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Trump-Iran latest: Tehran says it is ready for negotiations with US but not under ‘shadow of threats’

Close'I told them two things': Trump reveals what he told IranIran is prepared for talks with the United States, but negotiations should be “fair and equitable” and not take place “under the shadow of threats”, the country’s foreign minister has said.
In a post on X, Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had “no problem with negotiations” following repeated threats of US military intervention by Donald Trump.
“They must certainly set aside their threats and change their approach toward a fair and equitable negotiation, as Mr Trump himself said in his post,” Araghchi said.
Trump warned Iran it must do “two things” to avoid US military action, as US forces continue to build in the Middle East ahead of a possible strike.
“Number one, no nuclear. And number two, stop killing protesters,” the US president said.
Iran earlier warned it will retaliate to any US attack “instantly” and that its response would not be limited. A response would likely see it attack the US military bases stationed ..

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Schitt’s Creek and Home Alone star Catherine O’Hara dies aged 71

Schitt's Creek and Home Alone star Catherine O'Hara dies aged 716 hours agoShareSaveNardine SaadShareSaveReutersCatherine O'Hara, the comedic actress best known for her starring roles in the Home Alone and Beetlejuice films, as well as her Emmy-winning turn in Schitt's Creek, has died aged 71.
The Canadian star rose to fame through Toronto's Second City improvisation troupe and on SCTV, before making a name for herself in the US in 1988's Beetlejuice and as the matriarch in the holiday classic Home Alone.
O'Hara, whose colleagues remembered her as a “wonderful person, artist and collaborator”, who most recently appeared in the Emmy-winning comedy The Studio and HBO's The Last of Us.
In a statement to the BBC, O'Hara's agent said she died on Friday at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.
O'Hara made lightning strike twice in her career with indelible cinematic turns.
In 1988's spooky satire Beetlejuice, she playe..

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Who’s behind Trump’s deportation agenda? The key officials and agencies leading the anti-immigration campaign

Overseeing Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign and government-wide anti-immigration efforts is a constellation of longtime loyalists, law enforcement officials and advisers spread across federal agencies.
The president has reshaped the government around his mission to find, arrest and deport tens of thousands of people, deter new arrivals and impose severe restrictions on legal immigration that have stranded refugees and forced immigrants to flee the country.
That mission is dovetailing with his campaign of “retribution” against political opponents, whose cities have been occupied by federal officers and National Guard troops under his direction.
These are some of the agencies and players in charge.
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of policyThe architect of the Trump administration’s draconian immigration policies in his first term returned to the White House last year as an influential force behind mass deportations and the president’s attempts to unilaterally define who..

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ICE ordered not to engage with Minnesota protestors and focus only arresting migrants with criminal records, according to report

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carrying out the Trump administration’s crackdown in Minnesota have been ordered not to engage with “agitators” and focus on arresting migrants with criminal records in an apparent focus switch, according to a report.
A top ICE official shared the new guidance in an email obtained by Reuters following the deaths of two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, at the hands of federal law enforcement during clashes in Minneapolis.
“We are moving to targeted enforcement of aliens with a criminal history,” the official said, according to the news agency. “This includes arrests, not just convictions. ALL TARGETS MUST HAVE A CRIMINAL NEXUS.”
Under former President Joe Biden, the administration ordered ICE to focus on serious criminals, a policy that was rescinded by President Donald Trump, allowing agents to arrest non-criminals without restrictions.
The new guidance states officers can run license plate checks for possible targets and shou..

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Agents in Minneapolis could be pulled back if local officials cooperate, border tsar says

Agents in Minneapolis could be pulled back if local officials cooperate, border tsar says8 hours agoShareSaveDaniel BushWashington correspondentShareSaveUS border tsar: 'I came here to seek solutions'The Trump administration has suggested it is planning to “draw down” federal forces in Minnesota if there is cooperation from officials, after the fatal shootings of two US citizens in the state.
At a press conference in Minneapolis, White House Border Tsar Tom Homan vowed to continue the immigration enforcement operation, but added he wants “common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here”.
“We are not surrendering our mission at all. We're just doing it smarter,” Homan said.
The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have ignited local protests and public outcry across the country, and led to criticism from lawmakers.
It was not clear how many federal forces might leave the city, or when, raising new questions about how far the Tru..

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Trump says Putin will not attack Ukraine cities during cold week

Trump says Putin will not attack Ukraine cities during cold week10 hours agoShareSaveBen HattonBBC NewsShareSavePA MediaThe site of a drone attack in Kyiv earlier in January US President Donald Trump says Russia's Vladimir Putin has agreed not to attack Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and other cities and towns for a week due to “extraordinary cold” weather.
Russia has not confirmed any such agreement, but Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Trump's announcement and said he expected Russia to keep its promise.
Trump did not specify when the pause would begin, but temperatures in the Ukrainian capital are due to plummet from Thursday night and reach -24C (-11F) in the next few days.
Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the bitter winter, as it has during cold periods since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting in Washington DC, the US president said: “I personally asked Presiden..

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New video appears to show Alex Pretti confronting federal agents 11 days before fatal shooting

Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse fatally shot by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis on Saturday, appeared to confront federal agents less than two weeks before his death, newly published video footage shows.
A video published by The News Movement, a digital media company, seemed to show Pretti kicking a government vehicle and being tackled to the ground on a city street January 13.
The BBC reported on Wednesday that the man in the video “has the same coat, facial hair and gait as Alex Pretti and a facial recognition tool suggests a 97% match.” CNN later reported that Pretti’s family confirmed to the outlet that he is the man in the video.
In the two-minute clip, a man can be seen rushing toward a federal vehicle and yelling before kicking out its taillight. He appears to be carrying a gun in his waistband.
An agent then steps out of the vehicle, shoves the man to the ground and receives backup from other agents. Bystanders, some filming and yelling at the federal agents, wa..

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Texas man becomes the first person executed in the US this year

A Texas man sentenced to death for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend has become the first person executed in the United States this year.
Charles Victor Thompson, 55, was pronounced dead at 6.50pm CST after receiving a lethal injection Wednesday at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the April 1998 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Glenda Dennise Hayslip, 39, and her new boyfriend, Darren Keith Cain, 30, at the woman’s suburban Houston apartment.
In his final words, Thompson asked the families of his victims to find it in their hearts to forgive him, adding, “that you can begin to heal and move past this.”
“There are no winners in this situation,” he said after a spiritual adviser prayed over him for about three minutes and shortly before a lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered.
He said his execution “creates more victims and traumatizes more people 28 years later.”
“I’m sorry for what I did. I’m sorry for what happened, and I ..

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What could happen if the US strikes Iran? Here are seven scenarios

What could happen if the US strikes Iran? Here are seven scenarios48 minutes agoShareSaveFrank GardnerSecurity correspondentShareSaveEPAUS President Donald Trump and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali KhameneiThe US appears poised to strike Iran within days.
While the potential targets are largely predictable, the outcome is not.
So, if no last-minute deal can be reached with Tehran and President Donald Trump decides to order US forces to attack, then what are the possible outcomes?
Let's look at both ends of the spectrum here: from the best, or rather the “least bad”, to the worst.
1. Targeted, surgical strikes, minimal civilian casualties, a transition to democracyUS air and naval forces conduct limited, precision strikes targeting military bases of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Basij unit – a paramilitary force under the control of the IRGC – ballistic missile launch and storage sites as well as Iran's nuclear programme.
An already..

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‘Don’t take us to a hospital’: Iran protesters treated in secret to avoid arrest

'Don't take us to a hospital': Iran protesters treated in secret to avoid arrest14 hours agoShareSaveSoroush PakzadBBC PersianShareSaveBBCX-rays showed birdshot embedded in the legs of a wounded protester”People helped us and we got into a car… I said, 'Don't take us to a hospital.'”
Tara and her friend were attending a protest in the central Iranian city of Isfahan when security forces arrived on motorcycles and began shouting at the crowd.
“My friend told an armed member of the security forces, 'Just don't shoot us,' and he immediately fired several shots at us. We fell to the ground. All our clothes were covered in blood,” she said.
They were bundled into a stranger's car, but Tara said they were too frightened to be taken to the hospital because of the risk of being arrested. “All the alleyways were full of security forces, so I asked a couple standing at their front door to let us in.”
They stayed at the couple's home until ..