares to compare freedom of expression with child sexual abuse material or freedom of expression with undressing women digitally without their consent, then they are not fully aligned with Europe or absolutely not aligned with Europe. We don't even live on the same planet.No comments to be made on this US internal matter. But, of course, we deplore any loss of innocent lives."I have said innocent lives, but it's not for us to judge, innocent or not innocent. Any life lost, we deplore it, in general, and it is, of course, for the justice system in the US to establish the facts." Continue reading...

Inquiry into enlistment medical examinations has been expanded from army to also include navy and RAFMore than 500 people have contacted police investigating sexual abuse that allegedly took place during armed services medical examinations over almost 50 years.The investigation was launched after reports about the abuse of some recruits at army enlistment medical examinations but its scope has been expanded to include the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester mayor's participation in 26 February byelection would divert resources', says prime minister