Republican congressman says Epstein files ‘likely incriminated’ six more men 10. February 2026 (17:45) Thomas Massie says he may reveal the names under congressional privilege if justice department does notUS politics live – latest updatesThomas Massie, a US congressman, has said he knows the identity of six more men who are “likely incriminated” by their inclusion in the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files after he viewed an unredacted version of the documents relating to the disgraced late financier and sexual abuser.The Kentucky Republican suggested he might reveal their names under congressional privilege if the justice department (DoJ) continued to conceal their identities in publicly available copies of the documents that are still redacted. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EU moves closer to creating offshore centres for migrants and asylum seekers 10. February 2026 (17:38) MEPs vote to allow people to be deported to places they have never been to, as NGOs express fears over new ‘safe third countries’ listThe EU has moved closer to creating offshore centres for migrants and asylum seekers, after centre-right and far-right MEPs united for tougher migration policies.MEPs voted for legal changes that will give authorities more options to deport asylum seekers, including sending people to countries they have never been to. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick says he had lunch with Epstein on his private island 10. February 2026 (17:33) As he faces calls from lawmakers to resign, Lutnick testifies that he and his family visited disgraced financier in 2012The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, had lunch with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the disgraced financier’s private island, he said on Tuesday, as he faces mounting calls to resign from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.“I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation” in 2012, Lutnick said in testimony on Tuesday before the Senate appropriations committee. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Maine Republican senator Susan Collins launches re-election bid for pivotal seat 10. February 2026 (17:24) Collins is expected to face tough re-election battle as Democrats seek to flip seat in this year’s midterm electionsUS politics live – latest updatesSusan Collins, the Maine Republican senator who is a top target of Democrats in this year’s midterm elections, on Tuesday launched her campaign for a sixth term in office.She is expected to face one of the toughest re-election battles of the year, as victory in Maine is seen as essential to Democrats’ hopes of winning back control of the Senate, and putting a halt to Donald Trump’s legislative agenda. First elected in 1996, Collins is among the few Republican senators who occasionally defy the president, and is the only one representing a state that the president did not carry in his successful re-election bid two years ago. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK sleepwalking into joblessness epidemic, Tesco boss warns 10. February 2026 (17:21) Ashwin Prasad says far fewer people in work than there could be with ministers ‘tinkering at the edges’ of problemThe UK is “sleepwalking into a quiet epidemic” of joblessness with millions of people out of work and on benefits, the boss of the nation’s biggest supermarket chain has warned.Ashwin Prasad, who runs the UK arm of Tesco, said he believed far fewer people were in work than should be and that taxpayers were spending “an ever increasing proportion of our national income on out-of-work benefits”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ex-Florida police chief claims Trump told him ‘everyone’ knew what Epstein was doing in 2006 10. February 2026 (17:03) Former police chief Michael Reiter claims Trump also said ‘thank goodness you’re stopping’ Epstein in 2006 phone callDonald Trump slammed Jeffrey Epstein about two decades ago, claiming “everyone has known he’s been doing this”, a former Palm Beach police chief claimed.Michael Reiter’s account of a conversation with Trump, contained within the justice department’s release of 3m Epstein files, dramatically contrasts with the US president’s public statements. After Epstein’s arrest in July 2019, Trump said “I had no idea” when asked if he knew about his former friend’s abuse of teenage girls. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘A step in the wrong direction’: Israel’s West Bank plans prompt global backlash 10. February 2026 (17:00) US, Britain, EU and Arab nations condemn plans that Israeli ministers say will ‘kill the idea of a Palestinian state’Israeli measures to tighten its control of the West Bank have prompted a global backlash, including a signal from Washington restating the Trump administration’s opposition to annexation of the occupied territory.Announcing the measures, which involve extending Israeli control in areas that are currently under Palestinian administration, Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, made clear they were aimed at strengthening Israeli settlements in the West Bank and pre-empting the emergence of an independent sovereign Palestine. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Fighting Starmer wins another chance, but is still surrounded by peril 10. February 2026 (16:44) Polling is bad, crucial tests are looming, his party is a tinderbox and the leadership genie is hard to rebottleUK politics live – latest updates“Is it over?” That was the question that Labour MPs have been asking themselves and each other. But the meaning has shifted over the last 24 hours.After last Wednesday afternoon’s chaos in the Commons over the release of the Peter Mandelson documents, MPs widely believed it was the final throes of Keir Starmer’s leadership. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lawyer did not see Gavin Burrows sign Mail phone-hacking confession, court hears 10. February 2026 (15:34) Anjlee Sangani signed off private investigator’s confession of lawbreaking for Daily Mail publisher, which he now says was forgedA solicitor who approved a private investigator’s contested confession of bugging, phone tapping and hacking on behalf of the publisher of the Daily Mail did not oversee the document being signed, the high court has heard.The most serious allegations of unlawful information-gathering against Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) came from a signed statement made by the private investigator Gavin Burrows. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Hong Kong’s once-vibrant press stays silent or celebrates Jimmy Lai’s 20-year jail sentence 10. February 2026 (15:14) Lack of response shows security law and harassment by authorities have muzzled ‘critical voices’, say expertsThe rise and fall of Jimmy Lai, whose trajectory mirrored that of Hong Kong itselfHong Kong’s once-vibrant media outlets have responded with silence or celebration to the 20-year jail sentence handed down to Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy media tycoon and critic of the Chinese Communist party.Lai, 78, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison after being convicted of sedition and colluding with foreign forces under Hong Kong’s national security law. The charges were widely seen as being politically motivated and designed to silence one of Hong Kong’s most influential pro-democracy campaigners. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
