Nvidia reports third-quarter earnings after the bell

Nvidia is at the center of the artificial intelligence boom, and counts every major cloud company and AI lab as a customer.

Judge questions DOJ about lead-up to Comey indictment, expresses skepticism

In court Wednesday, former FBI Director James Comey sought to have the criminal charges against him dismissed.

The Guardian view on funding Ukraine’s resistance: a looming financial crisis in Kyiv must be averted | Editorial

Whether by leveraging Russia’s frozen assets, or other means, the EU must deliver the cash necessary to withstand Putin’s war of attrition

In the early part of this year, as the US vice-president, JD Vance, berated European leaders in Munich, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy was subjected to a televised mauling in the White House, it became starkly apparent that the bonds of solidarity between the European Union and Ukraine would need to be strengthened to cope with a new geopolitical reality. As 2025 draws to a close, a moment of reckoning has arrived.

According to EU estimates, Ukraine will need more than €70bn in extra financial assistance next year to keep defending itself against Vladimir Putin. That money won’t be coming from Washington, where Donald Trump has refused to seek new funding for military aid from Congress. Yet Kyiv’s ability to negotiate an acceptable peace depends on its capacity to withstand Mr Putin’s relentless war of attrition, which is designed to drain Ukraine of the resources necessary to resist, and to weaken the resolve of its European allies.

Wolfsburg v Manchester United: Women’s Champions League – live

• WCL updates from Germany; kick-off 5.45pm GMT

• Live scores | Read Moving the Goalposts | Mail Taha

4 min: … Zigotti’s ball in finds the safe hands of Johannes. United have begun well, though, taking control of possession.

3 min: Malard drops deep to get involved in United’s build-up play before Sandberg finds space to dribble down the left. Corner to the visitors …

Housing numbers point to an unusually strong buyer's market. There's a catch

There are many more sellers on the market now than buyers, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a buyer's market. Here's why.

Justice department will release Epstein files within 30 days, says US attorney general – US politics live

Pam Bondi speaks after US Senate passes bill to release files – but agency may hold back material that could affect a Trump-ordered investigation

One quick note, there haven’t been any changes to Donald Trump’s schedule today, per the press pool. Which means, as of now, the president doesn’t have any time allotted to sign the bill forcing the justice department to release the full batch of Jeffrey Epstein files.

We’ll keep you updated if things change throughout the day.

Ben Jennings on ultra-processed foods – cartoon

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Epstein files bill officially passes in Senate, sending it to Trump

The Epstein files bill got overwhelming support in the House and Senate, with only one lawmaker, Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, voting against it.

Steve Clarke hopes Scotland’s World Cup qualification will inspire next generation

• Manager wants youth to dream of playing for Scotland

• Clarke uses missed chances as player to inspire team

Steve Clarke hopes Scotland’s long-awaited qualification for a men’s World Cup will inspire the country’s young footballers.

Against a backdrop of euphoric scenes at Hampden Park on Tuesday night, the Scots defeated Denmark 4-2 to seal a World Cup spot for the first time since 1998. Their manager was delighted to end that long wait, especially as he believes it has harmed the nation’s football development. “This should stimulate or motivate young players to go out and become Scotland internationals in the future,” said Clarke. “Hopefully there is a legacy from this group of players to the younger generations and we don’t wait so long to go to the next tournament and the next tournament.

Watch live: Trump speaks at U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum

Trump's appearance at the Kennedy Center came a day after he hosted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia at the White House.

Target says it's working with ChatGPT for AI-assisted shopping

Target's move, which follows a similar deal between Walmart and OpenAI, comes as the retailer is struggling with declining sales.

‘He used to say things like “Hitler was right”’: Farage faces more allegations of racist behaviour at school

A former friend and others who were at Dulwich college with the now Reform UK leader speak of his behaviour

• ‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school

It had been a fun sleepover at Nigel Farage’s house and Jean-Pierre Lihou, a teenager with an appetite, was delighted with his schoolfriend’s mother’s hospitality. “I remember the fantastic cooked English breakfast, as opposed to what you get at a boarding house on a morning,” Lihou recalled. “I was a boarder and he was a day boy,” he said of their education at Dulwich college in south-east London.

Farage was a great mimic, and funny with it, Lihou said. But over time he found there was a darker side to his 14-year-old friend.

Rome decries ‘Italian sounding’ pasta sauces on sale in EU parliament store

Agriculture minister calls for immediate investigation over carbonara sauce containing the wrong type of cured meat

Italy’s agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, has called for an immediate investigation after coming across what he claimed were jars of “Italian sounding” pasta sauce on the shelves of the European parliament’s supermarket.

Lollobrigida, of Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, was particularly vexed by a carbonara sauce made with “Italiaanse pancetta” – the classic Roman pasta dish is made with a different cured meat, guanciale – and a tomato sauce containing “oignons de Calabria”, or onions from Calabria.

JetBlue to add Milan, Barcelona flights next year in push for high-spending travelers

The new seasonal flights will launch next spring from Boston

A fire in southwestern Japan damages 170 homes and forces evacuations

Firefighters and army helicopters battled a fire that burned through old wooden houses in a fishing town in southwestern Japan.

How Kash Patel is roiling the FBI and changing its mission

New Yorker writer Marc Fisher says Patel became FBI director without senior law enforcement experience because of his loyalty to Trump and willingness to seek retribution for his perceived enemies.

I am the king of the common cold – and I can tell you how to avoid one | Adrian Chiles

No one suffers a cold like I do. Drops and brandy don’t touch the sides – but thanks to a friendly singer, I’ve learned a more extreme regime for countering the snuffles

This time last year, I was on a TV programme with three singers. There was a rapper of Ghanaian heritage, a big pop star, and a famous mezzo-soprano. It was deep midwinter. The night before, I’d been at an old friend’s 60th birthday, crammed into the function room of a pub somewhere in Surrey. It had been a good night, but now, just for something to say, I wondered how it was possible to avoid catching a cold when half the people at the party were players in a symphony of coughs, sneezes, snuffles and nose-blows. By the way, how come some people have nose-blows like trumpets, and others don’t? A question for another day.

At mention of my night out, this trio of troubadours in the TV green room did two things. First, they shrunk away from me slightly. Second, they engaged in a feverishly enthusiastic discussion on how to avoid catching colds which, naturally enough given their line of work, was something of an obsession for them. I get that, but I have skin in this game too – I must avoid colds at all costs because the colds I get are worse than anyone else’s. I don’t have a medical certificate to confirm this, but I know it to be true. My colds last longer. My nose is more blocked, my throat is scratchier, my coughing fits are louder, barkier and apparently endless. My family, wise to the couple of quick throat-clearances which herald the coming storm, either kick me out of the room, or clear the room themselves. Back when I presented football on ITV, my poor colleagues in the studio gallery grew attuned to the warning signs. “Cans off!” the studio director would holler to his team, before I deafened them all, blowing the wiring in their headphones.

Greetings from Yimianpo, China, where artisans carve Russian nesting dolls

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

Video shows moment construction worker lifted to safety after trench collapse

One person was killed and two others were injured after a trench collapsed at a construction site in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, officials said. One of the construction workers was buried up to his waist for hours before he was pulled out. Tom Hanson reports.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at 50: the spirit of rebellion lives on

The 1975 drama, one of the only films to ever receive the big five Oscars, remains a touchstone of American cinema with a resonant message of resisting conformity

A movie winning the big five Academy Awards – best picture along with honoring the lead actor and actress, writing and directing – happens so rarely that there’s not much use in examining the three movies that have pulled it off for common ground. But among It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and The Silence of the Lambs, it may be Cuckoo’s Nest, released 50 years ago on Wednesday, that feels like the unlikeliest across-the-board triumph. It Happened One Night and The Silence of the Lambs both belong to rarely awarded genres (romantic comedy and horror, respectively), which makes their big wins unusual but also clearcut: here is an example of the best this type of movie has to offer. Cuckoo’s Nest, meanwhile, is potentially much thornier. It’s a comedy-drama made at least in part as allegory – an anti-conformity story of fomenting 1960s social rebellion, disguised as a movie about lovable patients at a mental health facility.

The Ken Kesey novel that the movie is based on was published in 1962, chronicling some of what Kesey saw as a hospital orderly and anticipating some of the coming pushback against postwar American conformity. The major change in Miloš Forman’s film is to shift the narrative away from Chief (Will Sampson), a towering Native American who presents himself as deaf and mute. Chief narrates the book, while the movie hews closer to the perspective of RP McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), who enters the facility having faked mental illness in the hopes that he can avoid serving out a prison work-camp sentence. Though the doctors don’t seem entirely convinced by his ruse, his behavior is apparently erratic enough for him to stay at least a little while. His attempts to bring more individualism and fun to his cohabitants runs afoul of Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), who exercises tight control over the ward.

Alphabet stock surges on Gemini 3 AI model optimism

Google said Gemini 3 allows users to get better answers to more complex questions and doesn't need as much prompting to determine the context.

Trump shrugged off Khashoggi’s killing. This is a new low | Jodie Ginsberg

Jamal Khashoggi was dismembered in a Saudi consulate. The president says ‘things happen’

“Things happen.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came in a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

Jodie Ginsberg is CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists

House to vote on repealing new law allowing $500k lawsuits from senators

House lawmakers are moving quickly to repeal a provision that allows senators to sue for $500,000 over phone record seizures. It's unclear what the Senate will do.

Huge staff cuts at WHO will leave world ‘less healthy and safe’, experts warn

Health organisation is to lose almost a quarter of its workforce in 2026, reducing its ability to help countries facing disease outbreaks

The loss of more than 2,000 jobs at the World Health Organization (WHO) “will leave the world less healthy and less safe”, experts have warned.

The global health body said it expected to lose 2,371 posts – nearly a quarter of its workforce – by June 2026 as it deals with budget cuts after the US withdrawal from the organisation in January. At that point the WHO had 9,401 staff members.

MLS reopens investigation into Philadelphia Union executive as team places him on leave

• Sporting director Ernst Tanner was subject of Guardian investigation

• Complaint to MLS alleged racist, sexist, and homophobic comments

• Tanner denied allegations, which initial MLS investigation did not corroborate

• Read our full investigation | Summary of our findings

Major League Soccer announced on Wednesday that it is re-opening its investigation into Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner. The Union said in a statement to the Guardian that they have placed Tanner on administrative leave. The move comes a day after the Guardian published an investigation into Tanner’s conduct.

Tanner had previously been under investigation by MLS after the league received a complaint from the MLS Players Association in late January. In it, the MLSPA outlined a wide range of alleged issues surrounding Tanner, which included the use of racist, sexist and homophobic language and instances of inappropriate physical contact with a staff member.

Made multiple misogynistic comments, including saying “women don’t belong in men’s soccer” about a female MLS referee and telling a gathering of academy players that they “should never worry about a referee, unless she’s a woman.”

Directed a homophobic slur at an MLS referee in 2023

Spoke about Black players “like they were subhuman” and suggested that Black referees “lack intelligence and capability.”

Touched a co-worker inappropriately “numerous times,” an allegation for which he was reported to the Union’s HR department.

Hired an underqualified coach who was allegedly abusive toward players on the Philadelphia Union II, the club’s reserve team that is used as a proving ground for young players from its thriving academy.

Christie’s withdraws rare ‘first calculator’ from auction after French court halts export

Move comes after French scientists issued urgent appeal to prevent La Pascaline from leaving the country

A rare example of the first functioning calculating machine in history looks likely to stay in France after Christie’s withdrew it from auction pending a definitive ruling from a Paris court on whether or not it can be exported.

La Pascaline, developed by the French mathematician and inventor Blaise Pascal in 1642, when he was just 19, and billed as “the most important scientific instrument ever offered at auction”, had been expected to fetch more than €2m (£1.8m).

Uber hit with legal demands to halt use of AI-driven pay systems

Proposed legal case understood to allege that app has breached data protection law varying driver pay rates

Uber has been hit with legal demands to stop using its artificial intelligence driven pay systems, which have been blamed for significantly reducing the incomes of the ride hailing app’s drivers.

A letter before action – sent to the US company by the non-profit foundation, Worker Info Exchange (WIE), on Wednesday – is understood to allege that the ride hailing app has breached European data protection law by varying driver pay rates through its controversial algorithm.

‘It gives everyone a lift’: Scotland’s World Cup qualification unites a nation

Excitement is palpable as Tartan Army to head to football’s biggest stage for first time in 28 years

The prognosis from the north Glasgow primary schools squad had been bleak. “Everybody says Scotland are going to get pumped,” my eight-year told me as he left football training on Tuesday evening, with a realism born of experience even over his short life.

But three hours later, Scotland fans across the nation and beyond were catapulted beyond euphoria as their team qualified for the men’s football World Cup for the first time in more than a quarter of a century after a bum-squeaking, breathtaking 4-2 win against Denmark at Hampden.

Divide over fossil fuels phaseout can be bridged, Cop30 president says

Exclusive: André Corrêa do Lago says rise of clean energy must be acknowledged and rich countries need to do more

• Cop30 live – latest updates

• Cop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of climate talks in Brazil

Oil-producing countries need to acknowledge the rise of clean energy, and rich countries will have to provide more assurances on finance if the chasm between negotiating nations at Cop30 is to be bridged, the president of the summit has said.

André Corrêa do Lago, the veteran Brazilian climate diplomat in charge of the talks, said: “Developing countries are looking at developed countries as countries that could be much more generous in supporting them to be more sustainable. They could offer more finance, and technology.”

European Commission accused of ‘massive rollback’ of digital protections

Proposed changes to AI Act would make it easier for tech firms to use personal data to train models without consent

The European Commission has been accused of “a massive rollback” of the EU’s digital rules after announcing proposals to delay central parts of the Artificial Intelligence Act and water down its landmark data protection regulation.

If agreed, the changes would make it easier for tech firms to use personal data to train AI models without asking for consent, and try to end “cookie banner fatigue” by reducing the number times internet users have to give their permission to being tracked on the internet.

Every time new emails drop, elites do the Epstein shuffle: ‘Yes I knew him, but I didn’t KNOW him’ | Emma Brockes

For the New York and Washington great and good who loved the company of wealth and power, all that glitters is no longer gold

Many years ago, I went to a party in central London thrown by a host known for curating interesting and heavyweight guest lists and, on entering, encountered David Irving, the disgraced historian and Holocaust denier. As a marker of social pariahdom, Holocaust denial is up there with – or perhaps even more potent than – a conviction for sex offences, and I turned around and walked out; not through any particular moral superiority, but because I thought “notoriety” as a criteria for inclusion on a guest list was stupid and offensive. As I left, I remember looking across the room at the host and thinking: you silly bloody bint, I’m embarrassed for you.

I thought about that party and Irving this week while reading, with grim amusement, the absolute scramble currently under way in the US among media and other public figures seeking to explain, justify, downplay and generally paddle away as fast as they can from their social interactions with Jeffrey Epstein. I’m not talking about the men alleged to have joined the late paedophile in abusing trafficked girls, but rather the apparently endless list of notable figures – mostly in New York, but also reaching down to Washington DC, and across America’s Ivy League campuses – who enjoyed his hospitality, appeared with him at parties, and exchanged cordial emails with the man long after his true nature was known. As the Senate voted this week to release the Epstein files, the chorus of “we didn’t know!” from certain corners grew so loud it might’ve been Germany in 1946.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

Woman admits to falsely claiming astronaut ex committed crime in space

Summer Worden pleaded guilty to lying to law enforcement after alleging her ex-wife, astronaut Anne McClain, illegally accessed her bank account.

‘I never wanted to sing into a vacuum’: Scottish folk pioneer Dick Gaughan’s fight for his lost music

A skilled interpreter and social justice champion, Gaughan is a hero to the likes of Richard Hawley and Billy Bragg. Yet much of his work has been stuck in limbo for decades – until a determined fan stepped in

‘It felt to me as if the world had forgotten about the Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley of folk, or a singular figure in the mould of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash or Richard Thompson.” So says Colin Harper, curator of a slew of new releases celebrating the stunning music of Scottish musician Dick Gaughan. Harper had recently reconnected with his music after several decades, “and I couldn’t believe the quality of it. His singing and guitar playing were astonishing – he performed traditional songs and championed social justice so powerfully.”

But if you haven’t heard of the 77-year-old Gaughan, it’s not surprising: much of his work has been unavailable for years, the rights to it having been claimed by the label Celtic Music, who have not made it available digitally. Gaughan doesn’t recall receiving a royalty statement from the company in 40 years. He is battling for ownership and, in turn, hopes to help other veteran folk artists regain control of their catalogues. “To find that the music I made, that I put a lot of work into, is just not available – it’s like your life isn’t available,” he says.

As a labor force, artists are 'invisible.' A new survey tries to change that

'Struggling artists' isn't a trope, according to a new report. The survey asked more than 2,600 artists about everything from hours worked to housing.

Epstein bill heading to Trump's desk after clearing final hurdle in Congress

The House sent to the Senate a bill that would force the release of the Epstein files, the final procedural move before President Trump's signature.

‘An impossibility made possible’: how tiny Curaçao made World Cup history

Caribbean island nation is the smallest to reach tournament after appointing wily coach and drawing on diaspora

The delay in Dick Advocaat becoming Curaçao’s head coach might have been ominous but instead was the foundation for glory. Frustrated by the national federation’s financial problems, he deferred starting until January 2024, when the problems were resolved and players paid, paving the way for a historic World Cup qualifying campaign.

Curaçao will be the smallest nation – by land area and population – to play at the World Cup after their 0-0 draw in Jamaica on Wednesday. The Caribbean island has a population of 156,000, sinking the previous record holders, Iceland, which has about 400,000 inhabitants. Last month Cape Verde were confirmed as surprise tournament debutants but the African nation is almost 10 times bigger by area than the former Dutch colony, indicating the level of achievement by Advocaat and his squad.

Wintry conditions to last in coastal areas after up to 7cm of snow fell in parts of UK

North Scotland and east and west coasts of UK to get wintry showers but conditions will be brighter and drier inland

Wintry conditions are expected to continue in coastal areas of the UK after up to 7cm (2.7in) of snow fell in parts of the country.

The Met Office said conditions in central inland areas were likely to be brighter and drier, while wintry showers were expected on the coasts of north Scotland and the east and west coasts of the UK.

Child care costs more than the rent in dozens of U.S. cities

In some metro areas, child care expenses amount to more than double what families spend on rent, LendingTree found.

Denmark announces one of the world’s most ambitious climate targets, while the rest of the EU looks away

Governments across the continent have attacked green rules with increasing ferocity – all while professing their commitment to existing climate targets

• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

To little fanfare and few international headlines, Denmark just announced one of the world’s most ambitious climate targets.

The unusually wind-powered and cycle-friendly Nordic nation – whose ruling Social Democrats suffered a setback in elections on Tuesday – promised on Monday to cut planet-heating pollution by at least 82% by 2035 from 1990 levels. The goal inches past the UK’s landmark 81% target for that year and races ahead of the EU’s rather wide goal of 66.3% to 72.5%.

Not Mariah again! New music playlists for the Christmas party season

Whether it’s vibe-setting dance and rap for house parties or soothing dream-pop for when you’re contemplating the clear-up, reach for these ready-made playlists

Let’s face it: when everyone’s two improvised cocktails deep, they’ll be hollering for Pink Pony Club, and after two more, they’ll be doing Fairytale of New York in a male-female karaoke face-off. But for the early part of the party, here’s some 2025 pop, dance and rap to keep the mood buoyant.

Poland closes last Russian consulate after ‘act of state terrorism’ on railway

Foreign minister orders closure of Gdańsk consulate and says four people now arrested after sabotage attack

• Europe live – latest updates

Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, has described last weekend’s sabotage attack on Poland’s rail system as “an act of state terrorism” ordered by Russia, as he announced that Poland was closing the last remaining Russian consulate in the country.

“The clear intention was to cause human casualties,” he said of the weekend bomb attack.

Daniel Radcliffe writes supportive letter to Harry Potter successor in new TV series

The actor said he wrote wishing 11-year-old Dominic McLaughlin ‘an even better time’ growing up in the role than he had

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe said that he wrote to 11-year-old actor Dominic McLaughlin, who has been cast in the title role of the new Harry Potter TV series.

Radcliffe appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday and said: “I wouldn’t say that anyone who is going to play Harry has to [call me],” adding: “I wrote to Dominic and I sent him a letter and he sent me a very sweet note back.”

Arsenal’s controversial sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda to end next year

• Backlash came amid Rwanda’s support for M23 militia

• Club says deal ‘exceeded the original goals’

Arsenal’s controversial sponsorship partnership with Visit Rwanda will end in June, the club have announced.

The deal, reportedly worth in the region of £10m a year, began in 2018 and has come under scrutiny amid Rwanda’s support for the M23 militia in conflicts taking place in the eastern part of the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. In February, Arsenal were accused of delivering an “outrageous” snub to the Congolese government by not meeting the foreign minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, to discuss the deal.

‘No contract, no coffee’: what to know about the Starbucks workers’ strike in over 40 US cities

Starbucks union threatens to expand campaign as politicians like Zohran Mamdani back striking workers

Unionized Starbucks workers are threatening to expand a US strike against the world’s biggest coffee chain into “the largest and longest” in the company’s history – and urging customers to steer clear.

Starbucks has said the vast majority of its cafes remain open, and expressed disappointment that Starbucks Workers United launched the strike.

‘May I meet you?’ is just the latest in horrible dating advice from billionaires | Arwa Mahdawi

Bill Ackman thinks his pickup line could aid population rates. Given the track record of the mega-rich, it may do the opposite

Sit down and pay attention, because this column might change your life. I bring you tidings from the Nazi-filled wilderness that is now X, where Maga-adjacent billionaire Bill Ackman has generously decided to dispense romantic advice to the masses. Online culture, Ackman notes, has “destroyed the ability to spontaneously meet strangers”. The antidote to this, he suggests, are four simple words.

“May I meet you?”

How generative AI in Arc Raiders started a scrap over the gaming industry’s future

The use of AI in the surprise game-of-the-year contender has sparked a heated cultural and ethical debate, and raised existential questions for artists, writers and voice actors

• Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

Arc Raiders is, by all accounts, a late game-of-the-year contender. Dropped into a multiplayer world overrun with hostile drones and military robots, every human player is at the mercy of the machines – and each other. Can you trust the other raider you’ve spotted on your way back to humanity’s safe haven underground, or will they shoot you and take everything you’ve just scavenged? Perhaps surprisingly, humanity is (mostly) choosing to band together, according to most people I’ve talked to about this game.

In a review for Gamespot, Mark Delaney paints a beguiling picture of Arc Raiders’s potential for generating war stories, and highlights its surprisingly hopeful tone as the thing that elevates it above similar multiplayer extraction shooters: “We can all kill each other in Arc Raiders. The fact that most of us are choosing instead to lend a helping hand, if not a sign that humanity will be all right in the real world, at the very least makes for one of the best multiplayer games I’ve ever played.”

Ashes 2025-26: Guardian writers’ predictions for the series

From pyrotechnics in Perth to the denouement in Sydney, our team of writers outline their hopes and fears for the five Tests

Ali Martin A full-blooded Ashes tour – both sets of supporters in the stands watching a hard-fought contest – after the pandemic proved something of a buzzkill four years ago.

Buckingham Palace Christmas market: why tourists flocked there – and found just locked gates and big puddles

The hot spot seemed the perfect place for Yuletide-loving royalists. But, as with the Eiffel Tower in Beijing and some of the most picturesque windmills in the Netherlands, there was much less to it than first met the eye ...

Name: Buckingham Palace Christmas market.

Age: Brand new this year.

Mortgage rates hit highest level in a month, pushing loan demand down 5%

Mortgage rates rose to the highest level in a month last week, causing demand for home loans to drop. Demand, however, is still higher than a year ago.

Epstein survivor says she's hopeful for transparency: "A long overdue victory"

Annie Farmer, who testified she was sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 16, speaks to "CBS Mornings" about Congress' vote to release the files. She said she's hopeful there will be transparency following this vote, but still has concerns. She also spoke about Maxwell, saying, "she needs to serve her full sentence."

Why this GOP congressman voted against releasing the Epstein files

GOP Rep. Clay Higgins was the only House member to vote against a bill that would require the Justice Department to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

'War on drugs' or political agitation? Assessing Trump's actions in Venezuela – video explainer

In August, Donald Trump started a campaign of aggression against Venezuela. The US president first launched airstrikes on alleged drug boats off the coast of the South American country – a move largely condemned as extrajudicial killings – then deployed US naval assets in the Caribbean. The Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, explains why the claims the targeted boats were carrying drugs destined for the US are dubious and what Trump's actions could mean for the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro

• Venezuela’s Maduro urges Trump to avoid Afghanistan-style ‘forever war’

Starmer urges Farage to explain himself over claims of past racist behaviour

PM raises Guardian reporting of allegations from more than a dozen school contemporaries of Farage

Keir Starmer has called on Nigel Farage to urgently explain himself after the Reform leader wholesale denied numerous detailed allegations of racist behaviour during his teenage years.

Responding to the Reform MP Lee Anderson at prime minister’s questions, Starmer raised the Guardian’s reporting of allegations from well over a dozen school contemporaries of Farage.

Porsche reveals all-electric Cayenne SUV, 'most powerful' production vehicle ever made by sports car company

Porsche on Wednesday revealed a new all-electric version of its Cayenne SUV as the "most powerful" production vehicle ever made by the sports car company.

Woman who became U.S. citizen says "we're never going to feel safe" amid immigration raids

The federal immigration crackdown in North Carolina has spread from Charlotte to Raleigh, and Department of Homeland Security sources say operations could begin in New Orleans as soon as Dec. 1. A woman who became a U.S. citizen in March told CBS News that despite her citizenship, she's still living in fear. Skyler Henry has more.

Pregnant and frightened, Kardell Lomas begged for help. Police found her body in the boot of a car

Exclusive: The 31-year-old had dozens of interactions with support services and police before her death at the hands of a dangerous man. Her family now wants answers

• Warning: This article contains the name and image of an Indigenous Australian who has died

• Meet the whistleblowers who exposed Queensland’s domestic violence failures

• Read more from Guardian Australia’s two-year investigation here

Neighbours had heard a woman crying at the house on McGill Street.

In the first few days of December 2019, things “got bad again” behind the high fences at the property south of Ipswich. The abuse became more frequent. A man’s voice screaming; a woman sobbing, trying to calm him, pleading to be left alone.

Israel used widely banned cluster munitions in Lebanon, photos of remnants suggest

Exclusive: Images are first indication that Israel has used cluster munitions in nearly 20 years

Israel used widely banned cluster munitions in its recent 13-month war in Lebanon, photos of munition remnants in south Lebanon seen by the Guardian suggest.

The images, which have been examined by six different arms experts, appear to show the remnants of two different types of Israeli cluster munitions found in three different locations: south of the Litani River in the forested valleys of Wadi Zibqin, Wadi Barghouz and Wadi Deir Siryan.

Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: how to do the country look – without being a flat cap cliche

If you’re an urban creature like me, you can go country-coded while staying aware you’re essentially playacting. The trick is not going OTT

Once a decade or so, the urban-centric fashion world discovers this delightful concept called The Countryside. With the vanishingly scant levels of self-awareness that are fashion’s default setting, it then proceeds to immediately and loudly tell the world about it. There are so many trees! Don’t you just love trees? Especially at this time of year when the leaves are lovely tasteful colours, great for selfies, very flattering to the complexion. The pubs are absolutely charming. Sometimes they even have sourdough.

Here we go again. It began with hiking boots, a couple of years ago. Last winter, the barn jacket was suddenly, inexplicably everywhere, and this season is wall-to-wall Fair Isle jumpers. Dressing like you are on a cosy mini-break is to autumn what dressing for a festival field is to summer: a version of countryside dressing conceived by someone who leaves the city for no more than 48 hours at a time. It is possibly not even a million miles from cultural appropriation. And at this point I need to hold my hands up and say: I’m as bad as any of them. I love the countryside but I, in my cold hard heart, am an urban creature, really.

Monkeys in Nepal and snow in the UK: photos of the day – Wednesday

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

Florida serial killer set to die as state sets record pace for executions

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant this week for Frank Athen Walls, whose execution is now scheduled for Dec. 18.

Congress approves Jeffrey Epstein files bill, sending it to Trump to sign

President Donald Trump, a former Epstein friend who fell out with him, recently dropped his opposition to the bipartisan bill to release the files.

Ford recalls nearly 230,000 U.S. vehicles over display issue

The recall affects 2025-2026 Bronco and Bronco Sport vehicles.

Most corporate Trump ballroom donors repped by 3 lobbying firms, watchdog says

Lobbyists from the three firms mingled with top tech executives and President Trump at a dinner for White House ballroom donors last month.

Epstein survivor says "this fight belongs to us" as Congress votes to release files

The House and the Senate passed a bill on Tuesday to force the Justice Department to release its files related to Jeffrey Epstein. It comes after months of opposition from President Trump and GOP leadership - and after years of lobbying from some of Epstein's accusers. Caitlin Huey-Burns reports.

‘Pictures unite!’: how pop music fell in love with socialist infographics

When Austrian philosopher Otto Neurath invented the visual language of Isotypes, it was to democratise education. As a new exhibition shows, it ended up influencing pop art, graphic design and electronic musicians from Kraftwerk to OMD

When Otto Neurath died in Oxford some 80 years ago, far away from his native Vienna, he was still finding his feet in exile. Like many a Jewish refugee, the economist, philosopher and sociologist had been interned as a suspected enemy alien on the Isle of Man, along with his third wife and close collaborator Marie Reidemeister, having chanced a last-minute life-saving escape from their interim hideout in the Netherlands across the Channel in a rickety boat in 1940.

Thanks to Neurath’s pioneering use of pictorial statistics – or “Isotypes” as Reidemeister called them, an acronym for “International System of Typographic Picture Education” – he left behind an enormous legacy in the arts and social sciences: it is the language through which we decode and analyse the modern world. But his lasting relevance would have been hard to predict at the time of his death at the age of 63.

Jake Paul’s Joshua fight is all about fame and bluster, money and eyeballs | Jonathan Liew

When a prankster meets a puncher it’s not about sport but an elaborate viral hoax that keeps us wanting more

“If it’s all straight up and proper, you would worry that he takes this kid’s head off,” reckons Barry McGuigan. “Could get his jaw broke, his head smashed in, side of his head caved in, God forbid he could get a brain bleed,” says Carl Froch on his YouTube channel. “It could be the end of him. It could be his last day on Earth,” David Haye tells Sky News, with the sort of apocalyptic glare I try to give my children when they want to jump in a muddy puddle.

Yes, this week everyone appears to be deeply concerned for the wellbeing of 28-year-old YouTube celebrity Jake Paul. The announcement of his fight against Anthony Joshua next month has generated a flood of foreboding prognoses, and fair enough. Stepping into the ring with a two-time world heavyweight champion when a) you’re not even a heavyweight, b) your record consists almost entirely of novices and geriatrics and c) you still fight like a marmoset trapped in an empty crisp packet: on some level, we all know how this might go.

Pope Leo condemns US’s ‘extremely disrespectful’ treatment of immigrants

Pontiff backs statement by US bishops condemning raids and mass deportations under Trump administration

Pope Leo has reiterated his disapproval of Donald Trump’s immigration policies, saying foreigners in the US are being treated in an “extremely disrespectful way”.

Leo, the first US pontiff in the history of the Catholic church, made the remarks in response to questions about a statement adopted last week during a special assembly of US bishops that criticised the Trump administration’s mass deportations and lamented the fear and anxiety caused by immigration raids.

An existential battle of interests: what the Sudanese war is actually about

A bitter race to claim economic and political power has divided the country and the human cost can no longer be ignored

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Almost everywhere I go, I am asked about Sudan. The questions are partly from concern for family and my birth country, and partly from a genuine desire to understand how the conflict there has turned into something so intense and seemingly unstoppable. This week, I break down what is happening in the country, and why it has escalated to catastrophic proportions.

***

LeBron James begins record-setting 23rd NBA season with double-double in Lakers win

• 40-year-old plays in first NBA game in seven months

• James finishes with 11 points and 12 assists

LeBron James certainly didn’t look like he had been away from the court for nearly seven months when he began his unprecedented 23rd NBA season on Tuesday night – even if his burning lungs told him otherwise.

After reaching another landmark in what is now officially the longest career in league history, James was not at all surprised to return from his lengthy injury absence by fitting in seamlessly with the surging Los Angeles Lakers in yet another victory.

How to turn hazelnuts into a brilliant flour for cakes – recipe | Waste not

A luscious torte is a great way to use up that big bag of nuts in the cupboard and to make use of the season’s pears

Each recipe in my cookbook Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet includes optional whole food ingredients such as rapadura sugar, emmer wheat and flaxseeds to boost nutrients and flavour, while also keeping things adaptable so you can use up what you already have in the cupboards. Writing a plant-based cookbook taught me new ways to save waste, and confirmed my belief that zero-waste cooking is whole food cooking. Aquafaba (the liquid from a tin of chickpeas or other beans), for example, is a powerful emulsifier that can replace eggs, especially when whisked with ground flaxseeds or chia. It’s a brilliant way of turning what we’d usually pour down the sink into cakes with remarkable lift and texture.

The Saragossa Manuscript review – cult Polish period-costume comedy is outrageous head-spinner

Wojciech Has’s slice of 1960s surrealism is set in 18th-century Spain, as an officer careens through farcical encounters and erotic episodes in a wild ride that could be a series of Monty Python sketches

This epic picaresque comedy from 1965 is a head-spinning period-costume adventure of 18th-century Spain from Polish film-maker Wojciech Has. It is a surrealist film whose surrealism resides not merely in the bizarre parched landscape of the Sierra Morena mountain range with its bleached skulls, hanged bandits, crows and mysterious inns in which seductive encounters are to be had, but also simply in the bewildering juxtaposition of individual tales and anecdotes, stories which grow out of each other. The surrealist effect (and the comedy) is in the jolt from one micro-narrative to the other, and the realisation that the overall story is thwarted and undermined.

The premise is that in the Spanish town of Saragossa during the Napoleonic wars, one officer tries to arrest another, who is apparently reading an old book – but is then distracted by the fact that this book is about his own grandfather, the nobleman Alfonse Van Worden. (Later we discover that the passages about this grandfather have been added by hand, in pen-and-ink, hence Saragossa Manuscript.) Then we flash back to the this preening aristocrat-soldier himself, played by prominent Polish actor Zbigniew Cybulski.

FBI probing stepsibling in teen's cruise ship death, filing suggests

Anna Kepner, 18, was on a family vacation aboard the Carnival Horizon with her father, stepmother, and three stepsiblings when she was discovered dead.

World Toilet Day is today! Um ... is that really the best name?

Nov. 19 is World Toilet Day — officially declared by the United Nations to bring attention to the 3.4 billion people who live without "safely managed sanitation."

Owl described as ‘fighter’ set to fly free after falling into cement mixer in Utah

Staff at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab spent days cleaning the concrete-covered great horned owl

An owl found partially encased in concrete after it got inside a cement mixer in south-western Utah is expected to fly free again after it was painstakingly cleaned by animal sanctuary workers who described the bird as a “fighter”.

The great horned owl was found at the Black Desert Resort in the south-western part of the state and arrived at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, earlier this month with its face, chest and right wing covered in dried concrete. After making sure the bird could breathe, sanctuary workers spent days cracking apart the concrete using forceps and cleaning its feathers using toothbrushes, dish soap and their fingers.

Disease fears as Argentina child vaccination rates hit historic lows

Sharp drop since 2024 in country regarded as a Latin American leader in childhood and adolescent immunisation

Argentina’s childhood and adolescent vaccination rates have collapsed to historic lows, according to a new analysis, prompting warnings that once-eliminated diseases may resurge.

The study of health ministry data by the Argentinian Paediatric Society (SAP) found that fewer than half of children aged five and six received several of their essential doses in 2024. All vaccine rates analysed were below the 95% level needed to reach herd immunity.

Trump and his ilk imagine a world without international law – but they will not achieve it | Philippe Sands

History shows us that the creation of international rules and institutions is followed by their partial destruction, and a reconstruction that builds on what came before

Nineteen forty-five was a pivotal moment in international law, marking the founding of the United Nations and the International Military Tribunal to investigate war crimes committed during the second world war. Eighty years on, it is increasingly being said that we are living through a moment of great change, towards a world that is without such law.

In September, the Financial Times published an editorial headlined “A world without rules”. That view was premised on two incidents: Israel’s launch of a missile strike on a building that hosted Hamas officials in Qatar; and the flight of 19 Russian drones into Polish airspace. This flouting of the previous “rules-based order”, the FT said, was now producing “a kind of anarchy and a proliferation of violence”.

Philippe Sands is professor of law at University College London

This is adapted from A World Without Law?, the 46th FA Mann Lecture, delivered by Philippe Sands on 18 November 2025

Beth Mead: ‘If we don’t adapt to climate change, football becomes a privilege, not a right‘

The Arsenal and England forward is backing new global campaign because talent and teamwork should decide the game – not the climate

I’ll never forget stepping out on to the pitch in Switzerland for the Euro 2025 tournament. The air felt heavy – not with pressure or expectation, but with heat. It was more than 30C (86f) that day. It makes your lungs sting, makes you feel like you’re running through water.

In the England camp, we had done everything to prepare. Ice vests before training, hydration breaks, modified warm-ups – things that just weren’t part of football life a few years ago. At our base in Zurich we even had cryotherapy and Slush Puppies to cool our core temperatures. During training, there were ice-cold towels, extra rest moments and constant reminders to hydrate. You could feel how carefully the staff planned every detail. But when the whistle blew, no protocol could change the fact that the climate itself has changed.

How dead pigs are helping in the search for missing victims of Mexico’s drug wars

Tens of thousands of families are desperately searching for loved ones ‘disappeared’ by the country’s drug cartels. Now, pigs, drones and AI are being used to find clandestine graves

Six years ago, Guadalupe Ayala was left distraught after her 25-year-old son, Alfredo Ezequiel Campos, was taken from his home in Tlajomulco. It was another name added to the list of more than 15,000 people recorded as missing in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. In the state capital, Guadalajara, a major traffic junction plastered with posters of missing people has been renamed the “roundabout of the disappeared”.

There are more than 100,000 missing people in Mexico – one of the tragic consequences of the country’s deadly drug crisis, with most of the “disappeared” believed to be abducted by organised crime groups and drug cartels. The total is likely to be even higher as many people are not reported missing for fear of retribution.

‘We sent the kids home. Then all our cellphones went out’ – This is climate breakdown

When the Maui fires ripped through Hawaii, the community came together. For everyone it was a life-changing experience. This is Ryan’s story

Location Maui, Hawaii, United States

Disaster Maui wildfires, 2023

Ryan Kirkham had been the principal at Maui preparatory school for 13 years when the Maui wildfires ignited in 2023, killing 102 people in Lahaina and costing almost $3.3bn in insured damages. Climate change is increasing the severity of droughts in the Hawaiian Islands, which correlates with an increased likelihood of wildfires.

Dems may have an advantage in the 2026 midterms. And, Trump defends Saudi crown prince

President Trump defends Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a White House visit. And, a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll reveals the president's low approval rating.

Owl partly covered in concrete after getting into cement mixer rescued in Utah

An owl found partially encased in concrete after it got inside a cement mixer in Utah is expected to fly free again after it was painstakingly cleaned by animal sanctuary workers.

Student escapes as authorities search for 24 other girls abducted in Nigeria

A schoolgirl who was abducted with 24 others from a dormitory in northwestern Nigeria has escaped and is safe, as hunters joined security forces in the search for the missing students.

Wes Anderson: The Archives review – Wesophiles will relish this deep dive into the detail-obsessed director

Design Museum, London
The Fantastic Mr Fox’s snappy outfits, an intricate model of the Grand Budapest Hotel and dozens of stop-motion puppets are all among the 700 objects in this sugarcoated quirkfest

Terrible things happen in Wes Anderson films. In his latest, The Phoenician Scheme, a man is casually split in half in an aircraft crash. In The Royal Tenenbaums, the patriarchal protagonist feigns a terminal illness in order to weasel his way back into his estranged and dysfunctional family. In The Grand Budapest Hotel the “heroic” concierge Monsieur Gustave is essentially a killer and the fictional Republic of Zubrowka is in the tightening grip of a fascist regime.

All this is played for knowing comedic effect (the splatted bisection resembles a Tom and Jerry cartoon; Zubrowka is a brand of Polish bison grass vodka), while lavishly sugarcoated in a set dressing of eccentric curios, outlandish costumes and saturated colour. Anderson aficionados will be familiar with the drill, a bit like finding a gnat in a cupcake, delivered in a series of perfectly composed vignettes.

How do the pros get someone to leave a cult? Manipulate them into thinking it was their idea

Two of the world’s leading cult interventionists live (with their parrot) in Philadelphia. They explain the art of coaxing people out of the most pernicious groups in the world

When the phone rings at Patrick Ryan and Joseph Kelly’s home in Philadelphia, chances are the caller is desperate. One couple rang because their son was about to abandon his medical practice to follow a new-age guru in Spain. Another call came from a husband whose wife was emptying their life savings for a self-proclaimed prophet in Australia. Yet another family phoned about their niece, who was in a relationship with a man stealing from her, maybe drugging her, probably sexually assaulting her.

These families had tried everything else. When nothing worked, they heard there were two men in Philadelphia who might still be able to bring their loved one home.

Kirby Air Riders is a radically simple alternative to racing classics like Mario Kart

Simple mechanics and diverse modes turn Kirby Air Riders into a racing game to rival Mario Kart World, a fellow Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.

Flu season could be nasty this winter

With a new flu virus variant circulating, scientists fear more sickness this winter. The vaccine may be slightly less effective, but doctors still urge getting one ASAP.

3 massive changes you'll see as the climate careens toward tipping points

Scientists are increasingly concerned that the planet is headed for massive, irreversible changes due to global warming. In some cases, those changes have already begun.

Social Democrats in Denmark suffer sweeping election losses

PM Mette Frederiksen’s centre-left party loses control of Copenhagen for first time in more than 100 years

• Europe live – latest updates

Mette Frederiksen has admitted that a fall in support for the Social Democrats was “greater than we had expected” after her party suffered sweeping defeats across Denmark and lost control of Copenhagen for the first time in more than 100 years.

While the Social Democrats remain the largest municipal party in Denmark, the prime minister’s centre-left party lost more than five percentage points across the country in Tuesday night’s municipal and regional elections, dropping from 28.4% in 2021 to 23.2%. Support for the far-right Danish People’s party, meanwhile, rose slightly from 4.09% to 5.9%.

My ex shot me 10 times – and after the coma, I became an undercover cop

When Katrina Brownlee tried to leave her fiance, he aimed a gun at her pregnant stomach. The 22-year-old wasn’t expected to survive, let alone walk again. But she soon began her fight for other victims of crime

A month before she was shot, Katrina Brownlee had a premonition. It came to her in a dream: the 22-year-old saw her former fiance, a law enforcement officer who had been abusing her for years, try to kill her, but she survived. She had experienced premonitions from a young age – she later came to see them as guidance from God. On the way to the house she had shared with him, she could hear a voice in her head pleading with her: don’t go back there.

It was a freezing January morning in 1993. Brownlee was five months pregnant and had taken a cab with her two-year-old daughter through the snow to the house she had shared with her ex in Long Island, New York state. Her elder daughter, then seven, was at a playdate. A few weeks earlier, Brownlee had left her fiance for good and she and her daughters had been living in a motel to hide from him. However, over the last few nights, she had spoken to him on the phone. He seemed to have accepted their relationship was over and agreed she could come and collect her belongings.

Sali Hughes on beauty: from nail polish to powder, the best new makeup of 2025

It’s been a bumper year but these are my top picks, including my most used lipstick and an eyeshadow palette that has finally stolen my heart

This has been an excellent year for new makeup, starting with Givenchy’s comeback. Having infuriated the beauty community by (badly) reformulating its classic loose powder, it won back detractors with the exceptionally good Prisme Libre Pressed Powder, which blurs, smoothes and near-perfects a face of makeup, and now lives full time in my handbag. This was followed by a Bronzer Powder version, also £45, which succeeded in moving me away from creams to achieve a filtered, sun-kissed finish. Full marks with distinction for both.

I won’t dwell on Nars The Multiple (£33), because I so recently have, but the reboot of this classic cheek, eye and lip cream improved on the legend with nuanced, muted shades and a soft, lasting, flattering finish.

Whooping cough cases surge as vaccination rates fall, immunity wanes

New details from health officials suggest the whooping cough surge may be part of a national pattern driven by slipping vaccine coverage and waning immunity, with infants bearing the brunt.

Scotland football supporters: share your views on qualifying for the men’s World Cup

We’d like to hear from Scotland football supporters – tell us how you feel about qualifying and any plans to watch the matches

Scotland’s men have secured a place at the World Cup for the first time in nearly three decades.

After a nail-biting match at Hampden Park in Glasgow, they beat group favourites Denmark 4-2.

Watch out for online contact with Chinese spies, UK defence minister warns public

After MI5 issues China espionage alert to parliament, Luke Pollard says message should be heeded by all citizens

• UK politics live – latest updates

Ordinary UK citizens need to watch out for online contact with Chinese spies, the defence minister has said, after MI5 issued an espionage alert to parliament.

Luke Pollard said a warning given to parliamentarians on Tuesday that China was attempting to recruit individuals with access to sensitive information should also be heeded by the public at large.

Steve McClaren quits as Jamaica head coach with path to World Cup still open

• Draw with Curaçao ends automatic qualification hope

• He says team need ‘new energy and different perspective’

Steve McClaren has resigned as Jamaica’s head coach after a goalless draw with Curaçao ended the team’s hopes of automatic World Cup qualification and left them in March’s intercontinental playoffs.

Jamaica needed a win but hit the woodwork three times in the second half as Curaçao became the smallest country by population to win a berth at the World Cup finals. McClaren’s side finished second in Group B of Concacaf qualifying despite being the favourites.

The Dinner Party by Viola van de Sandt review – a formidable debut

An intimate soiree builds to a horrific climax in this visceral novel about a young woman tasked with hosting a meal for her fiance

Literature loves a dinner party. From Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway to more recent offerings such as Sarah Gilmartin’s The Dinner Party and Teresa Präauer’s Cooking in the Wrong Century, an intimate soiree provides the perfect recipe of claustrophobia and choreography into which a novelist can sink their teeth. The preparations are usually unduly stressful, the guest list dynamic unpredictable, the quantity of alcohol borderline obscene – in short, as a device it has all the ingredients for total, delicious carnage.

The latest entrant to this literary Come Dine With Me is Viola van de Sandt, whose debut The Dinner Party centres on Franca, a shy young woman from the Netherlands tasked with hosting a meal for her English fiance Andrew and his two male colleagues. To make matters more challenging, it is the hottest day of the year, the menu is rabbit (despite Franca’s vegetarianism) and her sous chef is their often violent pet cat.

Champagne Problems review – Netflix’s latest Christmas romcom lacks fizz

The streamer continues its annual onslaught of forgettable festive films with a mostly charmless romance set in France

At the risk of sounding like the Grinch, I must once again bemoan the release of Christmas movies before Thanksgiving; the temperatures may be dropping at long last, but it’s still too close to the gloominess of daylight savings and too far from the belt-loosening of the actual holidays to fully indulge in Netflix’s now-annual buffet of cheap Christmas confections. Nevertheless, their content conveyor belt rolls on, offering treats about as substantial and enduring as cotton candy beginning in mid-November.

Like American chocolates that no longer, in fact, contain real chocolate but sell like gangbusters on Halloween anyway, the Netflix Christmas movie, like rival holiday movie master Hallmark, is relied upon, even beloved, for its brand of badness, for its rote familiarity (nostalgic casting, basement-bargain budgets, Styrofoam snow, knowingly absurd premise) and uncanny artificial filler, for its ability to deliver hits of sugary pleasure while still somehow under-delivering on expectations. At worst, these films are forgettable train wrecks (last week’s A Merry Little Ex-Mas); at best, they are forgettable fun, such as the Lindsay Lohan comeback vehicle Falling For Christmas, of which I remember nothing other than cackling with my friend on her couch. (Actually, at best they are memorably ludicrous, such as last year’s impressively unserious Hot Frosty.)

Booker prize winners, rap hits and Ryder Cups: interpreting the Ashes omens

History shows that surprisingly random factors can have an impact on whether England or Australia lift the urn

Contrary to what you may have read in some other publications, Josh Hazlewood’s hamstring injury is a massive boost to Australia’s hopes of victory in the first Test in Perth. The 34-year-old, you see, has proven beyond all doubt over an 11‑year international career that he is a terrible hindrance to his team.

Since the Tamworth-born terror made his Test debut in December 2014 he has played in 76 of Australia’s 107 Tests, of which they have won 39 (51%), while losing 24 (32%). Decent numbers, but it’s when you strip him from the side that they really thrive, with 22 wins (71%) and five defeats (16%) in 31 games. His impact in the Ashes, if anything, is even more damaging: they have won 50% and lost 33% of their 18 games with him, but won 71% and lost 14%, a single rogue game, of their seven without his malign presence.

‘We shoot at the good guys’: the role-players who train US troops – in pictures

Photographer Claire Beckett captured the soldiers and civilians who dress up as Afghans and Iraqis in military bases across America. They play everything from insurgents to shoppers in mocked-up firefights

The Once and Future Riot by Joe Sacco review – a masterclass in visual reportage

The author of Palestine turns his attention to the legacies of Indian partition in this brilliant portrait of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots

Joe Sacco is one of a very small number of graphic novelists who have smashed through into the mainstream. His masterwork is Palestine, a collected volume of single-issue comic books he created in the 1990s, documenting the violence in Gaza. His technique is to embed as a journalist in a war zone and interview people on the street, telling their stories with pictures. Lessons on global politics emerge from ultra-local conflict and depictions of day-to-day life.

Palestine propelled Sacco to fame, drawing comparisons with Maus, Art Spiegelman’s two-volume saga about Polish Jews during the Holocaust with Nazis portrayed as cats, and Jews as mice. These works are sold prominently in bookshops, not in musty basements packed with racks of polyethylene-sheathed superhero comics. Alongside a couple of others, Maus and Palestine signalled that graphic novels, as they became known, could be serious works of fiction, nonfiction and journalism. Palestine itself is as depressingly relevant today as it was in the 1990s. In December 2023, it was reprinted for the first time in a decade, after selling out following the 7 October attacks.

A moment that changed me: I broke my foot – and took up a sport that led to stratospheric success

I had run every day for ten years and cried when the doctor said I needed two months off. Then I borrowed an oversized road bike. At first, I couldn’t wait to ditch it, but something kept me going ...

I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment that I broke my foot. The injury didn’t seem like a big deal at first, because stress fractures sneak up on you. It just hurt, and wouldn’t stop hurting, except while running. Maybe because running was the only time I felt good about myself. But in the end the pain intruded there, too. I ran on stubbornly, with a limp.

Eventually I had to go to the doctor, and that’s when it hit me. She said it would take eight weeks to heal – no running. I couldn’t imagine even one week without running. I had run every single day for nearly 10 years and I loved it. I tried to find the words to explain, to say that this “rest” was just not possible, but I was too embarrassed. It was a minor injury by clinical standards – and self-inflicted, too. But afterwards, in the corridor, I cried.