Andrew invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace after child sex offender’s release, files suggest 31. January 2026 (11:33) Emails between former prince and financier revealed in latest tranche of released documents• Epstein files – latest updatesAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor invited Jeffrey Epstein to meet him at Buckingham Palace after the child sex offender was released from house arrest, new documents suggest.The latest tranche of releases from the US Department of Justice include an email exchange in 2010 between the financier and the then prince. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Will corporate America finally stand up to the Trump administration? 31. January 2026 (11:00) The brutal handling of immigration raids and the killing of Alex Pretti have tested the reticence of the corporate classDuring Donald Trump’s first term, the US’s corporate titans were prepared to literally turn their backs on the president when they disagreed with them. Weeks of growing national anger over deadly immigration crackdowns in the US have highlighted how much has changed.Publicly, the US’s top CEOs have stayed – mostly – quiet during Trump’s second term, even as his administration has undermined free trade policies, cracked down on the immigration that many businesses relied on, and attacked the Federal Reserve – a pillar of the US’s financial hegemony. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Israeli strikes on Gaza reportedly kill at least 12, one of highest tolls since October agreement 31. January 2026 (10:57) Attacks, which killed women and children, come day before border crossing is due to open in Gaza’s southern most cityHospitals in Gaza have said Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians on Saturday, one of the highest tolls since an October agreement aimed at stopping the fighting.The missiles hit locations in northern and southern Gaza, including an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent in Khan Younis, officials at hospitals which received the bodies said. The casualties included two women and six children from two families. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Thousands may lose out as Post Office closes main Horizon compensation scheme 31. January 2026 (10:00) Hundreds of claims still arriving each month, raising fears eligible operators will lose out on redressThe Post Office is to close the largest compensation scheme for post office operators affected by the Horizon scandal this weekend, leaving potentially thousands of claimants out of pocket for losses produced by the faulty IT system.The Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), which will close for new applicants at 11.59pm on Saturday, has received more than 9,500 submissions, according to the latest public data to 19 December. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Quietly, subtly, the outsider’: Andy Burnham’s dress sense decoded 31. January 2026 (10:00) Ditching the traditional suit and tie for understated all black ‘is as calculated as any Westminster suit, just aimed at a different audience’With Labour blocking Andy Burnham from returning as an MP, the so-called “king of the north” came out wearing a simple black V-neck jumper with dark denim jeans. The Greater Manchester mayor, appearing at the launch of a Class Ceiling report at the city’s Whitworth gallery on Monday, looked quietly, subtly, the outsider.It might not sound like much. But that is the point of Burnham’s largely unnoteworthy look, which tends to involve Left Bank intellectual-adjacent black-on-black. In direct contrast to his tie-wearing colleagues in parliament, Burnham’s style feels particularly symbolic. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Protesters to demand resignation of Hungarian politician for anti-Roma remark 31. January 2026 (09:00) Thousands set to gather in Budapest after János Lázár’s remarks captured on videoThousands of people are set to gather in Budapest to demand the resignation of a senior Hungarian politician, for making a racist remark against Roma people earlier this month.János Lázár told attendees at a political forum that migration was not the solution to the country’s labour shortage. “Since there are no migrants, and someone has to clean the bathrooms on the InterCity trains,” Lázár said Roma people would do the job, using an offensive slur in his speech. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump has tapped a new Federal Reserve chair. Has he finally found his yes-man? 31. January 2026 (09:00) Trump nominated Kevin Warsh, an ex-Fed governor, for the role as the White House continues to attack Jerome PowellThe US Federal Reserve requires “strong, sound and steady leadership”, according to Donald Trump. The president found a man to lead the central bank who would “provide exactly that type of leadership”, he declared.“He’s strong, he’s committed and he’s smart.”This is not how Trump described Kevin Warsh, the former Fed governor whom he unveiled as his new nominee to chair the central bank on Friday – but how he hailed Jerome Powell, the current Fed chair, when nominating him for the job about eight years ago. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Alarm raised over Chinese CCTV cameras guarding ‘symbol of democracy’ Magna Carta 31. January 2026 (08:24) Campaigners criticise use of ‘vulnerable’ devices at Salisbury Cathedral and Parthenon despite their removal from sensitive UK government sitesSecurity cameras guarding Magna Carta are provided by a Chinese CCTV company whose technology has allegedly aided the Uyghur “genocide” and been exploited by Russia during the invasion of Ukraine, it has emerged.In letters seen by the Guardian, campaigners called on Salisbury Cathedral, which houses one of four surviving copies of the “powerful symbol of social justice”, to rip out cameras made by Dahua Technology, based in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
More than 300 anti-ICE protests planned across US this weekend 31. January 2026 (08:00) ‘ICE Out of Everywhere’ demonstrations, including vigils and marches, follow Friday’s national strike More than 300 demonstrations are expected to take place across all 50 states and Washington DC, today, in what organizers are calling “ICE Out of Everywhere”.Organizers, led by the national grassroots organization 50501, say today’s protests are a response to a series of recent deaths involving federal immigration agents, including the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month, the homicide of Geraldo Campos in an immigration detention facility in Texas and the shooting of Keith Porter Jr by an off-duty Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Los Angeles. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK and EU to explore renewed talks on defence cooperation 31. January 2026 (08:00) Keir Starmer says he wants to ‘go further’ in relations with Brussels as ministers look to restart stalled negotiationsThe UK and the EU are exploring the prospect of new talks on closer defence cooperation, as Keir Starmer stressed on Friday that he wanted to “go further” in the UK’s relationship with Brussels.
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade commissioner, is due in London for talks next week, with trade, energy and fisheries on the agenda. But diplomatic sources said the UK is keen to discuss restarting negotiations on defence as soon as it can.Talks for the UK to join the EU’s €150bn (£130bn) Security Action for Europe (Safe) defence fund collapsed in November 2025 amid claims that the EU had set too high a price on entry to the programme. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
