‘They’re selling everything as trauma’: how our emotional pain became a product | Katherine Rowland

In an economy that rewards confession and self-labeling, pain is no longer something to survive – but something to brand, sell, and curate

In March 2023, Dr Gabor Maté, a retired family physician and among the most respected trauma experts in the world, boldly diagnosed Prince Harry with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), during a live interview.

Having read the Duke of Sussex’s ghost-written memoir, Spare, Maté said that he had arrived upon “several diagnoses” that also included depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. These were not evidence of disease per se, Maté went on to elaborate. Rather, he said: “I see it as a normal response to abnormal stress.”

Published: December 14, 2025, 3:07 pm

Saturday Night Live: Josh O’Connor is lumped with a laugh-light episode

Musical guest Lily Allen ends up stealing subpar episode that fails to make the most of rising star’s first time as host

Saturday Night Live opens with Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) talking to reporters aboard Air Force One. From behind “curtain”, the Ambien and Adderall-riddled commander-in-chief “openly simp[s]” over his press secretary Karoline Leavitt (Ashley Padilla), brags about targeting suspected drug boats and drug planes over the Caribbean (footage from a strike reveals that the military blew up Santa’s sled), bashes the proposed sale of Warner Brothers to Netflix (“I don’t know why anyone would want Warner Brothers, they have one of the worst studio tours in LA”), and admits that “we should all be very worried about my health, I’m very ill”, before having Leavitt sign off with “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” (Padilla, who is quickly becoming one of SNL’s most featured cast members, gets the honors.)

To call this cold open slight is giving it too much credit – Johnson’s Trump remains a winner, but there is just no meat on this bone.

Published: December 14, 2025, 4:07 pm

Beware Trump’s two-pronged strategy undermining democracy | David Cole

The president announces non-existent emergencies to invoke extraordinary powers – and neutralizes the opposition

This month, we learned that, in the course of bombing a boat of suspected drug smugglers, the US military intentionally killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage after its initial air assault. In addition, Donald Trump said it was seditious for Democratic members of Congress to inform members of the military that they can, and indeed, must, resist patently illegal orders, and the FBI and Pentagon are reportedly investigating the members’ speech. Those related developments – the murder of civilians and an attack on free speech – exemplify two of Trump’s principal tactics in his second term. The first involves the assertion of extraordinary emergency powers in the absence of any actual emergency. The second seeks to suppress dissent by punishing those who dare to raise their voices. Both moves have been replicated time and time again since January 2025. How courts and the public respond will determine the future of constitutional democracy in the United States.

Nothing is more essential to a liberal democracy than the rule of law – that is, the notion that a democratic government is guided by laws, not discretionary whims; that the laws respect basic liberties for all; and that independent courts have the authority to hold political officials accountable when they violate those laws. These principles, forged in the United Kingdom, adopted and revised by the United States, are the bedrock of constitutional democracy. But they depend on courts being willing and able to check government abuse, and citizens exercising their rights to speak out in defense of the fundamental values when those values are under attack.

David Cole is the Honorable George J Mitchell professor in law and public policy at Georgetown University and former national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. This essay is adapted from his international rule of law lecture sponsored by the Bar Council.

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

‘I’m going to be heartbroken. This is a landmark’: cherished Times Square dive bar faces eviction

With cheap drinks and friendly locals, Jimmy’s Corner is a New York institution. But a real-estate developer has ordered its closure – can it survive?

Founded by Jimmy Glenn, a former boxer turned trainer, in 1971, Jimmy’s Corner has stood, defiantly unchanged, as Times Square has boomed around it.

The neighborhood bar, a New York City institution which attracts locals and tourists alike, has had the same pictures on the walls for decades – some of the bar’s regulars have been coming almost as long – kept the same furniture, and maintained remarkably low pricing. In a perhaps unintentional nod to its history, there is also several years’ accumulation of dust in some areas.

Published: December 14, 2025, 3:00 pm

The best cordless leaf blowers in the US to cut down time without bothering neighbors

Battery-powered leaf blowers from Ryobi, Ego and Stihl quickly clean up leaves with no gas, no smell, and dramatically less noise

• In the UK? The best leaf blowers: 10 favourites to speed up raking – plus smart ways to reuse your fallen leaves

• Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things

Electric leaf blowers are on track to soon outsell their obnoxious gas counterparts, and for good reason. They’re easier to start, require almost no maintenance, and many run quietly enough for early-morning yard sessions without bothering the neighbors.

Cordless models offer the ultimate freedom to roam untethered, but they come with tradeoffs in power, weight, runtime and of course cost. To find the model that balanced these best, I tested seven models across the price spectrum on dry leaves, damp leaves, pine needles, and general yard debris. Throughout testing, I paid close attention to control, comfort and how long each battery maintained usable power.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:15 pm

The kindness of strangers: I was so ill I couldn’t walk when a man virtually carried me to the toilets

I was determined not to vomit in front of six lanes of traffic, so I started crawling towards a nearby park

• Read more in the kindness of strangers series

When I was 19, I commuted to work every morning on an express bus. It was perpetually crowded and would always be standing room only by the time I got on.

One particular morning, I was feeling quite nauseous as the bus swayed around each corner. I kept telling myself to hold on another few kilometres until the bus got to my stop, and then I could make a mad dash for the nearest public toilet to throw up.

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

Bondi beach shooting live updates: PM says national cabinet to discuss tougher gun laws today; police find additional firearm and IED at crime scene

Follow live

• Full report

• Victims named so far

• What we know about the Bondi terror attack

Amid the horror of the shooting, one video has emerged showing incredible bravery – a bystander rushing one of the gunmen from behind to wrestle the firearm off him.

Praised a hero, he is being identified by some media as a 43-year-old fruit shop owner from the Sutherland Shire.

Published: December 15, 2025, 4:01 am

Bondi beach terror attack: father and son duo alleged to be behind shooting using licensed firearms

Naveed Akram identified as alleged shooter seen firing from bridge, with reports his father Sajid was shot dead by police

• Follow the latest live updates on the Bondi beach shooting

• Victims named so far

• What we know so far about the Bondi terror attack

The alleged gunmen behind the Bondi beach attack are a father-son duo suspected of using legally obtained firearms to commit the massacre, according to police.

Naveed Akram, 24, was arrested at the scene and taken to a Sydney hospital with critical injuries. His 50-year-old father, who the Sydney Morning Herald first reported to be Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police. Police would not confirm their names.

Published: December 15, 2025, 3:09 am

Benjamin Netanyahu blames Anthony Albanese for Bondi beach terror attack, as world leaders express horror

Israeli prime minister claims the Australian government ‘let the disease’ of antisemitism spread ‘and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today’

• Follow live updates

• Bondi beach terrorist attack: full report

• What we know about the Bondi beach attack

Leaders around the world expressed their horror at Sunday’s terrorist attack on Bondi beach, in which at least 16 people died, mixed in some cases with harsh words for the Australian government for alleged shortcomings in tackling antisemitism over the past two years.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had written to his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, in August, warning that the government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state “pours fuel on the antisemitic fire … emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew hatred now stalking your streets”. He claimed Albanese had “replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement”.

Published: December 14, 2025, 9:44 pm

Anthony Albanese vows to deploy all resources against antisemitism as criticism mounts after Bondi attack

After Bondi beach mass shooting, Coalition members and antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, accuse government of failing to match actions to rhetoric

• Follow latest updates

• Bondi terror attack: full report

• What we know so far about the Bondi attack

Anthony Albanese says his government will dedicate “every single resource required” to eradicate antisemitism in Australia after the Bondi terror shooting, after envoy Jillian Segal and the Coalition accused Labor of not doing enough to fight hate against Jewish communities.

National cabinet was due to meet on Monday afternoon, after the national security committee of federal cabinet convened again.

Published: December 15, 2025, 12:46 am

‘It was a massacre’: how antisemitic terror exploded the peaceful idyll of Bondi beach

Eyewitnesses describe acts of bravery from bystanders and police officers after gunmen opened fire on people enjoying a warm summer evening

• Bondi beach shooting: live updates

The killing went on so long, those fleeing had time to scream “they’re reloading” as they scrambled for any place of safety they could find.

Those who could not were pitilessly gunned down.

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:15 pm

Person of interest detained in Brown University shooting that left two dead

Nine others injured in Saturday attack that occurred during finals in engineering building in Providence, Rhode Island

A person of interest in the shooting that killed two people and wounded nine others at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday has been detained, police have said.

Col Oscar Perez – the Providence police force’s chief – confirmed at a news conference on Sunday that the person of interest was in their 20s. Perez did not provide many other details about the person, including whether that person was connected to Brown.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:06 pm

Ukraine willing to drop ambitions to join Nato, Zelenskyy says

Move marks big shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join Nato as safeguard against Russian attacks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered to drop Ukraine’s aspirations to join the Nato military alliance, as he held five hours of talks with US envoys in Berlin on Sunday to end the war with Russia.

Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said “a lot of progress was made” as he and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met Zelenskyy in the latest push to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since the second world war – though full details were not divulged.

Published: December 14, 2025, 9:36 pm

Trump says building DC triumphal arch is domestic policy chief’s ‘primary thing’

Trump praises Vince Haley, his ex-speechwriter tasked with creating Arc de Triomphe knockoff amid affordability crisis

Amid concerns that he has failed to address a worsening affordability crisis, with health insurance premiums about to spike dramatically for over 20 million Americans, Donald Trump revealed on Sunday that his domestic policy chief’s main priority is building a triumphal arch for Washington DC.

Speaking at a White House holiday party, the president praised Vince Haley, his former speechwriter and a longtime aide to Newt Gingrich who now leads the White House Domestic Policy Council.

Published: December 14, 2025, 10:46 pm

Obamacare expiration will have ‘death spiral’ effect on US healthcare – experts

End of subsidies after failed legislation will have serious and damaging impact on entire sector, policy experts say

With subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance set to expire, Americans who rely on them will probably switch to plans with lower monthly premiums and high deductibles or decide not to purchase any coverage, which will have a serious and damaging impact on the entire sector, according to healthcare policy experts.

The average amount ACA plan enrollees pay annually for premiums is estimated to more than double, from an average of $888 this year to $1,904 in 2026, according to a KFF analysis.

Published: December 14, 2025, 5:00 pm

Pilot narrowly avoids ‘midair collision’ with US air force plane near Venezuela

JetBlue pilot calls incident ‘outrageous’ and says US military refueling tanker didn’t have transponder turned on

A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a US air force refueling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the military plane for crossing his path.

“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path ... They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”

Published: December 14, 2025, 8:28 pm

A prolific true crime producer was truly a criminal the whole time, the FBI says

Agency added Mary Carole McDonnell to Most Wanted list for loan fraud tied to phony heiress story

When Nigel Bellis went to work as a show runner for Bellum Entertainment in 2017, a friend gave him a warning: “They have a habit of not paying on time.”

Bellis spent the next several months in New Orleans, helping churn out more than 50 episodes of a true-crime TV show called Murderous Affairs. Though his payments came late, they always arrived. So when the company’s owner, Mary Carole McDonnell, offered him a new role in Los Angeles, he took it.

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:57 pm

NFL roundup: Mahomes tears ACL as Chiefs miss playoff for first time since 2014

• Packers star Parsons also has suspected torn ACL

• Bills overcome 21-0 deficit to beat Patriots

• Myles Garrett closes in on sack record

The Los Angeles Chargers eliminated the Kansas City Chiefs from playoff contention when Derwin James picked off a pass by Gardner Minshew – who had just taken over for the injured Patrick Mahomes – in the closing seconds to preserve victory over the reigning AFC champions.

Published: December 14, 2025, 9:44 pm

Jimmy Lai conviction is ‘death knell’ for Hong Kong press freedom, says Amnesty – live

Group says guilty verdicts against incarcerated media tycoon also show city’s national security laws designed not to protect but ‘to silence’ people

• Jimmy Lai verdict: Hong Kong pro-democracy figure convicted of national security offences

The three high court judges have entered the courtroom and taken their seats.

The hearing is due to begin and Lai has entered the court, news reports are saying, adding that he waved to his family.

Published: December 15, 2025, 3:57 am

Trump news at a glance: president pays tribute to Brown University shooting victims amid calls for gun control

Donald Trump addressed shooting as politicians urged action to improve gun controls – key US politics stories from Sunday at a glance

Donald Trump on Sunday paid his respects to two people killed and nine who were injured in a shooting at Brown University.

“Before we begin, I want to just pay my respects to the people, unfortunately two are no longer with us, Brown University, nine injured and two are looking down on us right now from Heaven,” the president told guests at a holiday reception at the White House.

Published: December 15, 2025, 12:44 am

‘It’s not a coincidence’: journalists of color on being laid off amid Trump’s anti-DEI push

Black and brown former employees from CBS, NBC and Teen Vogue talk about the effects of being let go

Trey Sherman was traveling to work on the New York subway when he received an email from David Reiter, a CBS News executive, about an imminent meeting on 29 October. Sherman, an associate producer of CBS Evening News Plus at the time, suspected that he would be laid off. CBS News’s parent company, Paramount, had closed a merger with the Hollywood studio Skydance in August, and planned to slash more than 2,000 jobs as part of corporate restructuring.

Sherman, who is Black, and Reiter, who is white, had an amicable conversation, according to Sherman. Reiter told Sherman that he was being laid off because his show was being eliminated, Sherman said, and that Reiter was unable to assign the team to other positions. Sherman accepted the news and the two men wished each other good luck.

Published: December 14, 2025, 1:00 pm

‘A very hostile climate for workers’: US labor movement struggles under Trump

National Labor Relations Board, the federal watchdog for workers’ rights, has been rendered toothless as employees grapple with corporations

On a cold January day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, workers at a Whole Foods Market store in the heart of the city made history. Organizers won a vote to form a union for the very first time in one of the grocery chain’s 530 US stores.

Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, which has spent years quashing unionization efforts within its sprawling empire. This result amounted to another blow in the tech giant’s armor.

Published: December 14, 2025, 11:00 am

Why celebrities are loving crypto again in Trump’s second term

From athletes such as Tristan Thompson to artists such as Iggy Azalea, celebrities have returned to hawking crypto

Following the numbers suggests Tristan Thompson is nearing the end of his basketball career. While the 6ft 9in center once regularly played more than 80 games in a regular season, he’s hit new career lows, appearing just 40 times on court during the 2024-2025 season. Following the money, however, suggests Thompson is pivoting into a new career. He’s rebranded as a crypto investor, consultant and brand ambassador, bringing his relative cultural cache to the blockchain. Now the host of his own podcast, Courtside Crypto, he has made frequent appearances with other crypto celebrities, such as at the Nasdaq in September, when he celebrated the IPO of an explicitly nationalist Bitcoin mining operation alongside Eric Trump; Thompson has also developed a crypto startup slated to launch in 2026.

In 2025, crypto is back in style in Washington and among a growing set in Hollywood, where Thompson lives adjacent to the Kardashian clan, some of whom have been crypto spokespeople. Donald Trump has reversed Joe Biden’s legal offensive against crypto, debuting his own token, $Trump, before his inauguration, and rolling back government actions against the industry, which heavily supported him during his bid for the presidency. Celebrities have likewise returned to hawking cryptocurrency projects or launching tokens of their own.

Published: December 14, 2025, 1:00 pm

‘Outright evil:’ anguish and anger over South Africans tricked into fighting for Russia

Relatives fear for lives of men thought to remain trapped in war after allegedly being recruited by a daughter of Jacob Zuma

Mary hasn’t heard from her son since 27 August, when he told her he was worried he was being sent to the frontlines of Russia’s war with Ukraine. Since then she has been ill with worry.

“I’m honestly really sick,” she said, exhaustion in her voice. “I get anxiety attacks, I’m in and out of hospital, palpitations. It’s just a whole lot. Headaches, I’m dizzy all the time. It’s not easy for me.”

Published: December 14, 2025, 7:00 am

Want job security in the age of AI? Get a state license – any state license

The coming tech boom is about to launch a boom in people who do things with their hands and minds

When I was in college and didn’t know what to do with my life, my dad offered this career advice: be a certified public accountant. Why?

“Because,” he said. “People will always need their taxes done. They’ll always need financial advice. With a CPA license, you can always hang out a shingle and put food on the table.”

Published: December 14, 2025, 3:00 pm

US wargames played out scenarios for Maduro’s fall. None of them ended well for Venezuela

Venezuelan politicians battling to end Maduro’s rule reject claims his downfall would thrust their country into maelstrom of bloodshed and retribution

Nicolás Maduro is chased out of office by a massive popular revolt but the Venezuelan military takes to the streets, turning its guns on the civilians who have brought him down.

A palace coup sends Venezuela’s authoritarian leader into exile, sparking a bloody power struggle between members of his disintegrating regime.

Published: December 14, 2025, 10:00 am

Anna Christie review – Michelle Williams is miscast in Eugene O’Neill misfire

St Ann’s Warehouse, New York

Oscar-nominated actor struggles to convince in an emotionally inert attempt to resurrect one of the playwright’s lesser-known works

Though it won a Pulitzer prize in 1922, Eugene O’Neill’s social melodrama Anna Christie is not among the venerated playwright’s most famous works. For the better part of a century, ambitious theater artists have endeavored to climb the mountains of Long Day’s Journey Into Night and The Iceman Cometh. Less so for Anna Christie, a strange piece about a supposedly ruined woman trying to get her life back in order.

It’s an interesting choice of vehicle for star Michelle Williams, making her return to the stage after a nine-year hiatus. Anna Christie is an erratic and now quite dated play, one whose moral outlook is hard to parse, its shifts in tone sudden and varied. There’s also the matter that at 45, Williams is about a quarter-century older than O’Neill’s heroine, who is meant to be a hardened and battered young woman trying to start her adult life on new footing.

Published: December 14, 2025, 9:00 pm

This is how we do it: ‘We were childhood sweethearts – and 28 years later we’re still having sex every day’

Sarah and Scott have been together since school, but the sex just keeps getting better
• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

It took me a while to figure out what turned me on – I was well into my 20s when I first had an orgasm with him

Published: December 14, 2025, 11:00 am

‘I feel shrink-wrapped’: the reluctant rise of shapewear for men

For years it’s been predicted that the market for male ‘support garments’ will take off … but it hasn’t quite happened. Now M&S is trying again

There is a moment – just seconds into getting dressed – when I think I might panic. The hem of my stretchy top has got rolled up round my ribs before my head has popped out of the neck hole, and with my hands still stuck in the sleeves, I cannot reach round to pull it down. I wriggle helplessly for a minute, but the situation doesn’t improve; the band of rolled-up fabric is taut across my chest, immovable. That’s when I feel the first tingle of rising alarm – so familiar from early childhood – that comes of being trapped in your clothes.

I am trying, for the first time, to put on an item of shapewear for men – an ordinary-looking, highly elasticated long-sleeved workout top that will, I hope, give me the instant slim profile of someone who goes to the gym regularly, instead of not since the pandemic started.

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

Joely Richardson looks back: ‘Natasha’s death was life-changing. She was a figurehead to me’

The Nip/Tuck and Downton Abbey star on losing her sister, growing up in a theatrical dynasty, and how she feels about ageing

Born in London in 1965, Joely Richardson is an actor and campaigner. The daughter of actor Vanessa Redgrave and director and producer Tony Richardson, she trained at Rada, and rose to prominence with roles in 101 Dalmatians, Nip/Tuck and The Tudors, as well as in theatre and on Broadway. More recently, she appeared in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. Richardson is working for Save the Children’s annual festive fundraiser, Christmas Jumper Day, and also backing the charity’s new Christmas campaign.

I remember this as a happy day, but my eyes tell a different story. They look a little mistrustful. In my arms is my brother Carlo – we have different fathers; his is Italian actor Franco Nero. That day was Carlo’s christening, and it was obvious from my hand position that I’m not used to standing like that. Someone’s gone: “Put your arms out! We’re taking a picture of you holding the baby!” The whole thing looks awkward.

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

After the Bondi attack, all Australians must support the right of Jews to live without fear | George Newhouse

Long before the shocking killings in Sydney, the threat of antisemitic violence was often left unchallenged. That must change

Like all Australians, Bondi isn’t just a place to me, it lives in my heart as a symbol of who we are. As a child I spent many Sundays on the beach at North Bondi life-savers as a “nipper”, and as a former mayor of Waverley council and a local councillor for more than a decade, I have walked its concrete ramparts thousands of times, in all its seasons.

In a few weeks, visitors from every corner of the globe will gather there to celebrate Christmas. For locals, it is a place of peace and play. For the small Jewish community, it is also a place where festivals are marked openly and proudly.

Published: December 14, 2025, 4:22 pm

Ella Baron on Donald Trump following Putin’s lead this Christmas – cartoon

Continue reading...

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:48 pm

Distressing videos can have a lasting impact – here’s how to look after yourself in the wake of the Bondi attack | Ahona Guha

It’s natural to want information about a traumatic event but graphic imagery can cause a significant stress response

• What we know about the Bondi terror attack

Like everyone else, I watched news of the Bondi attack unfold last night with shock, horror and dismay. As I did so, I was immediately assailed by imagery of bodies lying on the ground, barely hidden from view. I closed these videos immediately, knowing the way this imagery can stick in one’s mind.

When terrible events such as yesterday’s attack occur, we often race to find out as much as possible about what happened. We do so by trawling social media and news sites. This is a natural way of making sense of events, and reflects a human urge to know what is occurring around us in order to keep us safe. Sometimes it’s a more prurient interest, like the way we slow down to look at a crash.

Dr Ahona Guha is a clinical and forensic psychologist, trauma expert and author from Melbourne. She is the author of Reclaim: Understanding Complex Trauma and Those Who Abuse, and Life Skills For a Broken World.

In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

Published: December 15, 2025, 3:19 am

A hidden life in the era of social media can still change history, as the story of Jesus shows | Justine Toh

I see in Christmas an invitation to see differently: God in the social outcast, life on the margins reimagined as the centre of gravity

Do you want to be influential?

So do 57% of gen Zs in the US who aspire to be influencers, presumably lured by money and fame. But say you also want to make the world a better place. In that case, maybe the spiritual instruction you need emerges in the famous final lines of George Eliot’s 1871 novel Middlemarch:

Justine Toh is senior research fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

I’m a Chinese pro-democracy activist. Here’s how to find courage to oppose Trump | Yaqiu Wang

While acting on your moral convictions can be risky, it can also feel profoundly good

In the eleven months since Donald Trump took office – during which he has unleashed unprecedented assaults on the checks and balances of American democracy – there has been a wave of warnings and advice from activists, writers and scholars who have either fought against authoritarian regimes or studied them closely. A common thread runs through much of their guidance: Americans, especially those in positions of power, must find the courage to stand up for what is right, even when doing so carries personal risk.

Yet few have addressed the harder questions: how does one become courageous? How much of courage is innate, and how much is learned? And what can we do to help people find the courage to act?

Yaqiu Wang is a Chinese human rights researcher and advocate. She is currently a fellow at University of Chicago’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression.

Published: December 14, 2025, 12:00 pm

This year, I have seen a glimmer of hope: people are ditching a life led on screens for the real thing | John Harris

Whether it’s nightclubs banning phones or a drop in online dating, there are signs that we’re rediscovering the joy of being in the moment

It’s only a small rectangular sticker, but it symbolises a joyous sense of resistance. Some of Berlin’s most renowned clubs have long insisted that the camera lenses on their clientele’s phones must be covered up using this simple method, to ensure that everyone is present in the moment and people can let go without fear of their image suddenly appearing on some online platform. As one DJ puts it, “Do you really want to be in someone’s picture in your jockstrap?”

Venues in London, Manchester and New York now enforce the same rules. Last week brought news of the return of Sankeys, the famous Mancunian club that closed nearly a decade ago, and is reopening in a 500-capacity space in the heart of the city. The aim, it seems, is to fly in the face of the massed closures of such venues, and revive the idea that our metropolises should host the kind of nights that stretch into the following morning. But there is another basic principle at work: phones will reportedly either be stickered or forbidden. “People need to stop taking pictures and start dancing to the beat,” said one of the club’s original founders.

John Harris is a Guardian columnist. His book Maybe I’m Amazed: A Story of Love and Connection in Ten Songs is available from the Guardian bookshop

Published: December 14, 2025, 1:00 pm

Welcome to our age of impunity – where the ICC prosecuting atrocities is a rare feat | Simon Tisdall

The jailing of a Sudanese militia leader is an anomaly in a world where Putin, Netanyahu and yes, Hegseth, act without fear of international law

It was a rare success for international courts struggling to resist a rising tide of official lawlessness. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, a leader of the notorious, government-backed Janjaweed militia that committed genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region from 2003 to 2005, was jailed for 20 years last week by the international criminal court (ICC). He had been found guilty on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Although hundreds of militia were involved, Abd-al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, is the first person to be convicted of atrocities in Darfur, now again the scene of terrible violence in Sudan’s civil war. The ICC has charged Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s president at the time, with genocide and war crimes. Ahmad Harun, a former minister, faces similar charges. But both men have evaded arrest.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:00 am

The Guardian view on Thailand and Cambodia: a Trump-brokered truce falls apart | Editorial

The US president’s claims to have ended eight conflicts look shakier than ever as conflict reignites in south-east Asia and the Democratic Republic of Congo

When the hastily confected Fifa world peace prize was bestowed on Donald Trump last week, the ceasefire in the Thai-Cambodian border dispute was among the achievements cited. Mr Trump also boasted of having ended war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He brags of having brought eight conflicts to a close and has just had the US Institute of Peace renamed in his honour.

Yet the truce between Thailand and Cambodia has already fallen apart. Half a million residents along the border have fled renewed fighting and civilians are among at least 27 people killed. Meanwhile, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at least 200,000 people have fled the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels – days after a peace deal was signed in Washington.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:07 pm

Guardiola impressed with fighting spirit as City’s title push gathers momentum

• Head coach praises ‘real leader’ Dias as defence holds firm

• Win at Selhurst Park extends Manchester City’s run to five

Pep Guardiola has warned that Manchester City are growing in resilience after Erling Haaland and Phil Foden secured the side’s fifth win in succession and maintained pressure on the Premier League leaders Arsenal.

City gained revenge for their FA Cup final defeat by Crystal Palace in May with a ruthless 3-0 win at Selhurst Park after they saw off Real Madrid in the Champions League in midweek. It means they have won all five matches since enduring successive defeats against Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen at the end of November and are back to within two points of Arsenal.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:44 pm

Wembanyama stars as Spurs stun Thunder to set up NBA Cup final with Knicks

• Wembanyama shines in upset of Thunder

• Brunson’s 40 lifts Knicks past Magic

• Spurs, Knicks to meet in NBA Cup final

Victor Wembanyama returned from a 12-game absence with 22 points and nine rebounds, giving San Antonio a surge and the Oklahoma City Thunder just their second loss with the 111-109 victory Saturday night putting the Spurs in the NBA Cup final.

The Spurs play the New York Knicks in Tuesday night’s final.

Published: December 14, 2025, 1:41 am

Frank warns Tottenham ‘not a quick fix’ after ‘very bad performance’ at Forest

• Manager says it will take time to turn club around

• Spence reaction to substitution will be investigated

Thomas Frank said Tottenham’s 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest offered a sobering reminder his side remain a “work in progress” and amid increasing scrutiny the head coach reiterated improving Spurs’s fortunes is “not a quick fix”, saying: “If no one gets the time, no one can turn this around.”

Spurs have been hit and miss since Frank took charge in June and are in mid-table in the Premier League after a run of one win in seven top-flight matches, though still only six points off fourth-placed Chelsea. Spurs registered a single shot on target at the City Ground, where Callum Hudson-Odoi scored twice and Ibrahim Sangaré sealed victory with a stunning first-time strike.

Published: December 14, 2025, 5:36 pm

Van Dijk wants Salah to stay at Liverpool but admits he has ‘no idea’ what will happen

• Anfield captain: ‘I hope he stays – he is one of my leaders’

• Player heads for Africa Cup of Nations after Brighton win

Virgil van Dijk wants Mohamed Salah to remain at Liverpool but the club captain accepts that is not guaranteed. The Egyptian was reinstated to the squad after being dropped for the Champions League trip to Inter in response to his outburst after the 3-3 draw at Leeds last weekend.

Salah was recalled by Arne Slot for Saturday’s win over Brighton, coming off the bench in the 26th minute for the injured Joe Gomez, as the coach shuffled his team. The forward marked his return to action by taking the corner from which Hugo Ekitiké scored his second goal but will now depart to represent Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, and could be away for more than a month. His absence will allow time to resolve his long-term future.

Published: December 14, 2025, 12:00 pm

Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza wins Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player

• Mendoza becomes Indiana’s first ever Heisman winner

• Hoosiers QB led unbeaten run to CFP top overall seed

Fernando Mendoza, the enthusiastic quarterback of No 1 Indiana, won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first Hoosier to win college football’s most prestigious award since its inception in 1935.

Mendoza claimed 2,362 points, including 643 first-place votes. He beat Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 points), Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (719 points) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 points).

Published: December 14, 2025, 1:08 am

‘Like a mini Louvre’: two generations of Rothschilds fight over treasure trove of artworks

Baronesses Nadine and Ariane de Rothschild at odds over future of Swiss chateau’s priceless contents

After three generations of genteel discretion bordering on secrecy, the international banking family the Rothschilds has been riven by rival claims to a vast collection of masterpieces that are part of the family’s multibillion-euro fortune.

The battle now playing out in the courts and media has pitched the 93-year-old senior baroness, Nadine de Rothschild – widow of Edmond de Rothschild, the late scion of the French-Swiss branch of the family – against her daughter-in-law, Ariane de Rothschild, the current baroness.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:00 am

‘They’re trying to get rich off it’: US contractors vie to rebuild Gaza, with ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ team in the lead

Exclusive: group behind notorious Florida immigration detention center created bid for reconstruction deal

Trump administration insiders and well-connected Republican businesses have been jostling to dominate pending humanitarian aid and reconstruction logistics in the shattered Gaza Strip, according to sources and documents reviewed by the Guardian.

With three-quarters of Gaza’s structures damaged or destroyed by two years of Israeli strikes, the rebuilding effort to come – estimated at $70bn by the United Nations – could be a rich prize for companies that specialize in construction, demolition, transportation and logistics.

Published: December 14, 2025, 11:00 am

Manchin urges lawmakers to stop acting in ‘attack mode’ amid political violence

Former senator’s comments echo recent call from Erika Kirk that ‘everyone has responsibility’ to tone down hatred

Politicians should “calm down” and stop approaching one another in “attack mode” amid the US’s climate of political violence, former US senator Joe Manchin said on Sunday.

The West Virginia independent who generally caucused with Senate Democrats echoed similar comments made at a town hall Saturday by Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot to death in September.

Published: December 14, 2025, 5:43 pm

Ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast elected Chile’s next president

The son of a Nazi party member and an admirer of Pinochet, Kast built his campaign on a promise to expel tens of thousands of undocumented migrants

The ultra-conservative former congressman José Antonio Kast has been elected as Chile’s next president.

With more than 99% of polling stations counted, Kast took 58.16% of the vote, against 41.84% for the leftist Jeannette Jara, a former labour minister under the current president, Gabriel Boric.

Published: December 14, 2025, 11:40 pm

Former Prince Andrew is butt of the year’s best Christmas cracker joke

Two Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor gags make top 10 of public vote, along with jokes about Oasis and Nigel Farage

It’s safe to say it’s been a very bad year for the former Prince Andrew. Already stripped of his title and privileges, he is rounding off the year by becoming the punchline of the year’s most popular Christmas cracker joke.

The annual competition is commissioned by the comedy channel U&Gold (formerly Comedy Gold) and decided by the British public. It usually produces a topical winner that sends up one of the biggest stories of the year.

Published: December 15, 2025, 12:01 am

DoorDasher in Indiana arrested for allegedly pepper-spraying delivery

Kourtney Stevenson was allegedly caught on camera spraying meal with chemical that later sickened customers

A driver for the popular food delivery platform DoorDash has been arrested after allegations that she showered an order with pepper spray in plain view of a doorbell camera, sickening a customer and his wife, according to authorities in Indiana.

Kourtney Stevenson faces counts of felony battery and consumer product tampering, the Vanderburgh county sheriff’s office said in a statement on Friday, addressing a case that is bound to be of significant interest to DoorDash’s 42 million or so users.

Published: December 14, 2025, 10:00 am

‘It feels endless’: despite misplaced fanfare about a model home, LA struggles to rebuild

As LA’s mayor touted a developer’s model home, residents of Altadena and Pacific Palisades wrangle for insurance payouts

Nearly a year after a mammoth wildfire tore through Pacific Palisades, leveling 7,000 structures and leaving many displaced, some residents watched as the mayor of Los Angeles hailed a “major milestone” in the effort to recover.

A new home had been built, the first since the firestorms that killed at least 12 people in the Pacific Palisades and 19 people in Altadena, and the Los Angeles department of building and safety had issued a certificate saying it had passed inspection and was ready for people to move in.

Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

Trump news at a glance: US seizure of Venezuela oil tanker an act of ‘maritime terrorism’, says Cuba

Cuban officials denounce the US seizure of the Skipper oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast. Key US politics stories from 13 December 2025

Cuban officials have denounced the US seizure of the Skipper oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday, calling it an “act of piracy and maritime terrorism”, as well as a “serious violation of international law” that hurts the Caribbean island nation and its people.

The tanker, which was reported now to be heading for Galveston, Texas, was believed to loaded with nearly 2m barrels of Venezuela’s heavy crude, according to internal data from the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, as reported by the New York Times.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:12 am

Hong Kong’s last major opposition party disbands amid Chinese pressure

Senior DP members previously allege being told to disband or face severe consequences including possible arrest

Hong Kong’s last major opposition party has disbanded after a vote by its members, the culmination of Chinese pressure on the city’s remaining liberal voices in a years-long security crackdown.

The Democratic party (DP) has been Hong Kong’s main opposition since its founding three years before the financial hub’s return to Chinese rule in 1997. The party used to sweep city-wide legislative elections and push China on democratic reforms and upholding freedoms.

Published: December 14, 2025, 11:19 am

‘Suddenly, it was everywhere’: why some books become blockbusters overnight

Whether it’s through TikTok buzz, celebrity endorsements or good old-fashioned word of mouth, some titles enjoy a second, more powerful, life. But what unites them – and is there a formula for this type of success?

There is a particular kind of literary deja vu that strikes sometimes. Seemingly out of nowhere, the same book starts appearing across multiple social media feeds. On the bus, you’ll spot two copies of the same title in one day. A friend says, “Have you read this yet?”, to which you respond, “Someone was just telling me about it the other day.”

These are the sleeper hits that seem to materialise without warning. They are not stacked high on the new release tables. They are books that, for one reason or another, have slipped their original timelines and found a second, often more powerful life.

Published: December 14, 2025, 12:00 pm

‘Happy by Pharrell is exceedingly annoying – but I love it’: DJ Roger Sanchez’s honest playlist

The Another Chance star does Journey at karaoke and gets the party started with Daft Punk. But which Stevie Wonder track would he like played at his funeral?

The first song I fell in love with
I grew up in New York City, so the emergence of hip-hop really connected with me when I was a kid. Rapper’s Delight by the Sugarhill Gang started me down the road where I am today.

The first single I bought
Let No Man Put Asunder by First Choice, on 12-inch vinyl from Rock and Soul in New York City, with money I’d saved from working part-time at the grocery store.

Published: December 14, 2025, 9:00 am

Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen: after some misfires we finally have the first good Bluey video game

The new Bluey game is the first made in Australia, the first to involve creator Joe Brumm and the first to respect the kids playing it

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Bluey embodies the talent, heart and character of Australia’s creative industries. But unfortunately, until now, the beloved franchise’s video games had a track record spottier than her friend Chloe the dalmatian.

Some parents treated Budge Studios’ 2023 mobile game Bluey: Let’s Play! with caution, with its $9.99 monthly subscription and persistent adverts for Budge’s other licensed games. Later that same year, Artax Games’ Bluey: The Videogame was widely criticised on release for its barely two-hour run time, technical problems and $60 price tag. In his review, Australian game critic Luke Plunkett called it “a slapdash cash grab that does the bare minimum”.

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Published: December 14, 2025, 2:00 pm

‘The adventure can turn into a disaster’: the digital nomad families ‘worldschooling’ their children

Forget homeschooling, how about taking your family on a perpetual gap year and quitting the nine-to-five? Families who did just that share the hostel horrors and mid-trip meltdowns behind the Instagram feed

It was going to be the adventure of a lifetime. Late last year, Josy and Joe Davis decided to quit their jobs, sell their home and pull their two young daughters out of school to travel the world. Though their life in Gloucestershire was good on paper, post-pandemic it had been increasingly feeling like a grind. Josy, 35, a police dispatcher, worked shifts that swung from early morning to late night. Joe, also 35, a logistics manager, was often on call until 10pm. Neither felt as if they could ever switch off – let alone enjoy family time.

Exhausted, Josy caught herself being short with her daughters, Lola and Zara, six and four. “I felt like I spent my days off recovering, rather than actually being present,” she says. Though only in Year 1, Lola was feeling the pressure at school, fretting about where she ranked in the class.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:00 am

My dad has given my brother 80% of his business and I feel horribly dismissed

You’re reluctant to discuss this with your parents – but doing so might help you shake off the feeling of injustice

I am struggling with the different way my parents have treated me and my brother. My dad started a business when I was five. Now it’s worth several million. My brother was invited by my dad to go into the business when he left university. I was not. By then, the business was well established and my dad stayed on as CEO. My dad gave my brother 80% of it. He will now sell the business and realise millions, meaning he can retire early.

My dad helped me with university fees and house purchases. He’s told me I will inherit the house and whatever money is left when my parents pass away, which is likely to be in about 20 years. I doubt there will be anything left.

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:00 am

The 12 condiments of Christmas

Everyone needs a hand in the kitchen, and in lieu of any sous elves, Claire Dinhut – AKA Condiment Claire – picks the ones that will make your feast sing

Salt, sweet, bitter, acid, umami. While we don’t think to use too much “sweet” before dessert, it can counterbalance and enhance other flavours. Maple syrup is my sweetener of choice during the holidays because it just tastes cozy. Add it to roasted root vegetables or a poultry glaze, and it’s especially tasty in drinks, from hot apple cider to eggnog and even mulled wine.

Published: December 14, 2025, 9:00 am

Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson and ... Liz Truss? Inside the former PM’s audition for Maga

Her delivery might be stilted – but Truss’ new YouTube show has grand ambitions: a ‘Trump revolution’ in Britain with the help of an influential US conservative ecosystem

Liz Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, began the first edition of her YouTube show with a vow to unmask “the evil-doers” attempting to bring down Britain, the US and Europe. She would, she explained, reveal how an “international network of leftists work to subvert democracy and the will of the people”.

Despite her bleak monologue, Truss pointed to hope from across the Atlantic. “We’re going to look at the Trump revolution and see how this can be achieved in Britain,” she said. “We’ll be talking to the leading lights of the Maga movement.”

Published: December 14, 2025, 6:00 am

The Geminid meteor shower and hundreds of Santas: photos of the weekend

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

Published: December 14, 2025, 12:56 pm