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)
Euston HS2 back on track, say ministers as final tunnelling begins 27. January 2026 (19:43) First of two 1,600-tonne boring machines drilling the 4.5 miles from Old Oak Common station switched on in LondonMinisters have pledged that a redeveloped Euston HS2 station will be big enough to “serve the nation” as tunnelling began for the last miles of high-speed railway into central London.Excavating the 4.5-mile tunnels from Old Oak Common in west London is expected to take between 12 and 18 months – although details of the terminus, and how it will be funded, are yet to be revealed. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
With Burnham blocked, Labour’s attention turns back to Angela Rayner 27. January 2026 (19:37) Keir Starmer’s former number two will be a focus of the renewed speculation about party’s future leadershipThe political world abhors a vacuum of intrigue and gossip. The scuppering of Andy Burnham’s return to Westminster has therefore brought renewed attention to other potential successors to Keir Starmer. That is in turn likely to involve renewed scrutiny of Angela Rayner.Starmer’s former number two and housing secretary has been quietly loyal since she resigned as a minister nearly five months ago after what she said was the inadvertent underpayment of stamp duty on a flat in Hove. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Philip Glass withdraws world premiere of his Lincoln symphony from Kennedy Center 27. January 2026 (19:29) Composer says values of Trump-dominated Kennedy Center ‘are in direct conflict’ with symphony’s messagePhilip Glass, the celebrated US composer, has withdrawn the world premiere of his latest symphony at Washington DC’s John F Kennedy Center in protest of Donald Trump’s presidency.In a statement on Tuesday, the 88-year-old composer said: “After thoughtful consideration, I have decided to withdraw my Symphony No 15 ‘Lincoln’ from the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Symphony No 15 is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the symphony. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
One in four adults in England do not drink alcohol 27. January 2026 (17:58) Survey suggests sobriety is on rise, with gender and regional differences in proportion of non-drinkersOne in four adults in England do not drink alcohol, with increasing numbers of men and young people deciding to stay sober, according to a survey.The figures, which come from a questionnaire of 10,000 people as part of the Health Survey for England, found that almost a quarter (24%) of adults in England had not drunk alcohol in 2024, an increase from just under a fifth (19%) in 2022. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Longtime DC House delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton announces retirement 27. January 2026 (17:55) The 88-year-old Democrat and advocate for Washington DC statehood says she will not seek another term in CongressEleanor Holmes Norton, a non-voting House delegate representing Washington DC, announced on Tuesday that she would not seek another term in Congress.“With fire in my soul and the facts on my side, I’ve raised hell about the injustice of denying 700K taxpaying Americans in DC – the same rights given to residents of the states for 33 years,” Norton, 88, said in a post on X that included her full statement. “Now, with pride in our accomplishments, gratitude to DC, and confidence in the next generation, I announced I’ll retire at the end of this term.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
