News 16/01/26

The Trump administration has named US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former UK prime minister Sir Tony Blair as founding members of a Board of Peace for Gaza.

The White House said Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son in law Jared Kushner will also join the executive board. Donald Trump will chair the body for Gaza temporarily.

A life extending prostate cancer drug will be available to thousands of men in England within weeks after a campaign by a patient and a charity.

Abiraterone has been available on the NHS in Scotland and Wales since 2023, but not in England except in severe cases. It is already prescribed for very advanced cancer and will now be offered earlier patients.

At least seven people have died as Uganda’s presidential election turned violent, with the opposition saying their leader was forcibly taken away.

The party posted on X that an army helicopter landed at Bobi Wine’s compound and transported him to an unknown location. This month’s elections have been marked by clashes and appear set to extend President Yoweri Museveni’s rule into a fifth decade.

A former Tory councillor has been jailed for twenty weeks after being found guilty of stalking ex-cabinet minister Dame Penny Mordaunt.

Edward Brandt, 61, was convicted in November at Southampton Crown Court but acquitted of the more serious offence of stalking involving serious alarm or distress. In a victim impact statement, Dame Penny said she was completely exhausted by the stress, adding that every time she stepped outside she checked to see if he was there.

Wholesale natural gas prices have risen by more than forty percent this month as a “perfect storm” of pressures threatens higher energy bills.

Day-ahead prices for UK delivery hit a six-month high on Friday, rising more than fourteen percent in a single day, while contracts across Europe also increased. Analysts say cold weather, low gas storage, and slowing deliveries of liquified natural gas, mainly from the US, have driven the surge.

A body has been found in the search for fifteen-year-old Grace Keeling, swept into the sea off the East Yorkshire coast on 2 January.

Her mother, Sarah Keeling, 45, and passer-by Mark Ratcliffe, 67, died trying to save her. Emergency services were initially unable to retrieve the body due to tides and conditions, but it was recovered from the rocks at Withernsea beach on Thursday at 08:30 GMT. Specialist officers are supporting the family and have asked for privacy and respect.

The chief constable of West Midlands Police is retiring with immediate effect, the region’s crime commissioner Simon Foster has confirmed.

It follows criticism of a decision to ban fans of Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv from an Aston Villa game last year. Earlier this week the home secretary said she had lost confidence in chief constable Craig Guildford.

Anthony Joshua has returned to the gym for mental strength therapy, weeks after a car crash which killed two of his close friends.

The heavyweight champion, aged thirty six, was travelling in an SUV last month when it struck a stationary truck on a road near Lagos in Nigeria, killing Sina Ghami and Latif Latz Ayodele. Joshua survived with injuries.

A man has been jailed for twenty nine and a half years for murdering his wife, after their child revealed being coerced into helping him kill her.

Robert Rhodes refused to attend sentencing, maintaining innocence. Judge Mrs Justice Ellenbogen called his actions wicked and callous, saying the murder was brutal, used significant force, and showed clear premeditation and planning described.

A teenager inspired by Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been sentenced after planning an attack on an Oasis concert.

McKenzie Morgan from Llanfrechfa near Cwmbran in South Wales can be named after turning eighteen. He was detained for fourteen months after admitting at the Old Bailey possessing a document useful for terrorism. He spoke of emulating him during July there.

An employment tribunal has ruled in favour of nurses who complained about a transgender colleague using a female changing room.

Nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital were found to have suffered harassment by their NHS trust. The case against County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust related to a policy allowing colleague Rose Henderson, who identifies as a woman, to use the facilities. Complaints began in 2023.

Two people have died in a house fire in north London.

Fire crews were called to a ground floor blaze at a semi detached property on Albemarle Road in Barnet shortly before one forty five am. A man and woman were removed by firefighters but died at the scene. Police and the London Fire Brigade are investigating the cause.

Italy, France and Germany say they want to resume dialogue with Russia over Ukraine.

The move was described as a significant step forward by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the time has come for Europe to appoint a special envoy. French President Emmanuel Macron said Europeans must re engage in dialogue, adding peace will not establish itself.

Work to fix hospitals built using unsafe concrete will miss the government target.

Seven hospitals built with Raac, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, were prioritised for repairs last year, with a deadline of 2030. The National Audit Office says replacement buildings are now expected to open in 2032 and 2033, and some schemes are already now under pressure. At several sites, roofs are propped up with metal supports and parts of hospitals have been closed as unsafe.

A mother involved in a group legal action against TikTok after the deaths of their children says she wants accountability from the platform.

Ellen Roome, from Gloucestershire, is in the United States for the first day of a hearing filed by the Social Media Victims Law Centre. The lawsuit claims five children died while attempting a so called blackout challenge. TikTok says it strictly prohibits content that promotes or encourages dangerous behaviour.

A new funding scheme will give emergency cash to people on low incomes across England.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund will begin in April, providing one billion pounds each year for three years. Applications will be made through local councils, including by people not on benefits. Councils can award money after sudden expenses or income loss, such as a broken boiler or job loss, to prevent crisis.

An Ofsted inspection into Slough Borough Council arrangements for young people leaving care has found support is significantly inconsistent.

Children are supported through the Slough Local Area Partnership, involving the council, the NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board, education providers, and commissioned partners. Ofsted carried out a focused visit to children’s services from November nineteenth to twentieth last year, with the report published on Monday January twelfth.