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.

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© Photograph: PHOTOGRAPHER:/CREDIT LINE:BBC/Playground TV/Jonathan Hession

© Photograph: PHOTOGRAPHER:/CREDIT LINE:BBC/Playground TV/Jonathan Hession

© Photograph: PHOTOGRAPHER:/CREDIT LINE:BBC/Playground TV/Jonathan Hession

CARACAS, Venezuela -- The Venezuelan government on Monday sought to show its people and the world that the country is being run independently and not controlled by the United States following its stunning weekend arrest of Nicolas Maduro, the authoritarian leader who had ruled for almost 13 years. Read More

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.

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© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

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.

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© Photograph: Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/AP

© Photograph: Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/AP

© Photograph: Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/AP

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.

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© Photograph: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

© Photograph: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

© Photograph: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

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.

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© Photograph: Matt York/AP

© Photograph: Matt York/AP

© Photograph: Matt York/AP

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.

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© Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

© Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

© Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

It seems clear that there was great excitement in the Poilievre household on Saturday morning, as news of the surgical strike by U.S. special forces in Venezuela filtered through. Read More

Nicolas Maduro walked into a packed New York courtroom Monday with his shoulders back, scanning the public gallery and offering a few Spanish greetings, before declaring: "I am innocent." Read More

The war of words between U.S. President Donald Trump and the autonomous territory of Greenland continued into the new year, heated up by the recent American incursion into Venezuela to capture its president. Read More

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.

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© Photograph: Elizabeth Williams/AP

© Photograph: Elizabeth Williams/AP

© Photograph: Elizabeth Williams/AP

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.”

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© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

The 73-year-old Oscar-nominated actor was issued with an eviction notice in December

Mickey Rourke has turned to fundraising to pay the US$59,100 (£44,000, A$89,000) he allegedly owes in rent, after being sued by his landlord and facing eviction from his Los Angeles home.

The 73-year-old actor, who was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for his performance in the 2008 drama The Wrestler, has approved a GoFundMe page launched by Liya-Joelle Jones, a friend and member of Rourke’s management team. At time of writing, the fundraiser had raised US$33,000 of its US$100,000 goal.

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© Photograph: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

© Photograph: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

© Photograph: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

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.

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© Photograph: -

© Photograph: -

© Photograph: -

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.

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© Composite: Guardian Design; Michael Putland;Paul Harris; Aaron Rapoport;Christopher Polk/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design; Michael Putland;Paul Harris; Aaron Rapoport;Christopher Polk/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design; Michael Putland;Paul Harris; Aaron Rapoport;Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Peers have backed an amendment, which was led by former military chiefs, which has left Starmer’s controversial Chagos deal in crisis

© CPA Media Pte Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo

Leo Suter leads the reboot of ‘The Inspector Lynley Mysteries’, 17 years after the original ended

© BBC/Playground TV

Editorial: Washington’s new imperialism has trashed the transatlantic alliance – but Keir Starmer and other leaders can yet persuade the US that they have much to contribute to its national security

© PA

Maduro's former vice president, who vowed to work with the Trump administration, was inaugurated as interim president

© Pedro MATTEY / AFP via Getty Images

There have been a number of occasions when both the primary and backup systems failed

© AP

I spent months testing these in-shower tools to see if they make a difference to my hair health

© Louise Whitbread/The Independent

The alleged refusal comes as the Department of Homeland Security has cracked down on alleged fraud in the Minneapolis area

© REUTERS

The restaurant was a staple among the Broadway community

© Isabel Keane, The Independent

Removing chlorine and heavy metals from your water can help improve the condition of your hair

© Louise Whitbread/The Independent