News 26/01/26

A major storm forecast to bring strong winds, heavy rain and snow across much of the UK on Tuesday has been named Storm Chandra by the Met Office.

Flooding and travel disruption are likely in places, with significant snow expected on higher ground in northern areas. An amber alert for heavy rain covers southwest England on Monday and Tuesday, with the Met Office warning of thirty to fifty millimetres of rain, and up to eighty millimetres on higher ground, raising flooding risks.

More than seven hundred thousand university graduates are out of work and claiming welfare benefits, according to analysis by a think tank.

The Centre for Social Justice says four hundred thousand graduates are not working and claiming Universal Credit. It also says two hundred and forty thousand report being unable to work due to health reasons, a figure that has more than doubled since twenty nineteen. The government says it is investing in helping young people into work and has commissioned a review.

A probe has been launched after a man in his fifties was stabbed in the back at a high street bus stop.

Police say the attack happened at around seven pm on January twenty five at Langley High Street, at the bus stop opposite Langley Memorial Ground near Selekt Chicken. He was assaulted by three offenders wearing dark clothing and remains in hospital receiving treatment.

Facial recognition technology is to be rolled out across England and Wales under reforms announced by the home secretary.

Shabana Mahmood told MPs the government will invest more than £140m in new technology to help catch criminals nationwide. She also said all forces will receive AI tools to cut desk time, allowing officers to spend more time on the beat.

The remains of the last Israeli hostage in Gaza have been recovered.

The Israel Defence Forces said they had retrieved the body of Ran Gvili and that his family had been informed. Identification was confirmed by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate. Gvili, 24, was a Sergeant First Class in the Israeli Police Special Forces. He was killed at Alumim kibbutz on the day of the October 7 attacks in 2023, before his body was taken to Gaza.

Heading a football is likely to have contributed to the brain injury which was a factor in the death of former Manchester United and Scotland defender Gordon McQueen, a coroner in North Yorkshire has found.

McQueen, who died at his home in North Yorkshire in 2023 aged 70, won 30 international caps between 1974 and 1981 and also played for Leeds United during a 16-year career. At a hearing in Northallerton earlier this month, TV presenter Hayley McQueen said her father had told his family that heading a football for so long “probably hasn’t helped.”

Bank of Scotland has been fined £160,000 by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation for breaching sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The regulator said the bank processed 24 payments in February 2023 totalling £77,383 to and from a personal current account held by a UK-designated person. The individual was not named.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defended a decision blocking Andy Burnham from standing in a parliamentary by election, saying an election for the Manchester mayor role was unnecessary.

He said Burnham was doing a great job, but holding a mayoral election would divert Labour resources from elections the party must fight and win, reflecting the NEC decision he said.

A storm bringing strong winds, heavy rain and snow across much of the UK on Tuesday has been named Storm Chandra by the Met Office.

Flooding and travel disruption are likely, with significant snow on higher ground. An amber rain alert covers southwest England Monday and Tuesday, with yellow rain warnings elsewhere including London, parts of Wales and Northern Ireland.

Israel says it will reopen the Gaza Strip’s key Rafah border crossing with Egypt only after an operation to retrieve the body of the last Israeli hostage is complete.

The crossing has been mostly closed since May 2024. Israel says reopening is conditional on efforts to return the body of police officer Master Sgt Ran Gvili. A ceasefire began October.

A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a missing man was found dead in Plymouth.

Devon and Cornwall Police said Drew Perham was reported missing on Saturday after failing to return from a Friday night out. Officers placed scene guard on Soap Street. On Sunday afternoon a body was found in water. Formal identification is pending and Drew’s family have been informed.

Donald Trump says he is pressing ahead with his immigration enforcement policy and is reportedly considering invoking the Insurrection Act in Minneapolis.

NBC News reports a senior White House official confirmed the president is holding ongoing talks with advisers. The official said Trump plans to demand even greater cooperation between local and federal law enforcement. He believes the chaos and tragic situations are happening because local authorities have refused to work with the federal government, encouraging resistance and making conditions extremely difficult for officers to operate.

The UK is set to support a major new fleet of offshore wind projects in the North Sea alongside eight other European countries, including Norway, Germany and the Netherlands.

The government says the deal will boost energy security and offer an escape from what it calls the fossil fuel rollercoaster. For the first time, some wind farms will link multiple countries through undersea interconnectors. Supporters say this should help lower prices, although critics warn operators could sell power to the highest bidder when supply is tight.

All schools in England should be phone-free for the entire school day under new government guidance, according to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.

In a letter to schools, she said phones should not be used as calculators or for research during lessons, breaks or lunchtime. Ofsted will inspect how schools implement their policies, and teachers are advised not to use phones in front of pupils. A head teachers’ union said using Ofsted to police phone rules was deeply unhelpful and misguided.

Tens of thousands of children in England have waited more than a year for NHS community care, including hearing services, speech and language therapy and disability support.

Analysis suggests a quarter of the three hundred thousand children on waiting lists have been waiting over twelve months. NHS leaders and doctors describe the delays as catastrophic, harming health and development. The government says long waits are unacceptable and investment will improve access.