Former CNN anchor Don Lemon arrested over protest at Minnesota church – US politics live 30. January 2026 (14:47) Lemon taken into custody by federal agents in Los Angeles where he was covering the Grammy awards on Thursday night, his lawyer saysEx-CNN anchor Don Lemon arrested on charges connected to Minnesota church protestDon Lemon’s arrest comes as the justice department pursues charges against protesters who disrupted a service at the Cities church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month.The protesters believed that the church’s pastor was a field director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose agents have swarmed the Twin Cities in recent weeks in an aggressive immigration enforcement campaign that has resulted in the deaths of two US citizens. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Panama supreme court cancels Hong Kong company’s canal contracts 30. January 2026 (14:47) Panama’s president says strategic waterway will operate as normal after ruling that advances US policy aimsPanama’s president said ports at each end of the Panama canal would operate as usual after the country’s supreme court ruled the concession held by a subsidiary of a Chinese company was unconstitutional.The court’s decision on Thursday, which helps US attempts to block any Chinese influence over the strategic waterway, immediately drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brian May says US is currently too dangerous for Queen to tour there 30. January 2026 (14:41) Queen guitarist says ‘everyone is thinking twice about going there at the moment’ when asked about touring plansQueen guitarist Brian May has ruled out touring in the US for the foreseeable future, because of the potential danger it would pose.Speaking to the Daily Mail, the 78-year-old said: “America is a dangerous place at the moment, so you have to take that into account. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Asylum seeker jailed for at least 29 years for murdering Walsall hotel worker 30. January 2026 (14:13) Deng Chol Majek stabbed Rhiannon Whyte 23 times in October 2024 attackA Sudanese asylum seeker described as “demonic and inhuman” has been jailed for at least 29 years for a vicious attack on a woman who was working at the hotel where he was living.Deng Chol Majek is believed to have entered the UK by small boat less than three months before launching a frenzied assault on Rhiannon Whyte at Bescot Stadium railway station in Walsall on 20 October 2024, stabbing her 23 times. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Killing Khamenei? Hitting military sites? It is unclear what a US attack on Iran would achieve | Dan Sabbagh 30. January 2026 (14:00) Trump now has the firepower in place, but using it might not end wellA fortnight ago, when Donald Trump first threatened Iran’s regime, telling protesters in the country that “help is coming”, there were not enough US military assets in the Middle East to back up the rhetoric. That has now changed, although plenty of questions remain about what an attack on Iran could achieve.An aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, has arrived in the Indian Ocean, dispatched from the South China Sea alongside three destroyers equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles. Its eight-squadron air wing includes F-35C and F/A-18 jets and, critically, EA-18G Growlers to suppress anything that is left of Iran’s air defences after last year’s war with Israel. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How Trump’s EPA rollbacks could harm our air and water – and worsen global heating 30. January 2026 (14:00) Experts say administration has launched ‘war on all fronts’ to undo environmental rules – here are the key areas at riskIn his first year back in office, Donald Trump has fundamentally reshaped the Environmental Protection Agency, initiating nearly 70 actions to undo rules protecting ecosystems and the climate.The agency’s wide-ranging assault on the environment will put people at risk, threatening air and water quality, increasing harmful chemical exposure, and worsening global warming, experts told the Guardian. The changes amount to “a war on all fronts that this administration has launched against our health and the safety of our communities and the quality of our environment,” said Matthew Tejada, the former director of the EPA’s environmental justice program. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Breakdown in cricket relations with Bangladesh rings alarm bells for India’s Olympic bid 30. January 2026 (13:58) Concern raised over politicisation of sportBangladesh pulled out of men’s World T20 after rowBangladesh’s withdrawal from the men’s T20 World Cup could have implications for India’s 2036 Olympic bid amid concern at the International Olympic Committee over the potential politicisation of sport.Bangladesh pulled out of next month’s tournament last weekend after the International Cricket Council declined a request to move their group matches from India to the cohosts Sri Lanka, after a long-running political row triggered by Kolkata Knight Riders’ decision to remove the Bangladeshi bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their Indian Premier League squad. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Edinburgh tomb of philosopher David Hume vandalised with ‘satanic’ symbols 30. January 2026 (13:30) Tour guide reports drawing of naked woman pointing knife at baby and coded writing at Old Calton burial groundThe tomb of the philosopher David Hume and two other memorials at a historic cemetery in Edinburgh have been vandalised with “disturbing occult-style paraphernalia”.A tour guide made the discovery at the Old Calton burial ground. It included a drawing of a naked woman pointing a bloodied knife at a baby with a noose around its neck, and coded writing on red electrical tape attached to the David Hume mausoleum and two nearby memorial stones. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Zelenskyy cautious on Russian bombing pause during extreme cold weather 30. January 2026 (13:07) Ukraine president says he will wait to see if Putin complies with Trump request to halt strikes on energy infrastructureUkraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he was waiting to see whether Russia would observe a proposed pause in strikes on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, as Kyiv endures a spell of bitter winter cold.Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that Vladimir Putin had agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for a week after he issued a personal appeal to the Russian leader due to the extreme weather in Ukraine. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
China has lifted sanctions from six serving British MPs and peers, Starmer says 30. January 2026 (13:00) Starmer confirms immediate removal, but it is unclear if sanctions remain on former MP, academic and barristerUK politics live – latest updatesChina has lifted the sanctions it imposed on serving British MPs and peers in a significant sign of warming relations after Keir Starmer travelled to Beijing for landmark talks with Xi Jinping.Nine UK citizens were banned from China in 2021, including five Conservative MPs and two members of the House of Lords, targeted for highlighting human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur community. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
