General news

• Atlanta FBI boss reportedly ousted after questioning DoJ’s renewed interest in 2020 election

  30-01-2026 23:34 via theguardian.com
  Paul W Brown reportedly voiced concerns about the FBI’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in Fulton countyThe special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office was reportedly removed from his post after questioning the Trump administration’s renewed interest in investigating the role of Fulton county, Georgia, in the 2020 election.The agent, Paul W Brown, had expressed concerns around the unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in Fulton county, which have been p
  
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• Premier League news: Carrick vows United will not ease up; Isak saga is behind us, says Howe

  30-01-2026 23:33 via theguardian.com
  News from Friday’s press conferences, including Everton, Tottenham, Manchester City and West Ham Continue reading...
  
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• Trump commerce secretary Howard Lutnick arranged to visit Epstein island, files show

  30-01-2026 23:26 via theguardian.com
  Newly released documents reveal Lutnick sent email to ‘Jeff’ and floated plan for ‘Sunday evening for dinner’Howard Lutnick, currently serving as Trump’s US secretary of commerce, arranged to visit Jeffrey Epstein’s island in 2012, according to Epstein-related files released by the Department of Justice on Friday.According to the newly released documents, on 20 November 2012, Epstein’s longtime assistant emailed Lutnick saying that “Jeffrey Epstein
  
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• More than 200 killed in coltan mine collapse in eastern DRC, officials say

  30-01-2026 23:11 via theguardian.com
  Rubaya mine produces about 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, used in mobile phonesMore than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, a spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located, told Reuters on Friday.Rubaya produces about 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum – a heat-resistant metal that
  
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• Under Salt Marsh review – Rafe Spall’s thrilling Welsh crime drama is clever, gripping TV

  30-01-2026 23:05 via theguardian.com
  This carefully plotted tale of the investigation into a small boy’s death is a compelling, psychologically astute watch – which constantly pulls the rug out from under youBy ’eck – it’s grim out west. Such is the overriding impression wrought by Under Salt Marsh, a six-part crime drama set in the fictional Welsh town of Morfa Halen. As the title suggests, the town sits alongside the treacherously boggy lands, under lowering skies and just, but only just, above risin
  
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• Man accused of falsely confessing to killing Charlie Kirk faces up to 15-year sentence

  30-01-2026 22:52 via theguardian.com
  George Zinn, 71, further admitted to possessing child sexual abuse material and pleaded no contest to allegationsA man accused of trying to thwart authorities investigating Charlie Kirk’s killing by falsely confessing to the deadly shooting faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to the allegation – and separately admitting to possessing child sexual abuse material.The case centering on George Zinn, 71, all but concluded at a court hearing on Thursday in Provo, Utah,
  
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• Once Upon a Time in Harlem review – remarkable Harlem Renaissance documentary

  30-01-2026 22:47 via theguardian.com
  Sundance film festival: a once-in-a-lifetime dinner party from 1972 is transformed into a thrilling and inspiring hang-out movieIn August 1972, the experimental film-maker William Greaves convened a once-in-a-lifetime dinner party at Duke Ellington’s townhouse in Harlem. The occasion was a celebration and reconsideration of the Harlem Renaissance, the watershed African American cultural movement of the 1920s. The guest list included its still-living luminaries, some of the 20th century&rsq
  
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• Elon Musk had more extensive ties to Epstein than previously known, emails show

  30-01-2026 22:19 via theguardian.com
  Newly released files from DoJ show the pair making plans in 2012 and 2013 for the Tesla CEO to visit Epstein’s islandElon Musk had more extensive – and more friendly – communications with the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein than previously publicly known, according to documents released on Friday by the Department of Justice. Emails in the files appear to show the two cordially messaging each other on two separate occasions to make plans for Musk to visit Epstein&rsq
  
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• Andrew went to intimate dinner with Epstein after his prison release, files suggest

  30-01-2026 22:09 via theguardian.com
  Famous figures including Woody Allen were invited to party with disgraced financier and Mountbatten-Windsor, documents indicateAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor attended an intimate party with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein months after he was released from prison, files suggest.The US justice department released another cache of documents relating to the disgraced financier on Friday.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or jo@s
  
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• Catherine O’Hara managed to make difficult characters utterly delightful

  30-01-2026 21:25 via theguardian.com
  The death of the 71-year-old actor and comedian leaves behind a long line of unforgettably original comic creations, from Beetlejuice to Schitt’s CreekCatherine O’Hara, actor known for Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek, dies aged 71One of the later and less beloved Christopher Guest comedies featuring his troupe of peerless, often SCTV-related improvisers is For Your Consideration, a medium-funny savaging of Hollywood’s feverish awards-season prestige campaigning.The film&rsq
  
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• Harry Brook adds to England woes by admitting he lied about nightclub incident

  30-01-2026 21:10 via theguardian.com
  White-ball captain claims he was protecting teammatesBethell and Tongue investigated over drinking sessionHarry Brook, the England white-ball captain, has admitted teammates were present on the night he clashed with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand last year.Speaking at the start of England’s tour of Sri Lanka, Brook said that he was on his own when he was punched by a bouncer on the eve of the third one-day international against New Zealand in Wellington. Continue reading...
  
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• Arsenal’s terminally online Premier League title pursuit is a symbol of our times | Barney Ronay

  30-01-2026 21:00 via theguardian.com
  A robotic team fuelled by data and scrutinised relentlessly in a climate of angst and rage feels like a digital-age metaphorLike most people who have no talent for business ideas, I have a huge number of highly promising business ideas always on the go, ideas that are available for investment from any passing billionaire or Dragons’ Den rainmaker type.Not one of the A-listers, obviously. I’m not insane. Not a Meaden or a Paphitis. But perhaps one of the minor ones, some strangely gro
  
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• Trump nominates Federal Reserve critic Kevin Warsh as its next chair

  30-01-2026 20:52 via theguardian.com
  Pick of former Fed governor to replace Jerome Powell comes as White House seeks to tighten grip on central bankDonald Trump has announced Kevin Warsh as his nomination for the next chair of the Federal Reserve, selecting a candidate who has been an outspoken critic of the US central bank.The move ends months of speculation about who the president would pick to replace Jerome Powell, as he waged an extraordinary campaign to influence policymaking at the Fed by repeatedly calling for interest rate
  
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• US DoJ opens federal civil rights investigation into killing of Alex Pretti

  30-01-2026 20:40 via theguardian.com
  Deputy attorney general makes announcement over fatal shooting in Minneapolis as fierce protests there continueThe US deputy attorney general announced on Friday that the justice department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of the Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti last Saturday by immigration officers, as fierce protests continued on the streets there.“We’re looking at everything that would shed light on that day,” Todd Blanche, deputy to the a
  
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• ‘A place of two halves’: how Margate’s art-led renewal has left town ‘splintered’

  30-01-2026 20:14 via theguardian.com
  Madonna labelled it ‘heaven’ on a recent visit, but the cost of living in the seaside resort is hitting many residents hard Not many chefs working in small, family-run restaurants expect global megastars to turn up for dinner and to design them a menu from scratch.But that’s what happened to Simona Di Dio last weekend, when she cooked dishes inspired by her Italian grandmother’s recipes for Madonna, who sat on the single wooden dining table in Di Dio’s cosy, candlel
  
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• Jeffrey Epstein sent money to Mandelson’s husband after prison release, emails suggest

  30-01-2026 19:43 via theguardian.com
  Child sex offender sent thousands of pounds to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, according to documents published by US justice departmentJeffrey Epstein sent thousands of pounds in bank transfers after his release from prison in 2009 to Peter Mandelson’s husband, according to emails published by the US Department of Justice on Friday.The latest documents raise fresh questions about Epstein’s relationship with Mandelson, who was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to Washington when details o
  
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• Novak Djokovic thanks doubters for giving him strength after Sinner success

  30-01-2026 19:42 via theguardian.com
  ‘There is a lot of experts that wanted to retire me’Serb won five-set epic to reach Australian Open finalNovak Djokovic thanked his doubters for helping to give him strength after he produced an incredible performance to defeat Jannik Sinner, the No 2 and two-time defending champion, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Australian Open final.Djokovic, the fourth seed, will contest his 11th Australian Open final and 38th grand slam final overall on Sunday, his first losing the Wimbled
  
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• Trump says he believes Iran wants to make deal as he extols size of US ‘armada’

  30-01-2026 19:38 via theguardian.com
  US president declines to say whether he plans Venezuela-like operation, after Tehran signalled it was ready for talksKilling Khamenei? Hitting military sites? It is unclear what a US attack on Iran would achieveDonald Trump has said he believes Tehran wants to make a deal to head off a regional conflict, as he claimed the US “armada” near Iran was bigger than the task force deployed to topple Venezuela’s leader.“We have a large armada, flotilla, call it whatever you want,
  
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• Sheffield Wednesday takeover in limbo while EFL checks source of bidders’ funding

  30-01-2026 19:38 via theguardian.com
  EFL examining if funds mostly from gambling proceeds Bidders’ advisers say money is from investmentsThe English Football League is taking its time assessing the prospective buyout of Sheffield Wednesday to establish whether the purchase would be largely funded by the proceeds of gambling and crypto-gambling operations.A consortium was given preferred bidder status by Wednesday’s administrators on Christmas Eve, with the funding coming from two of its members, the professional poker p
  
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• Catherine O’Hara, actor known for Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek, dies aged 71

  30-01-2026 19:29 via theguardian.com
  Actor, also known for Beetlejuice and her work with Christopher Guest, died after a brief illnessCatherine O’Hara managed to make difficult characters utterly delightulCatherine O’Hara: a life in picturesCatherine O’Hara, actor known for Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone and Best in Show, has died at the age of 71.Her manager confirmed the news to Variety. She died after a brief illness. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Isolation isn’t the way forward’: readers on their unusual living arrangements

  30-01-2026 19:08 via theguardian.com
  We spoke with five people from Atlanta to rural Germany and the UK whose households range from grandparents to three couples who own a farmhouseIn Atlanta, Carolyn Martinez, 65, lives in a household spanning four generations – and a lifelong friendship. Her 90-year-old mother, who has lived with her for more than 40 years due to various disabilities, shares the house with Martinez, 65, her adult daughter, aged 25, and her granddaughter, aged three months. “My mum has lived with me li
  
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• Melania review – Trump film is a gilded trash remake of The Zone of Interest

  30-01-2026 19:07 via theguardian.com
  Dispiriting, deadly and unrevealing – there is a decent documentary to be made about the former model from Slovenia, but this one is unredeemable• One adult for the 9.40am in Sittingbourne: a front row seat for Melania’s ominous UK opening
  • Eggs, hats and unfettered ambition: what we learned about Melania Trump from her documentaryMy audience with Melania is booked for Friday lunchtime at a retail park on the outskirts of Bristol, inside a large cinema which appears to hav
  
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• Israel accepts health authorities’ Gaza death toll is broadly accurate, saying 70,000 have died

  30-01-2026 19:06 via theguardian.com
  Israeli military’s U-turn in accepting official figures comes after years of attacking data as ‘Hamas propaganda’Israel’s military has accepted the death toll compiled by health authorities in Gaza is broadly accurate, marking a U-turn after years of official attacks on the data.A senior security official briefed Israeli journalists, saying about 70,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli attacks on the territory since October 2023, excluding those missing. Continue r
  
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• The unexpected stars of the Premier League season so far

  30-01-2026 19:00 via theguardian.com
  Harry Wilson, Igor Thiago, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jack Grealish and Antoine Semenyo have shone for their clubsBy WhoScoredHarry Wilson was often a spectator rather than a player in his first three seasons at Fulham. He made 89 appearances in the league, but 48 of them were from the bench and he was taken off 34 times. Having scored just 12 league goals in three years, he was nearly shipped off to Leeds in the summer. Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on China’s military purge: the risks grow in an age of strongmen | Editorial

  30-01-2026 18:59 via theguardian.com
  Xi Jinping’s ousting of the country’s top general underscores the concentration of power in the hands of a few – with dangers for us allSir Keir Starmer is only one of the middle power leaders trekking to Beijing to renew relations. No one has forgotten China’s increasing international forcefulness, its handling of the pandemic and its closer relations with Russia as war engulfed Ukraine. But the wildness of Donald Trump’s first year back in power is spurring Canada
  
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• The Guardian view on the class crisis in the arts: the UK’s culture must not become the preserve of the elite | Editorial

  30-01-2026 18:58 via theguardian.com
  Countless reports and celebrities have called for greater working-class representation, so why has nothing changed?In his McTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV festival in 2024, the playwright James Graham called class “everyone’s least favourite diversity and representation category”. A socioeconomic duty on public bodies was included in 2010’s Equality Act, but has never been enacted. Now Class Ceiling, a review from Manchester University, co-chaired by the former chief
  
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• Is it time to break up with US big tech? - The Latest

  30-01-2026 18:44 via theguardian.com
  With Donald Trump tearing up the world order, governments across Europe are having to confront the fact that most of the technology they rely on comes from US companies. French officials have taken a step this week to reduce their dependence on US digital infrastructure, announcing they have stopped using Zoom, the US-owned video meeting software, in favour of a French-made program.But how viable is this? And what are the risks? The Guardian’s Michael Safi speaks to the tech journalist Chr
  
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• Jayasree Kabir obituary

  30-01-2026 18:39 via theguardian.com
  Actor who was a celebrated figure of Bangladeshi cinema after being discovered by the Indian director Satyajit RayFew performers’ careers have encompassed both discovery by Satyajit Ray and working opposite sometime Likely Lad James Bolam. Yet this was the distinction the actor Jayasree Kabir, who has died aged 73, achieved while shifting between the southern and northern hemispheres as work and family commitments required.Launched while still a teenager in Ray’s 1970 film Pratidwand
  
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• Lindsey Vonn airlifted from course after crash in final downhill before Olympics

  30-01-2026 18:34 via theguardian.com
  Vonn crashes into nets and clutches left kneeRace in Crans-Montana abandoned after early falls‘My Olympic dream is not over,’ insists US starLindsey Vonn crashed out of the final World Cup downhill before the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday, leaving the American skiing great limping and clutching her left knee as organizers abandoned the race amid worsening conditions.The 41-year-old lost control after landing a jump on the upper section of the course in Crans-Montana, Switz
  
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• Galopin chases Gold Cup glory but waits on Leopardstown inspection

  30-01-2026 18:24 via theguardian.com
  Dublin Racing Festival and Sandown card both in danger of washout after heavy rain at both venuesProspects for the most valuable and significant weekend of racing in the run-up to the Cheltenham festival in March remained in the balance on Friday evening after both Leopardstown and Sandown called inspections for Saturday morning due to fears of overnight rain.Leopardstown has had nearly 200mm of rain over the last two weeks ahead of the Dublin Racing Festival, which is due to stage eight Grade O
  
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• Labour accuses Reform candidate of ‘toxic politics’ after Tommy Robinson endorsement

  30-01-2026 18:19 via theguardian.com
  Far-right activist tells X followers to vote for Reform’s Gorton and Denton candidate, Matthew GoodwinLabour have accused the Reform UK candidate for the Gorton and Denton byelection, Matthew Goodwin, of representing “toxic politics” after he was endorsed by the far-right agitator Tommy Robinson.The move will be uncomfortable for Nigel Farage, who has consistently kept the parties he leads separate from Robinson, an anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK’s leading far-ri
  
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• Fire near rail line in north London brings travel disruption across England

  30-01-2026 18:16 via theguardian.com
  Services running normally again after trains into Euston on UK’s main intercity line held up as far back as Warrington Train services on Britain’s main intercity rail line are running normally again after being disrupted for much of Friday because of a fire close to the tracks in north London.Trains to and from London Euston serving Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow were among those suspended due to the blaze in Primrose Hill, Camden. Continue reading...
  
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• Displacement Film Fund review – Cate Blanchett masterminds short film collection that brims with life and intensity

  30-01-2026 18:16 via theguardian.com
  Rotterdam film festival
  A set of shorts by film-makers from Afghanistan, Iran, Ukraine, Syria and Somalia are shocking, funny and mysterious in equal measureWith considerable chutzpah and elan, and in her capacity as producer and UNHCR Goodwill ambassador, Cate Blanchett has achieved a geopolitical film-making coup. In concert with festival authorities in Rotterdam, she has secured cash and commissioned short films on the subject of displacement from five directors – including Mohammad Ras
  
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• It is beyond naive for Democrats – and Europe – to think Trump’s retreats are real. He never backs down for long | Jonathan Freedland

  30-01-2026 18:08 via theguardian.com
  Whether it’s Minneapolis or Greenland, the US president will do just enough to get through a damaging news cycle, then carry on as beforeDon’t be fooled. When it comes to Donald Trump, what might look like a full retreat is almost always a mere tactical withdrawal, designed to buy time. He’ll step back when he’s forced to, under pressure, but will then revert the instant the pressure lets up. Too often, his opponents, whether at home or abroad, allow themselves to be play
  
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• Thierno Barry ‘dreams big’ after finding goalscoring touch at Everton

  30-01-2026 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Striker strives for long stay in the Premier League, years on from ‘losing love to play football’ during poor run with Basel‘Are you a professional footballer?” was a question Thierno Barry had dreamed about answering in the affirmative, but on this occasion modesty was the best policy. The Frenchman was on a Zanzibar beach, surrounded by a group of 10-year-old boys he had schooled in a kickabout that helped him rediscover his love of the game after a difficult start in B
  
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• FSA confirms presence of toxin in some Nestlé SMA baby formula products

  30-01-2026 18:00 via theguardian.com
  Nestlé has already recalled several batches due to concerns they may trigger nausea and vomitingThe Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed the presence of a toxin that can cause food poisoning in some Nestlé baby formula products.At the start of this month, the Swiss food and drink company recalled several batches of its SMA infant formula and follow-on formula due to concerns they contained cereulide, which can trigger nausea and vomiting when consumed. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Innovating weather science’: Met Office launches new two-week forecast

  30-01-2026 17:56 via theguardian.com
  Weather service research concludes that less accurate probability-based predictions are still considered helpfulThe Met Office is to lean into one of Britain’s favourite pastimes – talking about the weather – by launching a new two-week forecast.At present, the publicly funded weather and climate service offers a seven-day forecast on its website and app with an hourly breakdown for the first five days and then a three-hourly breakdown for the final two days. Continue reading..
  
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• First stills from Sam Mendes’ four-part Beatles film released in Liverpool

  30-01-2026 17:55 via theguardian.com
  Postcards showing Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan in character were printed as postcards and secreted around the performing arts school co-founded in the city by Paul McCartneyPictures of the stars of Sam Mendes’ forthcoming four-part Beatles film in character as the musicians have been published, offering a first look at the actors in costume.The pictures were released in postcard form at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the school co-founded by P
  
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• Paying kidney donors won’t solve the problem | Letters

  30-01-2026 17:54 via theguardian.com
  We need to tackle the causes of renal failure and unequal access to care, writes Sandra Currie. Plus letters from Dominique E Martin on why markets in kidneys don’t work and a disgruntled altruistic living kidney donor It is hard not to feel a certain sadness reading arguments for legalising the sale of kidneys that rely more on provocation than on engagement with how healthcare systems actually work in the UK (The big idea: Should we sell our kidneys?, 25 January).Kidney failure is devast
  
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• Jack Kerouac’s 37 metre-long, first draft scroll of On the Road to be auctioned

  30-01-2026 17:49 via theguardian.com
  The draft – one of the Beat Generation’s defining artefacts – will be part of a wider sale of pieces from the Jim Irsay Collection at Christie’s in MarchJack Kerouac’s original typescript scroll for On the Road – the 37 metre (121ft) long roll of paper on which he typed his defining Beat novel in a three-week burst – will go under the hammer at Christie’s in March, with a sale estimate of £1.8m to £2.9m ($2.5m to $4m).The scroll is one
  
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• What good is a social media ban when screens are rife in classrooms? | Letters

  30-01-2026 17:48 via theguardian.com
  Device use is prolific in schools and is part of everyday activities, writes Kristyna Skriczka, while Arianny Avrile Saviñòn describes the effects of excessive screen time on children’s emotional and social developmentYour recent coverage of children’s screen use (How screen time affects toddlers: ‘We’re losing a big part of being human’, 22 January) highlights an issue that still receives remarkably little attention: the amount of screen time built in
  
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• Creature comforts in times of grief | Letters

  30-01-2026 17:48 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to Amy-Jane Beer’s Country diary about bird visitations after her sister’s deathI can empathise very closely with Amy-Jane Beer (Country diary, 27 January) and her moving encounter with a singing robin. Thirty years ago, on the night when my father died, we returned to the family house and were greeted by the unmistakable sound of a robin’s song.This threnody that greeted our return from the hospital was heard in bitterly cold February conditions
  
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• TV’s transition must have an inclusive vision | Letters

  30-01-2026 17:46 via theguardian.com
  Kieran Clifton of the BBC responds to concerns about plans which would make UK television available only via the internetThe BBC is committed to universal public service and we would never have a plan – or support one – that excluded any audience (Letters, 28 January).What we have said, jointly with the other public-service media organisations, is that a transition to delivering TV over the internet in the mid-2030s as part of a UK-wide plan to get everyone in the country online has
  
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• Martin Rowson on Keir Starmer, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping – cartoon

  30-01-2026 17:31 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
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• Groundbreaking director Reginald Hudlin: ‘It’s taken a lot of effort but the reward is always worth it’

  30-01-2026 17:22 via theguardian.com
  The man who created House Party, wrote for the Black Panther comics, produced Django Unchained and briefly ran BET talks his illustrious careerReginald Hudlin’s home office is a monument to an audacious American dream – the Black scion who grew up far from Hollywood glamour and rose to become one of the industry’s most adaptable storytellers. On the walls, a framed Black Panther comic page he penned glints under glass near a portrait of Jamie Foxx – a souvenir from Hudlin
  
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• Chinese car firm Chery to open European base in Liverpool

  30-01-2026 16:58 via theguardian.com
  Launch of R&D centre could pave way for deal for UK’s Jaguar Land Rover to build cars for Omoda and Jaecoo ownerChinese carmaker Chery is to open a research and development headquarters in Liverpool, in a move that could pave the way for a deal for the British manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover to build its cars.State-owned Chery’s commercial vehicle arm will base the headquarters for its European operations on Merseyside, including research, engineering, and commercial functions. Co
  
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• Sali Hughes on beauty: forget smooth and glassy – glam beauty is back

  30-01-2026 16:53 via theguardian.com
  Makeup textures embrace the flash and clash of formulas that you can ‘smoosh on carelessly’I’ve always judged the Pantone colour of the year to be way less interesting to readers than to journalists. But the 2026 winner (an unremarkable off-white called Cloud Dancer) struck me as even less relevant when trends are finally looking interesting again.Around the time of that news, Mac named glam pop queen Chappell Roan as its new global ambassador. The appointment of Roan – a
  
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• Boris Godunov review – Bryn Terfel wild-eyed and barking in Mussorgsky’s relentless study of power

  30-01-2026 16:30 via theguardian.com
  Royal Opera House, London
  The second revival of Richard Jones’s compelling production boasts an impressive cast, with Terfel’s supple and rich voice at its centre. Conductor Mark Wigglesworth keeps up the momentumA figure with the head of a doll plays with a multicoloured spinning top, high above the stage. Three men – hooded and armed – creep forwards and seize him, slashing his throat and dragging him off.It’s a brutal start to a brutal opera. This flashback is th
  
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• Eggs, hats and unfettered ambition: what we learned about Melania Trump from her documentary

  30-01-2026 16:13 via theguardian.com
  The first lady’s political goals, high-stakes clothes fittings and hints that she and Donald still have sex are just some of the highlights from Brett Ratner’s documentary• Review: Melania is a gilded trash remake of The Zone of Interest
  • News: a front-row seat on Melania’s ominous UK openingMelania’s appears an entirely airless existence, in which she glides solo about gilt corridors in silence, David Lynch-style, observed by tight-lipped heavies. All her staf
  
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• The Tempest review – Tim Crouch’s high-concept treatment roughs up the magic

  30-01-2026 16:12 via theguardian.com
  Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, LondonSome spells are cast by this show, in which the director stars as Prospero, but it wearingly replays the same tricksThe Tempest seems like the perfect Shakespeare drama for an experimentalist. It is all about artifice, after all, and interrogates the construction of art as illusion through Prospero’s rough magic. So its pairing with experimental writer-actor-director Tim Crouch seems like a natural one. Or rather non-naturalist because this painfully high-con
  
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