The rules-based world order no longer exists, the German Chancellor has warned at a major security summit. Opening the annual Munich Security Conference, Friedrich Merz told other world leaders that our freedom is not guaranteed in an era of big power politics, and that Europeans must be ready to make sacrifice. He also admitted that a deep divide has opened between Europe and the United States. The conference is taking place on the backdrop of US President Donald Trump threatening Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland by pledging to annex the Arctic territory and his tariffs on imports from European nations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was listening to Merz and will deliver his own speech on Saturday, earlier spoke of a new era in geopolitics.

In this photo illustration, a screen displays examples of AI prompt-created videos, made with Xai's Grok app, on January 12, 2026 in London, England. In this photo illustration, a screen displays examples of AI prompt-created videos, made with Xai's Grok app, on January 12, 2026 in London, England. The United Kingdom plans to bring into force a law that criminalizes the creation of non-consensual sexualized images, including through Grok, the chatbot within Elon Musk's X application, following the app's deepfake scandal of the last few weeks. "This means individuals are committing a criminal offence if they create--or seek to create--such content--including on X--and anyone who does this should expect to face the full extent of the law," Technology Secretary Liz Kendal announced in the House of Commons Monday, adding that the government would work to also make it illegal for companies to supply the tools designed to create these nonconsensual images. The move came just hours after the Office of Communications (Ofcom)--the country's independent regulator for the communications industry--announced that it will be investigating X and the thousands of pornographic images generated by Grok that flooded the app, including sexualized images of what appear to be minors.

Lammy said Vance, usually known as an AI enthusiast, expressed concern about how technology was fuelling'hyper-pornographied slop' online. Lammy said Vance, usually known as an AI enthusiast, expressed concern about how technology was fuelling'hyper-pornographied slop' online. David Lammy: JD Vance agrees that sexualised AI images on X are'unacceptable' Exclusive: US vice-president'sympathetic' to concerns over Grok-generated pornography, says deputy PM JD Vance, the US vice-president, has agreed that it is "entirely unacceptable" for platforms such as X to allow the proliferation of AI-generated sexualised images of women and children, David Lammy has told the Guardian. The deputy prime minister said Vance, usually known as an AI enthusiast, expressed concern about how the technology was being used to fuel "hyper-pornographied slop" online when they met in Washington on Thursday. The comments come amid a growing transatlantic row over the use of X's artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, to manipulate thousands of images of women and sometimes children to remove their clothing or put them in sexual positions.

Television's New Episode Is Audacious, Even for Trump and Vance are hard to unsee. The Lincoln Bedroom at the White House has been the site of great history since its construction, from hosting a long list of famous guests and dignitaries to the recent marble-and-gold renovation of its en suite bathroom that was unveiled with great pride (and shocking insensitivity) during the government shutdown. What I'm fairly certain the walls of the Lincoln Bedroom have never seen before, however, was what was shown on Wednesday night's episode of: the president of the United States making sweet, sweet love to his own vice president. Yes, after weeks of headline-grabbing episodes that have skewered President Donald Trump and his administration in delightfully juvenile ways and led to a surge in ratings, this latest installment somehow found new levels of depravity to sink to. As the song "I Want to Know What Love Is" blasts about halfway through the episode, we see Trump and J.D. Vance in bed making out.

Trump stuns 60 Minutes' Norah O'Donnell as he breaks terrifying news about China and Russia nukes Justin Baldoni's bombshell $400M case against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds is'formally ended by a judge' Thomas Massie remarries 16 months after losing wife of 31 years... as Trump ally launches sick attack Sex aids and poppers... the sordid discoveries made by royal aides after party Andrew threw for Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell - and the truth about those massages: ROBERT JOBSON I learned the horrifying risks of'miracle' ADHD drugs and stopped taking them... but it was too late George Clooney gives rare insight into life with wife Amal and their twins - as he details his relationship with his kids, lauds his'beautiful' family and brands himself'very lucky' Astonishing new evidence of Atlantis reveals advanced civilization preserved by Ancient Egypt's priests... before disaster hit Three Americans among seven killed when avalanche obliterates Himalayan climbers' base camp Trump's secret plan to deploy US troops to Mexico revealed with drone strikes in the works Jayden Daniels' X-ray results revealed in huge moment for the Commanders' season after QB's horror elbow injury Top Democrat lawmaker becomes international fugitive after she was freed on bail'for stealing thousands from vulnerable man, 83' I won't ever forget what I saw at Andy Cohen's party. He may admit he's hooking up with guys on every dating app but this is the truth about men like him: KENNEDY Ex-CIA spy shares an easy way to tell if someone is lying... and the tactic he uses to strengthen his love life Shohei Ohtani's wife makes rare appearance to celebrate Dodgers star's World Series win Deborra-Lee Furness' bold move after split from Hugh Jackman - and why the actor is not happy about it So many single men are taking this new drug cocktail before dates. The results in the bedroom are startling... as I discovered during one marathon session: JANA HOCKING Devastating impact of Mamdani's election will be FAR WORSE than first thought: Exclusive poll finds America's greatest city facing'historic' population wipeout Moment'knifeman who hurt 11 people in Huntingdon train rampage storms barber shop moments after stabbing 14-year-old boy' Meghan is mocked for her new Christmas recipe... boiled water! JD Vance vows to'get to the bottom' of UFO phenomena as disclosure edges closure MORE: Fierce debate erupts over'non-human' technology in space after video captures UFO surviving Hellfire strike Vice President JD Vance has joined the list of high-ranking government officials wanting answers about UFOs and extraterrestrials. In an interview released Wednesday, the vice president doubled down on his promise to'get to the bottom of' the existence of alien life .

Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. They've been a road map for the billionaire ever since. For a full two years now, the billionaire has been on the circuit, spreading his biblically inflected ideas about doomsday through a set of variably and sometimes visibly perplexed interviewers. He has chatted onstage with the economist podcaster Tyler Cowen about the (the scriptural term for "that which withholds" the end times); traded some very awkward on-camera silences with the New York Times columnist Ross Douthat; and is, at this very moment, in the midst of delivering a four-part, off-the-record lecture series about the Antichrist in San Francisco. Depending on who you are, you may find it hilarious, fascinating, insufferable, or horrifying that one of the world's most powerful men is obsessing over a figure from sermons and horror movies. But the ideas and influences behind these talks are key to understanding how Thiel sees his own massive role in the world--in politics, technology, and the fate of the species. And to really grasp Thiel's katechon-and-Antichrist schtick, you need to go back to the first major lecture of his doomsday road show--which took place on an unusually hot day in Paris in 2023. No video cameras recorded the event, and no reporters wrote about it, but I've been able to reconstruct it by talking to people who were there. The venue was a yearly conference of scholars devoted to Thiel's chief intellectual influence, the late French-American theorist René Girard. On the evening of the unpublicized lecture, dozens of Girardian philosophers and theologians from around the world filed into a modest lecture hall at the Catholic University of Paris. And from the dais, Thiel delivered a nearly hourlong account of his thoughts on Armageddon--and all the things he believed were "not enough" to prevent it. By Thiel's telling, the modern world is scared, way too scared, of its own technology. Our "listless" and "zombie" age, he said, is marked by a growing hostility to innovation, plummeting fertility rates, too much yoga, and a culture mired in the "endless Groundhog Day of the worldwide web." But in its neurotic desperation to avoid technological Armageddon--the real threats of nuclear war, environmental catastrophe, runaway AI--modern civilization has become susceptible to something even more dangerous: the Antichrist. According to some Christian traditions, the Antichrist is a figure that will unify humanity under one rule before delivering us to the apocalypse. For Thiel, its evil is pretty much synonymous with any attempt to unite the world. "How might such an Antichrist rise to power?" Thiel asked.

Video shows conservative activist Charlie Kirk speaking to a crowd of hundreds on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Then a single shot rang out, and students fled in every direction. The 31-year-old influencer and Trump ally was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead later. 'We love you, you will always be with us', says father of Minneapolis shooting victim Fletcher Merkel, 8, was one of two children killed in Wednesday's shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. The Garnet wildfire in Fresno County has scorched nearly 14,000 acres (5,665 hectares) and remains uncontained.

The actor, well known for his roles in the Die Hard franchise, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia - a condition his family publicly disclosed in 2023. Emma Heming Willis spoke with CBS Mornings host Gayle King about her husband and her new book, which she hopes will help fellow caregivers. 'We love you, you will always be with us', says father of Minneapolis shooting victim Fletcher Merkel, 8, was one of two children killed in Wednesday's shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. The Garnet wildfire in Fresno County has scorched nearly 14,000 acres (5,665 hectares) and remains uncontained. The BBC's Tom Bateman spoke with Patrick Scallen who lives near the Annunciation Church and ran towards the sound of gunfire.

What do we know about alleged Trump signature on Epstein letter? A birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein from 2003, allegedly signed by Donald Trump, has been released by US lawmakers. The White House has said, the president did not write this letter, he did not sign this letter, but Democrats believe it is authentic. There has been a particular focus on the signature - BBC Verify's Jake Horton has been examining it, with the help of handwriting experts. The BBC's Tom Bateman spoke with Patrick Scallen who lives near the Annunciation Church and ran towards the sound of gunfire.

Vice President JD Vance tore into Europe's censorship policies in a speech at the Munich Security Conference. The Trump administration has been on a monthslong campaign railing against what it says are draconian censorship regulations in Europe that have not only stifled free speech, but have also served as another roadblock amid the artificial intelligence evolution. "In Europe, thousands are being convicted for the crime of criticizing their own governments," the State Department recently posted to X, accompanied by a graphic slamming Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA). The EU adopted the DSA in 2022 to regulate online platforms such as social networks, content-sharing platforms and app stores, and is intended to "prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation." The law has since faced opposition from the Trump administration amid its free speech promotion on the global stage.