‘Keep slaying the dragon inside’: Simon Armitage pens poem for World Cancer Day 27. January 2026 (22:15) Poet laureate tackles ‘daunting’ commission from Yorkshire Cancer Research to mark charity’s centenary yearCancer is a subject the poet laureate Simon Armitage has always shied away from. “I find it very daunting,” he said. “I’ve lost friends and family to cancer.”But when he was commissioned to write a poem to mark World Cancer Day, he was forced to confront the realities of the disease. “I think I saw part of my task as being slightly demystifying and maybe de-mythologising or de-demonising cancer a little bit to myself,” Armitage said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mountain lion roaming San Francisco’s streets captured by wildlife officials 27. January 2026 (21:55) Before wild feline was caught, authorities had advised residents to slowly back away if they encountered itWildlife officials in San Francisco captured a young mountain lion that was spotted roaming the streets of the city.Authorities issued a warning to residents late on Monday, saying a mountain lion had been seen walking the streets in the Pacific Heights neighborhood and advised people to slowly back away from the animal if they encountered it. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Bari Weiss tries to win CBS staffers’ trust amid ‘noise’ over 60 Minutes segment 27. January 2026 (21:17) In her first town hall, Weiss expressed some regret over her decision to pull 60 Minutes segment at the last minuteDuring her first address to CBS News employees as editor in chief, Bari Weiss acknowledged that there had been “a lot of noise” about her tumultuous tenure and said that some staffers might decide they don’t support her or want to continue working at the company.“I just want to start by saying: I get it. And I get why, in the face of all this tumult and noise, you might feel uncertain or skeptical about me and about what I’m aiming to do here,” Weiss said on Tuesday morning, according to an audio recording of her comments obtained by the Guardian. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US announces multi-day aerial military drills in the Middle East amid Iran tensions 27. January 2026 (21:09) Exercises described by President Trump as an ‘armada’ to be led by the USS Abraham Lincoln amid standoffThe US has announced plans to hold multi-day military exercises in the Middle East as it deploys what Donald Trump has called an “armada” led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to the region as part of a tense standoff with Iran.The display of US air power was announced as the White House has suggested it could launch new strikes on Iran after the government’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that has left thousands dead and many more in detention with their fates uncertain. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Commissioner says he had ‘no legal power’ to sack police chief over Maccabi Tel Aviv ban 27. January 2026 (21:00) ‘It’s not an episode of The Apprentice, there has to be a lawful process’, says West Midlands police chief commissionerThe West Midlands police and crime commissioner has said politicians provided a “degree of fiction” regarding his power to sack a police chief over the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, adding it was not an “episode of The Apprentice”.The home secretary withdrew her confidence in chief constable Craig Guildford after an official inquiry found West Midlands police had “exaggerated” intelligence to justify a ban on fans attending the Europa League match against Aston Villa last year, leading to calls for the police and crime commissioner to sack him. Despite this, Guildford remained in post for a further two days until he announced his retirement. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pressure grows on ministers to end secrecy over UK medicines deal with Trump 27. January 2026 (20:53) Critics say government hiding true cost of deal ‘despite being forced to admit financial burden will grow year on year’Ministers are under growing pressure to end the “secrecy” around the UK’s deal with the US over the cost of medicines, which critics claim is “a Trump shakedown of the NHS”.MPs from Labour and several opposition parties want the government to publish its impact assessment of the agreement it reached last month with Donald Trump’s administration. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Top Democrats demand Trump fire Kristi Noem or she’ll face impeachment 27. January 2026 (20:52) Trump defends homeland security secretary but Hakeem Jeffries says: ‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way’US politics live – latest updatesTop House Democrats on Tuesday told Donald Trump to fire Kristi Noem or they would launch impeachment proceedings against the homeland security secretary, in response to the weekend killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.The ultimatum came after a majority of the House Democratic caucus signed on to articles of impeachment introduced earlier in the month in response to the shooting death of Renee Good, who, like Pretti, was a US citizen killed by federal agents during the increasingly violent immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota’s largest city. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Senedd passes budget after Welsh Labour makes deal with Plaid Cymru 27. January 2026 (20:42) All government departments and local authorities will get real-terms funding increases after Plaid agrees to abstainCardiff Bay’s Labour administration has managed to pass the Welsh budget after striking a deal with Plaid Cymru, releasing a real-terms funding increase for all government departments and local authorities before May’s Senedd elections.With 100 days to go before the contest, in which polls suggest the pro-independence Plaid Cymru will end more than 100 years of Labour hegemony in Wales, the government has allocated £27.5bn in spending for 2026-2027, up £1.2bn on the previous fiscal year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mexico’s president says cancellation of oil shipment to Cuba is ‘sovereign’ decision 27. January 2026 (19:57) Claudia Sheinbaum denied move was response to pressure from the US, after Trump said ‘zero’ oil would go to CubaMexico has cancelled a shipment of oil to Cuba, the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, appeared to confirm on Tuesday, but she insisted the decision was “sovereign” and not a response to pressure from the US.Fuel shortages are causing increasingly severe blackouts in Cuba, and Mexico has been the island’s biggest oil supplier since the US blocked shipments from Venezuela last month. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brothers were predators masquerading as party boys, New York court hears 27. January 2026 (19:50) Defense in sexual abuse trial of property magnates Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander urges jurors to reject ‘monstrous story’Three brothers, two of them real estate agents who catered to the jet-set crowd, used a playbook over a 12-year stretch that sometimes involved drugging women and girls before raping them, a prosecutor told a New York jury on Tuesday in an opening statement.Assistant US attorney Madison Smyser said the brothers used “whatever means necessary” including luxury accommodations, flights, drugs, alcohol and sometimes brute force to lure women into situations where they could be raped. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
