European boss of Post Office IT scandal firm Fujitsu to step down 29. January 2026 (15:02) Paul Patterson, who represented the firm at the public inquiry, will become non-executive chair in MarchThe European boss of Fujitsu, the company behind the Horizon software at the heart of the Post Office IT scandal, is to step down from his role in March.Paul Patterson, who is the chief executive of the European division of the company, will become non-executive chair of Fujitsu’s UK business, where he will “continue managing the company’s response” to the inquiry into the scandal. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Xi-Starmer meeting: Chinese leader tells PM he hopes both countries can ‘rise above differences’ 29. January 2026 (15:02) China agrees visa-free travel for British citizens as countries sign agreements on closer economic cooperationUK politics live – latest updatesThe Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has said the UK’s relationship with his country has gone through “twists and turns” over the years but that a more “consistent” approach is in both their interests.Ahead of talks with Keir Starmer during the first visit to China by a British prime minister in eight years, Xi said the two men would “stand the test of history” if they could “rise above differences”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia spends more on tax breaks for landlords than social housing, homelessness and rent assistance combined 29. January 2026 (15:00) Exclusive: Acoss report shows property investors received $12.3bn in tax concessions in 2025, while the share of social housing dropped to a record lowGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia spends billions of dollars more on tax breaks for property investors than on social housing, homelessness and rent assistance combined, according to research by the Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss).The analysis comes as new data from the Productivity Commission reveals the share of homes dedicated to social housing has dropped to a record low 3.6%, from 5.7% in the 1990s. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Company handling Australia’s immigration detention playing key role in Trump’s ICE migrant crackdown 29. January 2026 (15:00) Albanese government awarded contracts to MTC despite allegations of ‘gross negligence’ in the US involvement with ICEGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government’s main immigration detention contractor is playing a key role in Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown and has attracted a string of complaints over its treatment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees.In recent years, the Albanese government has awarded lucrative immigration detention contracts to the local subsidiary of Management and Training Corporation, a major US private prison company, to operate offshore processing facilities on Nauru and Australia’s onshore detention network. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Gobsmacked’: Australian workplace relations department to replace short-term staff with third-party contractor 29. January 2026 (15:00) Workers and union say outsourcing will mean loss of knowledge and experience needed to help ‘very vulnerable people’ waiting for government paymentsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA group of call centre staff kept on short-term contracts at the government department responsible for workplace standards will be replaced by a third-party contractor, with their union warning “vulnerable people” contacting the government could be affected.Due to laws to improve job security, 13 workers at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) are unable to renew their contracts after reaching the maximum period they can remain in short-term positions, their union says. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nursing a skink: endangered alpine lizard numbers set to rise after Omeo falls pregnant in Victoria 29. January 2026 (15:00) Eleven guthega skinks could soon become 13 thanks to a captive breeding program in the Alpine national parkGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEleven endangered skinks released into a gated community in Victoria’s Alpine national park could soon become 13, with a female known as Omeo due to give birth in March.One of Australia’s only alpine lizards, guthega skinks live on “sky islands” above 1,600 metres in two isolated alpine locations – the Bogong high plains in Victoria and Mount Kosciuszko in New South Wales. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s border chief vows ‘improvements’ for ICE operations but doesn’t mention fatal shootings of US citizens – live 29. January 2026 (14:57) Border czar Tom Homan in Minneapolis says ‘no agency is perfect’ and acknowledges improvements that need to be made to federal immigration enforcement‘Nothing has changed’: Minneapolis on edge despite Trump’s de-escalation vow“I do not want to hear that “everything that’s been done here has been perfect”, Homan said, without referring specifically to the fatal shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.Homan noted that while no “agency is perfect” he did not come to Minneapolis to create “headlines”. The federal immigration enforcement surge is “going to improve because of changes we’re making”, he said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Klobuchar declares Minnesota governor run as Walz vows not to seek office again 29. January 2026 (14:51) Senator says she is running ‘for every Minnesotan who wants ICE and its abusive tactics out of the state we love’Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic US senator and one-time presidential candidate, announced she will run for governor of Minnesota, an expected move after the incumbent governor, Tim Walz, dropped out of the race in early January.Klobuchar’s announcement comes less than 24 hours after Walz said that he would never run for public office again. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Judge blocks charity’s challenge over trans people’s use of Hampstead ponds single-sex facilities 29. January 2026 (14:42) Judge says claim brought by Sex Matters should be made instead by individual who says they have faced discriminationA legal challenge brought by a charity over transgender people’s access to single-sex facilities at swimming ponds in Hampstead Heath has failed at the high court.Sex Matters, a UK-wide gender-critical campaign group, sought to take legal action against the City of London, which manages the bathing ponds in north London, arguing that allowing trans people to use the facilities for the gender with which they identified amounted to sex discrimination. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘My kids buy me food’: civil service pensioners offered emergency loans as nearly 90,000 face delays 29. January 2026 (14:40) Government to lend up to £10,000 to worst-affected new retirees as minister admits there is ‘unacceptable’ backlogNewly retired civil servants say they are struggling to pay bills and buy food because delays at their pension scheme have left them without an income for months.Pensioners have reported being forced to borrow money from family to pay for food and heating, with some saying they feared losing their homes because they could not afford their rent or mortgage. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
