Raphael Sallinger made two crucial stoppage-time saves as Hibernian held off a late fightback from Hearts to defeat the Scottish Premiership leaders 3-2 in the Edinburgh derby at Easter Road. Hibs were three up and seemingly coasting early in the second half after Kieron Bowie added to first-half goals from Jamie McGrath and the substitute Josh Campbell. But Hearts hit back through Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin, setting up a grandstand finale in which Shankland and Beni Baningime were denied by Sallinger, as Derek McInnes’s side suffered only their second league defeat of the season. This story will be updated Continue reading...

Yohan Roche scores only goal in first half Botswana out after second group loss Benin kept alive their hopes of staying in the Africa Cup of Nations with a 1-0 victory over Botswana in Rabat in Group D. It ended a run of 15 games – five draws and 10 defeats – without a win in the competition. Two minutes before the half-hour mark Yohan Roche’s shot from inside the area was deflected in. Botswana hit the bar through Mothusi Johnson but they were unable to avoid a second successive defeat and are now out of the competition. This story will be updated Continue reading...

The collection of top images published in 2025 offers a layered portrait of the nation As the US confronted intensifying climate threats, widening inequality, and political and economic turmoil, the Guardian called on photojournalists across the country to document both the hardships and the resilience of their communities over the past year. These images and stories go beyond breaking news alerts, capturing the truths and complex lives of individuals and groups. They tell the stories of caregivers, survivors of gun violence, families forced to leave their homes due to political threats, the rapid growth of datacenters, and advocates working to protect democratic processes. Continue reading...

Judging by the way Gianluigi Donnarumma celebrated Rayan Cherki’s late winner at Nottingham Forest, this was a significant victory for Manchester City. Donnarumma hurtled towards the bench where Pep Guardiola was being mobbed by his coaching staff, including Kolo Touré, Pep Lijnders and the set-piece coach James French, seemingly the architect behind Phil Foden’s corner that led to the goal. Cherki smacked a right-foot effort through the legs of Morgan Gibbs-White and into the corner of the Forest goal. Omari Hutchinson had cancelled out Tijjani Reijnders’ second-half opener. Guardiola had warned his squad against overindulging on Christmas Day, promising to weigh his players on their return to training and before they departed for Nottingham. “Only the manager is overweight – the rest are perfect,” the City manager, fresh from a couple of days in Catalonia, said with a smile before kick-off. City arrived in ominous form and have now won their past eight matches in all competitions, including six in a row in the Premier League. Continue reading...

Iconic building, called ‘greatest monstrosity ever constructed’ by Hoover himself, to be closed down The FBI director, Kash Patel, said the law enforcement agency’s sprawling but ageing J Edgar Hoover building in Washington DC will be closed down and the agency will move into already existing offices elsewhere. Some FBI workers will report to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in the US capital to occupy the former offices of the US Agency for International Development, which was controversially dismantled by the Trump administration earlier this year. Continue reading...

Suze Lopez found out she was pregnant only days before giving birth, due to fetus hiding behind 22lb ovarian cyst A California family is celebrating their first holiday following the delivery of their latest child, a baby that had been growing outside of the mother’s womb. Suze Lopez, a 41-year-old emergency room nurse in Bakersfield, California, delivered baby Ryu via surgery in August, so the newborn is celebrating his first Christmas. He had been an ectopic pregnancy – when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the uterus – and was hidden behind a large ovarian cyst. Continue reading...

Iain Peters waited more than 50 years before going to the police but hopes he can be a beacon for other survivors A man who was sexually assaulted by a children’s television presenter has spoken of how climbing and mountaineering saved his life and “sanity” during the 50 years in which he kept the abuse secret. Iain Peters, 77, who has waived his right to anonymity, was between nine and 13 years old when he was abused weekly by John Earle, when he was a geography teacher and deputy head at a now-closed boarding school in Okehampton, Devon. Continue reading...

Drummer Chuck Redd decided to cancel his yearly Jazz Jam after Donald Trump added his name to the venue The president of the Kennedy Center has demanded $1m in damages and fiercely criticized a musician’s sudden decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance at the venue days after the White House announced that Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility. “Your decision to withdraw at the last moment – explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure – is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” the venue’s president, Richard Grenell, wrote in a letter to musician Chuck Redd that was shared with the Associated Press. Continue reading...

⚽ Updates from the afternoon’s football action ⚽ Live scores | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail Scott … but that lead didn’t last long! Barry etc. In other In The Meantime news, Manchester City haven’t taken long to hit the front in the second half at the City Ground. Tijjani Reijnders the nearly festivally-themed scorer. Barry Glendenning has the details. Continue reading...

By puncturing Oklahoma City’s aura of inevitability, Victor Wembanyama and co have restored suspense, drama and joy to a season that was in danger of becoming dull I’ve seen enough: Give the San Antonio Spurs the keys to Santa Claus’ workshop. Put Stephon Castle in charge of toy assembly. Let De’Aaron Fox toss presents into chimneys, from whatever range he’d like. Devin Vassell can customize the Christmas cookies. Harrison Barnes has the army of elves covered. And, of course, Santa Claus’s sleigh must immediately be resized for a taller, thinner pilot so that the towering Victor Wembanyama can drive it comfortably. The sensational Spurs have felled the Oklahoma City Thunder three times in two weeks, and in doing so revitalized this NBA season. I now have more faith in the Spurs’ ability to grant joy to the masses than any holiday legends of old. It looked dire for a while there. The Thunder might have won the Larry O’Brien trophy in June, but began this season in even more ominous form. They reeled off 24 wins in their first 25 games (the lone loss was a fluky 20-point comeback). In most of them, Jalen Williams, their second-best player, was on the sidelines recovering from wrist surgery. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, their best, seldom had to play in fourth quarters. The Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings by 31. The Los Angeles Lakers, who some expected to be a plausible rival, lost by 29; their basketball savant Luka Doncic looked like he was playing against ten men. The Phoenix Suns’ valiant first earned them a close loss, by just four points. When they met again 12 days later, the Thunder won by 49. This game knocked all the remaining leaves off the trees and started winter 10 days ahead of schedule. Oklahoma City looked capable of shredding anything in its path, even the 2016 Golden State Warriors’ legendary regular season record of 73-9. Continue reading...

Mysterious donors gave a fleet of 10 of the vehicles – which have had a number of recalls – to the police earlier this year The Las Vegas police department rolled out a new fleet of tactical vehicles to city streets last month: all Tesla Cybertrucks. The steel cars, wrapped in black-and-white vinyl, come decked out with warning lights and flashing sirens on the roof. They seem to be heftier, more angular versions of a traditional police car. Las Vegas is the first city in the US to grant its officers access to a battalion of the futuristic trucks, which have become synonymous with the Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, the richest person in the world. “They represent something far bigger than just a police car,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a recent press conference showcasing the vehicles. “They represent innovation.” Continue reading...

Lawmakers spent much of 2025 seeking to reprimand each other – here’s a look back at what sparked such outrage It’s been a year for the history books in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers broke the record for longest floor speech and longest vote, and presided over the lengthiest government shutdown. They also spent plenty of time seeking to reprimand each other by passing censures, as the House’s formal mechanism for discipline is known. A search on Congress.gov reveals at least 17 attempts since the start of the year to condemn another lawmaker, in the form of a censure or a less formal disapproval resolution. Continue reading...

Prosciutto, coppa, chorizo, jamón serrano … a selection of cured meats makes the perfect platter for Twixmas The foundation of my culinary education was unconventional, to say the least. In the 90s, I was taught by my best friend, Ben Hodges, formerly of the River Café, and brother to Jake Hodges, who co-founded Moro in London. We’d cater for hundreds at weddings, and thousands at festivals from Glastonbury to Green Man, cooking Spanish- and Italian-influenced food. When we weren’t getting stuck in ditches in muddy fields, we’d be driving to the south of Spain in search of olive oil and life. That education led to a lifelong passion for Spanish and Italian cuisine, and I’m still enamoured of their effortless simplicity, technique and flavour. The bedrock of Mediterranean cuisine is founded on heritage products created for preservation: prosciutto, coppa and bresaola (cured beef) from Italy, and jamón serrano, lomo and chorizo from Spain, to name just a few. Continue reading...

Merlin has been trained to identify the songs of more than 1,300 bird species around the world When Natasha Walter first became curious about the birds around her, she recorded their songs on her phone and arduously tried to match each song with online recordings. After a friend recommended Merlin Bird ID, a free app, she tried it in her London garden and was delighted to discover the birds she assumed were female blackbirds – “this is how bad a birder I was” – were actually song thrushes and mistle thrushes. “I’m obsessed with Merlin – it’s wonderful and it’s been a joy to me,” says Walter, a writer and human rights activist. “This is what AI and machine-learning have been invented for. It’s the one good thing!” Continue reading...

Stockton’s JobsPlus is a pilot scheme with caseworkers who connect individual people with potential jobs, providing direct financial help where necessary “We’ve had quite a few people on the estate get jobs,” says Bryan Stokell, who found work as a full-time security guard thanks to Stockton-on-Tees’s JobsPlus project. The 47-year-old father has since become a “community champion”, encouraging his neighbours to enrol. “It got to the point where even my little boy was coming home and saying, ‘my friend’s mam and dad are looking for work’,” he grins. “They [the project] have a lot of contacts, they can open doors into places.” Continue reading...

Despite funding cuts and shuttered venues, homegrown music, TV, film and, yes, memes have dominated the global zeitgeist over the past 12 years. Now this culture must be future-proofed from the forces of globalisation On the face of it, British culture looks doomed. Our music industry is now borderline untenable, with grassroots venues shuttering at speed (125 in 2023 alone) and artists unable to afford to play the few that are left; touring has become a loss leader that even established acts must subsidise with other work. Meanwhile, streaming has gutted the value of recorded music, leading to industry contraction at the highest level: earlier this year the UK divisions of Warners and Atlantic – two of our biggest record labels – were effectively subsumed into the US business. In comedy, the Edinburgh fringe – the crucible of modern British standup, sketch and sitcom – is in existential crisis thanks to a dearth of sponsorship and prohibitively high costs for performers. Our film industry is at this point almost totally reliant on (dwindling) US funds; while Britain remains a popular filming destination due to tax breaks and appealing locations, the vast majority of the productions made here ultimately generate American profits. Continue reading...

Race-by-race coverage of the big National Hunt races Redknapp enjoys Jukebox’s King George hit | Email Tony Hello from Chepstow racecourse in South Wales, where a boisterous crowd started to pour through the gates at 10am – and the bar staff started pouring the first half-price Happy Hour drinks at 10.01am. The Welsh Grand National is the biggest day at the races all year in these parts, and the feature event has seen many mighty performances down the decades. I was lucky enough to be here to see Carvill’s Hill stroll home under top weight of 11st 10lb in 1991, a feat that was matched by Native River, a subsequent Gold Cup winner, nine years ago, and those are just two of the doughty warriors on the Welsh National’s roll of honour. Continue reading...

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde apologises after error meant one family had no remains at a funeral An investigation has been launched by a Glasgow hospital after an error led to the wrong body being cremated. The mistaken release of the body by the hospital to the undertakers was only discovered after the funeral service and the cremation had taken place. Continue reading...

⚽ Premier League updates from 12.30pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Table | Mail Barry Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Williams, Murillo, Milkenkovic, Savona, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Hutchinson, Igor Jesus Subs: Sels, Morato, Awoniyi, Luiz, Kalimuendo, McAtee, Bakwa, Zinchenko Continue reading...

West Somerset Lagoon would harness renewable energy for UK’s AI boom – and create ‘iconic’ arc around Bristol Channel The architect of the London Eye wants to build a vast tidal power station in a 14-mile arc off the coast of Somerset that could help Britain meet surging electricity demand to power artificial intelligence – and create a new race track to let cyclists skim over the Bristol Channel. Julia Barfield, who designed the Eye and the i360 observation tower in Brighton, is part of a team that has drawn up the £11bn proposal. It would curve from Minehead to Watchet and use 125 underwater turbines to harness the power of the second-highest tidal range in the world. Continue reading...

From a folk murder ballad to an impassioned call for peace, Guardian writers pick their favourite lesser-heard tracks of the year The pick of 2025’s film, music, art, TV, stage and games, chosen by Guardian critics and writers There is a sense of deep knowing and calm to Not Offended, the lone song released this year by the Danish-Montenegrin musician (also an earlier graduate of the Copenhagen music school currently producing every interesting alternative pop star). To warmly droning organ that hangs like the last streak of sunlight above a darkening horizon, Milovic assures someone that they haven’t offended her – but her steady Teutonic tenderness, reminiscent of Molly Nilsson or Sophia Kennedy, suggests that their actions weren’t provocative so much as evasive. Strings flutter tentatively as she addresses this person who can’t look life in the eye right now. “I see you clearly,” Milovic sings, as the drums kick in and the strings become full-blooded: a reminder of the ease that letting go can offer. Laura Snapes Continue reading...

Pilot programme for under-25s will offer paid placements aimed at introducing participants to military life Young people in Britain will be offered a gap year-style scheme by the Ministry of Defence, in an effort to introduce citizens to military life early as part of a new “whole of society” approach to defence. After initially announcing plans to implement the scheme earlier this year, the government has now confirmed that about 150 under-25s will be recruited for the pilot programme, which is due to start in March 2026. Continue reading...

A properly prepped, balanced and weaponised team finally had the chops to expose Australia’s weaknesses Na-na na-na na-na na na na, Duckett’s on the piss. On the piss. Duckett’s on the piss. Don’t take me home, please don’t take me home. And while we’re here, stand up, stand up, please do stand up if you love a two-day Test on a pitch as green and ridged as an under-ripe roasting potato. For an hour in mid-afternoon on day two at the MCG England’s top order finally did the thing. The clocks stopped. Dogs miaowed. Birds flew backwards across the sky. And Test cricket turned into darts. Continue reading...

River Wandle, south London: I can see the water from my bedroom window, the pollution has gone and it’s bursting with life Most mornings now, I peek out of my bedroom window and immediately feel happy. Right outside, the River Wandle is awake and bursting with life. The grey heron swoops down and swiftly lands with a big splash, then stands up, still as a statue. Once I spotted an electric-blue kingfisher zapping along so quickly that I could barely see it. Sadly, in February at half-term, there was a diesel leak into the river. A putrid stench came out of the water and the shock of the smell was overwhelming. The shimmering rainbow swirl of oil seemed to kill any fish that were in its path. My family and I were so worried, especially about the birds. The community worked together to clear the spill and monitor the river, and someone came to do a clean-up. Continue reading...

The Punjabi photographer was delighted with this stunning shot of birds being fed on the Yamuna River in Delhi Sachin Ghai describes Yamuna Ghat in Delhi, India, as his idea of a photographer’s paradise. “In winter, thousands of migratory birds circle the wooden row boats on the river,” he says. “During foggy, golden sunrises it makes for incredible images.” For Ghai, travel photography is a passion, so he had orchestrated a short trip from his home in Nabha, Punjab. First, he had visited Agra, to capture the Taj Mahal. The next morning, he awoke before dawn to visit the Yamuna River. Despite being one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world, locals can be seen fishing while visitors take boat rides from the ghat, the name for the flight of stairs that leads to the water. Continue reading...