News 20/01/26

A commuter train has derailed near Barcelona after a retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks.

Spanish emergency officials say the train driver has died, and twenty people have been injured, four of them critically. The derailment comes just two days after a separate train collision in southern Spain killed forty two people and injured dozens more.

A fifteen year old boy has been stabbed to death in woodland near a park in Surrey.

Officers were called to reports of a stabbing off Lido Road in Stoke Park, Guildford, at around six ten on Monday evening. Police attended with fire and ambulance crews, but the boy was pronounced dead at the scene. Detective Chief Superintendent Debbie White of Surrey Police has urged witnesses to come forward urgently.

A former prison officer has been jailed for having romantic relationships with two inmates and plotting to smuggle drug soaked envelopes into prison.

Isabelle Dale swore her undying love to prisoners Shahid Sharif and Connor Money while working at HMP Coldingley in Surrey, a judge said. The twenty three year old had sex with convicted robber Sharif in the prison chapel area. She later became engaged to Sharif and plotted with him and associate Lilea Sallis to smuggle spice into HMP Swaleside in Kent.

Child serial killer Lucy Letby will not face criminal charges over further allegations involving deaths and non fatal collapses of babies.

The Crown Prosecution Service said additional material provided by police failed to meet the evidential test. Frank Ferguson said a file from Cheshire Constabulary in July twenty twenty five asked prosecutors to consider allegations relating to incidents at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Actor and comedian Russell Brand has been granted bail after being accused of two further sex offences including rape.

The fifty year old appeared by video link from the United States at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth. He has previously denied two rape charges, one indecent assault and two sexual assault allegations relating to four women between nineteen ninety nine and two thousand five.

Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, has criticised Europe’s response to Donald Trump’s threats over Greenland.

Speaking in Davos, Newsom said European leaders needed to stand tall, stop being complicit and show a backbone. He accused leaders of rolling over on the world stage, calling their behaviour embarrassing and pathetic.

A man who chased a police officer with a chainsaw in an attempt to murder him has been jailed for ten years.

Liridon Kastrati, thirty two, was convicted in November of attempting to murder PC Gary Cowan. The daylight attack happened on sixth May twenty twenty four in Renfrewshire after a Volkswagen driven by Kastrati crashed into a police vehicle.

The UK has approved plans for a large new Chinese embassy in central London despite warnings it could be used for spying and pose security risks.

The government said intelligence agencies were involved and that consolidating sites would bring security advantages. The delayed decision comes as ministers balance closer ties with Beijing, with Sir Keir Starmer expected to visit China early this year.

A doctor has appeared in court accused of more than forty sexual assaults on hospital patients, including children.

Nathaniel Spencer faces charges relating to thirty eight patients at hospitals in Stoke and Dudley between twenty seventeen and twenty twenty one. The thirty eight year old was released on conditional bail ahead of a court appearance in February. Some alleged victims were under thirteen.

French officials have carried out their first on water interception under a new policy to stop small boats heading to the UK. Officers boarded a so called taxi boat on the Aa canal in Gravelines.

The move follows a change of tactics agreed in November. A photograph shows men believed to be people smugglers on an inflatable dinghy being towed ashore.

Weapons have been seized and arrests made after early morning raids across Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

Thames Valley Police says officers from its Langley base carried out the warrants. The action follows the introduction of facial recognition cameras to catch offenders wanted for crime. Between Monday January twelve and Friday January sixteen officers executed six dawn warrants and arrested eight people.

Donald Trump has criticised the UK in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The US president said Britain was planning to give the island of Diego Garcia to Mauritius despite hosting a vital American military base there. He claimed the move was happening for no reason. A UK minister said the comments would not change the signed deal agreement.

Nearly a quarter of hospitals in England have seen waiting times worsen since the government published its plan to tackle the backlog a year ago, according to analysis.

Hitting the eighteen week target for treatments such as knee and hip operations was Labour’s key manifesto pledge, with plans set out last January. While progress is being made nationally, thirty one hospital trusts have gone backwards and a further seventeen have made little progress among one hundred and twenty nine services examined. Hospitals struggling most say they face staffing shortages, doctor strikes and problems with IT systems.

Local police forces are not equipped to fight crime, government sources have said, with thousands of officers taken off the streets into desk based roles during the past decade.

A senior source warned crimes on streets are going unpunished and plaguing communities as the government prepares to announce significant reforms to policing this month. Home Office figures show trained uniformed officers in back office roles such as HR and IT support have risen by forty percent in six years to more than twelve thousand six hundred.

Skies across the UK have been illuminated in green and pink hues by the Northern Lights.

The phenomenon, known as the Aurora Borealis, is caused by solar eruptions sending particles towards Earth which interact with particles in the atmosphere. Usually seen near the Arctic Circle, the lights can appear elsewhere during high solar activity. Photos showed displays on Monday evening across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of England.