Independent News & People Network Desk of News

‘Gifted learner dogs’ can learn words by eavesdropping, study says

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T19:00:15+00:00

Certain canines can learn using cues from people’s gaze, gestures, attention and voices, researchers findWhether it is a piece of food or a four-letter expletive, words can be learned by young children overhearing adults – but now researchers have found certain dogs can do something similar.Scientists have discovered canines with the unusual ability to learn the names of myriad objects can pick up such labels by eavesdropping on conversations. Continue reading...

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David Bowie’s childhood home to open to the public for first time

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T19:00:15+00:00

The London house where Bowie, then David Jones, lived from 1955 to 1968 will be opened at the end of 2027On the evening of 6 July 1972, thousands of kids across the UK had their lives changed when the sight of David Bowie performing Starman on Top of the Pops was beamed into their living rooms. Come the end of 2027, Bowie fans will be able to walk the very floorboards where the young David Jones grew up, when his childhood home in Bromley, south London, is opened to the public for the first time.Ahead of the 10th anniversary of Bowie’s death this weekend (he would have turned 79 on Thursday),

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David Bowie’s childhood home to open to public after 1960s restoration

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T19:00:15+00:00

South London house to feature never-before-seen archival items and creative workshops for young peopleOn the evening of 6 July 1972, thousands of young people across the UK had their lives changed when the sight of David Bowie performing Starman on Top of the Pops was beamed into their living rooms. Come the end of 2027, Bowie fans will be able to walk the very floorboards where the young David Jones grew up, when his childhood home in south London, is opened to the public for the first time.Ahead of the 10th anniversary of Bowie’s death this weekend (he would have turned 79 on Thursday), the

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FBI takes over case of ICE agent killing US woman and cuts Minnesota’s access to evidence

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:37:25+00:00

Minneapolis remains on edge, with several protests planned after shooting of Renee Nicole Macklin GoodUS politics live – latest updatesThe FBI has taken full control of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Macklin Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) officer in Minneapolis, it emerged on Thursday.In a statement, the Minneosta Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said it was initially called upon to help investigate the shooting before federal officials “reversed course” and said the case would be “solely led by the FBI”. With its access to the case

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Live Updates: Senate Advances Measure to Curb Trump’s Use of Force in Venezuela

Source: New York Times - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:32:28+00:00

In a rebuke to the president, the Senate narrowly agreed to bring up a War Powers Act resolution for a vote. The measure would require Mr. Trump to seek congressional authorization for military operations in Venezuela.

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Minnesota governor says ‘it feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome’ of FBI investigation into fatal ICE shooting – live

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:27:48+00:00

Tim Walz’s remarks come after a Minnesota agency says it’s withdrawing from the investigation after federal authorities blocked it from accessing evidence and materials from the caseFBI takes over investigation of killing of US citizen by ICE officer and revokes Minnesota’s access to materialsSince early December, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations – many of them masked and brandishing rifles – have grabbed people at hardware stores and gyms, or outside homes and schools around the cities.They have violently

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Labour’s swift pubs U-turn shows government learning – and repeating Treasury mistakes

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:17:59+00:00

Revolt among MPs was resolved quickly, yet it echoes pattern of making decisions without proper consultationLabour to announce pub business rates U-turn after industry outcryPolitical U-turns come in various forms, and as news of the latest government reversal drifted out, this one connected to the plight of the pub trade, Labour MPs could take comfort in one thing: at least it happened quickly.While last summer’s change of stance on benefit reforms was forced on Downing Street by open rebellion, and those for pensioners’ winter fuel payments and inheritance tax for farmers followed months of

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Google and AI startup to settle lawsuits alleging chatbots led to teen suicide

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:14:36+00:00

Lawsuit accuses AI chatbots of harming minors and includes case of Sewell Setzer III, who killed himself in 2024Google and Character.AI, a startup, have settled lawsuits filed by families accusing artificial intelligence chatbots of harming minors, including contributing to a Florida teenager’s suicide, according to court filings on Wednesday.The settlements cover lawsuits filed in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, according to the legal filings, though they still require finalization and court approval. Continue reading...

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‘They are going after everything rural’: inheritance tax U-turn does little to dampen farmers’ anger at Labour

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:14:32+00:00

At the Oxford farming conference there were signs the government has much to do to win back farmers’ trustFew symbols were more potent than the wooden coffin bearing the inscription “RIP British agriculture, 30th October 2024” that greeted Labour’s environment minister at the annual Oxford farming conference.It marked the date of Rachel Reeves’s first budget, when she announced plans to levy inheritance tax on farms. For the chancellor’s cabinet colleague Emma Reynolds, it underlined the anger among Britain’s farmers. Continue reading...

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Quand les Etats-Unis et le Venezuela étaient les « meilleurs amis »… Comprendre l’histoire des relations entre les deux pays en trois minutes

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-01-08T18:14:19+00:00

Pendant la guerre froide, les deux pays ont entretenu de bonnes relations, liés notamment par l’anticommunisme et l’exploitation du pétrole. Il faut attendre le tournant des années 2000 pour que cette alliance se dégrade durablement.

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The Icebreaker Araon Stops Near the Thwaites Glacier

Source: New York Times - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:11:34+00:00

Less than a day after arriving at the ice, we are already up close and personal with the fastest-melting glacier in Antarctica.

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Officials piloting software to tackle deepfakes ahead of Scottish and Welsh elections

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:07:03+00:00

Electoral Commission says tools to detect AI-generated content could be in place before campaigns beginElection officials are working “at speed” with the Home Office on a pilot project to combat the use of deepfakes to target candidates standing in this year’s Scottish and Welsh elections.Officials at the Electoral Commission in Scotland said they and the Home Office expected software capable of detecting AI-generated deepfake videos and images to be operational before election campaigns begin in late March. Continue reading...

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Software tackling deepfakes to be piloted for Scottish and Welsh elections

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:07:03+00:00

Electoral Commission says tools to detect AI-generated content could be in place before campaigns beginElection officials are working “at speed” with the Home Office on a pilot project to combat the use of deepfakes to target candidates standing in this year’s Scottish and Welsh elections.Officials at the Electoral Commission in Scotland said they and the Home Office expected software capable of detecting AI-generated deepfake videos and images to be operational before election campaigns begin in late March. Continue reading...

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New archbishop of Canterbury not fit for job, says alleged church abuse victim

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:03:24+00:00

Complainant to appeal against C of E’s dismissal of accusation about Sarah Mullally’s handling of abuse claimAn alleged abuse victim at the centre of a complaint against Sarah Mullally, the incoming archbishop of Canterbury, says she is not fit for the job as the church dismissed his allegation against her.The alleged victim, known as N, told the Guardian he would exercise his right of appeal against a decision on Thursday to take no further action against Mullally who he accused of colluding with his alleged abuse. Continue reading...

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Brazilian president vetoes bill reducing Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:03:07+00:00

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rejects bill passed by congress as he marks anniversary of 2023 Brasília riotsBrazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has vetoed a bill that would dramatically reduce the prison sentence of the country’s far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted last year of plotting a coup.Lula vetoed the bill, which was passed by congress in December, on the third anniversary of riots by Bolsonaro supporters in the capital, Brasília, over his defeat by Lula in the 2022 general election. Continue reading...

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Badenoch claims forthcoming business rates U-turn for pubs ‘too little, too late’ – as it happened

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T18:02:10+00:00

Conservative leader criticises government’s U-turn but change likely to be welcomed by pub tradeHelena Horton is a Guardian environment reporter.Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, has insisted “that is it” in response to farmers claiming the inheritance tax U-turn does not go far enough.Since starting this role in September I’ve listened to farmers and stakeholders about your cncerns on proposed changes to inheritance tax. You told me the threshold was too low. You told me it would hit small family farms. We listened, and we are making changes.In terms of inheritance tax changes, that i

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Les stablecoins, des cryptoactifs au service de la domination du dollar

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-01-08T18:00:12+00:00

Initialement utilisés comme passerelle entre « cryptos » et monnaies traditionnelles, les stablecoins servent aussi aux paiements ou aux transferts internationaux entre entreprises ou particuliers. Un marché qui pèse plus de 300 milliards de dollars et reste dominé par la monnaie américaine à près de 99 %.

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Soutien du Japon à Taïwan : en représailles, la Chine cible désormais l’industrie de l’archipel

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-01-08T18:00:09+00:00

Toujours mécontente des prises de position japonaises sur Taïwan, la Chine multiplie les mesures de rétorsion. Elle a interdit l’exportation vers l’archipel nippon de produits à double usage, civil et militaire. La mesure pourrait concerner les terres rares, vitales pour l’industrie nippone.

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France’s Macron warns US under Trump is ‘turning away’ from allies – as it happened

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-01-08T17:57:22+00:00

French president warned the US under Donald Trump was ‘breaking free from international rules’Another news line dominating this week’s coverage of European politics is to do with Greenland, and the US president Donald Trump’s ambitions to somehow take control of the Danish semiautonomous territory.The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said last night that he had plans to meet Danish officials next week to discuss Greenland as a crisis escalates within Nato over US threats to take over the Arctic territory. Continue reading...

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Russia releases French researcher in prisoner exchange

Source: Al Jazeera - World · Published: 2026-01-08T17:48:50+00:00

Laurent Vinatier, had been sentenced to three years for allegedly violating Russia’s so-called 'foreign agent' laws.

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Live Updates: Senate to Vote on Curbing Trump’s Use of Force in Venezuela

Source: New York Times - World · Published: 2026-01-08T17:48:20+00:00

In a rebuke to the president, the Senate narrowly agreed to bring up a War Powers Act resolution for a vote. The measure would require Mr. Trump to seek congressional authorization for military operations in Venezuela.

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