Donald Trump warns of ‘big price to pay’ if Caracas fails to toe line 04. January 2026 (21:20) Washington keeping 15,000-strong military presence in Caribbean in case interim president hinders US objectivesUS politics liveThe prospect of the United States seizing direct control of Venezuela appeared to recede on Sunday after the shocking seizure of President Nicolás Maduro – but US officials said Washington was keeping a 15,000-strong force in the Caribbean and might make a fresh military intervention if Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, did not accommodate their demands.While Rodríguez kept up a defiant tone in public, the substance of conversations she had had in private with US officials was not clear. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Damien Martyn awake from coma in ‘unbelievable’ recovery from meningitis 04. January 2026 (20:40) Cricket veteran in good spirits and hopeful of moving out of intensive care as recovery continuesDamien Martyn is awake and talking, one week after being placed into an induced coma in a Gold Coast hospital with meningitis. The 54-year-old has been able to talk with friends and family, including ex-teammate Adam Gilchrist, and is said to be overwhelmed with the support offered.“It’s been an unbelievable turn of events in the last 48 hours,” Gilchrist said in a statement. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anne Frank stepsister and Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss dies aged 96 04. January 2026 (20:19) King Charles leads tributes to Holocaust education campaigner, who he met in 2022, saying he and Camilla ‘admired her deeply’King Charles has paid tribute to Anne Frank’s stepsister, Eva Schloss, who has died at the age of 96.The king, who danced with Schloss while visiting a Jewish community centre in north London in 2022, said he and Queen Camilla had “admired her deeply” and he was “privileged and proud” to have known her. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘They lied to our face’: Democrats decry Trump’s military raid on Venezuela 04. January 2026 (19:12) Lawmakers call US intervention and capture of Maduro ‘wildly illegal’ and say it lacked congressional approvalTrump’s Venezuela intervention: latest updatesDemocratic leaders responded with fury on Sunday to Donald Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela, slamming it as an illegal act carried out in the absence of required congressional approval that would lead to disaster for the American people.Top Democrats took to the Sunday TV political talk shows to express their dismay at the lack of any prior notification of lawmakers about the audacious military raid 24 hours earlier. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Top Republicans backpedal from Trump claim that US will run Venezuela 04. January 2026 (19:02) Secretary of State Marco Rubio defends capture of Nicolás Maduro and says US has ‘leverage’ over countryMarco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and prominent Republicans swiftly backpedaled from Donald Trump’s assertion that the US will run Venezuela in transition after US forces snatched the president, Nicolás Maduro, and brought him to the US to face federal criminal charges.Rubio appeared on numerous US politics shows on Sunday morning to defend the US operation in the early hours of Saturday to capture Maduro and his wife despite critics calling the operation illegal on multiple levels and the White House failing to demonstrate how it would run the South American nation. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Girls aged 14 and 15 among 24 victims of Crans-Montana fire identified 04. January 2026 (18:30) Police yet to release names as relatives being notified, while hundreds of people join silent procession in Swiss townVisual guide: what happened in Crans-Montana?Investigators have identified 24 of the 40 people killed in the New Year’s Eve bar fire in Switzerland, including children as young as 14 and 15.Police in Valais canton said on Sunday they had managed to identify 16 more bodies from the blaze in Crans-Montana, one of the worst disasters in recent Swiss history, with forensic work particularly slow-going due to the horrific burns sustained by most of the victims. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘The perfect storm’: Trump has left the US less prepared for natural disasters, experts say 04. January 2026 (18:00) Emergency managers say the US president has presided over a dangerous erosion in US capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disastersDonald Trump has presided over a dangerous erosion in US capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, according to emergency management experts.The first year of his second term was marked by crackdowns on climate science that produced world-class weather forecasts and the gutting of frontline federal agencies - policies that have left the country, already struggling to keep pace with severe storms, even more at risk. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Leftwing militants claim responsibility for arson attack on Berlin power grid 04. January 2026 (17:34) Protest over climate crisis and AI has cut power to tens of thousands of homes which may take days to fully restoreGerman leftwing militants protesting over the climate crisis and AI have claimed responsibility for an arson attack that cut power to tens of thousands of households in Berlin.The fire that broke out on a bridge across the Teltow canal in the south-west of the capital early on Saturday could deprive up to 35,000 homes and 1,900 businesses of electricity – and in many cases heat – until 8 January, the grid company Stromnetz Berlin said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Snow forecast hits Scottish schools and cold health alerts in place for England 04. January 2026 (17:13) Flights cancelled and travel warnings issued with 30cm of snow expected on high ground in northern Scotland Transport delays, treacherous driving conditions and school closures will greet many people as they return to work and study after the Christmas break, with winter weather warnings in place across the UK.Four amber warnings for heavy snow in northern Scotland are in place until Monday morning, while yellow snow and ice warnings cover all of Northern Ireland, Wales and much of England. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
European leaders appear torn in face of new world order after Venezuela attack 04. January 2026 (17:00) Leaders try to focus on what comes next, as backing for ejection of Maduro mingles uncomfortably with voicing of support for international lawVenezuela crisis: latest updatesEuropean leaders emerged divided and torn as they tried to welcome the ejection of Venezuela’s authoritarian president, but still uphold the principles of international law that did not appear to allow Donald Trump to capture Nicolás Maduro, let alone declare that the US will run Venezuela and control its oil industry.Europe tried to focus on the principle of a democratic transition, pointing out that the continent had not recognised Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela since what were widely regarded as fraudulent elections in June 2024. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
