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The Guardian

Germany Christmas market attack: five killed and hundreds injured in ‘terrible, insane’ act – latest (sam., 21 déc. 2024)
German media say toddler among five dead as German chancellor Olaf Scholz condemns the ‘brutality’ of the attack Bild, German public-service broadcaster ARD and other media are reporting that four people were killed and 41 were seriously injured in the attack. In addition, 86 people were treated with significant injuries in hospital, while 78 people suffered light injuries. Continue reading...
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Sara Sharif told social worker ‘they don’t hit me’ four years before her murder (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
When she was six, Sara complained that her mother hit her, but that her father and stepmother, who were convicted of her murder, didn’t Sara Sharif told a social worker she felt safe living with her father and stepmother because “they don’t hit me”, four years before she died from their brutal campaign of torture. The schoolgirl’s haunting words are buried in hundreds of pages of private family court papers that were disclosed after an application by media organisations, including the Guardian. Continue reading...
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Chris Packham and Caroline Lucas accuse RSPCA of ‘legitimising cruelty’ (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
TV presenter and Green party politician resign from animal-welfare charity over response to undercover abattoir videos The BBC presenter Chris Packham and the former Green party leader Caroline Lucas have resigned from the RSPCA animal-welfare charity, accusing the organisation of “legitimising cruelty”. It comes after an undercover investigation from Animal Rising, which campaigns for a plant-based food system, used hidden cameras to reveal animal cruelty at RSPCA-approved abattoirs. Continue reading...
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Aston Villa v Manchester City: Premier League – live (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Premier League updates from the 12.30pm GMT kick-off Live scores | Tables | Fixtures | And you can email Barry “I handle the good moments - I handle good the bad moments,” said Manchester City’s manager in his pre-match press conference. “I have had bad ones in my career as a manager but we were able to come back and now it takes longer. “I take experience with that. I have had 40 days of bad days in terms of results. That is the truth when you compare to eight years which is much better. There have been eight years of incredible [results] and now we have 40-45 days of [bad results]. Continue reading...
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Weather warnings in place across UK as millions set off for Christmas getaway (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Rain and strong winds may cause delays in north and west of UK on Saturday, spreading to southern regions on Sunday Weather warnings have come into force across much of the UK as millions of people set off for their Christmas getaway. Wet and windy weather this weekend could cause roads and public transport to be disrupted by strong gusts. The AA predicted that 22 million drivers would hit the road on Saturday. Continue reading...
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Reeves says economic turnaround will take time and Farage ‘hasn’t got a clue’ (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Chancellor pledges renewed focus on growth after Bank of England warning that Britain is on brink of stagnation Rachel Reeves insists she won’t “gaslight” working people over her plans to turn round the economy as she launched a scathing attack on Reform’s offer to voters, saying Nigel Farage “hasn’t got a clue”. With many people still struggling with the cost of living, the chancellor defended her approach which has so far focused on economic stability, arguing that it was impossible to turn round years of poor performance under the Tories in just six months. Continue reading...
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Newly uncovered sites reveal true power of great Viking army in Britain (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Previously unseen artefacts show invading forces included communities of men, women, children, craftworkers and merchants Dozens of sites linked to the Viking great army as it ravaged Anglo-Saxon England more than 1,000 years ago have been discovered. Leading experts from York University have traced the archaeological footprint of the Scandinavian invaders, identifying previously unknown sites and routes. The study, conducted by Dawn M Hadley, professor of medieval archaeology, and fellow archaeology professor Julian D Richards, found that the significance of many of the ingots, gaming pieces and other artefacts unearthed by metal detectorists over the years had been overlooked until now. They also discovered about 50 new sites that they believe were visited by the Viking great army. Continue reading...
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Outrage as Elon Musk claims ‘only AfD can save Germany’ (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
German health minister calls US billionaire’s intervention weeks before election ‘undignified and problematic’ Elon Musk has caused outrage in Berlin after appearing to endorse the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland. Musk, who has been named by Donald Trump to co-lead a commission aimed at reducing the size of the US federal government, wrote on his social media platform X: “Only the AfD can save Germany.” Continue reading...
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Ukraine faces difficult decisions over acute shortage of frontline troops (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Depleted army is increasingly made up of older men, but Zelenskyy is reluctant to lower mobilisation age from 25 On a recent icy afternoon in the western Ukrainian city of Kovel, a silver-haired man in military fatigues prepared to board a train. A small boy hugged him at the knees, reluctant to let go. “Come on Dima, say goodbye to grandad,” his mother told him, pulling him away. A few minutes later, the train pulled out of the station with the man on board, headed on a long journey to the east of the country, towards the frontlines in the fight against Russia. Daughter and grandson, both in tears, waved from the platform. Continue reading...
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Buruli ulcer: flesh-eating bacteria spreads in Melbourne suburb amid warning about rise in cases (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Increase in cases ‘linked to Ascot Vale’ leads health officials to warn the disease is ‘spreading geographically’ Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Victoria has seen a surge of cases of a flesh-eating bacteria, prompting warnings from the chief health officer to take protective measures after it spread through suburban Melbourne. Buruli ulcer has been known to occur in Australia since the 1940s, with cases noted from Victoria to the Northern Territory and far-north Queensland. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
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UK house price predictions for 2025: with pay rising and rates falling, they’ll just keep going up (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Nothing seems to stop the relentless march of property values, even with a stamp duty increase looming It’s been a bumpy ride for the housing market in recent years, after Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget of September 2022 created a surge in borrowing costs that have cost many households dearly. But despite elevated mortgage and rent costs, the market this year has turned out to be “surprisingly resilient”, according to Nationwide building society. Experts had expected house prices to stay flat or fall, but average prices are expected to have risen by more than 3% in 2024, after falling by 1.4% in 2023. Continue reading...
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Trump’s ‘stunningly unqualified’ diplomatic team shapes up at breakneck speed (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Trump is hardly the first US president to introduce miscast nominees, but he has nominated ambassadors at a rate not recalled in recent memory They seem an unlikely, almost motley, crew of emissaries. For the Bahamas, there is Herschel Walker, a former NFL star whose fledgling Senate campaign was undone by a string of personal embarrassments but who now become US ambassador to the small Caribbean island. Continue reading...
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‘Even diehard Conservatives would not vote for her’: how Liz Truss tried to remake herself after her spectacular election defeat (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Booted out of her Norfolk constituency in July’s general election, the former PM is still wildly ambitious. Will she make a comeback? By 5am on 5 July, it was clear to the hundreds of candidates, officials, activists and journalists gathered in the Lynnsport leisure centre in King’s Lynn for election night that the former prime minister Liz Truss had lost her parliamentary seat. But from then until 6.45am, Truss was nowhere to be seen. Even when the other candidates were told to make their way on stage for the official announcement that Labour’s Terry Jermy had spectacularly overturned Truss’s previous majority of 26,000 to win the seat of South West Norfolk, the former prime minister was still not there. Continue reading...
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Stand tall, hum and try a dead hang: 22 two minute tension relievers (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Feeling a little… tense? From the top of your head down to the soles of your feet, here are lots of quick ways to soothe stress Restore a feeling of calm by scrunching your shoulders up to your ears as tightly as possible, holding for 10 seconds, then inhaling. Exhale as you release the tension in your shoulders. Marie-Claire Stanmore, pilates teacher, yoga teacher and sports massage therapist Continue reading...
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This is how we do it: ‘We make videos of ourselves having sex, to watch when we’re apart’ (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Amara and Mateo’s sex life was fun first time round, in their 20s. Now it has to be scheduled around childcare and the families they have left How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously The practicalities of making things work are certainly not easy, but I have no regrets After a few months of sneaking around with Amara, I told my wife our marriage was over Continue reading...
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Actor Mathew Horne looks back: ‘Gavin and Stacey was a big turning point in my life. People would confuse me with Gavin in real life’ (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
The comedian and actor on his Cure obsession, surviving a press storm, and being heckled by Robbie Williams Born in Nottinghamshire in 1978, Mathew Horne is a comedian and actor. He studied drama at Manchester University, where he and Bruce Mackinnon formed Mat and Mackinnon – a duo who would be headhunted by Catherine Tate in the early 00s. Horne has since appeared in TV shows such as Teachers, Bad Education, Gavin and Stacey, and Inside No 9. On stage, he has starred in Entertaining Mr Sloane, The Homecoming and Rain Man. Gavin and Stacey: The Finale airs on Christmas Day on BBC One and iPlayer. He lives in London with his wife and son. This photo was taken on mufti day at primary school. We didn’t have to wear school uniform, and as I was very interested in Captain Pugwash I went dressed as him. I was also very into the Cure; they were an important band to me, even as an eight-year-old. That drawing in the background, the gold cobweb on black paper, is a homage to their song Lullaby. I was a happy kid, but given my artistic inclination, there was clearly a bittersweet goth in me too. In hindsight, it would have been cooler if I had dressed as Robert Smith. Continue reading...
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Parkas, bucket hats and union jacks: how the Oasis reunion tour is fuelling a comeback for the Britpop look (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
With Noel and Liam set to return, the style they popularised in the 1990s is back in the spotlight – but what will the Insta-fashion-conscious Gen Z make of it all? The great Oasis comeback doesn’t start until summer 2025 but model and influencer Thomas Meacock – a 23-year-old who delights his 700,000 followers with “blokecore” outfits and a 90s feathered hair style – already knows what he’s going to wear. “Straight black or indigo jeans, a sage Oakley parka, any old Adidas trainers and my mum’s Ray-Ban wraparound sunnies.” Basically, he says, he wants to stay “as close to Liam Gallagher from the D’You Know What I Mean? music video as possible”. Meacock is not the only twentysomething thinking about his outfit and studying the fashions of the mid-1990s. The announcement of an Oasis reunion means Britpop style and its myriad references – from bucket hats and parkas to 1970s suiting – is being looked at again. Apparently, searches for “Oasis band” were up 105% on Pinterest the week the tour was announced. Continue reading...
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Blind date: ‘He looked like a cross between Andrew Garfield and my primary school crush’ (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Joe, 29, an academic, meets Alison, 30, a book publisher What were you hoping for? A Guardian-sponsored marriage in time for Christmas. Just kidding … but I was keeping my fingers crossed for a little magic. Continue reading...
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The Brutalist director Brady Corbet: ‘If you’re not daring to suck, you’re not doing much’ (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
The film-maker’s latest is a three and-a-half-hour epic about the building of a modernist masterpiece, and the toll its creation takes on its architect. The film’s making was almost as gruelling. ‘People told me I’d never make another movie’, Corbet says The Brutalist is a big, muscular American epic that pits the individual against the machine; the artist against the cogs and wheels of commerce. It spins the tale of László Tóth, a Hungarian-born architect who’s beset on all sides, by capricious patrons, unreliable partners, mutinous contractors and an outraged general public. László is determined to make his masterpiece. His wife, though, is spooked by the psychological cost. “Promise you won’t let it drive you mad,” she says. Architecture isn’t so different from independent film-making, says the film’s writer-director, Brady Corbet. It follows the same basic principles, throws up the same problems and provides similar levels of agony and ecstasy, and always more of the former. Corbet is now 36 years old and three movies into a gilded career. That makes him a success, a 21st-century Orson Welles. It’s just that each project takes its toll and, financially speaking, artists rarely if ever break even. “Eventually you start doing the math,” he explains. “And with every film it’s the same result. There are so many sacrifices you have to make along the way. And I can’t say for certain that it ever feels worth it.” Continue reading...
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Layton Williams: ‘How often do I have sex? Often. In my 20s I was a rampant rabbit’ (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
The actor, singer and dancer on his odd-shaped big toe, his secret betting history and falling flat on his face on stage Born in Greater Manchester, Layton Williams, 30, began his career at the age of 12, in the West End production of Billy Elliot. He went on to appear in TV shows Bad Education and I Hate Suzie and was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. His films include Rocketman and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie; the latter role he also played on stage. Earlier this year he appeared in Cabaret and he is currently in Titanique at the Criterion theatre in London. He lives in the capital. What is your greatest fear? Dying: I’m too iconic to go. Continue reading...
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Christmas on tap: six of the best UK pubs for the festive season (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Santa is coming and these pubs are going to town with their tinsel and fairy lights, as well as hosting special drinks and events over the festive season It’s hard to imagine a list of Christmassy pubs without the maximalist Churchill in Kensington. Its outside is usually covered in flowers, while inside, where Thai food and pints of London Pride are served, the ceiling and walls are hung with a strange collection of artefacts: lanterns, butterflies, 100 assorted chamber pots, second world war memorabilia and pictures of Winston Churchill, whose grandparents were regulars. In winter there are extra decorations (fake greenery, presents, north pole signs), and the exterior swaps the pansies and petunias for dozens of fir trees and thousands of lights. There’s a post box by the door, reindeer near the roof and a giant Ho Ho Ho in lights over the window. Continue reading...
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Amad Diallo becomes jewel in crown for Amorim’s Manchester United (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Winger has jumped to the top of the pecking order of wide men since Portuguese took the reins at Old Trafford Most of the noise around those in red at the Etihad Stadium last Sunday related to the dropping of two wingers until Amad Diallo intercepted Matheus Nunes’s woeful back-pass and won a penalty before scoring a last-minute winner. The Ivorian was Manchester United’s main threat in a mediocre derby as his flourishing under Ruben Amorim continued, while others drifted into the shadows. As Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho endured a watching brief after being stood down, putting them below Antony in the pecking order, Diallo shone. The new head coach is constantly tinkering and rotating personnel as he searches for the best players for individual roles but Diallo is making himself almost undroppable and will get another start against Bournemouth on Sunday as he aims to add to his two league goals and six assists this season. Continue reading...
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Tyson Fury weighs in with war cry at 50lb more than Oleksandr Usyk (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
British fighter tips scales at 281lb Champion similar weight to previous fight Tyson Fury will weigh at least 50lb more than Oleksandr Usyk when the two men fight for the world heavyweight championship in Riyadh. At the official weigh-in on Friday night, Fury scaled 281lb while wearing all his clothes, including a heavy black leather jacket to keep him warm in the biting December cold. Usyk, the defending champion, weighed 226lb after removing only his tracksuit top. The 55lb weight discrepancy will be slightly reduced in the ring – but it is striking that Fury weighed 19lb more than he did on the scales before their first fight in May. Usyk was just 3lb heavier than last time and, once he has stripped down to his boxing trunks and boots, he will be very close to the exact weight he was when he became the undisputed world heavyweight champion after he defeated Fury in an extraordinary and very close fight. Continue reading...
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Friedkins arrive at Everton while facing flak at Roma after bright start (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
American father and son began positively at the Stadio Olimpico but botched managerial decisions soured mood A banner raised by Roma supporters before their Coppa Italia game at home to Sampdoria on Wednesday spoke to the prevailing mood. “Club and players: all a bunch of frauds,” it read. By recent standards, that was rather tame. The Friedkin Group, which completed its takeover of Everton on Thursday, has owned Roma since 2020 and enjoyed notable successes: hiring José Mourinho as manager and delivering him the squad he needed to win the first Europa Conference League, as well as finishing as Europa League runners-up a year later. However, the decision to fire the Portuguese in January divided opinion among the fanbase, and the sacking of his successor, Daniele De Rossi, in September sparked open revolt. Continue reading...
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European Super League beefs up like Gordon Ramsay’s Christmas dinner | Barney Ronay (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
The plan for more games between bigger clubs is dull and loses context while making a few people rich A few years back I walked out of my front door very early in the morning to go to work and watched sleepily as a large car endlessly reversed, went forward, reversed, then went forward, trying to escape a wrong turn down the driveway. It was an engrossing spectacle: urgently and skilfully done, but also expressive of some kind of epic, cinematic impatience. Eventually I went to squeeze past. At which point a striking image loomed against the steamed-up window: a face, instantly recognisable as belonging to the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, shouting what was clearly the word “Fuck”, caught in the glow of the streetlights at 5.30am in the privacy of his own car. Continue reading...
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George Eastham, England 1966 World Cup squad member, dies aged 88 (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Player led the fight against so-called ‘slavery contracts’ He scored Stoke’s winner in 1972 League Cup final win George Eastham, a member of England’s World Cup-winning squad, has died at the age of 88. Eastham did not play in England’s 1966 success on home soil, but the winger was part of Sir Alf Ramsey’s squad that lifted the trophy for the only time in the nation’s history. Blackpool-born Eastham spent most of his career at Newcastle, Arsenal and Stoke; he also left a far-reaching legacy as the man who battled against so-called “slavery contracts”. Eastham’s involvement in a 1963 court case that improved players’ freedom to move between clubs ended up reforming the British transfer market. Continue reading...
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Time for a reboot: 64-game Caldentey shows women’s football conundrum (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
A report from Fifpro has found that some players were playing too many games but most were not playing enough The final whistle of Wednesday night’s Champions League fixtures marked the end of women’s football in England for 2024. A winter break over the festive period is well supported and much needed after four intense months, particularly for those competing in the Champions League, before an even more packed new year and summer, but are there downsides alongside the obvious positives? A new report from Fifpro, the global players’ union, From High-Usage to Underload: A Tale of Two Industries, produced in conjunction with the analytics company Football Benchmark, calls for, among other things, the implementation of mandatory off-season breaks of four weeks and in-season breaks of two weeks. Continue reading...
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The 100 best male footballers in the world 2024 (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Rodri has beaten Vinícius Júnior and Erling Haaland to top our ranking of the most talented players in the world this calendar year How all the judges voted | Rodri heads 2024 list | Our methodology | The top 100 female players in the world 2023 edition | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 Continue reading...
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Lindsey Vonn, 40, finishes 14th in first World Cup race in nearly six years (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Vonn comes home 14th in the super-G at St Moritz US star announced return to competition last month Lindsey Vonn finished 14th position in a super-G on Saturday to mark her return to World Cup skiing at age 40. Vonn crossed the line 1.18 seconds behind winner Cornelia Huetter. It was the American standout’s first World Cup race after nearly six years of retirement. Vonn is planning to race another super-G in St Moritz on Sunday. Continue reading...
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What if Russia wins in Ukraine? We can already see the shadows of a dark 2025 | Timothy Garton Ash (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Instability is growing, Putin’s hybrid war in Europe is heating up and for fear of escalation we have encouraged global nuclear proliferation There are human activities in which both sides can win. War is not one of them. Either Ukraine wins this war or Russia does. Ukraine’s former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba says bluntly that unless the current trajectory is changed, “we will lose this war”. To be clear: this is still avoidable. Suppose the roughly four-fifths of Ukrainian territory still controlled by Kyiv gets military commitments from the west strong enough to deter any further Russian advances, secure large-scale investment in economic reconstruction, encourage Ukrainians to return from abroad to rebuild their country, and allow for stable, pro-European politics and reform. In five years, the country joins the EU, and then, under a new US administration, starts the process of entering Nato. Most of Ukraine becomes a sovereign, independent, free country, firmly anchored in the west. Timothy Garton Ash is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
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I bought a farm, hated the cows, and sold it. Then somehow, I bought another | John Humphrys (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
As a foreign correspondent, home was never a fixed location. I’ve finally learned it’s about who you share it with In our end of year series, writers and public figures remember the place or time when they felt most at home The first time it happened I wrote it off as inexperience. By “it” I mean lying on a concrete floor covered in cow shit and wondering how many bones had been broken by the cow I’d been trying to milk. Great skill is needed for the apparently simple task of attaching suction cups to a cow’s teats – especially if she has painful warts. The cows hated me (rightly so) and I hated them. Maybe I mean feared rather than hated, but it amounts to the same thing. And the more experienced I became, the more I was forced to admit that my idea of a farm in Wales becoming the home I had always longed for was ill advised if not utterly stupid. Continue reading...
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As a media columnist, even I found myself turning away from the news in 2024. But we can do things differently | Jane Martinson (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
More people are avoiding ‘boring’ or ‘depressing’ news for scrolling social media, but accurate reporting has never been more vital The other night I broke a long-cherished habit. At home in time for the BBC News at 10, I could only manage a couple of headlines before I turned it off, flicking through the channels instead for something that would make me smile, a comedy or anything about dogs. News of the torture and murder of a little girl, followed by reports from yet another seemingly intractable conflict, had turned me into one of the biggest threats to my own profession, if not democracy – I had become a news avoider. Jane Martinson is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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Why no one ever actually gets to watch a movie: the Edith Pritchett cartoon (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
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‘How do we live in this terrible world?’ a reader asked me. Here’s the only answer I have | Jonathan Freedland (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
From the bloodshed in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza to the return of Trump, there are so many reasons to despair. But a little deliberate optimism can go a long way It’s a season brimming with tradition and, as longtime readers may know, my own custom has been to try, in the last column before Christmas, to find a few reasons to be hopeful. I was planning on doing that anyway, but my resolve was sharpened by a conversation with a reader who called in to last weekend’s Guardian and Observer charity telethon. Tammy, who is 75, made her donation but she also had a simple, if fathomless question: “How do we live in this terrible world?” She proceeded to rattle off just some of the things that led her to put the question so starkly. She talked of the ongoing bloodshed in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza; she sighed at the imminent return of Donald Trump. And this week brought two more items that could be added to her list. Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
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Only 35% of Americans trust the US judicial system. This is catastrophic | David Daley (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
American confidence in the courts has hit a record low across party lines. This is worrying – if not surprising The US supreme court has been hijacked by the extreme right and corrupted to its core. American oligarchs bestow millions in gifts and largesse on rightwing justices. The court’s conservative supermajority hands down deeply unpopular decisions that take away long-settled rights, concentrate power for themselves and their friends and grease the electoral rails for their party. David Daley is the author of the new book Antidemocratic: Inside the Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections as well as Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count Continue reading...
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Hit TV show, tick. Millions for lawyers, tick. Now could we manage some actual justice for the subpostmasters? | Marina Hyde (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
The ‘big people’ implicated in this disgraceful run of events need to pay their dues. Britain needs it – and demands it In her closing statement to the Post Office inquiry this week, Paula Vennells once again added the brutal murder of irony to her list of failings. Or as the former CEO’s lawyer put it: “She has no desire to point the finger at others.” Oh, Paula. Great to hear your pointing finger has finally been decommissioned – but it’s many years and many, many prison sentences too late for that. In fact, as we bid farewell to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry, to give it its full name, it’s clear that the prime takeout should be: let that not be an end to it. Justice has yet to be served. It’s quite something to think that this time last year, ITV had not even aired Mr Bates vs the Post Office, the drama that finally galvanised public anger about the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history, and led to immediate action from various classes of powerful people who could have done something before, but didn’t. As the year ends, it is possible to say that Mr Bates is now by far and away the most watched drama of 2024 – in fact, the most watched anything bar sport. Pretty sensational for something created so faultlessly and beautifully out of a dauntingly unpromising dramatic premise: a faulty computer system. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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Lisa Kudrow is right: friendship ‘takes work’. But you wouldn’t know it from TV | Emma Beddington (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
For decades I accepted what sitcoms and soaps told me: that groups of like-minded people form and stay together effortlessly. Now the former Friend has told it like it is Lisa Kudrow says being and staying friends with her Friends co-stars was tough at times. “That six-way relationship took some work – and we did it,” she told the Armchair Expert podcast. They “worked hard at being friends”. This is no Sex and the City-style daggers-drawn revelation – Kudrow essentially said that they sometimes had to act like sensible adult humans to maintain the easy screen intimacy we all watched play out on Monica’s couch. But for me it came as a relief and a confirmation of something I only recently muddled out: TV friendships aren’t real. Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on the victims of conflict: at the end of a brutal year they need support | Editorial (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
From Gaza to Haiti, our charitable partners are dedicated to helping people in the world’s conflict zones. Please give generously • Donate to our charity appeal here Wars in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere have made 2024 a brutal and bloody 12 months. For this year’s Guardian and Observer appeal, in aid of three conflict-linked charities, we are asking readers to give out of compassion for those affected, and in the hope of promoting peace in a safer world. As well as alleviating immediate suffering, and saving lives, our voluntary-sector partners play a vital role in helping to restore civil society in places where it is devastated by conflict. Their work with children, in particular, is essential to efforts to build a better future. The year began with fierce fighting and mass displacements in southern Gaza. February saw the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while April marked a year since fighting broke out in Sudan between the military and Rapid Support Forces rebels. In each country civilians have suffered terrible losses. Children in the occupied territories are regarded by the UN as having faced human rights violations on an “unprecedented scale”. Reports from Ukraine and Sudan have included horrifying evidence about the use of rape and sexual torture as weapons of war, among other forms of violence. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on celebrity books: call them by their names | Editorial (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Keira Knightley and Jamie Oliver are the latest stars to write children’s books, but too often famous names hide the talents of ghostwriters There is nothing new about stars trying their hand at children’s fiction (Julie Andrews published Mandy back in 1971). But the announcement in October that Keira Knightley has written and illustrated her first children’s novel, billed as “a modern classic”, was met with anger among children’s writers who took to social media to joke that they wanted to become film stars. The written word can be a tricky thing to navigate for the untutored. Jamie Oliver was forced to pull his new title Billy and the Epic Escape after it was criticised for perpetuating harmful stereotypes and “trivialising painful histories” of First Nations people. There is understandable frustration from other authors, who feel they are being crowded out of press coverage and bookshops. Sometimes it is unclear who is actually writing the titles. It is no surprise that many memoirs are ghostwritten – no one really thought Prince Harry toiled for months to write Spare. A celebrity’s life story belongs to them, after all, so it doesn’t seem so problematic that a professional writer is hired to tell it. But who owns an idea or fictional narrative? Continue reading...
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Cochlear implants make a useful addition to sign language | Letters (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Parents of a deaf child should not feel pressured to choose between implants and signing, writes Dr Wyatte Hall, while Simon Gair agonised over implants for three of his children. Plus letters from Ruth Holt and Jenny Froude As a deaf researcher focused on language deprivation among deaf individuals, I am often asked about cochlear implants and their role in the lives of deaf children (The cochlear question: as the parent of a deaf baby, should I give her an implant to help her hear?, 11 December). While cochlear implants are a technological tool that provides access to sound, the critical issue is not the implant itself, but the decision to exclude signed languages from a deaf child’s upbringing. Language is a fundamental human right and the foundation of cognitive, social and emotional development. For deaf children, access to a visual language – such as American Sign Language or British Sign Language (BSL) – is essential, particularly in the early years when the brain is most receptive to language acquisition. Without this access, many deaf children can face significant delays in language development, which leads to lifelong challenges in education, employment and mental health. Continue reading...
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Breaking the social care reform logjam | Letters (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Cross-party buy-in is essential. This cannot be a government-only solution, writes Paul Burstow The “deep reform” that social care needs (Editorial, 3 December) must break the cycle of short-term fixes and insufficient funding, which leaves the sector in a perpetual state of uncertainty – forever playing the role of Oliver Twist asking for more, yet lacking long-term security. A better-funded version of the current system won’t suffice to address the profound demographic, societal and technological shifts shaping the future. Having helped steer the Care Act into law and set up the Dilnot commission, I know how challenging it is to get long‑term reform agreed upon. Continue reading...
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The facts about a planet facing climate disaster are clear. Why won’t this Labour government face them? | Jeremy Corbyn (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Labour seems gripped by a form of denialism. The danger is real and incremental change won’t avert it Jeremy Corbyn is independent MP for Islington North and was leader of the Labour party from 2015 to 2020 There is no need to overcomplicate things: a rise in global temperatures of 3.1C is not compatible with human survival. That is where we are heading, unless we act now. On our current path, the world will exceed 1.5C of warming, and could reach a rise of 2.6-3.1C by the end of the century. For you, today, that might make the difference between wearing a jumper or a jacket. For humanity, it is the difference between survival and extinction. Paris and Berlin will bake under heatwaves. New York will be hit by frequent storm-surges. Coastal towns will be submerged; 800 million people are living on land that will be underwater. Jeremy Corbyn is independent MP for Islington North and was leader of the Labour party from 2015 to 2020 Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
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UK to ban bee-killing pesticides but highly toxic type could still be allowed (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Ministers set out plans for outlawing neonicotinoids but considering application by farmers to use Cruiser SB Bee-killing pesticides are to be banned by the UK government, as ministers set out plans to outlaw the use of neonicotinoids. However, the highly toxic neonicotinoid Cruiser SB could be allowed for use next year, as ministers are considering applications from the National Farmers’ Union and British Sugar. Continue reading...
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Fire evacuations, floods and possible snow: Australia’s wild weather in the lead-up to Christmas (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Residents near Grampians fire urged to evacuate, while BoM forecasts possible snow in alpine regions Monday Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia is being “hit with a mix of everything” as parts of Queensland flood, while fires threaten towns in Victoria and snow is forecast across three states, the Bureau of Meteorology says. Emergency warnings were in place for fires burning in Victoria’s Grampians national park on Saturday, with residents from Watgania to Halls Gap being told to evacuate. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
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‘You won’t find the real criminals here’: a Just Stop Oil activist in jail at Christmas (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Protester Anna Holland says their shock at being behind bars was quickly followed by a stronger feeling of power Record number of protesters will be in UK prisons this Christmas Anna Holland, 22, was one of two young people from Just Stop Oil who threw tomato soup over a sunflowers painting by Vincent van Gogh – one of the highest-profile climate protests of recent years. The painting was not damaged, although there was damage to the frame. Holland was sentenced to 20 months in prison. They sent this letter to the Guardian about their experience behind bars. It was a shock at first that the judge had gone to the extreme of our sentence. The first few days and nights in prison were hard but also such an education. So many of the women I have met here are in prison because they were not properly protected by the state, so they have taken me under their wing. I have been looked after, taught the ways of prison, not by the staff but by the other prisoners. It is like nothing I had expected and it is completely overwhelming – but also surprising how quickly I found myself falling into the daily routine. Continue reading...
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Could $100m of Elon Musk’s money sway a general election for Reform UK? (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Spending such a seemingly game-changing sum would face several hurdles and could even hinder the party’s chances Over the 2024 general election period, combined donations to every UK party totalled about £50m. If reports are to be believed, Elon Musk could be about to give considerably more to just one – Reform UK. Is this a political game-changer? As ever with politics and money, there is no one answer. One caveat must be mentioned: not only is the prospect of the world’s richest person helping out Nigel Farage’s party still very much at the ideas stage, but the mooted figure of $100m (£80m) is disputed, with the Reform leader describing it as “for the birds”. Continue reading...
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Unpeeled tomatoes and barn conversions: Nicky Haslam reveals what’s ‘common’ this year (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Instagram release of tea towel featuring what the UK designer ‘finds common’ has become an annual ritual What is “common” these days – and is it even OK to say it? Some might say it’s a controversial term, but for Nicky Haslam, the 85-year-old English designer, socialite and self-appointed arbiter of taste, defining what is common is not something to shy away from – on the contrary, it has become an annual ritual. Continue reading...
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Countdown crowns first female champion in 26 years (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Fiona Wood solves final conundrum to clinch victory and encourages other women to ‘give it a go’ A forensic accountant has become the first female Countdown champion in 26 years. Fiona Wood prevailed in the series final on Friday after correctly identifying the conundrum word as “lassitude”, meaning a state of physical or mental weariness. Continue reading...
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Quarter of NHS England trusts raised parking fees in cost of living crisis, data shows (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Mark-ups criticised by patients’ charity for punishing those with ill health, but NHS defends fees amid financial pressures A quarter of NHS trusts in England Hospital raised car parking fees during the cost of living crisis, data has revealed. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show parking charges rose for at least 37 trusts – 25% of England’s total – between April 2022 and March 2024. Requests were filed to the 147 NHS trusts in England by PA Media, but 25 did not reply, meaning the number that raised parking fees could be higher. Continue reading...
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Michael Mosley’s cause of death ‘unascertainable’, coroner says (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
TV presenter’s death on Greek island in June probably due to heatstroke or a pathological cause, coroner finds A coroner has recorded an open conclusion regarding the “unascertainable” death of the TV presenter Michael Mosley, who died on a Greek island after he went for a walk. Crispin Butler, the senior coroner for Buckinghamshire, said Mosley’s death “was most likely attributable either to heatstroke (accidental) or non-identified pathological cause”. Continue reading...
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Appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to US divides Labour MPs (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Ministers hail peer as a heavyweight but others question the selection of a previously outspoken critic of party policy Peter Mandelson has been formally unveiled as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, with a series of ministers hailing him as a political heavyweight who will be a reliable conduit into a potentially chaotic second Donald Trump administration. Some Labour MPs were, however, less enthusiastic, questioning why Keir Starmer would reward and trust a figure who had previously weighed in with outspoken criticism of the party’s policies and personalities. Continue reading...
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Met police officer who slapped face of boy, 16, found guilty of assault (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
PC Sevda Gonen hit the boy ‘multiple times’ in the back of a police van as he was being taken to hospital A police officer who slapped a 16-year-old boy with mental health difficulties “multiple times in the face” as he was being transported to a hospital in London has been found guilty of assault. The judge, Briony Clarke, found Metropolitan police constable Sevda Gonen guilty of assault for striking the boy “multiple times in the face with an open palm” after “she allowed her frustrations to get the better of her” on 13 November 2023. Continue reading...
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How to support a charity at Christmas … it’s a gift that just keeps on giving (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
With more people in need this festive season, charities, too, are appealing for extra help Donate to our charity appeal here The British public is expected to give more than £1bn to charities this month as the festive season acts as a reminder of the increasing number of people who are in need of help. But charities say that the number of people who regularly give has declined, and some have appealed for extra help. The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) says that although the public is more motivated to give at Christmas, at the same time, “more and more” people are in need. Continue reading...
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Travellers bring legal action after Manchester police allegedly forced children on to trains (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Allegations include false imprisonment, negligence, excessive use of force, and safeguarding failures Representatives for Gypsy and Traveller children who were allegedly forced on to trains and prevented from visiting Manchester’s Christmas markets have instructed human rights lawyers to bring a complaint against Greater Manchester police (GMP). The Traveller Movement, a national charity, has instructed Ryan Bradshaw, a human rights partner at Leigh Day, to bring a complaint against the force on several grounds, with allegations including false imprisonment, negligence, excessive use of force, and safeguarding failures. Continue reading...
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Children’s charity rejects archbishop of Canterbury’s Christmas donation (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Children’s Society says accepting donation from Justin Welby would be inconsistent with its principles and values A children’s charity has rejected a Christmas donation from the archbishop of Canterbury, who resigned over the Church of England’s failures in dealing with a serial child abuser. In an embarrassing snub, the Children’s Society said accepting a donation from Justin Welby would “not be consistent with the principles and values that underpin our work”. Continue reading...
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‘We’re still in survival mode’: anger persists in Valencia weeks after floods (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Wreckage from Spain’s worst natural disaster this century may have been cleared but life for many remains in disarray The warm Valencia air, still thick with dust and carrying a residual note of mud and damp concrete, begins to reek on the approach to the roadside dump where diggers toil, gulls scavenge and the detritus of countless everyday lives rises in mounds. Almost two months on, the legacy of the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century is equally evident in the oranges rotting on the trees, in the tens of thousands of cars stacked in makeshift graveyards, and in the fatigue of all those who still queue daily for food, nappies and toilet roll. Continue reading...
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Greece’s former royal family seeks to regain citizenship 50 years after end of monarchy (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Ministry says ‘historically pending matter’ is being resolved as late king’s relatives acknowledge government – but choice of surname ruffles feathers Members of Greece’s former royal family have applied for Greek citizenship and formally acknowledged the country’s republican system of government, in a landmark move 50 years after the monarchy was abolished, officials have confirmed. The late king Constantine II and his family members were stripped of Greek citizenship in 1994 in a dispute with the government over formerly royal property and claims that he refused to renounce any right to the Greek throne for his descendants. Continue reading...
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‘I didn’t realize the role rice played’: the ingenious crop cultivation of the Gullah Geechee people (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Researchers in North Carolina used underwater sonar to map a system created by enslaved people centuries ago As a former deputy state underwater archaeologist, Mark Wilde-Ramsing can’t help but look down. While rowing around North Carolina’s Eagles Island, at the tip of the Gullah Geechee corridor, he noticed signs of human-made structures, visible at low tide. Though he’d retired, he was still active in the field and knew his former agency hadn’t recorded the structures – which meant he had come across something previously undocumented. The next step was figuring out exactly what he’d found. Wilde-Ramsing knew the area had once been full of rice fields. His neighbor, Joni “Osku” Backstrom, was an assistant professor in the department of environmental sciences at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington whose specialty was shallow-water sonar, and he had the skills and technology to explore the area. Using a sonar device, the duo detected 45 wooden structures in the river, and the remote sensing tool allowed Backstrom and Wilde-Ramsing to acoustically map the canal beds. Continue reading...
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The god illusion: why the pope is so popular as a deepfake image (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Experts explain the pontiff’s appeal as the most recent AI images of Francis, with the singer Madonna, go viral For the pope, it was the wrong kind of madonna. The pop legend, she of the 80’s anthem Like a Prayer, has stirred controversy in recent weeks by posting deepfake images on social media which show the pontiff embracing her. It has fanned the flames of a debate which is already raging over the creation of AI art in which Pope Francis plays a symbolic, and unwilling, role. Continue reading...
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In the DRC, rape is rife. How can women recover in a war zone? (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Near the eastern city of Goma, charities such as MSF are reporting rising numbers of refugees experiencing rape and torture As a sign of commitment to peace, help us support those affected by war | Kath Viner Donate to our charity appeal here They arrive every few minutes, survivors of the unrelenting sexual violence that defines one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. And among the first to assess the exhausted women after they reach the squalid camps on the outskirts of Goma, regional capital of the war-ravaged east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is Irengue Trezor. The 35-year-old works for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), overseeing the charity’s sexual violence clinics within the sprawling camps of grubby white tents that are home to 650,000 people who have fled the fighting. Continue reading...
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Israeli troops shoot Syrian protester as forces move beyond buffer zone (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Villagers say Israel’s forces have sown ‘fear and horror’ as they continue to expand into Syria’s territory The Israeli military said its forces shot a protester during a demonstration against the army’s activities in a village in southern Syria on Friday, injuring him in the leg. Since Islamist-led rebels toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on 8 December Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military facilities in what it says is a bid to prevent them from falling into hostile hands. Continue reading...
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US Senate approves funding proposal that does not include Trump’s demand to raise debt limit (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Measure averting government shutdown did not include demand by president-elect to raise debt ceiling The US Senate has approved a stop-gap funding measure to avert a government shutdown shortly after a midnight deadline with a bill that defied Donald Trump’s demand for a debt-limit suspension. The legislation next goes to Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. The Senate passed the bill in an 85 to 11 vote, hours after an overwhelmingly bipartisan 366-34 vote in the House. It was passed 38 minutes after the deadline but the government did not invoke shutdown procedures in the interim. Continue reading...
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Corridor of power: the Medicis’ cross-river Florence walkway opens to public (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Tourists can now use 16th-century passageway over the Arno, whose windows were enlarged when Hitler visited Over history, dukes, dictators and Europe’s illustrious elite have walked through the Vasari corridor, a narrow, 750-metre-long elevated passageway crossing the Arno River in Florence. Now visitors to the Tuscan capital can follow in their footsteps when the newly restored landmark, which connects the Uffizi Galleries with the Pitti Palace and the Boboli gardens, opens on Saturday to the general public for the first time. Continue reading...
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How YouTube (and Skibidi Toilet) changed the Christmas toys market (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
The shift from live TV to video platforms has made toy makers and sellers rethink products and where to sell them Letters to Santa used to be filled with ideas from the Argos catalogue or adverts on children’s telly, but for today’s kids raised on “swiping and streaming” YouTube is their shop window – which is why some are asking for a plastic toilet this Christmas. The stakes are high for the toy trade at this time of year as consumers spend about £900m on dolls, games and action figures, equal to a quarter of annual sales. Continue reading...
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Gisèle Pelicot has no fear of another trial, lawyer says as appeals lodged (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Two defendants have so far filed appeals and Dominique Pelicot is said to be considering challenge against sentence Gisèle Pelicot is ready to face another trial if needed, her lawyer has said, after two defendants in the mass rape trial lodged appeals and as her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, considers appealing against his 20-year prison sentence. “In any case, she has no fear of it, that is what she told us,” one of her lawyers, Stéphane Babonneau, told France Inter radio on Friday. Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In France, the France Victimes network can be contacted on 116 006. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...
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Last-minute Christmas gifts: 14 presents you still have time to buy (even on Christmas Eve) (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
The big day is almost here, but it’s not too late to grab an 11th-hour pressie. They’ll never know … You’ve forgotten, haven’t you? It happens. But don’t panic: from a baking course to a year’s supply of cinema tickets, here are 14 genuinely thoughtful last-minute Christmas gifts that you can buy online, sign up for or book right now – and they’ll never know you forgot. Our list of experiences, vouchers and subscriptions is also perfect for those people who don’t need more stuff, are impossible to buy for or enjoy supporting the arts or small food producers. An email may not be as exciting as unwrapping a gift, but an experience or subscription can last months, and they’ll think of you every time they make their subscription morning coffee. Continue reading...
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Five British fashion brands taking the US by storm (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
From Toast to Rixo, British labels are finding new fans across the Atlantic. Our styling editor shares her wisdom for US-based customers looking for a slice of the sartorial pie Like the Beatles before them, a slew of British brands are taking the US by storm with their whimsical dresses and cosy knitwear. First up is Toast, the purveyor of said knitwear. Then there is Me + Em – a favourite of the Princess of Wales and Victoria Starmer, wife of the British prime minister – and party dress expert Rixo, two cult brands that have opened bricks-and-mortar shops in New York. This season, the London-based, great plains-coded brand O Pioneers is also apparently looking for a site for its move west. And finally, traditional nightwear label If Only If has yet to open a physical store, but that hasn’t stopped its online sales going up by 500% in the US this year. Continue reading...
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14 of the best men’s coats for winter – from puffers and parkas to trenches (Wed, 18 Dec 2024)
A quality coat is central to a successful winter wardrobe, so here are our top tips for choosing the perfect style for you During winter, you wear your coat more than anything else in your wardrobe. When the drizzly season hits, it’s the weatherproof saviour that makes leaving the house just about bearable. Beyond practicalities, though, it’s also an important style choice. As the top layer of every outfit, it’s the piece of clothing everyone sees first, so you need to make it count. There’s much to consider when hitting the shops for a new piece of outerwear. Will it be warm enough? Is it a design you’ll wear in a year’s time? Does it coordinate with the rest of your wardrobe? Continue reading...
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The best whisky: 10 tried and tested tipples, from scotch and single malt to blended and bourbon (Tue, 17 Dec 2024)
Not sure which whisky to sip by a roaring fire? No problem, we’ve tasted them straight up for you Whether you’re stocking the bar trolley or hunting for a gift for a hard-to-buy-for relative, you’ll likely be one of the many picking up a bottle or two of whisky this Christmas. After carefully testing every whisky on this list – and many more – we are full of festive spirit and ready to step in to Christmas. Some whiskies were stirred into manhattans, others were enjoyed as a highball, and all were tasted straight up; all in the name of fairness, you understand. Continue reading...
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‘Perfect for winter nights’: the best crime novels to read at Christmas according to Ian Rankin, Bella Mackie and more (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
From Maigret to Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple, authors choose the whodunnits they love to hunker down with at this time of year A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories by Georges Simenon Continue reading...
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‘It will exist for ever’: Bluey fans fearful and excited for cartoon’s future (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Hugely popular show to get Disney feature film treatment but creator Joe Brumm will stop writing TV series Bluey fan sites can be quite odd places. In normal times, adult enthusiasts of the wildly successful children’s cartoon post pictures of prime merchandise – like Bluey-themed silky bra and short sets or plush dog-shaped armchairs – and start conversations about which cheery canine character they most resemble. But these are not normal times. This week Disney announced it would release the first full-length feature film based on the show, which features the eponymous anthropomorphic puppy and her family of Australian heelers, sparking widespread jubilation. The excited chatter was soon tempered with concern as the show’s creator, Joe Brumm, revealed in a blogpost that while he would write and direct the film, he would be stepping away from writing the TV series. Continue reading...
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A Ghost Story for Christmas: Woman of Stone – far too good to only exist as festive TV (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Mark Gatiss’s one-off spooky tale starring Mawaan Rizwan, Monica Dolan and Éanna Hardwicke is a total treat. Can we have much more like this please? Heavens! Oh, it’s you, Doctor Blathery: forgive me, you gave me an awful fright. You see it’s the queerest thing: this little stone statue I inherited with the cottage when I moved to this sleepy village from London (where everybody hates me because I’m from London), well, it seems to me … Oh, you shall call me half-mad! It seems to be moving around from room to room when I’m not looking. I swear it to you: last night, while I was reading by the fire and holding a handkerchief – which I do every night because it’s Victorian times and they haven’t invented telly yet – it was over on the dressing table, and now … why, it’s on the dining room chair! Doctor, you look shaken. Take a seat, I shall fetch you some brandy. Doctor: what happened to the charming young couple who lived here afore me all those years ago? You … you knew her, didn’t you? Sorry, sorry. I slip into “Victorian voice” a lot at Christmas. Christmas, as you know, is the best time of the year – Coke adverts! Quality Street! One binbag for the recyclable wrapping paper and another, much plumper bag for the glossy stuff! – but it’s also a weirdly spooky one, and is arguably a better time to consume a ghost story than Halloween is. Thankfully. the BBC knows this, and so has been on-and-off commissioning a ghost story to marken the yule – no, I’ve gone Victorian again. Anyway, they started in 1971, did it until 1978, stopped until 2005, have been doing it sporadically since then, and a few years ago someone had the good sense to just hand the whole thing over to Mark Gatiss and go: “Mark, please Gatiss this as hard as you possibly can.” This is his seventh year doing just that. Continue reading...
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TV tonight: a supercharged ‘format-breaking’ Casualty special (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Real-life testimonies about the miracle of blood will have you weeping. Plus: Strictly’s not over just yet! Here’s what to watch this evening 9.20pm, BBC One Continue reading...
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‘One of the most beloved writers of all time’: the genius of Joan Aiken at 100 (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
From The Wolves of Willoughby Chase to Black Hearts in Battersea, Joan Aiken’s tales of plucky orphans surviving in industrial Britain are a keystone of children’s literature There was once a poor widow with two young children who wrote to her agent to ask what had happened to the novel she had sent him. Her husband had died, leaving nothing but debts, and matters were becoming desperate. However, she was not quite the usual aspiring author: for one thing, she was the daughter of a Pulitzer prize-winning poet; for another, she had already published two collections of short stories. It turned out that her agent had forgotten all about it. Her manuscript had been sitting on the windowsill in his office for a year, unread. Continue reading...
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Tom Gauld on how to gift wrap a book – cultural cartoon (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
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The 50 best albums of 2024 (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Topped with Charli xcx’s swaggering yet vulnerable Brat, here are the year’s finest LPs as decided by 26 Guardian music writers • More best music of 2024 • More on the best culture of 2024 *** Continue reading...
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The 50 best films of 2024 in the UK (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama was chilling, Lily Farhadpour charmed in Iran and Paul Mescal was tremendous in a fantasy-romance as our critics select their standout picks of the year • The best films in the US • More on the best culture of 2024 *** Continue reading...
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The 50 best TV shows of 2024: 50-2 (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
As we close in on the No 1, a true story made for groundbreaking (and controversial) viewing, a chalk-and-cheese pair finally got it on – and Gary Oldman’s blew us away • More on the best culture of 2024 *** Continue reading...
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The 10 best global albums of 2024 (Wed, 11 Dec 2024)
DJ Love celebrated car horns, Kenyan metalhead Lord Spikeheart traversed trap and doom, while 82-year-old Milton Nascimento joined forces with Esperanza Spalding • More on the best music of 2024 • More on the best culture of 2024 Mongolian singer Enji’s debut collaboration with German jazz drummer Simon Popp is a masterclass in vocal range and control. Largely wordless and laden with reverb, Enji’s intricate vocalisations span everything from the percussive whispers of sharp breath on Akin to yearning, drawn-out phrases on Cathedral and the sprightly rhythms of Ybbs. Popp, meanwhile, accompanies with melodic drum textures, including interlocking patterns on toms and tuned percussion. Recording almost entirely in single, improvised takes, Enji and Popp produce a remarkably expansive and imaginative sound from just two instruments, sitting somewhere between enveloping ambience and spiritual improvisation. Continue reading...
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Vance, video games and a very poor prediction: how well do you remember 2024? – quiz (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Were you a newshound or a snooze-hound this year? Try our quiz to find out 0-5 Time to stop looking at your phone and read more of the Guardian 6-14 You’ve obviously been reading a lot. Well done you 15+ Is your homepage the “Events in 2024” Wikipedia page? Continue reading...
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Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for coconut, tomato and saag tofu | The new vegan (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Frozen or tinned spinach is the key to a rich, silky store-cupboard dish that’s best enjoyed with rice or flatbreads I’ll let you into a secret that every Indian home cook already knows: frozen or tinned spinach makes for the best saag. For a start, there’s not as much water to cook out as there is with fresh spinach, and it breaks down into that gorgeous, oozy-delicious emerald mass more easily than fresh spinach does. Also, there is a general lightening of the human spirit that comes from making something nearly entirely from the freezer or store cupboard (well, it does for me, anyway). That’s the sort of miracle I appreciate at Christmas time. Continue reading...
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Cheesy gratin and garlicky fried rice: Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for Christmas leftovers (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Fried rice in a moreish garlic and spring onion sauce, and an excellent way to use up cheeseboard scraps, crackers and all With the Christmas menu largely planned, we can now all admit that the thing we really love about the festivities is the time after the day itself. Expectations return to planet normal and most of us revert to cooking much as we do for the rest of the year: a fridge raid here, a stir-fry there, home-cooked meals served up to friends and family who are more than happy just to be fed. So this is a time when cooking with food that has already been cooked feels like the biggest win of all. With most of the work pretty much done, it’s often just a case of assembly, stirring and reheating. Entertaining the easy way. Continue reading...
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How to make potted shrimp – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
These elegant, rich little shellfish pots are easy to make ahead – serve with a glass of festive fizz I adore potted shrimp. Not only do these little ramekins, with their jolly red sprinkle of cayenne pepper atop a golden cap of clarified butter, feel like fishy emissaries from a more elegant age, but they can also be prepared days in advance, which frees me up to drink fizz with friends instead of faffing around in the kitchen. A Christmas gift indeed. Prep 5 min Cook 15 min Serves 4 Continue reading...
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From cat litter to incontinence pads: UK shoppers on how ‘porch pirates’ got caught out (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Readers say doorstep theft is a ‘nightmare’, but some thieves have not got what they expected in parcels Police warn UK shoppers over ‘porch pirates’ Doorstep parcel thieves are making off with a variety of gadgets and pricey fashion items ranging from computer monitors to Ugg footwear. However, the “lucky dip” nature of the crime means some crooks are opening their pilfered packages to discover they contain biodegradable cat litter or incontinence pads. An increase in home shopping has fuelled a rise in doorstep thefts, with “porch pirates” making off with an estimated £376m-worth of goods in the 12 months to August. Continue reading...
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The Christmas that went wrong: I spent the day with three small children in an eerily deserted airport (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
With a seriously ill mother in Scotland and an arduous journey to France via Amsterdam, it had the makings of a nightmare day for everyone I was always a gung-ho travelling mum. With a sailor for a husband, you kind of have to be if you want to see them more than once every two months. Antigua with a baby hurling all the way? No problem. Dubai with three under-fives? Bring it. It usually required pre-Maria Captain Von Trapp levels of whistling, but was generally worth it. Until I overreached. Christmas 2016: I had three small kids, a parent in hospital in Scotland and a husband working in France. I decided we would have a jolly Christmas morning at the hospital (it is possible my idea of hospitals on Christmas Day was informed by Noel Edmonds’ televised visits in the 80s), then fly to France in time for a slap-up feast of goose and oysters and a joyous reconciliation. Continue reading...
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UK workers: tell us if you are expected to spend more time in the office next year (Mon, 02 Dec 2024)
We would like to hear from people whose employers are looking to increase time working in the office in 2025 A range of large employers, such as Starling Bank, have called thousands of workers back to their desks in a tightening of rules on remote working. During the Covid pandemic many employers allowed staff to work from home but some are now reducing, or removing, that flexibility. We would like to know if you are expected to spend more time in the office next year and how you feel about it. Do you have concerns? Are you considering a change of job because of it? Continue reading...
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People in the UK: tell us what your hopes and concerns are for your finances in 2025 (Mon, 09 Dec 2024)
We would like to hear from people in the UK and what they predict will happen to their finances next year We want to find out more about how people in the UK feel about the state of their finances and what the new year might bring for them. What are your hopes and concerns for your finances in 2025? Are you hoping to get promoted or change jobs? Are you starting a family and worried about how you will manage? Perhaps you have been unemployed and will be returning to work next year. What will this mean for you? Continue reading...
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Share your memories of UK nightclubs that have now closed (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
We’d like to hear about the nightclubs that have shut down in your area We’d like to hear from people across the UK about cherished nightclubs that are now no more. Nightclubs across British towns and cities have been closing at a rapid rate – 65 this year alone – and we’d like you to share memories and pictures of any that that you used to frequent. Which ones were your favourites and why? Continue reading...
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What questions do you have about ultra-processed foods? (Mon, 16 Dec 2024)
Is there anything you’d like to know about UPFs? The Guardian’s new video podcast, It’s complicated Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become an everyday part of many people’s diets. From ready meals to breakfast cereals, these foods are engineered for convenience and taste – but at what cost? With growing attention on how ultra-processed foods (UPFs) influence our health, the environment, and even the way we view eating, it’s no wonder there’s so much confusion and curiosity surrounding them. In our new video podcast on the Guardian’s It’s Complicated YouTube channel, we want to explore what really goes into UPFs and what that means for our wellbeing. What makes a food ‘ultra-processed’ compared to regular processed foods? Are all UPFs inherently unhealthy? How did they become such a dominant part of the food landscape, and what would it mean to cut them out? These are just some of the questions we’re looking to answer — but we really want to hear from you. Continue reading...
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He’s anti-democracy and pro-Trump: the obscure ‘dark enlightenment’ blogger influencing the next US administration (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
Key figures in the incoming administration follow Curtis Yarvin, who’s pushing for an autocratic takeover of the US Curtis Yarvin is hardly a household name in US politics. But the “neoreactionary” thinker and far-right blogger is emerging as a serious intellectual influence on key figures in Donald Trump’s coming administration in particular over potential threats to US democracy. Yarvin, who considers liberal democracy as a decadent enemy to be dismantled, is intellectually influential on vice president-elect JD Vance and close to several proposed Trump appointees. The aftermath of Trump’s election victory has seen actions and rhetoric from Trump and his lieutenants that closely resemble Yarvin’s public proposals for taking autocratic power in America. Continue reading...
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Elections tracker 2024: every vote and why it mattered (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
More than 80 countries – more than half the world’s population – voted this year in elections that could be pivotal for democracy More than 80 countries headed to the polls in 2024, including some of the wealthiest and most powerful, the most populous, the most authoritarian and the most fragile. Many votes tested the limits of democracy, while others were exercises in rubber-stamping. Some were boycotted by the opposition or undermined by government crackdowns on press and dissenters. We kept track of all the results with our election tracker: Continue reading...
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Inside Aleppo, the city Assad left to rot as a lesson in the price of rising up (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
A decade on from the Guardian’s last visit, it is clear war has ripped the city apart – but there are signs of positive change Bashar al-Assad’s face has been ripped away from posters at the abandoned checkpoint that separates Sheikh Maqsoud, a neighbourhood in the north of Aleppo, from the rest of the city. No cars dare use the wide boulevard any more because the road is still watched by Kurdish snipers allied to the regime. The units retreated into the warren of bombed and burnt-out buildings when Islamist rebel groups launched an unprecedented attack on the city at the end of November, triggering a chain reaction that led to the swift collapse of the Assad dynasty. Civilians hurry past, some with small children in pushchairs, others rolling cooking gas canisters down the road, all trying not to attract undue attention. A man had been shot and killed here the night before, picked off from the upper floor of a windowless apartment block. Aleppo fell to an umbrella of Sunni Arab factions led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) three weeks ago, but the Kurdish units stationed in Sheikh Maqsoud refused to surrender when HTS came in, afraid of what would happen if they surrendered. Now, they appear to be waiting for something to shift in Syria’s new and fragile status quo. Continue reading...
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‘Protect us alive, not dead’: how women are starting to be heard on femicide in Ivory Coast (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
March against murder and sexual violence in Grand-Bassam echoes first public demonstration by women in the country, which took place in 1949 With their chants ringing through the streets, nearly 200 women and girls march through the Ivory Coast town of Grand-Bassam. It is early December, and the march is the culmination of 16 days of activism to denounce femicide in the west African country. The demonstrators, aged between 14 and 75, are dressed in orange and armed with slogans expressing their pain. “Tired of being killed, tired of being raped,” one woman chants in French. “Protect us alive, not dead,” yells another. Continue reading...
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The US government could shut down. Here’s what to know (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
If lawmakers don’t secure a spending deal before Friday midnight, all nonessential government functions will pause What is the US debt ceiling? US politics – live updates A government shutdown looms after Republicans in Congress failed on Thursday to pass a pared-down spending bill. The potential shutdown could disrupt Christmas travel and deliver a blow to the US economy just a month before Donald Trump returns to the White House. Lawmakers face a last-minute scramble to secure a new deal before the Friday midnight deadline – or all nonessential government functions will pause. A 21-day partial closure in 1995 over a dispute about spending cuts between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, the Republican speaker, that is widely seen as setting the tone for later partisan congressional struggles In 2013, when the government was partially closed for 16 days after another Republican-led Congress tried to use budget negotiations to defund Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare A 34-day shutdown, the longest on record, lasting from December 2018 until January 2019, when Trump refused to sign any appropriations bill that did not include $5.7bn funding for a wall along the US border with Mexico. The closure damaged Trump’s poll ratings Continue reading...
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Defining genocide: how a rift over Gaza sparked a crisis among scholars (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
New reports by human rights groups use the term to describe Israel’s offensive. The debate has fueled a brutal division among those who study mass violence A pair of reports published this month by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch mark a significant contribution to the raging debate over how to characterize a war that has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and decimated Gaza. But the reports – the first found that Israel is committing genocide, the second acts of genocide – are unlikely to quell deep divisions in the academic field of Holocaust and genocide studies, whose scholars study mass violence. Continue reading...
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‘How many more Gisèles are out there?’: Pelicot trial jolts fight against sexual violence (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Mass rape case in France has stirred up strong emotions and advanced a new feminist discourse, observers say It was during a workshop on macramé near Barcelona, between bouts of tugging on ropes and tying knots, that the conversation turned to the mass rape trial taking place in neighbouring France. After one woman at the table said she was considering travelling to Avignon for a rally in support of Gisèle Pelicot, another stood up, introduced herself and said she would like to come along. Six days later, six women from the workshop made the six-hour trip to Avignon together in a rented car. They were intent on joining the many expressing their horror after Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was accused of drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her over the course of a decade. Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In France, the France Victimes network can be contacted on 116 006. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...
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Best films of 2024 in the UK: No 1 – All of Us Strangers (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Andrew Haigh’s devastating metaphysical drama follows a lonely gay writer as he interacts with the ghosts of his parents Andrew Scott on starring in All of Strangers The best films of 2024 in the UK Underneath the radical swoon of Andrew Haigh’s ground-shifting gay drama Weekend was a swell of sadness. Clearer in the film’s more universal right-people-wrong-time romance but also in the more specific, and knottier, queerness. It was a rare, giddy uplift to see young gay men fall headfirst for each other with such believable and unfettered intimacy but their affection existed in a world full of caveats – where to kiss, how to act, who to be – and it was only in privacy that they could really be themselves. “When I’m at home I’m absolutely fine,” Tom Cullen’s Russell says. “I’m happy being gay … It’s when I go outside …” Twelve years later in All of Us Strangers, Haigh’s first film about gay characters since, what lies outside has dramatically changed. Same-sex marriage has been legalised. Gay culture at large has been more widely embraced, from Heartstopper to Queer Eye to Drag Race. It has, allegedly, got better. But for Andrew Scott’s lonely gay writer, Adam, things remain troubled on the inside, a fix to the political not enough to mend the personal, living like Cullen’s Weekend protagonist before him, in a high-rise far away from everyone and everything else. This time it’s not just on the edge of a city but on the edge of the world, eerily close to that of another, on the precipice between the living and the dead. Continue reading...
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I’ve started full-time work and it’s non-stop – when do I get some time for me? | Ask Annalisa Barbieri (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Entering the world of work can seem overwhelming, but remember that every stage of life is initially a challenge. Give yourself time to adjust • Every week Annalisa Barbieri addresses a relationship problem sent in by a reader I am a 23-year-old woman who has recently finished studying for a masters and started working full-time on a graduate scheme. Although I really enjoy my work and my colleagues are lovely, I can’t help but think about never having enough time to do truly what I want to do. After the eight hours I spend at work, an hour and a half of commuting each day, an hour for cooking, another hour for personal hygiene and then eight hours for sleep, I don’t feel I have any time for anything fulfilling. Continue reading...
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Ash dieback experts identify shoots of hope for Britain’s threatened trees (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
As the deadly fungal disease tightens its grip, scientific efforts to protect ash trees are advancing The UK is home to more than 100m mature ash trees, and every spring tells the same grim story: leaves emerge, wither and drop within weeks, as ash dieback disease tightens its grip. Millions stand dead in woodlands and hedgerows across the British Isles, with an estimated 2bn seedlings and saplings at risk. Many experts have long feared the future of this cherished, ecologically important native tree hangs in the balance. Continue reading...
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Bros’s Matt Goss on love and loss; ‘my father, the serial killer’; Marina Hyde on Prince Andrew and the spy; and Philippa Perry on finding purpose at 80 – podcast (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
The Duke of York is a royal problem, says Marina Hyde: it’s time they owned it. Matt Goss discusses mega-fame, political correctness and loneliness with Simon Hattenstone. After April Balascio’s foster brother was killed, she started piecing together evidence that revealed her father was a serial killer. And Philippa advises an 80-year-old reader how to face the existential void that is overwhelming them. Continue reading...
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Best of 2024: ‘It comes for your very soul’: how Alzheimer’s undid my dazzling, creative wife in her 40s – podcast (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Every Monday and Friday for the rest of December we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2024, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. From August: By the time my wife got a diagnosis, her long and harrowing deterioration had already begun. By the end, I was in awe of her. By Michael Aylwin Continue reading...
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Who does Trump want in his cabinet, and why? – podcast (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
As Donald Trump’s nominees woo Senate Republicans to secure their confirmation, Joan E Greve and Hugo Lowell look at who could be in charge of the major government departments and what they’ll have to do to keep the president happy for the next four years Archive: CNN, Face the Nation, MSNBC, BBC, CBS News, ABC, Fox 11 Los Angeles, Fox News Continue reading...
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Yasser’s story: the Syrian refugee who lived with me - podcast (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Helen Pidd speaks to her former lodger, Yasser, a Syrian refugee contemplating moving back home In 2015, Syrian refugee Yasser moved into Today in Focus presenter Helen Pidd’s home. He had travelled for 37 days across land and sea to escape the horrors of the war in Syria. Since then, Yasser has lived in Manchester, but has always longed to return to Syria. “Sunday morning, 8 December 2024. That was the best morning of my life,” Yasser tells Helen. Continue reading...
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Carabao Cup quarter-finals and what’s next for Rashford: Football Weekly Extra - podcast (Thu, 19 Dec 2024)
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Sam Dalling as Arsenal, Newcastle and Liverpool progress to the League Cup semis Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today: the League Cup semi-finals are shaping up to be quite interesting, with four teams who’ll definitely feel a trophy will help their cause this season guaranteed to feature. Continue reading...
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How big pharma keeps affordable drugs out of reach – video (Thu, 19 Dec 2024)
Pharmaceutical corporations claim high prices are the cost of innovation, but the reality is far more complicated — and troubling. In 2030, the patents of some of the world’s best-selling drugs will expire, an event called the 'patent cliff', and companies are doubling down on tactics such as 'evergreening' patents and pay-for-delay deals to keep prices high and competition out. In this video, Neelam Tailor uncovers the shocking strategies big pharma use to game the system, explaining how these moves protect profits but hurt patients Continue reading...
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How Israeli forces destroyed Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp – video analysis (Thu, 19 Dec 2024)
Using video analysis and satellite imagery, the Guardian has chronicled the destruction of the Jabaliya refugee camp through three offensives since October 2023. Repeated airstrikes and ground operations by Israel, which claims it is used as a Hamas base, have razed the camp to the ground and driven out most of the civilians. Observers have said the systematic destruction of entire neighbourhoods in northern Gaza is part a policy known as the 'generals’ plan', aimed at driving out civilians by declaring certain areas closed military zones Read more about the destruction of Jabaliya refugee camp Continue reading...
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Revealed: Israel used US weapons in strike that killed journalists in Lebanon – video explainer (Wed, 18 Dec 2024)
A Guardian investigation has found that Israel used a US munition to target and kill three journalists and wound three more in an attack in south Lebanon on 25 October that legal experts have called a potential war crime. The Guardian's reporter William Christou explains what he uncovered when he visited the site of the strike Read more about the investigation Continue reading...
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'The Syrian regime hit us with chemical weapons: only now can we speak out' – video (Sun, 15 Dec 2024)
Syrian airforce helicopters dropped two cylinders of chlorine gas onto the town of Douma on 7 April 2018. At least 43 people choked to death. For six years, afraid of reprisals, the town has grieved in silence for loved ones lost to chemical attacks and countless others killed by conventional weapons. But after an astonishing and rapid offensive by rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), more than 50 years of Assad family rule collapsed last week, and the residents of Douma are finally free to tell their stories. The Guardian’s Bethan McKernan travelled to the town to listen to them Middle East crisis - live updates US urges Syrian rebels to form ‘inclusive’ government American found in Damascus appears to have been released from Syrian prison Continue reading...
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The 'war' on disabled people and my fight for an independent life – video (Tue, 10 Dec 2024)
Disability services in the UK have been consistently cut after 14 years of Tory rule and austerity, but with the promise of change from a new Labour government, musician and activist John Kelly is concerned that politicians are still not listening to disabled voices and what they want. Kelly chained himself to London buses in the 1990s to protest over a lack of access to transport, but has watched the right to an independent life be steadily eroded. He worries that yet more cuts to services are on their way Continue reading...
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How we created ultra-processed food from industrial waste – video (Mon, 09 Dec 2024)
In the UK and US, more than half the average diet consists of ultra-processed foods. For some people, especially those who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPFs is typical, and this has been linked to a myriad of harmful effects to health. Neelam Tailor traces the surprising journey of ultra-processed foods from their origins in industrial waste to today's complex ingredient lists and the regulatory loopholes that paved the way Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Fashion Statement newsletter: our free fashion email (Tue, 20 Sep 2022)
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Guardian Documentaries newsletter: our free short film email (Fri, 02 Sep 2016)
Be the first to see our latest thought-provoking films, bringing you bold and original storytelling from around the world Discover the stories behind our latest short films, learn more about our international film-makers, and join us for exclusive documentary events. We’ll also share a selection of our favourite films, from our archives and from further afield, for you to enjoy. Sign up below. Can’t wait for the next newsletter? Start exploring our archive now. Continue reading...
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Guardian Traveller newsletter: Sign up for our free holidays email (Wed, 12 Oct 2022)
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays. From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays. Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Feast newsletter: our free Guardian food email (Tue, 09 Jul 2019)
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner. Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email. Continue reading...
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‘They were on an eight-mile pub crawl – hence their slight disarray’: Fiona Duncan’s best phone shot (Sat, 21 Dec 2024)
While shopping in Yorkshire one December, the photographer came across a group of very merry Santas The heritage steam train that runs from Grosmont to Pickering, in the North York Moors, was stalling Fiona Duncan’s busy morning. It was a few days before Christmas, back in 2018, and Duncan was dashing around Grosmont town centre, picking up last-minute essentials. “I was slightly cursing the gates being closed,” she says. “But then all these guys sauntered up and casually formed a line along the level-crossing barrier.” Continue reading...
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The week around the world in 20 pictures (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
Russian missiles hit Kyiv, the aftermath of the fall of Assad, Cyclone Chido in Mayotte and the Maasai Olympics: the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading...
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A hunger crisis in Gaza and Macron in Mayotte: Photos of the day – Friday (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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From Gaza to Ghana: celebrating the agency photographers of 2024 (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
The Guardian and Observer team of picture editors highlight the work of a number of photojournalists working for news agencies worldwide whose images have made an impact and contributed to our journalism during 2024 Millions of images from the international agencies are received throughout the year by our team of picture editors. Following on from 2023, we are highlighting the work of photographers whose images have been outstanding in 2024, from breaking news stories and events, to longer form features and stories. In addition to the photography the picture desk commissions, their work has been an essential part of our output this year, facilitating the global, visual-led journalism that the Guardian is proud to produce, through galleries, photo essays and supporting our reporting. Supporters of presidential candidate John Mahama wave flags from a car during an electoral caravan, 7 December, in Accra, Ghana. Continue reading...
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Week in wildlife in pictures: a dangling marmoset, rare leopard babies and an eyelash snake (Fri, 20 Dec 2024)
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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Pelicot trial concludes and Palestinians queue for bread: photos of the day – Thursday (Thu, 19 Dec 2024)
The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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