Senior cabinet minister promises not to dilute new measures despite Zuckerberg’s attacks on countries ‘censoring’ content

Britain’s new laws to boost safety and tackle hate speech online are “not up for negotiation”, a senior government minister has warned, after Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg vowed to join Donald Trump to pressure countries they regard as “censoring” content.

In an interview with the Observer, Peter Kyle, the technology secretary, said that the recent laws designed to make online platforms safer for children and vulnerable people would never be diluted to help the government woo big tech companies to the UK in its defining pursuit for economic growth.

Critics flag ‘worrying trend’ of keeping royal files under lock and key as thousands set for release to public

Researchers fear that thousands of government documents about the late queen and Prince Philip due for release in the next two years could be censored.

The files are scheduled to be made public in 2026 and 2027, five years after the royal couple’s deaths, and internal discussions have begun in Whitehall about how to process them and what should remain secret.

Palisades and Eaton fires start coming under control as fierce winds ease but forecasters predict another red flag warning for Monday

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The LA fire department issued a new immediate evacuation order at 7pm local time on Friday for the Palisades fire. It affects the following areas:

It covers Sunset Boulevard north to Encino Reservoir and from the 405 Freeway west to Mandeville Canyon.

The fires, coupled with strong winds, have severely degraded air quality by releasing hazardous smoke and particulate matter, posing immediate and long-term risks to public health.

Retail assistants on low pay using YoungOnes platform docked cash or told to wait up to 30 days for earnings

Retail assistants have accused a gig economy firm of “holding them to ransom” by making them pay a fee if they want to receive their wages within a month.

A new payment system brought in by YoungOnes, which supplies “freelance” retail assistants to many well-known high street stores, charges gig workers 4.8% of their earnings to be paid in one minute or 2.9% to be paid in three days. If they decline, they typically have to wait 30 days. Previously the workers were paid in three days, without a charge.

Coach en route from Berlin to Polish city of Szczecin ended up on its side near Prenzlau, north-east of German capital

A bus accident on a motorway in north-eastern Germany on Saturday left two people dead and another four seriously injured, police said.

The accident happened on an exit from the A11 motorway that leads to a car park close to an interchange near Prenzlau, north-east of Berlin, German news agency dpa reported. Seven people were slightly injured.

Survivor of acid attack and advocate for people with burn injuries posts update ‘after years battling with eye health’

The TV presenter Katie Piper has revealed she is trying out an “artificial eye” more than 16 years after an acid attack left her partly blind and with life-changing burns.

The Loose Women panellist, 41, who is an advocate for those with burns and disfigurement injuries, shared a video that appeared to show her being fitted with a prosthetic.

Joe Stone says authorities ‘trying everything’ to find Aziz Ziriat after body of Sam Harris discovered on Wednesday

A close friend of a British hiker who has been missing in the Dolomites since New Year’s Day has said “there is an acceptance that it won’t be good news” as search efforts continued.

Sam Harris, 35, and Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London, last sent messages home on 1 January and the pair did not check in to their flight home on 6 January. Friends and relatives have travelled to Italy.

Eliza and Henrietta Huszti last seen near Victoria Bridge in city centre in early hours of Tuesday

The search for two sisters, who went missing in Aberdeen on Tuesday morning, has been extended to the coast, police said.

Eliza and Henrietta Huszti – who are part of a set of triplets – were last seen in the city on Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.

Video posted on social media by reality TV star and her husband showed wedding party with cigars

An online advert filmed at the wedding of Vicky Pattison and posted on social media by the reality TV star has been banned by the advertising watchdog for “glamorising smoking”.

An advert for Endrick Clothing, which is owned by Pattison’s husband, Ercan Ramadan, started with Ramadan lighting a cigar next to Pattison before zooming out to show the couple sitting in front of seven groomsmen either holding or puffing on a cigar. Pattinson did not smoke a cigar.

Steve Witkoff meets Israeli PM in renewed efforts to secure hostage release deal with Hamas

The US Middle East envoy chosen by the president-elect, Donald Trump, met the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday amid efforts to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza, an Israeli official said.

On Friday, Steve Witkoff met the Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, to discuss “the latest developments in the region, especially the efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip”, the Qatari foreign ministry said.