The ‘Putinization’ of US foreign policy has arrived in Venezuela 03. January 2026 (20:22) Trump is no longer bending the rules – he is demolishing them, with consequences far beyond CaracasUS strikes on Venezuela – live updatesHardly anyone expected 2026 to be a year of peace, and it was barely two days old when the worst fears were confirmed.The overnight strikes on Venezuela, the abduction of its leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, and Donald Trump’s declaration that the US would “run” the country and sell its oil, have driven another truck through international law and global norms. But that is not even the most concerning thing about it. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US sees spike in flu cases in December, after most severe season since 2018 03. January 2026 (20:01) Not clear whether more people will get the flu this season, but more than 3,100 people have died in last year in USThe United States has seen the number of influenza cases climb significantly in December, coming after the most severe flu season since 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.It’s not yet clear whether there will be an increase in the total number of people who get the flu this season – or whether more people just got it at once in December – but more than 3,100 people died from the virus in the US in the year ending August 2025, according to the latest data from the CDC. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Union calls for end to tax breaks that make Australian housing ‘a vehicle for hoarding wealth’ 03. January 2026 (20:00) Manufacturing workers union wants capital gains tax discount to be reduced and then phased out and an effective end to negative gearingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA trade union has called for sweeping changes to housing tax breaks that it warns have “commodified” property and worsened inequality.The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) wants the capital gains discount phased out for investment properties and negative gearing effectively abolished. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Ten more years’: Helen Wilding, the artist sketching the whole of Melbourne’s Brunswick Street 03. January 2026 (20:00) Wilding has been drawing the same street for seven years, taking in cafes, pubs, homes, churches, markets, shops and a branch of the legendary A1 Lebanese bakery• More summer essentialsOnce a week you can find Helen Wilding and friends sitting on the side of the road, pens in hand. This time she’s perched on a tiny folding stool between a couple of pot plants, focusing intently on a plant nursery. It appears to be shut.Wilding has been sketching this same street in inner Melbourne for seven years. Stretching for a couple of kilometres through Fitzroy, one of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs, Brunswick Street has everything – cafes, pubs, homes, churches, markets, shops and a branch of the legendary A1 Lebanese bakery. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘It’s impossible not to feel relief’: UK Venezuelans on Maduro’s capture 03. January 2026 (19:43) Hope, fear and unease ripple through Britain’s Venezuelan community after US forces seized Nicolás MaduroUS strikes on Venezuela – live updatesWhen Cinzia de Santis woke up to the news that Nicolás Maduro had been captured by US troops in a pre-dawn assault on Caracas, she had mixed emotions. “My first reaction was he’s gone, which is kind of good news,” she said.But the manner in which the Venezuelan president and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken to New York to face criminal charges – in a military operation that, at this point, appears to have little to no legal or constitutional authority – has sparked concern. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Reform UK says it would impose whole-life jail terms on child rapists 03. January 2026 (18:29) Zia Yusuf announces plans for mandatory sentences with no parole, as party targets grooming gangsChild rapists would be jailed for life if Reform UK wins the next election, its head of policy has said.Under plans announced by Zia Yusuf on Saturday, the party would introduce mandatory whole-life orders for offenders convicted of the crime, making them ineligible for parole, as part of a crackdown on grooming gangs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘I’d try to hide it as best I could’: a UK man on his struggle with porn addiction 03. January 2026 (18:00) Ben Lennard talks about how his pornography use began to interfere with his life – and gradually get out of control More than half of UK therapists report rise in out of control porn useBen Lennard would make jokes with his friends about pornography, the kind of banter men in their mid-20s often share.But in hindsight, he understands the humour was a deflection tool to mask a problem that was destroying his life. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
More than half of UK therapists report rise in out of control porn use 03. January 2026 (18:00) Exclusive: Survey finds growing number ‘neglecting responsibilities’ or ‘damaging relationships’ as a result‘I’d try to hide it as best I could’: a UK man on his struggle with porn addictionMore than half of therapists who work with men with addiction have noticed a rise in out of control porn use over the past year, according to new data.Experts are urgently calling for a national strategy on pornography as a total of 53% of therapists surveyed by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) said they had seen a rise in people seeking help for problematic pornography use that was interfering with their life or driving them to seek out more extreme content. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Britain not involved in US Venezuela attack, says Keir Starmer 03. January 2026 (17:52) UK prime minister describes situation as fast-moving and is waiting for more details to emerge• US strikes on Venezuela – live updatesSir Keir Starmer has said the UK was not involved in the US operation in Venezuela, in which the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife were captured by special forces and the capital, Caracas, hit with airstrikes.Speaking for the first time since Donald Trump launched his extraordinary attack, the prime minister said he had not spoken to the US president, and that the UK was keen to establish “the facts” of what had happened. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Swiss prosecutors place bar managers under investigation after deadly fire 03. January 2026 (17:43) Suspected offences include homicide by negligence, causing bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligenceThe two managers of a bar where a blaze on New Year’s Day killed at least 40 people have been placed under criminal investigation, Swiss prosecutors have said.French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti owned and managed the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, which was crammed with young new year’s revellers when a blaze began at about 1.30am local time (12.30am GMT) on Thursday, killing about 40 people and injuring more than 100. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
