Former ambassador to US had earlier declined to give apology for keeping in touch with sex offender after his conviction

Peter Mandelson has issued an apology for his association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – after declining to do so in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

The Labour peer, who was sacked as US ambassador when details of his support for Epstein emerged in September, gave an interview to the BBC in which he suggested that as a gay man he knew nothing of the disgraced financier’s sex life.

Ballot proposes one-time, 5% tax on anyone in state worth more than $1bn and grant a five-year period for payment

Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has donated $3m to a California lobbying group advocating against a proposed wealth tax that would target billionaires in the state. The seven-figure contribution comes as several ultra-wealthy tech moguls have left or threatened to leave California over the tax.

Thiel, worth some $26bn, made the donation last month to the California Business Roundtable’s political action committee, according to a public disclosure filing which was first reported by the New York Times. A representative for Thiel did not respond to requests for comment.

Lawsuit comes in the aftermath of an ICE agent fatally shooting Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good

The Minnesota attorney general, Keith Ellison, announced a lawsuit on Monday against the federal government, seeking to end the surge of ICE agents in the state.

The lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials comes in the aftermath of an ICE agent fatally shooting resident Renee Nicole Good behind the wheel of her vehicle last week, leading to protests across the city, and country.

Hospital trusts in Surrey and Kent say situation has been worsened by rise in flu and norovirus cases

Four NHS hospital trusts in England have declared critical incidents after a “surge” in A&E admissions driven in large part by patients with flu, norovirus and respiratory viruses.

Three trusts in Surrey and one in Kent sounded the alarm after a “surge in complex attendances to A&E departments”.

Prime minister tells parliamentary party that ‘being in the room’ for trade and defence talks will boost UK economy

Keir Starmer has defended his frequent trips out of the country to Labour MPs, attempting to draw a direct link with the cost of living at home, which he warned would not be solved by isolationism.

The prime minister told the meeting of the parliamentary Labour party (PLP) on Monday night that it was essential for him to be “in the room” for international negotiations on trade and defence, which would then have an impact on the domestic economy.

Ørsted and other wind developers have faced repeated disruptions to multibillion dollar projects under Trump

A federal judge on Monday cleared Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted to resume work on its nearly finished Revolution Wind project, which Donald Trump’s administration halted along with four other projects last month.

The ruling by US district judge Royce Lamberth is a legal setback for Trump, who has sought to block expansion of offshore wind in federal waters.

The scoreline was far more convincing than Liverpool’s performance against League One opposition. Barnsley made Arne Slot’s side battle for the right to host Brighton in round four while their head coach, Conor Hourihane, accused Dominik Szoboszlai of disrespect for gifting his team a goal while showboating. Slot appeared inclined to agree.

Liverpool were grateful for a late Florian Wirtz-inspired flourish for an ultimately comfortable margin of victory and banishing any anxieties. But this had been another slog against a low defensive block until the expensive substitute swept home a fine third goal and created a stoppage time fourth for Hugo Ekitiké. There was no more relieved man inside Anfield than Szoboszlai.

• Wicketkeeper-batter says she has lost some competitive edge

• 35-year-old will miss T20 World Cup in June and July

Australia captain Alyssa Healy is to retire from cricket in March, after the forthcoming series with India, saying she has lost some of the competitive edge that drove her.

The wicketkeeper-batter has been playing for Australia for 15 years, making her debut as a teenager, and has been full-time captain since Meg Lanning retired in 2023.

Incriminating video, dismissed by officials as part of a ‘hybrid attack’, has forced resignations of Nikos Christodoulides’s wife and chief of staff

The Cypriot president, Nikos Christodoulides, has said he has “nothing to fear” over a scandal that has forced the resignations of his chief of staff and his wife from a leadership role of a major charity.

As allegations of high-level corruption swirled days after the island assumed the rotating EU presidency, officials insisted the country had been the victim of “hybrid warfare”. The incriminating claims, implicating the president and first lady in a cash for access network, were made in a video uploaded on X.

Press chief says US president considering ‘many, many’ options amid deadly regime crackdown on protesters

Donald Trump is “unafraid to use military force on Iran” the White House said on Monday as the Iranian regime still faces widespread unrest across the country.

Speaking to Fox News, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that although diplomacy remained Trump’s “first option”, he was “unafraid to use the lethal force and might of the United States military if and when he deems that necessary”.

To supercharge the Melbourne Park event, ‘Opening Week’ maximises the music, food and wellness – and adds a $1m tennis showcase

“Cricket’s in December,” Tennis Australia’s chief executive, Craig Tiley, says with a smile on a record-breaking first day of the Australian Open on Monday. The veteran may be rumoured to be considering a move to the US Tennis Association, but for now he remains focused on his sport’s summer dominance.

“Our objective is we want to own January,” he says. At the launch of one of many Melbourne Park sponsor activations, conditions are ripe for Tiley to talk a big game. “We’re intense, and we’re intense because we’re 21 days, every day.”