Donald Trump has pulled back from the brink of a trade war with Canada and Mexico, postponing sweeping new US tariffs on goods from its two closest economic partners by one month.

It is the third time in two weeks the US president has delayed his threatened 25% tariffs on the two countries. China is still set to face additional 10% levy on its exports to the US from Tuesday.

Following talks with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on Monday, Trump agreed at the last minute to hold off from imposing new duties on the two countries.

The agreements came on a day of extreme volatility in global financial markets as rattled investors reacted to the prospect of a dramatically escalating dispute involving the world’s largest economies.

The US president had upended US-Mexico ties over the weekend when he announced 25% tariffs and accused Sheinbaum’s administration of engaging in an “intolerable alliance” with Mexican crime groups.

Sheinbaum rejected that “slanderous” accusation, but on Monday morning struck a softer note as she announced “a series of agreements” with Trump after a conversation between the two leaders during which they agreed to pause US tariffs for a month to allow for fresh negotiations.

Mexico had agreed to send 10,000 members of its national guard “to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the US, in particular of fentanyl”, Sheinbaum said. In return, the US had agreed to work to prevent high-powered weapons crossing the border into Mexico.

Trump confirmed the deal shortly afterwards on his Truth Social network. He said 10,000 Mexican soldiers would be “specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our country”.

Negotiations involving senior Mexican officials, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, would take place during the pause, he said.

Following two calls with Trump on Monday, Trudeau announced that tariffs would be “paused” for 30 days. “Canada is implementing our $1.3bn border plan – reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl,” he said in a statement. “Nearly 10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border.”

Trump wrote on Truth Social: “As President, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of ALL Americans, and I am doing just that. I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured. FAIRNESS FOR ALL!”

Late last year, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on the first day of his presidency. From the first day of his presidency, he said he would do so from 1 February. This weekend, he said they would kick in from 4 February. They have now been delayed until March.

Economists have warned Trump’s planned wave of tariffs would risk raising prices for millions of Americans, just weeks after he pledged, upon taking office, to “rapidly” bring them down.

On Monday, however, Trump maintained that tariffs were a “very powerful” means of both strengthening the US economically and “getting everything else you want”. He had conceded over the weekend that they could cause “a little pain” in the US.

Markets sold off sharply worldwide in response to what has been described as a “Trump tariff tantrum” before recovering some of their losses after news broke of the deal with Mexico. Wall Street fell in early trading, with the S&P 500 down almost 2%. Share prices in Europe followed a sharp move lower in Asia.

London’s FTSE 100 index dropped 1.4% from Friday’s record high before making back some of its losses to trade down 1%.

Trump also indicated on Sunday that the EU would be next to face tariffs, but did not say when.

EU leaders meeting at an informal summit in Brussels on Monday said Europe would fight back if the US imposed tariffs, but called for negotiation. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said that if the bloc’s commercial interests were attacked it would “make itself respected and thus react”.

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said the EU could respond if necessary with its own tariffs, but stressed it would be better for the two sides to find agreement on trade.

Trump hinted that Britain might be spared tariffs, saying: “I think that one can be worked out.”

Asked whether he was worried by Trump’s refusal to rule out imposing sanctions on the UK, the country’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, said: “Obviously, it’s early days.

“I think what’s really important is open and strong trading relations and that’s been the basis of my discussions with President Trump. I know that intense US-EU discussions are planned.”

Officials, analysts and economists who believe Trump’s tariffs could have disastrous consequences for the global economy and for Washinton’s place in the world voiced relief at the Mexico deal.

Experts believe Trump’s plans for 10% tariffs on China and 25% on Canada and Mexico would hamper global growth and cause inflation in the US. Even Trump admitted on Sunday that the measures might cause “a little pain”.

Brian Winter, the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly magazine and a Latin America expert, said: “I don’t think anyone expected a resolution today, and obviously it’s a relief. But the damage is done.

“I can personally imagine a scenario where, within a year, President Trump is on buddy-buddy terms again with Mexico. But you cannot unsee what happened over the last 48 hours. And if companies make decisions in terms of years and decades, how they think about Mexico specifically, and its place in the US value chain, is forever changed.”

Speaking at her daily press conference in Mexico City, Sheinbaum told reporters that at the end of a 30- to 45-minute conversation with Trump, she had joked with him that she would like to see tariffs suspended forever. She said she believed a one-month reprieve represented a good deal, however, and painted the agreement as a win for both sides.

“In Mexico we have rocket launchers that come from the US illegally … How can these high-powered weapons get into Mexico from the US?” she asked, hailing Trump’s apparent commitment to fight gun smuggling as part of the agreement.

Winter said he believed that in some ways Trump’s strong-arm tactics appeared to be working.

​Four of his opening moves on the world stage have come in Latin America: diplomatic tussles with Colombia and Venezuela over the deportation of migrants; with Mexico over drug trafficking and migration; and with Panama over supposed Chinese involvement in the Panama canal. In all four cases, Trump has managed to claim victory or extract concessions, although critics argue many of those are largely cosmetic and designed to achieve little more than to please his base.

Winter said: “There’s no doubt that Trump’s approach has produced tangible short-term results in Latin America, decisions that were made with a scope and timeline that otherwise would not have been possible … I think you have to acknowledge​ that each of these governments have moved far more quickly to accommodate Washington than they would have under a more traditional request.

“The question is, though: what does this do to Washington’s alliances in the medium term? Does it push these countries closer to China? I have my doubts … but with all of these crises, scars remain. I think that governments understand that this is an even more transactional government than in Donald Trump’s first term, and that they can’t really think in terms of alliances anymore with the United States. That’s a huge change.​”

Republicans on Capitol Hill have largely fallen in line with Donald Trump’s move to impose tariffs on the US’s biggest trading partners, with the notable exception of the former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who called it a “bad idea”.

With even Trump admitting that the tariffs – 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on China – might cause “some pain”, there was mostly strong support from the president’s loyalists. Jason Smith, chair of the ways and means committee of the House of Representatives, said the tariffs would “send a powerful message that the United States will no longer stand by as other nations fail to halt the flow of illegal drugs and immigrants into our country”.

He added: “On top of these crises, our neighbours continue to take advantage of American workers, manufacturers, and farmers, including Canada’s refusal to allow real access to its dairy market and Mexico’s unjustified barriers to US corn.”

Byron Donalds, a Republican representative from Florida, said risks that the tariffs would fuel inflation – a key concern among voters that contributed to Trump’s election victory – were “worth it”.

Eric Schmitt, a Republican senator from Missouri, also told NBC’s Meet the Press that they “are meant to bring Canada and Mexico to the table for the fentanyl that is streaming into our communities”.

That rationale was dismissed by Chrystia Freeland, the former Canadian finance minister who is running for the leadership of the governing Liberal party. Freeland told MSNBC’s Morning Joe programme that the Canadian border accounted for just 0.2% of fentanyl entering the US and that the issue could be solved “in five minutes”.

Another Trump ally, the South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, offered more qualified support, telling Fox News: “I think the tariffs probably go away” if they succeed in getting “these countries to change their behaviour”.

The Tax Foundation, a non-partisan thinktank, has estimated that the tariffs would be equal to an $830 tax increase on the average household.

One of the few exceptions to the chorus of support for Trump’s trade war was McConnell, who has often clashed with the president. “It will drive the cost of everything up. In other words, it will be paid for by American consumers. I mean, why would you want to get into a fight with your allies over this?” he told CBS’s 60 Minutes programme.

Two other Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky, have voiced doubts, with Paul calling tariffs “simply taxes”.

Indian professionals have been flocking to Hindu temples believed to grant prayers for a US visa after Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at making immigration to the US more difficult.

The rush for divine help has been in evidence at Chamatkari Hanuman temple – popularly called “Visa Hanuman” – in Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat.

The temple priest Vijay Bhatt told the Times of India that visa applicants were asked to place their passports before Lord Hanuman, one of the most beloved Hindu deities and known for his monkey-like appearance, and then recite a devotional hymn.

“It’s all about faith,” he told the paper. “If you believe, it will happen. If doubts creep in, disappointments follow.” He claimed to have witnessed instances where devotees received approvals within hours of performing rituals, even after multiple rejections.

Some travelled far from other states, convinced of the temple’s reputation for securing visa approvals, Bhatt said.

Emigrating to the US has long been a status symbol for many Indians. But Trump has put such ambitions in doubt, demanding tougher visa vetting procedures.

However, there is a split among some of Trump’s biggest backers over the flagship H-1B visa programme, which allows software engineers and other skilled workers to work in the US. At least two-thirds of H-1B recipients come from India.

The row has pitted technology industry supporters such as Elon Musk against immigration hardliners who want the scheme scrapped. Musk says the programme needs “major reform” but also that there is not enough homegrown talent to fill skilled jobs.

At Hyderabad’s Chilkur Balaji temple – dubbed the “Visa God” shrine – aspiring emigrants have been chanting prayers, performing rituals and completing 108 circumambulations barefoot, hoping for divine intervention.

Among them was a software engineer from Hyderabad who was due to start a new job in New Jersey in April. He had received his H-1B visa approval and was back to offer thanks. “Eleven of us applied last year, but I was the only one who got it,” the engineer told the Times of India, asking to remain anonymous.

Another software engineer, Chandana, 26, who did not want her last name used, said she was dismayed when Trump won. She had been visiting the temple every month since applying for a visa two years ago. “I know things aren’t looking bright right now, but I have faith I will get it, just like my relatives did,” she said.

In Delhi’s Shree Siddhi Peeth Chamatkari Hanuman Mandir, applicants are taking their devotion even further. “Many people give up meat, alcohol, onion and garlic for 41 days hoping their visa will be granted,” said Narayan Mishra, the temple priest.

Devotees write their wishes on slips of paper, which are placed before the deity and chanted over before being stored in a sacred box. “People come in a very disturbed state of mind. This is their last resort, and we usually find that their wishes do come true,” Mishra said.

The proportion of people being diagnosed with lung cancer who have never smoked is increasing, with air pollution an “important factor”, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency has said.

Lung cancer in people who have never smoked cigarettes or tobacco is now estimated to be the fifth highest cause of cancer deaths worldwide, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Lung cancer in never-smokers is also occurring almost exclusively as adenocarcinoma, which has become the most dominant of the four main subtypes of the disease in both men and women globally, the IARC said.

About 200,000 cases of adenocarcinoma were associated with exposure to air pollution in 2022, according to the IARC study published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.

The largest burden of adenocarcinoma attributable to air pollution was found in east Asia, particularly China, the study found.

In an interview with the Guardian, the study’s lead author and head of the IARC’s cancer surveillance branch, Dr Freddie Bray, said the findings underscored the need for urgent monitoring of the changing risk of lung cancer.

Further studies to identify possible causal factors, such as air pollution, in populations where smoking was not considered the main cause of lung cancer were also required, he added.

“With declines in smoking prevalence – as seen in the UK and US – the proportion of lung cancers diagnosed among those who have never smoked tends to increase,” Bray said. “Whether the global proportion of adenocarcinomas attributable to ambient air pollution will increase depends on the relative success of future strategies to curtail tobacco use and air pollution worldwide.”

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality worldwide. In 2022, about 2.5 million people were diagnosed with the disease. But the patterns of incidence by subtype have changed dramatically in recent decades.

Of the four main subtypes of lung cancer (adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small-cell carcinoma and large-cell carcinoma), adenocarcinoma has become the dominant subtype among both men and women, the IARC found.

Adenocarcinoma accounted for 45.6% of global lung cancer cases among men and 59.7% of global lung cancer cases among women in 2022. The respective figures were 39.0% and 57.1% in 2020.

Adenocarcinoma accounts for as much as 70% of lung cancer cases among never-smokers, the IARC said.

While lung cancer incidence rates for men have generally decreased in most countries during the past 40 years, rates among women have tended to continue to rise.

Current trends suggest that while men still make up most lung cancer cases (about 1.6 million in 2022), the gap between lung cancer incidences in males and females is narrowing, with about 900,000 women diagnosed with lung cancer in 2022.

In 2023, the Guardian revealed how the number of women diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK was overtaking men for the first time, prompting calls for women to be as vigilant about it as they are about breast cancer.

Cancer experts said the figures reflected historical differences in smoking prevalence, specifically that smoking rates peaked much earlier in men than women. Women should now be as alert to potential lung cancer signs as they were about checking for lumps in their breasts, they said.

Changes in cigarette manufacturing and smoking patterns in recent decades have influenced the trends in lung cancer incidence by subtype, and there is accumulating evidence of a causal link between air pollution and an increased risk of adenocarcinoma, the IARC said.

It is not known what proportion of global lung cancer cases are in never-smokers, only that evidence suggests it is rising. Scientists are racing to learn more about what else is causing lung cancer, beyond smoking.

“Air pollution can be considered an important factor that partly explains the emerging predominance of adenocarcinoma that accounts for 53% to 70% of cases of lung cancer among people who have never smoked worldwide,” the study reported.

Bray said the study provided important insights as to how both lung cancer and the underlying risk factors were evolving, “offering clues as to how we can optimally prevent lung cancer worldwide”.

He added: “Changes in smoking patterns and exposure to air pollution are among the main determinants of the changing risk profile of lung cancer incidence by subtype that we see today.

“The diverging trends by sex in recent generations offer insights to cancer prevention specialists and policymakers seeking to develop and implement tobacco and air pollution control strategies tailored to high-risk populations.”

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has welcomed Panama’s decision to let its participation in China’s global infrastructure plan expire, calling the move “a great step forward” for its ties with the United States.

Any move by Panama to distance itself from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) represents a win for Washington, which has argued that Beijing uses the scheme for “debt trap diplomacy” to cement its global influence.

Rubio this week made his first overseas trip as the top US diplomat under Donald Trump to Panama, a close US partner in Latin America, and put pressure on the country over its ties with China.

After talks with Rubio, Panama’s president José Raúl Mulino said his country’s broad agreement to contribute to the Chinese initiative will not be renewed, and could be terminated early. He said the deal was set to expire in two to three years, but did not elaborate.

“Yesterday’s announcement by President @JoseRaulMulino that Panama will allow its participation in the CCP’s belt and road initiative to expire is a great step forward for US-Panama relations, a free Panama Canal, and another example of @POTUS leadership to protect our national security and deliver prosperity for the American people,” Rubio posted on X after departing the country.

China’s embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the initiative or canal issues.

Panama was the first Latin American country to officially endorse the BRI in November 2017, five months after switching diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China.

China rejects western criticism of the initiative, saying more than 100 countries have joined it, and that it has boosted global development with new ports, bridges, railways and other projects.

Nonetheless, it has faced controversy, with some partner nations criticising the high cost of projects and struggling to repay loans. Italy withdrew from the initiative in 2023 amid US pressure over concerns about Beijing’s economic reach.

Such US concerns have long extended to some Chinese companies’ operations near the Panama Canal, including a Hong Kong-based firm operating two ports, one at each end of the waterway that was built by the US in the early 20th century and then handed over to Panama in 1999.

Two Chinese state-owned firms are separately building a fourth bridge over one of the canal’s entrances.

The US state department said on Sunday that Rubio delivered a message from Trump that China’s presence there was a threat to the canal and a violation of the US-Panama treaty.

After talks with Rubio, Mulino signalled a willingness to review the 25-year concession to Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, renewed in 2021 for the operation of the two entrance ports, pending the results of an audit.

The contract has been targeted by US lawmakers and the government as an example of China’s expansion in Panama, which they say goes against a neutrality treaty signed by both countries in 1977.

Rubio, speaking to reporters after landing in San Salvador on the next leg of his Latin American trip, called Mulino a friend to the US, and Panama a strong partner and ally. He said his visit had achieved “potentially really good things”.

“We don’t want to have a hostile or negative relationship with Panama,” Rubio said.

Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the audit could provide a way to unwind the concessions if it shows the deals were marred by corruption.

“That provides more legal framework for Panama to wiggle out of the concessions and for Panama to reopen them such that an American company or a European company might come in and win the bid,” Berg said.

The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, declared himself the acting administrator of the besieged United States Agency for International Development (USAid) on Monday as staffers were locked out of its Washington DC headquarters and the White House confirmed plans to merge it into the state department.

The agency has become a touchpoint for the Trump administration’s efforts to seize control of federal spending in recent days through Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

Two senior USAid security officials were suspended on Sunday for blocking Doge officials from a restricted area, a day after the agency’s website went offline, and Musk posted to X that USAid was “beyond repair” and needed to be shut down.

Talking to reporters on Monday in El Salvador, where he is on an official visit, Rubio told reporters he had assumed control of USAid to “align” it with Trump’s priorities.

“Our goal was to go in and align our foreign aid to the national interest,” he said.

“If you go from mission after mission and embassy after embassy around the world you will often find, in many cases, that USAid is involved in programs that run counter to what we’re trying to do in our national strategy with that country or region. That cannot continue.”

The agency manages almost $43bn in food, humanitarian and other aid, including clean water programs and the provision of medicines, to about 130 countries. Staffers were told in a late-night email on Sunday not to report for work on Monday morning.

Separately, a White House source said on Monday that Trump and administration officials were discussing a merger of USAid into the state department and planned to send a notification to Congress shortly about his plans, Reuters reported.

The goal was to “to significantly reduce the size of the workforce for efficiency purposes and to ensure their spending is in line with the president’s agenda”, the unnamed senior official said.

Musk, the billionaire who has repeatedly called USAid a “criminal organization”, said he had discussed with Trump in detail his plan for closing it – and that the president had agreed.

“I actually checked with him a few times [and] said, ‘Are you sure?’ And so we’re shutting it down,” Musk said, reported by the Washington Post.

USAid is the world’s largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the US disbursed $72bn of assistance worldwide on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/Aids treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.

Trump has ordered a global freeze on most US foreign aid as part of his “America first” policy that is already sending shock waves around the world. Field hospitals in Thai refugee camps, landmine clearance in war zones, and drugs to treat millions suffering from diseases such as HIV are among the programs at risk of elimination.

Workers for Doge, an unofficial government department with no congressionally approved mandate, have also gained access to the US treasury’s highly sensitive database and federal payments system, it was reported on Sunday.

According to Wired magazine, the Doge team is being led by a group of six “young and inexperienced” engineers aged 19 to 24, one of whom is still in college. The decision by the new treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, to allow Doge “full access” to the personal data of millions of Americans as well as details of public contractors who compete directly with Musk’s own businesses has raised conflict of interest concerns.

Devex, a media platform for the global development community, obtained a copy of the email sent to USAid employees working at its headquarters at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington DC ordering them to stay at home on Monday. It was sent hours after its director of security, John Voorhees, and a deputy were placed on “administrative leave” on Sunday after they physically blocked the Doge team from restricted areas.

Doge subsequently gained control of the building’s access system, which allowed them to lock out employees and read emails. The department also sought personnel files and turnstile data, sources said.

Democrats and other critics have condemned the targeting of USAid by Musk and the Trump administration. That has been part of a wider, determined push by Trump to wrest control of and remake large chunks of the federal apparatus during his second presidency.

The Democratic Hawaii senator Brian Schatz told the Wall Street Journal on Monday that he would hold up all of Trump’s state department nominees until USAid is again allowed to operate normally and the administration ceased its “authoritarian behavior”.

Such a move will require the Republican Senate majority leader, John Thune, to spend valuable floor time to advance Trump’s nominees through the confirmation process.

Chris Van Hollen, the Democratic Maryland senator, joined party colleagues at a press conference at USAid headquarters on Monday to denounce Musk’s involvement in dismantling the agency.

“This is a clear and present danger for the future of our country. Make no mistake, this effort by Elon Musk and so-called Doge to shut down the agency is an absolute gift to our adversaries, to Russia, to China, to Iran and others,” he said.

“This has nothing to do with making the US government more efficient, and everything to do with aiding and abetting our adversaries around the world.”

A sequel reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reportedly in the works, with Sarah Michelle Gellar expected to return to the titular role and the Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao to direct the pilot episode.

On Tuesday Deadline reported sources close to the project confirming that the streaming service Hulu is “near a pilot order”, with lifelong Buffy fan Zhao onboard to direct the episode, written by the Poker Face writers Nora and Lilla Zuckerman.

The show will be executive produced by none other than Dolly Parton, whose production company Sandollar made the original series. A year ago Parton confirmed the reboot was in the works, saying: “They’re still working on that. They’re thinking about bringing it back and revamping it.”

No other actors from the original series have yet been confirmed to return but the Deadline writer Nellie Andreeva wrote: “Beyond the pilot order, I hear the reboot is starting a writers room soon, a sign that Hulu and the studios have high expectations for the project going to series.”

Andreeva also reported that the Buffy creator Joss Whedon would have no involvement in the reboot, three years after he was accused of misconduct on the sets of numerous projects. Whedon has denied all allegations of threats and cruelty made by several actors including the Buffy actor Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia.

A Buffy reboot would be the third series in the “Buffyverse”, coming almost 30 years after Buffy the Vampire Slayer began in 1997 and finished in 2003, and more than 20 years after the spin-off series Angel ended, having run for five seasons between 1999 and 2004.

Gellar has previously been against the idea of a Buffy reboot, saying in 2023: “I am very proud of the show that we created, and [a revival] doesn’t need to be done. We wrapped that up.

“I am all for them continuing the story, because there’s the story of female empowerment … [but] the metaphors of Buffy were the horrors of adolescence. I think I look young but I am not an adolescent.”

But late last year Gellar revealed that she had changed her mind after seeing other successful reboots, saying: “It’s funny, I always used to say no, because it’s in its bubble and it’s so perfect. But watching Sex and the City and seeing Dexter, and realising there are ways to do it, definitely does get your mind thinking, ‘Well, maybe.’”

Deadline reported that negotiations with Gellar for the reboot had begun after these comments became public.

Other shows that have confirmed reboots include Malcolm in the Middle and Scrubs.

The Trump administration is weighing executive actions to dismantle the US education department as part of efforts by Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) to seize control of federal spending and slash the size of the government workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported.

US officials have discussed an executive order that would shut down all functions of the education department that are not written explicitly into statute, or move certain functions to other departments, according to the paper, citing sources.

The order would call for developing a legislative proposal to abolish the department, it said, adding that advisers to Donald Trump are still debating the specifics and timing of such an order.

Meanwhile, dozens of education department employees were told on Friday that they had been put on leave immediately, Associated Press reported, with at least 55 workers losing access to their government email accounts and told not to report to the office.

Emails sent to the employees said they were being put on paid administrative leave pursuant to Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, according to a labor union.

Before Trump took office in January, his transition team drafted an order that would have directed the education secretary to proceed to eliminate the department and call on Congress to approve such an effort, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Trump’s pick for education secretary, former WWE executive Linda McMahon, is still waiting to be confirmed by the Senate. Some administration officials believe an executive order should wait until McMahon’s Senate confirmation hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

During his election campaign, Trump promised to eliminate the education department – which he described as being infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists” – and give states all power to control.

A US president alone cannot eliminate a department, as Congress is required to approve the creation or demise of an agency.

But Trump officials can alter key parts of the department’s budget and policies, or replicate the approach they used with the US agency for international development (USAid) this past week.

In recent days, Musk’s representatives at Doge have suspended senior USAid staff, shut down its website, accessed sensitive personnel files and locked employees out of the Washington DC office.

Workers for Doge, an unofficial government department with no congressionally approved mandate, have also reportedly gained access to the US treasury’s highly sensitive database and federal payments system

A Doge team was working at the education department on Monday to implement Trump’s executive orders and agenda, an education department spokesperson confirmed.

The Trump administration is weighing executive actions to dismantle the US education department as part of efforts by Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) to seize control of federal spending and slash the size of the government workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported.

US officials have discussed an executive order that would shut down all functions of the education department that are not written explicitly into statute, or move certain functions to other departments, according to the paper, citing sources.

The order would call for developing a legislative proposal to abolish the department, it said, adding that advisers to Donald Trump are still debating the specifics and timing of such an order.

Meanwhile, dozens of education department employees were told on Friday that they had been put on leave immediately, Associated Press reported, with at least 55 workers losing access to their government email accounts and told not to report to the office.

Emails sent to the employees said they were being put on paid administrative leave pursuant to Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, according to a labor union.

Before Trump took office in January, his transition team drafted an order that would have directed the education secretary to proceed to eliminate the department and call on Congress to approve such an effort, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Trump’s pick for education secretary, former WWE executive Linda McMahon, is still waiting to be confirmed by the Senate. Some administration officials believe an executive order should wait until McMahon’s Senate confirmation hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

During his election campaign, Trump promised to eliminate the education department – which he described as being infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists” – and give states all power to control.

A US president alone cannot eliminate a department, as Congress is required to approve the creation or demise of an agency.

But Trump officials can alter key parts of the department’s budget and policies, or replicate the approach they used with the US agency for international development (USAid) this past week.

In recent days, Musk’s representatives at Doge have suspended senior USAid staff, shut down its website, accessed sensitive personnel files and locked employees out of the Washington DC office.

Workers for Doge, an unofficial government department with no congressionally approved mandate, have also reportedly gained access to the US treasury’s highly sensitive database and federal payments system

A Doge team was working at the education department on Monday to implement Trump’s executive orders and agenda, an education department spokesperson confirmed.

• President Donald Trump says he wants to negotiate an agreement with Ukraine in which Kyiv guarantees supplies of rare earth metals, key elements used in electronics, in exchange for aid. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had floated such an idea last October as part of his “victory plan” for ending the war with Russia. “We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths,” Trump said on Monday. “We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things.” Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said Ukraine was willing, adding that he wants “equalisation” from Ukraine for Washington’s “close to $300bn” in support.

• German chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Trump’s demand for quid pro quo, saying “it would be very selfish, very self-centred”. Such resources would be better used for the country’s reconstruction after the war, Scholz said after meeting with fellow EU leaders in Brussels.

• US shipments of weapons into Ukraine were briefly paused in recent days before resuming over the weekend as the Trump administration debated its policy towards Kyiv, Reuters reports, citing four people briefed on the matter. Shipments restarted after the White House pulled back on its initial assessment to stop all aid to Ukraine, two of the sources said. Halting the flow of US weapons would hinder Kyiv’s ability to fight, and put it in a less advantaged negotiation position in peace talks. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• A dire shortage of infantry troops and supply routes coming under Russian drone attacks are conspiring against Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk, where decisive battles in the nearly three-year war are playing out – and time is running short. Ukrainian troops are losing ground around the crucial supply hub, which lies at the confluence of multiple highways leading to key cities in the eastern Donetsk region as well as an important railway station. Moscow is set on capturing as much territory as possible as the Trump administration is pushing for negotiations to end the war.

• Ukrainian soldiers in Pokrovsk said that Russian forces switched tactics in recent weeks, attacking their flanks instead of going head-on to form a pincer movement around the city. With Russians in control of dominant heights, Ukrainian supply routes are now within their range. Heavy fog in recent days prevented Ukrainian soldiers from effectively using surveillance drones, allowing Russians to consolidate and take more territory. Meanwhile, Ukrainian commanders say they do not have enough reserves to sustain defence lines and that new infantry units are failing to execute operations.

• Russian forces advanced 430 square kilometres (166 square miles) into Ukrainian territory in January and are headed towards the logistics hub of Pokrovsk, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). This marks a slight slowdown compared to previous months, after a record advance of 725 square kilometres in November and 476 square kilometres in December.

• Ukraine’s army chief condemned on Monday a spate of violent attacks on draft officers, rallying in defence of a national call-up effort that has fuelled anger among some Ukrainians and struggled to generate sufficient frontline manpower. The incidents, including the fatal shooting of a draft officer and explosions at two draft offices in three days, pile pressure on an already-troubled national campaign to draft civilians despite faltering enthusiasm for service. Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, who has complained of manpower shortages at the front, denounced what he said were “shameful acts of violence”.

• The UN on Monday said that Russian forces have been killing more captured Ukrainian soldiers over recent months, echoing growing allegations from officials in Kyiv. The UN monitoring mission in Ukraine said that since the end of August last year it had “recorded 79 such executions in 24 separate incidents” by Russian forces.

• A bomb exploded in the lobby of a luxury apartment block in Moscow, killing a pro-Russia paramilitary leader from eastern Ukraine alongside his bodyguard. The bomb detonated just as a man with bodyguards entered the lobby of the Scarlet Sails residential complex on the banks of the Moscow River on Monday, Russian media reported.

• An 18-year-old British man was killed in a Russian drone strike, just minutes into his first mission after volunteering to fight in Ukraine. James Wilton, from Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, was 17 when he left the UK to fight against Russia, flying from Manchester to Poland before crossing the border into Ukraine.

• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said late on Monday that he was on his way to visit Kyiv and inspect a key substation that is critical for the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power. More than half of the electricity consumed in Ukraine is generated by three nuclear power plants, but Russian missile and drone attacks on substations threaten the stable operation of nuclear power plants, according to Ukraine’s nuclear inspector’s office.

• Pro-European Moldova, buffeted by Russia’s invasion of its neighbour Ukraine, on Monday denounced what it said was a violation of its airspace by a drone and said it was discussing with its allies how to boost air defences. Moldova’s defence ministry said the drone entered the country’s airspace from Ukraine, remained for a brief time, and then went back over Ukrainian territory.

The exponential rise in microplastic pollution over the past 50 years may be reflected in increasing contamination in human brains, according to a new study.

It found a rising trend in micro- and nanoplastics in brain tissue from dozens of postmortems carried out between 1997 and 2024. The researchers also found the tiny particles in liver and kidney samples.

The human body is widely contaminated by microplastics. They have also been found in blood, semen, breast milk, placentas and bone marrow. The impact on human health is largely unknown, but they have been linked to strokes and heart attacks.

The scientists also found that the concentration of microplastics was about six times higher in brain samples from people who had dementia. However, the damage dementia causes in the brain would be expected to increase concentrations, the researchers said, meaning no causal link should be assumed.

“Given the exponentially rising environmental presence of micro- and nanoplastics, this data compels a much larger effort to understand whether they have a role in neurological disorders or other human health effects,” said the researchers, who were led by Prof Matthew Campen at the University of New Mexico in the US.

Microplastics are broken down from plastic waste and have polluted the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. People consume the tiny particles via food, water and by breathing them in.

A study published on Thursday found tiny plastic pollution to be significantly higher in placentas from premature births. Another recent analysis found that microplastics can block blood vessels in the brains of mice, causing neurological damage, but noted that human capillaries are much larger.

The new research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, analysed samples of brain, liver and kidney tissues from 28 people who died in 2016 and 24 who died in 2024 in New Mexico. Microplastic concentration was much higher in the brain tissue. It was also higher in brain and liver samples from 2024, compared with those from 2016.

The scientists extended the analysis with brain tissue samples from people who had died between 1997 and 2013 on the US east coast. The data showed an increasing trend in microplastic contamination of brains from 1997 to 2024.

The most common plastic found was polyethylene, which is used in plastic bags and food and drink packaging. It made up 75% of the total plastic on average. The particles in the brain were mostly nanoscale shards and flakes of plastic. The plastic concentrations in the organs were not influenced by the age of the person at death, or the cause of death, their sex or their ethnicity.

The scientists noted that only one sample from each organ was analysed, meaning the variability within the organs remains unknown, and that some variation in the brain samples could be due to geographic differences between New Mexico and the US east coast.

“These results highlight a critical need to better understand the routes of exposure, uptake and clearance pathways and potential health consequences of plastics in human tissues, particularly in the brain,” said the researchers.

Prof Tamara Galloway at the University of Exeter in the UK, who was not part of the study team, said the 50% increase in levels of brain microplastics over the past eight years mirrored the increasing production and use of plastics and was significant. “It suggests that if we were to reduce environmental contamination with microplastics, the levels of human exposure would also decrease, offering a strong incentive to focus on innovations that reduce exposure,” Galloway said.

Prof Oliver Jones, at RMIT University in Australia, said the new research was interesting, but the low number of samples and the difficulty of analysing tiny plastic particles without contamination meant care should be taken when interpreting the results.

Greenland plans to ban foreign political donations over fears about potential interference in its forthcoming elections after attracting Donald Trump’s interest.

The government of the autonomous territory, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the kingdom of Denmark, announced details of a bill on Monday intended to “safeguard the political integrity of Greenland”.

It is scheduled be considered on Tuesday and if it becomes law, which it is likely to do because the government holds a majority in parliament, it could come into force straight away.

Despite Greenland and Denmark saying the Arctic island is not for sale, Trump has repeatedly said he plans to acquire it and has threatened to use tariffs and military force to get his way.

After weeks in the global spotlight as a result of the repeated threats, Greenland is scheduled to hold an election before 6 April.

The bill presented on Monday “must be considered in light of the geopolitical interests in Greenland and the current situation … where representatives of an allied superpower have expressed their interest in taking over and controlling Greenland”, it said.

It also said that “parties, including local and youth sections, are not allowed to receive contributions from foreign or anonymous donors”, described as those “who reside or are domiciled outside Greenland”.

Parties will also be banned from receiving private contributions in excess of 200,000 Danish krone (£22,000) in total or more than 20,000 from a single source.

Greenland has repeatedly said it is not for sale, but it has stated that it is “open for business”. Among many in the independence movement, US interest is seen as either potential leverage for improving its arrangement with Denmark or a potential way of securing independence. Denmark currently controls Greenland’s defence and foreign policy.

Aaja Chemnitz, a member of Denmark’s parliament representing Greenland, recently told Agence France-Presse: “There will be different people, different groups that will try to affect the whole election in Greenland, not only in Greenland, but all over the world.”

Copenhagen has insisted that Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, but last week the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, went on a mini-tour of Europe in an effort to shore up support after a reportedly “horrendous” 45-minute call with Trump.

Earthquake fears have prompted people to flee Santorini, as Greece’s most popular island destination continues to be hit by what scientists described as a “barrage” of tremors.

With authorities on heightened alert amid mounting concerns of an impending natural disaster, residents, tourists and workers are scrambling to leave the island on ferries and planes.

By midday on Monday, Aegean airlines, the national carrier, had announced it was doubling the number of flights from Athens to Santorini for the next two days, as travel agents said the new flights were sold out “within seconds”.

“We’re monitoring the situation very closely and, following discussions with the ministry of civil protection, will act accordingly,” an airline spokesperson told the Guardian. Ferry companies said they would also put on extra services as the uptake for passenger tickets on boats soared.

More than 200 undersea tremors shook the island over the weekend – most in waters between Santorini and Amorgos, the Cyclades’ easternmost isle – with scores of fresh overnight earthquakes prompting people to sleep outside or in their cars.

“I cried all night because I was very afraid and didn’t know what to do,” a Mexican tourist on a two-day visit to Santorini was quoted as telling the Greek daily Protothema. “We felt that the ground wasn’t at all stable … We were all saying we should stay calm but how can you be calm when the ground is shaking again and again?”

On Monday, an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale, the most powerful yet, was registered at 2.17 PM local time. Land and rockslides were also recorded.

“All scenarios are open,” Dr Gerassimos Papadopoulos, a prominent seismologist, wrote in an online post. “The number of tremors has increased, magnitudes have risen, and epicentres have shifted north-east … The risk level has escalated.”

Later in the day, as speculation of a volcanic eruption also grew, he emphasised that the earthquakes were “tectonic, not volcanic”.

By order of Greece’s civil protection ministry, schools in Santorini and the surrounding islands of Ios, Anafi and Amorgos are to remain shut until Friday, while people were advised as a precautionary measure to avoid derelict buildings and gathering in large numbers in enclosed spaces.

Warnings were also issued to avoid the shoreline and certain ports in case a quake triggered a tsunami. “It appears a seismic fault line has been activated and could cause an earthquake above six [on the Richter scale],” another seismologist, Prof Manolis Skordylis, said on public radio. “We haven’t had the main earthquake yet.”

Emergency medical crews continued to arrive on the island on Monday joining special forces, rescue teams and drone handlers who had already been dispatched. Officials have not ruled out the army being sent in. In the event of a tsunami inhabitants have been told to head to elevated areas inland, where rescue workers have established a staging area, pitching tents in a basketball court close to the island’s main hospital.

“We are dealing with a very intense geological phenomenon,” the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, told reporters in Brussels where he was attending an informal EU leaders’ meeting. “I ask that islanders remain calm and listen to the guidance of the civil protection ministry.”

Greece sits on multiple fault lines and is often rattled by earthquakes. Research has shown the crust under the seas around Santorini to be a highly active seismic zone.

Memories are still vivid of the powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Amorgos and Santorini in 1956, triggering a tsunami that resulted in the deaths of 53 people, mass injuries and unprecedented damage.

In the intervening years the crescent-shaped island of white chalk houses has become one of Europe’s top destinations, attracting an estimated 3.5 million tourists last year.

Jo Haylen has quit as the New South Wales transport minister following revelations about her use of a ministerial car for private purposes.

It emerged on the weekend that Haylen had asked her chauffeur to take her and some friends to a winery lunch on the Australia Day weekend. It involved a 13-hour 446km round-trip for the driver, from Sydney to Haylen’s holiday house at Caves Beach, and then to a Hunter Valley winery and back.

“I have made mistakes; people aren’t perfect,” Haylen said on Tuesday as she read out her resignation statement. She did not take questions.

“I did not break the rules, but I acknowledge that’s not the only test here. I’ve let the public down and I’m very sorry for that. We were elected to be better than the last government.”

It was reported on Monday that Haylen had also used a taxpayer-funded driver to ferry herself and her children from Caves Beach – about 100km north of Sydney – to the city for weekend sporting events.

Ministerial cars and drivers can be used for private purposes under the current rules in NSW. But Haylen admitted on the weekend the Hunter Valley winery lunch failed the “pub test”.

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The premier, Chris Minns, on Tuesday was asked about potential further revelations. News Corp reported the transport minister allegedly used a ministerial car to take her family west of the Blue Mountains for a lunch.

The outgoing minister admitted at her snap press conference she had also taken another trip to the Hunter Valley with her husband using a ministerial car in 2024.

“I was working on that day, but I acknowledge that the use of my personal driver was an error of judgment by me,” Haylen said.

“My mistakes are now causing my government damage. Politics is tough. Expectations are very high. I know that. I’ve let the public down and I’m very sorry about that.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Minns said ministers were often tasked with weekend work and Haylen had said she was dropping off her children at sporting events en route to work in Sydney.

“[The driver] drove her from Caves Beach to Sydney to go to work and, on the way to work, the child was dropped [off] at sport,” the premier said, adding ministers sometimes worked up to 70 hours a week.

“In other words, the trip wasn’t so the kids could go to the sport on the weekends; the trip was so that she’d get to work.”

Minns said he asked Haylen about the Blue Mountains trip and “Jo insisted that was work-related, that was her chief-of-staff’s house, and she was working on the weekend”.

But the premier also noted: “I can’t defend the indefensible – particularly for the Australia Day [weekend] event. You have got to treat taxpayer money as if it’s your own.”

Haylen on Tuesday spoke about the demands of being a minister and a mother.

“You don’t switch on and off from being a minister. You don’t switch off [from] being a mum either. Combining the two can be difficult but I’m far from alone when it comes to that daily challenge.

“I’ve always prided myself on trusting in people and in the goodwill of the public I’m lucky to serve. Treating people with respect and acting with integrity. And that I am loyal and always will be. It kills me right now that people might think otherwise.”

Minns has vowed to tighten the rules governing ministerial drivers to prevent the types of journeys that Haylen took.

“We are changing the rules in NSW to ensure that it’s used for official business purposes,” he said on Tuesday. “If it’s private use, it’s only for incidental or minor parts of a minister’s job.”

Haylen had been battling a long-running industrial dispute with railway workers that repeatedly threatened to shut down the state’s train network.

She previously came under fire for hiring former Labor staffer Josh Murray to lead the transport department and the apparent use of a public servant in her office for political work.

Late on Monday, she was removed from the lineup of a key planning summit set to be held in Sydney on Tuesday.

Haylen on Sunday promised to pay back the $750 cost of the trip to Brokenwood Wines in Pokolbin on 25 January.