Top civil servant could become third key No 10 departure in days 09. February 2026 (20:30) Exclusive: Cabinet secretary Chris Wormald is expected to follow Morgan McSweeney and Tim Allan out the doorThe most senior civil servant in Downing Street is negotiating his exit as part of a wider shake-up of Keir Starmer’s operation after one of the most dramatic 48 hours of the prime minister’s time in office, sources have told the Guardian.Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary, is understood to be negotiating the terms of his departure from No 10, which would make him the third senior member of staff to leave in recent days. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Troubles-rooted play Sapling wins Women’s prize for playwriting 09. February 2026 (20:30) Judges, including Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner, praise Georgina Duncan’s play as the kind ‘producers dream of and audiences yearn to watch’A work that explores what happens when trauma is left to fester, set in Troubles-era Belfast, has been named the winner of the Women’s prize for playwriting 2025.Judges praised what they described as unflinching and moving writing in Sapling by Georgina Duncan, a working-class playwright from Lancashire. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Italian reporters to protest over boss’s gaffe-filled Olympic commentary 09. February 2026 (19:21) Director of state broadcaster Rai Sport welcomed viewers to wrong stadium and mistook Italian actor for Mariah CareySports journalists at the Italian state broadcaster are staging protests in response to blunders made by the sports director throughout his commentary on the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.Paolo Petrecca, who was appointed to the role at Rai Sport in 2025, first welcomed viewers to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico instead of Milan’s San Siro, where Friday’s ceremony was held, before mistaking the Italian actor Matilda De Angelis for Mariah Carey and Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee, for Laura Mattarella, daughter of the Italian president. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two senior Norwegian diplomats being investigated over Epstein links 09. February 2026 (19:20) Financial crimes squad investigate husband and wife in connection to alleged relationship with late sex offenderTwo high-profile diplomats are under investigation by Norwegian authorities in connection with their relationship to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Norway’s financial crimes squad, Økokrim, is investigating Mona Juul, who resigned as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq on Sunday, on suspicion of gross corruption while working at the ministry of foreign affairs, it said on Monday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jimmy Lai: will Hong Kong media tycoon die in jail? – The Latest 09. February 2026 (18:27) The media mogul and prominent pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong for national security offences. His family has described the sentence as ‘heartbreakingly cruel’, given the 78-year-old’s declining health. Lai was convicted in December on charges of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, after pleading not guilty to all charges. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins – watch on YouTube Continue reading...(The Guardian)
RFK Jr misled Senate during confirmation, Congress members and Hawaii governor say 09. February 2026 (18:23) Newly revealed emails undermine Kennedy’s testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of deadly measles outbreakThree members of Congress say the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, lied during his Senate confirmation hearings in response to newly revealed emails that undermine his testimony that a trip he took to Samoa ahead of a deadly measles outbreak had “nothing to do with vaccines”.The governor of Hawaii, a medical doctor who responded to the crisis, also spoke out – saying that the disclosure of the emails by the Guardian and the Associated Press show Kennedy misled the Senate and that he should step down. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
At least 18 people now dead as historic New York cold stretch nears end 09. February 2026 (18:22) City faced one of longest periods of subzero cold since 1961, forcing ‘code blue’ and extreme weather warningsDeadly cold tests New York’s ability to protect its homeless communitiesThe death toll related to New York City’s dangerous and enduring cold has risen to 18, officials said on Sunday.The climbing number of fatalities came as a stark reminder of the danger of the subzero temperatures gripping the area, which has been subjected to one of the longest stretches of subzero cold since 1961. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months 09. February 2026 (18:04) Seamus Culleton has lived in US for two decades, married a citizen and runs a plastering business but faces deportationUS politics live – latest updatesAn Irish man has spent five months in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and faces deportation despite having a valid work permit and no criminal record.Seamus Culleton was a “model immigrant” who had become the victim of a capricious and inept system, said his lawyer, Ogor Winnie Okoye. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Search for Savannah Guthrie’s mother continues as detectives analyze ransom note 09. February 2026 (18:00) Investigation in apparent abduction enters second week as deadline for purported ransom note demanding $6m loomsThe search for television host Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother entered its second full week on Monday, with investigators returning over the weekend for a new search of her Arizona home. They appear no closer to finding her, or identifying an alleged abductor.Detectives are analyzing a purported ransom note giving a deadline of 5pm MT (7pm ET) Monday for Guthrie’s family to pay $6m, a development that prompted the Today show presenter and her siblings to record a video released on Saturday saying: “We will pay”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Made me feel proudly American’: America reacts to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show 09. February 2026 (17:48) While Trump has attacked the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican star, celebrities have come out in force to support the half-time showAs blue, red and white fireworks filled the sky at the end of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show, a message filled the screen in all capitals: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”It was the enduring statement from a 13-minute spectacle that invited an estimated 135.4 million viewers into Bad Bunny’s world, with richly textured references to politics, history and Puerto Rican culture. The artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio transformed the pitch of Santa Clara, California’s Levi’s Stadium into his own love letter to the island, with cinematic set pieces including sugar cane fields, a house party, and a lively wedding ceremony featuring a surprise performance by Lady Gaga. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
