More than 60 Labour MPs urge Starmer to back under-16s social media ban 18. January 2026 (16:00) Exclusive: Letter signed by figures on right and left of party says UK should follow Australia’s example by enacting banMore than 60 Labour MPs have written to Keir Starmer urging him to back a social media ban for under-16s, with peers due to vote on the issue this week.The MPs, who include select committee chairs, former frontbenchers and MPs from the right and left of the party, are looking to put pressure on the prime minister as calls mount for the UK to follow Australia’s precedent. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘It feels like gruel’: Lib Dem MPs growing frustrated by Ed Davey approach 18. January 2026 (14:38) Exclusive: no move yet against leader but some say party ‘too academic at times’ and needs coherent national policySignificant numbers of Liberal Democrat MPs are becoming frustrated by what they view as an overly cautious approach under Ed Davey and the party’s failure to spell out a national messages to voters.Some estimate that as many as half of the Lib Dems’ 72-strong group of MPs feel this way. While there is no move against Davey, who led the party to its best election result in a century in 2024, MPs said this could change if there was no progress. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EU diplomats to hold crisis talks over Trump Greenland tariff ‘blackmail’ 18. January 2026 (14:35) Emmanuel Macron to urge EU to use its powerful anti-coercion instrument if US goes ahead with tariffsEurope live – latest updatesSenior European diplomats are due to hold crisis talks after Donald Trump said he was targeting eight European nations with tariffs over their opposition to his attempt to annex Greenland.Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said Trump’s tariffs would be a mistake, and the Dutch foreign minister, David van Weel, described the US president’s threats to allies as “blackmail”, as reaction from European leaders continued to pile up. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
World stock markets brace for turbulence after Trump’s latest tariff shock 18. January 2026 (14:04) Losses on stocks likely with precious metals forecast to spike even higher after move to impose 25% levies on European alliesTrump threatens 25% tariff on allies until Denmark sells GreenlandAnalysis: tariff threats are bad, but the uncertainty is far worseGlobal stock markets are bracing for falls when trading resumes on Monday after Donald Trump threatened eight European countries with fresh tariffs until they support his ambition to acquire Greenland.The US president’s plan to impose new trade levies of 10% on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland from 1 February, rising to 25% on 1 June, is creating fear in the markets, and among European businesses. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Israel far-right ministers reject US-backed postwar Gaza panel 18. January 2026 (13:43) Finance minister says Netanyahu should back annexation and settlement, and attacks Turkey and Qatar’s role on Gaza ‘executive board’Far-right members of Israel’s governing coalition on Sunday rejected a US-backed plan for postwar governance in Gaza, criticising their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for failing to annex the Palestinian territory and establish new Israeli settlements in the territory.After the announcement of the White House’s pick of world leaders who will join the so-called Gaza “board of peace”, which includes representatives of Turkey and Qatar, both of which have been critical of Israel’s war in the strip, Israeli far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, described Netanyahu’s “unwillingness to take responsibility for Gaza” as “the original sin”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Portugal votes in tight presidential race with far right poised to reach runoff 18. January 2026 (13:32) Opinion polls suggest three candidates, including anti-immigration Chega party leader, close to final twoPortuguese voters queued at polling stations on Sunday to elect a new president, with opinion surveys showing three candidates, including the leader of the far-right Chega party, close to a spot in a probable top-two runoff.In the five decades since Portugal threw off its fascist dictatorship, a presidential election has only once before – in 1986 – required a runoff, highlighting how fragmented the political landscape has become with the rise of the far right and voters’ disenchantment with mainstream parties. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Epstein survivors say financier lured them with promise of college education 18. January 2026 (13:00) Multiple survivors claim Epstein dangled admission to top universities to ensnare them in his sexual abuse networkA New York City artist who said Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell shopped her around to men is among the survivors claiming that Epstein used the lure of a university education to ensnare her in their sexual abuse network.Rina Oh was a 21-year-old art student when she was introduced to Epstein in 2000 by Lisa Phillips, a model and Epstein survivor who has since emerged as a powerful voice in the survivors’ network pressuring for full accountability in the long-running money, sex and power scandal. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Growing sense of embarrassment at Fifa over Donald Trump peace prize 18. January 2026 (13:00) Mid-level and senior officials uncomfortable with awardFifa says it still ‘strongly’ supports the peace prizeThere is a growing sense of embarrassment among mid-level and senior officials within Fifa over the awarding of its peace prize to Donald Trump. The US president was handed the award at the World Cup draw in Washington DC in December with the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, telling Trump: “We want to see hope, we want to see unity, we want to see a future. This is what we want to see from a leader and you definitely deserve the first Fifa Peace Prize.”Since then, the US has launched airstrikes across Venezuela and captured the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flown them to the US, where he was put in jail. Maduro appeared in court on 5 January, pleading not guilty to drugs, weapons and “narco-terrorism” charges. Trump has also threatened to invade Greenland because he said the US needs the territory “very badly”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump tariff threats are bad, but the uncertainty they instil is much worse 18. January 2026 (12:45) The spectre of rising inflation, slowing global trade and jittery markets has re-emerged as US economic policy divorces itself from any logicTrump threatens 25% tariff on European allies until Denmark sells GreenlandDonald Trump’s latest tariff threat, in pursuit of his goal of seizing Greenland, is a political nightmare for European leaders, but it could create a severe economic headache too.As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has repeatedly pointed out since Trump’s trade war began in earnest last year, whatever the ultimate level of tariffs, uncertainty takes its own toll. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EU ambassadors summoned for emergency talks after Trump threatens tariffs over Greenland - Europe live 18. January 2026 (12:01) European leaders hit back at Trump ‘blackmail’ as president escalates plan for the US to acquire GreenlandThe United States will also suffer if president Donald Trump implements threats to impose tariffs on European countries opposing his plans to acquire Greenland, a French minister said on Sunday.“In this escalation of tariffs, he has a lot to lose as well, as do his own farmers and industrialists,” French agriculture minister Annie Genevard told broadcasters Europe 1 and CNews. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
