U.S. interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean haven't always gone as planned

President Trump's pressure campaign against Venezuela is the latest in a long saga of U.S. intervention in the region that is rooted in the 1823 Monroe Doctrine — and is a mix of success and failure.

With few Epstein files released, conspiracy theories flourish and questions remain

President Trump's changing messaging, Congress' unprecedented demands and the Justice Department's piecemeal release of information haven't quieted the questions. Here's what we know — and don't.

Morning news brief

Right-wing influencer's fraud claim leads to threats for Somali daycare owners, DOJ's initial release of Epstein files left many questions unanswered, dozens killed in Swiss Alps bar fire.

Switzerland resort fire live: first victim named, as new video shows attempts to extinguish bar ceiling fire

Fire killed about 40 people who were celebrating at a New Year’s Eve party in the ski resort of Crans-Montana at the town’s Le Constellation bar

Here is a roundup of everything we know so far about the fire that ripped through the crowded Le Constellation bar in the Swiss Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana:

A fire that tore through a crowded bar at a New Year’s Eve party in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana has killed about 40 people and injured 115.

The fire broke out at 1.30am on Thursday in the town’s Le Constellation bar, but it’s not yet clear what set off the blaze. Some witnesses said it started after sparklers or flares were put into champagne bottles.

Two women told the French broadcaster BFMTV they had been inside when they saw a bartender carrying a female member of staff on his shoulders. She was holding a lit birthday candle on top of a bottle that set fire to the wooden ceiling. The flames spread quickly and caused the ceiling to collapse, they said. The canton’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said she could not comment on reports that lighted candles had caused the inferno.

Swiss president Guy Parmelin has said the country will hold five days of mourning, describing the blaze as one of the most traumatic events in Switzerland’s history.

Football transfer rumours: Mohamed Salah in line for Roma return?

Today’s fluff has a dusty war chest

Two days in, and we have our first piece of Mohamed Salah transfer jabber. Reports in Italy suggest Liverpool’s unsettled forward could be Roma-bound. According to La Repubblica, the Giallorossi are keen to bring Salah back to the club he played for in 2015-17 but are unlikely to move for him until the summer. If he does hang around at Anfield for any length of time, Salah could have a new teammate in the form of the Club Brugge central defender Joel Ordóñez. The Mirror suggests Liverpool are set to shell out an initial £35m rising to £43m for the Ecuador international. The Premier League champions have a clearer run at a deal too now that Chelsea have withdrawn their interest.

The furiously energetic Conor Gallagher has been kicking his heels of late, having started only four league games for Atlético Madrid this season, and is thus attracting interest from Premier League clubs looking to rev up their midfields. Manchester United were linked with him in the summer and are thought to be still sniffing around, though Tottenham are also said to be keen. Atlético will want at least £26m for the English midfielder, who’s under contract until 2029.

Trump says U.S. will intervene if Iran 'violently kills' protestors

Protests erupted last week over the government's handling of a sharp fall in the nation's currency and soaring prices.

Chelsea manager latest, transfer updates and more: football news – live

⚽ Read Jacob Steinberg on Maresca’s Chelsea departure
⚽ Fixtures | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Taha

Right then, why not share what you’re most looking forward to this year (in a footballing sense, of course). Or any predictions: your World Cup, Champions League winners, top-scorers, summer transfers etc.

So Enzo Maresca has left the building. It was a very decent stint on paper, one with two trophies, including a Club World Cup victory which may grow in significance if the tournament becomes a properly serious thing in the future. But it was pretty turbulent, too; Jacob Steinberg has the inside story on what went wrong.

Victoria Jones, daughter of Tommy Lee, found dead in San Francisco

Reports say actor, 34, found unresponsive in corridor of Fairmont hotel in early hours of New Year’s Day

Victoria Jones, the daughter of the actor Tommy Lee Jones, has been found dead in a San Francisco hotel.

Jones, 34, was discovered in the early hours of New Year’s Day according to TMZ, which cited law enforcement sources.

China’s BYD poised to overtake Tesla as world’s top EV seller for the first time

The milestone would cap an extraordinary rise for BYD, a company Tesla's Elon Musk once dismissed by laughing at their products.

‘No one can know’: Heated Rivalry’s gay love story exposes ice hockey’s culture of silence

The surprise hit series has reopened a familiar debate: why, in the National Hockey League, visibility is still treated as a problem rather than a possibility

At around the midpoint of the first episode of Heated Rivalry, just after Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov – one Canadian, the other Russian, both hockey’s top prospects – have had their first tryst, Hollander sits at the side of his hotel bed and says: “So. You’re not going to tell anyone about this, are you?” Rozanov, lying naked beside him, replies sarcastically: “Me? Yes, Hollander, I’m going to tell everyone.” Hollander reinforces the point: “Because no one can know,” he says. Rozanov utters something under his breath in Russian, then: “Hollander. Look, I’m not going to tell anyone, OK?” Hollander replies: “OK.”

No one can know. If hockey were to have an unofficial slogan, this might be it. Heated Rivalry, the surprise 2025 hit series from Crave and HBO, is layered drama, prompting timely questions about the barriers to acceptance that persist within sport even as they are lowered elsewhere across society. But it may be that hockey’s existential battle with its culture of silence is the show’s deepest target.

Iain Ballamy: Riversphere Vol 1 review | John Fordham's jazz album of the month

(Babel Label)
The 80s sax star leads an A-list quartet, plus a shared trumpet role for Laura Jurd and Ballamy’s son Charlie

Opening 2026’s jazz reviews with a story from the mid-1980s might be risking audience restiveness, but that was the decade in which a far-sighted young saxophonist on the UK jazz scene called Iain Ballamy first appeared on this writer’s radar. The cross-generational lineup and captivating ideas of Riversphere, his first solo release in years, testify to exactly why he has stayed there for 40 years.

In their 20s, Ballamy and pianist/composer Django Bates frequently joined forces as two mavericks, skilfully respectful of the classic jazz tradition while adventurously and often mischievously transforming it. They were key figures in a gifted UK generation that created some of the sparkiest European jazz of the 1980s and 90s, most influentially in the revolutionary orchestra Loose Tubes, which brought together genres from old-school swing to vaudeville, improv and avant-rock, and on occasion really did get people dancing in the streets.

A fire in an Swiss ski resort bar has left about 40 people dead

A New Year's party at a Swiss Alpine bar turned into a tragedy after about 40 people died in a fire and another roughly 115 were injured, many in their teens to mid-20s.

The Guardian Footballer of the Year Jess Carter: ‘I remember not wanting to go out’

England defender publicly confronted racist abuse at the Euros and ended 2025 a title winner with club and country

The Guardian Footballer of the Year is an award given to a player who has done something remarkable, whether by overcoming adversity, helping others or setting a sporting example by acting with exceptional honesty.

Jess Carter has spent her life grappling with when to hold back and when to speak up; wrestling with being naturally herself, embodying the characteristics her parents instilled in her of being open, honest, vocal and confident, and subduing herself because, while society values those traits, in a black woman they can be viewed negatively.

Week in wildlife: a hide-and-seek squirrel and an otter in a Christmas tree

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

‘I need to help’: Barnsley woman’s rabies death inspires dog-vaccinating mission

Robyn Thomson immunised thousands of animals in Cambodia after shocking death of her mother this summer

It was just a scratch. Among all the feelings and thoughts that she has had to wrestle with since the summer, disbelief is the emotion that Robyn Thomson still struggles with the most. “You never think it would happen to you,” said Robyn. “You don’t really think it happens to anyone.”

Robyn’s mother, Yvonne Ford, had shown no signs of illness in the months after returning from her holiday in Morocco in February. She had spoken highly of the country and its people, and recommended it for future getaways. She had not realised that a seemingly harmless interaction with a puppy while sitting in the sun would cause so much damage.

Chess: Magnus Carlsen wins two more world speed crowns despite mishaps

The Norwegian, 35, overcame elite fields despite time forfeits after knocking over pieces in critical games

The world No 1, Magnus Carlsen, recovered from a series of mishaps to win both the World Rapid and Blitz crowns at Doha, Qatar, last weekend. The global victories were the 19th and 20th of the Norwegian’s illustrious career and may give him the edge in the longstanding debate on whether he, Garry Kasparov, or Bobby Fischer is chess’s all-time greatest master.

Peerless endgame technique was central to the 35-year-old Norwegian’s blitz success. He won a knight ending with Black against Nodirbek Abdusattorov from a position which elite grandmasters would normally have instantly agreed to halve, and also scored in other endings of extraordinary subtlety.

Islamophobia has surged since the Bondi attack. Australia’s Muslim community should not have to endure this abuse | Aftab Malik

No Muslim leader wants to diminish the suffering of the Jewish community or be seen as engaging in competitive victimhood. We must stand in solidarity with each other

While many Australians remain in a state of anger, grief and reflection due to the devastating Bondi terror attack, Muslim community leaders are in a predicament. What is to be done about the ensuing rise of anti-Muslim sentiment, hatred and racism that their communities face?

Following the 14 December mass shooting, community registers that document Islamophobia have largely been reluctant to speak publicly about the spike in Islamophobia, out of concern of being perceived to trivialise the killing of Jewish Australians, their suffering, or vying for sympathy from the public.

Cop30, Trump and the fragile future of climate cooperation

In this week’s newsletter: From geopolitics to populism, multilateralism is under pressure – but climate action cannot succeed in a fractured world

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January might seem a bit too early to propose a word of the year, but I know mine already: multilateralism – the principle that common problems should have common solutions. It rests on the idea that all countries and people have a stake in the future of the planet we share, and that their rights should be respected. That cooperation beats competition, or going it alone.

Multilateralism is what has kept the UN process of climate diplomacy going, but now the principle is under threat as never before, amid a rising tide of populism and conflict. The US, under Donald Trump, explicitly rejects multilateralism, in favour of carve-ups between great powers. But if we are to stave off climate breakdown, only multilateralism will work.

‘Cities need nature to be happy’: David Attenborough seeks out London’s hidden wildlife

EU’s new ‘green tariff’ rules on high-carbon goods come into force

Renewable energy project approvals hit record high in GB in 2025, data shows

Multilateralism faces a toxic brew of debt, climate crisis and war. It’s time for a reboot | Mo Ibrahim

The ‘new world order’ of the past 35 years is being demolished before our eyes. This is how we must proceed | Gordon Brown

Into the void: how Trump killed international law

Blank Canvas by Grace Murray review – a superb debut from a 22-year-old author

In this energisingly original novel, an emotionally detached English student at college in New York tells a big lie

Lies offend our sense of justice: generally, we want to see the liar unmasked and punished. But when the deception brings no material gain, we might also be curious about what purpose the lie serves – what particular need of their own the liar is attempting to meet. This is precisely what Grace Murray’s witty, assured debut explores: not just the consequences of a lie but the ways in which it can, paradoxically, reveal certain truths.

At a small liberal arts college in upstate New York, Charlotte begins her final year by claiming that her father has just died of a heart attack. In fact, he is alive and well back in Lichfield, England. This lie is the jumping-off point for an unpacking of Charlotte’s psychology, as well as the catalyst for her relationship with fellow student Katarina, a quasi-love story that forms the book’s main narrative.

From climbing Kilimanjaro to cycling the Tour de France route … readers’ favourite organised challenges

Whether it’s for the satisfaction of completing a tough physical challenge or to raise money for charity, our readers select their most memorable adventures

• Tell us about your favourite beach in Europe – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucher

When tackling a big cycling challenge, choose an event with strong support – it makes all the difference. Riding the full Tour de France route with Ride Le Loop was tough, but the incredible staff turned it into an unforgettable experience (riders can tackle individual stages too). Their infectious enthusiasm and constant encouragement kept spirits high, even on the hardest climbs. They not only looked after logistics but created a warm, positive atmosphere that bonded riders together and amplified the joy of the journey. My advice: pick an organised challenge where the team cares as much about your success as you do. The next one is 27 June to 20 July 2026.
Neil Phillips

More than 60 Henri Matisse artworks donated to Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris

Artist’s daughter Marguerite features in most of the pieces, kept in the family until ‘complete surprise’ donation

The Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris has received an “extraordinarily generous” donation of 61 works by Henri Matisse that have been kept in the artist’s family.

Most of the donated art – which includes paintings, drawings, etchings, lithographs and a sculpture – features the painter’s daughter Marguerite.

When north and south winds collide, torrential rain falls in south-east Asia

The monsoon season is crucial for agriculture, making up 80% of annual rainfall, but also extremely destructive

January brings torrential rain to south-east Asia – more than 250mm fell in just two days in Singapore last year. This is because of the monsoon, a pattern of wind and rainfall, the name of which stems from the Arabic word for “season”.

The monsoon is sometimes described in terms of a sea breeze, in which the wind reverses direction in the morning and evening as the relative temperature of land and sea change, blowing out to sea at first and then inland as the land cools.

Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for yoghurt panna cotta with banana and tahini crumble | The sweet spot

A dessert or fun breakfast to satisfy your sweet cravings without being too rich or heavy

I’m of the opinion that we still need dessert in January. In a month that’s typically grey, dreary and ridiculously long, it’s the little things that spark joy. Granted, I’m not necessarily reaching for anything too rich or heavy, but when I’m craving a bit of sweetness, the likes of this yoghurt panna cotta really hit the spot. If you squint, it could easily be mistaken for a fun breakfast pot.

Country diary: Here for all to see – nature’s remarkable ability to rebound | Mark Cocker

Mousley Bottom, Derbyshire: This area was a literal dump 40 years ago, devoid of life. But time and a dedicated council have worked their magic

Stand in this wood by the River Goyt, listening to the basso profundo of ravens overhead, and you could imagine that this place is some long-tempered blend of town and country.

In one sense it is. High overhead to the east is the busy Albion Road bridge leading into New Mills town centre. Turn north, and in front of you trees stretch all the way up the hillside, where there are redwings gorging on holly berries and the first pre-spring sounds of wren song that even the rush of the river cannot drown.

9/14: Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," House Speaker Mike Johnson joins to discuss the aftermath of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Meanwhile, Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and James Lankford of Oklahoma join to talk about the rise of political extremism in the U.S.

10/19: Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and Republican Sen. Katie Britt discuss the government shutdown as an impasse in Congress nears the three-week mark, and weigh in on the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats. Plus, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde joins.

‘I wasn’t allowed to study, but I will make sure no girl in this village hears those same words’

Health worker Naushaba Roonjho was ostracised by her family in Pakistan for wanting to work but now she is campaigning for political office

When Naushaba Roonjho became the first girl anyone in her district knew to have passed Pakistan’s national secondary school exam, the news was not celebrated. At home, in her village of Sheikh Soomar in southern Sindh, her father told her: “This is enough, you don’t need to study more. You should stay at home now.”

It was 2010 and Roonjho was 17; within weeks she was married, to Muhammad Uris, a labourer. Although, like all the girls in Thatta district, she had left school after primary, Roonjho had kept up her studies independently.

‘Truly humbling’: inside the centre where UK medics are helping Ukrainian amputees

British military doctors and therapists provide support at base where innovative treatments aid recovery of those who have lost limbs

At a specialist treatment centre in Ukraine, as other amputees play volleyball nearby, Vladislav shows a video on his phone of how he lost his left leg. He found the footage – of a drone closing in rapidly on a buggy, Vladislav standing exposed at its rear – on a Russian military social media channel.

The 31-year-old, an arbitration lawyer before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, makes a double whistling noise to describe the drone’s ominous progress. “That’s me,” he says, pointing at the video, filmed from a fibre optic drone, chasing him down with terrifying ease as the vehicle slows for a corner. Then the screen goes blank.

Experience: My friend turned out to be my long-lost sister

We were colleagues, had both been put up for adoption and were from the same place – but the paperwork said we weren’t related. Then a DNA test changed everything

I grew up in a small town in Connecticut. I always knew I was adopted: my mum told me that, as well as her, I had my “tummy mummy”. I was adopted from the Dominican Republic. My mum there was called Julianna, and she and my dad gave me up for adoption because they were poor.

Fast-forward to 2013, and I was 24 and working in a restaurant in New Haven. One day, one of my co‑ workers, Julia, noticed my Dominican Republic flag tattoo. She told me she was from there, too. I said I was adopted from there, and she said she was as well.

From bon appetit to Uber Eats: why France’s beloved restaurants are in crisis | Paul Taylor

When I started as a reporter in Paris in the 1970s, long, boozy lunches were the norm. Now only fast food and fine dining are thriving

Spare a thought for the poor French restaurateur. Once the iconic image of a sybaritic nation that loved nothing more than a boozy meal out with friends or colleagues, the French restaurant is in deep crisis. Traditional restaurants are closing faster than you can shout “garçon!”, as eating habits change and the cost of living pinches.

“It’s a catastrophe for our profession,” Franck Chaumès, president of the restaurant branch of the Union of Hospitality Trades and Industries (UMIH) said in a television interview recently. “Some 25 restaurants are going out of business every day.” The UMIH has demanded – so far in vain – that the government ration the opening of new restaurants, in proportion to the local population, and license only professionals who are qualified in cooking and accounting.

Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre

‘I don’t want to resent the thing I love’: Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor on romance, rationing and retirement

Both stars have bigger films on release but are hugely proud of The History of Sound, which has been four years in the making. They talk about the vulnerability of singing, the cost of inhabiting a role – and rationing future parts

All things considered, telling Paul Mescal I once placed a bet on him is not quite the icebreaker I had hoped. Or rather, it breaks the ice in an unusual way.

“The key question,” he says, his voice betraying a hint of trepidation, “is what was the bet? Most Likely to Join the 27 Club?”

Venezuela open to talks on drug trafficking, says Maduro, but refuses to comment on reported US strike on land

President Nicolás Maduro reiterated his belief that the US wants to force a change of government in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves

Venezuela is open to negotiating an agreement with the US to combat drug trafficking, the country’s president Nicolás Maduro has said, but he declined to comment on a reported CIA-led strike on a Venezuelan docking area that Donald Trump claimed was used by cartels.

Maduro, in the pre-recorded interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, reiterated his belief that the US wants to force a change of government in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through its months-long pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Strike a pose: vogue balls go mainstream in New Zealand

Led by Māori and Pasifika queer communities, the counterculture has gone from performing in lounges and clubs to Wellington’s national museum

In a large gallery at New Zealand’s national museum in Wellington, a 600-strong crowd cheers ecstatically as a group of fabulously dressed performers take to the stage.

In impossibly high heels, the predominantly Māori and Pasifika (Indigenous people of the Pacific Islands) performers twist their arms into geometric forms and spiral to the ground, contorting their bodies into outstretched shapes. Other performers parade their highly stylised costumes, while some embody the struts, poses and attitudes of supermodels.

Kim Jong-un’s daughter visits state mausoleum, fuelling speculation she will be next North Korean ruler

Kim Ju-ae has been making increasingly prominent appearances in state media over the past three years

The daughter of the North Korean ruler, Kim Jong-un, who is likely being prepared as his successor has accompanied her parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects to former leaders, ahead of an event that could see her succession formalised.

Photos from state news agency KCNA showed Kim Jong-un accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and senior officials on the visit on 1 January, with Ju-ae between her parents in the main hall of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.

House Oversight Committee to hold hearing on alleged fraud in Minnesota

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer said the hearing will take place Jan. 7.

Usman Khawaja’s retirement farewell shows how cricket can be an expression of character | Gideon Haigh

Touching on his relationship with God, his family and racism, the Australian articulates how he became a better cricketer as he became a better man

There is no gainsaying Usman Khawaja’s significance as an Australian Test cricketer; an additional mark of his stature is that he almost made you take him for granted.

Think on it for a moment, and run your eye up and down the palely conventional list of Australia’s highest Test scorers, where he ranks 15th, between Mike Hussey and Neil Harvey – so various in methods yet so similar in origins. There was a recognition through the 1990s and into the 21st century that the face of Australia was being changed by immigration, while the face of Australian cricket remained eerily unaltered. Then, all of a sudden, 15 years ago, Khawaja’s darkly slim figure emerged from the shadows of the Sydney Cricket Ground to pull his first Test delivery for four, and the axis of the game tilted ever so slightly.

Millions facing health care cost increases as tax credits lapse

Enhanced tax credits that have helped reduce the cost of health insurance for the vast majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees expired overnight as 2026 arrived, cementing higher health costs for millions of Americans at the start of the new year. Nicole Sganga reports.

Trump says he underwent CT scan, not MRI, during October examination

"In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition," President Trump told The Wall Street Journal.

Extreme weather grips U.S. as the new year begins

Heavy snow and a rare thundersnow hit the Northeast as flooding rain soaks parts of California and a deep freeze reaches the South. Carter Evans and John Elliot have more.

Mamdani pledges ‘new era’ for New York and vows to govern ‘audaciously’

New mayor gives speech at inauguration and rescinds all orders signed by Eric Adams after corruption indictment

Zohran Mamdani vowed to “reinvent” New York City in a speech on his first day as mayor, promising “a new era” for America’s largest city and an ambitious start to his term of office.

The 34-year-old political star and democratic socialist, who a year ago was a virtually unknown state assemblyman, is the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first of south Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. He is also the first to be sworn in using the Qur’an.

After Swiss Alps bar fire, a look at America's past nightclub and bar fires

A look at bar and nightclub fires in the United States with significant death tolls and similar risks that led to the tragedies.

George Clooney fires back at Trump after US president mocks his French citizenship

Trump called the actor and his wife, Amal, ‘two of the worst political prognosticators of all time’ after they were awarded French passports

George Clooney has lashed out at US president Donald Trump for criticising France’s decision to grant the Hollywood actor and his family French citizenship.

The 64-year-old Oscar winner, his wife, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, and their two children became French citizens earlier this month after living on a property in southern France for years.

‘We are always living in fear’: inside Myanmar’s ‘sham’ election

Myanmar’s military rulers are holding the first elections since the 2021 coup, and life in the country’s biggest city is fraught with anxiety

Yangon feels, on the surface, like a normal, bustling city. In downtown areas, commuters stream past roadside sellers and diners perch beneath parasols. Packed buses and cars chug along the roads. At sunset, young people stop to pose for photos opposite the famous Sule pagoda, as it gleams against a pink-blue sky.

But almost five years on from the military seized power in a coup, ousting and imprisoning then de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, life for local people feels anything but stable. Myanmar’s military rulers are in the process of holding the first elections since before the coup, a vote that the junta has touted as a return to democracy and stability. The UN and western governments have called the process, which will be held in three phases ending on 25 January, a sham.

Pep Guardiola urges Manchester City players to get ‘heads up’ for visit of Chelsea

• Manager calm after ‘really good game’ at Sunderland

• Chelsea visit Etihad on Sunday after sacking Maresca

An outwardly sanguine Pep Guardiola suggested he was reasonably content with a hard-fought point at Sunderland after watching his Manchester City side lose ground on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

The 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light leaves City second, four points behind Mikel Arteta’s leaders, but Guardiola was not too downhearted. “I’ll take the point against this team at this stadium,” said a good-humoured Guardiola, who seemed unaffected by reports that Enzo Maresca, once his assistant at the Etihad Stadium, had discussed the possibility of relocating to Manchester later this year with figures associated with City. “It was a really good game.”

The world’s gone barking mad. In this era of canine exceptionalism, can humanity stage a comeback? | Farhana Dawood

From pawdicures to designer rainwear, the cult of the dog is expanding with impressive speed. Why must we tolerate it?

I’m becoming concerned that we as a species have gone to the dogs – quite literally. Somewhere between the rise of boutique pet grooming and private members’ clubs for canines, dogs appear to have become our preferred species for social interaction.

Parks, beaches, cafes – even offices and yoga studios, which in the past were areas for human exclusivity, or at least priority – are all frequently shared zones. That means you must joyfully tolerate being sniffed or enthusiastically pranced at. Your belongings, likewise, are subject to dog paws and noses. Object, and you’ll be met with looks of discord, as though you’ve confessed to disliking sunlight or laughter. Or the pet person thinks you must be frightened and insists “He/She won’t hurt you!”

Taiwan's president pledges to defend island's sovereignty after Chinese military drills

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te vowed to defend the self-ruled island's sovereignty in the face of what he termed China's "expansionist ambitions," days after Beijing wrapped up live-fire military drills near its shores.

Deaths reported during widening protests in Iran sparked by ailing economy

The protests began due to economic pressures, with Iran's currency rapidly depreciating. Demonstrators have also chanted against the country's theocracy.

PDC world darts: Van Veen dumps Humphries out as Littler wins over crowd

• Former world champion beaten 5-1 by rising star

• Littler cheered during rout of Krzysztof Ratajski

For the third time in this match, Gian van Veen is lining up the bull finish for a 170. This time, though, he steps away from the oche, and as the noise builds and swells around him, as the applause hardens into a tribal rhythm, he smiles. And in that moment, with millions of pairs of eyes on him, with glory within his grasp, he just knows. Knows that after all the years of hope and toil, of dreams and dismay, his moment is here at last.

That’s the thing about the future: you spend lifetimes waiting for it, peering into the glass, reading the tea leaves, and when it arrives it happens all at once. It was a little after half past nine on the first evening of the year, and already the throngs were streaming out of Alexandra Palace and back down the hill, convinced beyond any fraction of a doubt that they had just seen the next few years of darts take shape.

Thomas Frank’s Spurs booed off after toiling to point on his Brentford return

There was an extraordinary moment just before kick-off here when Thomas Frank strode 20 yards on to the pitch and applauded all four corners of the stadium. The Tottenham head coach was applauded back by the Brentford fans because he will always be a hero to them. His work over a near seven-year period as their manager has seen to that.

But what of the followers in his new gig, which began when he said farewell to the Gtech last summer? It is safe to say the jury remains out after this driest of January performances had the supporters in the away enclosure adapting a barb they have historically reserved for Arsenal. “Boring, boring Tottenham,” they chorused in the 85th minute.

The Night Manager review – no naughty bum-flashing? It’s still a class above all other spy thrillers

The racy espionage blockbuster caused a global frenzy a decade ago – and set an unbelievably high bar. As Tom Hiddleston’s M16 agent Jonathan Pine returns to take down a new supervillain, he just about pulls it off

Finesse was the selling point of The Night Manager when it debuted in 2016. It was a class above other spy thrillers, setting itself among moneyed elites – rotten ones, but elites nonetheless – and furnishing itself with luxury locations. In Tom Hiddleston it had a lead with a reputation that signalled that the often tacky espionage genre was looking to improve itself. Based on a book by John le Carré and airing on the BBC in the dying days of the era when that carried heavyweight global cachet, its pedigree was impeccable.

A large part of the rarefied atmosphere the series created, though, was in being one and done: it swept in, won a ton of awards, then swooshed away, leaving behind a delicate waft of something impossibly exclusive. Lesser shows would have hastily cashed in with an inferior second season, but The Night Manager could not be so vulgar.

Trump issues his first vetoes of this term

President Trump used his veto power this week for the first time since returning to the White House, rejecting a pair of bills linked to a Colorado water pipeline and a tribal village in the Everglades.

In newly released testimony, Jack Smith defends his investigations into Trump

Former special counsel Jack Smith spoke with lawmakers behind closed doors in December. That testimony is now public.

Mobile crisis teams shut down amid funding troubles

In recent years, mobile crisis response teams respond to 911 calls about people in mental crisis, to avoid involving police. But some crisis units have now closed for lack of consistent funding.

U.S. reduces proposed tariffs on Italian pasta, Italy says

Steep U.S. import duties targeting 13 Italian pasta makers will be sharply reduced, Italy's foreign ministry said on Jan. 1.

New year drone strike kills 24 in Russian-occupied Ukraine, Moscow says

Ukraine rejects claim, saying its forces exclusively targeted Russian military or energy sites

A Ukrainian drone strike killed 24 people and injured at least 50 more as they celebrated the new year in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine’s Kherson region, Russian officials said, as tensions between the two countries continue to rise despite diplomats hailing productive peace talks.

Three drones struck a cafe and hotel in the resort town of Khorly on the Black Sea coast, the region’s Moscow-installed leader, Vladimir Saldo, said in a statement on Telegram on Thursday. He said one of the drones was carrying an incendiary mixture that sparked a blaze.

Congress failed to extend Obamacare subsidies. This Democrat says Trump can save them

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., says he thinks the Senate can pass a "retroactive" Affordable Care Act subsidy extension, but "we need President Trump."

U.S. says China military drills near Taiwan "increase tensions unnecessarily"

Chinese war games​ around Taiwan "unnecessarily" spiked tensions in the region, the U.S. State Department said, calling on Beijing to "cease its military pressure."

Wasteful Ekitiké helps Leeds keep toiling Liverpool at arm’s length

Two unbeaten records were maintained at Anfield but only one team took satisfaction along with their point. Leeds succeeded in stifling and frustrating Liverpool as the first goalless draw of Arne Slot’s reign underlined the limitations that linger behind the Premier League champions’ recent recovery.

A drab scoreless draw, the first in 84 Liverpool games under Slot, owed much to the defensive excellence of Jaka Bijol and Pascal Struijk as Daniel Farke’s depleted visitors extended their unbeaten run to six matches and moved seven points clear of the relegation zone. But Liverpool’s contribution to a meagre spectacle was significant too.

Wild London review – honestly, telly does not get any better than this

Mischievous and glorious, David Attenborough brings his lifelong sense of wonder to the city’s wildlife, from foxes to peregrine falcons, in this exquisite and endlessly moving special

The journey begins in a row of allotments lodged deep between two north London streets. It’s 8.30pm and David Attenborough – 99 years young, in customary short-sleeved blue shirt and chinos – is on the hunt for Tottenham’s most elusive resident. He gets settled on a camping chair. Waits. Emits a tiny rhapsodic gasp as the creature in question appears. It’s a … fox.

“It’s still a huge thrill to see one suddenly emerging from the bushes,” he whispers to camera of a sight so bog-standard most Londoners wouldn’t bother looking up from their phones. “A totally wild creature!” Attenborough holds out a hand. Murmurs a delighted “hello”. The fox comes within a few inches of the greatest natural historian and broadcaster this country has ever produced, then slinks off into the night. What an encounter! And if you think that’s exhilarating wait until you see his reaction to a pigeon getting on the tube.

Coast Guard searches for 77-year-old woman who went overboard from cruise ship

The woman was a passenger on the Nieuw Statendam cruise ship, which was roughly 40 miles northeast of Sabana, Cuba, when she went overboard, the Coast Guard said.

Birmingham revellers turn out for non-existent fireworks – for second new year in a row

Hundreds of people gather in Centenary Square to see in 2026 after false claims online promise ‘dazzling’ display

The new year got off to an anticlimactic start for hundreds of people in Birmingham who were tricked into attending a non-existent New Year’s Eve fireworks display. Again.

Crowds of revellers gathered in the city’s Centenary Square, hoping to catch a glimpse of a pyrotechnics display to welcome in 2026.

The Guardian view on mRNA vaccines: they are the future – with or without Donald Trump | Editorial

Over the holiday period, the Guardian leader column is looking ahead at the themes of 2026. Today we examine how the White House’s war on vaccines has left the future of a key technology uncertain and up for grabs

The late scientist and thinker Donald Braben argued that 20th-century breakthroughs arose from scientists being free to pursue bold ideas without pressure for quick results or rigid peer review. The rapid development of Covid-19 vaccines seemed to validate his claim: emergency conditions sped up trials, relaxed regulatory sequencing and encouraged scientists to share findings before peer review. Out of that sprang one of the great scientific success stories of our age: mRNA vaccines. These use synthetic genetic code to train the immune system to defend itself against viruses. Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, whose work enabled the mRNA Covid vaccine, went on to win the Nobel prize. Their breakthrough suggests that loosening traditional constraints could accelerate major scientific advances.

The extensive scientific and logistic infrastructure built during that period is now occupied with turning the technology towards other diseases: flu, HIV and even cancer. Until very recently, the US, which put more than $10bn into mRNA development, appeared primed to reap the scientific and commercial rewards. Despite the deregulatory zeal that birthed mRNA, the second Trump administration has rejected it. Instead, it has been remarkably steady in its commitment to the radical anti-science and anti-vaccine agenda of the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr. He has spent the past year undermining and outright sabotaging the US’s own success. Over the summer, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced a “coordinated wind-down” of federal funding for mRNA research, cancelling an additional $500m in funding for 22 projects.

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.

‘Shameful’ 41,000 people reached UK by small boat last year, says Home Office

Second highest annual number of irregular arrivals on record reached British shores in 2025

More than 41,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats last year, figures branded “shameful” by the Home Office have revealed.

The government said 41,472 people arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel in 2025 – the second highest number on record after 45,774 made the journey in 2022.

What is Keir Starmer doing to push back the populists? Not nearly enough. We have a plan to take them on | Chris Powell

There is much to learn from the New Labour playbook. We were disciplined, innovative, robust and proactive – and we won

• Labour needs complete ‘reset’ to defeat threat posed by Reform UK, says strategist

• Chris Powell is an election strategy analyst and advised the Labour party for more than 20 years

The next general election will be no ordinary democratic contest. Not the usual swing of the pendulum this way or that. It will be a key moment in the history of our democracy – and it could be less than three years away.

Be in no doubt: populists represent a new and terrifying threat to the kind of free elections and free society we cherish, but now take for granted.

Chris Powell is an election strategy analyst and advised the Labour party for more than 20 years. David Cowan, who co-authored this article, is founder of Forensics, a data and consumer research consultancy. They are co-founders of winningagainstpopulists.com

Abortion may no longer be a top priority for Democratic voters ahead of 2026 midterms, polls show

Abortion was seen as one of Democrats’ strongest issues in the 2024 election – new polls indicate that may be shifting

Up to seven states will vote on abortion rights this year. But recent polling indicates that Democrats may not be able to count on the issue in their efforts to drive votes in the 2026 midterms, after making abortion rights the centerpiece of their pitch to voters in the elections that followed the fall of Roe v Wade.

In 2024, 55% of Democrats said abortion was important to their vote, according to polling from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). But in October of this year, just 36% of Democrats said the same. By contrast, abortion remained about as important to Republicans in both 2024 and 2025, PRRI found. PRRI’s findings mirror a September poll from the 19th and SurveyMonkey, which found that the voters who cared most about abortion are people who want to see it banned.

9/7: Face the Nation

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett discusses the latest jobs report and the Federal Reserve, while Democratic Sen. Mark Warner discusses the deadly strike on a Venezuelan ship that was allegedly carrying drugs.

Two people confirmed dead as Iran protests turn into ‘battlefield’

Nationwide protests against living conditions enter fifth day with security forces reportedly using live ammunition

The largest protests in Iran for three years entered a fifth day on Thursday amid reports of deadly clashes between protesters and security forces, with state-affiliated media confirming at least two people had been killed.

Although state media did not identify those killed, witnesses and videos circulating on social media appear to show protesters lying motionless on the ground after security forces opened fire.

‘Their first instinct was to loot’: how Trump’s acolytes are plundering the Kennedy Center

Sheldon Whitehouse, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, remains undeterred and determined to press on with his investigation

“That’s the tactic they use,” said Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island senator, pondering whether Donald Trump might attach his name to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. “You float stuff and you float stuff and you float stuff until people get inured to what a stupid or outrageous thing it is that has been floated and then you pull the trigger.”

Whitehouse was sitting in his Senate office and speaking to the Guardian at 11am on Thursday 18 December. Two hours later, his words proved prophetic. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, announced on X that the Kennedy Center board had “voted unanimously” to rename it the Trump-Kennedy Center.

The perfect way to beat the slump: how to tackle mid-afternoon energy dips

In the dead of winter, it can be hard to keep your alertness up when it gets darker. Here are a few good habits that will help you stay productive

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It is an all-too-familiar scenario: you reheat a bowl of last night’s noodles for lunch, devour it, then return to your desk and gradually droop over the course of the afternoon, to the point at which you are battling to keep your eyes open. Or perhaps you struggle with energy on waking up; or, after a busy start and strong coffee first thing, you begin to fade mid-morning. Or, like me, after dinner in the winter months, you are completely lethargic.

How common are such peaks and troughs in our energy levels? “If you’re having an active day, then you will naturally get tired because we are human, we’re not machines,” says Dr Linia Patel, a dietitian and nutritionist. “Getting tired at the end of the day, before you go to bed, is perfect. But getting tired at your desk is not great.” Chronic tiredness is something to see a doctor about, says Patel, as it could be a symptom of illness.

Trump rings in 2026 at Mar-a-Lago with $2.75m auction of Jesus painting

President auctioned off portrait painted live onstage and said his new year’s resolution was ‘peace on Earth’

Donald Trump welcomed 2026 with a glitzy bash at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach where he auctioned off a freshly painted portrait of Jesus Christ for $2.75m and said his new year’s resolution was a wish for “peace on Earth”.

The portrait of Jesus had been painted onstage by artist Vanessa Horabuena who, the president said, was “one of the greatest artists anywhere in the world”.

US federal employees file complaint against ban on gender-affirming care

Complaint argues Trump administration denying coverage of gender-affirming care is sex-based discrimination

The Trump administration is facing a legal complaint from a group of government employees affected by a new policy going into effect Thursday that eliminates coverage for gender-affirming care in federal health insurance programs.

The complaint, filed Thursday on the employees’ behalf by the Human Rights Campaign, is in response to an August announcement from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that it would no longer cover “chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s sex traits through medical interventions” in health insurance programs for federal employees and US Postal Service workers.

Judge voids decision to end legal status of 60,000 immigrants

A U.S. District Court judge issued a summary judgment on Wednesday, finding that the effort to revoke the legal status of tens of thousands of Hondurans, Nepalis and Nicaraguans was unlawful

Apple reportedly cuts production of Vision Pro headset after poor sales

Company had hoped the virtual reality device would herald a new era in ‘spatial computing’

Poor sales have reportedly forced Apple to cut production of the Vision Pro headset that it had hoped would herald a new era in “spatial computing”.

The tech company also reduced marketing for Vision Pro by more than 95% last year, according to the market intelligence group Sensor Tower in figures first reported by the Financial Times.

‘These trees may not survive’: Jordan’s ancient olive harvest wilts under record-breaking heat

Extreme heat and drought has destroyed 70% of Jordan’s olive crop, endangering livelihoods of 80,000 families and a centuries-old tradition

Abu Khaled al-Zoubi, 67, walks slowly through his orchard in Irbid, northern Jordan, his footsteps kicking up dust from the parched earth beneath centuries-old olive trees. He stops at a gnarled trunk, its bark split and peeling from months of unrelenting heat.

He points out that the branches should be sagging under the weight of ripening fruit, but instead they stretch upward, nearly bare, with only a few shrivelled olives clinging to the withered stems.

Boulanger: La Ville Morte album review – The celebrated teacher’s early opera is brought back to life

Harvey/Rubin/Dennis/Williams/Talea Ensemble/Goren
(Pentatone)
This early work by Nadia Boulanger - better known as the influential teacher – was never performed and survived only in vocal score. Despite the best efforts of conductor Neal Goren and his hard-working cast it never quite coheres

Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) is best remembered now as a hugely influential teacher, who spread the gospel of neoclassicism through several generations of composers on both sides of the Atlantic. She was also a conductor and organist, and at the beginning of her career, at least, had ambitions as a composer in her own right, which she largely abandoned in the early 1920s some years after the deaths of both her enormously talented younger sister Lili, and her mentor, the pianist and composer Raoul Pugno.

It was in collaboration with Pugno that Boulanger composed La Ville Morte, a four-act opera based upon a play by Gabriele D’Annunzio; it was scheduled to be premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1914, but cancelled after the outbreak of the first world war. The opera only survives in a vocal score, and for this first ever recording, taken from performances in New York last year, it has been minimally orchestrated for an ensemble of 11 players. The “dead city” of the title of La Ville Morte is Mycenae, and the tangled story of love, lust and ambition among a quartet of archaeologists takes place among the city’s ruins. Musically it references Wagner, Fauré and most of all early Debussy, but the work never quite convinces in any of those modes, and runs out of dramatic steam well before the short final act, despite the best efforts of conductor Neal Goren and his hard-working cast of four.

Stellantis resurrects $100,000 Ram TRX V-8 pickup truck amid industry deregulation

The 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available late next year after a roughly three-year hiatus for around $100,000.

Trump administration delays tariff increases on furniture, kitchen cabinets

The one-year delay comes as President Trump has rolled back some other import duties amid affordability concerns.

New year celebrations and Zohran Mamdani sworn in: photos of the day – Thursday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Wuthering Heights, Michael Jackson and the ‘Trump effect’ – will 2026 see the end of the ‘woke’ blockbuster?

The president is scrutinising studio deals, and was rewarded with the promise of a Rush Hour reboot. With Supergirl, Hoppers and a live-action Moana on the way, can Hollywood stand up to Trump?

It’s fair to say that Hollywood is in crisis, or at least in transition. Studios getting taken over, culture wars all over the place, and gen AI rearing its head. The last thing they need is an interventionist president determined to wage war on the entertainment industry, as well as no doubt extracting what value he can. Donald Trump, as we know, is very interested in the movie business: in his pre-politics days, he made dozens of appearances in films, as well as on TV. It seems very likely that he’s eyeing a place at Hollywood’s top table after he leaves office (presuming he does).

Perhaps that’s what is behind his most spectacular recent intervention: demanding, and getting, a fourth Rush Hour movie from the new owners of Paramount Pictures, the studio that was recently taken over by David Ellison, son of Larry, one of Trump’s key allies. Coincidentally, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is one of the funders of Paramount’s subsequent bid to derail Netflix’s takeover of Warner Bros, with Trump himself suggesting he might influence US corporate regulators to prevent the Netflix deal from going ahead. And of course, in the background, is Trump’s threat of non-specific “tariffs” on the film industry, ostensibly aimed at keeping movie production inside the US. But, arguably, this could also be a way of keeping Hollywood’s top executives nervous and pliable.

Executions in Saudi Arabia hit highest number on record in 2025

Analysts attribute increase to kingdom’s ‘war on drugs’ as authorities kill 356 people by death penalty

Saudi authorities executed 356 people in 2025, setting a new record for the number of inmates put to death in the kingdom in a single year.

Analysts have largely attributed the increase in executions to Riyadh’s “war on drugs”, with some of those arrested in previous years only now being executed after legal proceedings and convictions.

Tacita Dean on witnessing Ceal Floyer’s final work of art: ‘She gave death the middle finger’

The Royal Academician celebrates an extraordinary moment as her friend, the artist Ceal Floyer, approached the end of her life last month

• Read more: Ceal Floyer obituary

It is very hard to describe a work by the British conceptual artist Ceal Floyer because description overburdens it. Her practice was so finely wrought that it existed only in the experience between a work’s idea and its absorption. Ceal handled this equation deftly and with perfect poise, but it was a perilous and naked process with little or no place to hide, or none.

Resolving the relationship between an idea’s inception and its manifestation became increasingly fraught for her and many works never made it to fruition. Therein lay her courage. This is why I wanted to add something to last month’s obituary of her by Jonathan Watkins.

Rideshare union rights, social media limits and other state laws taking effect Jan. 1

Every new year, public media reporters across the country bring us some of the new state laws taking effect where they are. Here are six in 2026.

Oil prices record steepest annual fall since Covid pandemic

After biggest loss for producers since 2020 the slide could continue, with global output expected to remain high

Oil markets have recorded their steepest annual fall since the Covid pandemic and could be on track to plummet further as oil producers continue to pump more crude than needed by the global economy.

Oil prices slumped by almost 20% in 2025, marking the biggest annual loss since 2020 and the first time that the oil market has recorded three consecutive years of annual losses.

Songs about new beginnings – ranked!

From CMAT and the Carpenters’ fresh starts to the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun and Nina Simone’s Feeling Good, starting again is a rich theme in pop. Here are some of the best examples

It’s hard to imagine anyone’s heart not being lifted a little by Right Back Where We Started From: the euphoric rush of new love rendered into three minutes of cod-northern soul (performed, unexpectedly, by various ex members of ELO, the Animals and 60s soft-poppers Honeybus). Avoid the 80s cover by Sinitta at all costs.

My big night out: I was about to get fired – then a colleague invited me to the party that changed my life

I wasn’t sure journalism was for me until I ended up in a bar with a group of lawless, funny co-workers who complained long and hard about the panther suspended above us in a cage

In the mid-90s, I was working as an admin assistant on the listings magazine of the London Evening Standard, and was about to be fired. OK, I wasn’t that good at the job, but I was also done with it. It was on my mind that I needed an actual job, one that you could describe to someone: “I’m an X.” At what point did you get to say: “I’m a journalist”? And was that even a real thing? A lawyer friend had told me: “I see mine as a profession and yours as more of a trade.” I ruminated on that a lot.

Anyway, some time between my latest misdemeanour and my inevitable disciplinary letter, someone from the main paper, let’s call him Pete Clark because that was his name (everyone else will go by initials, but Pete’s dead now, and he would want to be named, I think), asked if I wanted to go to a party. It was no special occasion, just the launch of a bar; this happened every night in the 90s, even Mondays. He was 43, but all old people look the same when you’re 23, so I felt as if the viscount owner of the paper had noticed me from the top of his gold mountain and invited me to a ball.

They tried to smear him as an antisemite – but Mayor Zohran Mamdani walks in a rich Jewish tradition | Molly Crabapple

When I look at Mamdani, I don’t see some radical departure. I see him as an heir to the Yiddish socialism that helped build New York

Billionaires raised fortunes against him. The president threatened to strip his citizenship. Mainstream synagogues slandered him as the spawn of Osama Bin Laden and Chairman Mao. But today, Zohran Mamdani became the first socialist mayor of New York City.

For all the hysteria, when I look at Mamdani, I didn’t see some radical departure from the past. I see him as the heir to an old and venerable Jewish tradition – that of Yiddish socialism – which helped build New York.

January isn’t for reinvention – it’s for dishes we know by heart

There’s something quietly radical about indulging in nostalgia – not because the past was better, but as a counterpoint to all that future planning

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Our friend Bridget is serious about Christmas, and she does it spectacularly: come 1 December, her tree will be up, beautifully lit and decorated, her nearest and dearest (us included, thankfully) will get their bespoke Advent calendar (this year it was a cheesy one for me and a puzzle for Sarit – perfect) and a month of fun activities will ensue, culminating in a magnificent day. She is so serious about it, in fact, that her planning for next year starts now: she hits the January sales for everything that’ll keep for the next Christmas holiday – stocking fillers, festive candy, decorations, jumpers and socks – and it’s all stored neatly in a cupboard in anticipation of another gloriously executed December.

We may not be quite as organised and foresightful as Bridget, but we are looking ahead to the coming year with the usual mix of excitement and angst, and starting to mentally put things in the calendar: maybe you have a spring holiday, or an autumn baby? Maybe there’s a visitor from abroad you’re looking forward to, or tickets for a once-in-a-lifetime gig? Even if there is nothing planned yet, summer is something we are always excited about, and the coming year starts to slot into place, as plans become experiences and, before we know it, memories. Time rushes forward, and suddenly it’s gone.

Dry Cleaning: Secret Love review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week

(4AD)
The standout act in the sprechgesang wave, the four-piece’s newly expansive sound carries singer Florence Shaw’s distinctive tales of mundane lives spiralling out of control

Dry Cleaning’s third album features a lot of strikingly odd lyrics. Take your pick from “alien offshoot mushroom, going the gym to get slim”; “my dream house is a negative space of rock”; or, indeed, “when I was a child I wanted to be a horse, eating onions, carrots, celery”. But it’s an ostensibly more straightforward line, from Cruise Ship Designer, that seems destined to attract the most attention. “I make sure there are hidden messages in my work,” says vocalist Florence Shaw as the track draws to a conclusion, the muscular guitar riff that’s driven it along devolving into a janky, trebly scrabble.

Initially, the lyric appears to characterise what Dry Cleaning do, and Shaw in particular. From the moment they first appeared with the 2018 EP Sweet Princess, the south London quartet have attracted adjectives such as “surreal”, “enigmatic” and “inscrutable”. Most of the British bands who emerged around the same time bearing a roughly equivalent blend of post-punk guitars and spoken-word vocals sounded angry or sarcastic or straightforwardly comedic. Dry Cleaning, on the other hand, seemed mysterious. Shaw’s lyrics were collages of overheard remarks, recycled YouTube comments, lines from adverts and non sequiturs, delivered in a voice that was too icy to sound whimsical. It’s variously been characterised as “anhedonic” and “achromatic”, but might more straightforwardly be described as sounding politely bored. She occasionally shifts from speaking into singing in an untutored voice that brings to mind Stuart Moxham of Young Marble Giants’ line about their understated vocalist Alison Statton sounding “as if she was at the bus stop or something”. It was all intriguingly confusing: here were songs that could indeed contain hidden messages, that seemed like puzzles to be unpicked.

‘They misjudged Caerphilly’: how the Reform juggernaut backfired in Welsh byelection

It was assumed that Reform would sweep all before it – but locals rejected the party’s campaign of ‘lies and hate’

Yuliia Bond works two jobs, raises two children and is studying at university. In the autumn, she also found time to take on Reform UK when it tried to win the Caerphilly byelection.

Bond, a Ukrainian refugee who has settled in south Wales, said she could not remain silent as Reform tried to win the seat in the Senedd (Welsh parliament ).

More women reporting abuse in Norway as member of royal family to go on trial for rape

Country’s largest women’s health organisation says case of Marius Borg Høiby encouraging people to seek help

Staff at Norway’s largest women’s health organisation have seen a rise in the number of women reporting abuse and sexual assault at the hands of their partners ahead of the rape trial of a member of the royal family, saying they hope the case helps to “break taboos”.

Marius Borg Høiby, the 28-year-old son of the Norwegian crown princess, is due to stand trial in February on 32 charges including four counts of rape, the domestic abuse of a former partner and the illegal filming of a number of women without their knowledge or consent.

How to talk dating like gen Z: 51 (hyperspecific) terms for love, sex and bad behavior

As young people take on a messy dating landscape, they’ve created their own lexicon to match. Here’s like what phrases ‘bird theory’ and ‘monkey branching’ mean

This year marked a decade since the term “ghosting” hit the mainstream. At the time, the idea that someone could abruptly cease communication with a lover without explanation seemed like the peak of indignity. How naive we were. In the 10 years since, finding a partner has only become more confounding – an oftentimes fruitless exercise in humiliation that is increasingly pigeonholed by social media jargon.

Gen Z, a cohort who came of age during a loneliness epidemic, a masculinity crisis, and a coordinated attack on the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community, faces a far messier landscape than their millennial predecessors could ever imagine. And so their dating glossary has grown longer and more deranged, with phrases like “Shrekking” and “monkey branching” testing the limits of your sanity.

Red flags – Behavioral quirks indicating a potential partner is bad news. Examples include calling their exes crazy, subpar tipping habits, a love of Woody Allen films, a burgeoning DJ career …

Green flags – These quirks validate your decision to pursue a mate. Examples include checking in to make sure you got home safe after a date, low screen time, owning a bed frame …

Beige flags – These usually describe niche, mostly benign quirks. Examples include being an enthusiastic birdwatcher, still carrying around a pen in their purse, paying rent in cash …

Veganuary can be a piece of cake: cooks and dietitians share 12 ways to make delicious plant-based food

Swap chicken for beans and avoid cheeze … From a MasterChef finalist to a maker of ready meals, high-profile vegans give their favourite recipes and tips

This new year, you may be embarking on Veganuary, or have resolved to eat less meat and dairy in 2026. What are some of the simplest switches to make and most nutritious dishes to try with minimum fuss? Vegans share their tips on how to eat a balanced plant-based diet.

What's open on New Year's Day 2026? See which stores are operating.

Banks, post offices and major stock exchanges will be closed in observance of the federal holiday, but some stores are open.

Our 2026 listening resolutions: from Radiohead to Kendrick Lamar, critics try to get into music they’ve never liked

Streaming’s algorithms make it easy to avoid whole discographies – so in the interest of deeper listening, our writers dedicate time to the ones who might have got away

The first time I heard Joni Mitchell, in 1997, she was looped across the chorus of Janet Jackson’s single Got ’Til It’s Gone. The song’s credits would educate me on the sample’s origins; I had previously assumed Big Yellow Taxi was an Amy Grant original. The second time I heard a Mitchell song was when Travis covered the beautiful River as a B-side.

"48 Hours: NCIS": The Marine's Wife

When a young military wife at the Marine Combat Base in Twentynine Palms, California, vanishes, NCIS agents discover she has a secret — did it lead to murder?

Israel allowing traders to bring into Gaza ‘dual-use’ items barred from aid organisations

Sources say generators and tent poles restricted from humanitarian bodies but commercial shipments allowed in

Israel is running a parallel system of controls for shipments into Gaza, allowing commercial traders to bring goods into the territory that are barred for humanitarian organisations.

Basic life-saving supplies including generators and tent poles are on a long Israeli blacklist of “dual-use” items. The Israeli government says entry of these items must be severely restricted because they could be exploited by Hamas or other armed groups for military ends.

Run Away review – James Nesbitt and Minnie Driver give us comfort TV at its finest

The twists and turns come thick and fast in this deeply pleasing Harlan Coben thriller, as a father goes in search of his missing daughter. Even a vegan restaurant owner gets in on the act

They come round sooner every time, do they not? I think we’re now the recipients of a new Harlan Coben adaptation every three weeks or so. Who knows what rate will be attained next year? We watch and wait, though possibly in neither case for long.

We are now about a dozen, rating-banking offerings into the bestselling thriller writer’s multi-book deals with Netflix and Amazon. They are generally solid, workmanlike fare that doubtless help fund many passion projects and pay many mortgages along the way. They are comfort TV not just for viewers, but, I suspect, everyone involved.

You be the judge: should my boyfriend change the way he showers?

Audrey thinks Noah doesn’t take bathing seriously enough. He says he’s a ‘quick-shower kind of guy’ but keeps himself clean. You decide whose argument scrubs up best
• Get a disagreement settled or become a YBTJ juror

Noah doesn’t wash himself thoroughly enough – he just rubs a bit of gel around his body

I smell nice and I’m not unclean, so why does showering have to be like a full military operation?

Can you guess 6-7 words on the 50th annual "Banished Words List"?

Respondents to a Michigan college's survey of overused and misused words and phrases say "6-7" is "cooked" and should come to a massive full-stop.

10 of the best learning holidays in Europe for 2026

From rock climbing in the Peak District to honing your creative writing skills in Crete, why not take a break with like minds and fellow learners this year?

Even complete beginners will soon be scaling sheltered Peak District crags on this two-day course with Pure Outdoor. Participants will master tying in, belaying and several climbing techniques, as well as abseiling down. With a maximum of six learners to one instructor, there is a lot individual attention and personalised targets. The course is suitable for anyone aged 13 and over, from first-time climbers to those with some indoor experience. It is non-residential, but Pure Outdoor has a list of recommended, affordable accommodation nearby, including campsites, hostels, B&Bs and pubs with rooms. The training centre is 10 minutes’ walk from Bamford railway station, which is on the Hope Valley line from Manchester to Sheffield.
£199 for two days, weekends from 7 March-8 November, plus weekday courses most months, pureoutdoor.co.uk