Author: News Desk

Censorship fears over Queen Elizabeth documents due soon for public release Experts have expressed concerns that thousands of official documents about the late Queen and Prince Philip due to be made public over the next two years could be censored. Five years after their deaths, in 2026 and 2027 respectively, government documents involving communications with Queen Elizabeth II and her husband are due to be published. The papers would offer previously unknown insights into the late monarch’s thoughts around events of significance that transpired during her 70-year reign, during which time she engaged with 15 different UK prime ministers prior…

UK will not pit AI safety against investment in bid for growth, says minister Online safety cannot be “pitted against economic investment”, the Science Secretary has said as he prepares to launch the UK’s AI action plan. Peter Kyle is set to unveil the Government’s plans for AI on Monday, setting out how the UK will encourage innovation while ensuring safety. Speaking to the Observer, Mr Kyle said: “We need a concerted effort as a country to ensure now, while we’re still in the foothills, that we are laying the foundations. “I don’t want us to be a country that…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a delegation of senior officials to Qatar for negotiations on a hostage release and Gaza ceasefire deal, his office said Saturday. Netanyahu – wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza – held a meeting in Jerusalem with US president-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, a representative of current US President Joe Biden and senior Israeli officials, the prime minister’s office said in a statement. Following the meeting, Netanyahu instructed the heads of the Mossad spy agency and Shin Bet security agency as well as General Nitzan Alon…

LA County medical examiner’s office confirms wildfire death toll rises to 16 The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office confirmed the death toll from the wildfires ravaging the area has risen to 16. The total number of confirmed fatalities stands at 16 victims, and the cases remain under investigation. Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire, and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the coroner’s office said in a statement on Saturday evening. The previous number of confirmed fatalities was 11, but officials said they expected that figure to rise as cadaver dogs search levelled neighbourhoods and…

Thousands of people demonstrated against a convention of the far-right Alternative for Germany on January 11, blocking some roads and delaying the meeting’s start as parties launched their campaigns for the country’s election next month. We talked about this situation with PhD candidate at King’s College London Claire Burchett. German election: ‘The AfD is trying to present a more moderate image’

“Blame Canada!” goes the satirical song from the 1999 animated comedy film “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,” in which a mother rallies her small Colorado town to confront youth degeneracy. The song humorously shifts blame to America’s northern neighbor rather than US government policies, parenting failures, or media influence, declaring that “we need to form a full assault  — it’s Canada’s fault.” Decades later, US President-elect Donald Trump appears to be channeling a similar energy, blaming Canada for illegal migration and drug trafficking across the northern border. Weeks after winning a second term in the White House, Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian…

Algeria on Saturday rejected France’s accusation of escalation, denouncing a “campaign of disinformation” in their latest diplomatic row after Algiers sent back to Paris an influencer deported from the European country. “Algeria is in no way engaged in a logic of escalation… or humiliation,” the Algerian foreign ministry said in a statement, accusing the extreme right in France of “waging a campaign of disinformation” against Algeria. “Doualemn”, a 59-year-old influencer, was detained by French authorities in the southern city of Montpellier after posting a controversial video on TikTok. He was sent by plane to Algeria on Thursday, according to his lawyer,…

  Israel will send a delegation led by the head of its spy agency, Mossad, to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement late on Saturday. It was not immediately clear when Mossad chief David Barnea would travel to Qatar. Also being sent to Qatar are the head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency and military and political advisers. One brief ceasefire has been achieved during 15 months of fighting. Talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have so far failed to achieve another ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages…

Drug dealer convicted of rival’s murder after refusing to ditch luxury manbag A drug dealer who stabbed a rival to death has been convicted of murder after being snared by his Louis Vuitton-style manbag. Dualla Abdi, 20, was wearing the flash accessory when he knifed Tyreece Scott, 24, in Hounslow, west London, shortly before 1 am on January 16 last year. While he ditched his clothes after the attack, he refused to dump the bag and it was eventually used to help identify him as the killer, the Old Bailey heard. His accomplice and getaway driver Ben Laing, 24, from…

Syria’s new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa and Lebanon’s prime minister vowed on Saturday to build lasting ties after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa said the new Syria would “stay at equal distance from all” in Lebanon, and “try to solve problems through negotiations and dialogue”. Syria, Lebanon pledge 'long-term strategic relations' after Assad ouster