Profile

It’s been a busy first year for the US Defense Secretary. From signal chat controversies to Operation Epic Fury, Pete Hegseth has been making headlines.

Born in Minneapolis in 1980, Hegseth had what could be described as an ‘All-American’ upbringing. A basketball player at school he continued playing during his University career at Princeton where he majored in Politics. He also enrolled in the ROTC (reserve officers’ training corps) which turned out to be a career defining decision.

After stints in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hegseth returned home and began his career on the political side lines - heading up two veterans charities. But his campaigning job dried up after a whistle blower report alleged he was drunk and abusive at work. Next he moved to Fox News where he caught the eye of President Trump, a notorious consumer of the right wing network. This was the beginning of Hegseth’s meteoric rise to power.

His confirmation for Defense Secretary hearing saw him answer questions about sexual assault allegations and claims he didn’t have enough experience for the job. But Hegseth successfully defended himself and was soon installed at the Pentagon.

Mark Coles explores how he got there.

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‘Small Prophets’ has quietly taken the world by storm. A whimsy, magical and gentle show providing a tonic to modern life. Its creator, Mackenzie Crook, could arguably described in a similar way.

Born in Sutton-on-hone a village near Dartford in 1971, his creative brilliance was evident to friends early on but instead of drama school he started work at Pizza Hut. Moving to London in his early twenties he shared a flat where dry rot led to the stairs collapsing. But his luck began to change when he took his stand up comedy routine to Edinburgh. He caught the eye of comedian Bob Mortimer and shortly after was cast as Gareth in ‘The Office’ the oddball Territorial Army reservist with one of the worst haircuts on television.

Crook went on to star in quirky independent and blockbuster Hollywood films alike, but aged forty he decided he wanted to write his own material and move behind the camera to direct. His first offering was the critically acclaimed series ‘The Detectorists’. So who is the man behind the magic?

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California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has long clashed with US President Donald Trump - filing more than 50 lawsuits against the administration to date.

Now, with a new memoir coming out, all signs seem to be pointing at Newsom himself running for the top job in 2028.

Born in San Francisco in 1967, Newsom lived in two worlds - the first, among the wealth and glamour of his father’s friends, the billionaire Getty family, often joining them on luxury trips abroad. The second was a modest home provided by his working single mother, attending the local public school where he struggled with dyslexia.

After launching a successful wine and hospitality business, with backing from the Gettys, Newsom now has two stints as Mayor of San Francisco and two as Governor of California under his belt, and looks to be eyeing up a possible presidential run for the Democrats.

So who exactly is the man once known as ‘Mayor McHottie’ by his fans and ‘Newscum’ by the Trump administration?

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It’s awards season - and one name that keeps cropping up is Teyana Taylor.

She’s nominated for her first Oscar, for her role in One Battle After Another, and has already won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and her latest album was just nominated for the Best R&B Grammy.

For many, it would appear Taylor has burst on to the scene from nowhere - but for those who know her, these nominations are the culmination of more than two decades of work in the industry.

Signed at just 15 to Pharrell’s record label, appearing in a Jay-Z music video and choreographing a dance for Beyonce, her early years in New York’s Harlem weren’t exactly the usual teenage experience.

Her 16th birthday was immortalised on the small screen as part of MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen series, before she released her first record and began acting. Now a mother-of-two, Taylor has released four albums to date, starred in her own reality TV series and will make her directorial debut next year.

So, as Hollywood prepares for the award’s night of the year, Stephen Smith examines how she got here.

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As the 2026 Winter Olympics kick off in Italy, we look to the most powerful woman in sport - the International Olympics Committee President, Kirsty Coventry.

The most decorated African Olympian of all time, the 42-year-old mother-of-two made history as both the first African and the first woman to hold the title when she was elected last year.

Kirsty began swimming from an early age, in the family pool in Harare, Zimbabwe, where her mother gave swimming lessons to local children. Her talent was soon spotted, and she competed in her first Olympics in at just aged 16, going on to compete in four more.

With seven Olympic medals and several World Records under her belt, she decided to take on a role at the International Olympic Committee, quickly climbing the ranks.

Her reign is being closely watched by both her supporters and her detractors - from the decisions she makes around Russian and transgender athletes being allowed to compete, to the challenge global warming creates for running the competition. So, as the Winter Olympics begin, Mark Coles examines how she got here.

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The fatal shooting of two Minnesota residents by federal agents has contributed to the fiercest public backlash yet against the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policy. The man widely seen as the driving force behind this controversial approach, is White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller.

Born in 1985 and raised in liberal Santa Monica, California, Miller is the grandson of Jewish refugees. Outspoken from an early age, he made his name as a teenager through conservative talk radio appearances and student newspaper columns, before gaining national attention at Duke University defending members of the lacrosse team falsely accused of rape.

From fringe political outsider to trusted adviser, Miller has gone on to shape some of the most consequential policies of the Trump era, including the so-called Muslim travel ban and family separations at the border. So, as immigration once again dominates the US news agenda, Becky Milligan examines how he got here.

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The Secretary General of NATO has been dubbed the Trump whisperer after talks with Donald Trump at Davos appeared to help trigger a sudden U-turn on Greenland and threatened tariffs.

Mark Rutte was born in The Hague in 1967, began his career in business at Unilever and entered politics in 2002 eventually becoming the Dutch prime minister where he steered the Netherlands through economic turmoil, domestic crises and global shocks. Appointed Secretary General of NATO in October 2024 he has led the organisation through a tumultuous time in global politics.

Mark Coles takes a closer look at Mark Rutte’s life.

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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that US President Donald Trump’s threat to take Greenland would spell the end of Nato, the trans-Atlantic defence alliance. So who is the woman standing toe to toe with Trump?

A career politician in the truest sense, she was first elected as a member of the Danish Parliament in 2001, the day after her 24th birthday. After nearly two decades at the heart of the country’s politics, where she held roles including Justice Minister and Minister for Employment, she was elected Prime Minister of Denmark in June 2019, aged 41, the youngest leader in Danish history.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing - her premiership has survived a pandemic, an early election, and inflation driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now, as the jam-making mother-of-two faces her biggest international challenge to date - Stephen Smith looks back at the life and career of the woman named the ‘second most powerful person in Europe in 2026’ by Politico.

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Producers: Laurie Kalus, Katie Solleveld and Keiligh Baker

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The newly-appointed British ambassador to the United States, Sir Christian Turner, is a career diplomat whose experience spans almost three decades. He was about to take up the role of the UK's ambassador at the UN but after Lord Mandelson was abruptly pulled from his ambassadorial role in the US late last year, Sir Keir Starmer diverted Turner to replace him.

Born in Crawley in 1972, Turner attended the prestigious Marlborough College, before pursuing English literature at the University of Manchester, and later a doctorate at York. After flirting with documentary-making, he pivoted to public service, entering the Cabinet Office in the late nineties. He has closely advised several prime ministers, including Theresa May with whom colleagues say he shared his love of card games.

After an initial posting to Washington ended in 2006, his career has flourished at the foreign office. Mark Coles finds out more about the UK’s new man in DC, as he prepares to navigate ties with the Trump administration in a delicate moment for the so-called ‘special relationship’.

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Lord Peter Ricketts, former National Security Adviser

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Producers: Ben Carter, Katie Solleveld and Laurie Kalus

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KTN News Kenya

Note of Correction: 

The new Mayor of New York and at just 34, the youngest since 1892, is sworn in. He is the first Muslim and Indian American to lead the nation's largest city. Zohran Mamdani was born in Uganda, Africa, to parents of Indian descent and it was a childhood filled with bird song and nature. He was seven years old when his family moved to New York, to Manhattan's Upper West Side and that's where Mamdani began to make his mark. He started making music as rapper, Mr Cardamom but after releasing only a few songs, it seemed politics was a better fit.

Zohran Mamdani ran an impressive campaign, recruiting an army of volunteers 100,000 strong to pound the pavements and knock on doors. His social media videos in multiple languages credited with vastly increasing voter turnout from a range of South Asian communities. A left-wing democratic socialist, his message was laser focused on affordability; he promised to freeze the rents and make buses free, all paid for by a tax on New Yorkers making over $1 million per year. But now he's won the election can he actually deliver on those promises? Mark Coles hears from Mamdani's mother the filmmaker Mira Nair, colleagues and journalists to find out what shaped the man making history.

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