Court backlog to grow until end of decade despite Lammy axing of jury trials, says MoJ 24. February 2026 (13:47) Justice secretary says only his measures will stop backlog in England and Wales from increasing exponentiallyThe backlog in criminal courts in England and Wales will continue to rise until the end of the decade before it falls despite radical changes including curtailing jury trials, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice.The justice secretary, David Lammy, said the government was determined to press ahead with the jury trial changes despite a potential rebellion from Labour MPs, warning that no other measures would stop the backlog from rising exponentially. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Amyl and the Sniffers embroiled in US legal battle after photographer countersues singer 24. February 2026 (12:45) The rock band’s Amy Taylor claimed copyright infringement over sales of prints but now faces counter action in Los Angeles courtRock band Amyl and the Sniffers have become embroiled in a legal battle over photoshoot rights between their lead singer and a photographer who has applied for the case to be thrown out.Amy Taylor, the band’s frontwoman, had taken the photographer, Jamie Nelson, to court for selling fine art prints based on photos of Taylor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump to proclaim success of first year in lengthy State of the Union speech 24. February 2026 (12:00) President says ‘we have so much to talk about’ as polls show decline in Americans’ support for handling of key issuesDonald Trump will deliver the annual State of the Union address Tuesday evening, where he is set to proclaim the success of his first year in office before an American public that polls show has soured on his handling of the issues they care about most.The speech to a joint session of Congress will be a key moment ahead of the November midterm elections, in which Trump’s Republican allies are defending their slim control of the Senate and House of Representatives. It will take place amid a decline in Trump’s approval ratings fueled by discontent with his handling of the economy and immigration, both issues at the center of his successful re-election campaign in 2024. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anthony Albanese evacuated from official Canberra residence due to security threat 24. February 2026 (11:57) Prime minister moved from The Lodge to another location while investigation under wayAnthony Albanese was evacuated from his official Canberra residence on Tuesday night as police responded to a security threat.The prime minister was moved from The Lodge to another location at about 6pm while an investigation was carried out. He was only able to return after 9pm after a search had been completed. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New edition of Ferrara bible shows how persecuted Jews kept faith alive in Spanish 24. February 2026 (11:56) Exiled Spanish and Portuguese Jews who had fled to Italy translated Hebrew bible into their common languageIn 1553, a community of exiled Spanish and Portuguese Jews who had found refuge and patronage in the northern Italian city of Ferrara did something that would have been unthinkable, and very possibly fatal, in their former homelands.They printed their own Hebrew bible in Spanish. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kremlin vows to press ahead with Ukraine war aims as Europe marks four years since invasion – Europe live 24. February 2026 (11:52) Four years ago today, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hoping to take the country in a matter of daysZelenskyy says “we must be just as determined and strong as we were when the invasion began,” as “the threat hasn’t become smaller.”He says Europe can only respond to this war working together with the US, even as he remarks it “is not an easy task to maintain transatlantic unity and cooperation in the current conditions.”“So there must be no place in the free world for Russian oil, for Russian tankers, Russian banks, Russian sanctions …, schemes, or for any Russian war criminals. The time has come to fully ban all participants in Russia’s aggression from entire Europe.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Destitute survivors of south-east Asia’s cyberscam farms an ‘international crisis’ 24. February 2026 (11:40) Not enough support for freed victims, say aid agencies, with growing numbers sleeping on the streets, unable to travel home without passports or moneyCharities and aid workers have called for urgent international government support for victims of south-east Asia’s deadly scam compounds, following a damning report by Amnesty International.The numbers of survivors of cyberscam “farms” left destitute and abandoned on the city streets of Cambodia and Myanmar is an “international crisis”, according to the research published in January. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Minister signals government won’t stop MPs voting to publish Andrew trade envoy documents – UK politics live 24. February 2026 (11:22) MPs to debate the release of documents relating to the appointment of ex-prince Andrew as UK trade envoyKeir Starmer has paid tribute to the “the incredible resilience of the Ukrainians” and urged people to “defeat the falsehood that Russia is winning” the war it started four years ago.Addressing cabinet this morning, he said:I wanted also to pay tribute to the incredible resilience of the Ukrainians, and it is incredible resilience.When this conflict broke out four years ago, it was assumed it would be a matter of weeks before Putin took the whole of Ukraine. That’s what everybody believed.The second etched in my memory was last year when I went to one of the busiest hospitals in Kyiv and saw for myself the incredibly awful burns on some of those who had returned from the frontline. Burns the like of which I’d never seen in my life before.And at the same time, I went to a primary school and these children who were five, six, seven years old, had lost both their parents to the conflict. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump to deliver State of the Union address in deeply polarized country 24. February 2026 (11:00) Speech comes as midterms loom and opinion polls show more voters disapprove than approve of his performanceThe last time Donald Trump delivered a State of the Union address, it produced the memorable optics of Nancy Pelosi ripping up his speech after he finished talking.Pelosi’s theatrical gesture at the end of the February 2020 address (his 2025 speech was technically a joint session of Congress, not a State of the Union) eloquently expressed the Democrats’ contempt for Trump’s rosy description of the union he presided over, when he boasted of a booming economy and restoring US strength in characteristic Maga (make America great again) rhetoric. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Missing North Carolina woman found ‘alive and well’ after 24 years 24. February 2026 (11:00) Daughter was ‘heartbroken’ after Michelle Hundley Smith requested her location not be disclosed to family she had walked away fromA North Carolina woman says she was simultaneously “ecstatic … pissed … [and] heartbroken” to learn authorities recently found her mother living safely and well – while also wanting her location kept secret – more than 24 years after she suddenly vanished from her family.“I am all over the map!” Amanda Smith, the daughter of Michelle Hundley Smith, wrote in a lengthy statement on a social media page dedicated to searching for her mother. “Will I have a relationship once more with my mom? Honestly, I can’t answer that [because] I don’t even know. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
