Oxfam trustee quits board over ‘cruel’ treatment of ex-boss 18. January 2026 (19:13) Balwant Singh calls for regulatory intervention after Halima Begum was forced out as chief executiveAn Oxfam trustee has resigned from the charity’s board over claims of governance failures and “cruel and inhumane” treatment of the organisation’s former boss.Dr Balwant Singh said he had “lost confidence in the board’s governance, integrity, transparency and accountability” a month after Halima Begum was forced out as chief executive. “These failures are now sufficiently serious and systemic to warrant external regulatory intervention,” Singh said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iran warns attack on Khamenei would be declaration of war 18. January 2026 (19:10) President issues warning amid speculation Donald Trump plans to assassinate or remove supreme leaderIran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, warned on Sunday that any attack on the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would be a declaration of war.In an apparent response to speculation that Donald Trump is considering an attempt to assassinate or remove Khamenei, Pezeshkian said in a post on X: “An attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK to create new ‘school of government’ to train senior civil servants 18. January 2026 (18:52) Establishment will give training in AI and other skills, more than a decade after David Cameron axed previous schoolMinisters will bring in a new “school of government” for senior civil servants to train them in AI and other skills – more than a decade after David Cameron axed the previous college for Whitehall.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, will announce the new body in a speech on Tuesday setting out the government’s plans to “rewire” the civil service for modern times. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s calls to seize Greenland ignite fresh criticism from Republican party 18. January 2026 (18:40) Thom Tillis, Lisa Murkowski, Mike Pence and others say action could hurt US economy and strain Nato allianceDonald Trump’s escalating calls for the United States to seize or otherwise obtain Greenland has ignited fresh criticism from the president’s own Republican party, with some saying it could hurt the US economically or strain the Nato military alliance.Such Republicans included US senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, who were part of a bipartisan group to travel to Denmark to discuss concerns in Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Uganda’s president calls opponents 'terrorists' in victory speech 18. January 2026 (18:17) Yoweri Museveni wins seventh term but poll criticised by observers and rights groups over repression of opposition and internet blackoutUganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, fresh from winning a seventh term in office at 81, said on Sunday that the opposition were “terrorists” who had tried to use violence to overturn the election results.Official results showed Museveni winning a landslide with 72% of the vote, but the poll was criticised by African election observers and rights groups due to the heavy repression of the opposition and an internet blackout. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK politics ‘constantly suffering’ from online disinformation, says Labour MP 18. January 2026 (17:38) Emily Thornberry says risk posed to British democracy by bot farms and biased algorithms requires actionOnline disinformation campaigns, including Iranian bot farms promoting Scottish nationalism and biased algorithms depicting London as “an overwhelmingly dangerous” city, are seeking to undermine British democracy, a senior Labour MP has warned.Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said online disinformation about the UK was being promoted by Donald Trump and other US and UK politicians, and Britain was “constantly suffering from disinformation campaigns from both state and non-state actors”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cancer charity to offer nutrition lessons to UK patients 18. January 2026 (17:23) Dietary support can help those for whom disease affects taste of food and appetite and can lead to weight lossA leading cancer charity will offer nutrition lessons to patients across the UK after a trial showed the classes help them to negotiate the disease’s dietary challenges – and cut NHS waiting times.Many people with cancer find that the disease or their treatment changes the taste of their food, dulls their appetite or leads to them losing weight. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
White House press secretary tells CBS ‘we’ll sue your ass off’ if it edits Trump interview 18. January 2026 (17:08) Karoline Leavitt was recorded warning network to put out new interview with president in full and without editsDonald Trump’s White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, was recently recorded warning CBS News to broadcast a new interview with the president in full and without edits – or “we’ll sue your ass off”.Trump “said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full,’” Leavitt told CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil after he had interviewed the president, according to an audio exchange first reported on by the New York Times. The 13-minute exclusive segment aired on Tuesday, months after CBS’ parent company Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16m over its editing of an unrelated interview ahead of the 2024 election that vaulted him to a second presidency. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Simple blood test can predict which breast cancer treatment will work best, study finds 18. January 2026 (16:26) Exclusive: DNA test means patients could be offered most effective treatment first, boosting their chances of beating the diseaseScientists have developed a simple DNA blood test that can predict how well patients with breast cancer will respond to treatment.More than 2 million people globally each year are diagnosed with the disease, which is the world’s most prevalent cancer. Although treatments have improved in recent decades, it is not easy to know which ones will work best for which patients. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Counterprotesters chase off far-right activists at pro-ICE rally in Minneapolis 18. January 2026 (16:03) Jake Lang’s anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-ICE rally near City Hall outnumbered by hundreds of counterprotesters Hundreds of counterprotesters on Saturday drowned out a far-right activist’s attempt to hold a small rally in support of the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.Conservative influencer Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstration, saying on social media beforehand that he intended to “burn a Quran” on the steps of City Hall. But it was not clear if he carried out that plan. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
