British defence minister says money will be spent on vehicle upgrades, communication systems and counter-drone protection, ensuring troops are ready to deploy. What we know on day 1,417

Britain said it was allocating £200m (US$270m) to fund preparations for the possible deployment of troops to Ukraine, after pledging its soldiers this week to a multinational force for the country in the event of a ceasefire. Visiting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday, British defence minister John Healey said the money would be spent on upgrading vehicles and communication systems and counter-drone protection, as well as ensuring troops are ready to deploy. The announcement follows Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday agreeing to a declaration of intent at a summit of the “coalition of the willing” of Ukraine’s allies, outlining a potential future deployment. Healey said the funding announcement showed the government was “surging investment” into preparations for Ukraine.

Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack, officials said Friday. For only the second time in the nearly 4-year-old war, it used a new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv’s Nato allies. The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile came days after Ukraine and its allies reported major progress toward agreeing on how to defend the country from further Moscow aggression if a US-led peace deal is struck. Russia fired a total of 242 drones and 36 missiles, including the Oreshnik, to hit infrastructure in the western Lviv region and in and around Kyiv, Ukraine said.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine would be initiating international action in response to the use of the missile, including an urgent meeting of the UN security council and a meeting of the Ukraine-Nato Council. “Such a strike close to EU and Nato border is a grave threat to the security on the European continent and a test for the transatlantic community. We demand strong responses to Russia’s reckless actions,” he said in a post on X. Zelenskyy said the strike was “demonstrably” close to EU states and warned Ukraine’s neighbours to take note of the dangers: “From the standpoint of the use of medium-range ballistics, this is the same challenge for Warsaw, Bucharest, Budapest, and many other capitals,” he said in his nightly video address. “Everyone should understand it in the same way, and take it equally seriously.”

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany said they spoke about the attack and deemed it “escalatory and unacceptable,” according to a readout of their call released by Keir Starmer’s office on Friday. EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the Oreshnik launch was “meant as a warning to Europe and to the US”. “Putin doesn’t want peace, Russia’s reply to diplomacy is more missiles and destruction,” Kallas wrote on social media. German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who spoke to the leaders of France and Britain, said: “Threatening gestures are intended to instil fear, but they will not work. We stand with Ukraine.” UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns” Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, his spokesperson said Friday.

Ukrainian officials said four people were killed and at least 25 wounded in Kyiv as apartment buildings were struck in the attack. Those killed included an emergency medical aid worker, according to Kyiv city military administration head Tymur Tkachenko. Four doctors and one police officer were injured while responding to the attacks, authorities said.

Zelenskyy said 20 residential buildings in Kyiv had also been damaged, including the Qatari embassy, in one of the largest attacks on the capital for months. Qatar expressed “deep regret” over the embassy hit and said that none of its staff there had been harmed. Russia denied targeting the area around the mission and claimed it was hit by a Ukrainian air defence missile.

Mass heating outages caused by Russian strikes on Kyiv are set to last into the weekend, as the capital’s mayor called on residents to temporarily leave the city with sub-zero temperatures expected to fall even lower. About half of snowy Kyiv’s apartment buildings – nearly 6,000 – were left without heat amid daytime temperatures of about minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 fahrenheit), mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Water supplies also were disrupted.

Ukraine said Friday that Russia had hit two cargo ships off its south coast in the Black Sea, killing a Syrian crew member on board one of the vessels. One of the ships was en route to load grain at the southern port of Chornomorsk, while the other was hit near the port of Odesa while transporting soya beans, restoration minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram.

‘We’re going to be extracting numbers in terms of oil like few people have seen,’ Trump said – key US politics stories from 9 January 2025

Donald Trump had a message for fossil-fuel companies on Friday: Venezuela is now “open for business” as the US president vowed the country’s resources would be extracted for the benefit of the US, oil companies – and “some” money for Venezuelans.

At a roundtable press conference at the White House with more than a dozen oil executives, including leaders from Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, the US president doubled down on claims that Nicolás Maduro’s arrest presents American oil companies with an unprecedented opportunity for extraction.

Fires may continue for ‘weeks’, authorities warn, as three missing people found safe

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At least 119 structures are believed to be lost in bushfires across Victoria and more than 300,000 hectares of bushland has been burned as the state continues to battle blazes that may rage for “weeks”.

Emergency management commissioner, Tim Wiebusch, told the media on Saturday that about 50 homes had been lost in the Ravenswood and Harcourt fire, which was believed to be a “conservative number”. The Bendigo railway line had also been damaged by fire and was closed.

Harold Pinter theatre, London
Crudup and Denise Gough lead a tense adaptation that turns the film into a debate play whose McCarthy-era roots resonate powerfully today

How do you turn a classic Hollywood western into West End musical fare? Add songs, many of Bruce Springsteen’s in this case, along with a few rounds of line dancing and a sizzling star in Billy Crudup. Still, it’s an odd experience initially as Thea Sharrock’s production switches from one brief filmic scene to the next, and the endeavour seems as wooden as the clapboard saloon-bar slats that comprise the handsome set.

As a piece of theatre, it finds its flow. As a debate play, though, it gathers a locomotive energy as it travels towards the showdown between Frank Miller (James Doherty), who is returning to this “dirty little village in the middle of nowhere”, and the marshal Will Kane (Crudup) who put him behind bars. That is mostly because of the uncanny and urgent relevance of this 1952 film about a community working out (or rather, squirming out of) its civic responsibilities around institutional wrongdoing.

Artistic director of US’s national opera also cites ‘shattered’ donor confidence and box office revenue

The Washington National Opera (WNO) announced on Friday it is moving its performances out of the John F Kennedy Center, in what could be one of the most significant departures from the institution since Trump took control of it.

“Today, the Washington National Opera announced its decision to seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity,” the opera said in a statement to the New York Times. A separate website appears to be set up for the opera.

US president doubles down on threats to acquire territory at White House meeting with oil and gas executives

Donald Trump has doubled down on his threats to acquire Greenland, saying the US is “going to do something [there] whether they like it or not”.

Speaking at a meeting with oil and gas executives at the White House, the US president justified his comments by saying: “If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland. And we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”

Platform has restricted image creation on the Grok AI tool to paying subscribers, but victims and experts say this does not go far enough

Elon Musk’s X has been ordered by the UK government to tackle a wave of indecent AI images or face a de facto ban, as an expert said the platform was no longer a “safe space” for women.

The media watchdog, Ofcom, confirmed it would accelerate an investigation into X as a backlash grew against the site, which has hosted a deluge of images depicting partially stripped women and children.

• Manager takes charge of first game on Saturday in FA Cup

• ‘It’s not possible to be in this job and not be your own man’

Liam Rosenior is confident he will make the decisions at Chelsea, insisting he would not have agreed to take over as head coach if he doubted his ability to work within the club’s structure.

Rosenior, who takes charge of his first game when Chelsea visit Charlton in the FA Cup third round on Saturday night, was appointed after Enzo Maresca left in acrimonious circumstances. Maresca’s position became untenable after a power battle with the Chelsea hierarchy went beyond the point of no return.

Country is ‘uninvestable’ today, president told, but CEOs signal they are ready to spend with support

Donald Trump promised oil giants “total safety, total security” in Venezuela in an effort to persuade them to invest $100bn in the country’s infrastructure after US forces toppled Nicolás Maduro from power.

At a roundtable press conference at the White House on Friday afternoon with more than a dozen oil executives, including leaders from Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhilips, the US president doubled down on claims that Maduro’s arrest presents American oil companies with an unprecedented opportunity for extraction.

North Americans have rarely been fans of draws in sport, so the unscripted FA Cup drama of seeing Arthur Okonkwo take a starring role in a penalty shootout after Wrexham were pegged back in the final minute of normal time must have brought joy to co-owner Ryan Reynolds in the stands. The club the Hollywood actor invested in were just about underdogs against Premier League Nottingham Forest in a game that included numerous plot twists, only to provide the romantic ending the majority wanted.

The heroic Okonkwo saved from Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson in the shootout to ensure James McClean’s miss was irrelevant. It should have been easier for ­Wrexham, who had a two-goal lead at 3-1 before Callum Hudson-Odoi’s double forced extra time on an energy-sapping and freezing night.

The 550lb black bear was drawn out with paintball guns after it had resided under the home for more than a month

Getting rid of an unwanted houseguest can be difficult, but seldom does it involve a paintball gun and an electrified mat. A 550lb black bear that took residence under a southern California home for more than a month has finally been removed, KTLA has reported.

Altadena resident Ken Johnson first noticed the bear was living in the crawl space below his home in late November.

At last, Morocco have arrived at the tournament they are hosting. For four games they had played scratchy, crabbed football. Finally, in a spiky, ill-tempered quarter-final, there was something more like the Morocco that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup two years ago. If the game wasn’t fluent, that was largely Cameroon’s doing as they spoiled and delayed and sought treatment for injuries. But the hosts, for the most part, retained their cool, protecting a lead earned with verve in the first half with maturity in the second.

In previous games, Morocco had looked tense, limbs leadened by the expectation of a country that last won the Cup of Nations 50 years ago and that has spent a vast amount on football-related infrastructure as it prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup. The coach, Walid Regragui, was even booed in the last-16 victory over Tanzania, his football deemed overly cautious despite a record of only four defeats in his 46 games as national coach before this quarter-final. “I always say that we are a family,” said Regragui. “Even if many people don’t believe in us or in me … that’s OK. We play for the country and for the supporters who want to see Morocco at the top.”

Clip first posted by partisan outlet Alpha News shows perspective of ICE agent as Good was fatally shot

Renee Nicole Good calmly said everything was “fine” and “I’m not mad at you” seconds before an on-duty Immigration Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot her in Minneapolis as she drove away, according to a cellphone video shared on Friday by Donald Trump’s White House.

The partisan media outlet Alpha News first posted the video on X, a 47-second clip that showed the perspective of the ICE agent – and captured a man’s voice calling Good a “fucking bitch” after she was mortally wounded. It was then shared by the White House’s official Rapid Response X account as well as JD Vance, with the vice-president writing in part that he agreed with the notion that Good’s death was “a tragedy” but accused the media of dishonestly covering the circumstances of her killing.

• Kepler banned after testing positive for epitrenbolone

• Suspension applies if free agent signs in 2026

• Veteran outfielder spent last season with Phillies

Free agent outfielder Max Kepler has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance, Major League Baseball announced on Friday, a ruling that sidelines the veteran as he looks for his next club.

The suspension stems from a positive test for epitrenbolone, a metabolite of the prohibited steroid trenbolone prohibited under MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The ban takes effect immediately and would apply if Kepler signs with a team during the 2026 season.

• Coach is vying with Michael Carrick to be interim manager

• Solskjær due at Carrington training base on Saturday

Ole Gunnar Solskjær will have face-to-face talks with Manchester United on Saturday regarding becoming the interim manager until the end of the season.

The Norwegian is vying with Michael Carrick for the role and is expected to meet Omar Berrada, United’s chief executive, and Jason Wilcox, the director of football, at the club’s Carrington training base.

Paris has shifted this year’s Group of 7 summit after Donald Trump confirmed plans for a UFC fight card on the White House lawn on 14 June, his 80th birthday

France has delayed this year’s Group of 7 summit by one day to avoid a scheduling conflict with an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight card planned at the White House on 14 June, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the G7’s preparations.

The summit, hosted by France in the Alpine resort town of Evian-les-Bains, was originally scheduled for 14 to 16 June, a date that coincides with US Flag Day and US president Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. It will now run from 15 to 17 June, a change that has been reflected on the G7’s official website.

If there is one takeaway for England from this Ashes tour it should be how cricket thrives in a nation where it is readily and freely available as the dominant summer pastime

The drive to Bowral in New South Wales takes you through some of Australia’s most English countryside. Pastoral hills roll right up to the roadside and finish in grassy verges, flecked with yellow and white wildflowers. Alliums stand sentinel around vibrant lawns. Even the eucalypts are cosplaying as beech and oaks. You might be in Hampshire, if it weren’t for the dazzling sun.

Just a few roads from the high street – storefronts full of fancy cookware and country casuals – is the Bradman Oval. This small ground, with its pre-loved outfield, has become a pilgrimage stop for the Australian cricketing faithful. Head out to the middle and you’re walking across the sacred turf where Sir Don honed his skills. Stand at the crease, look past the white picket fence, and you can see the family homes where he grew from boy to man, on Shepherd Street and Glebe Street respectively.

Some wet years and recent winter storms have helped bring the state out of drought after years of insufficient rainfall

California is completely drought-free for the first time in a quarter of a century, a significant development in a state that endured grueling years with insufficient rainfall.

Over the last 25 years, drought conditions in California have intensified the state’s wildfire crisis and created challenges in its massive agricultural sector. But a few wet years, and a recent spate of winter storms, helped bring the state out of drought.

Iran’s leadership has vowed it will not back down in the face of growing nationwide protests over economic conditions. Thousands of people marched through the streets of Tehran calling for political reform and torching government buildings. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has signalled that a greater crackdown is coming after the country plunged into an internet blackout. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s deputy head of international news Devika Bhat

Over 100 pieces of human remains including skulls and headless torsos found in car and home of Jonathan Gerlach

A Pennsylvania man suspected of desecrating a historic cemetery in his state is facing hundreds of charges pertaining to grave robbery after authorities recently found more than 100 pieces of human remains in his possession, prompting one official to call the case “the most horrific thing”.

Jonathan Gerlach, 34, had human skulls, bones, mummified feet, headless torsos and other corpse parts – including in his car, home and storage locker – after his arrest on Tuesday, according to a sworn police statement reported by NBC News.

After a breakout week in Auckland that saw her defeat world No 15 Emma Navarro, injuries that have dogged the 25-year-old’s career have bitten again

During the first weeks of last year’s clay-court season, Francesca Jones found herself fighting through a breathless three-set tussle in Bogotá that was rapidly falling out of her control. Trailing 5-3 in the final set of her second-round match, an exhausted Jones began her service motion. As she tried to leap into the air and strike the ball, however, she staggered forwards and collapsed to the ground. Two points from defeat, she was steered off the court in a wheelchair.

This was an extreme experience for Jones, but it was also painfully reflective of her career until that point. Her biggest adversary has so often been her own body. In 2024 alone, she contested 20 tournaments – seven of which ended in a mid-match retirement and she also withdrew mid-tournament from another event. In 40% of the events she took part in that year, her body simply did not allow her to play tennis.

⚽ Afcon updates from the game in Rabat, kick-off 7pm GMT
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1 min: The hosts, playing in all white, kick off to a raucous reception. El Khannouss appeals hopefully for a penalty after his early cross hits Kotto on the shoulder.

The anthems ring out around the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, with the entire crowd belting out the Moroccan anthem. It’s go time!

⚽ FA Cup third-round latest from the 7.30pm GMT kick-off
⚽ Live scores | Follow us over on Bluesky | And email John

Big noise from both sets of fans on a chilly night in what used to be known as Clwyd.

Sean Dyche, of course, is wearing shorts as he carries out his pre-match duties.

Nicolás Maduro seized, Russian drone strikes rock Kyiv, anti-ICE protests erupt in Minneapolis and Storm Goretti lashes Britain – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists