Barclays reportedly cuts ties with lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson 05. February 2026 (20:37) Vodafone also reviewing its contract with Global Counsel after revelations of former minister’s links to Jeffrey EpsteinBarclays has reportedly cut ties with the lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson, after intense scrutiny of the founders’ dealings with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Vodafone has also said it is reviewing its contract for public affairs services with Global Counsel, which Mandelson co-founded in 2010 after Labour lost the general election. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Democrats’ 10 demands to ‘rein in’ ICE – the full list of proposed reforms 05. February 2026 (20:36) Party says it will not back funding bill without reforms on – among other things – masks, ID and judicial warrantsFollowing the fatal shootings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis last month, Democrats have refused to support long-term funding for the Department of Homland Security unless Republicans agree to reforms on the tactics of federal agents carrying out Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.“The American people rightfully expect their elected representatives to take action to rein in ICE and ensure no more lives are lost,” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and his House counterpart Hakeem Jeffries wrote on Wednesday night in a letter issuing 10 formal demands to GOP leadership in order to avert a 13 February lapse in funding for the department, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the US Border Patrol. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How the Epstein scandal has shaken the British government to its core 05. February 2026 (20:33) Anger at former US ambassador Peter Mandelson’s relations with the child sex offender threatens to topple the prime ministerIt was the one scandal that Donald Trump seemed unable to shake. No matter his best efforts to convince his supporter base that there was nothing to see here, the demands for the administration to release every document it had on the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein only grew.Yet even after the most shocking revelations in the latest drop about Trump’s inner circle – involving everyone from Elon Musk to the Maga honcho Steve Bannon to the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, not to mention Trump himself – so far, it seems, the administration has escaped largely unscathed. Nobody has resigned, nobody has been fired, and certainly there is no sign that the US president is going anywhere. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The way, the Trump and the lies: prayer breakfast displays US right’s devil’s pact 05. February 2026 (20:17) Trump might not embody Christian values yet is the religious right’s chosen instrument to turn the tide against liberal, godless AmericaUS politics live – latest updatesThey had come to say a prayer for the father, the son and the holy ghost.The father was Donald Trump, who, despite sending federal militias to roam Minneapolis, threatening to invade Greenland and telling lies by the dozen, remains the lord and saviour of the religious right. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Calls to halt UK Palantir contracts grow amid ‘lack of transparency’ over deals 05. February 2026 (20:02) Opposition MPs urge Labour to pause public contracts with the US tech firm after attempts to examine deals blockedLabour should halt public contracts with the US tech company Palantir, opposition politicians have said, amid growing concern at the lack of government transparency over dealings with the company and Peter Mandelson.Since 2023, Palantir has secured more than £500m in contracts with the NHS and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), while it employed Global Counsel, the lobbying firm founded by Mandelson. Emails released by the US Department of Justice show Mandelson sought help from Jeffrey Epstein to find “rich individuals” as clients. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iran is betting that Trump does not have a plan for regime change 05. February 2026 (20:01) Although weakened by airstrikes, sanctions and domestic unrest, Tehran is surprisingly bullish before talks with USWhen it comes to Iran and Donald Trump, there is so much bluff, backed by military hardware, that the truth rarely makes an appearance.It appears that a bullish Iran is going into negotiations with the US on Friday adopting maximalist positions that do not seem greatly different to those it adopted in the five rounds of talks before the negotiations were abruptly halted by the surprise Israeli attack on Iran last June. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Bonobos can play make-believe much like children, study suggests 05. February 2026 (20:00) An ape was able to identify the location of imaginary objects in pretend scenarios, researchers findWhether it’s playing at being doctors or hosting a toy’s tea party, children are adept at engaging in make-believe – now researchers say bonobos can do it too.While there have been anecdotal reports of apes using imaginary objects, including apparently dragging pretend blocks across the floor, experts say it is possible such instances have other explanations. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Magic Beach by Alison Lester named Australia’s best children’s picture book 05. February 2026 (20:00) Lester’s 1990 classic about the wonders of nature wins Guardian Australia poll ahead of Possum Magic in second placeAlison Lester interview: ‘Everything I do looks a bit like a stuffed toy’Children on their favourite picture book: ‘I also like that the dad cries’Magic Beach by Alison Lester has won Guardian Australia’s poll to find Australia’s best children’s picture book of all time.More than 100,000 votes were cast after polling opened on 27 January. Aside from the first day, when Possum Magic by Mem Fox and illustrator Julie Vivas took an early lead, Magic Beach was the most voted for book every other day of the count. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump offers contradictory account of Tulsi Gabbard presence at FBI raid in Georgia 05. February 2026 (19:31) Shifting explanations of Gabbard’s presence at election center intensifies scrutiny of role she played in operationDonald Trump on Thursday offered a new and shifting account of why Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, was present last week at an FBI raid of an election center in Georgia, saying she went at the urging of the attorney general Pam Bondi.“She took a lot of heat two days ago because she went in at Pam’s insistence,” the US president said at the National Prayer Breakfast, a high-profile event of political and religious leaders. “She went in and she looked at votes that wanted to be checked out from Georgia.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration issues rule that makes it easier to fire federal workers 05. February 2026 (19:30) New rule would strip job safeguards for 50,000 federal employees and change how whistleblowers are protectedThe Trump administration is seeking to finalize its overhaul of the federal government’s civil service system through a rule issued this week by the office of personnel management (OPM) to strip job protections from 50,000 civil service employees.Under the rule, the president would have the authority to fire and hire an estimated 50,000 career federal employees. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
