General news

• Nadhim Zahawi defection shows Reform UK ‘has no shame’, says Labour – UK politics live

  12-01-2026 14:23 via theguardian.com
  Nigel Farage reveals convert to party as former chancellor says UK ‘has reached a dark and dangerous chapter’Zahawi says he accepts that the Conservatives are to blame for some of the problems facinng the country.Since leaving parliament, I have been reflecting on the successes and failures of my old party’s time in government, and I rue the timidity, even at times the weakness, with which we try to deal with the problems of the country.My analysis is that a huge culprit is the
  
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• US will have Greenland ‘one way or the other’, says Trump as EU warns it would mark the end of Nato – Europe live

  12-01-2026 14:21 via theguardian.com
  US president repeats his desire for the territory; EU defence commissioner says attempt to take Greenland by force would mark end of NatoThe European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is to travel to Paraquay on Saturday to sign the controversial Mercosur trade deal with a group of Latin American countries this Saturday.The deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uraguay and Paraguay was adopted by member states on Friday, ending 25 years of negotiation and months of wrangling with member states ov
  
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• Hungary grants asylum to former Polish minister amid abuse of power investigation

  12-01-2026 14:17 via theguardian.com
  Former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro faces allegations he ran a criminal group while in governmentEurope live – latest updatesA former Polish minister who is under investigation for alleged abuse of power during his time in the conservative-nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government has been granted political asylum in Hungary.Zbigniew Ziobro, the former justice minister, was one of the most prominent faces of the PiS government and played a central role in its controversial judiciary
  
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• Iran foreign minister claims protest unrest has ‘come under total control’

  12-01-2026 14:07 via theguardian.com
  Internet blackout hampering efforts to verify if violent crackdown has blunted movement’s momentumIran crisis live – latest updatesIran’s foreign minister has claimed the situation in the country has “come under total control” as authorities carry out a brutal crackdown against the nationwide protest movement.Abbas Araghchi made the comments to foreign diplomats in Tehran, without supplying evidence. Continue reading...
  
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• Criminal investigation into Fed chair Powell has ‘reinforced’ concerns over independence, Goldman Sachs warns – business live

  12-01-2026 14:02 via theguardian.com
  Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsJustice department opens investigation into Jerome Powell as Trump ramps up campaign against Federal ReserveIn the UK property sector, a higher proportion of homes in London were sold at a loss than any other region in England and Wales last year.Estate agency Hamptons has reported that nearly 15% of London sellers sold for less in 2025 than they originally paid, almost double the national average of 8.7%.Last year, the average homeowner
  
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• Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for antipasti beans on toast | Quick and easy

  12-01-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  A homegrown favourite with an Italian twist: choose whichever antipasti vegetables you like, and definitely use the oil from the jarPerhaps you still have some cheeseboard odds and sods in the fridge from Christmas? I know I still have a few to get through, but, other than that, my fridge and cupboards are looking pretty bare. Beans on toast has always been my go-to meal in times such as these, and when I need comfort, familiarity and ease. What used to involve opening a tin and reheating the co
  
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• Brutal, vibrant and creative: capturing the soul of Latin America in 100 photographs

  12-01-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  The journalist Paulo Antonio Paranaguá uses images from the turbulent continent to weave a history of the region, covering colonisation, slavery and dictatorshipIts tumultuous past, marked by massacres, slavery, violent domination, coups d’état, revolutions and uprisings, often overshadows another narrative of Latin America: that of a vibrant, culturally rich region where art, creativity and solidarity hold a central place in society.Throughout its post-Columbian history &nda
  
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• ‘Hundreds more’ federal agents being deployed in Minnesota after killing of Renee Good – US politics live

  12-01-2026 13:56 via theguardian.com
  Kristi Noem says that more officers are being deployed amid protests in several citiesHe has warned he is considering “very strong” military action over the regimes crackdown on protesters.Possible actions for the US include military strikes, deploying secretive cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites, placing more sanctions on Iran’s government and boosting anti-government sources online, sources say. Continue reading...
  
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• Lucas Paquetá asked not to play for West Ham in FA Cup and wants to join Flamengo

  12-01-2026 13:53 via theguardian.com
  Midfielder unhappy in England and keen on Brazil returnWest Ham would like to keep him until end of seasonLucas Paquetá asked to be left out of West Ham’s FA Cup tie against QPR and is keen to join Flamengo this month.The midfielder has grown disillusioned with life in England and wants to return to Brazil. Flamengo are willing to pay €40m (£34.7m) for Paquetá, who was last year cleared of alleged breaches of the Football Association’s betting regulations, an
  
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• Major incident declared as 30,000 homes left without water in Kent and Sussex

  12-01-2026 13:45 via theguardian.com
  South East Water blames cold weather and Storm Goretti for problems, with schools and libraries closed for dayA major incident has been declared after 30,000 homes in Kent and Sussex were left without water.People in areas including Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury and Maidstone have been without water for as long as five days. Continue reading...
  
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• Losing is horrible but even us Crystal Palace fans smiled for Macclesfield

  12-01-2026 13:34 via theguardian.com
  We can relate to the struggles their club has experienced in recent years so can only wish them well in the FA CupBy The Football Mine“And that is the last kick of the match. One of the greatest FA Cup giantkillings has happened here in the sunshine at the Moss Rose. The holders, Crystal Palace, have been knocked out. What a turnaround of fortunes for Crystal Palace: winners at Wembley in May, losers in Macclesfield in January.” John Murray, speaking on BBC radio, provided the epitap
  
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• Trump’s move to pull US from key UN climate treaty may be illegal, experts say

  12-01-2026 13:30 via theguardian.com
  President’s memo stating US ‘shall withdraw’ from UNFCCC marks first time any country has tried to exit the agreementThe Trump administration’s long-anticipated decision this week to pull the US from the world’s most important climate treaty may have been illegal, some experts say.“In my legal opinion, he does not have the authority,” Harold Hongju Koh, former head lawyer for the US state department, told the Guardian. Continue reading...
  
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• Ofcom investigating Elon Musk’s X after outcry over sexualised AI images

  12-01-2026 13:23 via theguardian.com
  Media regulator investigating site under Online Safety Act, with a de facto ban among possible punishmentsUK politics live – latest updatesThe UK media watchdog has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the use of the Grok AI tool to manipulate images of women and children by removing their clothes.Ofcom has acted after a public and political outcry over a deluge of sexual images appearing on the platform, created by Musk’s Grok, which is integrated with X. Cont
  
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• Truckin’ on: Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead’s 10 best recordings

  12-01-2026 13:11 via theguardian.com
  From 46-minute jams to MTV video hits, here are the freedom-loving Dead guitarist and singer’s finest songs about ‘rainbows of sound’ and ‘enjoying the ride’• Bob Weir, co-founder of rock group the Grateful Dead, dies at age 78
  • Alexis Petridis: ‘Bob Weir was the chief custodian of the Dead’s legacy’
  • Aaron Dessner: ‘I’ll never forget playing with him’The Dead’s love for the road is in evidence on this segme
  
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• Stan Wawrinka: ‘I really believe that I squeezed the lemon until the last drop’

  12-01-2026 13:10 via theguardian.com
  The 40-year-old is nearing end of his career and has no regrets after winning three grand slams in Big Three eraIn the first week of the final year of his life as a professional tennis player, Stanislas “Stan” Wawrinka found himself in the familiar position of staring down an opponent nearly half his age. Wawrinka, now 40, had tussled with the talented 23-year-old Flavio Cobolli for nearly three hours before offering himself a shot at a monumental victory.Just a few tense errors deep
  
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• New York City expects biggest nurses strike as nearly 15,000 set to walk off job

  12-01-2026 13:08 via theguardian.com
  Strike, amid an intense flu season, is expected to disrupt activity at institutions such as Mount Sinai and MontefioreThousands of nurses are set to walk off the job at several of New York City’s largest hospitals on Monday, staging a strike amid an intense flu season.The action comes three years after a previous strike that compelled some of the same hospitals to move patients elsewhere and reroute ambulances. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump’s other Latin American feud: why Colombia’s Petro is not Maduro

  12-01-2026 13:07 via theguardian.com
  Leftwing leader rallies his supporters as US president accuses him of drug trafficking and threatens military actionA leftwing South American firebrand calls for his followers to rally in public squares nationwide to defend his country’s sovereignty and decry verbal attacks from Donald Trump. The US president accuses the leader of personally flooding American streets with illegal drugs and imposes sanctions against him and his wife. Threats of military action are followed by a phone conver
  
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• WSL talking points: the Tullis-Joyce furore and Neville’s nightmare return

  12-01-2026 12:57 via theguardian.com
  Earring-gate prevents Estelle Cascarino from making her West Ham debut while City continue to lead the packThe sight of coaches issuing a tactical team talk while their goalkeeper receives medical treatment has become increasingly common in the WSL but it became particularly controversial after the goalless draw between Arsenal and Manchester United, especially when the visiting defender Dominique Janssen appeared to admit in an interview with Sky Sports that they had orchestrated it on purpose.
  
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• It’s not ‘fantasy’: I know Nigel Farage abused people for their nationality – because I was one of them | Rickard Berg

  12-01-2026 12:57 via theguardian.com
  I remember him as a racist, obnoxious bully, and his allegation that other ex-Dulwich boys and I are liars tells me he hasn’t changedThe new year has delivered a new position from Nigel Farage on the multiple and detailed accounts of his alleged racism and antisemitism during his time as a pupil at Dulwich College.We had outright denial when the Guardian first published its investigation. As further witnesses came forward, we had excuses: it was “banter”, there wasn’t any
  
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• Tottenham’s Mathys Tel open to loan for more game time as World Cup looms

  12-01-2026 12:51 via theguardian.com
  Paris FC, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray keen on forwardSpurs poised to land Santos left-back Souza in £13m dealMathys Tel has informed Tottenham he is open to leaving on loan, having grown frustrated at his lack of game time under Thomas Frank since a £30m move from Bayern Munich.Paris FC and the Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Galatasaray are understood to have registered interest in taking the 20-year-old forward on loan until the end of the season. Clubs in Italy and Spain are also beli
  
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• Super Stuttgart sweep Leverkusen aside with in-demand Leweling to the fore | Andy Brassell

  12-01-2026 12:39 via theguardian.com
  Plenty of prospective candidates for Germany’s World Cup squad caught the eye in a 4-1 cruise at the BayArenaIf ever there was a weekend to show up on your best form, then this was it. Stuttgart travelled to Bayer Leverkusen for Saturday night’s Topspiel not just facing a team with whom they have had a healthy sporting rivalry with over recent years, but with an audience to perform to. Starting with an XI containing seven current national team players they were – of course &nda
  
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• Four months and 40 hours later: my epic battle with 2025’s most difficult video game

  12-01-2026 12:10 via theguardian.com
  When Hollow Knight: Silksong came out last summer I was in so much pain that I didn’t know if I’d be able to play it. Could a video game teach me anything new about suffering?Last year I became uncomfortably well acquainted with suffering. In March I started experiencing excruciating pain in my right arm and shoulder – burning, zapping, energy-sapping pain that left me unable to think straight, emanating from a nexus of torment behind my shoulder blade and sometimes stretching
  
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• The Storm Whale review – touching tale of a little leviathan’s surprise visit

  12-01-2026 12:09 via theguardian.com
  Little Angel Studios, London
  Two children’s books by Benji Davies are adapted for an attractive production that would benefit from a bit more raucous funWho wouldn’t like to be beside this seaside? Noi and his dad share a cosy home with colourful bunting, sands on the doorstep and views of a stripy lighthouse. The Storm Whale, an adaptation of the 2013 picture book by Benji Davies and its sequel, opens with a romantic ode to the briny air. These gulls swoop majestically, rather than
  
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• US frackers were already facing a global oil supply glut. Trump’s Venezuelan dream could make it worse

  12-01-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Picture is as murky as a barrel of oil, with US companies in 2026 expecting their first production drop in four yearsUS shale-oil producers were already contending with oil prices at four-year lows. News that they may soon face a significant competitor in their back yard likely wasn’t how frackers wanted to greet 2026.The US capture of Venezuelan president Nicolaá Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, hit the share prices of independent shale-oil producers, such as Diamondback Energy a
  
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• Trump is repeating mistakes of Iraq in Venezuela | Mohamad Bazzi

  12-01-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  As it did in 2003, the US is underestimating the potential for instability as Trump resurrects one of the Iraq war’s biggest myths“Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!” Paul Bremer, the US proconsul in Iraq, famously declared at a press conference in Baghdad on 14 December 2003, a day after US troops had captured Saddam Hussein. Iraqis in the audience broke out in cheers, leapt up from their seats and pumped their fists in the air – many had waited decades for that moment. &
  
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• The pet I’ll never forget: Dory the 10kg rabbit, who saved me from a diabetic coma

  12-01-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  My Flemish giant bunny loved chomping on carrots, computer cables and my skirting board – and being walked on a leash. When I suffered a medical emergency, she jumped into actionThe first time I saw a Flemish giant rabbit was at TruckFest in Peterborough in 2002. Among a sprawling maze of stalls at the East of England showground, I was led into a tent filled with the biggest rabbits I’d ever laid eyes on. I’d never heard of Flemish giants before, but I knew then that I needed o
  
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• Post your questions for Melissa Leo

  12-01-2026 11:42 via theguardian.com
  The Oscar-winning actor – star of The Fighter, Frozen River, The Equalizer and now The Knife – will take on your questionsIt’s been quite the career for Melissa Leo, who has built an enviable reputation for portraying complex, tough, often unconventional women across more than 100 screen roles. We count her latest, where she plays a probing detective in psychological drama The Knife, as her 102nd.Back in the day, Leo broke through playing Linda Warner in US soap opera All My Ch
  
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• HMRC accepted ‘tolerable’ risk of harm in child benefit fraud crackdown

  12-01-2026 11:31 via theguardian.com
  Internal documents show tax officials withdrew funds without warning families despite concerns about dataUK politics live – latest updatesUK tax authorities believed that withdrawing child benefit payments from parentswithout prior consultation as part of an anti-fraud drive carried a “tolerable” risk, with only a “remote” chance of inflicting harm, according to internal documents.The revelations come just weeks after it emerged that at least 63% of those who had th
  
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• ‘One snub looms above all others’ – the biggest losers of the TV Golden Globes

  12-01-2026 11:12 via theguardian.com
  It was only right that huge disappointments like Severance and The White Lotus went away empty-handed … but they were far from the biggest kick in the teethThe full list of winnersTo look purely at the winners, last night’s Golden Globes proceeded exactly as expected. Adolescence swept the board, because of course it did, for all the reasons you already know off by heart by now. The Studio was similarly successful, on the basis that it is simultaneously funny, about the entertainmen
  
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• Sikh activist in UK told to increase security over Hindu nationalist threats

  12-01-2026 11:04 via theguardian.com
  Police ask Paramjeet Singh Pamma to install security cameras and reinforce door locks at his homePolice have advised a high-profile Sikh activist in the UK to install security cameras at his home and reinforce door locks because of threats from Hindu nationalist elements.Paramjeet Singh Pamma, 52, said he had been visited by police and received verbal advice to increase his security due to intelligence suggesting threats to his safety. Continue reading...
  
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• What does sugar do to your body – and how can you avoid a slump?

  12-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  We evolved to like energy-dense foods such as honey, but modern diets tend to include too much sugar. Here’s how to make sure you eat the right amount, at the right timeSugar tastes great for good reason: we evolved to like it, back when honey was a hard-to-get, energy-dense treat and we spent half of our time running around after antelope. Now that it’s much easier to get and we don’t move as much, that sweet tooth is working against us: many of us are consuming far too much o
  
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• Trump is ready to grab Greenland. The EU should move first – and offer it membership | Robert Habeck and Andreas Raspotnik

  12-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  The US president’s threats to the territory show Europe needs a new strategy for its far north: one based on cooperation, not dominationThe new year is still young, yet Donald Trump’s fixation on expanding his homeland signals a troubling geopolitical shift. From Venezuela to Greenland, the world is unmistakably moving away from the relative stability of the post-cold war era – not least also because of Russia’s war against Ukraine.This erosion of long-established norms h
  
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• Poem of the week: Dream-Pedlary by Thomas Lovell Beddoes

  12-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  From an almost whimsical beginning, these verses on wishing to overcome mortality grow lyrical and deeply movingDream-Pedlaryi. Continue reading...
  
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• People put off giving CPR by unrealistic TV depictions, researchers say

  12-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Most dramas show characters searching for pulse and giving breaths but experts say chest compressions on their own can save lives Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a dramatic intervention, but researchers say TV portrayals are often misleading – potentially influencing whether viewers feel able to carry it out themselves.According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) there are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Fear of the next deluge’: flood-scarred Britons join forces to demand help

  12-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  As climate breakdown puts millions more people at flood risk, traumatised homeowners are finding common voiceDarren Ridley is always on high alert, constantly checking his phone for rain warnings – even in the middle of the night.“Our whole family is permanently on edge,” he says. “If we hear rain, day or night, we’re up and checking the house. I can’t sleep without replaying our flood plan in my head for weaknesses.” Continue reading...
  
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• London’s murder rate drops to lowest in more than a decade

  12-01-2026 10:59 via theguardian.com
  Sadiq Khan says ‘public health’ approach has made the capital one of the safest cities in the western worldLondon’s murder rate has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade with police in the capital and the mayor saying it is now one of the safest cities in the western world.The figures come as those on the radical right criticise the city for having a crime problem, hoping to gain politically from such claims being believed. Continue reading...
  
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• The Only Cure by Mark Solms review – has modern neuroscience proved Freud right?

  12-01-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  An expert in both disciplines makes a bold attempt to convince sceptics, and partially succeeds Vladimir Nabokov notoriously dismissed the “vulgar, shabby, and fundamentally medieval world” of the ideas of Sigmund Freud, whom he called “the Viennese witch doctor”. His negative judgment has been shared by many in the near 90 years since Freud’s death. A reputational high-water mark in the postwar period was followed by a collapse, at least in scientific circles,
  
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• Escape review – notorious Japanese revolutionary tells story of country’s most wanted criminal

  12-01-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Director Masao Adachi – formerly of the Japanese Red Army – on the infamous Satoshi Kirishima, who went on the run in 1975 after a series of corporate bombingsMasao Adachi is an 86-year-old Japanese film-maker and former revolutionary activist who spent almost 30 years in Lebanese exile due to his former membership of terrorist group the Japanese Red Army in the 1970s; arrested on his return to Japan, after his release from prison he returned to cinema – and has now made this i
  
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• ‘Big step forward’: Myanmar military faces Rohingya genocide case at UN court

  12-01-2026 09:38 via theguardian.com
  Survivors of violence hope proceedings will bring justice a step closer and set a precedent for future genocide allegations“Finally, I feel like our voices are being heard, and like something is going to happen that is positive for the community,” says Monaira*. She was forced to flee her home in Myanmar in 2017, when the military launched so-called clearance operations across Rohingya villages.During the violence, her brother was taken by military soldiers, shot dead, and his home s
  
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• Brilliant, battered and unkillable: Josh Allen lurches towards the Super Bowl

  12-01-2026 09:30 via theguardian.com
  The Buffalo Bills quarterback is not only a danger to opponents. His bravery and skill inspire his teammates to elevate their playTwo things about the NFL playoffs are predictable: Josh Allen will play out of his skin ... and Josh Allen will suffer a soul-sucking, stupefying loss. Except, maybe, this year.We all know about the postseason heartbreaks and shortfalls over the years for Allen and the Buffalo Bills. In each season since 2019, Buffalo’s ride has ended in either the divisional or
  
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• JD Sports plans to let shoppers buy through AI platforms

  12-01-2026 09:13 via theguardian.com
  Retailer to allow ‘one-click purchases’ through assistants such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, beginning in USBusiness live – latest updatesJD Sports has said it plans to allow customers to buy its products directly through AI platforms without leaving the apps.The British trainer and sportswear company will allow “one-click purchases” through platforms such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, as big retailers attempt to keep up with AI-powered shopping. Continue r
  
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• Take your partner for Mr Beveridge’s Maggot! The boom in regency balls

  12-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Fans of Jane Austen and Bridgerton delight in recreating historical dances – but how do they learn the right moves?Inside the high-arched lobby of the Bank of England Museum, lines of women in flowing satin dresses twirl around men wearing stiff collars and black tailcoats. The room is filled with the sound of violins and conversation. The feathers and flowers on dancers’ heads sway as they laugh and chatter.This Jane Austen-themed ball, in celebration of the author’s 250th ann
  
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• Is it true that … stretching before exercise prevents injury?

  12-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Loosening your muscles is beneficial, but choosing the right type of movement for your chosen exercise is keyIt depends on what kind of stretching you’re doing, says Dr Alex Dinsdale, senior lecturer in sport and exercise biomechanics at Leeds Beckett University.Injuries, he says, happen for all sorts of reasons, from poor footwear to fatigue. Two key factors are not having the range of motion required or not being strong enough to control that motion. “You might go for a run and lif
  
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• I’m sick of avocado toast – I just want to keep my local, untrendy cafe | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

  12-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  With its pasties, decent brews and staff who are happy to chat, it’s a vital community space. So why are its days numbered?What do James McAvoy and my three-year-old son have in common? Very little, you might think, notwithstanding their shared awareness of the book The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet. Yet their lives overlap in a more tangible way, because they, along with Benedict Cumberbatch, patronise the same cafes on Hampstead Heath. Both actors have signed a petition protesting agains
  
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• FA Cup third round: 10 talking points from the weekend’s football

  12-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Crystal Palace’s stars wilt, Manchester City’s youngsters shine, and Liam Rosenior starts in stylish fashionPlaying against lower-league opposition as a top-flight side in the FA Cup is like batting on the first morning of a Test match – you cannot really win and failure can prompt humiliation and reputational damage. To that end, some members of the Crystal Palace side deservedly beaten by Macclesfield perhaps learned a valuable lesson at Moss Rose. Marc Guéhi and Adam
  
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• England’s Ashes has been a disaster but touring Australia with a disability has been ‘too easy’

  12-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Going to Australia as a freelance journalist with a form of muscular dystrophy was not without trepidation but an away Ashes was too good to pass up“Australia is not for weak men.” Had I heard Ben Stokes’s words in Brisbane earlier perhaps I wouldn’t have decided to cover the Ashes series as a freelancer. Had I known how England were going to play, I almost certainly wouldn’t.My attendance was not in any way predicated on how well England might do in the series &nda
  
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• New campaign urges Starmer not to diminish legal rights of Send children

  12-01-2026 08:01 via theguardian.com
  Backed by actor Sally Phillips and MPs across parties, group raises concerns about overhaul of provision in EnglandKeir Starmer is being urged not to diminish the legal rights of children with special educational needs by a new national campaign backed by the actor Sally Phillips and a cross-party group of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs.The group Save Our Children’s Rights claims the prime minister is “considering taking our legal rights away” as part of the gove
  
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• ‘Waves break right on to the bus windscreen’: a car-free trip along County Antrim’s dramatic coast

  12-01-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Three trains, two buses and a ferry take our writer from Essex to Northern Ireland, to enjoy wild swims, whiskey, sandy beaches and the Giant’s CausewayOystercatchers fly off as I step through stalks of storm-racked kelp for an icy dip in the winter-grey sea. Actually, the water feels unexpectedly warm, perhaps in contrast to the freezing wind. But it’s cold enough to do its job: every nerve is singing and I feel euphoric. I’m exploring the Antrim coast, which has some of the U
  
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• Seven by Joanna Kavenna review – a madcap journey to the limits of philosophy

  12-01-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  With its cast of thinkers, gamers and artists, this romp across Europe explores our desire to define reality – even as it slips from our intellectual graspJoanna Kavenna’s two decades as a writer have seen her beat a gorgeously unconventional path through a plethora of subjects and genres, from polar exploration to motherhood to economic inequality, and from travelogue to academic satire to technological dystopia. “I like genre,” Kavenna said in a 2020
  
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• How a family were shocked by allegations about a dead dad’s double life: best podcasts of the week

  12-01-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Was British army major Robbie Mills leading a secret double life? Or was his posthumous accuser hoodwinking Mills’ family? A true-crime investigation finds outA true-crime investigation into the supposed secret double life of British army major Robbie Mills. After Mills died in 1955, apparently from an accident on a submarine, a man called John Cotell turned up at his home claiming to be a friend of his – and a fellow spy. Journalist Eugene Henderson tells the troubling tale of Cotte
  
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