Toddler among five dead while 40 people remain in critical condition

Bild, German public-service broadcaster ARD and other media are reporting that four people were killed and 41 were seriously injured in the attack.

In addition, 86 people were treated with significant injuries in hospital, while 78 people suffered light injuries.

The royal has bowed to pressure over residents’ right to buy freeholds on parts of his hereditary land

Prince William has agreed to end the last feudal restrictions on land ownership in parts of his hereditary Duchy of Cornwall estate after decades of complaints from residents.

The Prince of Wales will allow tenants in two of the most environmentally sensitive areas of his 55,000-hectare (135,000 acres) estate the right to buy the freehold to their homes for the first time.

Lawsuits against Iowa paper and settlement with ABC signal beginning of aggressive legal action to silence critics

Donald Trump and his allies have started to wage a campaign against media organisations in the US that are critical of the president-elect by launching lawsuits that media experts warn are designed to stifle dissent and potentially put them out of business.

The tactic appears to be to aggressively pursue legal action against news organisations – which Trump has long dubbed “enemies of the people� – by asking for often hefty sums in damages. The cases are launched even if the odds of success sometimes appear long, because even an unsuccessful court action can be expensive for a cash-strapped media company and act as a deterrent.

Woman jailed for M25 protest not allowed to continue home detention because electronic tags are too big

A 77-year-old environmental activist will spend Christmas in prison despite having been released on an electronic tag, because the authorities cannot find an electronic device small enough to fit her wrists.

Gaie Delap, a retired teacher and a Quaker from Bristol, was jailed in August, along with four co-defendants, for her part in a campaign of disruptive Just Stop Oil protests on the M25 in November 2022.

TV presenter and Green party politician resign from animal-welfare charity over response to undercover abattoir videos

The BBC presenter Chris Packham and the former Green party leader Caroline Lucas have resigned from the RSPCA animal-welfare charity, accusing the organisation of “legitimising cruelty�.

It comes after an undercover investigation from Animal Rising, which campaigns for a plant-based food system, used hidden cameras to reveal animal cruelty at RSPCA-approved abattoirs.

Happy Christmas, Pep. For Manchester City and Guardiola, this was another painful destruction, an unthinkable ninth defeat in 12 matches for a team who have flipped from formidable to fragile and flat. City have now lost six of their past eight Premier League matches, as many as they gave up en route to the title in 2020-21, the worst of their championship-winning seasons. They could end the weekend as low as ninth.

Guardiola, in a long black cloak and boots, wandered over to the increasingly bewildered away fans. Then came a deep puff of the cheeks. These are hard times. For Unai Emery and Villa, this was another triumph, Jhon Durán and Morgan Rogers scoring fine goals to overpower the visitors.

Previously unseen artefacts show invading forces included communities of men, women, children, craftworkers and merchants

Dozens of sites linked to the Viking great army as it ravaged Anglo-Saxon England more than 1,000 years ago have been discovered. Leading experts from York University have traced the archaeological footprint of the Scandinavian invaders, identifying previously unknown sites and routes.

The study, conducted by Dawn M Hadley, professor of medieval archaeology, and fellow archaeology professor Julian D Richards, found that the significance of many of the ingots, gaming pieces and other artefacts unearthed by metal detectorists over the years had been overlooked until now. They also discovered about 50 new sites that they believe were visited by the Viking great army.

Rain and strong winds may cause delays in north and west of UK on Saturday, spreading to southern regions on Sunday

Weather warnings have come into force across much of the UK as millions of people set off for their Christmas getaway.

Wet and windy weather this weekend could cause roads and public transport to be disrupted by strong gusts. The AA predicted that 22 million drivers would hit the road on Saturday.

When she was six, Sara complained that her mother hit her, but that her father and stepmother, who were convicted of her murder, didn’t

Sara Sharif told a social worker she felt safe living with her father and stepmother because “they don’t hit me�, four years before she died from their brutal campaign of torture.

The schoolgirl’s haunting words are buried in hundreds of pages of private family court papers that were disclosed after an application by media organisations, including the Guardian.

German health minister calls US billionaire’s intervention weeks before election ‘undignified and problematic’

Elon Musk has caused outrage in Berlin after appearing to endorse the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland.

Musk, who has been named by Donald Trump to co-lead a commission aimed at reducing the size of the US federal government, wrote on his social media platform X: “Only the AfD can save Germany.�

First-hand accounts from victims of unthinkable violence paint a gruesome picture of the brutality sweeping the central African country. How long is the West prepared to look away?

They were looking for new ways to kill, ways to send fresh terror across North Kivu.

It was early afternoon when the M23 militia raided the Congolese town of Rubaya. In a marketplace, gunmen found a giant wooden pestle and mortar for crushing grain. They began rounding up children, wedging them tight in the mortar. Isabel, 32, watched the rebels stove in their skulls. The mortar turned red, overflowing with blood.

Key figures in the incoming administration follow Curtis Yarvin, who’s pushing for an autocratic takeover of the US

Curtis Yarvin is hardly a household name in US politics. But the “neoreactionary� thinker and far-right blogger is emerging as a serious intellectual influence on key figures in Donald Trump’s coming administration in particular over potential threats to US democracy.

Yarvin, who considers liberal democracy as a decadent enemy to be dismantled, is intellectually influential on vice president-elect JD Vance and close to several proposed Trump appointees. The aftermath of Trump’s election victory has seen actions and rhetoric from Trump and his lieutenants that closely resemble Yarvin’s public proposals for taking autocratic power in America.

Nothing seems to stop the relentless march of property values, even with a stamp duty increase looming

It’s been a bumpy ride for the housing market in recent years, after Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget of September 2022 created a surge in borrowing costs that have cost many households dearly.

But despite elevated mortgage and rent costs, the market this year has turned out to be “surprisingly resilient�, according to Nationwide building society. Experts had expected house prices to stay flat or fall, but average prices are expected to have risen by more than 3% in 2024, after falling by 1.4% in 2023.

We’re told that they give us a mental workout, but the evidence suggests it’s a bit more complicated …

Miriam Raphael, 98, is a veteran puzzler. As a child, she pored over clues with her father and, later, as a teacher and mother of three daughters, it became her small daily luxury. When she learned of the first annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, her competitive streak kicked in and she entered, winning the second tournament in 1979. More than 40 years on, she is the tournament’s most decorated competitor.

When she speaks to me on Zoom from her New York home (at a time compatible with her water aerobics and yoga classes) she has the astute air you might expect of a woman who has spent nearly a century successfully returning the names of French monarchs, obscure musical instruments and meteorological phenomena.

The broadcaster talks being a proud twin, a unwilling pilot, and a keen advocate for a better food system

Being a twin is weird. As a medical doctor with a public profile and a PhD involving genetics, it is strange to have a clone of yourself wandering through the world. We embrace the confusion when people mistake us for each other. The state of twinness is an oddity, but it’s one of the most wonderful things in my life.

Our baby brother Jonathan is the glue that binds us. He’s in his early 40s and more easygoing than we are. He’s the carbon rod in the nuclear reactor, soaking up neutrons, stopping it from melting down. When Xand, my twin brother, and I get into a huge, pathetic row he defuses the bomb in his funny, charming way.

Feeling a little… tense? From the top of your head down to the soles of your feet, here are lots of quick ways to soothe stress

Restore a feeling of calm by scrunching your shoulders up to your ears as tightly as possible, holding for 10 seconds, then inhaling. Exhale as you release the tension in your shoulders.
Marie-Claire Stanmore, pilates teacher, yoga teacher and sports massage therapist

Amara and Mateo’s sex life was fun first time round, in their 20s. Now it has to be scheduled around childcare and the families they have left
How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

The practicalities of making things work are certainly not easy, but I have no regrets

After a few months of sneaking around with Amara, I told my wife our marriage was over

The comedian and actor on his Cure obsession, surviving a press storm, and being heckled by Robbie Williams

Born in Nottinghamshire in 1978, Mathew Horne is a comedian and actor. He studied drama at Manchester University, where he and Bruce Mackinnon formed Mat and Mackinnon – a duo who would be headhunted by Catherine Tate in the early 00s. Horne has since appeared in TV shows such as Teachers, Bad Education, Gavin and Stacey, and Inside No 9. On stage, he has starred in Entertaining Mr Sloane, The Homecoming and Rain Man. Gavin and Stacey: The Finale airs on Christmas Day on BBC One and iPlayer. He lives in London with his wife and son.

This photo was taken on mufti day at primary school. We didn’t have to wear school uniform, and as I was very interested in Captain Pugwash I went dressed as him. I was also very into the Cure; they were an important band to me, even as an eight-year-old. That drawing in the background, the gold cobweb on black paper, is a homage to their song Lullaby. I was a happy kid, but given my artistic inclination, there was clearly a bittersweet goth in me too. In hindsight, it would have been cooler if I had dressed as Robert Smith.

O2 Arena, London
An eras tour of a different kind finds the 82-year-old former Beatle on tremendous form, packing a three-hour show with hits, flashbacks and real emotion

Towards the end of Come on to Me – a song about sexual chemistry from the near-end of the Paul McCartney solo catalogue – the 82-year-young musician whips off his blue jacket, displaying its elegant patterned lining. The reaction is wildly appreciative, if not quite the one that once met this former teenybopper idol at the screaming height of Beatlemania. “That is the biggest wardrobe change of the evening,� he quips. (Swapping his Höfner bass for an electric guitar several times doesn’t count.)

Welcome, then, to the eras tour – no, not that one, another one; one where costume changes are in inverse proportion to the number of lifetimes and cultural disruptions it spans. The McCartney timeline goes deep; inextricable from world events. The mood tonight is one of witnessing history, with clots of multigenerational fans luxuriating in the songs that moved tectonic plates and carved glaciers, shaping everything that came after.

The actor, singer and dancer on his odd-shaped big toe, his secret betting history and falling flat on his face on stage

Born in Greater Manchester, Layton Williams, 30, began his career at the age of 12, in the West End production of Billy Elliot. He went on to appear in TV shows Bad Education and I Hate Suzie and was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. His films include Rocketman and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie; the latter role he also played on stage. Earlier this year he appeared in Cabaret and he is currently in Titanique at the Criterion theatre in London. He lives in the capital.

What is your greatest fear?
Dying: I’m too iconic to go.

Santa is coming and these pubs are going to town with their tinsel and fairy lights, as well as hosting special drinks and events over the festive season

It’s hard to imagine a list of Christmassy pubs without the maximalist Churchill in Kensington. Its outside is usually covered in flowers, while inside, where Thai food and pints of London Pride are served, the ceiling and walls are hung with a strange collection of artefacts: lanterns, butterflies, 100 assorted chamber pots, second world war memorabilia and pictures of Winston Churchill, whose grandparents were regulars. In winter there are extra decorations (fake greenery, presents, north pole signs), and the exterior swaps the pansies and petunias for dozens of fir trees and thousands of lights. There’s a post box by the door, reindeer near the roof and a giant Ho Ho Ho in lights over the window.

• Updates from 3pm GMT kick-offs in England and beyond
• Live scores | Tables | Fixtures | Aston Villa 2-1 Man City

Ipswich (4-2-3-1) Muric; H Clarke, O’Shea, Burgess, Davis; Morsy,
Cajuste; Burns, Hutchinson, Szmodics; Chaplin.
Subs: Walton, Phillips, Taylor, Al Hamadi, Johnson, Townsend, Greaves, Broadhead, J Clarke.

Newcastle (4-3-3) Dubravka, Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Willock; J Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
Subs: Vlachodimos, Trippier, Barnes, Targett, Osula, Almiron, Kelly, Longstaff, Miley.

• British fighter tips scales at 281lb
• Champion similar weight to previous fight

Tyson Fury will weigh at least 50lb more than Oleksandr Usyk when the two men fight for the world heavyweight championship in Riyadh. At the official weigh-in on Friday night, Fury scaled 281lb while wearing all his clothes, including a heavy black leather jacket to keep him warm in the biting December cold. Usyk, the defending champion, weighed 226lb after removing only his tracksuit top.

The 55lb weight discrepancy will be slightly reduced in the ring – but it is striking that Fury weighed 19lb more than he did on the scales before their first fight in May. Usyk was just 3lb heavier than last time and, once he has stripped down to his boxing trunks and boots, he will be very close to the exact weight he was when he became the undisputed world heavyweight champion after he defeated Fury in an extraordinary and very close fight.

Winger has jumped to the top of the pecking order of wide men since Portuguese took the reins at Old Trafford

Most of the noise around those in red at the Etihad Stadium last Sunday related to the dropping of two wingers until Amad Diallo intercepted Matheus Nunes’s woeful back-pass and won a penalty before scoring a last-minute winner. The Ivorian was Manchester United’s main threat in a mediocre derby as his flourishing under Ruben Amorim continued, while others drifted into the shadows.

As Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho endured a watching brief after being stood down, putting them below Antony in the pecking order, Diallo shone. The new head coach is constantly tinkering and rotating personnel as he searches for the best players for individual roles but Diallo is making himself almost undroppable and will get another start against Bournemouth on Sunday as he aims to add to his two league goals and six assists this season.

American father and son began positively at the Stadio Olimpico but botched managerial decisions soured mood

A banner raised by Roma supporters before their Coppa Italia game at home to Sampdoria on Wednesday spoke to the prevailing mood. “Club and players: all a bunch of frauds,� it read. By recent standards, that was rather tame.

The Friedkin Group, which completed its takeover of Everton on Thursday, has owned Roma since 2020 and enjoyed notable successes: hiring José Mourinho as manager and delivering him the squad he needed to win the first Europa Conference League, as well as finishing as Europa League runners-up a year later. However, the decision to fire the Portuguese in January divided opinion among the fanbase, and the sacking of his successor, Daniele De Rossi, in September sparked open revolt.

• Player led the fight against so-called ‘slavery contracts’
• He scored Stoke’s winner in 1972 League Cup final win

George Eastham, a member of England’s World Cup-winning squad, has died at the age of 88. Eastham did not play in England’s 1966 success on home soil, but the winger was part of Sir Alf Ramsey’s squad that lifted the trophy for the only time in the nation’s history.

Blackpool-born Eastham spent most of his career at Newcastle, Arsenal and Stoke; he also left a far-reaching legacy as the man who battled against so-called “slavery contracts�. Eastham’s involvement in a 1963 court case that improved players’ freedom to move between clubs ended up reforming the British transfer market.

The plan for more games between bigger clubs is dull and loses context while making a few people rich

A few years back I walked out of my front door very early in the morning to go to work and watched sleepily as a large car endlessly reversed, went forward, reversed, then went forward, trying to escape a wrong turn down the driveway.

It was an engrossing spectacle: urgently and skilfully done, but also expressive of some kind of epic, cinematic impatience. Eventually I went to squeeze past. At which point a striking image loomed against the steamed-up window: a face, instantly recognisable as belonging to the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, shouting what was clearly the word “Fuck�, caught in the glow of the streetlights at 5.30am in the privacy of his own car.

A report from Fifpro has found that some players were playing too many games but most were not playing enough

The final whistle of Wednesday night’s Champions League fixtures marked the end of women’s football in England for 2024. A winter break over the festive period is well supported and much needed after four intense months, particularly for those competing in the Champions League, before an even more packed new year and summer, but are there downsides alongside the obvious positives?

A new report from Fifpro, the global players’ union, From High-Usage to Underload: A Tale of Two Industries, produced in conjunction with the analytics company Football Benchmark, calls for, among other things, the implementation of mandatory off-season breaks of four weeks and in-season breaks of two weeks.

• Vonn comes home 14th in the super-G at St Moritz
• US star announced return to competition last month

Lindsey Vonn finished 14th position in a super-G on Saturday to mark her return to World Cup skiing at age 40. Vonn crossed the line 1.18 seconds behind winner Cornelia Huetter.

It was the American standout’s first World Cup race after nearly six years of retirement. Vonn is planning to race another super-G in St Moritz on Sunday.

Instability is growing, Putin’s hybrid war in Europe is heating up and for fear of escalation we have encouraged global nuclear proliferation

There are human activities in which both sides can win. War is not one of them. Either Ukraine wins this war or Russia does. Ukraine’s former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba says bluntly that unless the current trajectory is changed, “we will lose this war�.

To be clear: this is still avoidable. Suppose the roughly four-fifths of Ukrainian territory still controlled by Kyiv gets military commitments from the west strong enough to deter any further Russian advances, secure large-scale investment in economic reconstruction, encourage Ukrainians to return from abroad to rebuild their country, and allow for stable, pro-European politics and reform. In five years, the country joins the EU, and then, under a new US administration, starts the process of entering Nato. Most of Ukraine becomes a sovereign, independent, free country, firmly anchored in the west.

Timothy Garton Ash is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

As a foreign correspondent, home was never a fixed location. I’ve finally learned it’s about who you share it with

• In our end of year series, writers and public figures remember the place or time when they felt most at home

The first time it happened I wrote it off as inexperience. By “it� I mean lying on a concrete floor covered in cow shit and wondering how many bones had been broken by the cow I’d been trying to milk. Great skill is needed for the apparently simple task of attaching suction cups to a cow’s teats – especially if she has painful warts.

The cows hated me (rightly so) and I hated them. Maybe I mean feared rather than hated, but it amounts to the same thing. And the more experienced I became, the more I was forced to admit that my idea of a farm in Wales becoming the home I had always longed for was ill advised if not utterly stupid.

Gerry Connolly, 74, beat AOC’s bid to become lead Democrat on the House oversight committee thanks to Nancy Pelosi, then 85

They may have lost the presidency, the House, and the Senate, but when it comes to avoiding introspection, the Democrats are completely undefeated. You’d have thought that after the disastrous presidential election, the Democrats might have taken some time to figure out what went wrong. You’d have thought they might have decided to try and refresh the party – make it more relevant to disenchanted voters. You’d have thought they might have realized that they needed to shake things up.

More people are avoiding ‘boring’ or ‘depressing’ news for scrolling social media, but accurate reporting has never been more vital

The other night I broke a long-cherished habit. At home in time for the BBC News at 10, I could only manage a couple of headlines before I turned it off, flicking through the channels instead for something that would make me smile, a comedy or anything about dogs.

News of the torture and murder of a little girl, followed by reports from yet another seemingly intractable conflict, had turned me into one of the biggest threats to my own profession, if not democracy – I had become a news avoider.

Jane Martinson is a Guardian columnist

From the bloodshed in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza to the return of Trump, there are so many reasons to despair. But a little deliberate optimism can go a long way

It’s a season brimming with tradition and, as longtime readers may know, my own custom has been to try, in the last column before Christmas, to find a few reasons to be hopeful. I was planning on doing that anyway, but my resolve was sharpened by a conversation with a reader who called in to last weekend’s Guardian and Observer charity telethon. Tammy, who is 75, made her donation but she also had a simple, if fathomless question: “How do we live in this terrible world?�

She proceeded to rattle off just some of the things that led her to put the question so starkly. She talked of the ongoing bloodshed in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza; she sighed at the imminent return of Donald Trump. And this week brought two more items that could be added to her list.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

American confidence in the courts has hit a record low across party lines. This is worrying – if not surprising

The US supreme court has been hijacked by the extreme right and corrupted to its core.

American oligarchs bestow millions in gifts and largesse on rightwing justices. The court’s conservative supermajority hands down deeply unpopular decisions that take away long-settled rights, concentrate power for themselves and their friends and grease the electoral rails for their party.

David Daley is the author of the new book Antidemocratic: Inside the Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections as well as Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count

The ‘big people’ implicated in this disgraceful run of events need to pay their dues. Britain needs it – and demands it

In her closing statement to the Post Office inquiry this week, Paula Vennells once again added the brutal murder of irony to her list of failings. Or as the former CEO’s lawyer put it: “She has no desire to point the finger at others.� Oh, Paula. Great to hear your pointing finger has finally been decommissioned – but it’s many years and many, many prison sentences too late for that. In fact, as we bid farewell to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry, to give it its full name, it’s clear that the prime takeout should be: let that not be an end to it. Justice has yet to be served.

It’s quite something to think that this time last year, ITV had not even aired Mr Bates vs the Post Office, the drama that finally galvanised public anger about the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history, and led to immediate action from various classes of powerful people who could have done something before, but didn’t. As the year ends, it is possible to say that Mr Bates is now by far and away the most watched drama of 2024 – in fact, the most watched anything bar sport. Pretty sensational for something created so faultlessly and beautifully out of a dauntingly unpromising dramatic premise: a faulty computer system.

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist

From Gaza to Haiti, our charitable partners are dedicated to helping people in the world’s conflict zones. Please give generously

• Donate to our charity appeal here

Wars in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere have made 2024 a brutal and bloody 12 months. For this year’s Guardian and Observer appeal, in aid of three conflict-linked charities, we are asking readers to give out of compassion for those affected, and in the hope of promoting peace in a safer world. As well as alleviating immediate suffering, and saving lives, our voluntary-sector partners play a vital role in helping to restore civil society in places where it is devastated by conflict. Their work with children, in particular, is essential to efforts to build a better future.

The year began with fierce fighting and mass displacements in southern Gaza. February saw the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while April marked a year since fighting broke out in Sudan between the military and Rapid Support Forces rebels. In each country civilians have suffered terrible losses. Children in the occupied territories are regarded by the UN as having faced human rights violations on an “unprecedented scale�. Reports from Ukraine and Sudan have included horrifying evidence about the use of rape and sexual torture as weapons of war, among other forms of violence.

Keira Knightley and Jamie Oliver are the latest stars to write children’s books, but too often famous names hide the talents of ghostwriters

There is nothing new about stars trying their hand at children’s fiction (Julie Andrews published Mandy back in 1971). But the announcement in October that Keira Knightley has written and illustrated her first children’s novel, billed as “a modern classic�, was met with anger among children’s writers who took to social media to joke that they wanted to become film stars. The written word can be a tricky thing to navigate for the untutored. Jamie Oliver was forced to pull his new title Billy and the Epic Escape after it was criticised for perpetuating harmful stereotypes and “trivialising painful histories� of First Nations people.

There is understandable frustration from other authors, who feel they are being crowded out of press coverage and bookshops. Sometimes it is unclear who is actually writing the titles. It is no surprise that many memoirs are ghostwritten – no one really thought Prince Harry toiled for months to write Spare. A celebrity’s life story belongs to them, after all, so it doesn’t seem so problematic that a professional writer is hired to tell it. But who owns an idea or fictional narrative?

Parents of a deaf child should not feel pressured to choose between implants and signing, writes Dr Wyatte Hall, while Simon Gair agonised over implants for three of his children. Plus letters from Ruth Holt and Jenny Froude

As a deaf researcher focused on language deprivation among deaf individuals, I am often asked about cochlear implants and their role in the lives of deaf children (The cochlear question: as the parent of a deaf baby, should I give her an implant to help her hear?, 11 December). While cochlear implants are a technological tool that provides access to sound, the critical issue is not the implant itself, but the decision to exclude signed languages from a deaf child’s upbringing.

Language is a fundamental human right and the foundation of cognitive, social and emotional development. For deaf children, access to a visual language – such as American Sign Language or British Sign Language (BSL) – is essential, particularly in the early years when the brain is most receptive to language acquisition. Without this access, many deaf children can face significant delays in language development, which leads to lifelong challenges in education, employment and mental health.

Cross-party buy-in is essential. This cannot be a government-only solution, writes Paul Burstow

The “deep reform� that social care needs (Editorial, 3 December) must break the cycle of short-term fixes and insufficient funding, which leaves the sector in a perpetual state of uncertainty – forever playing the role of Oliver Twist asking for more, yet lacking long-term security.

A better-funded version of the current system won’t suffice to address the profound demographic, societal and technological shifts shaping the future. Having helped steer the Care Act into law and set up the Dilnot commission, I know how challenging it is to get long‑term reform agreed upon.

Labour seems gripped by a form of denialism. The danger is real and incremental change won’t avert it

• Jeremy Corbyn is independent MP for Islington North and was leader of the Labour party from 2015 to 2020

There is no need to overcomplicate things: a rise in global temperatures of 3.1C is not compatible with human survival. That is where we are heading, unless we act now. On our current path, the world will exceed 1.5C of warming, and could reach a rise of 2.6-3.1C by the end of the century.

For you, today, that might make the difference between wearing a jumper or a jacket. For humanity, it is the difference between survival and extinction. Paris and Berlin will bake under heatwaves. New York will be hit by frequent storm-surges. Coastal towns will be submerged; 800 million people are living on land that will be underwater.

Jeremy Corbyn is independent MP for Islington North and was leader of the Labour party from 2015 to 2020

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Ministers set out plans for outlawing neonicotinoids but considering application by farmers to use Cruiser SB

Bee-killing pesticides are to be banned by the UK government, as ministers set out plans to outlaw the use of neonicotinoids.

However, the highly toxic neonicotinoid Cruiser SB could be allowed for use next year, as ministers are considering applications from the National Farmers’ Union and British Sugar.

Residents near Grampians fire urged to evacuate, while BoM forecasts possible snow in alpine regions Monday

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Australia is being “hit with a mix of everything� as parts of Queensland flood, while fires threaten towns in Victoria and snow is forecast across three states, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

Emergency warnings were in place for fires burning in Victoria’s Grampians national park on Saturday, with residents from Watgania to Halls Gap being told to evacuate.

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Protester Anna Holland says their shock at being behind bars was quickly followed by a stronger feeling of power

• Record number of protesters will be in UK prisons this Christmas

Anna Holland, 22, was one of two young people from Just Stop Oil who threw tomato soup over a sunflowers painting by Vincent van Gogh – one of the highest-profile climate protests of recent years. The painting was not damaged, although there was damage to the frame. Holland was sentenced to 20 months in prison. They sent this letter to the Guardian about their experience behind bars.

It was a shock at first that the judge had gone to the extreme of our sentence. The first few days and nights in prison were hard but also such an education. So many of the women I have met here are in prison because they were not properly protected by the state, so they have taken me under their wing. I have been looked after, taught the ways of prison, not by the staff but by the other prisoners. It is like nothing I had expected and it is completely overwhelming – but also surprising how quickly I found myself falling into the daily routine.

Booted out of her Norfolk constituency in July’s general election, the former PM is still wildly ambitious. Will she make a comeback?

By 5am on 5 July, it was clear to the hundreds of candidates, officials, activists and journalists gathered in the Lynnsport leisure centre in King’s Lynn for election night that the former prime minister Liz Truss had lost her parliamentary seat.

But from then until 6.45am, Truss was nowhere to be seen. Even when the other candidates were told to make their way on stage for the official announcement that Labour’s Terry Jermy had spectacularly overturned Truss’s previous majority of 26,000 to win the seat of South West Norfolk, the former prime minister was still not there.

Spending such a seemingly game-changing sum would face several hurdles and could even hinder the party’s chances

Over the 2024 general election period, combined donations to every UK party totalled about £50m. If reports are to be believed, Elon Musk could be about to give considerably more to just one – Reform UK. Is this a political game-changer? As ever with politics and money, there is no one answer.

One caveat must be mentioned: not only is the prospect of the world’s richest person helping out Nigel Farage’s party still very much at the ideas stage, but the mooted figure of $100m (£80m) is disputed, with the Reform leader describing it as “for the birds�.

Chancellor pledges renewed focus on growth after Bank of England warning that Britain is on brink of stagnation

Rachel Reeves insists she won’t “gaslight� working people over her plans to turn round the economy as she launched a scathing attack on Reform’s offer to voters, saying Nigel Farage “hasn’t got a clue�.

With many people still struggling with the cost of living, the chancellor defended her approach which has so far focused on economic stability, arguing that it was impossible to turn round years of poor performance under the Tories in just six months.

Instagram release of tea towel featuring what the UK designer ‘finds common’ has become an annual ritual

What is “common� these days – and is it even OK to say it?

Some might say it’s a controversial term, but for Nicky Haslam, the 85-year-old English designer, socialite and self-appointed arbiter of taste, defining what is common is not something to shy away from – on the contrary, it has become an annual ritual.

Fiona Wood solves final conundrum to clinch victory and encourages other women to ‘give it a go’

A forensic accountant has become the first female Countdown champion in 26 years.

Fiona Wood prevailed in the series final on Friday after correctly identifying the conundrum word as “lassitude�, meaning a state of physical or mental weariness.

TV presenter’s death on Greek island in June probably due to heatstroke or a pathological cause, coroner finds

A coroner has recorded an open conclusion regarding the “unascertainable� death of the TV presenter Michael Mosley, who died on a Greek island after he went for a walk.

Crispin Butler, the senior coroner for Buckinghamshire, said Mosley’s death “was most likely attributable either to heatstroke (accidental) or non-identified pathological cause�.

Mark-ups criticised by patients’ charity for punishing those with ill health, but NHS defends fees amid financial pressures

A quarter of NHS trusts in England Hospital raised car parking fees during the cost of living crisis, data has revealed.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show parking charges rose for at least 37 trusts – 25% of England’s total – between April 2022 and March 2024. Requests were filed to the 147 NHS trusts in England by PA Media, but 25 did not reply, meaning the number that raised parking fees could be higher.

Ministers hail peer as a heavyweight but others question the selection of a previously outspoken critic of party policy

Peter Mandelson has been formally unveiled as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, with a series of ministers hailing him as a political heavyweight who will be a reliable conduit into a potentially chaotic second Donald Trump administration.

Some Labour MPs were, however, less enthusiastic, questioning why Keir Starmer would reward and trust a figure who had previously weighed in with outspoken criticism of the party’s policies and personalities.

PC Sevda Gonen hit the boy ‘multiple times’ in the back of a police van as he was being taken to hospital

A police officer who slapped a 16-year-old boy with mental health difficulties “multiple times in the face� as he was being transported to a hospital in London has been found guilty of assault.

The judge, Briony Clarke, found Metropolitan police constable Sevda Gonen guilty of assault for striking the boy “multiple times in the face with an open palm� after “she allowed her frustrations to get the better of her� on 13 November 2023.

With more people in need this festive season, charities, too, are appealing for extra help

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The British public is expected to give more than £1bn to charities this month as the festive season acts as a reminder of the increasing number of people who are in need of help. But charities say that the number of people who regularly give has declined, and some have appealed for extra help.

The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) says that although the public is more motivated to give at Christmas, at the same time, “more and more� people are in need.

Depleted army is increasingly made up of older men, but Zelenskyy is reluctant to lower mobilisation age from 25

On a recent icy afternoon in the western Ukrainian city of Kovel, a silver-haired man in military fatigues prepared to board a train. A small boy hugged him at the knees, reluctant to let go. “Come on Dima, say goodbye to grandad,� his mother told him, pulling him away.

A few minutes later, the train pulled out of the station with the man on board, headed on a long journey to the east of the country, towards the frontlines in the fight against Russia. Daughter and grandson, both in tears, waved from the platform.

Wreckage from Spain’s worst natural disaster this century may have been cleared but life for many remains in disarray

The warm Valencia air, still thick with dust and carrying a residual note of mud and damp concrete, begins to reek on the approach to the roadside dump where diggers toil, gulls scavenge and the detritus of countless everyday lives rises in mounds.

Almost two months on, the legacy of the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century is equally evident in the oranges rotting on the trees, in the tens of thousands of cars stacked in makeshift graveyards, and in the fatigue of all those who still queue daily for food, nappies and toilet roll.

Increase in cases ‘linked to Ascot Vale’ leads health officials to warn the disease is ‘spreading geographically’

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Victoria has seen a surge of cases of a flesh-eating bacteria, prompting warnings from the chief health officer to take protective measures after it spread through suburban Melbourne.

Buruli ulcer has been known to occur in Australia since the 1940s, with cases noted from Victoria to the Northern Territory and far-north Queensland.

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Investigation by Senate Democrats found that Thomas accepted gifts and travel worth more than $4.75m since 1991

A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of supreme court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct.

Any movement on the issue appears unlikely as Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January, underscoring the hurdles in imposing restrictions on a separate branch of government even as public confidence in the court has fallen to record lows.

Ministry says ‘historically pending matter’ is being resolved as late king’s relatives acknowledge government – but choice of surname ruffles feathers

Members of Greece’s former royal family have applied for Greek citizenship and formally acknowledged the country’s republican system of government, in a landmark move 50 years after the monarchy was abolished, officials have confirmed.

The late king Constantine II and his family members were stripped of Greek citizenship in 1994 in a dispute with the government over formerly royal property and claims that he refused to renounce any right to the Greek throne for his descendants.

AGI in South Carolina investigated by government after leaked files revealed traumatic injuries and animal deaths

The US Department of Agriculture is investigating allegations from an animal rights organisation concerning Alpha Genesis Incorporated (AGI), the animal experimentation facility and breeder, from which 43 monkeys escaped last month.

AGI is accused of “abuse and neglect�, and of violations of the Animal Welfare Act, as leaked documents show that between 2021 and 2023, multiple primates held at AGI centres endured preventable traumatic injuries and deaths.

Experts explain the pontiff’s appeal as the most recent AI images of Francis, with the singer Madonna, go viral

For the pope, it was the wrong kind of madonna.

The pop legend, she of the 80’s anthem Like a Prayer, has stirred controversy in recent weeks by posting deepfake images on social media which show the pontiff embracing her. It has fanned the flames of a debate which is already raging over the creation of AI art in which Pope Francis plays a symbolic, and unwilling, role.

Researchers in North Carolina used underwater sonar to map a system created by enslaved people centuries ago

As a former deputy state underwater archaeologist, Mark Wilde-Ramsing can’t help but look down. While rowing around North Carolina’s Eagles Island, at the tip of the Gullah Geechee corridor, he noticed signs of human-made structures, visible at low tide. Though he’d retired, he was still active in the field and knew his former agency hadn’t recorded the structures – which meant he had come across something previously undocumented. The next step was figuring out exactly what he’d found.

Wilde-Ramsing knew the area had once been full of rice fields. His neighbor, Joni “Osku� Backstrom, was an assistant professor in the department of environmental sciences at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington whose specialty was shallow-water sonar, and he had the skills and technology to explore the area. Using a sonar device, the duo detected 45 wooden structures in the river, and the remote sensing tool allowed Backstrom and Wilde-Ramsing to acoustically map the canal beds.

Near the eastern city of Goma, charities such as MSF are reporting rising numbers of refugees experiencing rape and torture

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They arrive every few minutes, survivors of the unrelenting sexual violence that defines one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. And among the first to assess the exhausted women after they reach the squalid camps on the outskirts of Goma, regional capital of the war-ravaged east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is Irengue Trezor.

The 35-year-old works for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), overseeing the charity’s sexual violence clinics within the sprawling camps of grubby white tents that are home to 650,000 people who have fled the fighting.

Villagers say Israel’s forces have sown ‘fear and horror’ as they continue to expand into Syria’s territory

The Israeli military said its forces shot a protester during a demonstration against the army’s activities in a village in southern Syria on Friday, injuring him in the leg.

Since Islamist-led rebels toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on 8 December Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military facilities in what it says is a bid to prevent them from falling into hostile hands.

The big day is almost here, but it’s not too late to grab an 11th-hour pressie. They’ll never know …

You’ve forgotten, haven’t you? It happens. But don’t panic: from a baking course to a year’s supply of cinema tickets, here are 14 genuinely thoughtful last-minute Christmas gifts that you can buy online, sign up for or book right now – and they’ll never know you forgot.

Our list of experiences, vouchers and subscriptions is also perfect for those people who don’t need more stuff, are impossible to buy for or enjoy supporting the arts or small food producers. An email may not be as exciting as unwrapping a gift, but an experience or subscription can last months, and they’ll think of you every time they make their subscription morning coffee.

From Toast to Rixo, British labels are finding new fans across the Atlantic. Our styling editor shares her wisdom for US-based customers looking for a slice of the sartorial pie

Like the Beatles before them, a slew of British brands are taking the US by storm with their whimsical dresses and cosy knitwear.

First up is Toast, the purveyor of said knitwear. Then there is Me + Em – a favourite of the Princess of Wales and Victoria Starmer, wife of the British prime minister – and party dress expert Rixo, two cult brands that have opened bricks-and-mortar shops in New York. This season, the London-based, great plains-coded brand O Pioneers is also apparently looking for a site for its move west. And finally, traditional nightwear label If Only If has yet to open a physical store, but that hasn’t stopped its online sales going up by 500% in the US this year.

A quality coat is central to a successful winter wardrobe, so here are our top tips for choosing the perfect style for you

During winter, you wear your coat more than anything else in your wardrobe. When the drizzly season hits, it’s the weatherproof saviour that makes leaving the house just about bearable. Beyond practicalities, though, it’s also an important style choice. As the top layer of every outfit, it’s the piece of clothing everyone sees first, so you need to make it count.

There’s much to consider when hitting the shops for a new piece of outerwear. Will it be warm enough? Is it a design you’ll wear in a year’s time? Does it coordinate with the rest of your wardrobe?

Not sure which whisky to sip by a roaring fire? No problem, we’ve tasted them straight up for you

Whether you’re stocking the bar trolley or hunting for a gift for a hard-to-buy-for relative, you’ll likely be one of the many picking up a bottle or two of whisky this Christmas.

After carefully testing every whisky on this list – and many more – we are full of festive spirit and ready to step in to Christmas. Some whiskies were stirred into manhattans, others were enjoyed as a highball, and all were tasted straight up; all in the name of fairness, you understand.

Miquita Oliver and Lily Allen’s intimate chats, Jake Shears’s deep dive into queer anthems and the ongoing mystery of Lord Lucan were among the standouts

1. Miss Me?
BBC Sounds
The effortlessly charismatic real-life friend duo of Miquita Oliver and Lily Allen stomps all over boring two-hander bro-casts. Their twice-weekly transatlantic catch-ups tackle everything from living with addiction to the joy of potatoes and the madness of house parties. My fave.

2. The Wonder of Stevie
Audible and Higher Ground
From the Obamas’ production company, this authoritative, joy-packed series on the life and music of Stevie Wonder not only features a high celebrity count but a wonderful host in Wesley Morris.

The film-maker’s latest is a three and-a-half-hour epic about the building of a modernist masterpiece, and the toll its creation takes on its architect. The film’s making was almost as gruelling. ‘People told me I’d never make another movie’, Corbet says

The Brutalist is a big, muscular American epic that pits the individual against the machine; the artist against the cogs and wheels of commerce. It spins the tale of László Tóth, a Hungarian-born architect who’s beset on all sides, by capricious patrons, unreliable partners, mutinous contractors and an outraged general public. László is determined to make his masterpiece. His wife, though, is spooked by the psychological cost. “Promise you won’t let it drive you mad,� she says.

Architecture isn’t so different from independent film-making, says the film’s writer-director, Brady Corbet. It follows the same basic principles, throws up the same problems and provides similar levels of agony and ecstasy, and always more of the former. Corbet is now 36 years old and three movies into a gilded career. That makes him a success, a 21st-century Orson Welles. It’s just that each project takes its toll and, financially speaking, artists rarely if ever break even. “Eventually you start doing the math,� he explains. “And with every film it’s the same result. There are so many sacrifices you have to make along the way. And I can’t say for certain that it ever feels worth it.�

With Noel and Liam set to return, the style they popularised in the 1990s is back in the spotlight – but what will the Insta-fashion-conscious Gen Z make of it all?

The great Oasis comeback doesn’t start until summer 2025 but model and influencer Thomas Meacock – a 23-year-old who delights his 700,000 followers with “blokecore� outfits and a 90s feathered hair style – already knows what he’s going to wear. “Straight black or indigo jeans, a sage Oakley parka, any old Adidas trainers and my mum’s Ray-Ban wraparound sunnies.� Basically, he says, he wants to stay “as close to Liam Gallagher from the D’You Know What I Mean? music video as possible�.

Meacock is not the only twentysomething thinking about his outfit and studying the fashions of the mid-1990s. The announcement of an Oasis reunion means Britpop style and its myriad references – from bucket hats and parkas to 1970s suiting – is being looked at again. Apparently, searches for “Oasis band� were up 105% on Pinterest the week the tour was announced.

From Maigret to Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple, authors choose the whodunnits they love to hunker down with at this time of year

A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories by Georges Simenon

Hugely popular show to get Disney feature film treatment but creator Joe Brumm will stop writing TV series

Bluey fan sites can be quite odd places. In normal times, adult enthusiasts of the wildly successful children’s cartoon post pictures of prime merchandise – like Bluey-themed silky bra and short sets or plush dog-shaped armchairs – and start conversations about which cheery canine character they most resemble.

But these are not normal times. This week Disney announced it would release the first full-length feature film based on the show, which features the eponymous anthropomorphic puppy and her family of Australian heelers, sparking widespread jubilation. The excited chatter was soon tempered with concern as the show’s creator, Joe Brumm, revealed in a blogpost that while he would write and direct the film, he would be stepping away from writing the TV series.

Mark Gatiss’s one-off spooky tale starring Mawaan Rizwan, Monica Dolan and Éanna Hardwicke is a total treat. Can we have much more like this please?

Heavens! Oh, it’s you, Doctor Blathery: forgive me, you gave me an awful fright. You see it’s the queerest thing: this little stone statue I inherited with the cottage when I moved to this sleepy village from London (where everybody hates me because I’m from London), well, it seems to me … Oh, you shall call me half-mad! It seems to be moving around from room to room when I’m not looking. I swear it to you: last night, while I was reading by the fire and holding a handkerchief – which I do every night because it’s Victorian times and they haven’t invented telly yet – it was over on the dressing table, and now … why, it’s on the dining room chair! Doctor, you look shaken. Take a seat, I shall fetch you some brandy. Doctor: what happened to the charming young couple who lived here afore me all those years ago? You … you knew her, didn’t you?

Sorry, sorry. I slip into “Victorian voice� a lot at Christmas. Christmas, as you know, is the best time of the year – Coke adverts! Quality Street! One binbag for the recyclable wrapping paper and another, much plumper bag for the glossy stuff! – but it’s also a weirdly spooky one, and is arguably a better time to consume a ghost story than Halloween is. Thankfully. the BBC knows this, and so has been on-and-off commissioning a ghost story to marken the yule – no, I’ve gone Victorian again. Anyway, they started in 1971, did it until 1978, stopped until 2005, have been doing it sporadically since then, and a few years ago someone had the good sense to just hand the whole thing over to Mark Gatiss and go: “Mark, please Gatiss this as hard as you possibly can.� This is his seventh year doing just that.

Topped with Charli xcx’s swaggering yet vulnerable Brat, here are the year’s finest LPs as decided by 26 Guardian music writers
• More best music of 2024
• More on the best culture of 2024

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Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama was chilling, Lily Farhadpour charmed in Iran and Paul Mescal was tremendous in a fantasy-romance as our critics select their standout picks of the year
• The best films in the US
• More on the best culture of 2024

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As we close in on the No 1, a true story made for groundbreaking (and controversial) viewing, a chalk-and-cheese pair finally got it on – and Gary Oldman’s blew us away
• More on the best culture of 2024

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DJ Love celebrated car horns, Kenyan metalhead Lord Spikeheart traversed trap and doom, while 82-year-old Milton Nascimento joined forces with Esperanza Spalding

• More on the best music of 2024
• More on the best culture of 2024

Mongolian singer Enji’s debut collaboration with German jazz drummer Simon Popp is a masterclass in vocal range and control. Largely wordless and laden with reverb, Enji’s intricate vocalisations span everything from the percussive whispers of sharp breath on Akin to yearning, drawn-out phrases on Cathedral and the sprightly rhythms of Ybbs. Popp, meanwhile, accompanies with melodic drum textures, including interlocking patterns on toms and tuned percussion. Recording almost entirely in single, improvised takes, Enji and Popp produce a remarkably expansive and imaginative sound from just two instruments, sitting somewhere between enveloping ambience and spiritual improvisation.

Joe, 29, an academic, meets Alison, 30, a book publisher

What were you hoping for?
A Guardian-sponsored marriage in time for Christmas. Just kidding … but I was keeping my fingers crossed for a little magic.

Frozen or tinned spinach is the key to a rich, silky store-cupboard dish that’s best enjoyed with rice or flatbreads

I’ll let you into a secret that every Indian home cook already knows: frozen or tinned spinach makes for the best saag. For a start, there’s not as much water to cook out as there is with fresh spinach, and it breaks down into that gorgeous, oozy-delicious emerald mass more easily than fresh spinach does. Also, there is a general lightening of the human spirit that comes from making something nearly entirely from the freezer or store cupboard (well, it does for me, anyway). That’s the sort of miracle I appreciate at Christmas time.

Fried rice in a moreish garlic and spring onion sauce, and an excellent way to use up cheeseboard scraps, crackers and all

With the Christmas menu largely planned, we can now all admit that the thing we really love about the festivities is the time after the day itself. Expectations return to planet normal and most of us revert to cooking much as we do for the rest of the year: a fridge raid here, a stir-fry there, home-cooked meals served up to friends and family who are more than happy just to be fed. So this is a time when cooking with food that has already been cooked feels like the biggest win of all. With most of the work pretty much done, it’s often just a case of assembly, stirring and reheating. Entertaining the easy way.

Happy cryptic Christmas …

• More puzzles here, in our Christmas special

Readers say doorstep theft is a ‘nightmare’, but some thieves have not got what they expected in parcels

• Police warn UK shoppers over ‘porch pirates’

Doorstep parcel thieves are making off with a variety of gadgets and pricey fashion items ranging from computer monitors to Ugg footwear. However, the “lucky dip� nature of the crime means some crooks are opening their pilfered packages to discover they contain biodegradable cat litter or incontinence pads.

An increase in home shopping has fuelled a rise in doorstep thefts, with “porch pirates� making off with an estimated £376m-worth of goods in the 12 months to August.

We would like to hear from people whose employers are looking to increase time working in the office in 2025

A range of large employers, such as Starling Bank, have called thousands of workers back to their desks in a tightening of rules on remote working. During the Covid pandemic many employers allowed staff to work from home but some are now reducing, or removing, that flexibility.

We would like to know if you are expected to spend more time in the office next year and how you feel about it. Do you have concerns? Are you considering a change of job because of it?

We would like to hear from people in the UK and what they predict will happen to their finances next year

We want to find out more about how people in the UK feel about the state of their finances and what the new year might bring for them.

What are your hopes and concerns for your finances in 2025? Are you hoping to get promoted or change jobs? Are you starting a family and worried about how you will manage? Perhaps you have been unemployed and will be returning to work next year. What will this mean for you?

We’d like to hear about the nightclubs that have shut down in your area

We’d like to hear from people across the UK about cherished nightclubs that are now no more.

Nightclubs across British towns and cities have been closing at a rapid rate – 65 this year alone – and we’d like you to share memories and pictures of any that that you used to frequent. Which ones were your favourites and why?

Is there anything you’d like to know about UPFs? The Guardian’s new video podcast, It’s complicated

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become an everyday part of many people’s diets. From ready meals to breakfast cereals, these foods are engineered for convenience and taste – but at what cost? With growing attention on how ultra-processed foods (UPFs) influence our health, the environment, and even the way we view eating, it’s no wonder there’s so much confusion and curiosity surrounding them.

In our new video podcast on the Guardian’s It’s Complicated YouTube channel, we want to explore what really goes into UPFs and what that means for our wellbeing. What makes a food ‘ultra-processed’ compared to regular processed foods? Are all UPFs inherently unhealthy? How did they become such a dominant part of the food landscape, and what would it mean to cut them out? These are just some of the questions we’re looking to answer — but we really want to hear from you.

Experts say they’re unsurprised by ‘expressions of anger’ at the healthcare system after the death of Brian Thompson

Americans are sharing stories of heartbreaking insurance denials – ones that led to worse illness and death – in the aftermath of the killing of Brian Thompson, CEO of the mega-insurer United Healthcare.

A rise in practices such as prior authorizations and automated denials of coverage have made it more difficult for Americans to access healthcare, and changes are urgently needed to reform practices like these and restore trust in the health system, experts said.

More than 80 countries – more than half the world’s population – voted this year in elections that could be pivotal for democracy

More than 80 countries headed to the polls in 2024, including some of the wealthiest and most powerful, the most populous, the most authoritarian and the most fragile. Many votes tested the limits of democracy, while others were exercises in rubber-stamping. Some were boycotted by the opposition or undermined by government crackdowns on press and dissenters. We kept track of all the results with our election tracker:

A decade on from the Guardian’s last visit, it is clear war has ripped the city apart – but there are signs of positive change

Bashar al-Assad’s face has been ripped away from posters at the abandoned checkpoint that separates Sheikh Maqsoud, a neighbourhood in the north of Aleppo, from the rest of the city. No cars dare use the wide boulevard any more because the road is still watched by Kurdish snipers allied to the regime. The units retreated into the warren of bombed and burnt-out buildings when Islamist rebel groups launched an unprecedented attack on the city at the end of November, triggering a chain reaction that led to the swift collapse of the Assad dynasty.

Civilians hurry past, some with small children in pushchairs, others rolling cooking gas canisters down the road, all trying not to attract undue attention. A man had been shot and killed here the night before, picked off from the upper floor of a windowless apartment block. Aleppo fell to an umbrella of Sunni Arab factions led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) three weeks ago, but the Kurdish units stationed in Sheikh Maqsoud refused to surrender when HTS came in, afraid of what would happen if they did. Now, they appear to be waiting for something to shift in Syria’s new and fragile status quo.

March against murder and sexual violence in Grand-Bassam echoes first public demonstration by women in the country, which took place in 1949

With their chants ringing through the streets, nearly 200 women and girls march through the Ivory Coast town of Grand-Bassam. It is early December, and the march is the culmination of 16 days of activism to denounce femicide in the west African country.

The demonstrators, aged between 14 and 75, are dressed in orange and armed with slogans expressing their pain. “Tired of being killed, tired of being raped,� one woman chants in French. “Protect us alive, not dead,� yells another.

Scientists surprised to find so many animals unknown to science in Alto Mayo, a well-populated region

Researchers in the Alto Mayo region of north-west Peru have discovered 27 species that are new to science, including a rare amphibious mouse, a tree-climbing salamander and an unusual “blob-headed fish�. The 38-day survey recorded more than 2,000 species of wildlife and plants.

The findings are particularly surprising given the region’s high human population density, with significant pressures including deforestation and agriculture.

The man accused in Brian Thompson’s killing was in court in New York on federal charges – which could carry the death penalty

When Luigi Mangione walked into a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday afternoon, he looked like any number of smartly dressed defendants prosecuted here – not someone accused of a brutal murder on the streets of New York that caused headlines around the world and a national manhunt.

Mangione, 26, is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in a brazen street assassination that also sparked a national outpouring of social media vitriol from many Americans against the healthcare industry.

Mass rape case in France has stirred up strong emotions and advanced a new feminist discourse, observers say

It was during a workshop on macramé near Barcelona, between bouts of tugging on ropes and tying knots, that the conversation turned to the mass rape trial taking place in neighbouring France. After one woman at the table said she was considering travelling to Avignon for a rally in support of Gisèle Pelicot, another stood up, introduced herself and said she would like to come along.

Six days later, six women from the workshop made the six-hour trip to Avignon together in a rented car. They were intent on joining the many expressing their horror after Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was accused of drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her over the course of a decade.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In France, the France Victimes network can be contacted on 116 006. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

Andrew Haigh’s devastating metaphysical drama follows a lonely gay writer as he interacts with the ghosts of his parents

• Andrew Scott on starring in All of Strangers
• The best films of 2024 in the UK

Underneath the radical swoon of Andrew Haigh’s ground-shifting gay drama Weekend was a swell of sadness. Clearer in the film’s more universal right-people-wrong-time romance but also in the more specific, and knottier, queerness. It was a rare, giddy uplift to see young gay men fall headfirst for each other with such believable and unfettered intimacy but their affection existed in a world full of caveats – where to kiss, how to act, who to be – and it was only in privacy that they could really be themselves. “When I’m at home I’m absolutely fine,� Tom Cullen’s Russell says. “I’m happy being gay … It’s when I go outside …�

Twelve years later in All of Us Strangers, Haigh’s first film about gay characters since, what lies outside has dramatically changed. Same-sex marriage has been legalised. Gay culture at large has been more widely embraced, from Heartstopper to Queer Eye to Drag Race. It has, allegedly, got better. But for Andrew Scott’s lonely gay writer, Adam, things remain troubled on the inside, a fix to the political not enough to mend the personal, living like Cullen’s Weekend protagonist before him, in a high-rise far away from everyone and everything else. This time it’s not just on the edge of a city but on the edge of the world, eerily close to that of another, on the precipice between the living and the dead.

Entering the world of work can seem overwhelming, but remember that every stage of life is initially a challenge. Give yourself time to adjust
• Every week Annalisa Barbieri addresses a relationship problem sent in by a reader

I am a 23-year-old woman who has recently finished studying for a masters and started working full-time on a graduate scheme. Although I really enjoy my work and my colleagues are lovely, I can’t help but think about never having enough time to do truly what I want to do.

After the eight hours I spend at work, an hour and a half of commuting each day, an hour for cooking, another hour for personal hygiene and then eight hours for sleep, I don’t feel I have any time for anything fulfilling.

As the deadly fungal disease tightens its grip, scientific efforts to protect ash trees are advancing

The UK is home to more than 100m mature ash trees, and every spring tells the same grim story: leaves emerge, wither and drop within weeks, as ash dieback disease tightens its grip.

Millions stand dead in woodlands and hedgerows across the British Isles, with an estimated 2bn seedlings and saplings at risk. Many experts have long feared the future of this cherished, ecologically important native tree hangs in the balance.