Australia’s worst heatwave since black summer made five times more likely by global heating, analysis finds 22. January 2026 (14:01) Extreme heat ‘is getting worse and whether we like it or not … there’s ultimately a limit to what we can actually physically cope with,’ scientist saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHuman-caused global heating made the intense heatwave that affected much of Australia in early January five times more likely, new analysis suggests.The heatwave earlier this month was the most severe since the 2019-20 black summer, with temperatures over 40C in Melbourne and Sydney, even hotter conditions in regional Victoria and New South Wales, and extreme heat also affecting Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jordan used Israeli phone-cracking tool to surveil pro-Gaza activists, report finds 22. January 2026 (14:00) Researchers find with high confidence that security officials used Cellebrite to extract data from activists’ phonesAuthorities in Jordan appear to be using an Israeli digital tool to extract information from the mobile phones of activists and protesters who have been critical of Israel and spoken out in support of Gaza, according to a new report by the Citizen Lab.A multiyear investigation found with high confidence that Jordanian security authorities have been using forensic extraction tools made by Cellebrite against members of civil society, including two political activists, a student organizer, and a human rights defender, the researchers said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Stacey Abrams to announce 10 Steps is now an anti-authoritarianism coalition 22. January 2026 (14:00) Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate says campaign launched last year has attracted dozens of new partnersStacey Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, will announce on Thursday that the campaign she launched last year to fight authoritarianism in the US has attracted dozens of new partners, representing millions of voters, to form a coalition. Abrams, a Yale-trained lawyer and former minority leader of the Georgia house, was the first Black woman to win a major party nomination for a gubernatorial race in 2018. After her second loss to Brian Kemp in 2022, she receded from the spotlight, taking a teaching position at Howard University in 2023. In the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election, she launched 10 Steps, an initiative to organize and mobilize opposition to the threat to democracy posed by authoritarian policies in the administration and the Republican party. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez assured US of cooperation before Maduro’s capture 22. January 2026 (13:55) Exclusive: sources say powerful figures in the regime secretly pledged US and Qatari officials they would welcome Maduro’s departureBefore the US military snatched Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, earlier this month, Delcy Rodríguez and her powerful brother pledged to cooperate with the Trump administration once the strongman was gone, four sources involved at high levels with the discussions told the Guardian.Rodríguez, who was sworn in on 5 January as acting president to replace Maduro, and her brother Jorge, the head of the national assembly, secretly assured US and Qatari officials through intermediaries ahead of time that they would welcome Maduro’s departure, according to the sources. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Prosecutors stunned as ICE lets suspect in $100m jewelry heist leave US 22. January 2026 (13:47) Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, charged with stalking armored truck in 2022, allowed to self-deport to South AmericaFederal immigration authorities allowed a suspect in a $100m jewelry heist believed to be the largest in US history to deport himself to South America in December, a move that stunned and upset prosecutors who were planning to try the case and send him to prison.Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores was one of seven people charged last year with stalking an armored truck to a rural freeway rest stop north of Los Angeles and stealing millions worth of diamonds, emeralds, gold, rubies and designer watches in 2022. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Why Trump is worried datacenters might cost his party an election 22. January 2026 (13:30) The president wants big tech to pay more for electricity, but he’s curbing renewable projects that could boost supplyDonald Trump is worried about datacenters. Specifically, he is concerned about their effects on an already expensive electricity market in the United States. Will Americans’ resentment of sharply rising energy costs scuttle his party’s November election ambitions?The US president’s anxiety is evident in two actions in recent weeks. On 13 January, Trump and Microsoft’s president jointly announced that the tech giant would pay more for its datacenters, paying full property taxes and accepting neither tax reductions nor electricity rate discounts in towns where it operates datacenters. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Silence marks moment of sorrow as Australians mourn victims of Bondi terror attack 22. January 2026 (12:02) Survivors join families of victims on stage of Sydney Opera House as PM apologises that nation ‘could not protect your loved ones’Children cook meals for the needy and mourners lay wreaths for Bondi attack victims on national day of mourningGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAt 7.01pm on Thursday evening, a crowd of 1,500 mourners packed into the Sydney Opera House descended into a heavy silence. Television stations paused their coverage. Gatherings fell still.Six weeks after 15 people were gunned down celebrating the first night of Hanukah in Bondi, in the worst terror attack on Australian soil, the nation was still coming to terms with the weight of its loss. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
A bid to clean up shipping industry intensified a coral bleaching event on Great Barrier Reef, study says 22. January 2026 (12:00) The removal of sulphur from shipping fuels caused ‘a lot of extra sunlight’ to get through atmosphere and hit reef in 2022Steps to clean up the shipping industry by removing sulphur from fuels intensified a major coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef by allowing more of the sun’s energy to hit the oceanic wonder, according to a new study.Sulphur pollution can cause respiratory problems for humans and cause acid rain, but it also has a shading effect and can make clouds brighter, providing more shade to areas underneath. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Prince Harry attends court as Liz Hurley testifies in Daily Mail case – latest updates 22. January 2026 (11:58) The actor is the latest to testify in court over a claim that the newspaper misused their private informationAsked by Antony White KC, who is representing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), why she did not complain about the 15 articles in her claim at the time they were published between 2002 and 2011, Hurley said it was because from what she remembered, “complaints were for libel”.She added: “They (the articles) were in essence true. I believe that is because people were listening to me speak. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
B&M and The Works hit by tough Christmas trading 22. January 2026 (11:56) Retailers report weaker sales over festive period amid ‘subdued consumer confidence’The discount retailer B&M cut its profit forecast, while the value books and crafts chain The Works reported a fall in sales, highlighting a difficult Christmas trading period for British stores.B&M’s UK sales fell by 0.6% on a like-for-like basis in its third quarter to 27 December, though it said sales improved in December after it reduced prices. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
