Move comes as union representing US diplomats said it was ‘deeply concerned’ by the process, which could ‘politicise’ foreign service The Trump administration has quietly recalled nearly 30 ambassadors and other senior overseas diplomats as the Trump administration plans to promote appointees loyal to the new administration to higher levels of the state department, according to diplomatic sources. The recall of the ambassadors or heads of mission, which were confirmed by several current and former senior diplomats, was unusual for targeting career foreign service officers heading embassies overseas who are generally left in place after a change in administration because they strive to be apolitical. Continue reading...

Move to bring back customary marine rights is celebrated, but concerns remain about potential effect on tourism and lack of clarity about how it might work In Fiji, babies know a connection to the sea from birth; their umbilical cords, or vicovico, are sometimes implanted in the reefs that frame the coastal Pacific nation, embedded among the coral. It’s an age-old practice among iTaukei, the Indigenous Fijian people – creating a lifeline to the ocean, a reminder of their roles as traditional custodians. Yet for decades, controversy over the rights to the Fijian seabed has cast a long cloud over the island nation, which sees a million tourists flock to its shores each year, many to surf the perfect, barrelling reef breaks. It has led to heartache and, at times, violence. Continue reading...

CPS says new law marked ‘significant shift in recognising serious nature’ of offence, often linked to domestic abuse and sexual assault The number of suspects charged for strangulation and suffocation in England and Wales has increased almost sixfold in the three years since the offence was first introduced, Crown Prosecution Service data has revealed. Brought in under the Domestic Abuse Act, which came into force in 2022, the legislation closed a gap in the existing law, giving courts much greater sentencing powers. Continue reading...

Scheme members will also receive lump sums averaging £5,500 after government hands over £2.3bn reserve Some former mineworkers who are receiving a £100-a-week boost to their pensions after a hard-fought battle say they will now no longer need to worry about money. The Guardian had reported that people were “dying in abject poverty” and unable to “afford to bury themselves” after the government raided billions from their pensions. Continue reading...

Biologist says specimen filmed by a Victorian fisher is ‘unusual’, but not a rare albino as some had wondered Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Cody Stylianou thought he saw a huge trout. But, skimming just below the surface, it was moving differently than a fish would. The creature surfaced and, amazed, the Victorian fisher reached for his phone. Swimming in front of him was a pink platypus. Continue reading...

Mo Farah and Matthew Pinsent among those to speak out Playing fields and facilities at risk of being built over Sports playing fields and facilities in England are at risk of being built over en masse with devastating consequences for local communities, sports stars and governing bodies have warned. The former England footballer Jill Scott along with Olympic gold medallists Mo Farah, Alex Yee and Matthew Pinsent, are among 88 signatories to an open letter saying they are “deeply concerned” about proposed government planning reforms, and say they would hit poorest communities hardest. Continue reading...

Labour urged to accelerate reset with Brussels as many exporters struggling to trade in the EU after Brexit deal Keir Starmer’s government has been told a closer EU trade deal is a “strategic necessity” for companies in Britain as growing numbers of exporters find it tougher to do business under the UK’s post-Brexit agreement. Calling on Labour to accelerate its reset with Brussels, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said the UK’s existing trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) was failing to help them grow their sales in the EU. Continue reading...

Egypt 2 (Marmoush 65, Salah 90+1) Zimabwe 1 (Dube 20) Record Afcon winners recover to win in Agadir There were no apologies from Mohamed Salah to his teammates in red last night, with Egypt’s players grateful to Liverpool’s troubled superstar for conjuring an injury-time winner against the aptly named Warriors of Zimbabwe. After failing to capitalise on a dominant start, the seven-times Afcon winners required a stunning second-half equaliser from Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush and Salah’s late winner to spare their blushes against unfancied Zimbabwe, who have never progressed beyond the group stages. Continue reading...

Fulham are battling. Marco Silva’s options are limited and he does not have many ways to freshen up his side, but at least he can count on an experienced core and a group willing to scrap when they are at risk of being dragged towards the relegation zone. It is putting it kindly to say this game will not live long in the memory. It was scrappy, stop-start and overly physical. Both teams were disappointing in the final third and it probably would have finished goalless but for Douglas Luiz’s rush of blood to the head gifting Raul Jiménez to score the goal that lifted Fulham 10 points above the bottom three before their trip to West Ham on Saturday. Continue reading...

She’s such a great interviewer that this chat with Kenneth Branagh feels like it deserves an entire series. It’s relentlessly charming – and hugely moving when they talk about Dame Judi’s late husband Cast your mind back to Christmas 2017, and you might remember a slightly wacky BBC documentary called Dame Judi Dench: My Passion for Trees. On the surface, it seemed like one of those god-awful shows put together by tombola; matching a celebrity with a random subject and hoping it would pass muster. However, this was not the case. Dame Judi Dench, it turned out, really did have a passion for trees. An obsessive passion, one that manifested itself in a small woodland where she named trees after friends of hers who had died. The result was unexpectedly tender and gorgeous, and the show ended up being the best thing on TV that Christmas. Continue reading...

Record signing injured in win at Tottenham Striker underwent surgery after scan on Monday Alexander Isak is facing several months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a leg fracture suffered in Liverpool’s win at Tottenham. Liverpool have confirmed that Isak fractured his left leg when putting Arne Slot’s team ahead in Saturday’s 2-1 victory and being caught in a challenge from Micky van de Ven. Continue reading...

Saturday’s Chepstow showpiece could be a huge showcase for front-running nine-year-old’s massive frame and engine When jumping fans of any age talk about a “proper, old-fashioned steeplechaser”, they have a strapping colossus of a horse in mind, with the strength to keep jumping and powering on through the deepest of winter ground when lesser rivals have cried enough. A horse like Pendil or The Dikler in the 1970s, Desert Orchid or Carvill’s Hill a decade or so later, or Denman lugging top weight to victory in the Hennessy - when it still was the Hennessy, back in 2009. Or, in the here and now, a horse like Mr Vango, the second-favourite for Saturday’s Welsh Grand National at Chepstow. Even in a year when Harry Redknapp has a live runner in the King George VI Chase at Kempton a day earlier, a win for Mr Vango this weekend would quite possibly be the most popular and heartwarming result of the entire festive racing programme. Continue reading...

Document casts doubt on postal service claims it was unaware of bugs that could cause accounting shortfalls The Post Office made a confidential deal with Fujitsu 19 years ago to fix errors in post office operators’ accounts, a document has revealed. The document casts doubt on claims made by the postal service that they were not aware of bugs that could cause accounting shortfalls. Continue reading...

Game developer, who was also involved in Medal of Honor and Titanfall, reportedly killed in a car crash Vince Zampella, the co-creator of the Call of Duty video game series, has died aged 55. The head of the video game developer Respawn Entertainment and the co-founder of Infinity Ward was killed in a car crash in California, NBC Los Angeles reported. Continue reading...

Coach couldn’t free up his players so they found another way of removing pressure – by losing the series in rapid time Finally, in the last two days of the third Test with the series already basically lost, England stood up. They have been on a hell of a journey over 11 days of Test cricket, and now – too late – they are getting somewhere. They have reminded me of some of the students who have passed through the school where I teach: they get into the upper sixths and they’re first-team cricketers, the big boys, very confident, dominating the team, playing good cricket, think they’ve cracked the code. Then they have a gap year and go travelling, and suddenly they realise there’s a whole world out there, that life can be tough and things can be done differently. Out of their comfort zone they can mature rapidly as young men and as people. I look at England’s performance in the third Test and think that after some tough experiences, and having been forced to confront the fact that they are not what they thought they were, they have maybe turned a corner in terms of their maturity. Continue reading...

Christmas episode of the Motherland spin-off is riding a resurgence begun by last year’s Gavin and Stacey finale In recent years, drama and reality shows have dominated TV viewing, but comedy is having the last laugh with a resurgence following last year’s festive finale of Gavin & Stacey. This year’s BBC Christmas Day highlight is a special of the Motherland spin-off Amandaland, while next year a second series of both Amazon’s hit Last One Laughing and Channel 4’s Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping will feature. Sky is also launching a UK version of the long-running US satirical sketch show Saturday Night Live. Continue reading...

ICE held more than 68,400 people as of 14 December, breaking previous high set at beginning of December The number of people in immigration detention in the US has hit an all-time high according to data published by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The data, which comes out every two weeks, shows that as of 14 December 2025, ICE held more than 68,400 people. This many people in immigration detention is a new record, breaking the previous high set at the beginning of December. Continue reading...

Aerial photographs of UK capital shot from a helicopter include Christmas lights in the West End, the fairground at Winter Wonderland and the South Bank Continue reading...

Some protesters are now seriously ill after weeks without food as justice secretary is urged to show some humanity Who are the Palestine Action hunger strikers and what are the health risks? Families and supporters of Palestine Action-affiliated hunger strikers have pleaded with David Lammy to meet them in an attempt to end the impasse over the protest that has left some of them severely unwell. On Monday, as the protest reached a dangerous stage, lawyers for the hunger strikers sent a legal letter claiming that by refusing a meeting the justice secretary had failed to comply with the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ’s) own policy on handling of hunger strikes. Continue reading...

Effective challenge to the alarming rise of far-right, anti-migrant politics starts with the grassroots Austerity, cost of living pressures and a chronic lack of investment have damaged the physical and social fabric of some UK towns and neighbourhoods far more than others. In places where large numbers of people feel disheartened about living standards and prospects, and disenchanted by democratic politics as a result, a whole range of grievances can take hold. This year’s Guardian charity appeal is all about countering the alarming rise of far-right, anti-migrant and other extremist politics – and the misconceptions that fuel them. We and our partners are convinced that the fraying threads of communities can be woven back together with effort and imagination, supported by your generous donations. If polarisation is fuelled by digital capitalism’s commodification of attention – as illustrated by the role of social media in inflaming anti-migrant protests – cohesion and cooperation increase when people build bridges in real life. The charities and projects in this year’s appeal in this year’s appeal make and strengthen connections. Drawing on a range of techniques and activities, they seek to enhance confidence and reduce antagonism. 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. Continue reading...

Skip the Christmas scramble with our last-minute decor and gifting hacks; Jo Malone spills her shopping secrets; and the best tequila for festive tipples with a twist • Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Ten years ago and newly married, I was invited to spend Christmas with my husband’s extended family. “We’re not doing gifts this year, there are too many of us,” my husband told me in early December when I queried who to buy for. So, I showed up with a roll of novelty Christmas pudding bin bags and wine for the hosts. Imagine my embarrassment later that day when his aunt, uncle and cousins all handed me gifts so beautiful and thoughtful I still use them today. I resolved then to never enter the festive period without an arsenal of last-minute gift ideas in my back pocket – and also not to take everything my husband says as read. The best LED face masks, tested: 10 light therapy devices that are worth the hype How I Shop with Jo Malone: ‘I like my bed steamed every day’ The best flower delivery for every budget: seven favourites, freshly picked ‘Firm, snappy texture’: the best supermarket crackers for cheese, tasted and rated Continue reading...

The Danish postal service has announced it will cease deliveries from 30 December after 400 years. Eventually, other countries may go down a similar route Predictions of the demise of letter writing are not new. The invention of the telegraph and the rise of the postcard were both seen as potential threats to a more leisurely, reflective form of communication. Yet by the close of the 20th century, more letters were being sent than ever, as social correspondence began to be supplemented by a boom in business mail. From Europe’s most tech-savvy society, however, comes ominous news. As of next week, Denmark’s state-run postal service will end all letter deliveries after doing the rounds for 400 years. Around 1,500 jobs are being cut, and the country’s beloved red letterboxes are being sold off. It will still be possible for Danes to send a card or a love letter to someone far away next Christmas, but only via the shops of a smaller private company or a costly home collection. 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. Continue reading...

The late musician bristled against his record companies, his producers and fame itself – but that friction ignited both his AOR hits and his raw, spirited take on the blues • Chris Rea, rock and blues singer-songwriter, dies aged 74 • Gallery: a life in pictures • Comment: Driving Home for Christmas captures the season’s true spirit For an artist best-known for a string of slickly commercial adult-oriented rock hits – Josephine, On the Beach, The Road to Hell, the Yuletide perennial Driving Home for Christmas – Chris Rea’s career was a rather more fraught business than you might have expected. He had something of the splendidly grumpy refusenik about him. His debut single, Fool (If You Think It’s Over) was a transatlantic hit, earning him a best new artist Grammy nomination (he lost to Billy Joel, an artist the single had garnered comparisons to), but Rea announced that he “despised” the song: “It’s just not me.” He chafed at his record company’s expectations: his 1978 debut album, Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? got its title after his label suggested that he might consider adopting a stage name, and he later protested that the producers he worked with made his music too glossy and “smoothed-out”. Continue reading...

Christmas-loving player’s run goes beyond 25 December No 7 seed Wade loses 3-2 in biggest upset so far Ricky Evans gave himself a post-Christmas walk-on song dilemma by dumping the seventh seed, James Wade, out of the PDC world championship. Evans missed seven match darts before winning the final set 6-4 in legs for a 3-2 second-round victory at Alexandra Palace. Four-time world championship semi-finalist Wade became the highest seed to depart this year’s tournament after missing his own match dart at double five when 4-3 ahead in the final set. Continue reading...

The 82-year-old singer said the disease was in its early stages and he plans to be back on stage in February Barry Manilow has revealed that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer and will undergo surgery. The 82-year-old singer, whose parade of high-spirited hits from Copacabana to Mandy has made him one of pop music’s most beloved showmen, will have surgery to remove part of his lung in an effort to fight off the disease, which is in its early stages. Continue reading...