Look behind the pomp of Putin’s New Delhi visit. The India-Russia relationship has weakened | Chietigj Bajpaee

Modi voiced words of respect, but he is resisting an anti-western, anti-Ukraine stance, despite the foreign policy contradictions

• Dr Chietigj Bajpaee is senior fellow for south Asia at the thinktank Chatham House

The rhetoric and optics of the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit to India last week allude to the strength of the bilateral relationship: Narendra Modi greeted Putin at the airport with a hug, and the leaders shared a car journey (echoing the “limo diplomacy” when Putin and Donald Trump met in Alaska earlier this year). In his remarks, Modi referred to Putin as “my friend” and the India-Russia relationship as a “guiding star”, built on “mutual respect and deep trust” that had “stood the test of time”. This was Putin’s 10th visit to India since he assumed power 25 years ago, and his 20th meeting with Modi since the latter became prime minister in 2014.

However, there is a gap between the symbolism and the substance of this relationship. While Putin pledged “uninterrupted fuel supplies” to India, the country’a companies are buying less Russian oil in the face of US tariffs and sanctions. Russia and India concluded a string of memorandums of understanding in areas from migration and mobility to health and food security, maritime cooperation, fertilisers, customs, and academic and media collaboration. But the anticipated announcements on major defence deals did not happen. India has not concluded any major defence deals with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This has been fuelled by delays in the delivery of several platforms and spare parts as Moscow has prioritised its own defence needs. This is a trend that predates the war in Ukraine as New Delhi has sought to diversify its defence imports and strengthen its domestic production.

The 50 best TV shows of 2025: 50 to 41

Howlingly funny comedy, jaw-dropping documentaries and astonishing drama … it’s been another fantastic year of TV. Our countdown of the very best kicks off here
• More on the best culture of 2025

***

Feeling burned out? There's a word for that in Mandarin Chinese

How an obscure term used in anthropology leaped from the pages of academia into the Chinese meme world and then became part of Chinese government policymaking.

Afghan CIA fighters, like National Guard attack suspect, face stark reality in U.S.

The fighters led by the CIA found themselves spiraling into despair because of what they saw as bureaucratic neglect and abandonment by the U.S. government. Among their ranks was Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man charged with killing one National Guard soldier and seriously injuring a second after opening fire on them in Washington, D.C. on Thanksgiving Eve.

12/9: CBS Evening News

2 students shot at Kentucky State University, suspect arrested, officials say; Ricki Lake reunited with family photos found at flea market after wildfire

Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy review – fear and loathing in New York

This sharp, bleak debut satirises the current cultural moment through the life and loves of a cynical young writer

There is a long tradition of stories about artists that are also about the question of how to represent life in art; novels about artists with toxic female friendships are more unusual.

Enter Anika Jade Levy’s slim and sharp debut Flat Earth, which shares its title with a film made by a woman whom Avery, the narrator, identifies as her best friend. Frances is a rich and beautiful twentysomething who becomes a “reluctant celebrity in certain circles” after her film, “an experimental documentary about rural isolation and rightwing conspiracy theories” in the modern-day United States, premieres to critical acclaim at a gallery in New York. Avery, meanwhile, is struggling to write what she describes as “a book of cultural reports”.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX ‘preparing for flotation that could value it at over $1tn’

Reports say space exploration company has begun talks about stock market listing that could raise more than $25bn

• Business live – latest updates

Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX is preparing to list on the stock market next year in a move that could raise more than $25bn (£19bn) and value the business at more than $1tn, according to reports.

SpaceX, which designs, builds and launches rockets, is said to have started discussions with banks about an initial public offering (IPO). It could join the stock market in about June or July, according Reuters, which cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

Venezuelan Nobel peace prize winner will not attend ceremony, say organisers

Opposition leader María Corina Machado’s daughter to receive award on her behalf in Oslo, says Nobel Institute

The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will not attend the Nobel peace prize ceremony and the award will be accepted by her daughter, organisers have said.

Machado has been seen only once in public since going into hiding in August last year amid a tense showdown with the president, Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela’s attorney general has said Machado, 58, would be considered a “fugitive” if she left the country to accept the award.

Simon Cowell: The Next Act review – the billionth take on his one idea

This Netflix show starts off feeling like a documentary, and winds up as another attempt to recreate The X-Factor. It really cannot be overstated how much of a rehash this boyband contest is

Ladies and gentlemen, the most cynical bait and switch of the year has finally arrived. To the casual viewer, Netflix’s new series Simon Cowell: The Next Act may appear to be yet another quasi-unvarnished authorised documentary series.

And that would make sense, because those things are everywhere at the moment. Everyone from David Beckham to Robbie Williams to Charlie Sheen has made one, allowing a film crew into their lives to offer just enough grit to fool people into thinking they are watching anything other than a heavily sanitised publicity project. And, really, who deserves one of these more than Simon Cowell?

In what sense is Tommy Robinson a genuine Christian? None that I can see | Ravi Holy

The extremist, who is said to have converted in prison, is now planning a mass carol service. But look at his words and deeds: hardly Saint Tommy, is it?

Here’s a thought for the day: what kind of Christian am I, and what kind of Christian is Tommy Robinson? It needs addressing, and so it’s good, given the far-righter’s recent religiously contentious pronouncements – and ahead of his planned carol service this weekend – that my church is addressing it. That’s not to say the matter is simple.

Scroll back. When I told someone from the Pentecostal church, which I had attended in my 20s, that I was going to be ordained in the Church of England, she very graciously conceded that while, on the whole, it was a “dead church”, there might be one or two “real Christians” within it. More disturbingly, a senior Anglican cleric of the evangelical persuasion recently said something similar to me – and I was unclear whether he regarded me as being one of the chosen few.

Ravi Holy is rector of The United Wye Benefice in Canterbury, Kent, and a standup comedian

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.

England scout for World Cup camps amid fears of losing preferred base to Netherlands

• Initial Kansas plan for US training base thrown into doubt

• FA exploring alternative options on the east coast

The Football Association has sent operational staff to the US this week to scout for World Cup training camps amid concerns that England may lose their preferred site to the Netherlands.

Thomas Tuchel had cleared an FA plan for England to be based in Kansas after a pre-tournament training camp in Fort Lauderdale, but after last week’s draw there are concerns that the Netherlands will be allocated their chosen facility at Sporting Kansas City, a high-performance centre used by US Soccer.

The Knowledge | Which football clubs have pictures of people on their badges?

Plus: players popping up randomly on TV, triple-doubles in names and which match featured the most Ballon d’Or winners?

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“While scanning the Champions League fixtures, I noticed that Pafos FC of Cyprus have a person’s face on their badge (Cypriot freedom fighter Evagoras Pallikarides),” writes Paul Savage. “Other than faces of legendary characters (Ajax), do any other badges have people on them?”

This was one of the more popular Knowledge questions of 2025. We received dozens of answers – thanks one and all – that referenced clubs all around the world. In no particular order, here they are.

Democrat wins Miami mayor's race for the first time in nearly 30 years

Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayor's race on Tuesday, defeating a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump to end her party's nearly three-decade losing streak.

‘My beautiful house lay in ruins!’: how to build (and wreck) a Hollywood set – in pictures

Veteran set decorator Lauri Gaffin has spent a career dressing up films from indie classics to blockbusters. Her new photographic memoir takes us behind the scenes of this ever-changing job – and on the hunt for wolves’ penis bones

Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds

Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%

Fewer than 60,000 people – 0.001% of the world’s population – control three times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity, according to a report that argues global inequality has reached such extremes that urgent action has become essential.

The authoritative World Inequality Report 2026, based on data compiled by 200 researchers, also found that the top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90% combined, while the poorest half captures less than 10% of total global earnings.

‘The patriarchy runs deep’: women still getting a raw deal in the workplace as equality remains a dream

Women work longer and per hour earn a third of what men are paid, in figures that have changed little in 35 years, UN report shows

“Gender inequality is one of the most entrenched and significant problems of our time,” says Jocelyn Chu, a programme director at UN Women, responding to the stark figures contained in this year’s World Inequality report, which labels gender inequality a “defining and persistent feature of the global economy”.

Women work longer and earn just a third – 32% – of what men get per hour, when paid and unpaid labour, such as domestic work, are taken into account. Even when unpaid domestic labour is not included, women only earn 61% of what men make, according to the report.

Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today by Naomi Alderman review – how to navigate the information crisis

The author of The Power looks to the past for lessons in surviving an era of seismic technological change

Naomi Alderman argues that one of the most useful things to know is the name of the era you’re living in, and she proposes one for ours: the Information Crisis. In fact, the advent of digital media marks the third information crisis humans have lived through: the first came after the invention of writing; the second followed the printing press.

These were periods of great social conflict and upheaval, and they profoundly altered our social and political relationships as well as our understanding of the world around us. Writing ushered in the Axial Age, the period between the eighth and third centuries BC, when many of the world’s most influential religious figures and thinkers lived: Laozi, Buddha, Zoroaster, the Abrahamic prophets and the Greek philosophers. Gutenberg’s printing press helped bring about the Reformation. While it is too early to know where the internet era will take us, in her new book, which she describes as a “speculative historical project”, Alderman suggests that those earlier crises offer clues.

A moment that changed me: my train crashed – and then I heard a little girl crying

I waited for the carriage to roll over and burst into flames, but the sound of a child brought me out of my trance, and showed me how important it is to look outwards in a crisis

The moment I knew I was about to die came a couple of years into my 20s, when life was really just starting out. My best friend, Helen, and I were on our way to Blackburn to catch up with an old university friend who had recently moved there for work. Thrilled to see each other, and basking in the prospect of the party weekend ahead, we chatted nonstop as we made our way by train from York.

We stashed our bags – full of essentials such as bottles of wine and my new pair of black clogs – above our heads and settled down in a cosy two-seater. About 50 minutes into our journey, I was dimly aware of a bang. Then came another, this time impossible to ignore. A woman screamed as our carriage was thrown up into the air in what felt like slow motion. Suddenly, Helen and I were somehow on our feet in the middle of the aisle, hugging each other. Head down, eyes screwed shut, I waited for the carriage to roll over and burst into flames, as I’d seen in films. I remember thinking about our families and friends getting the news. Then I heard the little girl crying.

Social media ban: some platforms still allowing 14-year-olds as Australia’s landmark ruling comes into force

Julie Inman Grant unconcerned by reports of children bypassing restrictions as Anthony Albanese says commencement of ban a ‘proud day’

• Reader callout: How is Australia’s social media ban affecting you and your family?

Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has said teenagers slipping through the cracks of the world-first social media ban will be “booted off” in time, after under-16s boasted they were still on banned platforms in posts and comments on the prime minister’s accounts.

As the social media ban got under way on Wednesday, some platforms were still allowing accounts registered for 14-year-olds.

Hundreds of sharks filmed in bait fish feeding frenzy near Byron Bay

Dramatic scenes in the water prompt warnings to swimmers and snorkelers at one of Australia’s most popular holiday destinations

An abundance of baitfish has drawn in hundreds of sharks to feed in the shallows around Byron Bay, creating dramatic scenes at one of Australia’s most popular holiday destinations.

The multi-day event was captured by many Byron locals, who shared footage of the sharks, including black tip whalers, dusky whalers and bull sharks, as they fed on the large school of fish over the weekend.

Rod Paige, architect of No Child Left Behind policy, dies at 92

Under Rod Paige's leadership, the Department of Education implemented the No Child Left Behind policy that in 2002 became former President George W. Bush's signature education law.

UK police forces lobbied to use biased facial recognition technology

Exclusive: System more likely to suggest incorrect matches for images of women and Black people

Police forces successfully lobbied to use a facial recognition system known to be biased against women, young people, and members of ethnic minority groups, after complaining that another version produced fewer potential suspects.

UK forces use the police national database (PND) to conduct retrospective facial recognition searches, whereby a “probe image” of a suspect is compared to a database of more than 19 million custody photos for potential matches.

A braver Tory leader than Badenoch would dare to call out Farage's bogus patriotism | Rafael Behr

Across western democracies, established conservatives are yielding to radical nationalism. There’s no sign that Britain will be the exception

In free societies, when you don’t like the government, you support the opposition. In dictatorships, or under military occupation, you join the resistance. The distinction isn’t precise but it matters.

All European democracies have radical anti-immigration parties, some on the fringes of opposition, some that have crossed into the mainstream. None qualify as heroic resistance movements, except in the minds of white supremacists who see liberal institutions as part of a conspiracy to ruin Europe by filling it with foreigners. That is also the view taken in the new White House national security strategy, published last week.

Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist

Synthetic chemicals in food system creating health burden of $2.2tn a year, report finds

Scientists issue urgent warning about chemicals, found to cause cancer and infertility as well as harming environment

Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture.

The health burden from phthalates, bisphenols, pesticides and Pfas “forever chemicals” amounts to up to $2.2tn a year – roughly as much as the profits of the world’s 100 largest publicly listed companies, according to the report published on Wednesday.

Hospital exhausted blood supply trying to save wellness influencer’s life after free birth, Victorian coroner hears

Stacey Warnecke, 30, died after giving birth to a son at her Melbourne home accompanied by an unregulated doula

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

A hospital exhausted its supply of a wellness influencer’s blood type in an unsuccessful attempt to save her life as she bled uncontrollably after a free birth at home, a court has been told.

Stacey Warnecke, 30, was with her husband, Nathan Warnecke, and unregulated doula Emily Lal when she delivered her son at her Melbourne home on 29 September.

Egypt and Iran ask Fifa to prevent LGBTQ+ Pride celebration at World Cup 2026 match

• Egypt’s football body says Pride event would clash with values

• Iran raises objections to plans organised by local Seattle group

Egypt and Iran are calling on football’s governing body to intervene in the LGBTQ+ Pride celebration planned to coincide with their group stage match in Seattle at the 2026 World Cup.

Egypt’s Football Association (EFA) said on Tuesday it had sent a letter to Fifa urging them to prevent any LGBTQ+ Pride-related activities during the national team’s match against Iran next June.

Japan issues megaquake advisory in north after magnitude 7.5 earthquake

Officials said probability of a magnitude 8 or larger quake was only about 1% but they have urged people to be prepared

Japan has issued a megaquake advisory after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main island of Honshu.

Damage from the quake was modest – 34 mostly mild injuries and some damage to roads and buildings.

Elon Musk suggests he wouldn't do DOGE over again

Six months after stepping down from leading the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, billionaire Elon Musk suggested in an interview he likely would not repeat his time helming the cost-cutting mission.

The US is not just Europe’s unwilling ally, but an adversary steeped in far-right ideology | Cas Mudde

Don’t say you weren’t warned: Trump’s new national security strategy seeks to destroy liberal democracy as we know it

On the same day that Donald Trump received his made-to-order “peace prize” from his newest pal, Fifa president “Johnny” Infantino, his administration published an equally gaudy national security strategy. The relatively short document oozes Trump and Trumpism. It starts out with the typically modest claim that the president has brought “our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster”.

Even if the strategy mostly formalises the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his administration, it should be heeded as a warning for the world, and Europe in particular.

Cas Mudde is the Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF professor of international affairs at the University of Georgia, and author of The Far Right Today

Teacher in Hungary facing criminal charges for organising Pride event

As Viktor Orbán tightens his grip in the country, rights organisations have called for the EU to intervene

A rights campaigner in Hungary has been placed under investigation and is facing potential criminal charges after organising a peaceful Pride march, in a case that campaigners have described as “unprecedented and dangerous” for the EU.

In early October, thousands flocked to the southern city of Pécs to take part in Pride. It was the fifth year that the march was held – the only other annual Pride gathering in the country besides that of Budapest – and was becoming a showcase of the city’s commitment to freedom, diversity and the coexistence of minorities.

Shooting at Kentucky State University kills 1, officials say

One person is dead and another was critically wounded in a shooting at Kentucky State University, officials said Tuesday.

Trump says he will make a call to end hostilities as Thailand and Cambodia ‘at it again’

After a ceasefire deal he brokered collapsed, Trump told a rally in Pennsylvania that he would ‘make a call’ to ‘stop a war’ between Thailand and Cambodia

US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will make a call regarding reignited hostilities on the Thai-Cambodia border, where fighting has resumed less than two months after a ceasefire he brokered between the two nations collapsed.

Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, the US president reiterated his global peacemaking skills, proclaiming that “in ten months I ended eight wars”, before listing hostilities between Kosovo and Serbia, Pakistan and India, and Israel and Iran.

‘Even the animals seem confused’: a retreating Kashmir glacier is creating an entire new world in its wake

Kolahoi is one of many glaciers whose decline is disrupting whole ecosystems – water, wildlife and human life that it has supported for centuries

From the slopes above Pahalgam, the Kolahoi glacier is visible as a thinning, rumpled ribbon of ice stretching across the western Himalayas. Once a vast white artery feeding rivers, fields and forests, it is now retreating steadily, leaving bare rock, crevassed ice and newly exposed alpine meadows.

The glacier’s meltwater has sustained paddy fields, apple orchards, saffron fields and grazing pastures for centuries. Now, as its ice diminishes, the entire web of life it supported is shifting.

Trump says he 'heard' Biden Fed appointments were signed by autopen, tells aide to investigate

Trump's autopen comments came during a speech in Pennsylvania about the economy, aimed at countering Democrats' messaging about the U.S. affordability crisis.

Trump rails on affordability ‘hoax’ and immigrants in rally-style speech

President sought to rehab image after criticism of being out of touch, but speech aimed at midterms took different turn

• Fact-checking Trump’s speech

Donald Trump has sought to reboot his ailing US presidency at a rally-style event with a blitz of false claims about the economy and xenophobic attacks on immigrants and “shithole countries”.

In the wake of Republican election defeats and criticism that he is out of touch with America’s affordability crisis, Trump’s speech at the Mount Pocono casino in north-eastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday was billed as an opportunity to reclaim the economic narrative.

Two US fighter jets circle Gulf of Venezuela in escalation of hostilities

Trump had further said Nicolás Maduro’s ‘days are numbered’ as military has targeted alleged drug boats

Two US fighter jets circled the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday, in what appeared to be an escalation of the Trump administration’s ongoing hostilities toward the South American country and its leftist leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuelans and South American media followed the flights in real time using websites like FlightRadar24, which showed a pair of F/A-18 Super Hornets flying together into the narrow Gulf of Venezuela for about 40 minutes. The jets flew just north of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s most populous city.

12/5: CBS Evening News

Shift in decades-long guidance on hepatitis B vaccine; Lowe's employees go above and beyond to find beloved cat that disappeared onto freight truck

Eileen Higgins becomes Miami’s first Democratic mayor in 30 years

In stunning upset victory, Higgins also becomes first woman in post and first non-Hispanic candidate since 90s

Democrat Eileen Higgins was elected mayor of Miami on Tuesday night in a stunning upset victory that reversed a run of recent Republican successes in Florida.

The election of Higgins, 61, a former county commissioner, also added to a string of Democratic wins across the country that have served to highlight the growing level of resistance to Donald Trump in his second presidential term.

Albanese is taking away social media for children but hanging out mistletoe for AI. It’s magical thinking | Peter Lewis

The PM won big by convincing us we could avoid the madness of Donald Trump’s new world order but Labor’s feeble AI plan embeds Australia deeply in its orbit

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

I’m blaming Santa. As 2025 reaches its inevitable endgame, I can’t help thinking we have all become gullible children enthralled by the promise of tech cornucopia, refusing to see the folds in our logic because deep down we don’t want to break the magic.

While the federal government prepares to take the toys off the children with its world-first social media ban, it is hanging out the stockings for the self-same tech overlords to fill with new goodies via its light-touch National AI Plan.

Army gynecologist charged with taking secret videos of 44 patients

Army Maj. Blaine McGraw, an OB-GYN at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood in Texas, was charged Tuesday with 54 specifications for indecent visual recording.

Trump says he's "crushing" inflation as GOP faces affordability concerns

President Trump spoke about affordability and his economic agenda in the Poconos, in northeastern Pennsylvania, Tuesday night.

‘Having a Bazball at Noosa’: Australian media goes to town over England’s mid-Ashes beach break

The host nation’s newspapers could barely contain their delight after Ben Stokes and his team were spotted relaxing before the crucial third Test

A mid-tour jaunt by the England cricket team to a Queensland beach town was covered gleefully by Australia’s tabloid newspapers, which splashed a shirtless Ben Stokes across their pages amid taunting headlines.

“On back foot, England bails to the beach”, one read. “Life’s a beach, even for the sinking Poms,” added another. “Sun’s out, runs out”, offered a third, alongside a photo of Stokes’s tattooed biceps.

From Llamas to Avocados: Meta's shifting AI strategy is causing internal confusion

Meta’s push to develop its next frontier model, codenamed Avocado, under new AI leadership is creating internal friction as it races rivals OpenAI and Google.

Ricki Lake reunited with family photos found at flea market

Nearly a year after her home burned down in the Palisades wildfire, Ricki Lake is celebrating a surprise discovery. An artist recently found some of the former talk show host's precious family photos at a flea market. Carter Evans has the story.

After mom's ICE arrest, 18-year-old now caring for his sister in fear

Vilma Cruz's arrest came amid Operation Catahoula Crunch,​ a U.S. Department of Homeland Security effort that officials say targets "criminal illegal aliens" in the New Orleans area.

18-year-old caring for his younger sister after his mom was arrested by ICE

What began as a normal Monday morning for 18-year-old Jonathan Escalante quickly changed when his mother, Vilma Cruz, called to tell him that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had pulled up behind her car in Kenner, Louisiana. Omar Villafranca reports.

DOJ faces call for internal probe into legal opinion on Venezuelan boat strikes

A bipartisan group of former ethics officials is asking for an internal Justice Department investigation into the legal opinion justifying strikes against alleged drug boats.

Trump trade rep changes China soybean purchase timeline, cites 'discrepancy'

China for months earlier this year had boycotted purchasing soybeans from U.S. farms because of a trade war began by President Donald Trump.

U.S. fighter jets fly near Venezuela coast as military costs add up for taxpayers

In a new interview with Politico, President Trump warned that he may extend his military campaign against drug traffickers to Mexico and Colombia. Since September, the U.S. military has taken out more than 20 suspected drug boats from Venezuela, killing nearly 90 people. Charlie D'Agata looks at the cost of the military campaign for U.S. taxpayers.

Bodycam video shows police approach Luigi Mangione before arrest

For the first time, newly released police body camera footage shows the moments when Altoona police officers first encountered Luigi Mangione, seen sitting in the back of the McDonald's exactly one year ago. Lilia Luciano has details.

2 students shot at Kentucky State University, suspect arrested, officials say

One person was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting at Kentucky State University, officials said. Skyler Henry reports.

GoFundMe fundraisers to pay for basic living expenses surged in 2025

Fundraising patterns reflect Americans' mounting affordability challenges, according to GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan.

Are Australian kids breaking the law if they sneak on to social media? – video

Does Australia’s social media ban mean kids aged under 16 will get in legal trouble for circumventing the ban? Will parents get in trouble for letting their kids use banned social media sites? There is a lot of misinformation about how the world-first ban will actually work. So whether you’re a parent of a child, or a child watching this on a VPN, Guardian Australia’s Matilda Boseley is here to clear up what the social media ban means

• Australian social media ban explained: everything you need to know

• How is Australia’s social media ban affecting you and your family?

Jubilant Sykes’ son arrested after Grammy-nominated opera singer stabbed to death

The 71-year-old performer’s son Micah has been arrested on suspicion of murder, Santa Monica police said

Jubilant Sykes, the Grammy-nominated opera and gospel singer, has died aged 71 after being stabbed to death at his home in California.

His 31-year-old son, Micah Sykes, was arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said on Tuesday.

Arne Slot full of praise for Liverpool efforts after gritty win against Inter

• ‘We couldn’t have asked for more,’ says manager

• Slot skirts around the Mohamed Salah issue

Arne Slot said Liverpool’s players gave everything he could have asked after they put Mohamed Salah’s absence aside to inflict a first European home defeat on Inter in more than three years.

The Liverpool head coach conceded that Dominik Szoboszlai’s decisive 88th-minute penalty – awarded for a shirt pull by Alessandro Bastoni on Florian Wirtz – would probably not have been given in the Premier League. But following the difficulties caused by Salah’s incendiary interview at Leeds on Saturday, Slot was thrilled with the response of his team at San Siro.

Watch: Trump delivers speech on the economy in Pennsylvania as cost concerns grow

The Pennsylvania trip marks a return to the sort of voter outreach that defined Trump's political campaigns, but has grown rarer during his second term so far.

Hassett likely next Fed chair, but most think Trump should nominate someone else, CNBC Fed survey shows

The December survey shows 84% believe President Trump will tap Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, to head the central bank.

MacKenzie Scott announces she donated $7.1 billion to nonprofits in 2025

The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott revealed $7.1 billion in donations to nonprofits in 2025 Tuesday, marking a significant increase in her annual giving from recent years.

Man who attacked, then rescued, ex-wife hoped to be her hero

Morgan Metzer survived a violent attack in her Canton, Georgia, home by an assailant she described as dressed in black and sounding like Batman. The only thing more surprising than the attack itself — was the suspect.

Man fakes cancer diagnosis in attempt to win back ex-wife

Rod Metzer tried to gain sympathy from his ex-wife, Morgan Metzer, by pretending he had cancer, going as far as creating a diagnosis letter and a bill for his alleged treatment.

Trump to name DHS official to be ambassador to El Salvador, sources say

President Trump intends to name the deputy homeland security secretary to be the U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, multiple sources told CBS News.

Zelenskyy ‘ready for elections’ after Trump questions Ukrainian democracy

Zelenskyy says he would hold wartime elections within months given help from allies and Ukraine’s parliament

• Europe live: latest news updates

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to hold a wartime election within the next three months, if Ukraine’s parliament and foreign allies will allow it, after Donald Trump accused him of clinging on to power.

Zelenskyy, clearly irritated by Trump’s intervention, said that “this is a question for the people of Ukraine, not people from other states, with all due respect to our partners”.

20-year-old charged with attempted murder over shooting of Jets’ Kris Boyd

• Frederick Green allegedly shot NFL player in abdomen

• Boyd was on night out with Jets teammates

A Bronx man has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of New York Jets player Kris Boyd, police announced Tuesday.

The New York police department said Frederick Green, 20, was charged late Monday night. Police had revealed Monday that a “person of interest” was in custody but didn’t name them. It was not immediately clear if Green has an attorney. He also faces additional charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Boyd was shot in the abdomen just after 2am on 16 November in midtown Manhattan. Boyd, his friend and two other Jets’ players, Irvin Charles and Jamien Sherwood, had left a club and were approached by a group of men who made fun of their clothing, police told reporters at a news briefing.

Chelsea’s top-eight hopes hit by Atalanta after De Ketelaere seals comeback win

There were no answers to Chelsea’s search for consistency here. Instead they supplied more evidence that they lack the resilience for a Champions League tilt that may now have to be tackled the hard way. This damaging late defeat completed a grim week on the road and had implications for the longer-term picture. They are staring down the barrel of a February playoff that could stretch Enzo Maresca’s side, active almost year-round, to the very limit.

Atalanta twice punished weak defending and, crucially, preyed on their opponents’ inability to overcome setbacks. It is a problem Chelsea cannot quite shrug off and, at this level, such recidivism comes at a cost. When Charles De Ketelaere, the game’s outstanding player, blasted in a deflected winner after being invited to take aim they could hardly claim not to have been warned.

Beth Mead fires Arsenal past Twente to book place in WCL knockout stage

Arsenal qualified for the Champions League knockout phase after a narrow but industrious victory at Meadow Park, with Beth Mead’s early finish enough to overcome Twente.

Arsenal are guaranteed to come inside the top 12 of the 18-team league phase and may still have a chance to reach the top four and go straight into the quarter-finals depending on results on Wednesday and if they can then win their last game in Belgium against Leuven next week.

Nnena Kalu becomes first artist with a learning disability to win Turner prize

Chair of 2025 judging panel says win ‘begins to erase that border between the neurotypical and neurodiverse artist’

• Nnena Kalu’s embodied, sensuous art makes her a worthy Turner prize winner

Nnena Kalu has won the 2025 Turner prize for her colourful drawings and sculptures made from found fabric and VHS tape, becoming the first artist with a learning disability to take home the £25,000 prize.

Alex Farquharson, chair of the jury and director of Tate Britain, said the win by the British-Nigerian represented a watershed moment for the international art world.

Why fighting inflation may not be the best way to make life more affordable

Beating back inflation is only half the battle in lowering the cost of living — you also have to think about people's pay, economists argue.

Honduras president alleges ‘electoral coup’ under way amid Trump ‘interference’

Xiomara Castro alleges US manipulation and blackmail as preliminary count shows two rightwing candidates closely tied

Honduras’s president, Xiomara Castro, has alleged that an “electoral coup” is under way in the country’s presidential election, which she says has been marked by “interference from the president of the United States, Donald Trump”.

The leftist president also said that “the Honduran people must never accept elections marked by interference, manipulation and blackmail … Sovereignty is not negotiable, democracy is not surrendered.”

Trump's blessing of Nvidia AI chip sales to China gets a chilly reception from GOP

Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping "responded positively" to the proposal to let Nvidia sell H200 AI chips on condition that the U.S. gets 25% of revenue.

Eli Lilly to build $6 billion manufacturing plant in Alabama to help make upcoming obesity pill, other drugs

That added production capacity for Eli Lilly's obesity pill, orforglipron, is crucial as the company races to file for its approval.

Jasmine Crockett announces campaign for Texas Democratic Senate primary

Rep. Jasmine Crockett filed paperwork to run for U.S. Senate just hours before the state's deadline — and hours after fellow Democrat Colin Allred dropped out.

Supreme Court weighs campaign finance limits in GOP-backed challenge

Congress has enacted limits on how much money a political committee can spend in coordination with a federal candidate.

The Fed decision is expected to feature a rate cut and a lot more. Here's what to expect

The central bank is poised to deliver its third straight interest rate cut Wednesday, while firing a warning shot about what's ahead.

Instacart's AI pricing tools drive up the cost of some groceries, study finds

Federal regulators and politicians have scrutinized companies' use of AI tools to set the cost of products or services, often called "surveillance pricing."

Thune says Senate GOP will bring up alternative health care bill for a vote

Majority Leader John Thune announced that the Senate will vote on a Republican-led measure alongside a Democratic bill to extend expiring tax credits.

Nnena Kalu’s embodied, sensuous art makes her a worthy Turner prize winner

The closer you get to Kalu’s endless sinewy trails of old VHS tape, the harder it is to know where their forms stop and the space around them begins

• Nnena Kalu becomes first artist with a learning disability to win Turner prize

Nnena Kalu’s forms come at you with their almost alien unknowable presence. They bulge and bifurcate and multiply. The viewer gets caught up in all the roaring, spilling, snaggling details, and you begin to wonder about your own boundaries, the body’s beginnings and its endings. The closer you get to Kalu’s endless sinewy trails of old VHS tape, their spews of filigree plastic webbing, their bound-up, sometimes cable-tied suturings, the harder it is to know where their forms stop and the space around them begins. Their containment is precarious. So full of life and energy, you think they might burst.

Kalu’s art is so embodied, so sensuous, so much a trace of her constant, physical engagement, so much a negotiation between the body that made it and the bodies she creates, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the activity of making and the thing itself. This was true, too, in the figures Giacometti made in his room filled with plaster dust. But Kalu’s art is not reducible to anything we might call a technique, and comparisons with other artists are not much help.

Instacart's AI-enabled pricing may be bumping up your grocery bill

Shoppers may be unaware they're paying as much as 23% more than others for the same grocery items on Instacart, a new analysis says.

Netflix faces consumer class-action lawsuit over $72bn Warner Bros deal

Lawsuit argues that proposed deal threatens to reduce competition in US subscription video-on-demand market

Netflix has been hit with a consumer lawsuit seeking to block the online video giant’s planned $72bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming businesses.

The proposed class action was filed on Monday by a subscriber to Warner Bros-owned HBO Max who said the proposed deal threatened to reduce competition in the US subscription video-on-demand market.

Judge unseals Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury materials, citing Epstein files act

Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend of President Donald Trump, killed himself in jail in August 2019, weeks after being arrested on child sex trafficking charges.

China is buying U.S. soybeans again — but falling short of goal set by Trump trade agreement

A trade war begun by President Donald Trump early in his second term led China to halt its purchases of American soybeans.

Brigitte Macron criticised after using sexist slur against feminist protesters

French first lady was filmed calling women who had disrupted Paris theatre show by Ary Abittan ‘sales connes’

French celebrities and politicians on the left have expressed outrage after Brigitte Macron was filmed using a derogatory and sexist slur to describe feminist protesters at a theatre show in Paris.

A video filmed on Sunday showed France’s first lady in discussion backstage at the Folies Bergère theatre in Paris with Ary Abittan, a French actor and comedian previously accused of rape, before a performance he was about to give. The previous night, feminist campaigners had disrupted his show with shouts of: “Abittan, rapist!”

The Guardian view on Trump and Europe: more an abusive relationship than an alliance | Editorial

The White House is aggressively seeking to weaken and dominate the United States’ traditional allies. European leaders must learn to fight back.

Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz have become adept at scrambling to deal with the latest bad news from Washington. Their meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Downing Street on Monday was so hastily arranged that Mr Macron needed to be back in Paris by late afternoon to meet Croatia’s prime minister, while Mr Merz was due on television for an end-of-year Q&A with the German public.

But diplomatic improvisation alone cannot fully answer Donald Trump’s structural threat to European security. The US president and his emissaries are trying to bully Mr Zelenskyy into an unjust peace deal that suits American and Russian interests. In response, the summit helped ramp up support for the use of up to £100bn in frozen Russian assets as collateral for a “reparations loan” to Ukraine. European counter-proposals for a ceasefire will need to be given the kind of financial backing that provides Mr Zelenskyy with leverage at a critical moment.

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.

Ben Jennings on Australia’s social media ban for under-16s – cartoon

Continue reading...

Donald Trump has finally won a peace prize – from Fifa, no less. Here are five other awards he should win | Arwa Mahdawi

The inaugural award bestowed upon the US president could pave the way for many more colourful accolades. I have some ideas ...

What a privilege it is to be alive in such a peaceful and prosperous time. If you ignore the genocides in Sudan and Gaza, fighting in eastern Congo, continued attacks on Ukraine, military airstrikes in Myanmar, near-daily strikes on Lebanon, “extrajudicial killings” on Venezualan vessels, increased political violence in the US, along with various other inconvenient issues, then I think we can all agree that Donald Trump has ushered in world peace.

Good luck convincing the nasty Norwegians on the Nobel committee of that, though. They’ve doled out peace prizes to many an alleged war criminal but have a weird grudge against Trump. Still, at least Fifa, an organisation renowned for its impeccable ethics, appreciates the president’s efforts. Last Friday, Trump was awarded the inaugural Fifa peace prize in an over-the-top ceremony that would have made a lesser man, one burdened with a smidgen of self-awareness, feel like a prize idiot.

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.

The art of going ‘Instagram official’: how 10 celebrity couples shared their love with the world

Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau are the latest A-listers to announce their relationship status online. But there are many ways to do it - from fancy dress to panicked deletions

As a mark of pure intent, going Instagram official has become a firmly entrenched dating marker. To post a picture of you and your new partner on Instagram – on the grid, mind you, not hiding behind the cowardice of a story – is to not only declare that you are in love, but also that you are confident enough in your future to share it with the world.

As such, Katy Perry’s decision to go Instagram official with Justin Trudeau is a classic of the genre. Long dogged by rumours that they might be together, Perry this week debuted a sanctioned image of them both. They are cheek to cheek. They are smiling, albeit in that slightly strained hurry-up-and-take-it way you do when someone decides to shoot a whole reel of photos. Katy Perry is pulling the exact same face she did when she stared into the camera that time she sort of went into space, which is how you know that it is really serious. Good luck to the pair of them.

Pfizer adds to obesity bet with up to $2.1 billion deal to develop Chinese company's pill 

The deal will help Pfizer beef up and diversify its obesity drug pipeline following its $10 billion acquisition of obesity biotech Metsera last month.

More than 75% of homes across the U.S. are unaffordable, study finds

Homeownership can feel like a luxury when only a sliver of the country's housing market is affordable for most Americans, Bankrate analyst says.

Raul Malo, frontman of band the Mavericks, dies aged 60

The musician, who led the Grammy-winning band, had been receiving treatment for colon cancer

Raul Malo, the soulful tenor and frontman of the genre-defying, Grammy-winning band the Mavericks, has died. He was 60.

Malo died on Monday night, his wife, Betty Malo, posted on his Facebook page. He had been diagnosed with cancer. The frontman of the Mavericks had documented his health journey on social media since he disclosed in June 2024 that he was receiving treatment for colon cancer.

Jon Stewart on Fifa’s peace prize: ‘An entirely fictitious golden butt plug’

Late-night hosts discussed Fifa’s award to Donald Trump as his administration escalates tensions with Venezuela

Late-night hosts mocked Donald Trump for gleefully accepting the inaugural Fifa peace prize ahead of the World Cup in the US.

Commercial real estate deal volume drops for the first time in nearly two years

Commercial real estate has had a rough year after gaining momentum coming out of the pandemic.

US judge strikes down Trump order blocking wind energy projects

Federal judge declared January executive order unlawful, ruling in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general

A federal judge on Monday struck down Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of windfarms on federal lands and waters was “arbitrary and capricious” and violated US law.

Judge Patti Saris of the US district court for the district of Massachusetts vacated Trump’s 20 January executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful.

Merv review – a dog steals the show in Amazon’s by-the-book Christmas romcom

Charlie Cox and Zooey Deschanel co-parent a depressed dog in a serviceable attempt to appeal to animal lovers during the festive period

It is a truth universally acknowledged, at least in my social circles, that co-parenting a dog is a bad idea. Most will tell you: shared canine custody arrangements prevent exes from moving on. It’s a logistical headache. It causes fights. It’s annoying for all involved (and then some). And apparently, in a revelation worthy of a straight-to-streaming movie, it makes dogs depressed.

Not to minimize the mental health of dogs – I’ve listened to my mother boast about our family chihuahua’s “EQ” enough to know that man’s best friend has the capacity for great emotional sensitivity. (And the ability to convey it on command – for a truly outstanding performance of doggie depression, please see Bing the bereft great dane in 2024’s The Friend.) I have no doubt that a dog like Merv, a wired-hair terrier sort played by Gus the Dog in Merv’s eponymous Amazon movie, would struggle to adjust from life in a single family unit to split homes. Whether or not the ill-advised dog-sharing arrangement can sustain a whole Christmas romcom, however, is a dubious proposition.

Grammy-nominated musician killed by driver with over 100 arrests

Roderick Macleod, 70, was walking his dogs when he was allegedly struck by a driver with dozens of prior arrests.

House Democrats establish AI working group as industry bolsters DC presence

House lawmakers see the commission as a starting point for working with industry on AI policies, issues.

Alice Zaslavsky’s festive vegetable terrine – recipe

Using store-bought deli goods, Alice Zaslavsky builds a vegetarian showstopper for the Christmas table – with minimal cooking

• Check out more Alice Zaslavsky recipes

So you’re hosting a festive shindig in December and there are vegetarians in the crowd – or maybe the vego is you? You want to put on a good centrepiece but you’re not feeling the nut loaf vibes. What to do?

Festive catering for vegetarians is far easier in the northern hemisphere, where you can whack on a big chunk of pumpkin or stuff some peppers, and let them bake away while you roast the chestnuts and mull the wine.

The 50 best albums of 2025

From prog cabaret and joyful jangle-pop to a pop star who will drag you to the club, here are the year’s finest LPs as decided by 30 Guardian music writers
• More on the best culture of 2025

***

Shakira fans and an elephant protest: photos of the day – Tuesday

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

‘I drunkenly hugged him and said I love you, Martin Parr!’ Grayson Perry, Don McCullin and more on Britain’s national photographer

With a sharp eye and saturated colours, Parr’s photographs revealed the world in all its eccentric glory. Here, his friends, peers and collaborators pay tribute to a master

Grayson Perry, artist
I’ve never really been a fanboy, but the first time I saw Martin Parr I ran up and drunkenly hugged him. I said: “I love you Martin Parr!” I couldn’t help it. He was a hero of mine. And over the years he became my best artist friend.

‘After almost destroying the world, our families are friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives

Their relatives might have been on opposite sides of near-nuclear war, but the US and Soviet leader’s descendants have teamed up for an intimate BBC podcast. They talk humanity, hate – and why Trump is a ‘very limited’ man

In October 1962, the world came closer to destruction than at any other point in modern times. After a US surveillance plane discovered that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built in Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland, President John F Kennedy responded by ordering the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around the island. Almost two weeks of impossible tension followed.

The threat was clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, fired on their enemy, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have followed, plunging humanity into all-out ruination.

Elon Musk calls for abolition of European Union after X fined $140 million

Musk's comments come as U.S. government officials step up criticism of the European Union