Our fashion editor picks out the items that’ll keep you in style no matter how cold and icy it gets • The best coats for winter First things first: this is absolutely not a last-minute-Christmas shopping guide. Yes, I am fully aware that it’s December already, but I intend to float serenely above the rising panic. It drives me absolutely nuts the way that Christmas shopping from mid-November onward is now labelled as “last minute”, as if gift-buying is a two-month full-time activity. Please can we normalise starting your Christmas shopping in December? Otherwise, we will all go insane and bankrupt. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk. Here are some lovely things to buy – for the people you love, or for your good self – this month. Continue reading...

Short boat ride from Cop30 host, Afro-descendant residents of Menino Jesus say their voices are not being heard Walk through the conference centre where the recent UN climate talks were held and representations of Indigenous people and culture were everywhere, from the spear-carrying, fiery-headed Cop30 mascot Curupira to huge mural-sized photos of people navigating the Amazon in dugout canoes and the many protests demanding dialogue outside. Yet a short boat ride down the river from Belém, into the forest itself, takes you to another forest-dwelling community also fighting for further recognition within the Cop process. The quilombola community of Menino Jesus has existed for six generations. Quilombolas are the descendants of former enslaved people who fled into the forest as a site of refuge. Over hundreds of years, they established a unique way of life separate from mainstream Brazilian society, living in harmony with nature as fugitives protected by the jungle. Continue reading...

Rufus Sewell, Christine Baranski, Susan Wokoma, Toby Jones and Harriet Walter share their unforgettable encounters with a theatrical giant I worked with Tom when I was quite young, on Arcadia in 1993, and again on Rock’n’Roll 13 years later. In the interim it slowly dawned on me that not all jobs were like that. He was one of the most intelligent people you could ever meet but the extraordinary thing was that you’d walk away from conversations with him feeling like you were not unintelligent or unwitty yourself. That’s not always the case with incredibly brilliant writers and funny people. That generosity of spirit marked my time with him. He was incredibly good company, very sweet, and you felt encouraged to put forward your own ideas, make your own jokes. Continue reading...

‘I told the producers I didn’t know how to do a song for a film – and added that, frankly, I didn’t fancy writing one called Back to the Future. They said, “No problem, just give us one of your songs”’ Steven Spielberg and Bob Zemeckis asked to meet us, along with Bob Gale and Neil Canton. They said they’d just written this film whose lead character was a guy called Marty McFly, and whose favourite band would be Huey Lewis and the News. They asked: “How about writing a song for the film?” I said: “I’m flattered but I don’t know how to write for film necessarily. And frankly, I don’t fancy writing a song called Back to the Future.” They said: “No problem. We just want one of your songs.” I said: “Tell you what, we’ll send you the next one we work on.” Continue reading...

Rain and wind could damage buildings and lead to loss of power in certain areas Residents and business owners in Wales have been told to prepare for flooding as heavy rain and high winds swept parts of the UK. The Met Office issued an “amber” weather warning for south Wales and parts of mid-Wales on Monday, saying extensive flooding was possible. It said the rain and wind could damage buildings, lead to loss of power and result in some communities being cut off, perhaps for several days. Continue reading...

Government concerned about burden on public purse Taxpayers funded £56.82m of £71.69m costs in 2023-24 Premier League clubs and leading sports bodies increasingly fear they will be forced to pay millions more to cover policing costs after being called in for a series of consultations with the Home Office starting this week. As things stand, football clubs only have to pay for policing of their own land. However senior officers believe clubs and not the taxpayer should pay the £71m per season it costs to maintain law and order in surrounding areas as well asin stadiums on matchdays. Football League games, international rugby and cricket matches and the London Marathon could all be affected if the plans go ahead, along with events such as the Notting Hill carnival and Pride. Continue reading...

In the BBC’s latest reality show, model-makers recreate people’s most poignant places … only teeny weeny. Despite sounding like a total reach, it is endlessly charming and incredibly emotional. Let the weeping commence There are two ways of looking at The Marvellous Miniature Workshop, in which artists who specialise in making (marvellous) miniatures of things recreate buildings and places that hold great meaning for ordinary people, who have stories to tell presenter Sara Cox about them. One is to consider that it sounds … a bit weird? A bit of a reach? Are miniatures really a thing? Do therapists ever recommend recreating your happy place at 1:24 scale? And does this new BBC commission have the faintest whiff of desperation about it, as the powers that be scour the creative industries for something that is not baking, pottery, sewing, knitting or Kirstie Allsopp festooned with festive ribbons and pine cones? The other is to look at the premise and shout: “Making models of rooms and buildings that look like the originals but teeny-weeny?! Everlastingly charming! Endlessly fascinating! This is all my Christmasses come at once! Count me in! Sign me up! Inject the titchiness into my veins!” Continue reading...

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Banks accused of ‘organisational deficiencies’ relating to scam that crashed Mozambique economy nearly a decade ago Business live –latest updates Switzerland’s federal prosecutor has filed charges against the failed bank Credit Suisse and its new owner, UBS, over the long-running “tuna bonds” loan scandal that crashed Mozambique’s economy nearly a decade ago. The Swiss attorney general said on Monday that it had brought money laundering charges against an unnamed employee of Credit Suisse, but was also taking action against the lender and its rival-turned-owner UBS. Continue reading...

Avatar director, known for his advocacy of new technology, told interviewer generative AI performance puts ‘all human experience into a blender’ Avatar director James Cameron has called AI actors “horrifying” and said what generative AI technology creates is “an average”. Cameron was speaking to CBS on Sunday Morning in the run-up to the release of the third Avatar film, subtitled Fire and Ash, and was asked about the pioneering technology he used in his film-making. After praising motion-capture performance as “a celebration of the actor-director moment”, Cameron expressed his disdain for artificial intelligence. “Go to the other end of the spectrum [from motion capture] and you’ve got generative AI, where they can make up a character. They can make up an actor. They can make up a performance from scratch with a text prompt. It’s like, no. That’s horrifying to me. That’s the opposite. That’s exactly what we’re not doing.” Continue reading...

Some foods can interact negatively with certain medication while medical moisturisers can make clothes more flammable Christmas might be a season of comfort and joy but health experts have warned of lurking dangers, ranging from the fire risk posed by skin creams to the possibility of festive foods interacting with certain medications. People using medical moisturisers known as emollient creams, often used for eczema and other dry skin conditions, should stay away from heat sources including candles and open flames because such creams can soak into fabrics and make them more flammable, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Continue reading...

They wrestled steel beams, hung off giant hooks and tossed red hot rivets – all while ‘strolling on the thin edge of nothingness’. Now the 3,000 unsung heroes who raised the famous skyscraper are finally being celebrated Poised on a steel cable a quarter of a mile above Manhattan, a weather-beaten man in work dungarees reaches up to tighten a bolt. Below, though you hardly dare to look down, lies the Hudson River, the sprawling cityscape of New York and the US itself, rolling out on to the far horizon. If you fell from this rarefied spot, it would take about 11 seconds to hit the ground. Captured by photographer Lewis Hine, The Sky Boy, as the image became known, encapsulated the daring and vigour of the men who built the Empire State Building, then the world’s tallest structure at 102 storeys and 1,250ft (381m) high. Like astronauts, they were going to places no man had gone before, testing the limits of human endurance, giving physical form to ideals of American puissance, “a land which reached for the sky with its feet on the ground”, according to John Jakob Raskob, then one of the country’s richest men, who helped bankroll the building. Continue reading...

Sami Tamimi celebrates Palestine’s culinary heritage, Helen Goh uncovers the psychological benefits of baking and Roopa Gulati reveals tricks used in the best Indian kitchens Lugma: Abundant Dishes & Stories from My Middle East Noor Murad (Quadrille) One of the greatest tests of a cookbook is not just whether the recipes appeal on first glance, but whether they have the power to weave themselves into your regular cooking life. By this measure, Lugma is my top food book this year. Its author, Noor Murad, is a young Bahraini-British food writer who has previously worked with Ottolenghi. It is a delight to find her writing here in her own voice about the Middle Eastern ingredients that mean so much to her (you’ll need black limes!). The recipes hit a sweet spot between ease and specialness. Even a simple side dish of greens becomes a feast, sauteed with fried onions and turmeric oil. Alongside a pantheon of rice dishes for celebrations, there are simpler midweek hits such as tuna jacket potatoes enlivened with a spicy tomato sauce and preserved lemons. Noor’s deeply fragrant Middle Eastern bolognese is now the recipe against which I judge all other ragus. Baking and the Meaning of Life Helen Goh (Murdoch) The idea of baking as therapy is often bandied around, but Helen Goh knows whereof she speaks. Alongside her career as a baker, Goh (who was born in Malaysia to Chinese parents) was for a long time a practising psychologist. Whatever the theory behind the effect, every time I follow Goh’s wonderfully precise yet creative recipes, I feel a deep calm and happiness as well as a sense that she is teaching me new skills (“learning, growth and achievement” are among the psychological benefits of baking, according to Goh). The Shoo Fly buns are the currant buns of dreams (with a whole raw orange pureed into the dough) and I wanted to make the chocolate financiers with rosemary and hazelnuts so much that I bought a financier tin specially (no regrets there). Continue reading...

Spinning all-rounder bowls long spell in Gabba nets Opting for Tongue would maintain all-pace approach Will Jacks has entered England’s thoughts for the day-night second Test against Australia as they look to level an Ashes series that, after arriving with confidence, is already in danger of slipping away. Jacks was viewed as something of a left-field pick when England named their 16-man squad in September, with the Surrey all-rounder having won the last of his two Test caps during the 3-0 win in Pakistan three years ago and focused chiefly on white-ball cricket since. Continue reading...

WHO urges countries to make drugs such as Mounjaro more accessible to people and asks drugs companies to lower prices Weight loss drugs such as Mounjaro offer huge potential to tackle soaring obesity globally that will affect 2 billion people worldwide by 2030, the World Health Organization has said. Their proven effectiveness in helping people lose weight means the medications represent “a new chapter” in how health services can treat obesity and the killer diseases it causes, the WHO added. Continue reading...

Data shows increase in neighbourhoods where few metres of asphalt, hedgerow, or wall can separate deep inequality The homes of people in Nunsthorpe, a postwar former council housing estate known locally as “The Nunny”, sit only a few metres away from their more affluent neighbours in Scartho with their conservatories and driveways. Walking between the two is almost impossible because of a 1.8-metre-high (6ft) barricade between them, which blocks off roads and walkways that link the two areas in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Continue reading...

‘I spent the 90s with Pam – clubbing and partying in the way those times demanded. What I saw was a truly groundbreaking artist, and a life marked by independence, courage and kindness’ • Pam Hogg, fashion designer with a rock’n’roll spirit, dies at 66 – news • Pam Hogg – obituary There are people who live life to the full, then there’s Pamela Hogg. Pam’s tenure on this earth is a trawl through just about every significant cultural and creative moment in the UK over the last 30-odd years. One of our most groundbreaking artists, Pam was a colourist of Warholian proportions, creating art to be hung on the body rather than the walls of a gallery. She was a punk who provocatively mashed up gender and sexual stereotypes. Fashion was the art form that freed her imagination, and her success was due to her talent and drive being greater than her disdain of the conformist industry and the gatekeepers surrounding it. I sat in St Joseph’s hospice in London by her unconscious but serenely beautiful figure – as if she’d made her exit into another work of art – telling her that her jam-packed life was characterised by creativity, independence, courage and kindness. “Hoggy, you left absolutely nothing on the table.” Continue reading...

TotalEnergies scheme became lightning rod for terror in region, and was accused of violating human rights Business live –latest updates The UK government has pulled a controversial $1.15bn (£870m) loan to a giant gas project in Mozambique that has been accused of fuelling the climate crisis and deadly terror attacks in the region. The business secretary, Peter Kyle, said on Monday that the UK would withdraw its export finance to the Mozambique liquified natural gas project, five years after it ignited bitter opposition from campaigners over its impact on human rights, security and the environment. Continue reading...

Unicorn theatre, London This exuberant adaptation of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen’s picture book moves with the rhythm of a child’s racing imagination Never mind what’s hidden inside the wrapping paper, here’s a bigger mystery: how does Santa go down the chimney? Mac Barnett’s 2023 picture book of the same name appeals to inquisitive young readers by offering a festive selection of breaking-and-entering techniques. Does he find the key under the flower pot, post himself through the letterbox, even swim in through the taps? Jon Klassen’s illustrations feature a pack of reindeer, with inscrutable expressions, watching Santa’s increasingly wacky antics. Directing his own adaptation for the Unicorn’s co-production with Told By an Idiot, Paul Hunter follows the book’s rhythm of a child’s racing imagination, with each far-fetched idea mooted, discarded, then swiftly replaced by another. He turns the book into a sort of variety show, with volunteers from the audience occasionally cast as Santa’s little helpers. At Unicorn theatre, London, until 3 January Continue reading...

Three people are accused of belonging to the Base, an ‘accelerationist’ white power organisation founded in the US Police in Spain have arrested three people on suspicion of belonging to the Base, a global neo-Nazi terrorist group that incites and trains members in techniques to overthrow governments and bring about a race war. The group, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the EU, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is part of a worldwide “accelerationist” white power movement that prepares its cells to carry out violent and destabilising attacks. Continue reading...

Ifab may loosen approach to trials of new rules World Cup could see first trial use of VAR for corners Football’s lawmakers are exploring the possibility of allowing tournaments to run their own trials of new rules, which could lead to VAR being used to adjudicate on corner kicks at next summer’s World Cup. Under the change the International Football Association Board (Ifab) would allow more short-term trials as an alternative to the system whereby major tournaments largely introduce measures only after they have been trialled, usually in minor leagues or tournaments. Continue reading...

Morgan Geyser, who stabbed a classmate as a 12-year-old, fled after a decade being raised by state institutions The haunting apparition of “Slender Man” reappeared last week when Morgan Geyser, a central character in an 11-year-old attempted murder case, briefly absconded from a Wisconsin care home to which she had been transferred after being released from a psychiatric institution over the summer. Geyser was 12 in 2014 when she pleaded guilty to stabbing a sixth-grade classmate to appease the mythical Slender Man. Continue reading...

French manufacturer had to ground thousands of planes at weekend but fewer than 100 now need update Airbus has fixed most of its jets affected by a software glitch, averting further travel disruption after a technical problem grounded thousands of its planes. Airlines around the world cancelled and delayed flights over the weekend after the French plane manufacturer ordered immediate repairs to 6,000 of its A320 family of jets, more than half of its global fleet. Continue reading...

The many ambiguities in a recent puzzle are teased out … When November’s Genius puzzle germinated in July, no one knew how popular its hidden theme would be by the time of publication. “A celebrity version of The Traitors?” sniffed the sceptics. “We – and they – will already know the personalities. Typical terrible TV idea. Won’t work.” Eleven million live viewers later, we can now have a look at the filled version of Glyph’s remarkable grid. Or rather, grids. Solvers are told: Entrants must pick a side. The majority of down clues must have a letter removed before solving. These letters, taken in clue order, inform the solver of one who may not pick a side. BEARS or BARES PATER or PRIOR FAT or OAT GOLFBALL or GOLFBAGS Continue reading...

The gay BDSM biker romance won best film at the Bifas, tying with Iraq war drama Warfare for most awards on four each Gay BDSM biker romance Pillion took the top prize at the British independent film awards (Bifas), which were announced on Sunday at a ceremony in London. Pillion also tied with real-time Iraq war drama Warfare for most awards on four, with all the latter’s wins having been previously announced. Pillion, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones’s novel Box Hill, also picked up best debut screenwriter for its director Harry Lighton, as well as best costume and hair and makeup design. The film premiered at the Cannes film festival in May to admiring notices, including a four-star review from the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw who called it “funny and touching and alarming – like a cross between Alan Bennett and Tom of Finland”. Continue reading...