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From 10h ago 15.07 GMT Starmer has 'full confidence' in McSweeney - No 10 Keir Starmer has full confidence in his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, Downing Street has said. Asked if the prime minister agreed with calls for his chief of staff to be sacked, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: It’s full confidence. Labour pressure group Mainstream has called for a “total overhaul of personnel” in Downing Street amid the fallout from the Peter Mandelson scandal. Share Updated at 16.13 GMT10h ago 15.07 GMT Starmer has 'full confidence' in McSweeney - No 10 Keir Starmer has full confidence in his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, Downing Street has said. Asked if the prime minister agreed with calls for his chief of staff to be sacked, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: It’s full confidence.

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The football seems a little slower and less urgent these days, St James’ Park a little quieter and more anxious. Sandro Tonali’s agent decided to make a little mischief on transfer deadline day, putting Arsenal on alert. During the takeover process, Amanda Staveley claimed that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia had “massive plans to invest in the city, in housing, everything”. Layer five: last week, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia quietly but dramatically downscaled its vast £5.8tn Neom megacity project in the face of rising costs. For months there has been speculation within boxing that Saudi Arabia is beginning to taper down its generous mega-fight budget.

In their first call since November, Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned US president Donald Trump to be “prudent” about supplying arms to Taiwan, according to a readout of their call provided by China’s foreign ministry. “President Xi emphasised that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations,” the readout said. The US must handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with prudence.”Hours later, the self-ruled island’s president, Lai Ching-te, said ties with the US were “rock solid”. In December, the US state department announced its largest-ever arms sales package to Taiwan, valued at more than $11.1bn and including missiles, artillery systems and drones. Late on Wednesday, Trump had said the call with Xi – which covered topics including Taiwan’s future – was “excellent” and “thorough” in a post on Truth Social.

The invasion has turned ordinary men into warriors, and that seeps into and divides the family“I was afraid at first. Young men have it harder – young women think the war is too much, too long. “There are huge misunderstandings between Ukrainian men and women, lots of difficulties in relationships. You speak with men in one language but when you go home it’s a different language“I don’t like guns, I don’t like anything about war. She joked that in war men have only one chakra working: survival.

During its 26-year history, the World Anti-Doping Agency has faced thousands of questions about athletes using illicit substances. Thursday, however, surely marked the first time it was asked whether ski jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid in order to fly further. “Ski jumping is very popular in Poland [Banka’s home country] so I promise you I’m going to look at it,” he said, with a wry smile. They include injecting acid into their penises or putting clay in their underwear to make their measurements temporarily bigger and therefore their suits looser for when they compete. “We don’t do other means of enhancing performance but our list committee would certainly look into whether this would fall into this category.

Flawed economic models mean the accelerating impact of the climate crisis could lead to a global financial crash, experts warn. But current economic models used by governments and financial institutions entirely miss such shocks, the researchers said, instead forecasting that steady economic growth will be slowed only by gradually rising average temperatures. The new report drew on expert judgments from 68 climate scientists from research institutions and government agencies in the UK, US, China and nine other countries. Current economic models can give estimates of losses that look precise but which the scientists said were wildly optimistic. Laurie Laybourn, at the Strategic Climate Risks Initiative, said: “We are currently living through a paradigm shift in the speed, scale and severity of risks driven by the climate-nature crisis.

A 10-year-old Minnesota girl has been released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a month in detention in Dilley, Texas, school officials said, one of hundreds of children detained at the facility. Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano, a fourth-grader, and her mother walked free from the immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, on Tuesday night. View image in fullscreen Adrian Conejo Arias and his son, five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, in San Antonio, Texas, on 31 January, after being released from the Dilley detention center. ICE booked about 3,800 minors into immigrant family detention from January to October 2025, including children as young as one or two years old, according to a Guardian analysis of detention data. “Family detention is very traumatic for children, even for relatively short periods,” Painter said.

Joanne Appelbee says asking her 13-year-old son Austin to swim four hours through dangerous waters to get help after her family was swept out to sea was “one of the hardest decisions” she has ever made. It started with “a bit of fun” with two paddleboards and a kayak in shallow water at the beach, when the children “went out a bit too far”. While Austin swam for the shore, Joanne and the children drifted further out to sea, soon losing sight of him. Joanne heard Grace screaming, but couldn’t hear Beau, until they turned off the boat’s engine and could locate him. View image in fullscreen Austin Appelbee (right) and his brother Beau, mother Joanne and sister Grace (L-R).

“Peers are expected to act on their personal honour, the code of conduct says,” Henry tells me. Mandelson has retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014, but he remains Lord Mandelson for life. AamnaSportView image in fullscreen The Team GB skeleton helmet at the centre of the Winter Olympics controversy. The front pagesView image in fullscreen Photograph: The Guardian“‘It’s over’ for Starmer, say Labour MPs amid fury over Mandelson” is the Guardian splash. Today in FocusView image in fullscreen Picture of Jeffrey Epstein among paper in the Epstein files Photograph: Jon Elswick/APA survivor on the Epstein FilesThe latest release of the Epstein files has dominated the news this week.

Someone who lived with four-year-old Gus Lamont is now considered a suspect in his disappearance, South Australia police said on Thursday as they declared the case a major crime. Mounted police, police divers, defence and emergency services personnel, drones and trackers searched the 60,000 hectare Oak Park station, near Yunta, which is about 300km inland from Adelaide. Map showing the location of Oak Park station. Map showing the location of Oak Park station. Eight separate ground searches over more than 20 days covered 95 sq km around the property, Fielke explained.

The Australian actress, 35, stars in the upcoming Emerald Fennell adaptation of the Emily Bronte novel about the passionate and tragic romance between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. Speaking on a rain-drenched red carpet at the London premiere of Wuthering Heights on Thursday evening, Robbie told the Press Association: “I love watching romantic films. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi arrive for the UK premiere of Wuthering Heights, at Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, London (Ian West/PA)Robbie plays the role of Catherine opposite fellow Australian actor Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff. The two previously worked together on Fennell’s 2023 psychological thriller, Saltburn, which starred Elordi with Robbie working on the project as a producer. Wuthering Heights premieres in the UK on February 13 with the accompanying album out on the same day.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched an investigation into Nike over allegations that the sports giant discriminated against white employees and job applicants. Nike, which described the escalation as “surprising and unusual”, insisted that it adheres to “all applicable laws” on discrimination. “Title VII’s prohibition of race-based employment discrimination is colorblind and requires the EEOC to protect employees of all races from unlawful employment practices,” Lucas said. “We are committed to fair and lawful employment practices and follow all applicable laws, including those that prohibit discrimination. We believe our programs and practices are consistent with those obligations and take these matters seriously.

An independent cinema in Oregon has claimed Amazon pulled screenings of their documentary about Melania Trump in protest at the cinema’s marketing strategy. The cinema owner also addressed those who had criticised his decision to show the film in the first place. In the UK, where Melania opened across 155 screens, takings were considerably softer. The film opened at No 29 in the UK charts, for a weekend screen average of £212. Overall, the film opened in 26 countries globally last Friday, after the South African release was abruptly cancelled the day before, with local distributors citing “the current climate” and “recent developments”.