Family seeks answers after ICE deported man to Costa Rica in vegetative state 11. January 2026 (13:36) Exclusive: Before Randall Gamboa Esquivel died, his health had deteriorated badly while he was in ICE custodyCosta Rican family demands answers after ICE deportation and death: ‘Have you ever smelled a cadaver?’The family of a Costa Rican man who was deported from the United States in a vegetative state and died shortly after arriving back in his home country is still urgently seeking answers from the authorities about what happened to him while he was in detention.Randall Gamboa Esquivel had left Costa Rica in good health and crossed the United States-Mexico border in December 2024, according to his family. However, Gamboa was detained by the US authorities for re-entering American soil unlawfully, as he had previously lived there undocumented between 2002 and 2013. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Peter Mandelson declines to apologise for association with Jeffrey Epstein 11. January 2026 (12:50) Former UK ambassador says he is sorry for system that does not give victims protection they are entitled to expectPeter Mandelson declined to apologise to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for remaining friends with the paedophile financier after his conviction but said he was sorry for “a system” that meant Epstein’s victims were ignored.The Labour peer, who was sacked as US ambassador when details of his support for Epstein emerged in September, gave an interview to the BBC on Sunday, saying he had paid a “calamitous” price for his association with the “evil monster”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Parents of critically ill children ‘crushed’ by lack of support, say campaigners 11. January 2026 (12:14) Frances and Ceri Menai-Davis, who lost their son Hugh to cancer, say gap in financial help is ‘devastating’Parents of critically ill children are being “crushed” by a lack of statutory financial support when they need to take time off work, the parents of a six-year-old boy who died of cancer have said.Hugh Menai-Davis was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease when he fell ill suddenly in October 2020. The boy, then aged five, had been happy and healthy before he developed severe stomach pains. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Syrian forces expel Kurdish fighters as US strikes Islamic State targets 11. January 2026 (12:06) Three hundred Kurds detained and further 400 evacuated following clashes in AleppoSyrian government forces have detained 300 Kurds and evacuated more than 400 Kurdish fighters after clashes in Aleppo, the interior ministry has said, as US and allied forces carried out separate “large-scale” strikes against Islamic State targets.An interior ministry official told Agence France-Presse that about 360 Kurdish fighters and 60 wounded had been bussed to the Kurds’ de facto autonomous zone in the north-east from the Sheikh Maqsoud district, the last area of Aleppo to fall to the army. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Council member who lost eye in George Floyd protest sees echo in Ice killing 11. January 2026 (12:00) Soren Stevenson says Minneapolis shooting ‘reminiscent in a scary way’ – but he and his neighbors are feeling activatedIt was Soren Stevenson’s third day in office as a Minneapolis city council member on Wednesday when Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by ICE on the edge of his district.On Thursday, he sat in an eerily quiet food court at lunchtime in Plaza Mexico, a mall of mostly Latino businesses in south Minneapolis, eating carne asada and talking about how his neighborhood was once again the center of a national firestorm. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mandelson praises Trump’s ‘graciousness’ and declines to apologise for friendship with Jeffrey Epstein – UK politics live 11. January 2026 (11:51) In first TV interview since he was sacked as UK ambassador to US, Mandelson says association with Epstein was ‘terrible mistake’ but adds: ‘I was not culpable’Laura Kuenssberg asks Peter Mandelson if he liked Donald Trump when he was the UK ambassador.Mandelson says he did like Trump, listing of numerous reasons why, but said he did not like all of his “language”.I like him, yes, I liked his humour, his graciousness…I liked his directness. You knew exactly what he was thinking and where you stood and what he wanted. And how he was proposing to engage, with you. Did I like in all his language? No, I didn’t, did I? Did he make me gasp? What’s going to happen is there’s going to be, another discussion, a lot of consultation and a lot of negotiation.At the end of the day, we are all going to have to wake up to the reality that the Arctic needs securing against China and Russia. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kemi Badenoch says Tories would ban under-16s from ‘addictive’ social media 11. January 2026 (11:46) Conservative leader backs Australian-inspired policy to stop platforms ‘profiting from their anxiety’The Conservatives are backing a ban on social media for under-16s in an attempt to prevent addictive platforms fuelling anxiety and distraction among teenagers.Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said she did not like the word ban but she wanted to see an age limit of 16 in the same way that Australia has introduced restrictions on social media for children. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK wants ‘peaceful transition’ of power in Iran, says minister 11. January 2026 (11:28) Heidi Alexander calls for end to violence while Tory leader says she would ‘not have an issue’ with regime changeThe UK wants to see a “peaceful transition” of power in Iran, a cabinet minister has said, after Donald Trump said he could support protesters with military force.As the US weighs the option of military strikes, Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, said she would not be drawn on America’s foreign policy towards Iran, where protests have been met with a violent police response. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s Greenland threats echo dark moments of cold war alliances 11. January 2026 (09:00) Soviet invasions of allies helped destroy the Warsaw Pact – Trump’s dangerous rhetoric risks repeating the mistake inside NatoDonald Trump’s echoing of Russia’s talking points in its war against Ukraine has long been a cause for alarm and dismay in the west.Now an even more disturbing Kremlin precedent dating from the cold war is being evoked by the US president’s fixation on taking over Greenland – that of carrying out attacks on military allies. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lloyds CEO Charlie Nunn latest banking boss in line for huge bonus hike 11. January 2026 (08:00) Barclays, HSBC and NatWest shareholders already approved big pay rises after post Brexit loosening of remuneration rulesLloyds Banking Group boss, Charlie Nunn, could be in line for a maximum annual pay packet worth more than £13m, as he becomes the latest boss to benefit from the UK’s controversial decision to lift a cap on banker bonuses.The bank’s remuneration committee has begun drafting a new three-year executive pay policy that, for the first time, will take advantage of looser pay rules that have sent potential payouts soaring at rival banks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
