The solo traveler says the woman ascoffed aggressivelya when they said no to switching seats

Roads are closed but flight disruption has so far kept to a minimum as fires spread in southern California

Exclusive: The Independent believes nothing will change until late autumn 2025 at the earliest

aHwyla is the sense of exuberance that comes with being immersed in the moment

Under the entry-exit system, British travellers to the Schengen Area can expect to be fingerprinted and provide a facial biometric

The ORR has demanded a 10 per cent lowering from current prices

Five of the more unusual trees you might want to spot on your travels

Who needs beaches anyway?

The airline is curently trying to sue a disruptive passenger

Pick your ultimate sunshine break from our Caribbean edit

On the wonderfully wild beaches of Americaas Pacific Northwest, Lauren Jarvis discovers a salty, sustainable smorgasbord of water-based wonders

Ella Duggan checks in

The contest runs from January 6 to January 31

The solo traveler says the woman ascoffed aggressivelya when they said no to switching seats

The duchess has frequently opted for British brands who have a chic style ethos

The aBasketball Wives LAa star provided a discount code for the air purifier on Instagram

Wedding bells are ringing for 2025 brides, which may include Zendaya and Selena Gomez. Amber Raiken speaks to experts about the niche trends you can expect to see at weddings this year

One consumer also reported that they found aa piece of metala in the product

Admitting to enjoying of glass of cowas milk as an adult is tantamount to saying you collect cuddly toys and take baths with a sibling. But haters take note: ignoring the ick and downing a glass of the white stuff could come with massive health benefits, finds Helen Coffey

The retailer says the recalled product was sold at 242 Walmart stores in nine different states

There are roughly 10,000 people a year diagnosed with bladder cancer in the UK

The U.S. federal holiday calendar includes 11 significant days that Americans observe and celebrate

Top chef was previously caught up in a row with the culinary guides over a cheese soufflA(c)

aMeghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers,a said aFamily Tiesa star

Pop star, who is an ordained minister, was filmed casually holding a jumbo slushie as he pronounced the couple man and wife

The infection can cause cancer

aIam a Celebritya winner has opened up about atough montha

Whether itas being torn between 10 tasks at work or adouble screeninga at home in the evenings, it feels as though our attention spans are dwindling, writes Katie Rosseinsky. Thankfully, science understands concentration well. This is how you can fix your inability to focus

Billy Crystal, Adam Brody, Paris Hilton, and Miles Teller are among the list of A-listers whoave lost their homes in the fires

The prime minister told an audience in east London that he is acompletely confidenta in his team as pressure grows over the economy

Kiena Dawes left a suicide note saying aRyan Wellings killed mea before her death, but a jury found him not guilty of her manslaughter

Ryan Wellings has been found guilty of assault and prolonged domestic violence towards Kiena Dawes, but cleared of her manslaughter

Rumon Haque, 37, has also been charged with possession of a bladed article

Over 67 per cent of people with housing costs such as rent and mortgages in England have reported experiencing unforeseen pressures over the last year, a survey from HSBC and Shelter shows

A 37-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody

A nurse was stabbed at Royal Oldham Hospitalas A&E department

Home Office pilot in 2022 and 2023 didnat stop asylum seekers absconding from immigration bail

The prime minister says AI will transform the lives of everyone from teachers to homebuilders, but is everyoneas job safe?

Sir Keir Starmer vowed that the UK government will work with anyone in the AI sector, including Elon Musk a even after the billionaire"s criticism of Labour.

Protesters write a1.5 is Deada in orange spray chalk

It is the first time scientists have looked at the link between neurodevelopmental disorders and the level of minerals in water

Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves also accused of undermining business confidence and trust with surprise national insurance hike in the Budget

Duke and Duchess of Sussex urge Zuckerberg to reconsider changes affecting Facebook and Instagram

Left not knowing why her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died, Ellen Roome has campaigned for years for access to his online data a now her petition on proposed changes to online safety law is being debated in parliament

It comes after 20 NHS trusts across England declared critical incidents as the number of people in hospital with flu continues to rise

Stock shrinkage, including theft and shoplifting, amounted to APS44 billion over the past year

Former first minister of Scotland said the couple, who wed in 2010, ahave been separated for some time nowa

A drastic temperature change could see parts of England flooded due to snow melting

The department says it is working to address a abackloga of cases by March but has no mandatory deadline to reduce average wait times

The Labour grandee called for the government to scrap the right to a jury trial for aeither waya mid-level offences amid soaring court backlogs

Watch as Sir Keir Starmer outlines his vision to "mainline AI into the veins" of the UK in a speech on Monday, 13 January.

Mason Rogers was caught on a doorbell camera leaving an unwanted card and present while wearing a Spiderman mask

The UK and Mauritius governments issue a joint statement admitting that they still have not agreed a deal for the handover of the Chagos Islands with an incoming Trump administration set to try to block an agreement

All the essential cost of living information you need

The controversial five minute payment rule could finally come to an end as early as February

Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden insisted he has full confidence in Tulip Siddiq - and she denies any wrong doing

Prime minister has vowed to use AI to adrive incredible change in our countrya

A survey by Deloitte of the chief finance officers of major companies has revealed that business confidence is at one of its lowest points since the Covid-19 pandemic

Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to raise the issue during Keir Starmeras upcoming trip to Kyiv

On average, sellers had owned their home for just under nine years

Reality star revealed that they put aevery dollara they made from aThe Hillsa into the album

The unconventional film has performed slightly better in the UK, making $4.7 million to date

From aGodfather IIa to aToy Story 3a, Kevin E G Perry highlights a dozen sequels that exceeded the original films

TV staras earning have aincreased massivelya since he joined game show

Late aFriendsa staras home was purchased last October by film producer and real estate developer Anita Verma-Lallian for $8.5 million

Charleson is best known to audiences for her longtime role as Dr. Monica Quartermaine on aGeneral Hospitala

Italian star would be avery moveda to follow in the footsteps of her mother, a seven-time Oscar nominee

Show was due to be released this week

Weare now a quarter of the way through the century. From habit setting to understanding our humanity, this is what British readers have cared about since the turn of the millennium. The results are surprising, says Hannah Ewens

aIt was such a harrowing experience for me,a actor said

The master of spy fictionas archive officially classed as cultural heritage

aIt has nothing to do with families losing everything they have in a natural disaster,a said rapper

The famous interviewer died in 2023, but a new podcast using his voice has been released

Bucky Woodall claims there are clear overlaps between Moana 2 and his screenplay

Tour manager and friend of Kurt Cobain had a love for music amatched only by her sharp wit, humour and magnetic personalitya, her friend said

aMeghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers,a said aFamily Tiesa star

Musician revealed the latest update as doctors work to discover the cause of his heart problems

The 18-bedroom, six-bath house was available for rent at APS371,474 a month

aSpringwatcha hostA branded a adark horsea by fans after impressive performance in showas 2025 launch

aBank of Dave 2: The Loan Rangera has proved immediately popular

Pop staras donation comes as LA braces for further devastation

Actor previously claimed that Murray used ainexcusable and unacceptablea language towards her while filming the 2000 action reboot

He revealed aprivate conversationsa have shed light on why DC movie tanked

Pop star, who is an ordained minister, was filmed casually holding a jumbo slushie as he pronounced the couple man and wife

Presenters Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern shared tribute to late drag artist

Award-winning drama features a mostly Black cast

aI apologise in advance," Irish presenter"s stand-in said

Film left fans unable to sleep and was called one of the abest serial killer films in recent memorya

aHave I Got News for Youa star and aPrivate Eyea editor didnat hold back when tearing into tech billionaire

New film stars TimothA(c)e Chalamet as the acclaimed singer-songwriter

Billy Crystal, Adam Brody, Paris Hilton, and Miles Teller are among the list of A-listers whoave lost their homes in the fires

Grammy-winning singer was left visibly upset at the axing

Actor said he is adefinitely underpaida despite appearing in slew of high-budget projects

Pop star revealed song will show a side of Glinda aweave never seen beforea

aMy soul aches for those who are experiencing this devastation firsthanda

Exclusive: Sarah Crew of Avon and Somerset says early intervention is part of new national approach to rapists

A senior English police officer at the vanguard of a new national approach to catching rapists has put domestic abusers in her sights.

The chief constable of Avon and Somerset police, Sarah Crew, said domestic abusers in her area should know aweare coming for youa after launching a drive to target the most persistent offenders and overhaul how the force deals with domestic abuse.

Downing Street says prime minster has afull confidencea in chancellor and will be working with her ain role of chancellora for the whole of this parliament

Keir Starmer is about to deliver his AI speech.

Nicola Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell have adecided to end our marriagea, the former first minister of Scotland has said. PA Media says:

They have been married since 2010 but, in a post on Instagram, the SNP MSP said ato all intents and purposes we have been separated for some time nowa.

She wrote: aWith a heavy heart I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage.

First datacentre site proposed seven miles from Abingdon reservoir planned for water-stressed south-east England

Labouras first artificial intelligence growth zone will be sited close to the UKas first new reservoir in 30 years, sparking fears that the AI push will add to the asevere pressurea on water supplies in the area.

Keir Starmer announced on Monday that he will hugely increase artificial intelligence capacity and reduce planning restrictions on companies that want to build datacentres by setting up agrowth zonesa with fewer constraints.

LA fire chief says department as maximized its resources; firefighters warn of acritical fire weathera until Wednesday with risk of significant and rapid spread of fire

• Tell us about the financial consequences you are facing due to the California fires

Weather forecasters are predicting that the dry season in Los Angeles is likely to get worse in the coming weeks and that the drought which intensified last week across southern California will continue to worsen into March.

Meteorologist Eric Holthaus has written for the Guardian and says the rain forecast for the next three weeks in Los Angeles means the cityas record-dry start to its rainy season will keep getting worse.

This yearas rainy season is running at just 2% of normal for Los Angeles, which has only seen 0.16in of rain so far.

Weather models increasingly indicate that southern California will receive no rain at all during the rest of January, and potentially no rain during the first week or two of February as well.

National security adviser Jake Sullivanas remarks come after Israeli foreign minister reported progress in talks

Senior Biden administration officials have said they believe a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas may still be concluded before Donald Trumpas inauguration next week as the Israeli government has also confirmed progress in the last-ditch talks.

Speaking at a Bloomberg News conference on Monday, the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said there was a adistinct possibilitya the deal could be reached before Joe Biden leaves office, as the apressure is building for Hamas to come to yesa.

• 36-year-old quits sport after defeat in Usyk rematch
• Fury had been expected to meet Anthony Joshua

Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from boxing, yet again, in a 17-second posting on Instagram which he released just hours before a major press conference in London to publicise next monthas heavily hyped Riyadh bill which includes Daniel Duboisa IBF world title defence against Joseph Parker.

It could be a typical ploy from Fury to divert attention from other heavyweights but, following two punishing fights against Oleksandr Usyk last year, both of which he lost narrowly, he might have chosen to get out of the brutal fight business with his faculties intact and more money than he can spend in the coming years.

Controllers scrap launch of 320ft New Glenn rocket due to unspecified issue in final minutes of countdown

Blue Origin called off the debut launch of its new rocket early on Monday because of technical trouble.

The 320ft (98-meter) New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off before dawn with a prototype satellite from Floridaas Cape Canaveral space force station. But launch controllers had to deal with an unspecified rocket issue in the final minutes of the countdown and ran out of time. Once the countdown clock was halted, they immediately began draining all the fuel from the rocket.

Healthcare worker remains in critical condition after attack at Royal Oldham hospital on Saturday night

A man has been charged with attempting to murder a nurse who suffered alife-changinga injuries after being stabbed in a hospitalas acute medicine ward.

The healthcare worker, who has not been named, remains in a critical condition after the attack at the Royal Oldham hospital in Greater Manchester on Saturday night.

Appeal from longtime campaigner on sexual abuse of women and girls increases the pressure on Keir Starmer

• UK politics live a latest updates

Sarah Champion, the Labour MP who has been a longtime campaigner on the sexual abuse of women and girls, has called for another national inquiry into grooming gangs, putting more pressure on Keir Starmer.

The Rotherham MP said in a statement that while it was also important to swiftly implement the recommendations of the previous inquiry into the issue, led by Prof Alexis Jay, there was a need to examine the failures of those in authority.

Glen Sannox makes first scheduled voyage after years of design failures, cost overruns and procurement errors

It set sail nearly seven years late but in the event proved its worth. After quelling stormy seas that left two other ferries sheltering in harbour, the Glen Sannox is finally serving islanders on Arran.

As if to prove its durability, some passengers on its first scheduled voyage at dawn on Monday reacted in the traditional fashion to heavy seas, by vomiting into its brand-new toilets, while cafeteria trays slid over the tables.

Horrific violence, bullying and belittling ended with suicide of previously ahappy-go-luckya young woman

• Lancashire man found guilty of assault after partneras suicide

Kiena Dawesa final note was as heartbreaking as it was chilling. She talked of being strong and having dreams, of fighting hard, but losing after going through pain no one could imagine. She took her own life but squarely blamed one man for her death: aRyan Wellings killed me,a she wrote.

It was a message from beyond the grave, which on Monday led to Wellings being convicted for assault and prolonged domestic abuse, but cleared of manslaughter.

The main points from the prime ministeras plan to make the UK a world leader in artificial intelligence

The UK government has unveiled a wide-ranging action plan to boost the countryas role in developing and deploying artificial intelligence. The 50 recommendations from the report, written by the tech investor Matt Clifford, have been endorsed by Keir Starmer, who says the technology will drive aincredible change in our countrya.

Here are the planas key points:

The online lender has thrived as it helped extend $400m in loans with its biggest individual investor, Don Hankey

As the dust started to settle after the deadly 6 January Capitol attack in 2021, Donald Trump found himself losing corporate allies.

Shocked by the rampage that followed efforts to overturn the US presidential election, companies at home and abroad were suspending political donations and reviewing their ties with the outgoing leader. Even Deutsche Bank a which had propped up the Trump Organization for two decades a decided it would no longer do business with the disgraced politician.

Itas been a year since we launched the Reclaim Your Brain newsletter, so we reached out to subscribers to see how theyare doing

• Havenat signed up yet? Start your free, five-week plan to reduce your screen time here

If youave ever wanted to waste less time on your phone, youall know how hard it can be to break old scrolling habits.

Even if youare able to delete your most time-consuming apps, itas likely that youave ended up reinstalling them at some point. It can feel like being stuck in a constant loop of taking steps forwards and back.

The proportion of people who donat drink alcohol is almost double that of those who donat eat meat a which brings big implications for bars and restaurants

Name: Non-drinkers.

Age: Any age, but like the police, they seem to be getting younger.

aI wrote it in 20 minutes one Sunday morning and there have now been more than 50 cover versions. My favourite is the brooding one Beck did for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Minda

Wead had a Top 20 single in the UK with If I Had You and were recording our second Korgis album, Dumb Waiters. I was living in Bath and had a piano in the flat that I couldnat really play a I am a guitarist and bass player. But regardless, I battled away at the ivories every day trying to come up with interesting chord sequences.

The revered cinematographer was making an apocalyptic musical with Tilda Swinton deep in a salt mine when he realised he had to flee. Can he now save his son?

It was March 2022 and Joshua Oppenheimer was waiting at Copenhagen airport for the young man who would be staying with him for a few weeks. Oppenheimer, who directed two devastating Oscar-nominated documentaries about the 1965 Indonesian genocide, The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, had been working closely with Russian cinematographer Mikhail Krichman. He was now preparing to make The End, an audacious musical about the last family on earth hiding in their bunker following a climate-related apocalypse in which they were complicit. And Mikhailas 22-year-old son, Vlad, was travelling to Copenhagen to participate in a workshop addressing the challenges implicit in The End, which was to be shot partly in German and Italian salt mines.

Oppenheimer had never met Vlad before, though he knew of his joie de vivre and infectious good humour. But the young man who emerged at arrivals that day, having stepped off a flight from Moscow, cut a very different figure. aHe looked terrible,a the director recalls. aHe was pale. He was stuttering. He was traumatised. It was frankly heartbreaking. I asked him, aWhatas the matter?a He said, aI canat go back.aa

This week: what we learned testing toothbrushes, fitness kit worth the investment, and slow cookers for warming winter feasts

aC/ Donat get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

When the Filter asked me to write a roundup of the best electric toothbrushes, I didnat see any reason not to. After all, Iave been reviewing battery-powered gadgets for more than a decade, and I have all 32 teeth and a comfortable toothpaste budget, which makes me as qualified as anybody else.

Or does it? Actually, in the absence of professional toothbrushing leagues*, how would I know if Iam an expert in the art of oral hygiene or not? Conventional (and, as it turns out, likely bogus) wisdom suggests that anyone can become an expert in anything with 10,000 hours of practice.

The best blenders to blitz like a pro, tried and tested, from Ninja to Nutribullet

14 of the best menas boots for winter, from Chelsea to brogues to western

The best slow cookers for effortless homemade meals, tried and tested

After a few years of financial shocks, our expert explains what to do now ensure your money is fit for the future

The past few years have taught us that itas pretty hard to guess what financial shocks are around the corner, so all of this is written with the caveat that 2025 might not go as expected.

But assuming we face a bit of stability, we are looking ahead to a time when prices for groceries, energy, homewares and other daily spending will plateau or maybe even go down. Interest rates are expected to fall too, as the Bank of England stops worrying about inflation and attempts to put a bit of fuel back in the economy. All of this means there are some jobs to do with your finances:

The highly emotional new crime drama about the horrific murder case in Sweden that went unsolved for 16 years is a cracking and courageous watch. No wonder itas raced up the Netflix charts a|

Time is a main character in The Breakthrough, the lean, eloquent Swedish crime drama that recently powered into Netflixas Top 10. It is a fictionalised retelling of a true story, about the huge and painstaking police investigation into a horrific double murder that took place in 2004 in the city of LinkAPping. It begins with a father teaching his eight-year-old son how to use his watch and over four episodes holds time up to the light. In The Breakthrough, time drags. A case that should have been cracked quickly goes unsolved for 16 years. Then, as technology catches up to the evidence, time lurches forward, setting an awful, tense and thrilling deadline for all involved. This is clever and sensitive crime TV that demands you watch it carefully and treats its subject matter with the respect it deserves.

The boy, here called Adnan, is stabbed on his way to school, as he walks through a small park. A 56-year-old woman a named Gunilla for the dramatisation a attempts to intervene and she, too, is stabbed. This opening is the stuff of nightmares, made all the more shocking by the fact that it is a true story. The lead detective, John Sundin (Peter Eggers), promises Adnanas parents that catching the culprit awill be quicka, and similarly tells Gunillaas husband that he will get the person who did it. As time ticks on, these promises prove difficult to keep. Though the investigation is, as Sundinas superior tells him, one of the best and most thorough he has ever seen, the years pass. Despite the scale of the search, and its narrow parameters a they are certain that the offender is male, between the ages of 15 and 30 and is likely to have a psychiatric disorder a there are no suspects. For years the murderer becomes a ghost and the case haunts the area.

A new book looks into the complicated relationship between the mob and the White House from Roosevelt to Biden

As a veteran of the crisis management business, Eric Dezenhall knows a thing or two about the murkier parts of politics. As the author of Wiseguys and the White House: Gangsters, Presidents and the Deals They Made, he knows a lot about the shady places where power and organized crime collide. A survey of presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Joe Biden and their brushes with the bosses, Dezenhallas new book will be published a week shy of Donald Trumpas second inauguration.

According to Dezenhall, athe thing that makes Trump different from all of the other presidents is heas the only one who has been shockingly open about talking abouta his experiences with the mob.

Victims of agrooming gangsa have been badly let down, but children must be protected on social media as well as in the real world

Two seemingly contradictory things are true. It was appalling for the UKas domestic policy agenda to be hijacked last week by Elon Muskas blaze of interest in child sexual exploitation gangs. And government action in response to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse was long overdue. As ministers look in more detail at plans announced in a panic, it is essential that the many anxieties surrounding group-based child sexual exploitation a euphemistically known as agrooming gangsa because of the techniques used to ensnare vulnerable girls a do not distract from the seriousness of the issue.

On Friday, Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, added his voice to those calling for a new inquiry into child sexual exploitation a a specific form of abuse carried out in exchange for money or other things that victims want or need; and often involving financial advantage for perpetrators, who traffic children under their control. A large majority of group-based child sex offences (83% in 2023) are committed by white men, although some areas have a problem with gangs of mainly Pakistani-heritage abusers. It is true that the inquiryas broad remit did not include a thorough investigation of child sexual exploitation specifically. There are many gaps in the data, as multiple reviews have noted.

Susanna Rustin is a Guardian social affairs journalist

The news from California is clear, but we donat want to see it. Itas too confounding, big, complex. But we can sense the danger

When I send anxious texts to friends in Los Angeles a friends who have been evacuated or who are waiting to leave , friends escaping a fire zone, wondering if their lifeas work has been destroyed, worrying about the smokeas effect on an asthmatic child a I always begin with the same three words:are you OK?

But a continent away, watching photos and videos of a city I love being incinerated, overcome by waves of terror, grief and mourning, I have other questions.

Itas the only way I can think of to keep them safe from foxes. If only it wasnat so cold a|

I recently acquired three lovely new hens, but so far my husbandas schemes to protect them from foxes with a goose patrol or drone have not reached fruition. Instead, I have implemented what my best friend has named Gooce, or Global Oversight of Chicken Existence. Iave moved into the garden shed to guard them as they free range.

We are not talking about a heated home office here: itas emphatically a shed. But thereas a power outlet and a knackered sofa, so if I wrap up well, they can roam safely for a few hours, at least until a new bird flu aflockdowna reaches us (thereas one happening in nearby East Yorkshire already).

He wants to seize the Panama Canal, Canada and Greenland. And now wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America

Donald Trumpas silly season has already caused irreparable damage to United States national security. Despite not yet holding office for a minute, Trump has made it plain that in his second term the U.S. will be an unreliable partner swayed by his personal whim, that he has no respect for historic alliances and that he has contempt for the rule-based international order that the U.S. has led since the end of World War II to prevent the reemergence of catastrophic great power collisions.

Beginning with his aMerry Christmas to alla tweet that he wanted to seize the Panama Canal, Canada and Greenland, Trump has not relented in his absurd claims, extended to renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. His disdain for the sovereignty of independent nationsatwo of them NATO allies and Panama a fellow member of the Organization of American Statesahas undermined the credibility of opposition to Russiaas invasion of Ukraine and Chinaas ambition to grab Taiwan. The soft power of the U.S., ultimately based on its democratic example and respect for international order, has been tossed away by Trumpas fantasy Manifest Destiny that is simply the latest wrinkle in his isolationism. Hardly the Rough Rider, if Trump were acting as Putinas or Xias agent he could not have kowtowed more for their benefit.

Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, has published three books of a projected five-volume political life of Abraham Lincoln: A Self-Made Man, Wrestling With His Angel and All the Powers of Earth

As commercial space activity ramps up, detritus from launches poses a risk to active satellites and those of us down on Earth

Last month, people in a small village in Kenya looked to the sky and saw a red glowing ring slowly descending. The half-tonne piece of metal crashed into a nearby thicket with a loud bang, leaving them shaken and perplexed. What was the mysterious object? Was it an alien spacecraft? Sadly, the truth of the matter was much more prosaic: it was a piece of space junk.

The Kenya Space Agency identified the object as a separation ring from a launch rocket. Such objects are usually designed to burn up as they re-enter the Earthas atmosphere or to fall over unpopulated areas, leading the agency to declare this as aan isolated casea.

An unusual name can have a detrimental impact on your life and finances a but in my experience, it also has advantages

Growing up, there was a wearying and familiar pattern for me on the first day of school, or whenever a substitute teacher took the register.

aBlake.a

Xaymaca Awoyungbo is a freelance football writer and film director

His easing of regulations could leave many unprotected from financial manipulation, misconduct and bursting bubbles

As the United States prepares for Donald Trumpas inauguration on 20 January, all eyes are on the cryptocurrency markets. After Bitcoinas price reached $100,000 (APS81,917) for the first time in history in December 2024, the cryptocurrency community is eagerly anticipating Trumpas fulfilment of his campaign promise to make the US the acrypto capital of the planeta. Some analysts predict that Bitcoinas price could range between $78,000 and $250,000 in 2025.

Blockchain technology has numerous applications beyond crypto payments a for example, in supply chain and logistics. But it is the price surges of Bitcoin, Ethereum and ameme coinsa that capture the majority of public attention. Speculative demand and the potential for abnormal returns, which are rarely found in other financial markets, remain key drivers of their prices.

Larisa Yarovaya is an associate professor of finance and director of the Centre for Digital Finance at Southampton Business School

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.

Rightwing leaders such as Meloni and OrbA!n set themselves up as Trump whisperers a but they only want to preserve their own interests

A far-right wind is blowing across the Atlantic. While the rise of the populist right in Europe predated Donald Trumpas re-election, far-right parties, leaders and governments across Europe are being bolstered by his imminent return to power, and by Elon Muskas rising political star. There is some hope that Trumpas presidency could have a unifying effect on Europe a and on issues such as defence policy, I believe it might.

Trumpas apparent disregard for international law, sovereign borders and the USas Nato allies with his ludicrous threat, even before his second term begins, to annex Greenland by force, drew a swift and unified reaction from France, Germany and Spain, whose leaders made it clear that they are, as you would expect, appalled and standing with Denmark. Germanyas chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said Trumpas remarks had triggered aincomprehensiona among European leaders.

Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe 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.

Responding to an article on increased input from private healthcare, John Newman calls for grants for training medical personnel, Stephen Farrington-Bell for greater productivity and Bernadette Roden for more care at home

I cannot have been the only person staggered by the figure a APS16bn a that the government is proposing to pay to the private sector in its attempts to reduce waiting lists for�planned care (Private sectoras role in cutting NHS waiting lists in England to rise by 20%, 6 January).

Your report and the response to the proposal from Keep Our NHS Public raise the issues that everyone should be concerned about, ie how the private sector proposes to staff their treatment facilities, and what the effects on an�already demoralised and stretched NHS will be.

Dr Itziar CastellA3 says the move raises concerns about the quality of deliberation on its platforms and will ultimately harm democracy. Tony Cima reflects on the cloak of anonymity. Plus a letter from Phil Goddard

Metaas move to scrap factcheckers is not about acomplexitya, as it says (Report, 8�January), but to support Donald Trump and Elon Muskas agenda.

It is widely agreed that effective, fast and unbiased factchecking is essential for the proper functioning of social media platforms. Similarly, principles of free speech�are�foundational to fostering communication and public debate�in a healthy democratic society. Mark�Zuckerbergas announcement that Meta is to follow X in introducing user-generated notes raises serious�concerns.

Mikel Artetaas team have had a painful start to 2025 and are now facing challenges in three competitions

• Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

For Arsenal, the pattern was all too familiar. They won the xG against Manchester United on Sunday, depending which model you prefer, by around 3.5 to 0.5, but they drew the game 1-1 and with a certain inevitability, lost on penalties. The previous Tuesday, in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, theyad won the xG 3.1-1.2 but lost 2-0 to Newcastle. The previous Saturday, in the league, they drew 1-1 at Brighton despite having won the xG 1.5-0.9. They have begun 2025 by failing to turn dominance into goals and, very quickly, their hopes of a trophy are evaporating.

This was a very good weekend for the FA Cup. Plymouth, bottom of the Championship, pulled off the big upset by eliminating Brentford, while League Two Bromley went ahead before succumbing to Newcastle, non-league Tamworth took Tottenham to extra-time and there were further shocks as Doncaster and Exeter eliminated Hull and Oxford. But the culmination of Sundayas sulphuric clash at the Emirates: no sense there of Premier League sides soft-pedalling. For Arsenal, the consequences could be hugely significant.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and heall answer the best in a future edition

• Michael Lewis, of Denton, Texas, to appear in court
• 55-year-old arrested and charged over threatening messages

A 55-year-old man has been arrested and charged with stalking and sending threatening messages to basketball star Caitlin Clark.

Michael Lewis, of Denton, Texas, was arrested at a hotel in Indianapolis, where Clark plays for the Indiana Fever. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday and could face up to six years in jail if found guilty of the felony stalking charges.

• British No 3 opens up after Australian Open success
• aIam sorry for Nick a I knew he was dealing with stuffa

It is undoubtedly a little too early for Jacob Fearnley to be hailed the new Andy Murray, especially given when he opened his mouth courtside after his shock Australian Open victory against Nick Kyrgios on Monday he confirmed immediately that he had lost his Scottish accent.

Having spent five years at Texas Christian University, Fearnley was asked by John McEnroe where it had gone as he joked: aItas nowhere to be seen. Itas coming back the longer Iam outside the States.a

With his great friend in his coaching box, the Serb recovered from losing the first set to progress at the Australian Open

In a quiet corner of the player warm-up gym on Monday afternoon in Melbourne Park, one of the countless invasive cameras dotted around the tournament area captured a significant moment. After 24 years of sharing the same locker room as adversaries, of avoiding eye-contact before their matches and staying out of each otheras way, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic stood face-to-face as Murray walked his new charge through their first ever pre-match pep talk together.

For a first-round match at a grand slam tournament, this was a trickier situation than either of them might have imagined. While player and coach have battled against the vast majority of people in the draw, and they are familiar with most players they have not, as the luck of the draw would have it, Djokovic found himself up against one of the few players in the 2025 Australian Open draw that he knew almost nothing about.

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Vested interest is a powerful thing. Often the people with the biggest platform, shouting the loudest, are not always the ones we should be listening to. Just look at Mayor Joe Quimby. Yet journalists and broadcasters continue to stick microphones in front of elected officials and Proper Football People, who make arguments and push narratives that seem to directly serve their own position, and nobody else. Itas a tiresome merry-go-round. So excuse the eyes rolling into the back of Football Dailyas head when Ange Postecoglou starts defending the abolition of FA Cup replays in the name of fixture congestion after his Tottenham side [gah, we failed abysmally, Nigel a Football Daily Ed] laboured to a nervy extra-time win over non-league Tamworth in Sundayas third-round match at the Lamb Ground, capacity 4,000.

Poor Nigel Watersfield (Fridayas Football Daily letters). Not only is he a very Spursy Spurs fan, but he also seemingly lives under the misapprehension that Football Daily can deliver anything vaguely amusing about any football club. Or anything else for that mattera a Martyn Shapter (and 1,056 others).

Nice to see Villa celebrating their 150th anniversary in original colours, devoid of corporate branding and other nonsense, no playersa names on the back, etc on Friday night. Shame they missed the opportunity to go the whole hog and number the shirts 1-11. Or even 2-11 since the keeper never got a number. If the sponsors can agree to leave their branding off, surely the players would acquiesce to playing with a different number on their back? Though I suspect they were never askeda a Steve Hall.

Itas just a shame David Moyes wasnat offered, and accepted, another return to the West Ham job before jumping ship on news of Sean Dycheas sacking. Then the strapline could have been atwo jobs in a week, I bet you think thatas pretty clever, donat you Moyes?a as he left the Hammers high and drya a James Maltby.

This is an extract from our daily football email a| Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

• Former Sheffield United player died in September 2023
• Two-day inquest to begin on 16 April

The Football Associationas investigation into the circumstances around the death of the former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack has concluded and will be shared with a coroner by the end of the week.

At a pre-inquest review hearing into Cusackas death at Chesterfield coroneras court on Monday, the FA confirmed that its investigation, which opened in January 2024, was complete and would be provided to the coroner Sophie Cartwright by Friday. Stephen Walsh, the FAas legal counsel, said: aWe may make an overarching observation to you that substantial elements of the report are relevant to a disciplinary investigation under FA rules.a

• Wycombe accepted approach from Championship club
• Rob Edwards left Kenilworth Road with team in 20th

Matt Bloomfield is poised to succeed Rob Edwards at Luton and is expected to be named the Championship clubas manager within the next 48 hours.

Luton made an approach to Wycombe at the weekend, which is understood to have been accepted, with talks to finalise the move now taking place. Bloomfield is under contract at Wycombe until the summer of 2026.

• County season atakes precedencea over coaching role
• Anderson, 42: aI want to play while Iam still fit enougha

Jimmy Anderson has said turning out for Lancashire will take precedence over any coaching opportunities with England this summer after agreeing a new one-year contract to play in the County Championship and the T20 Blast.

The 42-year-old has been working as a consultant coach for England since his enforced retirement from Test cricket last summer and will be part of Brendon McCullumas backroom staff for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next month.

What the president-elect calls a agiant hoaxa is changing the strategic calculus in the Arctic and for the Panama canal

Donald Trumpas desire to seize control of Greenland and the Panama canal is being shaped in part by a force that he has sought to deny even exists a the climate crisis.

Last week, Trump ramped up his demands that the United States annex both Greenland and the Panama canal, refusing to rule out economic or even military interventions to take them and threatening avery higha tariffs upon Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory, if it opposes him.

Exclusive: About 89% of such crimes closed without a suspect being caught or charged in the year to June 2024

• Tory police cuts are only part of the crisis affecting victims of crime

Victims are being alet down time and time againa by police, a minister has said, as almost every violent or sexual offence went unsolved in hundreds of crime hotspots last year.

Nearly 1.9m violent or sexual crimes in England and Wales were closed without a suspect being caught or charged in the year to June 2024 a about 89% of all offences given an outcome, official figures show.

More than 15,800 readers gave highest sum raised by annual appeal since 2016 to support victims of war and conflict

An amazing APS1,735,000 has been raised by Guardian and Observer readers for our charity appeal in support of victims of war and conflict.

More than 15,800 readers donated to the appeal, which closed at midnight on Sunday evening. It was the highest sum raised by the annual appeal since 2016 and the 10th successive year that readers have given more than APS1m.

Experts say mental health treatment is key to tackling rise in UK, rather than simply reclassifying drug as class A

It was once viewed as a fringe club drug whose use as a horse tranquilliser gave it a adirtya reputation. But with illegal ketamine use reaching record levels, the Home Office announced last week that it was considering reclassifying it as a class A drug in response to a dramatic increase in use among young people.

An estimated 299,000 people aged 16 to 59 reported ketamine use in the year ending March 2023 in England and Wales, the largest number on record, according to Home Office data. Behind the headline figures, there is also evidence of a troubling culture shift, with an increasing number of people taking the drug, which has dissociative, anaesthetic and psychedelic effects, at home rather than in an occasional party setting. This heightens the risk of dependency, experts say, which can lead to devastating health consequences.

Transphobia is fuelling abuse towards community, said artists gathering over weekend at RuPaulas DragCon UK

Drag artists are under unprecedented pressure as they are amore visible, but also more debateda than ever before, performers have said, as they paid tribute to The Vivienne.

The international drag community came together in London for RuPaulas DragCon UK over the weekend, its first large gathering since the Welsh performeras death.

Two women arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after protest at Westminster Abbey in London

Just Stop Oil (JSO) supporters have spray-painted a1.5 is deada on Charles Darwinas grave after confirmation that last year was the first to breach the important global warming threshold.

Two people used chalk paint on the naturalistas grave in Westminster Abbey, London, at about 9.30am on Monday, the climate protest group said.

Former PM says outlets not focused on important issues such as agrooming gang scandala highlighted by Elon Musk

• UK politics live a latest updates
• Business live a latest updates

Liz Truss, who has positioned herself as a champion of free speech since her short time in Downing Street, has said the country will fail unless British media outlets such as the Guardian, the Times and the BBC are afixeda.

The former prime minister, who described herself as a abig supportera of Elon Musk, said the media in the UK focused on the wrong issues and the situation needed to be corrected for the country to succeed.

Former Scottish first minister says on social media that awe have been separated for some time nowa

• UK politics live a latest updates

Nicola Sturgeon has announced her divorce from her long-term partner Peter Murrell, who was previously the chief executive of the Scottish National party.

Their decision to split is not unexpected: it is understood Sturgeon moved out of the coupleas home in Baillieston, Glasgow, after Murrell was arrested and later charged last year over the alleged embezzlement of donations to the SNP.

Ryan Wellings also guilty of controlling behaviour but cleared of manslaughter of Kiena Dawes, who left note saying she was amurdereda

• How Ryan Wellings made Kiena Dawesa life a nightmare

A man accused of driving a young mother to suicide through domestic violence has been found guilty of assault and prolonged controlling behaviour but cleared of her manslaughter.

Ryan Wellings, 30, was blamed from abeyond the gravea for the death of his partner, Kiena Dawes.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org

Britons 39% worse off than Dutch equivalent due to housing costs 44% higher than western European average

Low- to middle-income families in Britain are far poorer than their counterparts in western Europe because of sky-high housing costs, according to an analysis by the Resolution Foundation.

The thinktank said that while prices in the UK were 8% higher than the average in the 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), less well-off Britons were more affected by the cost of housing, which is 44% higher in the UK than the OECD average.

Incoming vice-president makes remarks on Fox News, but later says pardons still remain a possibility for some people

Donald Trump supporters who carried out violence during the US Capitol attack in early January 2021 should not be pardoned by him after he begins his second presidency, JD Vance said on Sunday.

The incoming vice-presidentas remarks on Fox News Sunday with host Shannon Bream slightly deviated from a prior promise by Trump to consider pardoning even those who acknowledged assaulting police officers, saying aa very corrupt systema left them with ano choicea.

UN experts call on US president in his final week in office to free Abu Zubaydah, who was detained 23 years ago in the aftermath of 9/11

Joe Biden is under growing pressure to use his last week in office to free Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian detained 23 years ago in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and held without charge in GuantA!namo Bay.

A panel of UN experts and a group of 100 legal and human rights scholars have written to the president appealing to him to pardon the 53-year-old prisoner, the first 9/11 detainee to be tortured at the CIA global network of secret prisons.

As Meta abandons third-party factchecking in an ostensibly political move, the future of facts elsewhere remains murky

Factcheckers had no doubt about the real audience for the news this week a delivered via Mark Zuckerbergas medium of choice, the awkward video message a that, starting in the US, Meta would abandon professional, third-party factchecking across its networks in favor of the user-powered acommunity notesa model used on X.

aThis is all intended to curry favor with Trump,a one factchecker wrote as soon as the news dropped, on the private WhatsApp channel where the community gathered to vent. Their public responses made the same point a little more diplomatically.

In a country where thousands die every year from unsafe procedures, and rape is shockingly high, campaigners must overcome strict laws and religious beliefs, as well as misinformation and stigma

In a modest house on a red dirt road in Ota in Ogun state, Adijat Adejumo, a 39-year-old auxiliary nurse, runs a small chemist shop. She treats common illnesses such as malaria and colds and sells painkillers, antidiarrhoeal medications and vitamins. For the past few years, she has also been selling packs of mifepristone and misoprostol, medicines included in the WHO essential medicines list to induce abortion safely.

Both medicines are legal in Nigeria, a country with one of the worldas highest maternal mortality rates, but only if used to save womenas lives during obstetric complications. Adejumo does not stock them in her shop; instead when a woman comes asking for help to end an unwanted pregnancy, she has them delivered. On average, she gets three such requests a month.

Yoon Suk Yeolas failed coup attempt in December plunged country into worst political crisis in decades

The impeached South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, will receive a pay rise, official documents revealed, as he continues to resist arrest over his ill-fated martial law declaration.

Yoon suspended civilian rule on 3 December, sending soldiers into parliament and plunging the country into its worst political crisis in decades. He was forced to backtrack hours later.

Airline asks authorities to impose new curbs as it seeks to recover a!15,000 in costs related to diverted flight

Ryanair wants a limit of two alcoholic drinks at airports, as the airline released further details of legal action to recover a!15,000 (APS12,615) in costs related to a diversion it said was caused by an allegedly disruptive passenger.

The airline has called on European authorities to bring in new curbs on alcohol to stop passengers getting drunk before boarding a plane.

You won"t be a skeptic for long after seeing these eye-popping images.

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Tim Curry in Muppets Treasure Island really...moved me...

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I"m warning you, this is difficult whether you"re Canadian or not.

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And the trophy goes to... YOU.

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aI just think acoma is difficult. I donat know about arom.a Rom is not easy a and you need to mean it a but com is certainly very difficult.a

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Mick Jagger has a son who is younger than his great-grandchild.

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From baby bottles to a quilted laptop sleeve, these practical products are so darn good lookin" you may find yourself clicking "add to cart" without even realizing it.

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People be normal about Meghan Markle on the internet challenge: Impossible.

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If your "quaint" space requires some creative solutions, read on.

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Joshua purchased the Topanga Canyon property 24 years ago.

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Because we"ve all gotta rein in the mold and mildew.

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If there was ever a time to transform your home into heaven on earth, it"s here and now.

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It"s only been two weeks.

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This article is basically Katz"s Deli, because you"ll be like, "I"ll have what they"re having."

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Major FOMO right now.

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Glen Powell decided to move back to Texas after Mattew McConaughey told him, "Hollywood is the Matrix, man. You plug in, and it"s all fake world...Then I go to Austin, and I unplug. It"s all real."

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After KhloA(c) publicly lashed out at the mayor on Instagram, people pointed out that she and her sister Kim famously went over their monthly water allowance by 330,000 gallons back in 2022.

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Your bar cart is simply incomplete without this cult-fave single serving espresso martini mix packet.

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If you love dark chocolate and kimchi, you"re going to love this list...

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"Even if I do come across a new experience, I"ve had so many similar ones that I don"t feel the same excitement as when I was young and less experienced."

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aLos Angeles represents aliving the dreama but the reality today is wreckage and destruction.a

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The Social Security Administration"s baby names data goes back more than a century.

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"There was no Medicare or Medicaid for anyone when I was growing up. Now, I"m on both."

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Half of the people in the U.S. drink soda every day. Find out how it affects health in the short-term and the long-term.

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2025 = your year of lil" upgrades.

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