Amazon ‘cat burglar’ filmed stealing pet from Yorkshire doorstep 21. January 2026 (17:57) Carl Crowther says his feline has heart problem and needs medication, after delivery driver seen making off with itA concerned pet owner has pleaded for the safe return of his family’s ill cat after an Amazon delivery driver was caught on video picking the animal up and walking away.Carl Crowther, 53, said that he had been expecting a package on Monday 19 January, but had been forced to leave to go to his job as a maintenance man about an hour before it arrived at approximately 2.30pm. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Zelenskyy meeting with Trump expected to take place on Thursday – Europe live 21. January 2026 (17:56) Adviser to Zelenskyy says he in Kyiv, not Davos, and meeting will not be today as Trump suggested earlierFormer Nato secretary general and former Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that the “time of flattery has ended” as Europe needs to step up its response to Trump’s threats over Greenland – but still look for off-ramps to avoid escalation whereever possible.Speaking to BBC News this morning, he warned that a US attack on Greenland “would be the end of Nato,” and push Europeans to urgently step up its defence in its own right, regardless of the US.“I think those three areas would accommodate the concerns of President Trump.”“Time has come to stand up against Trump.”“So I think that we should solve this problem in a diplomatic way. Of course, I appreciate Denmark’s voice, … it’s our partner, but I’m looking at the Greenland as a strategic point in a [broader] geopolitical issue between the free world of democracies … and Russia.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Chile’s president-elect names staunch abortion opponent as gender equality minister 21. January 2026 (17:56) Far-right incoming president picked Judith Marín, who has publicly decried bills to decriminalse abortion, for the roleChile’s incoming far-right president José Antonio Kast has named a vehement opponent of abortion who has repeatedly stated her support for life “from conception to natural death” as the country’s new women and gender equality minister.Judith Marín, 30, was once ejected from Chile’s senate by police for screaming “return to the Lord” during a vote to decriminalise abortion under restricted circumstances. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Baby girl’s death in Hampshire raises concerns over role of doulas in home births 21. January 2026 (17:53) Coroner says non-medical support assistant affected midwifery provision and delayed mother’s transfer to Portsmouth hospitalA coroner has warned that more babies could die without greater clarity and guidance over the role of home birthing assistants after the death of a baby girl raised concerns about a doula delaying access to hospital treatment.Matilda Pomfret-Thomas died in November 2023 of a brain injury, 15 days after a difficult home labour when her mother was not immediately transferred to hospital despite signs of fetal distress, an inquest concluded last month. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Secret love letter shows softer side of Cambridge spy ring’s alleged fifth man 21. January 2026 (17:46) Intimate correspondence between John Cairncross and Gloria Barraclough features in National Archives exhibitionIt was a love letter written by one of the more important British spies of the cold war that made Tom Brass realise he had never fully known his mother.The spy in question was John Cairncross, the alleged fifth man in the Cambridge spy ring, whose spycraft helped the Soviets win the Battle of Kursk and turn the tide of the second world war. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US officials tried to lobby against Marine Le Pen election ban, French judge says 21. January 2026 (17:38) Magali Lafourcade says the two envoys were convinced the far-right leader’s corruption trial had been politicalEurope live – latest updatesA French magistrate has said two Trump administration emissaries approached her seeking to lobby against an election ban on the French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.Magali Lafourcade, the secretary general of France’s human rights commission (CNCDH), an independent body that advises the government, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) she had reported the content of the meeting to the French foreign ministry immediately, fearing a potential “manipulation of the public debate in France”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Vienna closes museums and cuts opening hours as part of austerity drive 21. January 2026 (17:36) Director of Wien Museum says ‘we all have to economise’ as city temporarily reduces access to cultural sitesIt prides itself on its reputation as the world’s home of classical music. But Vienna will see the doors of several museums dedicated to famous composers close to the public this year as the Austrian capital cuts its culture budget to meet public spending targets.The apartment where the Austrian composer Franz Schubert died, the residence of “Blue Danube” writer Johann Strauss, as well as the house where Joseph Haydn lived are to be closed temporarily owing to cost-saving measures, the director of Vienna’s museums announced on Wednesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Olympics chief admits she has not spoken to US president Trump about LA 2028 Games 21. January 2026 (17:21) Kirsty Coventry steers clear of global politics in buildupOrganisers will meet with vice-president JD VanceThe International Olympic Committee has yet to establish formal communications with the US president Donald Trump on preparations for the Los Angeles Games in 2028, the IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, has confirmed.Trump has been speaking in Davos in Switzerland after a turbulent start to 2026 during which he has suggested he will invade Greenland, threatened a trade war with Europe and ousted the Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Europe’s moment of truth over Greenland looms, as leaders ditch appeasement of Trump 21. January 2026 (17:20) From the ‘big bazooka’ to a world cup boycott, Europe has powerful weapons beyond ‘dialogue. An emergency EU summit could be a turning point• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here“I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” wrote Emmanuel Macron in a private message to Donald Trump this week. Trump posted the text on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, seemingly to humiliate the French president. But Macron might have been speaking for millions of bewildered European citizens.As Russia’s war physically tears into Ukraine, Trump’s phoney war on Europe over Greenland risks breaking apart the western defence alliance Nato. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Hand shape in Indonesian cave may be world’s oldest known rock art 21. January 2026 (17:00) Archaeologists say stencil painted with ochre in limestone cave on Muna Island was created at least 67,800 years agoThe faded outline of a hand on a cave wall in Indonesia may be the world’s oldest known rock art, according to archaeologists who say it was created at least 67,800 years ago.The ancient hand stencil was discovered in a limestone cave popular with tourists on Muna Island, part of south-eastern Sulawesi, where it had gone unnoticed between more recent paintings of animals and other figures. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
