US plan to exploit Venezuela’s oil could eat up 13% of carbon budget to keep 1.5C limit 12. January 2026 (17:54) Exclusive: ClimatePartner analysis shows how move would risk plunging Earth further into climate catastropheUS plans to exploit Venezuela’s oil reserves could by 2050 consume more than a tenth of the world’s remaining carbon budget to limit global heating to 1.5C, according to an exclusive analysis.The calculation highlights how any moves to further exploit the South American nation’s oil reserves – the largest in the world, at least on paper – would put increasing pressure on climate goals, and risk plunging the globe further into climate catastrophe. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Greenland can’t ‘under any circumstances’ accept US takeover and is boosting defences 12. January 2026 (17:52) Self-governing island stresses it is member of Nato, which is looking at improving Arctic defences, through DenmarkGreenland’s government has insisted it “cannot under any circumstances accept” Donald Trump’s desire to take control of Greenland, as Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said the organisation was working on ways to bolster Arctic security.At the start of a critical week for the vast Arctic island, a largely self-governing part of Denmark, the US president restated his interest in the strategically located, mineral-rich territory, saying the US would take it “one way or the other”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Family pays tribute to ‘gentlest soul’ taxi driver killed in Bolton head-on collision 12. January 2026 (17:44) Masrob Ali, 54, who died in crash that also claimed lives of three teenagers, described as ‘the kindest man’ A taxi driver who was among four people killed in a head-on collision in Greater Manchester was “the gentlest soul” and was not at fault for the crash, his family has said.Masrob Ali, 54, died when his taxi collided with a Seat Leon travelling on the wrong side of a residential road in Bolton shortly before 1am on Sunday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s attempts to influence Fed risk ‘70’s-style inflation and global backlash’ 12. January 2026 (17:42) Analysts warn that White House pressure on US central bank to cut interest rates could put economy in dangerBusiness live – latest updatesDonald Trump’s attempts to influence the US Federal Reserve could risk plunging America into a period of 1970s-style inflation and trigger a global backlash in financial markets, economists have warned.After the US Department of Justice (DoJ) launched a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, the current Fed chair, investors said efforts by the White House to pressure the US central bank to cut interest rates would put the world economy at risk. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How Iran’s protest movement has gained increasing momentum – a visual guide 12. January 2026 (17:11) Demonstrations initially focused on economic issues but as they have grown and become political the regime has responded with deadly forceIran crisis live – latest updatesA protest movement in Iran that started as a small demonstration by shopkeepers in Tehran over a weakening currency has exploded into the largest nationwide uprising in years against the country’s theocratic leaders.Fearing a threat to its decades-old grip on the country, the government has responded with deadly force. Rights groups have reported that hundreds of people have been killed by security forces and the state-backed Basij militia. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Imprisoned hunger striker linked to Palestine Action tells friend: ‘I’m dying’ 12. January 2026 (16:36) Francesca Nadin visited Heba Muraisi, 31, in a Wakefield prison at the weekend and says ‘her body is shutting down’UK politics live – latest updatesA prisoner linked to Palestine Action who is on day 71 of a hunger strike has told a friend: “I’m dying.”Francesca Nadin visited Heba Muraisi, 31, at HMP New Hall, in Wakefield, on Saturday for the first time since the protest began and said she was taken aback by her friend’s appearance. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump annexation of Greenland ‘would be end of Nato’, says Chris Murphy 12. January 2026 (16:30) Democrat also says president is ‘spending no time thinking about the actual crises’ like food aid and health costsDonald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland represents an existential crisis for Nato, the senior Democratic US senator Chris Murphy has warned, with the demise of the decades-old alliance of western nations certain to follow any American military intervention.“It would be the end of Nato, right? Nato would have an obligation to defend Greenland,” the Connecticut senator and member of the chamber’s foreign relations committee said on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. Murphy added that it would mean “clearly … we would be at war with Europe, with England, with France”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Man who infected woman with HIV after stopping treatment is jailed 12. January 2026 (16:04) Luke Davis, 31, found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm on woman whom he did not tell about diagnosisA man who infected a woman with HIV after he stopped his treatment and did not tell her about his diagnosis has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.Luke Davis, 31, was found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm on the woman, who described being diagnosed with HIV as a “life sentence”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Spanish police seize 10 tonnes of cocaine hidden in ship off Canary Islands 12. January 2026 (16:03) Haul represents country’s largest seizure at sea, with officers digging bales out from vast amount of saltSpanish police have made their largest seizure of cocaine at sea after finding almost 10 tonnes of the drug hidden among a cargo of salt on a merchant ship off the Canary Islands.Detectives and anti-drug prosecutors investigating a multinational criminal group alleged to be exporting “enormous quantities” of cocaine from South America to Europe had identified a suspect ship that had set off from Brazil, the Policía Nacional said in a statement on Monday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie accuses Lagos hospital of negligence after son’s death 12. January 2026 (15:26) Lawyers for Adichie and her husband serve Euracare hospital with legal notice after death of 21-month-oldThe Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has accused a Lagos hospital of negligence after the death of one of her 21-month-old twin boys.Nkanu Nnamdi died on 6 January after a brief illness. He was one of twin boys born to Adichie and Ivara Esege, a doctor, in 2024 by surrogacy, eight years after the birth of their first child, a girl. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
