Browsing: What happened today?

Tuesday’s news is dominated by the inauguration of Donald Trump and his first day as the 47th president of the United States. As soon as he returned to office he issued orders including withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization and declaring an emergency regarding the US-Mexico border. Many publications look at what sort of relationship the US and the UK will have over the next four years.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a public inquiry into the murder of the three little girls at a dance class in Southport last year. Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty to their murders as well as attempted murder and terror-related charges including making ricin. Many news publications report he had planned to commit the UK’s first school massacre just a week before he murdered the children. Since his guilty plea, it has also been revealed that he was referred to a counter-extremism scheme three times.

The prime minister has said the state failed the victims and an inquiry will be held to understand how this happened.

The release of three Israeli hostages in Gaza dominates the UK news today. Israeli-British citizen Emily Damari was among those released. She lost two fingers during her 15-month ordeal. The ceasefire will also see much-needed humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as well as the return of 90 Palestinian prisoners (mostly women and teenage boys).

The weekend’s Premier League action leads the social media trending stories for the UK as Manchester United and Spurs lose again and discussions of what keeps going wrong has begun amongst pundits and fans.

The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza has come into force after a delay of nearly three hours, and thousands of Gazans are beginning to return home. The first three Israeli female hostages are expected to be freed later – Hamas has named them as 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, dual British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, and 24-year-old Romi Gonen.

Several thousand Pro-Palestinian supporters have taken part in a demonstration in central London. The rally – the latest UK protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) since the war in Gaza began in 2023 – comes as Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

TikTok has gone offline in the US, hours before a new law banning the platform was due to come into effect. A message appearing on the app for US users said a law banning TikTok had been enacted, meaning “you can’t use TikTok for now”.

A roundup of last night’s Premier League matches dominates the UK news. Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead at home to draw 2-2 with Aston Villa, potentially throwing away any chances of winning the title. Liverpool beat Brentford 2-0 yesterday, going six points clear at the top of the table.

Hassan Sentamu, the 18-year-old who repeatedly stabbed schoolgirl Elianne Andam in a row over a teddy bear has been found guilty of her murder. Sentamu, now 18, admitted manslaughter, claiming he was not in control of his actions because of his autism but the jury, after deliberating for nearly 12 hours, did not accept this defence of diminished responsibility.

The murderer of schoolboy Jimmy Mizen has been recalled to prison after “shamelessly boasting” about his crime, the Probation Service said. Jake Fahri, then 19, was convicted of murder after he threw a large glass dish that shattered, severing an artery in the 16-year-old’s neck, at a bakery in Lee, south-east London, in 2009.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced plans for a nationwide review of grooming gang evidence and five government-backed local inquiries. She stopped short of launching a statutory national inquiry, as called for by the Conservatives and some Labour MPs, but this marks a clear shift in the government’s position.

Manchester United beat Southampton late on in last night’s Premier League match thanks to a really late hat-trick from Amad Diallo. Erling Haaland has signed a nine-and-a-half-year deal with Manchester City and Utd reject Napoli move for Garnacho.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves continues to face pressure despite the pound and the UK government borrowing costs showing signs of stabilising after a turbulent few days.

A man has been cleared of manslaughter after his partner’s suicide. Ryan Wellings was cleared of manslaughter but found guilty of assault and prolonged domestic violence.

British people who own homes in Spain (but don’t live there) could soon be facing taxes of up to 100% as part of plans being proposed in Spain to help tackle the country’s housing shortage.

The government is to set out plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) across the UK to boost growth and deliver public services more efficiently. The AI Opportunities Action Plan being announced on Monday will be backed by leading tech firms, which are said to have committed £14bn towards various projects, creating 13,250 jobs, the government said.

The pound has dropped to its lowest value against the dollar since November 2023 while government borrowing costs have continued to rise. The pound fell to $1.21 on Monday morning as the recent sell-off continued.

The prime minister is being urged to tighten the rules around donations to political parties as the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, attempts to interfere in British politics by making a $100 million donation to Reform UK.

Further reports suggest the Conservative Party are attempting to woo Elon Musk away from Reform and to the Tories by highlighting their ‘anti-woke’ credentials.

Musk has been vocal about foreign interference in American politics but seems to have no issue with interfering in other countries’ politics.

There is anger across the political spectrum this morning as the government has announced it won’t be compensating the Waspi women. Whilst it’s accepted that it would hit the taxpayer if the government did decide to compensate the women, it been widely highlighted that when in opposition Labour made it clear it would be prepared to write a cheque if they came to power.

There’s further coverage of Prince Andrew’s latest scandal as he’s been told to stay away from royal events this Christmas. It comes as another Chinese spy allegation emerges.

Yang Tengbo – also known as Chris Yang – has been named as the alleged Chinese spy who was close friends with Prince Andrew. PM Keir Starmer has played down allegations of a Chinese network of spies operating across Britain, and Andrew has been uninvited from royal events this Christmas.

Yang also had contact with two former British prime ministers – Theresa May and David Cameron. Allegations of spying have led for calls for Britain to reassess how it manages its relationship with Beijing.

Lucy Letby’s defence team is to seek a fresh appeal on the grounds that the chief medical witness for the prosecution changed his mind about how some of the babies in her case died. Letby’s barrister Mark McDonald said he would take the ‘exceptional, but necessary, decision’ to apply to reopen her case.

MPs are amongst those calling for the alleged Chinese spy – with close links to Prince Andrew – to be publicly named for security reasons. MPs are threatening to name the man as allegations raise “calls for caution.” Shadow home secretary Chris Philp and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage are amongst those calling for the alleged spy to be named.

It’s plunged the royals – and Andrew – into deeper crisis and amid another year of royal scandal, the firm is hoping Andrew steps out of the public eye this Christmas.

District councils could be abolished and more elected mayors introduced across England under new plans for a major redesign of local government. Ministers are set to publish a paper on Monday outlining plans for mergers in areas where there are currently two tiers of local authority – smaller district and larger county councils – in a bid to streamline services.

The government has approved the sale of the Royal Mail’s parent company to a Czech billionaire. The £3.6bn takeover by Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group has been given the go-ahead after agreeing “legally binding” undertakings.

A close friend of Prince Andrew has lost his appeal against a decision banning him from the UK on national security grounds. An MI5 investigation alleged the man – known as H6 – was spying for China.

The UK economy shrank for the second month in a row in October as concerns about the Budget continued to weigh on confidence.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have discovered their 2026 World Cup qualifying opponents following Friday’s draw in Zurich. England will face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron has named centrist leader François Bayrou as France’s next prime minister, in a bid to end months of political turmoil.