Use of Irish airport for US deportation flights to Israel called ‘reprehensible’ 07. February 2026 (16:38) Irish politicians condemn use of Shannon airport by private jet en route to Israel, owned by Trump donor Gil DezerRevealed: Private jet owned by Trump friend used by ICE to deport Palestinians to West BankPoliticians in Ireland have said the use of an airport in County Clare by planes deporting Palestinians from the US to Israel is “reprehensible”.A private jet owned by the Donald Trump donor Gil Dezer was chartered by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for two separate flights that took detainees to Israel, a Guardian investigation revealed this week. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK supreme court hearing interrupted by history podcast played from judge’s phone 07. February 2026 (16:36) Proceedings briefly halted after audio from The Rest Is History broadcast over the courtroom speakersAs the highest court in the UK, the supreme court is usually the forum for proceedings of the utmost gravity. But last week, one hearing was momentarily interrupted by an unlikely and comic intervention.As one legal professional addressed the bench, the voice of Tom Holland, host of the popular podcast the Rest is History, boomed out through the court’s microphone system, delivering a satirical impersonation of the late US president Jimmy Carter. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Federal judge reverses Trump’s freeze on $16bn for NY-NJ tunnel project 07. February 2026 (16:27) President reportedly wanted Dulles airport and Penn Station to be renamed after him in exchange for continued fundingA federal judge has reversed a freeze put on funds by Donald Trump for $16bn in enhanced rail links connecting New York and New Jersey amid reports that the US president wants major travel landmarks named after him in return for continued investment.The Gateway Project will build a new commuter rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey under the Hudson River on the western side of New York City and repair a century-old tunnel used by more than 200,000 travelers and 425 trains daily. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Zelenskyy says US has set June deadline for Ukraine-Russia peace deal 07. February 2026 (15:38) Ukrainian president says Trump administration has proposed to host next round of trilateral talks in USVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said the US has given Ukraine and Russia yet another deadline to reach a peace settlement, and is now proposing the war should end by June. The Ukrainian president also told reporters that both sides had been invited to further talks next week.Zelenskyy said the Trump administration “will probably put pressure” on Ukraine and Russia to end the war by the beginning of the summer. “They say they want to get everything done by June,” he said. “They will do everything to end the war and they want a clear schedule of all events.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Outrage after US Congress votes to slash $125m in funding to replace toxic lead pipes 07. February 2026 (14:00) Move will hit Michigan, Illinois, New York and other states with highest levels of lead drinking water pipes the hardestThere is outrage among some politicians and activists after the US Congress voted to slash $125m for replacing toxic lead drinking water pipes that are particularly a threat to children.The move will hit Michigan, Illinois, Texas, New York and other states with the highest levels of lead pipes the hardest. The cut was part of a broader government funding bill and particularly controversial in the context of the fight over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer accused of hypocrisy over sharp cuts to World Food Programme 07. February 2026 (13:46) UK reduces funding by a third despite pledges to tackle hunger, with critics warning the move will cost livesUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has been accused of hypocrisy after cutting funding to the UN World Food Programme by a third while pledging to tackle “suffering and starvation”.The reduction in UK funding to the World Food Programme (WFP) from $610m (£448m) in 2024 to $435m last year is part of a wider reduction in aid spending that campaigners say is putting lives at risk. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lib Dems suspend Chris Rennard amid new inquiry into sexual harassment claims 07. February 2026 (13:03) Party says it has received advice that 2013 investigation of allegations against peer was ‘flawed in several respects’The Liberal Democrat peer Chris Rennard has been suspended from the party amid a new investigation into sexual harassment allegations.The party said it had received advice that a 2013 inquiry into the claims made by four women against Lord Rennard was “flawed in several respects”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The Epstein files reveal that a vast global conspiracy actually exists – sort of 07. February 2026 (13:00) The documents confirm what many have long assumed: elites live by their own special rules and codes of immunityThe millions of Jeffrey Epstein files dumped last Friday by the US Department of Justice will provide journalists, conspiracy theorists and interested members of the public with months of reading. And what they will read is enraging.What makes these files so infuriating, however, is not just Epstein’s horrific predatory behavior, which is well-known, but the more mundane examples of elite conduct that the documents continue to expose. They vividly illustrate a world whose existence many everyday people, whether fevered with visions of the Illuminati or just jaundiced by banal anti-establishment cynicism, already suspected exists: an informal global club of powerful, ultra-rich people who all seemingly know each other, help one another out, and protect each other from the consequences of their depravity. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘An unqualified insurrectionist’: outcry over Trump nominee in Wyoming 07. February 2026 (13:00) Darin Smith, who was outside Capitol on January 6, decried as Senate mulls nomination as state’s top federal prosecutorA Republican former state lawmaker with no experience trying cases, a record of opposing LGBTQ+ rights, and who was outside the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection, is awaiting Senate confirmation to become the top federal prosecutor in Wyoming.Donald Trump first nominated Darin Smith as Wyoming’s US attorney last year, and the judiciary committee advanced him in a party-line vote in January. Democrats have condemned Smith, saying he lacks the experience necessary for the job and threatens to impose a discriminatory approach to federal law enforcement in the state where gay college student Matthew Shepard’s 1998 murder galvanized the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Post-Brexit sales of British farm products to EU fall by 37% 07. February 2026 (13:00) NFU warn it could take years to restore Brexit losses despite efforts to smooth negotiations on farming and other elements of UK-EU resetExports of British farm products to the EU have dropped almost 40% in the five years since Brexit, highlighting the trade barriers caused by the UK’s divorce from the EU in 2020.Analysis of HMRC data by the National Farmers’ Union shows the decline in sales of everything from British beef to cheddar cheese has dropped by 37.4% in the five years since 2019, the last full year before Brexit. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
