51 m. ago The weightlifting champion jailed by Russia for ‘plotting sabotage and assassinations’

Yulia Lemeshchenko was defiant and did not deny the accusations, saying she had decided to fight against Russian military aggressionAt the beginning of autumn 2023, Yulia Lemeshchenko stopped appearing at the Kharkiv gym where she trained most days. A driven athlete, whose talent for weightlifting led her to become champion of Ukraine in 2021, her disappearance prompted confusion among her training partners.Months later, she resurfaced in a Moscow courtroom, accused of plotting sabotage and assassinations in Russia on behalf of the Ukrainian security services. Prosecutors claimed Lemeshchenko had blown up power lines outside St Petersburg and had later travelled to Voronezh, where she was staking out a Russian air force commander with a view to killing him. Continue reading...

Events

1 hour ago Trump news at a glance: Republicans backpedal on claims US will ‘run’ Venezuela

Trump has called on Venezuela’s interim leader to adhere to US demands as top Republicans scramble to answer questions about what happens next – key US politics stories from 4 January 2026Proclaiming the US would “run” Venezuela after abducting its president and his wife, president Trump has now qualified his claim. Amid questions, including from top Republicans, Trump has now called on Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, to accommodate US demands or face the possibility of a fresh military intervention.Rodríguez, 56, who had on Saturday pledged fealty to ousted president Nicolás Maduro and condemned his capture as an “atrocity”, appears to be adhering to the US line. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Cuba says 32 Cuban officers were killed in US action in Venezuela

An American military operation in Venezuela killed 32 Cuban officers over the weekend, the Cuban government said Sunday in the first official acknowledgement of the deaths

Events

3 h. ago Trump says that US is ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after capture of Maduro

Trump also gave Colombia warning and told reporters that military action there ‘sounds good to me’

Politics

3 h. ago Paris Jackson reflects on sobriety ahead of sixth anniversary free from drugs and alcohol

The 27-year-old nepo baby went on to confess she struggles with major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder

Events

3 h. ago Trump plans a military 'quarantine' of Venezuela's oil to strong

Marco Rubio promised the US would use a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers rather than exert direct control on Venezuela post-Maduro.

Events

5 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv escalating drone attacks on Russia, Moscow claims

Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine had targeted Moscow with drones every day of 2026 so far. What we know on day 1,412Russia’s defence ministry claimed that Ukraine has targeted Moscow with drones every day of 2026 so far, in what would mark an escalation from earlier, more sporadic attacks on the Russian capital. By midnight on Sunday alone, Russian air defence systems had destroyed 57 drones over the Moscow region out of 437 downed over Russia, the ministry said. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, but Kyiv has increasingly used long range drones to strike targets deep inside Russia. Ukraine says such attacks aim to disrupt military logistics and energy infrastructure, raise costs for Moscow’s war effort and respond to repeated Russian missile and drone attacks in the war that Russia launched nearly four years ago.Three out of four of Moscow’s airports shut to air traffic on Sunday after Ukraine launched dozens of drones, authorities said. The attacks led to multiple ...

Events

5 h. ago A third of married pensioners keep some assets secret from spouses, survey finds

The post-Christmas period of early January is often considered a time when problems in marriages come to a head

Politics

8 h. ago Coronation Street's Gareth Pierce hopes for Robert Sugden romance in 'future' crossover

Ryan Hawley and Gareth Pierce are both confirmed for the ITV crossover

Politics

8 h. ago Emmerdale's Ryan Hawley reveals he 'cancelled' 40th birthday in 'blown away' Corriedale admission

The Robert Sugden actor changed his plans ready for the ITV special

Events

9 h. ago US ‘running’ Venezuela now seems less likely but second intervention possible

Washington keeping 15,000-strong military presence in Caribbean in case interim president hinders US objectivesUS politics liveThe prospect of the United States seizing direct control of Venezuela appeared to recede on Sunday after the shocking seizure of President Nicolás Maduro – but US officials said Washington was keeping a 15,000-strong force in the Caribbean and might make a fresh military intervention if Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, did not accommodate their demands.While Rodriguez kept up a defiant tone in public, the substance of conversations she had had in private with US officials was not clear. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Donald Trump warns of ‘big price to pay’ if Caracas fails to toe line

Washington keeping 15,000-strong military presence in Caribbean in case interim president hinders US objectivesUS politics liveThe prospect of the United States seizing direct control of Venezuela appeared to recede on Sunday after the shocking seizure of President Nicolás Maduro – but US officials said Washington was keeping a 15,000-strong force in the Caribbean and might make a fresh military intervention if Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, did not accommodate their demands.While Rodríguez kept up a defiant tone in public, the substance of conversations she had had in private with US officials was not clear. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago Denmark warns Trump to stay away from Greenland after taking over Venezuela

Donald Trump has seized control of Venezuela in a stunning military raid, with the country's president Nicolas Maduro being captured and taken to the US to face trial

Events

11 h. ago ‘Extremely dangerous precedent’ set by Trump’s attack on Venezuela, six countries warn – live

Spain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay say US actions ‘constitute an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security’Top Republicans backpedal from Trump claim that US will run VenezuelaKeir Starmer also told the BBC that he thinks we are living in a more “volatile” world than we have been for “many, many years” and said global affairs have much more of a “direct impact” on the UK than they have in a long time, citing the effects of military conflicts and the climate crisis.Asked if Donald Trump is worsening global turmoil, Starmer dodges the question and speaks about the so-called special relationship between the UK and the US.The relationship between the US and the UK is one of the closest relationships in the world. It is vitally important for our defence, for our security, for our intelligence.It is my responsibility to make sure that relationship works as the prime minister of this country, working with the president of the United States. Not only have...

Events

11 h. ago The Guardian view on the US seizure of Maduro: Trump has turned the world’s superpower into a rogue state | Editorial

The illegal abduction of Venezuela’s president, and threat to ‘run’ his country, is a dangerous act. Its repercussions will be felt far beyond the regionAmid the immense confusion surrounding the US strikes on Venezuela, the seizure of the president, Nicolás Maduro, and Donald Trump’s announcement that the US will “run” the country and “take back the oil”, one thing is clear – they set a truly chilling precedent. The US has a grim history of interference, invasion and occupation in the region, but the early hours of Saturday saw its first major military attack on South American land. “American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Mr Trump declared. The decision to unilaterally attack another country and abduct its leader – days after he publicly sought an off-ramp – has still wider repercussions. It should alarm us all.Venezuelans have endured a repressive, kleptocratic and incompetent regime under Mr Maduro, widely believed to have stolen the last el...

Politics

12 h. ago US' Venezuela operation claims 40 lives as civilians say they 'lost everything' in airstrike

At least 40 people, including civilians and military personnel, have reportedly been killed during a US operation in Venezuela, with residents describing devastation and loss

Society

12 h. ago RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Trump has every right to confront the banana republics exporting drugs into his backyard......don't you wish Starmer would smash the gangs with equal ruthlessness?

The Prime Minister's knee-jerk reaction to this stunning military operation was to insist that he is a 'lifelong advocate of international law'.

Events

13 h. ago Republican casts doubt on Trump’s claim US will ‘run’ Venezuela amid Democrats’ anger over Maduro operation – live

Senator Tom Cotton says there are ‘still a lot of questions to be answered’ about what happens next in Venezuela and dismisses Trump’s assertion that the US will ‘run’ the country How Trump intervention in Venezuela is a return to form for the USAnalysis – Trump’s new focus on oil reinforces it was never about ‘war on drugs’Keir Starmer also told the BBC that he thinks we are living in a more “volatile” world than we have been for “many, many years” and said global affairs have much more of a “direct impact” on the UK than they have in a long time, citing the effects of military conflicts and the climate crisis.Asked if Donald Trump is worsening global turmoil, Starmer dodges the question and speaks about the so-called special relationship between the UK and the US.The relationship between the US and the UK is one of the closest relationships in the world. It is vitally important for our defence, for our security, for our intelligence.It is my responsibility to make sure that relati...

Politics

13 h. ago ‘Durham’s other cathedral’: mining union hall reopens after £14m restoration

Considered one of world’s finest trade union buildings and famous for its ‘pitmen’s parliament’, Redhills was built on a grand scaleOutside the impressively grand, Edwardian baroque building in Durham are two wooden benches, each dedicated to men who died too young.They were, the inscription reads, both “sacked and victimised” during the 1984-85 miners’ strike. Yet they’re in grounds that look as if they might have been owned by rich, exploitative mine owners. Continue reading...

Economics

14 h. ago US military tried several times to extract Maduro – including on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, report says

Two earlier attempts were hampered due to the weather, according to a report

Events