Man, thought to be in his 50s, was found under 2.5 metres of snow and had been skiing off-piste A British skier has been killed by an avalanche in the French Alps. The man, believed to be in his 50s, was found under 2.5 metres of snow after a 50-minute search, a statement from the La Plagne resort in south-eastern France said. Continue reading...

Pool 1: Saracens 20-14 Toulouse Rotimi Segun also scores twice for Prem side Even for the world’s best rugby player it is not all glamour. As he sniffed the damp air on a blustery, cheerless Sunday night in north London, Antoine Dupont must privately have been wondering if this was some sort of fiendish Anglo-Saxon conspiracy. Any similarity with the classic cathedrals and comforting familiarity of the Stade de France in next month’s Six Nations was conspicuously lacking. For a defiant Saracens, though, this chilly, sodden evening delivered the most beautiful of outcomes and a result that transforms the mood of their previous flagging season. They fully deserved this rousing victory, two first-half tries from Rotimi Segun and a barnstorming display from man of the match Tom Willis laying the foundations for the hosts’ best performance of the season which has sharply improved their Champions Cup knockout qualification prospects. Continue reading...

Skilled workers at Leonardo Helicopters fear it will close Yeovil factory if Ministry of Defence delays awarding contract The UK’s last military helicopter factory must land a long-awaited order from the Ministry of Defence within the coming weeks to secure about 3,000 manufacturing jobs, industry sources suggest. Skilled workers at Leonardo Helicopters – the Italian owner of the former Westland factory in Yeovil, Somerset – fear the company will follow through on threats to close the facility at the end of March, if the UK military fails to place an order for new helicopters by that time. Continue reading...

Manchester United’s hunt for trophies is over inside the second week of January after a ruthless Brighton took advantage of yet another loose defensive performance. This FA Cup third-round knockout means the 13-times winners have been dumped from the competition and the League Cup at the first opportunity for a first time since 1981-82. By the end of May United’s season will stand at a total of 40 games – their lowest number in a complete campaign since 1914-15. If August’s Carabao Cup penalty shootout elimination at Grimsby was dire, this disappointment was as concerningly insipid, goals from Brajan Gruda and Danny Welbeck, one in each half, (probably) ending Darren Fletcher’s record as the interim manager as winless – this defeat following Wednesday’s draw at Burnley in the Premier League. Continue reading...

Stars from Andy Cohen to Brandi Carlile remember rock band co-founder as ‘beautiful human’ after his death at 78 The death of Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead co-founder, rhythm guitarist, vocalist and writer of much of the legendary psychedelic rock band’s songs, drew a chorus of tributes from fellow musicians and fans who described him as a “musical guru” and “the last actual hippie”. Weir recently survived cancer but died from “underlying lung issues”, according to a statement posted on Saturday on Instagram. Continue reading...

Also: advice to reduce screen time, how to maximize your toaster oven, the best gloves and at-home fitness staples This piece was originally published in the Filter US newsletter on buying fewer, better things. Sign up here to get early access to it Each week we cut through the noise to bring you smart, practical recommendations on how to live better – from what is worth buying to the tools, habits and ideas that actually last. At this time last year, I was a full-time student, throwing on the requisite leggings and an oversized sweatshirt for evening classes and late-night library sessions. This year, I’ve joined countless others in office life, zipping in and out of conference rooms and hopping on video calls for interviews and meetings. I love any excuse to shop, but many office-friendly pieces, including pricey blazers and crisp button-downs, are far outside my price range. The 27 best fashion gifts in the US – curated by our favorite stylists and creators Eight winter clothing essentials Scandinavians swear by – from heated socks to ‘allværsjakke’ Continue reading...

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Exclusive: Lord chancellor urges MPs to back judge-only trials in thousands of criminal cases in England and Wales The backlog of nearly 80,000 trials clogging up the court system could be cleared within a decade if parliament agrees to slash the number of jury trials, David Lammy, the lord chancellor, has claimed. In an interview with the Guardian, the deputy prime minister, who is facing a backbench rebellion over the proposals, has urged Labour MPs and the public to back a version of Canada’s judge-only trials in thousands of criminal cases in England and Wales. Continue reading...

No more Venezuelan oil or money will flow to the communist-run island after Maduro’s fall, says US president Donald Trump has told Cuba to “make a deal” or face unspecified consequences, adding that no more Venezuelan oil or money would flow to the communist-run Caribbean island that has been a US foe for decades. As Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela and major beneficiary of its oil, braced for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as the South American nation’s leader, the US president ramped up his threatening language on Sunday. Continue reading...

One of the founding members of the Grateful Dead, brilliant guitarist and writer of many of the group’s key songs Though perhaps not as instantly recognisable as the band’s guru-like lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, who has died from cancer aged 78, was an indispensable pillar of the Grateful Dead as guitarist, singer and songwriter. Weir, Garcia and their bandmates first came together in San Francisco in 1965, and would become integral players in the psychedelia boom and the city’s summer of love in 1967, fuelled by the mind-expanding drug LSD. Continue reading...

Forget the magic of the FA Cup, for West Ham the reality of what is likely to be a Championship fixture next season. An indicator that life in the second tier will be no cakewalk. That QPR took them to extra-time will do little for Nuno Espírito Santo’s standing, despite a first win since 8 November. There were, though, positives to take in the performance of Taty Castellanos, the Argentinian striker who scored the Hammers’ winning goal. Have West Ham at last ended a search for a striker that has lasted almost as long as their London Stadium tenancy? They’ve looked everywhere. The other goalscorer, Crysencio Summerville, who also supplied the assist for the winner, put in one of his better West Ham performances, too. For one cold afternoon only, the Cup could draw a thin veil over Premier League concerns. Continue reading...

A globally unique programme allowed the poor to demand – and get – jobs, empowering rural women. Narendra Modi courts trouble by hollowing it out Few countries have attempted anything as ambitious as India’s rural jobs guarantee. Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, any adult in the countryside who demanded work was entitled to a job on local public works within 15 days, failing which the government had to pay an unemployment allowance. Enacted in 2005, MGNREGA created the world’s most far-reaching legal right to employment. It generates 2bn person-days of work a year for about 50m households. Over half of all workers were women, and about 40% came from Dalit and tribal communities. For a country where vast numbers rely on seasonal farm work, the scheme mattered. It stabilised incomes, raised rural wages, expanded women’s bargaining power and reduced internal migration. Households could demand up to 100 days of paid work at a statutory minimum wage, turning employment into an enforceable right. The World Bank derided it as a “barrier to development” in 2009 – but praised it as “stellar” five years later. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has however replaced this rights-based system with a centrally managed welfare scheme, VB-G RAM G, a shift opposed by the Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and the inequality scholar Thomas Piketty. Continue reading...

Readers respond to an article by Robyn Vinter in which she argues that it’s not easy being an English northerner surrounded by southerners I was born in Barnsley, my father a coalminer. After Reading University, I moved to London and made a career in advertising for 40 years. My accent’s softened, perhaps, but I am and always will identify as a northerner (It’s not easy being an English northerner surrounded by southerners. Here’s how we survive, 6 January). Working-class common sense and direct, plain speaking worked for me. Southerners often see this as being “blunt”, especially in the business world. There, it’s all about endless talking that means nothing and makes sure nothing gets done. Continue reading...

Readers respond to the US president’s threats towards Greenland and his latest comment that he doesn’t need international law You report that Donald Trump claims that the only thing limiting his power as commander-in-chief is his “own morality” (‘I don’t need international law’: Trump says power constrained only by ‘my own morality’, 8 January). A lifetime’s evidence of that morality at work makes this position chilling. Courts and juries have found him guilty of falsifying business records, liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and responsible for misusing charitable funds for political ends. These are not partisan judgments, but evidence-based legal findings reached after due process. The consistent pattern is not of any sort of moral restraint, but self-licensing. For him, truth is merely tactical. Rules and conventions are obeyed when convenient, but ignored when obstructive. He resists accountability. When challenged, his response is almost always to retaliate. Continue reading...

Anela Anwar, the head of a charity for children in care and young care leavers, calls for greater support across housing, health, education and employment At Become, the national charity for children in care and young care leavers, we agree with your editorial that the government’s recent offer of free eye tests and prescriptions for care leavers is a welcome step in strengthening support for those leaving care (The Guardian view on care leavers: responsibility for looked-after children does not end at 18, 2 January). However, this measure does little to address the far more urgent crisis facing care leavers: a third will experience homelessness within two years of leaving care. Every year, thousands of young people are forced out of care before they are ready, often on their 18th birthday or even younger, with vital support vanishing overnight. Many are pushed into unsuitable housing, such as B&Bs and hostels where they don’t feel safe. They then face the challenge of managing household bills while trying to continue education or find work. Continue reading...

Act of resistance | Amended signs | Curt waiters | Disgusted in Tunbridge Wells | Crossword clues | Smug travellers What a brilliant message of hope for the new year (As the Israeli bombs fell, my family committed an act of rebellion: we planted a garden in Gaza, 8 January). Taqwa Ahmed al-Wawi’s article is inspirational for those who believe in the real world of human life and reject the synthetic values of a world viewed as real estate. Ruth Baker Matfield, Kent • Years ago there was an advert for the railways with the slogan “This is the age of the train” (Letters, 7 January). On one of them someone had written “This train takes ages”. Maggie Rylance Winchester Continue reading...

The most romantic way to traverse the continent is environmentally friendly and popular with the public. But market challenges need addressing When the European Union made its 2020 commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century, there was a wave of excitement about what that might mean for the continent’s most romantic form of travel. The golden era of night trains had, it was previously assumed, gone for good amid the rise of low-cost, short-haul flights. But the new environmental imperatives suggested that they could be a glamorous part of a greener future, delivering a climate impact that was 28 times less than flying. The European Commission enthusiastically identified a plethora of potential new routes that it judged could be economically viable. Sadly, due to a series of challenges that Brussels and national governments have done too little to address, the renaissance appears to be stalling. Last month, a two-year-old night service linking Paris with Vienna and Berlin was scrapped after state subsidies were removed. The French operator, SNCF, has claimed that without financial assistance, the particular costs associated with running a night train are simply too high. Meanwhile, a petition was vainly launched to save the new Basel-Copenhagen-Malmö route, which was due to open in April but has also been derailed by the withdrawal of state funding. Continue reading...

Boy born in Bow would go on to play the devoted father and taxi driver in the BBC One soap between 2000 and 2011 Derek Martin, who starred as Charlie Slater in EastEnders, has died aged 92. Martin played the devoted father and taxi driver on the BBC One soap between 2000 and 2011, and continued making guest appearances until his departure in 2016. Continue reading...

Jaguars travel to Buffalo to play the Bills (6pm GMT KO) Eagles take on 49ers in Santa Clara (9.30pm GMT KO) Get in touch: email Graham here So how about those Bears then?! A first playoff win since 2010 featuring the largest comeback in franchise playoff history while inflicting the biggest blown lead in Packers history is really rather impressive, isn’t it? Head coach Ben Johnson’s first year in Chicago has transformed the team from a rabble into never-say-die warriors. So how far can this rising force go? Who they face next is, of course, crucial. If the 49ers beat the Eagles then they host the Rams next weekend and if the 49ers lose then the Eagles head to Soldier Field. If forced to choose you might think Caleb Williams and company would prefer a visit from the Eagles. We shall see. Continue reading...

The Dead were a formative band for the National. Getting to play with Bob felt like entering a portal into their mystical, musical landscape – though he was always completely present It’s hard to believe that Bob Weir, founding member of the Grateful Dead who carried the torch for the band’s music after Jerry Garcia passed in 1995, is gone. He had the vibrant, playful energy, constant curiosity and adventurous disposition of someone who seemed as if they would just always be around. Bobby, as he was affectionately known to fans, helped start the legendary band as a teenager in the mid-1960s and co-wrote and sang many of their most famous songs, including Sugar Magnolia and Truckin’. Much more than that, he kept the Grateful Dead’s spirit and music alive more recently in various forms including RatDog, the Other Ones and Dead & Company. For so many of us, the Grateful Dead was much more than the music we grew up with; it was an endlessly fascinating culture that spanned generations and an integral part of the fabric and foundation of the American musical vernacular. Bobby’s highly creative and unusual way of playing rhythm guitar was an essential counterpoint to Jerry’s inimitable lead playing. Together they defined the core of the band’s sound which was documented throughout its exhaustive touring history by a live taping and bootleg-sharing culture which they embraced. Continue reading...

Health minister Nina Warken says Robert F Kennedy Jr’s assertions that German doctors are facing legal action are unfounded The German government has sharply rejected claims by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, that doctors in Germany have faced legal action for issuing vaccine and mask exemptions during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The statements made by the US secretary of health are completely unfounded, factually incorrect, and must be rejected,” Germany’s health minister, Nina Warken, said in a strongly worded statement released late on Saturday. Continue reading...

A congressional hearing this week underscored the danger a WBD deal would pose to journalism and the American public Donald Trump wants CNN sold. He has said so repeatedly and publicly, demanding it “should be sold” in any deal involving Warner Bros Discovery. Now one of America’s largest media companies is racing to oblige him, while another looks to consolidate its power. Wednesday’s House judiciary hearing on streaming competition – where lawmakers voiced concern over the Trump administration’s influence and a potential merger’s toll on consumers – made clear just how dangerous both options are for free speech, audiences and democracy itself. Netflix has bid $82.7bn for Warner Bros Discovery, only to be countered by a hostile $108bn takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, son of Trump’s ally Larry. Neither deal serves the public interest, and both are dangerous for the future of free expression. Both would produce an unprecedented concentration of power over what Americans watch and which stories get told. Courtney C Radsch is director of the Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute Continue reading...

Campaign groups argue online transactions ‘present real risks to our democracy’ as it is hard to trace their true source Downing Street has been urged to ban political donations in cryptocurrency by seven senior Labour MPs who chair parliamentary committees. The committee chairs – Liam Byrne, Emily Thornberry, Tan Dhesi, Florence Eshalomi, Andy Slaughter, Chi Onwurah and Matt Western – called on the government to introduce a full ban in the forthcoming elections bill amid concern that cryptocurrency could be used by foreign states to influence politics. Continue reading...

Danish prime minister says country is at a crossroads and accuses US of turning its back on Nato Mette Frederiksen has said that Denmark is at a “fateful moment” amid Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, accusing the US of potentially turning its back on Nato. Speaking at a party leader debate at a political rally on Sunday, the Danish prime minister said her country was “at a crossroads”. Continue reading...

55-year-old worker died during overnight shift Temperatures plunged to -12C in Cortina d’Ampezzo A guard at a construction site near a 2026 Winter Olympic venue in the mountain resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo died during a freezing overnight shift, authorities have confirmed. Italy’s infrastructure minister, Matteo Salvini, called for a full investigation into the circumstances of the 55-year-old worker’s death. Italian media reported that the death occurred on Thursday while the worker was on duty at a construction site near Cortina’s ice arena. Temperatures that night plunged to -12C (10.4F). Continue reading...