Keir Starmer offered place on Trump’s Gaza ‘peace board’ 13. January 2026 (20:47) Prime minister is yet to receive a formal invitation, but the Guardian has been told that Starmer is expected to acceptKeir Starmer has been offered a place on the Gaza “peace board” set up by Donald Trump as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.The prime minister was asked to sit on the board by a senior member of the Trump administration. The Guardian has been told that Starmer is expected to accept but has not yet received a formal invitation, while conversations about the exact makeup of the board are continuing. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
LGB+ people in England and Wales ‘much’ more likely to die by suicide than straight people 13. January 2026 (20:33) ONS analysis also shows LGB+ people more likely to die from drug overdoses and alcohol-related diseaseLGB+ people are much more likely to die by taking their own lives, drug overdoses and alcohol-related disease than their straight counterparts, the first official figures of their kind show.The 2021 census in England and Wales asked people aged 16 and above about their sexual orientation for the first time. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has now analysed differences in causes of mortality from March 2021 to November 2024. The ONS research uses the acronym LGB+ rather than LGBTQ+. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Football fan took his own life after using illegal ‘predatory’ betting sites, inquest told 13. January 2026 (20:12) Coroner’s court hears how Ollie Long, 36, became ensnared in debt after using offshore operators run by ‘international criminal networks’A football fan took his own life after his love of the sport fuelled a gambling addiction that led him to bet with illegal offshore operators that “prey on” vulnerable people, a coroner has heard.Ollie Long, from Wendover in Buckinghamshire, died in February 2024, aged 36, after struggling with his addiction for eight years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Scottish budget: SNP government cuts taxes for lowest earners 13. January 2026 (20:06) Ministers will hope package of measures can aid efforts to retain power in May’s Holyrood electionsMinisters in Scotland have cut taxes for the lowest earners by a modest £11 a year, as the government dug into its reserves, cut spending and increased borrowing to fund new election pledges.With four months to go before the Holyrood elections, the Scottish National party government raised the thresholds at which people earning less than £33,500 a year will pay income tax in Scotland by 7.4%. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dealing with post-Brexit paperwork ‘pure hell’, shipping head tells MPs 13. January 2026 (19:48) Toby Ovens of Broughton Transport called Brexit a nightmare, and said he hoped a reset with the EU would mean ‘light at the end of the tunnel’British vets have been forced to chase lorries down the motorway on their way to Dover due to the “pure hell” of Brexit paperwork needed by inspectors in Calais, MPs have been told.Toby Ovens of Broughton Transport told the business and trade committee that Brexit has been a costly and logistic nightmare, and hopes of a reset with the EU represented “light at the end of the tunnel”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
China’s London super-embassy almost certain to get go-ahead next week 13. January 2026 (19:26) Approval shortly before Keir Starmer’s trip to Beijing would come despite widespread concern among Labour MPsA vast new Chinese embassy complex in east London is almost certain to be formally approved next week despite renewed worries among Labour MPs about potential security risks and the effect on Hong Kong and Uyghur exiles in the capital.The green light for the super-embassy at Royal Mint Court near Tower Bridge would smooth relations before Keir Starmer’s visit to China, which is expected to take place at the end of January, but officials insist there has been no political input in the planning process. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Hundreds of gunshot eye injuries found in one Iranian hospital amid brutal crackdown on protests 13. January 2026 (19:15) Doctors in Tehran tell of overwhelmed medical staff as violent crackdown intensifiesIran crisis live – latest updatesAn ophthalmologist in Tehran has documented more than 400 eye injuries from gunshots in a single hospital, as overwhelmed medical staff struggle to cope with the toll of an increasingly violent crackdown on nationwide protests by Iranian authorities.Three doctors, in messages forwarded to the Guardian on Monday, described overwhelmed hospitals and emergency wings overflowing with protesters who had been shot. Medical staff said the gunshot wounds were mostly concentrated on protesters’ eyes and heads – a tactic that rights groups said authorities used against demonstrators in the country’s 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Louisiana officials seek to extradite abortion provider from California 13. January 2026 (19:09) Louisiana law enforcement officials allege California doctor mailed abortion pills to a woman in the southern stateLouisiana law enforcement officials are seeking to extradite a California doctor who, officials say, sent abortion pills to a woman living in the southern state.The extradition order for the doctor, Remy Coeytaux, marks the latest salvo in the escalating battle between states that protect abortion rights and those that ban the procedure. While Louisiana is one of more than a dozen states that have banned almost all abortions, California and a handful of other blue states have enacted so-called “shield laws”, which aim to protect abortion providers from out-of-state extradition or prosecution. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Bill and Hillary Clinton refuse to testify in House Epstein investigation 13. January 2026 (18:48) James Comer said he would move to hold former US president in contempt for not appearing for testimonyBill and Hillary Clinton announced they would not comply with a subpoena demanding congressional testimony about their relationships to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, while launching an extraordinary attack on Republicans and Donald Trump.The Republican-led House oversight committee in August subpoenaed the former president and first lady after its chair, James Comer, announced the panel would review the government’s handling of Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by what was determined to be suicide while awaiting trial in 2019. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Gavin Newsom comes out swinging against California billionaire tax 13. January 2026 (18:42) Ballot initiative, opposed by the ultra-wealthy, would levy one-time 5% tax on individuals worth more than $1bnCalifornia’s governor, Gavin Newsom, renewed his pledge this week to fight a controversial plan to tax billionaires in the state. The proposed ballot measure, which could go to voters in November, has gained public attention recently amid heavy criticism and threats from tech moguls to leave the state.In interviews with Politico and the New York Times published on Monday, Newsom described his office’s efforts to kill the proposed billionaire tax and told the Times he would “do what I have to do to protect the state”. As a direct-to-voters ballot initiative, Newsom would not have the power to veto the tax if the proposal passed. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
