Switzerland to hold five days of mourning after 40 killed in resort fire 01. January 2026 (20:02) Blaze that swept through crowded New Year’s Eve bar in Crans-Montana also injured 115 peopleLe Constellation bar fire in Switzerland: what we know so farSwitzerland will hold five days of mourning after an “unprecedented” fire tore through a crowded bar, killing about 40 people and injuring 115 who were celebrating at a New Year’s Eve party in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana.The country’s president, Guy Parmelin, described the blaze as one of the most traumatic events in Switzerland’s history. “It was a drama of an unknown scale,” he said, paying tribute to the many “young lives that were lost and interrupted”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cremation pyre in Africa thought to be world’s oldest containing adult remains 01. January 2026 (20:00) 9,500-year-old pyre uncovered in Malawi offers rare insight into rituals of ancient African hunter-gatherer groupsA cremation pyre built about 9,500 years ago has been discovered in Africa, offering a fresh glimpse into the complexity of ancient hunter-gatherer communities.Researchers say the pyre, discovered in a rock shelter at the foot of Mount Hora in northern Malawi, is thought to be the oldest in the world to contain adult remains, the oldest confirmed intentional cremation in Africa, and the first pyre to be associated with African hunter-gatherers. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘It happened in seconds’: sudden inferno brings horror to Swiss ski resort 01. January 2026 (19:43) New year party at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana turned into tragedy as flames shot across the ceilingThe new year had passed its first hour and the party in Le Constellation was in full swing with revellers dancing to thumping hip-hop. Dawn was far off and the teenagers and twenty-somethings were in no hurry to leave the bar. It was, after all, New Year’s Day.Outside, darkness draped Crans-Montana, a ski resort in the Swiss Alps with a reputation for posh luxury. Le Constellation, however, had few pretensions: a cavernous venue with TV screens on the top floor to watch sport, and a basement with low lighting, loud music and a dancefloor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump says he takes more aspirin than recommended but his ‘health is perfect’ 01. January 2026 (18:38) President tells Wall Street Journal in interview that his doctors encouraged him to take lower dose but he declinedDonald Trump takes “more aspirin” than his doctors recommend but he says “my health is perfect”, according to an interview given to the Wall Street Journal after the outlet recently questioned the 79-year-old president’s health.Trump told the Journal that the large dose of aspirin he take daily has causes him to bruise easily and he has been encouraged by his doctors to take a lower dose – but he declined the advice because he has been taking it for 25 years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Birmingham revellers turn out for non-existent fireworks – for second new year in a row 01. January 2026 (18:32) Hundreds of people gather in Centenary Square to see in 2026 after false claims online promise ‘dazzling’ displayThe new year got off to an anticlimactic start for hundreds of people in Birmingham who were tricked into attending a non-existent New Year’s Eve fireworks display. Again.Crowds of revellers gathered in the city’s Centenary Square, hoping to catch a glimpse of a pyrotechnics display to welcome in 2026. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Shameful’ 41,000 people reached UK by small boat last year, says Home Office 01. January 2026 (18:00) Second highest annual number of irregular arrivals on record reached British shores in 2025More than 41,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats last year, figures branded “shameful” by the Home Office have revealed.The government said 41,472 people arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel in 2025 – the second highest number on record after 45,774 made the journey in 2022. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Labour needs complete ‘reset’ to defeat Reform UK threat, says strategist 01. January 2026 (18:00) New Labour advertising guru Chris Powell says urgent plan needed to ‘wage and win the daily war for attention’Chris Powell: What is Keir Starmer doing to push back the populists? Not nearly enoughKeir Starmer does not have enough of a plan to defeat the “existential threat” that populism poses to UK democracy and should undertake a “fundamental reset”, New Labour’s former advertising strategist Sir Chris Powell has warned.Powell, who is the brother of Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, warned there were just three years to stop the “new and terrifying threat” of populists, suggesting Reform UK could represent a danger to democracy and national institutions. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Abortion may no longer be a top priority for Democratic voters ahead of 2026 midterms, polls show 01. January 2026 (18:00) Abortion was seen as one of Democrats’ strongest issues in the 2024 election – new polls indicate that may be shiftingUp to seven states will vote on abortion rights this year. But recent polling indicates that Democrats may not be able to count on the issue in their efforts to drive votes in the 2026 midterms, after making abortion rights the centerpiece of their pitch to voters in the elections that followed the fall of Roe v Wade.In 2024, 55% of Democrats said abortion was important to their vote, according to polling from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). But in October of this year, just 36% of Democrats said the same. By contrast, abortion remained about as important to Republicans in both 2024 and 2025, PRRI found. PRRI’s findings mirror a September poll from the 19th and SurveyMonkey, which found that the voters who cared most about abortion are people who want to see it banned. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two people confirmed dead as Iran protests turn into ‘battlefield’ 01. January 2026 (17:22) Nationwide protests against living conditions enter fifth day with security forces reportedly using live ammunitionThe largest protests in Iran for three years entered a fifth day on Thursday amid reports of deadly clashes between protesters and security forces, with state-affiliated media confirming at least two people had been killed.Although state media did not identify those killed, witnesses and videos circulating on social media appear to show protesters lying motionless on the ground after security forces opened fire. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two charities that received £1.1m from Sackler Trust kept anonymous to prevent ‘serious prejudice’ 01. January 2026 (17:11) British charitable trust that draws on OxyContin-maker fortune says it exempted names to protect reputationsTwo charities that received a combined total of more than £1.1m from the British charitable trust run by the Sackler family were kept out of its latest accounts to protect their reputations from “serious prejudice”.The trust, which draws on the Sackler fortune that came out of the US opioid crisis, gave £3.8m to arts, eduction and science bodies in 2024, according to its latest accounts, filed on New Year’s Eve. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
