News 09/01/26

The UN’s human rights office has expressed concern over violence in Iran, including reported deaths and property destruction.

A spokesperson said the right to peaceful protest must be upheld and all deaths should be promptly, independently and transparently investigated. Those responsible for violations must be held to account in line with international norms. The agency also criticised the Iranian government’s internet shutdown in response to the protests, saying it is “disturbed” by the restrictions.

Forecasters have warned that Britain should prepare for more cold weather, ice and snow over the weekend, even as Storm Goretti moves offshore.

Saturday is expected to be sunnier and drier than recent days, but rain and some snow are forecast for Sunday. The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for snow and ice across much of the country, as a blast of cold air moves in overnight Friday into Saturday.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall says she would support regulator Ofcom if it blocks access to Elon Musk’s social media platform X for failing to meet online safety laws.

OFCOM is reviewing X’s AI chatbot Grok, which had digitally undressed people without consent when tagged beneath images. X has now limited the feature to paying subscribers. Downing Street called the move “insulting” to victims of sexual violence, while a domestic abuse charity described it as “monetising abuse.”

A man has been charged after a stabbing in Slough near a petrol station.

Police say Baba Sarr, twenty two, of Elmwood Road, Slough, faces one count of Section 18 grievous bodily harm. He was charged on January eight, following a stabbing on Stoke Poges Lane, north of the Esso petrol station, on July twenty eight last year, in Slough.

The wife of a woman shot dead in her car by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has paid tribute, saying kindness radiated out of her.

The White House says the Minneapolis shooting was self defence, but officials and protesters disagree, with the mayor saying video shows the claim was garbage. Her wife said they stopped to support neighbours.

Spanish police have arrested dozens of suspected members of an international criminal gang, according to Europol.

Thirty four people linked to the so called Black Axe organisation were detained in a joint operation with German police in Bavaria. Most arrests were in Seville, with others in Madrid, Malaga and Barcelona. The arrests relate to fraud, money laundering and forgery.

The government is refusing to deny reports that plans to make Britain’s armed forces war ready will cost billions more than allocated.

The Ministry of Defence believes it needs an extra twenty eight billion pounds over four years. Its investment plan has been delayed, with a rewrite ordered, and may not appear until spring after Sir Keir Starmer intervened.

US forces have seized another tanker in the Caribbean Sea as efforts continue to control Venezuelan oil exports.

The vessel, Olina, is sanctioned by multiple countries and is the fifth seized recently. Officials say seizures target the dark fleet, more than one thousand tankers moving sanctioned and illicit oil, to pressure Venezuela’s interim government, according to US military on Friday.

A TikTok creator has been jailed for nine years after causing the death of a grandmother while driving a car with faulty brakes.

Leigh Sutherland, 31, told police a “cock and bull story” following the collision with Margaret Allan in June 2023 in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. Ms Allan, 77, was driving her ten-year-old grandson in her Peugeot 108 when the crash occurred and died the following month. Sutherland was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving at the High Court in Glasgow in October 2025.

One of the co-owners of the Swiss bar where 40 people died in a New Year’s Eve fire has been detained.

Jacques Moretti, a French national, was considered a potential flight risk, according to Swiss media. The blaze at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana injured 116 people, many under 20. Reports revealed the bar had not undergone safety checks for five years.

A man who coerced a woman into having sex with over 100 strangers over three decades has been jailed for a minimum term of sixteen years.

Rodney Johnston, 67, from Starston in Norfolk, threatened the woman into participating in sexual acts at secluded countryside locations, cars, and hotels. He also photographed and filmed the abuse. Norwich Crown Court sentenced him to life in prison, with the judge describing the victim’s impact statement as “harrowing” and highlighting the “severe and lifelong impact” of the abuse.

The Met Office has issued three yellow warnings. They include a warning for ice from midday today until midday tomorrow across the East and West Midlands, London and South East England, the North West, South West, Yorkshire and Humber, and Wales.

National Grid says power has been restored to 147,983 properties, though more than 62,000 remain without power still there.

Image editing on X’s Grok AI tool has been limited to paid subscribers, according to a chatbot message.

Users were able to upload a picture and ask Grok to alter it, but the system now replies that image generation and editing are limited to paying subscribers. The change follows warnings criminals used Grok to create child sexual abuse imagery there.

Russia says two of its citizens aboard an oil tanker seized by US special forces have been released.

American troops boarded the Marinera, previously known as the Bella 1, between Iceland and Scotland as it travelled towards Russia. The operation followed US military strikes in Venezuela, which removed Nicolas Maduro from power and brought him to New York for trial.

Elon Musk’s platform X has restricted image editing with its AI tool Grok to paying users, after criticism over sexualised deepfakes.

There was backlash after the chatbot honoured requests to digitally alter images of other people, undressing them without consent. Grok now tells users such requests are limited to paid subscribers, meaning names and payment details must be recorded.

Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli has apologised for trying to push injured Liverpool defender Conor Bradley off the pitch during Thursday’s goalless draw.

Bradley fell awkwardly near the touchline in stoppage time, clutching his knee. Martinelli dropped the ball before shoving him to force play on. The act sparked a melee, with Martinelli and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate booked by the referee.

The Russian military says it fired its hypersonic Oreshnik missile at a target in Ukraine during what it describes as a large overnight strike on energy infrastructure and drone manufacturing facilities.

The defence ministry says the attack was carried out in response to what it claims was an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences late last year. Kyiv has rejected the accusation, saying claims it targeted the residence in the Novgorod region are false.

Many train companies are urging commuters not to travel on Friday because of significant disruption, according to National Rail.

Although the storm has passed, railways still need inspection and some stations remain closed. During the height of Storm Goretti, seventy one thousand five hundred properties lost power across England and Wales, with most outages in the South West, though more customers were reconnected overnight.

Iranian state media has claimed terrorist agents from the United States and Israel have set fires and fuelled violence.

A brief report on state television marked the first official word on nationwide protests. It said unrest saw private cars, motorcycles, public places including the metro, along with fire trucks and buses set alight, with casualties reported.

One person has died and thirty eight others are missing after a landfill collapse in the Philippines.

Reports say they are trapped in debris from a waste management facility that spilled into the village of Binaliw. The Cebu City government deployed rescue teams and heavy equipment while assessing damage to nearby homes.

Some people are waiting more than a year for disability benefit claims to be processed,

MPs have warned. The Department for Work and Pensions aims to handle seventy five percent of new Personal Independence Payment claims within seventy five working days, but last year only fifty one percent met that target. A Public Accounts Committee report said service levels were unacceptably poor. The DWP said the average decision time in October was sixteen weeks.

A motorist has been ordered to pay more than one thousand pounds after driving without insurance in Sloug

Michael Desmond was stopped on Langley Road on March twenty sixth last year. The thirty eight year old pleaded guilty at High Wycombe Magistrates Court. He was fined six hundred and sixty nine pounds.