Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before Canada-China ties nosedived in 2018 China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian official said on Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as prime minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing. Schellenberg’s lawyer Zhang Dongshuo, reached in Beijing on Saturday, confirmed the decision was announced on Friday by China’s highest court. Continue reading...

Marius Borg Høiby pleads not guilty in court while pressure mounts against his crown princess mother over Epstein friendship There will be little to celebrate when Norway’s King Harald, Europe’s oldest reigning monarch, turns 89 later this month. Two multigenerational crises have rocked the institution, causing its popularity to dip in polls of Norwegians and bringing a public glare that far exceeds that of previous scandals. Continue reading...

Jon Hallford, condemned in court as ‘monster’, stashed decaying bodies and gave grieving families fake ashes A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed 189 decomposing bodies in a building over four years and gave grieving families fake ashes was sentenced to 40 years in state prison Friday. During the sentencing hearing, family members told Judge Eric Bentley they have had recurring nightmares about decomposing flesh and maggots since learning what happened to their loved ones. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president says faster work also needed to restore power, while Trump says ‘something could be happening’ after latest round of talks. What we know on day 1,445 Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for faster action in boosting Ukrainian air defences and repairing damage to electricity grids and heating systems after huge Russian air attacks in freezing temperatures. The Ukrainian president said personnel changes would be made in areas where air defences had less than satisfactory results. Kyiv has been hit particularly hard and Zelenskyy said more than 1,110 apartment blocks remained without heat in the aftermath of the latest assault on the Ukrainian capital last Tuesday. Night-time temperatures have eased somewhat but were still due to hit -8C (18F). “The small-scale air defence component, specifically countering attacks drones, must work more efficiently and prevent the problems that exist,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Friday. “In some areas, defence lines are built better. In others, much more work is needed.” Zelenskyy also said even faster work was needed in restoring power and heat to residents weary from the recurring night-time attacks. “Every day matters. All decisions must be implemented as quickly as possible,” he said. “There are not weeks and months available for repairs or supplying equipment. Many, many things are being actively accelerated.” Assistance was being redirected to Kyiv from other regions, he said. Donald Trump has said “very good talks” are ongoing over Russia’s war in Ukraine and that there could be movement as a result. “Very, very good talks today, having to do with Russia-Ukraine,” the US president told reporters on Friday. “Something could be happening.” The Kremlin said earlier that a third round of peace talks should take place “soon”, although there was no fixed date yet. The latest round of talks this week resulted in the two agreeing to a major prisoner swap but failed to yield a breakthrough on the thorny issue of territory. “For two days there was constructive and very difficult work,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, a day after the talks ended. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff earlier cautioned that “significant work remains” while Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the talks were “not easy” but that Ukraine would remain constructive. A top Russian military official who plays a major role in the country’s intelligence services has been shot in Moscow and hospitalised, Pjotr Sauer reports state media as saying. Lt Gen Vladimir Alekseyev, 64, was shot several times on the stairwell of his apartment on Friday by an unknown gunman in the city’s north-west and was in serious condition, according to reports. Oleg Tsaryov, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian figure close to Alekseyev, said the general had undergone surgery and remained in a coma. No party has claimed responsibility for shooting Alekseyev but Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind it, while Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine had nothing to do with the shooting. The European Commission has proposed a sweeping ban on any services that support Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports, going far beyond previous piecemeal EU sanctions in its effort to stunt Moscow’s key source of income for its war on Ukraine. Russia exports over a third of its oil in western tankers – mostly from Greece, Cyprus and Malta – with the help of western shipping services. The ban would end that practice, which mostly supplies India and China, and render obsolete a price cap on purchases of Russian crude oil that the Group of Seven western powers have tried to enforce with mixed success. EC president Ursula von der Leyen did not specify how the ban would be phased in or whether it would later include refined products – whose price cap is different – and other energy exports such as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Von der Leyen said on Friday the ban would be “in coordination with like-minded partners” and that Russian LNG tankers and icebreakers would encounter “sweeping bans” on maintenance and other services. She said the package would also include a new import ban on metals, chemicals and critical minerals not yet under sanctions, and restrict even more European exports to Russia. The US state department has approved the potential sale of spare parts for military equipment and related items to Ukraine for an estimated cost of $185m, the Pentagon said on Friday. Continue reading...

Move by Pete Hegseth marks latest escalation by Trump administration against the Ivy League school The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said the Pentagon is ending all military training, fellowships and certificate programs with Harvard University, marking the Trump administration’s latest escalation against the Ivy League school. “The @DeptWar is formally ending ALL Professional Military Education, fellowships, and certificate programs with Harvard University,” Hegseth said in a statement posted on X, labeling Harvard as “woke”. Continue reading...

Democrats outraged and Republicans mostly silent after president shared racist video of former president and first lady – key US politics stories from Friday 6 February Top Democrats erupted with fury on Friday and challenged more Republicans to respond to Donald Trump posting a racist video that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The clip appeared during one of the 79-year-old US president’s increasingly frequent late-night posting sprees to his Truth Social account, and shows the laughing faces of the former president and first lady superimposed on the bodies of primates in a jungle setting to The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Continue reading...

The case in Bangladesh, where Nipah cases are reported almost every year, follows two Nipah virus cases identified in neighbouring India The World Health Organization said on Friday that a woman had died in northern Bangladesh in January after contracting the deadly Nipah virus infection. The case in Bangladesh, where Nipah cases are reported almost every year, follows two Nipah virus cases identified in neighbouring India, which has already prompted stepped-up airport screenings across Asia. Continue reading...

They offer independence, reduce emissions and congestion. But they are also endangering lives Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast After the Sydney Harbour Bridge was swarmed by 40 or so ebikes and e-motorcycles on Wednesday, the Australian government said the country faced a “real emergency”. “[Illegal ebikes] are a total menace on the road,” the health minister, Mark Butler, said on Friday. Continue reading...

Youthful leader feels he can bring change this election despite the fate of its 2023 predecessor, Move Forward, which was dissolved by authorities A flood of gifts are passed by adoring fans to 38-year-old Thai politician Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut. Supporters, many of them young students, hand over orange garlands, plastic oranges on string, fresh orange fruit, a bunch of bananas and some corn on the cob. The trademark orange colour is one of the few things that has remained constant for his youthful, pro-reform party, which has been dissolved twice by Thailand’s constitutional court, and forced to regroup under new names and new leaders. Continue reading...

Nathan Smith, 27, known professionally as DJ Young Slade, was music producer, artist, engineer and NYU graduate American rapper Lil Jon said on Friday that his son, Nathan Smith, has died, the record producer confirmed in a joint statement with Smith’s mother after police found a body in a pond north of Atlanta, Georgia. “I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith. His mother [Nicole Smith] and I are devastated,” the statement said. Continue reading...

Carey was the big draw at Milan’s San Siro, but she was outweighed by pop-classical artists – and a sizeable dollop of kitsch The Winter Oympics opening ceremony arrived shrouded in mystery. There wasn’t a lot of advance publicity about what might happen, beyond a list of musical performers, heavier on popular classical names including Andrea Bocelli and Lang Lang than pop stars – and a quote from the event’s creative lead and executive producer, Marco Balich, that it would eschew “hi-tech and bling”. Anyone desperate for intel might alight on a tabloid live stream that proffered the news that “it could last THREE hours” – it wasn’t entirely clear whether this was meant as enticement or warning – and a news report suggesting the International Olympic Committee were concerned that Team America might be booed, the legendary charm of the Trump administration having done so much to spread goodwill towards the US over the last 12 months. In fact, what the president of the IOC said was: “I hope that the opening ceremony is seen by everyone as an opportunity to be respectful of each other” – so there was always the chance she was concerned the crowd might take against Denmark, but it didn’t seem likely. Continue reading...

The showpiece to kick off the Games happened across multiple venues but politics and protests were also present The most striking thing about the opening ceremony isn’t a single prop, celebrity cameo or piece of choreography: it’s the geography. For the first time, an Olympic opening ceremony in effect happened across multiple live venues all at once, with Milan, Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo linked into one narrative structure. It felt less like a show in a stadium and more like watching a country perform itself in real time. The organising concept – “Armonia”, the idea that different elements can move together without losing their identity – isn’t just branding. It shapes how the ceremony actually functioned. Sitting in San Siro, you’re constantly aware that somewhere else, at that exact moment, another piece of the story is unfolding. It created a strange sense of scale: intimate and enormous at once. In an era when global attention is fragmented across screens and platforms, Italy staged the opposite – a ceremony built on simultaneity, connection and shared rhythm. Continue reading...

Harper Dennis also charged with possession of offensive weapon after fatal stabbing in Leicester city centre A man has been charged with the murder of 20-year-old student Khaleed Oladipo in Leicester. Harper Dennis, 18, of North Road, West Drayton, London, has been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, police said. Continue reading...

Chelsea head coach has been a target for ridicule Rosenior hails positive change in culture at Chelsea Liam Rosenior says life is too short to worry about people laughing at him. The 41-year-old has quickly become a figure of fun since his appointment as Chelsea’s head coach and was ridiculed after miscontrolling a dropping ball during his side’s defeat at Arsenal on Tuesday. It was the latest example of Rosenior facing online mockery because of his quotes and mannerisms. He has been referred to as “LinkedIn Liam” because of some of his comments in press conferences and compared to David Brent. One meme had him mocked up as Will McKenzie, the nerdy lead character from The Inbetweeners. Continue reading...

Head coach says champions were ‘outplayed for large parts’ in 3-0 reverse last November, but are now more dangerous The test for Liverpool against Manchester City on Sunday is not of their title credentials. That ship has sailed. Instead it is of how far Arne Slot’s side have truly progressed since their title defence was holed. Slot feels Liverpool’s displays have warranted defeat only occasionally this season – late lapses, set-piece failures and wasted chances have been more common explanations than the overall performance – and the 3-0 reverse at the Etihad Stadium in November was certainly one of them. The controversy over Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed header at 1-0 still lingers for the Dutchman but does not prevent him holding his hands up. Continue reading...

Podcaster claimed former prime minister not English because he is ‘brown-skinned Hindu’ Rishi Sunak has described himself as being “British, English and British Asian” in a riposte to increasing racially charged language used by figures on the right. The UK’s first British Asian prime minister was speaking after his identity was questioned in recent debate sparked by a claim by the podcaster Konstantin Kisin that Sunak was not English because he was a “brown-skinned Hindu”. Continue reading...

Opalite video reunites host and guests including Domhnall Gleeson and Lewis Capaldi from Swift’s October chatshow appearance Graham Norton’s chatshow has long been an object of fascination to American stars, wowed by its combined star wattage, glasses of wine and Norton’s own quick-witted, lightly saucy repartee – and Taylor Swift has now taken that fandom to another level. Norton has been cast in the music video for Opalite, the second single from her album The Life of a Showgirl to receive music video treatment after The Fate of Ophelia. Not only Norton, in fact, but the stars from the guest lineup who sat alongside Swift when she appeared in October 2025: actors Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith, and fellow chart-topping musician Lewis Capaldi. Continue reading...

The job is not done yet, far from it. But on a rainswept evening in West Yorkshire, the collective response from everyone associated with Leeds United for each of their goals left you in no doubt that this had the whiff of a season-defining night. With Leeds and Nottingham Forest sitting an advantageous but not decisive six points above the relegation zone before kick-off, and 18th-placed West Ham United away to Burnley on Saturday, it felt like both these famous old clubs knew victory here could dramatically shape the remaining three months of the campaign. Continue reading...

A stunning curtain-raiser was a fitting celebration of the host country and the Games – with wider messages never far from the surface This was an opening ceremony for the ages: effortlessly chic, bewitching and divine. Milan simultaneously delivered a three-hour love letter to Italy, and a plea for hope and harmony in a fractious world. But not everyone in the 60,000 crowd at San Siro was listening. As the United States team, led by the speedskater Erin Jackson, made its way across the stadium it was loudly applauded. But then the TV cameras panned to the US vice-president, JD Vance, and his wife, Usha, and the cheers turned to loud boos. Continue reading...

This documentary about Nato’s readiness for war seems intended to provoke a mix of terror and arousal in the goggling, flag-hugging viewer. It’s terminally dull stuff It is the world’s largest military alliance but, in reputational terms at least, Nato is currently vulnerable. For an organisation so dependent on US stability and generosity, Donald Trump’s shredding of the so-called “rules-based order” is a potentially existential threat. So Nato could use an easy PR win right now and, with Frontline: Our Soldiers Facing Putin, Channel 4 tries to provide one. This two-parter’s premise is that, after four years of war in Ukraine, we must plan for what comes next. If Russia is emboldened by the outcome of that conflict, it might invade another ex-Soviet border state, Estonia – which is a longstanding Nato member, so Nato would be at war. Are we prepared? Any worries about which side the present US administration would cheer for are put aside, as the results of exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Nato’s past year of manoeuvres are, breathlessly, presented. The answer to the question about Nato’s readiness is a stern affirmative. Putin ought to think on. Continue reading...

Christopher Moynihan pleads guilty to misdemeanor charge over threats last October to kill congressman A rioter who was pardoned by Donald Trump for the felony he was convicted of in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 has pleaded guilty to a harassment charge over threats to kill congressman and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. Christopher Moynihan, 35, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge in a hearing in Clinton, New York, prosecutors said, and will be sentenced in April. His representative could not immediately be reached. Continue reading...

Project, following disgraced cyclist, reportedly sparked bidding war, with Conclave’s Edward Berger set to direct Oscar-nominated actor Austin Butler is scheduled to take on the role of disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong in a buzzy new biopic. According to Deadline, the package has caused a “frenzied” bidding war in Hollywood with Conclave director Edward Berger at the helm and King Richard’s Zach Baylin set to write the script. Continue reading...

His first Oscar nomination, for Hamnet, is testament to the German-born British composer’s chameleon-like adaptability The German-born British composer Max Richter had never been nominated for an Oscar until this year, though he may – unintentionally – have once scuppered someone else’s chance of winning one. In 2016, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences disqualified Jóhann Jóhannsson’s score for the film Arrival on the grounds that viewers would find it impossible to distinguish the late Icelandic composer’s soundtrack from the bought-in piece of music that book-ended Denis Villeneuve’s alien invasion psychodrama: Richter’s soaring, maximalist-minimalist On the Nature of Daylight. Continue reading...

While much of the attention has been placed on Lindsey Vonn in the run-up to the Winter Olympics, her teammate has an extraordinary story of her own In December 2024, Breezy Johnson glided into the starting gate on the Stifel Birds of Prey downhill course atop Colorado’s Beaver Creek, a sight for sore eyes and a bundle of nerves. “The anxiety will always be there until I’m in the downhill gate,” the 30-year-old said at Team USA’s pre-Olympics media summit in October. “Like, at no point can [I tell myself], I’ve got this thing.” Out of World Cup action for 14 months after whereabouts failures, she dropped on to Birds of Prey as bib No 32 in the 45-racer field – all women for the first time in the history of the legendary venue. With a few bends of her reconstructed knees, she snapped through the timing wand, charged through the Abyss (one of Birds of Prey’s steepest pitches) and kept carving her way through the 1.7-mile (2.7km) drop’s icy chop. Altogether, it was a solid run for Johnson, a 13th-place finish on home snow to restart her World Cup scoring streak. And just like that, America’s would-be standard bearer of the slopes was at it again. Continue reading...

Briton beats Oleksandra Oliynykova in three tough sets Chance to revive memories of Flushing Meadows success Emma Raducanu has reached her first final since the 2021 US Open. The British No1 beat Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in a tough semi-final to take her place in Saturday’s Transylvania Open final in Cluj. She now has a shot at winning her first tournament since her incredible success at Flushing Meadows in 2021 and announcing herself as a real force on the WTA Tour. Continue reading...