This deeply moving documentary celebrates the lives of the three girls who were killed in an attack on their dance class last year – and becomes a miraculously powerful tale of turning heartbreak into hope If losing a child is the worst thing, the very worst, that can happen to you, what must it be like to lose one in a tragedy that was national headline news? Alongside that insurmountable sadness comes the question of how to reconcile grief’s normally private, quiet bearing with the fact that your bereavement was a public event. Nobody would be blamed for staying out of sight, saying no to interviewers and documentary-makers, and holding the memories close. But in Our Girls: the Southport Families, we see how a loss shared can be miraculously powerful. Nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and six-year-old Bebe King were all murdered on 29 July 2024, when a man invaded a holiday dance class in Southport, Merseyside and attacked children at random. The programme does not linger on the horror, or speak the killer’s name: instead it begins by introducing us to the girls as their parents remember them. Alice “was magic, she was wonder … the best daughter we could ask for”; Elsie “was unforgettable … she taught us how to be a mum and dad”; Bebe “was pure joy: everything was in a dance, everything was in a song”. Continue reading...

This is our strong message to our friends in Europe. Unless responsible governments reflect their citizens’ concerns, populists will win Keir Starmer is the British prime minister. Mette Frederiksen is prime minister of Denmark When trust in government to confront the challenges of today falters, our sense of shared belonging can begin to crack. As the prime ministers of two great European nations, we will not let this happen. How we deal with irregular migration is at the heart of this, and we know that the response must match the scale of the challenge. Continue reading...

Exclusive: PM calls for members of European convention on human rights to allow tougher action to protect borders We must protect our borders to defend our democracies – and that means the ECHR must change Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to urgently update joint human rights laws so that member states can take tougher action to protect their borders and see off the rise of the populist right across the continent. Before a crucial European summit on Wednesday, the prime minister urged fellow members to “go further” in modernising the European convention on human rights (ECHR) to prevent asylum seekers using it to avoid deportation. Continue reading...

Chair of 2025 judging panel says win ‘begins to erase that border between the neurotypical and neurodiverse artist’ Nnena Kalu’s embodied, sensuous art makes her a worthy Turner prize winner Nnena Kalu has won the 2025 Turner prize for her colourful drawings and sculptures made from found fabric and VHS tape, becoming the first artist with a learning disability to take home the £25,000 prize. Alex Farquharson, chair of the jury and director of Tate Britain, said the win by the British-Nigerian represented a watershed moment for the international art world. Continue reading...

Worcestershire council leader Jo Monk sent city councillor Ed Kimberley a cease and desist letter over his criticism of her The leader of a Reform UK-run local authority has been criticised for an “authoritarian” attempt to silence opposition after sending a legal threat to a Labour councillor, demanding he stops mentioning her name in public. Ed Kimberley, a Worcester city councillor, said he received the cease and desist letter from the leader of Worcestershire county council, Jo Monk, in late November. Continue reading...

Ealing and Doncaster Knights have formally applied Formal removal of relegation still to be ratified Behind-the-scenes arguments about the proposed transformation of the top tier of English club rugby into a franchise-based league are intensifying with just two Champ clubs now eligible for promotion this season. Only Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster Knights have formally applied to be promoted to the Prem with Worcester Warriors having declined to do so. A Rugby Football Union spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that Worcester have taken the decision because the club is still “getting back on its feet” after its financial collapse in September 2022 with debts of over £25m. But with Ealing unable to satisfy the Prem minimum standards for the last two seasons and Doncaster currently off the pace in 10th place, it raises fresh questions about the raison d’être of the scheduled new end-of-season Champ playoffs, unveiled amid much fanfare earlier this year. Continue reading...

Lawsuit argues that proposed deal threatens to reduce competition in US subscription video-on-demand market Netflix has been hit with a consumer lawsuit seeking to block the online video giant’s planned $72bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming businesses. The proposed class action was filed on Monday by a subscriber to Warner Bros-owned HBO Max who said the proposed deal threatened to reduce competition in the US subscription video-on-demand market. Continue reading...

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels clash with Congolese army and other groups as they march on strategic eastern town About 200,000 people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Rwanda-backed rebels march on a strategic eastern town just days after Donald Trump hosted the Rwandan and Congolese leaders to proclaim peace. The UN said at least 74 people had been killed, mostly civilians, and 83 admitted to hospital with wounds from escalating clashes in the area in recent days. Continue reading...

NHS Providers chief urges better infection control, while No 10 stresses choice and Kemi Badenoch warns against mask mandate People experiencing flu or cold symptoms should wear a mask in public places as the UK grapples with a “tidal wave” of illness, an NHS leader has said. Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said the country is seeing a “very nasty strain of flu” that has occurred earlier in the year than normal, and face coverings should be worn on public transport, as during the Covid pandemic. Continue reading...

£69m forward happy he chose Newcastle before taking on Bayer Leverkusen in Champions League on Wednesday As Nick Woltemade made his way out of Bayer Leverkusen’s media theatre on Tuesday night he noticed that a series of chairs had been dragged untidily out of position. Most footballers would simply have walked on by but the 6ft 6in Newcastle forward is a little different from the rest and he duly stopped and tucked them all back into position beneath a long desk. Out on the pitch Woltemade’s highly-technical approach is nothing if not similarly neat and he has returned to his home country on a Champions League mission. Namely to show his compatriots that Eddie Howe has imbued his game with a dangerous new dimension. While the adhesive touches, deft flicks and clever link play that have always distinguished Woltemade’s performances remain, the Newcastle manager’s “physics” have enhanced the mix. Continue reading...

In a boost for Rachel Reeves, deputy governor says analysis shows her policies will lower annual rate next year The Bank of England expects Rachel Reeves’s budget will reduce the UK’s headline inflation rate by as much as half a percentage point next year. In a boost for the chancellor after last month’s high-stakes tax and spending statement, Clare Lombardelli, a deputy governor at the central bank, said its early analysis showed the policies would lower the annual inflation rate by 0.4 to 0.5 percentage points for a year from mid-2026. Continue reading...

The White House is aggressively seeking to weaken and dominate the United States’ traditional allies. European leaders must learn to fight back. Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz have become adept at scrambling to deal with the latest bad news from Washington. Their meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Downing Street on Monday was so hastily arranged that Mr Macron needed to be back in Paris by late afternoon to meet Croatia’s prime minister, while Mr Merz was due on television for an end-of-year Q&A with the German public. But diplomatic improvisation alone cannot fully answer Donald Trump’s structural threat to European security. The US president and his emissaries are trying to bully Mr Zelenskyy into an unjust peace deal that suits American and Russian interests. In response, the summit helped ramp up support for the use of up to £100bn in frozen Russian assets as collateral for a “reparations loan” to Ukraine. European counter-proposals for a ceasefire will need to be given the kind of financial backing that provides Mr Zelenskyy with leverage at a critical moment. Continue reading...

Weak regulation is to blame for disastrous failures in relation to pollution. But there are solutions if people get behind them A study suggesting that as many as 168m light-up Christmas ornaments and similar items could be thrown out in a single year, in the UK, is concerning if not surprising in light of longstanding challenges around recycling rates and waste reduction. Even if the actual figure is lower, there is no question that battery-powered and electrical toys, lights and gifts are proliferating as never before. Despite a great deal of commentary aimed at dialling down consumption over the festive season, especially surplus packaging and rubbish, strings of disposable lights and flashing figures have gained in popularity. Homes, front gardens and shopping streets grow sparklier by the year. Batteries and electrical devices present particular difficulties when it comes to disposal, because they cause fires. But they are just one part of a more general problem of excessive waste – and weak regulatory oversight. British plastic waste exports rose by 5% in 2024 to nearly 600,000 tonnes. A new report on plastics from the Pew Charitable Trusts warns that global production is expected to rise by 52% by 2040 – to 680m tonnes – outstripping the capacity of waste management systems around the world. Continue reading...

⚽ Champions League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | David Squires on Salah | Follow us at Bluesky There’s plenty of hot, sweaty Champions League action tonight, including Spurs v Slavia Prague and Atalanta v Chelsea. You can follow those games with Niall McVeigh. ‘A meltdown worthy of Saturday Kitchen’ Continue reading...

First lady seen making sexist and derogatory reference to women who had disrupted theatre show by Ary Abittan Brigitte Macron was facing criticism on Tuesday after video emerged of her using a slur to denounce feminist protesters. The scene filmed on Sunday showed France’s first lady in discussion backstage at the Folies Bergère theatre in Paris with Ary Abittan, a French actor and humorist previously accused of rape, before a performance he was about to give. The previous night, feminist campaigners had disrupted his show with shouts of: “Abittan, rapist!” Continue reading...

⚽ Champions League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-offs ⚽ Live scores | Follow us at Bluesky | And you can mail Niall Which Chelsea will we see tonight in Bergamo? Last time out in the Champions League, they dispatched Barcelona 3-0 in a high watermark for Enzo Maresca’s reign. They followed that up with a creditable draw at home to Arsenal – then went to Elland Road and were well beaten. Saturday’s dour draw at Bournemouth means they arrive in Italy with momentum sapped, and face a dangerous opponent sitting level on points in Uefa’s big league ladder. Atalanta lost their opener 4-0 at PSG but are unbeaten in Europe since, defying their deeply mid-table league form. Continue reading...

⚽ Champions League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Follow us on Bluesky | And email Sarah Hello and welcome to the Women’s Champions League match between Arsenal and FC Twente. A win is crucial for each club this evening but for very different reasons. Three points for the visitors FC Twente would see them close in on a play-off spot as they are currently 14th, if they stay in their current position they will be out of the European competition. This is one of their last chances to boost the optics of them progressing as after this evening there is just one round left of the league stage. Continue reading...

Report finds children at Mossbourne Victoria Park traumatised by disciplinary measures ‘designed to humiliate’ Staff at a London academy instilled a “climate of fear” among pupils, with a drive for academic success likely to have harmed vulnerable children including those with special needs, according to a damning independent investigation. The report by Sir Alan Wood, one of the country’s foremost experts in children’s services, found that staff at Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy (MVPA) routinely used measures “designed to humiliate pupils”, frequently shouting at them and isolating them in corridors as part of “a harsh and damaging disciplinary culture”. Continue reading...

US treasury accuses Colombian nationals and companies of aiding the RSF, which has committed horrific war crimes The United States has sanctioned four people and four companies accused of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group accused by Washington of committing genocide. Announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US treasury said the network was largely comprised of Colombian nationals and companies. Continue reading...

Ministry says Briton, who has not publicly been named, was injured while observing a test, away from the frontline A member of the UK armed forces was killed in an accident in Ukraine on Tuesday morning, believed to be the first time a serving member of the British military has been killed in Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion. The victim was not immediately named, though the Ministry of Defence said their family had been notified, after an incident that appears to have taken place during a weapons test at a site away from the frontlines. Continue reading...

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Czech club made request to Uefa for flag to be moved Proud Lilywhites: ‘The flag will fly. It will still be seen’ Proud Lilywhites, Tottenham’s official LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, has expressed disappointment after the club’s rainbow flag was moved for Tuesday’s home fixture against Slavia Prague. The flag to show support for the LGBTQ+ community is displayed in the north-east corner of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, close to the away fans. It has been moved to the south-west corner for the Champions League match after a request to Uefa from Slavia. Continue reading...

Los Blancos host Manchester City on Wednesday with head coach’s job on the line after one win in five league games “This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” Xabi Alonso insisted, protesting perhaps a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the morning before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest of a very modern classic against one of the many managers who made him. “I’m looking forward to what’s coming and that starts tomorrow, [an opportunity] to turn round the anger. In our heads, there’s only City. In football, for better or worse, things change quickly”. Lose and things could change immediately, and for good: this opportunity is an obligation, too. At the end of Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat against Celta on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, crisis talks continued, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their diagnoses were different and while drastic decisions remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here. Continue reading...

Green light intended to limit amount consumers pay for windfarms to turn off during periods of high generation Three major UK electricity “superhighways” could move ahead sooner than expected to help limit the amount that households pay for windfarms to turn off during periods of high power generation. Current grid bottlenecks mean there is not enough capacity to transport the abundance of electricity generated in periods of strong winds to areas where energy demand is highest. Continue reading...

This squad aren’t just throwing away the series, they’re messing up the minds of the young cricketers I try to coach The cracks are starting to show with this England team and with the narrative we’ve been fed for three years after another defeat. Their identity of always taking the aggressive option, of relentlessly putting pressure on their opponents, isn’t holding up to scrutiny. So far in this series they haven’t had the strength needed to achieve it, and they haven’t had the skills either. I was confident that they could win the Ashes this time, mainly because I thought there was quality in the squad and that they had adapted their game to add intelligence and adaptability to their armoury. It’s becoming clear that neither of those beliefs were completely true. And meanwhile I’m seeing things at home that make me worry that this team aren’t just messing up this series, they’re messing up a whole generation of young cricketers. Continue reading...