Habib Diarra and Chemsdine Talbi sat behind opposing dugouts during last month’s acrimonious Africa Cup of Nations final as Senegal beat Morocco in Rabat. While suspension deprived Diarra of his starting place for the victors, Morocco’s Talbi was an unused substitute but, on a freezing Wearside night, they were reunited as Sunderland teammates and duly revelled in taking their frustrations out on Burnley. Continue reading...

Judge is considering a temporary order after agents used teargas on protesters during a weekend demonstration A judge is considering a temporary order placing restrictions on federal officers’ use of force during protests after a weekend demonstration in Portland, Oregon, where agents used teargas on a crowd that included children. Thousands of protesters gathered outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Saturday in what Keith Wilson, the city’s mayor, described as a peaceful demonstration “where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat and posed no danger” to federal agents. Continue reading...

Author says accusations ‘spread and amplified’ by people more interested in ‘outrage and getting clicks’ Neil Gaiman has said that multiple sexual assault allegations against him are “simply untrue” and claimed to be the victim of a “smear campaign”, in the first post addressing the accusations for almost a year. Gaiman, 65, author of novels including American Gods and the Ocean at the End of the Lane, has faced allegations of sexual abuse and coercive behaviour which were outlined in a podcast by the Tortoise Media team in July 2024. Continue reading...

Move from Claudia Sheinbaum comes after Trump signed an order threatening tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged to send humanitarian aid this week to Cuba and said Mexico was “exploring all diplomatic avenues to be able to send fuel to the Cuban people,” despite efforts from Washington to cut off oil to the Caribbean nation. Donald Trump last week signed an executive order allowing the US to slap tariffs on countries sending crude oil to Cuba and on Saturday said that Sheinbaum had agreed to halt shipments of oil at his request – a claim the Mexican leader rejected. Continue reading...

Coalition of groups filed lawsuit to overturn ban on nationals from specified countries over ‘false claims’ A coalition of immigration groups, lawyers and US citizens is suing Marco Rubio and the state department to overturn an order that suspended immigrant visa approvals to citizens of 75 countries, alleging the move “eviscerates” decades of settled policy and is blatantly discriminatory. The suit, filed in a US district court in New York, accuses the department and Rubio, the secretary of state, of denying immigration rights to the nationals of certain countries on “the demonstrably false claim” that they are likely to seek welfare payments. Continue reading...

Ruling clears Denmark’s Ørsted to resume construction on its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York All five offshore wind projects halted by the Trump administration in December can resume construction after a federal judge’s ruling on Monday that cleared Denmark’s Ørsted to proceed with its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York. Ørsted’s request for an injunction blocking the interior department order was the fifth brought by an offshore wind developer since the 22 December pause on five leases. The agency stopped work on the multibillion-dollar facilities due to national security concerns around radar interference. Continue reading...

Met police assessing reports of alleged misconduct in public office after government information apparently shared Peter Mandelson is facing a possible police investigation into his alleged leak of market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein at the height of the financial crisis. New disclosures from the Epstein files appear to show Mandelson sent a string of emails to the late sex offender containing confidential information that the government was receiving to deal with the global crash while he was business secretary under Gordon Brown. A confidential UK government document outlining £20bn in asset sales. Mandelson claiming he was “trying hard” to change government policy on bankers’ bonuses. An imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010. A suggestion that the JPMorgan boss “mildly threaten” the chancellor. Continue reading...

Your January favourites – whether that’s hand cream or a bodysuit – say it all: you’re hibernating for winter • Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Earlier this month, we asked you to pick a team: hibernating on the sofa, or getting off it and getting fit. Well, the votes are now in – and the sofa was the clear winner. We don’t blame you – January’s Arctic blasts and grey skies haven’t exactly been tempting us back outdoors. So it makes perfect sense that you’ve been looking for duvets, slippers and pyjamas to up the cosiness factor. Even when you’ve had to travel, you’ve wanted to snuggle down for a nap in a scarf-like neck pillow. Here are the things you loved the most this month. Continue reading...

PM Sébastien Lecornu pushed budget through using constitutional powers that avoided vote in parliament France has finally passed a budget for this year after the minority government survived a series of no-confidence votes in a long-running political saga that has unsettled debt markets and alarmed the country’s European partners. The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, told parliament on Monday, after months of wrangling, that French people “refuse this disorder and want our institutions to function”. Continue reading...

Serious questions need to be asked about Mandelson, Andrew and what the PM knew when. The credibility of UK politics is on the line Peter Mandelson did not want, he wrote disdainfully to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to “live by salary alone”. Not for him the life of the little guy, slave to a mere six-figure salary: he had always aspired to something grander, a lifestyle well beyond his means, to which rich men such as Epstein were so often his passport. First it was his millionaire colleague, Geoffrey Robinson, from whom Mandelson secretly borrowed money to buy a house he couldn’t afford. In 2003 and 2004 it was Epstein, at least according to files released in the US this week, suggesting the financier paid £55,000 into Mandelson’s bank account, though he now says he can’t find records of it. Five years later, in 2010, the files record Mandelson confiding in Epstein of his hopes for a gig with merchant bankers JP Morgan, where he could leverage his “networks” to make the really big deals. Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The latest revelations and reaction to them may mean he has finally encountered a scandal he is unable to outrun It was the evening of 6 May 2010 and months after being released from jail for procuring a child for prostitution, Jeffrey Epstein was curious as to the result of Britain’s general election. “Well?” he emailed Peter Mandelson, the then de facto deputy prime minister in Gordon Brown’s government. Continue reading...

Leaking crisis policy to financiers demands investigation, not evasion. Gordon Brown understands this. Credibility can’t be pursued at the expense of trust Finally, a Labour prime minister has taken a necessary step. Ordering the cabinet secretary to investigate Peter Mandelson’s contacts with Jeffrey Epstein recognises an elementary truth: if a cabinet minister discusses private government business with financial interests during a crisis, the state must act. Gordon Brown understood this instinctively. Sir Keir Starmer has moved later, and under pressure, but movement alone is not enough. Sir Keir said that Lord Mandelson should be stripped of his peerage while stopping short of legislating to make that happen. That is a choice. And it’s the wrong one to make. The Epstein files make it hard to dismiss the question of misconduct in public office as frivolous. In 2003/04 it appears that as a Labour MP he received $75,000 from Jeffrey Epstein. Lord Mandelson says he has no recollection of these payments. Six years later, Lord Mandelson leaked sensitive government information during the banking crunch in 2009 to Epstein, a convicted sex offender, while serving in the cabinet. Emails suggest he advised US bank JP Morgan to “threaten” the UK chancellor, which by all accounts it did, over a proposed tax on bankers’ bonuses. The peer’s lobbying firm Global Counsel later had JP Morgan as a client. Continue reading...

Abbas Araghchi suggests nuclear programme negotiations could begin imminently, after Trump moves US forces to region Iran’s top diplomat has said the government is ready for negotiations with the US as the two countries reportedly prepared to send top envoys to Istanbul for high-stakes talks on the Iranian nuclear programme later this week. As US warships and airpower have amassed in the region for a potential strike on Iran, the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, suggested that talks could take place imminently, adding that Iran’s “enemies … have now turned to diplomacy”. Donald Trump on Saturday said that Iranians were “seriously talking to us” as he hinted at a deal to avert military strikes against Tehran. Continue reading...

⚽️ Updates from the Stadium of Light (8pm GMT KO) ⚽️ Live scores | Full table | Follow on Bluesky | Mail Will I covered the reverse of this fixture back in August. Burnley won 2-0 against a dreadful Sunderland side and I thought the Black Cats’ opening day win over West Ham was a flash in the pan. Always good to be reminded how wrong I generally am. Get your deadline fill with John Brewin. Continue reading...

Continue reading...

Latest row to hit T20 World Cup raises difficult questions for the sport’s governing body, with lucrative TV deal to protect The announcement on Sunday, fittingly, was made by Pakistan’s government, a reminder that this episode goes well beyond a game of cricket. In a post on X, the government approved the national side’s participation at this month’s T20 World Cup, but with a significant caveat. “The Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15 February 2026 against India,” read the statement. The disintegration of this global tournament continues, that one line prompting serious concern for the sport’s economy. No further explanation was provided. Continue reading...

Demand for year 7 pupils is expected to fall by 7.6% over the next four years, with similar numbers expected in primary schools Schools in London could lose £45m in funding over the next four years as pupil numbers continue to fall, with secondary schools facing cuts to staff and curriculum as their budgets dwindle, a report has warned. Until now primary schools in the capital have been worst hit by falling birth rates, leading to around 90 school closures or mergers in the last five years, but the crisis is extending into secondary schools, which are facing large declines in numbers. Continue reading...

The capital’s hospitality industry and cultural sector is vital but ensuring democratic consent is necessary for its expansion – and survival Sir Sadiq Khan’s musical tastes tend toward soft rock and pop. But throughout his tenure as mayor of London he has positioned himself as a friend to its ravers, rockers and late-night revellers with his oft-relaunched vision of a culturally and economically vibrant “24‑hour city”. Those ambitions have fallen short of their promise, as London, like the rest of the country, has seen a steady erosion of pubs, bars and clubs. There is reason to believe that the latest attempt – centred on a new nightlife commission announced last week by the mayor, and based on recommendations from a report endorsed by his office – will be different. The report’s authors include representatives of successful grassroots projects, rather than just industry figures associated with festivals and superclubs. It is unusually alive to local concerns. The debate is not really economic or cultural but political: who controls shared local space? Without councils and residents on side, the plan goes nowhere. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Donald Trump claims that the release of millions more files related to Jeffrey Epstein 'absolve' him of wrongdoing, even though his name appears hundreds of times. The latest documents also indicate high-profile figures , including the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Labour peer Peter Mandelson, continued friendships with the disgraced financier after his child sex abuse convictions. So what have we learned from the newly released files and what happens next? Lucy Hough speaks to columnist and host of Politics Weekly America Jonathan Freedland Continue reading...

Grand slams proposed setting up a player council Australian Open not involved in the pay dispute The tennis pay row has escalated further with the world’s top 10 male and female players rejecting an offer from the grand slams to set up a player council that would give them a greater say in the running of the major championships. In correspondence sent to Wimbledon, the French Open and US Open last week, the players turned down the offer of a meeting with representatives of the three grand slams at the Indian Wells Masters in March and accused the tournament organisers of ignoring their concerns about pay and player welfare. Continue reading...

Poor communication also cited as factor in death of Ellame Ford-Dunn, 16, on Worthing hospital’s grounds A shortage of mental health beds and poor communication between agencies contributed to the death of a teenage girl on hospital grounds, an inquest has found. Ellame Ford-Dunn, 16, who had a history of self-harm, died in March 2022 after absconding from an acute children’s ward where she had been put because of a dearth of appropriate mental health beds. Continue reading...

US president made announcement on Truth Social after a Monday call with India’s prime minister Donald Trump has announced he is cutting tariffs on India after prime minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil. After a call with Modi on Monday, Trump on Truth Social said: “This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!” Continue reading...

Fifa president sorry for comment about arrests Infantino says it is time to look at readmitting Russia The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, has apologised over remarks he made about British fans and defended the decision to award a peace prize to the United States president, Donald Trump. Infantino said at last month’s World Economic Forum in Davos that the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 had been special because “for the first time in history no Brit was arrested”. Continue reading...

Croydon school’s principal says success of Olivia Dean and Lola Young is a ‘brilliant celebration’ of free arts education As the Grammy winners took to the stage in Los Angeles on Sunday night, one common thread emerged: many had once walked the halls of a comprehensive school in Croydon, south London. British performers Olivia Dean, who won the prestigious gong for best new artist; Lola Young, who took home best pop solo performance for Messy; and FKA twigs, who won best dance/electronic album for Eusexua, all attended the Brit school in Selhurst. As did Raye, who earlier in the week received the Harry Belafonte best song for social change award for Ice Cream Man. Continue reading...

Trump’s pick of ‘respected central banker’ Kevin Warsh as Fed chair prompts investors to sell safe haven assets Business news – live updates Gold and silver prices seesawed on Monday, after a “meltdown” in the metals market deepened and rattled investors around the world. Gold prices tumbled by as much as 8% to $4,465 an ounce on Monday, ending a run of record highs that took it to nearly $5,600 last week. It later recovered some ground, but was still down by 3.5% at $4,700 in afternoon trading. Continue reading...