Almshouse to haunted student digs: historic Newcastle building to become affordable homes 20. January 2026 (17:41) Keelman’s hospital, which housed dockers in 1700s, awarded £4.6m lottery grant after lying empty for 16 yearsIt was built 300 years ago as an almshouse for men who did some of the most backbreaking and dangerous work on the River Tyne.Most recently it provided fun, if chilly, accommodation for students. Now a new chapter is to be written in the history of a building considered the most at-risk structure in Newcastle, with the announcement of £4.6m lottery money to convert it into affordable housing. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Israel bulldozes Unrwa headquarters in East Jerusalem 20. January 2026 (17:29) Palestinian refugee agency compound is demolished, while teargas is fired at UN vocational school in West BankIsraeli crews have started bulldozing the Jerusalem headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem and fired teargas at a UN vocational school in Qalandia, in the West Bank.Israel accuses the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unwra) of collaborating with Hamas – a charge the agency denies – and last year banned it from operating on its territory. The demolition marks Israel’s latest step against Unrwa, which provides aid to millions of Palestinian refugees. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK study to examine effects of restricting social media for children 20. January 2026 (17:22) Trial involving 4,000 children will explore impact on mental health, sleep and time spent with friends and familyA pioneering investigation into the impact of restricting social media access for children in the UK has been announced as politicians around the world consider action on the issue.In December, Australia became the first country to ban under-16s from social media, with governments in other countries – including the UK – under pressure to do the same. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kurdish forces withdraw from IS detention camp in north-east Syria 20. January 2026 (16:59) Neighbouring states warned of chaos if IS prisoners were freed from camp they regard as hotbed of extremismKurdish-led forces in Syria have announced a withdrawal from a detention camp in north-east Syria housing tens of thousands of Islamic State-linked detainees, as Syrian government forces continued to advance in the region.The fate of al-Hol, which houses among others the most radical of foreign women suspected to have been members of IS, and their families, is of great concern to neighbouring states and the international community. These states have for years warned the camp is a hotbed of extremism and chaos could result if a jailbreak were to occur. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Judge allows Trump administration to block lawmakers’ access to ICE facilities 20. January 2026 (16:58) Judge rules homeland security can insist lawmakers provide week’s notice of intention to inspect facilities The Trump administration won a legal victory on Monday that temporarily allows it to keep elected officials out of immigration detention camps, while it advanced two other court actions in support of its surge into Minnesota.A federal judge in Washington DC ruled that the homeland security department (DHS) can continue to insist that lawmakers provide a week’s notice of their intention to inspect immigration facilities, even though she blocked an identical policy last month. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US lawmakers seek to block Trump’s threatened tariffs on European allies 20. January 2026 (16:53) Democrats lead legislative charge to block imposition of tariffs as some Republicans break from TrumpLawmakers from both parties promised legislative action to block Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs against European allies on Monday, though Republicans willing to publicly break with the president on Greenland remain in short supply.Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat, announced plans to introduce a resolution aimed at terminating tariffs Trump threatened to impose over the weekend on eight European nations, including Nato allies Denmark, the UK, Germany and France. The president first mused about the tariffs on Friday at a White House roundtable, then punctuated his threat with new details that included a 10% levy beginning in February, escalating to 25% by June unless a deal is reached for what he called the “Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Gavin Newsom attacks Europe’s ‘complicity’ over Trump Greenland demands 20. January 2026 (16:43) California governor says world leaders are ‘played’ by the US president and urges them to stop rolling overEurope live – latest updatesGavin Newsom, the governor of California, has decried Europeans for their “complicity” in failing to stand up to Donald Trump’s demands that he be allowed to buy or annex Greenland.Newsom, a frontrunner among Democratic candidates for president in 2028, told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday that Europeans were being “played” by Trump and that their efforts to negotiate with him were “not diplomacy, it’s stupidity”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Catholic cardinals warn US foreign policy under Trump risks global suffering 20. January 2026 (15:44) Church leaders cite Greenland threats, Venezuela action and aid cuts as undermining human dignity and peaceThree cardinals in the US Catholic church have criticized the Trump administration’s foreign policy, saying its push to obtain or otherwise seize Greenland, recent military action in Venezuela, and cuts to humanitarian aid risk “destroying international relations and plunging the world into incalculable suffering”.“Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination,” said a joint statement from Blase Cupich, Robert McElroy and Joseph Tobin, respectively the archbishops of Chicago, Washington DC and Newark, New Jersey.The Associated Press contributed Continue reading...(The Guardian)
NDIS tool to determine support not tested on variety of disability types – including diverse autism, experts warn 20. January 2026 (15:00) Exclusive: Experts also alarmed I-CAN tool – a three-hour interview – may be conducted by people with no allied health backgroundGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe head of Australia’s peak body of psychologists and disability experts have warned the NDIS’s new assessment tool hasn’t been tested on a variety of disability types – including diverse autistic needs – which may lead to “tragedies” occurring, if more research is not conducted.The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) announced in September it had procured the Instrument for the Classification and Assessment of Support Needs (I-CAN) to be used as the basis for determining support plans for NDIS participants. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
David Lynch would struggle to make films in social media landscape, say collaborators 20. January 2026 (15:00) Shorter attention spans would make it hard for director to tell ‘deeply connective’ stories, say colleagues on 80th birthdayA film-maker as unique as David Lynch would struggle to emerge in present-day Hollywood because of audiences’ shorter attention spans and the influence of social media on their ability to concentrate, according to collaborators of the director.Lynch, who died in January 2025 and would have been 80 on Tuesday, was celebrated for his complex, funny and unnerving films and TV work, including Twin Peaks, Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive, all made in his distinctive “Lynchian” style. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
