US added 130,000 jobs in January, surpassing expectations as 2025 growth is slashed 11. February 2026 (17:13) Unemployment rate was 4.3% in January with gains 13,000 less than the 143,000 jobs added a year ago, report showsThe US jobs market added 130,000 jobs in January, according to a highly anticipated labor market report released on Wednesday, a surge of job growth after months of fatigue in the labor market.The unemployment rate was 4.3% in January, a slight cooling since the fall. Economists predicted 70,000 in job gains and an unchanged unemployment rate for January. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kristin Scott Thomas says male theatre critics fail to grasp plays about women 11. February 2026 (17:12) Actor’s comments came as she accepted a lifetime achievement award for women in the artsKristin Scott Thomas has accused male theatre critics of failing to understand plays written by women and about women.Citing her monologue on menstruation in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, she said the speech had “ripped through the internet”, proving the appetite for female stories told on their own terms. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US poet laureate of style Ralph Lauren opens New York fashion week 11. February 2026 (17:06) Unabashedly grand collection featuring velvet and beading is teamed with knits and loafers to reflect fashion in the real world right nowRalph Lauren is the US’s poet laureate of style. His brand came of age in a gilded era of American charm, when Bill Clinton was president, the economy was booming and the twin towers glittered on the Manhattan skyline. His clothes speak to an America of sportsmanship and vigour, where everyone has a firm handshake and perfect teeth.The US could use some poetry right now, and Lauren is still the man. In fact, at 86, he is the hottest designer at New York fashion week. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Support for Trump’s immigration efforts drops sharply after Minnesota shootings 11. February 2026 (16:34) Nearly half (49%) of all American adults disapprove of handling of immigration, NBC poll finds, versus 34% in AprilSupport for Donald Trump’s immigration efforts has dropped dramatically following a wave of public revulsion over violent scenes in Minneapolis involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, new poll figures show.The figures arrive as administration officials continue to double down on ICE enforcement, which has been getting increasingly dangerous. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iran’s president denies it seeks nuclear weapon and admits ‘shame’ after mass protests 11. February 2026 (16:19) Masoud Pezeshkian tries to convey message of national unity as negotiations with US hang in balanceUS politics live – latest updatesIran’s president insisted his country was not seeking a nuclear weapon as he acknowledged “great sorrow” after the authorities’ recent crackdown on protesters.Speaking to crowds gathered across Iran to mark the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, Masoud Pezeshkian sought to claim a message of national unity after demonstrations that roiled the country and triggered an unprecedented crisis for the regime. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nigel Farage heckled at launch of Reform Jewish group 11. February 2026 (16:11) Jewish activists interrupt speech at synagogue and accuse party of paving way for persecution of other minoritiesJewish activists have heckled Nigel Farage at the launch of a Jewish members’ organisation for Reform UK and accused the party of planning to use the new group as cover for persecuting other minorities.Farage spoke at the inaugural event on Tuesday night of the Reform Jewish Alliance (RJA), which he said would help the party target up to 15 parliamentary seats. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Prosecutors ‘in close contact’ with police investigating Andrew and Mandelson links to Epstein 11. February 2026 (15:58) Head of Crown Prosecution Service for England and Wales says he is working with Thames Valley and Met forces Prosecutors are “in close contact” with police over investigations into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson’s links with Jeffrey Epstein, England and Wales’s most senior criminal prosecutor has said.Thames Valley police has said it is reviewing allegations that the child sex offender Epstein provided Mountbatten-Windsor with a woman to have sex with at Royal Lodge in 2010, as well as that the former prince shared confidential reports from his role as a government trade envoy with the disgraced financier. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘A world in disarray’: Europe’s moment of awakening 11. February 2026 (15:47) Facing existential challenges on trade and security, the bloc has finally realised it has to grow up and go it alone – but the path ahead is a rocky one• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereEmmanuel Macron put it simply – and starkly. Confronted with “a world in disarray” and a double, potentially existential challenge from the US and China, he said: “Europe must become a power.”The bloc is facing “a Chinese tsunami” on trade, Macron told several European newspapers, as the country most Europeans had for decades seen principally as an infinite export market transforms itself instead into a ferocious, low-price, hi-tech competitor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Gisèle Pelicot describes shock of seeing herself like ‘a rag doll’ in memoir 11. February 2026 (15:25) Pelicot writes of ‘brain stopping working’ when police told her of crimes of man she shared her life with for 50 yearsGisèle Pelicot, who became a global symbol of courage during the trial of her ex-husband and the dozens of men who raped her while she was unconscious, has described her shock when police first showed her images of the crimes, likening herself to a “rag doll”.In extracts from her forthcoming memoir, A Hymn to Life, Pelicot, 73, describes her shock when police told her of the actions of her ex-husband Dominique, whom she considered “a great guy” and had shared her life with for 50 years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Man detained for questioning in Nancy Guthrie disappearance reportedly released 11. February 2026 (14:44) Carlos Palazuelos told reporters he was held at a traffic stop Tuesday and claimed to not have heard about the case A man detained by authorities in Arizona investigating the disappearance of Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother was released early on Wednesday after several hours of questioning, according to reports.An individual who identified himself to reporters as Carlos Palazuelos said he was the person held after a traffic stop on Tuesday in Rio Rico, about an hour’s drive from the Tucson area home from where Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on 1 February. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
