Lack of verified information and rapidly advanced AI tools make it difficult to separate fact from fiction on US attack

Minutes after Donald Trump announced a “large-scale strike” against Venezuela early on Saturday morning, false and misleading AI-generated images began flooding social media. There were fake photos of Nicolás Maduro being escorted off a plane by US law enforcement agents, images of jubilant Venezuelans pouring into the streets of Caracas and videos of missiles raining down on the city – all fake.

The fabricated content intermixed with real videos and photos of US aircraft flying over the Venezuelan capital and explosions lighting up the dark sky. A lack of verified information about the raid coupled with AI tools’ rapidly advancing capabilities made discerning fact from fiction about the incursion on Caracas difficult.

Electric car sales rose by nearly a quarter to a record 473,000, or 23.4% of the overall market, says SMMT

A rise in the popularity of Chinese brands pushed total car sales in the UK above the 2m mark last year for the first time since 2019, figures reveal.

Chinese companies accounted for 9.7% of the 2m new car registrations in the UK in 2025, or 196,000 vehicles, according to preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. That was nearly double the 4.9% market share achieved by the country’s carmakers in 2024.

Campaigners call for action to make manufacturers reduce salt in food, which can contribute to high blood pressure and deaths

Adults in England eat the same amount of salt every week as is found in 155 bags of crisps, according to analysis by a leading health charity.

The British Heart Foundation, which carried out the study, said this also equated to 22 bags a day of ready salted, lightly salted or sea salt crisps.

Board of directors vote to dissolve organization after nearly 60 years in operation after funding cuts under Trump

The nonprofit charged by Congress with allocating funds to NPR, PBS and other US public radio and television stations announced is dissolving after massive federal funding cuts under Donald Trump.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced on Monday that its board of directors had voted to dissolve the organization after nearly 60 years in operation.

Over-by-over updates from Sydney Cricket Ground
Live scorecard | The Ashes top 100 | Email Rob

36th over: Australia 167-2 (Head 92, Neser 1) “It’s at least possible we’ll see the traditional England management shakeup after the Ashes,” says Ben Mimmack, “so who in the current squad do you think would welcome a change and who won’t? These are my guesses:

“(Like the) Status Quo: Crawley, Duckett, Stokes, Carse, Archer, Wood, Jacks, Atkinson, Fisher.

It’s not supposed to be like this. Nigeria, for at least two decades, have been a team that huffed and puffed, struggled with the weight of their own history and expectation, seemed always less than the sum of their parts. Even as they won the tournament in 2013, or got to the final in 2024, the sense of effort was palpable. Nothing came easily to them. They’re not meant to be a side who canter through last-16 ties.

But on a foul night in Fez, though, the rain leaching across the stadium, Nigeria, inspired by Ademola Lookman, produced a performance of emphatic attacking quality and effectively had the game won with two goals before the half hour. Lookman put them ahead after 20 minutes with his third goal of the tournament, a typical finish into the top corner after a clever cutback from Akor Adams. Five minutes later, it was Lookman’s cross that Victor Osimhen turned in to make it 2-0. The same combination added a third two minutes into the second half, and whatever sliver of hope remained for Mozambique was vanquished for good. Adams smashed in a fourth from yet another Lookman assist.

The man widely expected to be the next Chelsea head coach once opined on a wide variety of topics in his Guardian column

Coaching may be Liam Rosenior’s forte but, during his days as a Brighton defender, the man widely expected to be Chelsea’s new manager was also a pretty useful Guardian columnist. His eagerly awaited dispatches were invariably packed with thought-provoking opinions on an assortment of topics, ranging from dead balls to Donald Trump. Below are excerpts from a cross-section of Rosenior’s thoughts during his three years with us, alongside a sense of what they tell us about the 41-year-old and how he could carry out his duties at Stamford Bridge. It is important to remember, of course, that Rosenior’s views may have changed in the intervening period.

Sex tapes, pottery shards, a man biffed over the head on his private island … this crime drama based on Elizabeth George’s hit novels fires off every Chekhov’s gun imaginable. Plus it has an unusually buff posho. Strap in!

He is a Balliol man, a suave toff in a suit as sharp as his cheekbones. Unusually buff for a posho, but that is because he is played by Leo Suter, who was Harald Hardrada in Vikings: Valhalla until about 10 minutes ago and evidently still has protein shakes to use up.

She is a working-class Norfolk lass (“Swaffham High, Swaffham Tech”) in sturdy boots and a utility vest who is in the last chance saloon, job-wise, because of her habit of mouthing off to her bosses. She is played by Sofia Barclay, best known as Dr O’Sullivan in Ted Lasso but not getting to use her comedy chops here, because you mustn’t be funny in front of Balliol men. They find it damn confusing and have to be taken off for a lie down.

Daughter of the Wisconsin author confirmed her father died on 29 December and did not provide cause of death

Michael Schumacher, a Wisconsin author who produced a diverse array of works ranging from biographies of film-maker Francis Ford Coppola and musician Eric Clapton to accounts of Great Lakes shipwrecks, has died. He was 75.

Schumacher’s daughter, Emily Joy Schumacher, confirmed Monday that her father died on 29 December. She did not provide the cause of death.

Move sparks praise but chain says hotel independently operated and cancellations ‘not reflective of Hilton values’

The Department of Homeland Security on Monday said a Hilton hotel canceled reservations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota, where the Trump administration has deployed officers after allegations of fraud against Somali immigrants.

After ICE officers booked rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton canceled their reservations, the department said in a post on X.

Department of education, across the street from the supreme court, also evacuated

Arizona’s supreme court building was evacuated Monday morning after multiple vials that tested positive for a homemade explosive substance were sent to the building, according to the state’s department of public safety (DPS).

At about 8am on Monday, DPS responded to reports of a “suspicious package”. Later that morning multiple agencies, including the US Bureau of alcohol firearms and tobacco responded.

President protests innocence in US court as countries at UN meeting condemn Donald Trump’s ‘crime of aggression’

• Venezuela crisis – latest updates

The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty to drugs, weapons and narco-terrorism charges on Monday, two days after his capture by US special forces in an operation ordered by Donald Trump that sent shockwaves around the world.

The brevity and formality of the arraignment hearing in federal court in Manhattan – barely 30 minutes during which Maduro was asked to confirm his name and that he understood the four charges against him – belied the far-reaching consequences of the US action.

Even the return of Martin O’Neill is unlikely to placate supporters frustrated by poor performances, a lack of investment, and chaos in the boardroom

Any club confirming the end of an error after eight games owes an apology to their supporters. In Celtic’s case, even the admission of an all-time blunder in hiring Wilfried Nancy would be unlikely to placate the masses. Remorse has not been forthcoming anyway. As Martin O’Neill’s return as manager was confirmed, office bearers took it in turn to express disappointment at the Nancy affair. Which was very good of them.

Celtic do not have a monopoly on bad decision-making. It just currently feels as if that is the case. A club who have dominated in Scotland for more than a decade, who have vast resources and more scope to plan than others of much lower stature, should never have been seeking a fourth manager in one season. That they are points firmly towards a lack of strategy and direction. It is a preposterous situation. Celtic are lucky that O’Neill, 73, retains an appetite to work. He also ticks another box, that of being idolised in the stands.

The Venezuelan leader entered a heartfelt not guilty plea – and told a member of the gallery he was a prisoner of war

• Venezuela crisis – latest updates

At noon on Monday, Nicolás Maduro was escorted into a Manhattan federal courtroom following his capture early on Saturday in Caracas, completing the seized Venezuelan leader’s stunning journey from his capital city to a US courtroom.

It was a surreal display amid the fallout of a brazen US military operation to grab Maduro that has roiled global politics and stunned observers in the US and overseas.

Gustavo Petro makes remark after Trump threatens military action similar to Venezuela

• ‘Naked imperialism’: how Trump intervention in Venezuela is a return to form for the US

Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart have turned up the volume of their war of words, further raising tensions between the two countries after US forces attacked Venezuela to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, the US president threatened similar military action against Colombia, saying the South American country is “very sick too” and “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”

US alleges the Venezuelan president has spent past two decades working with international drug trafficking groups

The criminal indictment against the deposed Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, unveiled by US attorney general Pam Bondi Saturday morning adds charges to a narcotics-trafficking complaint brought against the Venezuelan leader in 2020.

The superseding indictment alleges that Maduro and other top Venezuelan public officials have, for the past two decades, worked closely with international drug trafficking organizations to ship illicit drugs into the US while enriching themselves.

The actor first realised what music was when he heard Yellow Submarine and knows a lot of Paul Simon lyrics, but what would he put on at a party?

The first song I fell in love with
My earliest memory is walking into a room at nursery school where they were playing Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I was captivated by the sound effects, and Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it got to the chorus, I remember thinking: “This must be music!”

The first single I bought
When I was eight, I won a competition at school to pick a new record to play at the mini disco we had on Fridays. My teacher took me to Woolworths, and I chose Come Back My Love by [50s revivalists] Darts. The first single I bought with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Wings from a record shop in Colne in Lancashire. It was No 1 at the time, and I chose it when my dad pointed out that it was by one of the Beatles.

Streaming’s algorithms make it easy to avoid whole discographies – so in the interest of deeper listening, our writers dedicate time to the ones who might have got away

The first time I heard Joni Mitchell, in 1997, she was looped across the chorus of Janet Jackson’s single Got ’Til It’s Gone. The song’s credits would educate me on the sample’s origins; I had previously assumed Big Yellow Taxi was an Amy Grant original. The second time I heard a Mitchell song was when Travis covered the beautiful River as a B-side.

Jabs to prevent influenza, rotavirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other vaccines are no longer fully recommended

The Trump administration will slash routine vaccine recommendations during childhood from 17 to 11 jabs – the biggest change to vaccines yet under the purview of longtime vaccine critic Robert F Kennedy Jr.

The changes, which US health officials announced on Monday afternoon and are effective immediately, will erode trust and reduce access to vaccines while allowing infectious diseases to spread, experts said.

Prime minister assures colleagues he may one day stand up to Donald Trump – but not yet

Keir Starmer has got used to walking a diplomatic tightrope with Donald Trump. But the US president’s Venezuelan adventure, whisking its leader out of the country after a late-night raid, has pushed that cautious approach to its limits.

The clues were all there. Ever since Trump confirmed that he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela against drug traffickers – and blockaded oil tankers – the military campaign had been mounting.

President wants to placate demonstrators calling for political change, action on corruption and help with cost of living

The Iranian government is attempting risky economic concessions as it tries to meet the escalating demands of protesters seeking fundamental political change, a clampdown on corruption and an easing of the squeeze on living standards of the poor.

Now entering their ninth day, the protests have spread to 26 of Iran’s 31 provinces, with a US-based human rights group claiming that the death toll has passed 20 and nearly 1,000 people have been arrested.

Deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro was controversially captured by US special forces and is due to appear in a Manhattan court. The arrest came after months of US pressure against Maduro, including attacks on ‘narco-boats’ and blockades on oil tankers. Donald Trump has since claimed the US is going to ‘run’ Venezuela - but how?

Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders must defend the rule of international law, as a dangerous new world order emerges

The initial reaction of European leaders to Donald Trump’s illegal military intervention in Venezuela was not only weak, it also had the briefest of shelf lives. Refusing on Sunday to condemn the attack as a breach of international law, European Union member states called hopefully for “a negotiated, democratic, inclusive and peaceful solution to the crisis, led by Venezuelans”. The delusional nature of that response was laid bare as Mr Trump told reporters the same day: “We’re in charge.”

So much for the restoration of democracy. The US president also repeated threats of further military action, should the repressive regime left behind when Nicolás Maduro was seized fail to do Washington’s bidding. As Mr Trump’s marginalising of the Nobel prize-winning opposition figurehead María Corina Machado illustrated early on, the will of Venezuelans is not on his list of priorities. Operation Absolute Resolve was about exercising raw power to dominate a sovereign nation, and controlling Venezuela’s future oil production.

Degrading pictures being posted on Elon Musk’s site despite the platform pledging to suspend people who generate them

Degrading images of children and women with their clothes digitally removed by Grok AI continue to be shared on Elon Musk’s X, despite the platform’s commitment to suspend users who generate them.

After days of concern over use of the chatbot to alter photographs to create sexualised pictures of real women and children stripped to their underwear without their consent, the UK’s communication’s watchdog, Ofcom, said on Monday that it had made “urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK”. Ofcom added that it would assess whether an investigation is necessary based on the company’s response.