White House posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after ICE protest 22. January 2026 (23:14) Guardian analysis shows images are the same, with Nekima Levy Armstrong looking composed in original but sobbing after alterationThe White House posted a digitally altered image of a woman who was arrested on Thursday in a case touted by attorney general Pam Bondi, to make it seem as if she was dramatically crying, a Guardian analysis of the image has found.The woman, Nekima Levy Armstrong, also appears to have darker skin in the altered image. Armstrong was one of three people arrested on Thursday in connection to a demonstration that disrupted church services in St Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. Demonstrators alleged that one of the pastors, David Easterwood, was the acting field director of the St Paul ICE office. Bondi announced the arrests on social media Thursday morning. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mark Carney says Canada must ‘be a beacon to a world that’s at sea’ 22. January 2026 (22:53) In post-Davos speech, Canadian PM jabs at Trump, saying the arc of history ‘can still bend towards progress and justice’Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, said his country must be a “beacon to a world that’s at sea” and that national unity was critical as his government faces a dramatic reshaping of the world political order – and mounting domestic challengesThe national address, given at a historic military fortress in Quebec City, was far narrower in scope than the prime minister’s remarks earlier in the week at the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland. Dubbed the ‘Carney Doctrine’, the Davos speech lamented the disintegration of rules-based order amid a rise of “great powers” that used economic “coercion” as a weapon. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer’s allies launch ‘Stop Andy Burnham’ campaign to block parliamentary return 22. January 2026 (21:38) Speculation has spread over whether Burnham will attempt to return to pursue a Labour leadership bidKeir Starmer’s allies have launched a “Stop Andy Burnham” campaign to prevent the Labour mayor from returning to parliament after the resignation of a Manchester MP triggered a byelection.Multiple members of the party’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) predicted it would be impossible for Burnham to make it through the selection process given the number of Starmer loyalists on the body desperate to avoid a leadership challenge. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two confirmed dead and more presumed buried after landslides hit house and campground in New Zealand 22. January 2026 (21:37) The first landslide hit a house in the community of Welcome Bay on New Zealand’s North Island, police sayLandslides hit a house and a campground in New Zealand on Thursday, leaving at least two dead while emergency crews were trying to rescue others buried in rubble, officials said.The first hit a house in the community of Welcome Bay on New Zealand’s North Island at 4:50am, police said. Two people escaped the house, and the bodies of two who were trapped inside were recovered hours later, the emergency management minister, Mark Mitchell, said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump sues JPMorgan Chase and Jamie Dimon for at least $5bn 22. January 2026 (20:44) US president alleges JPMorgan stopped offering him banking services in wake of January 6 Capitol riotDonald Trump has sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, for at least $5bn after accusing America’s largest bank of “debanking” him.The US president alleged that JPMorgan stopped offering him banking services in the wake of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Earlier this month, he claimed it had “incorrectly and inappropriately” discriminated against him. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s Gaza plan is a rebuff to Israeli extremists, but will soon be put to test 22. January 2026 (20:44) Blueprint presented by Jared Kushner shows unified Gaza run by Palestinians, with Rafah crossing to open next weekAmid the hullabaloo and self-congratulation of Donald Trump’s “board of peace” launch in Davos, his administration laid out specific plans for the short- and long-term future of Gaza, aimed at a lasting peace.The blueprint set out on Thursday was extremely ambitious. It envisages a unified Palestinian-run Gaza, which represents a rebuff to the aims of Israeli extremists, including some in the governing coalition, who have sought the deportation of Gaza’s population and the building of Israeli settlements in its place. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
What images of a detained five-year-old boy reveal about Trump’s draconian ICE crackdown 22. January 2026 (20:42) Liam Ramos, a preschooler, is just one of a number of kids caught up in dystopian ICE surges in Minnesota and beyondAs symbols of the indiscriminate disproportionality of the Trump administration’s militant anti-immigrant crusade in Minneapolis, the images are hard to surpass.One recent image shows the innocent figure of Liam Ramos, a five-year-old preschooler wearing a blue bobbled winter hat, standing next to a black vehicle with a dark-clad adult figure standing behind him, whose hand is proprietorially placed on his backpack. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration to block aid from subsizing DEI and trans rights overseas 22. January 2026 (20:29) Decision marks dramatic expansion of ‘Mexico City policy’, which abortion rights supporters call ‘global gag rule’US politics live – latest updatesThe Trump administration will block organizations from using US foreign aid to subsidize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and what the administration calls “gender ideology”. The new policy will affect about $30bn in foreign assistance.The decision, confirmed to the Guardian by a state department spokesperson on Thursday morning, marks a dramatic expansion of the so-called “Mexico City policy”, which blocks non-US non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from receiving some forms of US funding if they provide abortion-related services or advocate for abortion rights overseas. Now, that policy – which abortion rights supporters call the “global gag rule” – will also apply to international organizations and US-based NGOs operating abroad. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Government admits its approval for Buckinghamshire AI datacentre should be quashed 22. January 2026 (20:11) Campaigners hail U-turn during legal challenge over proposed centre an ‘embarrassing climbdown’The government has been forced to admit its own planning approval for a major AI datacentre should be quashed after it failed to fully consider the climate impact, in what campaigners described as “an embarrassing climbdown”.Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, had overruled opposition from a local council to grant permission for a hyperscale datacentre on greenbelt land by the M25 in Buckinghamshire in line with Labour’s pledge to enable faster private investment in AI. But her successor, Steve Reed, has admitted the reasons for not requiring an environmental impact assessment were “inadequate” and that “permission should be quashed”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
