News 31/01/26

Sir Keir Starmer says Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should testify before the US Congress over his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to reporters while returning from Japan, the prime minister said anyone with information should be prepared to share it in whatever form they are asked to do so. He added you cannot be victim-centred if you are not prepared to act, because Epstein’s victims must come first.

Andy Burnham has backed Labour’s newly announced candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election, after being blocked from standing himself by the party’s governing body.

In a post on X, the Greater Manchester mayor congratulated Angeliki Stogia, a city councillor for Whalley Range, saying she would do a great job. He added that he would be there for her whenever she needed support.

More than three million pages linked to Jeffrey Epstein have been released by the US Department of Justice.

The files include email exchanges, more than two thousand videos and many images. Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in August twenty nineteen after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. Figures are named, though that alone does not indicate wrongdoing. Released files.

Parts of Ukraine and Moldova suffered power cuts on Saturday after high voltage power lines failed during sub zero temperatures.

Kyiv and Chisinau were among areas affected when lines malfunctioned at ten forty two am local time. Ukraine’s power grid has been damaged by Russian airstrikes during its four year war with Moscow, causing restrictions on electricity supplies in weeks.

Making a first AI music track can feel magical, even for someone profoundly unmusical.

I cannot hold a note or keep a beat, yet in thirty seconds an entire pop song can be created, lyrics included. You tell the AI engine what you want and it does the rest. The result may be generic, but indistinguishable from the real thing.

At least thirty two people were killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to local authorities.

The agency says women and children were among the dead. One attack saw helicopter gunships hit a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis. Palestinians say the strikes are the heaviest since a ceasefire phase came into effect this month.

Photographs appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling on all fours over a woman lying on the ground have been included in the latest batch of Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice.

In two images he is seen touching the unidentified woman, who is fully clothed, on her stomach. Another photograph shows him looking directly at the camera. Separate emails also released suggest the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein invited Mountbatten-Windsor to dinner with a twenty six year old Russian woman. The messages date from August twenty ten, two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor.

Phone lines are being opened and webchat services extended by the UK’s tax authority on the final day before the self assessment deadline.

Millions of people who are self employed or have more than one source of income must file a twenty twenty four to twenty five tax return online by the end of January. HM Revenue and Customs has increased Saturday support for those leaving it late. Around one point one million people missed the deadline last year.

The US federal government has partially shut down despite a last ditch funding deal approved by the Senate.

The lapse began at midnight eastern time, five am GMT, hours after senators agreed funding for most agencies until September. The bill provides two weeks of funding for the Department of Homeland Security instead of a full shutdown. It still requires approval from the House of Representatives, which is currently out of session.

Millions of files relating to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been released by the US Department of Justice, marking the largest disclosure since a law required their publication last year.

Three million pages, one hundred and eighty thousand images and two thousand videos were made public on Friday. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the release followed a detailed identification and review process to ensure transparency and legal compliance.

One of the country’s leading neuroscience units is under urgent review following concerns about the service.

The neuroscience department at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge treats complex brain injuries and head trauma. Cambridge University Hospitals ordered a rapid but thorough independent review, covering a number of clinical teams, and it will be carried out by two official health bodies.

Network Rail placed too much reliance on the contractor responsible for a faulty drainage system that led to a fatal train derailment, an inquiry has heard.

Train driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie and passenger Christopher Stuchbury died at Carmont near Stonehaven in August twenty twenty. Six passengers were injured when the ScotRail service derailed after heavy rain washed gravel onto the track.