⚽ Premier League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Table | Mail Scott The full Boxing Day fixture list for England’s top flight reads as follows: Manchester United v Newcastle United Continue reading...

Scholar of Charles Dickens who wrote a definitive biography and shone a light on the the writer’s more neglected works Michael Slater, who has died aged 88, was an expert on the life and writings of Charles Dickens. He sought to engage the widest possible readership in Dickens’s work, and to bring into the public domain all those writings that still lay in the shadows cast by the canonical novels and popular Christmas books. His biography Charles Dickens: A Life Defined by Writing (2009) gives a detailed account of Dickens’s life and the full range of his work, bringing out the web of connections between the two. He produced a four-volume edition of Dickens’ Journalism (1994-2000, with volume four co-edited with John Drew), and from 1993 was series editor of the multi-volume Everyman Dickens: all the novels, most of the minor works, the travel books, the writings for children, and the mass of hitherto neglected short stories culled from Dickens’s journals. Michael was excited by the range, richness and diversity of Dickens’s writings, and wanted them to excite others. His work significantly advanced Dickens’s reputation and opened new fields for research. Continue reading...

Special rapporteurs say handling of prisoners raises questions over UK’s obligations under human rights laws UN experts have expressed “grave concern” for the wellbeing of Palestine Action-affiliated hunger strikers and warned their treatment raises questions about the UK’s compliance with international human rights laws. Eight prisoners have been on hunger strike while awaiting trial for alleged offences relating to Palestine Action before the group was banned under terrorism legislation. Qesser Zuhrah, 20, and Amu Gib, 30, who are being held at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, were on hunger strike from 2 November to 23 December. Heba Muraisi, 31, who is at HMP New Hall, joined the pair on 3 November. The group also includes Teuta Hoxha, 29, Kamran Ahmed, 28, and Lewie Chiaramello, 22, who is refusing food every other day because he has diabetes. Continue reading...

Stevenson Charles, Yusuf Minor and Naod Yohannes, all incarcerated for murder, recaptured on Tuesday Three men who escaped from a Georgia jail for three days hijacked a Lyft rideshare as part of a brazen attempt to flee to south Florida, according to newly released federal court documents. Stevenson Charles, 24; Yusuf Minor, 31; and Naod Yohannes, 25, are accused of escaping from the DeKalb county jail, located 15 miles (24km) outside Atlanta, on Sunday before being recaptured in Florida on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Family say campaigner, who has a son in Brighton, will be able to travel freely between UK and Cairo months after his release from Egyptian jail The British-Egyptian dissident Alaa Abd el-Fattah has arrived in London after the Egyptian government lifted a travel ban that it had imposed on him despite releasing him from jail in September. Abd el-Fattah had been held in jail nearly continuously for 10 years, mainly due to expressing his opposition to the treatment of dissidents by the Egyptian government. He had been detained in jail two years beyond his five-year sentence as the Cairo authorities refused to recognise the period he held in pre-trial detention as part of his time served. Continue reading...

Former football manager’s horse wins Kempton thriller Cheltenham Gold Cup up next for the gutsy winner “Today, we’ve gone into the Champions League,” Harry Redknapp, the owner of The Jukebox Man, said after his horse had fought back to win an extraordinary three-way photo-finish in the King George VI Chase here on Friday. “We got into the Premier League, which was fantastic, but today we were taking on the Real Madrids and Barcelonas and he proved he can compete with them and win against them, which was an amazing feeling.” It was, in truth, simply an amazing race from start to finish, with one of the most enthralling passages of action from the home turn to the line that anyone here could recall in a Grade One steeplechase. Kempton is unloved by the Jockey Club, its owners, which has signed over an option to developers that would see it bulldozed for housing, but its speed-favouring, right-handed track is something special and unique in British jumping and here it produced an all-time classic for a sell-out crowd of 17,000 spectators. Continue reading...

Assailant, reportedly from the West Bank, was shot and wounded after running over a man and stabbing a woman A Palestinian assailant ran over a man and stabbed a woman and killed them both in northern Israel on Friday, Israeli emergency services said. The assailant, from the occupied West Bank, was shot and wounded by a civilian at the scene and taken to hospital, the Israeli police said in a statement. Continue reading...

Diplomatic breakthrough comes more than three decades after declaration of independence from Somalia Israel has become the first country in the world to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state, a breakthrough in its quest for international recognition since it declared independence from Somalia 34 years ago. The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, announced on Friday that Israel and Somaliland had signed an agreement establishing full diplomatic relations, which would include the opening of embassies and the appointment of ambassadors. Continue reading...

Over the holiday period, the Guardian leader column is looking ahead at the themes of 2026. Today we look at how the struggle to adapt to a dangerously warming world has become a test of global justice The record-breaking 252mph winds of Hurricane Melissa that devastated Caribbean islands at the end of October were made five times more likely by the climate crisis. Scorching wildfire weather in Spain and Portugal during the summer was made 40 times more likely, while June’s heatwave in England was made 100 times more likely. Attribution science has made one thing clear: global heating is behind today’s extreme weather. That greenhouse gas emissions warmed the planet was understood. What can now be shown is that this warming produces record heatwaves and more violent storms with increasing frequency. Continue reading...

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports Continue reading...

Kim Hellberg’s determination to succeed as Middlesbrough manager runs deep. So deep that he decided it would be best if his wife and two small children spent Christmas in their native Sweden while he continued to put in 12-hour days on Teesside. Given that the Hellberg family will soon be reunited in a new home in North Yorkshire and Blackburn’s visit represented the first of four games in nine days it seemed a sensible sacrifice – even if such pragmatism failed to pay the desired Boxing Day dividends. Continue reading...

Salah penalty gives Egypt second win in two Angola and Zimbabwe battle to 1-1 draw Mohamed Salah scored a first-half penalty as 10-man Egypt defeated South Africa 1-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations Group B clash in Agadir on Friday to become the first team into the knockout stages of the competition. Egypt have six points from their opening two games and cannot finish outside of the top two in the group. South Africa have three points from their two games, while Zimbabwe and Angola have one each after they drew 1-1 earlier in the day. Continue reading...

Despite doing twice as much work daily, I still have no free time at all. How? Plus, canal breaches and multiplying octopuses A canal in Shropshire has disappeared into a giant hole. I paraphrase, but not by much. Continue reading...

If appeal fails, every person in the UK who made App Store purchases between 2015 and 2024 could be entitled to compensation Apple is seeking to overturn a landmark £1.5bn court ruling on behalf of millions of UK customers, which found the company overcharged them for years in its App Store. The iPhone maker has applied to the court of appeal to challenge a verdict that campaigners heralded as the start of a “tidal shift against big tech”. Continue reading...

Can we learn anything from the experiences of these Guardian readers? Exchanging gifts is delightful. It can also be fraught. How do you choose something the receiver will enjoy or find meaningful? And must you act pleased if you receive a tub of anti-cellulite cream? With the holidays fast approaching, 11 Guardian readers shared the best and worst gifts they’ve ever received. Can we learn anything from their experiences? Perhaps not: “Don’t just give something that appeals to you,” writes one, and “Always gift something you want,” writes another. Continue reading...

Readers respond to the government’s plans to improve the lot of animals The government’s strategy for animal welfare offers substantial improvements in the lot of kept animals but, in keeping with precedent, free-living wildlife is sold short (Editorial, 23 December). The law protecting wildlife is outdated and, as recommended by the Law Society, is ripe for review. Why, for example, have comprehensive protection for four of our native mustelids and almost nothing for the remaining two? Further, the recent Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act requires the government to consider sentience when framing policy. Against this background, one would have thought a review of outdated wildlife legislation would be a priority. Instead, the edges are tinkered with yet again. The government’s strategy includes a proposal for a close season for hares. It is claimed that fewer young hares will be left vulnerable to starvation and predation. All well and good, unless you happen to be a stoat, a weasel, a carrion crow or a mole – native species which enjoy almost no protection, meaning that thousands of their offspring will continue to die when their parents are killed during the breeding season. Alick Simmons UK deputy chief veterinary officer, 2007-15 Continue reading...

Readers share a range of responses to one of the commonest greetings in the English language My late father-in-law, who lived to be 104 and was a veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation and the north Africa war, would inevitably respond to the question “How are you?” (Letters, 23 December) with an enigmatic “Surviving. That’s the name of the game.” The dialogue is now used regularly by members of the family in fond memory of his fortitude. Ray Woodhams Cawthorne, South Yorkshire • Re the unwanted health inquiry, as someone in my ninth decade, I’ve taken to asking “How long have you got?” Roger Wilkinson Leasgill, Cumbria Continue reading...

Danyah Miller responds to a pass notes column about companies that are hiring people to ‘own the narrative’ Your article on the rise of storytelling as a corporate skill (Pass notes, 17 December) highlights something that storytellers have always known – that people crave meaningful human connection. This is intensifying as we encounter a world awash with data and distraction. Professional communications teams may now package storytelling as strategy, but the craft of storytelling is far older, and far deeper, than any job description. It is a human art, not a corporate invention. For over 30 years, the Society for Storytelling has championed oral storytelling in all its forms. Through our extensive online directory, audiences can find storytellers working wherever there are people – across schools, theatres, workplaces and care settings. Continue reading...

Louis Provis says there needs to be systemic change in how schools think about boys’ reading. Jacqueline Robson recalls a reading initiative that left students searching for more Lee Child is right that too many children are being put off reading by how literature is taught (Thrillers should be on the UK school curriculum to boost reading, 19 December). Anything that helps young people develop a reading habit is welcome. But framing the solution as thrillers versus so-called “masterpieces” risks missing the deeper issue. There needs to be more systemic change in how schools think about boys’ reading rather than simply swapping one set of books for another. In my experience as an English teacher, despite having access to more books than ever before, schools often see books with glorified violence at the centre as “boy books”, and so fill the curriculum with this content. This does nothing to combat toxic masculinity – rather, it fosters it. Continue reading...

Footfall in central London down 7.7% on last year but Britain’s retail parks buck trend with 6.9% rise Fewer shoppers have headed to UK high streets in search of Boxing Day bargains, with central London suffering a significant decline in visitors as many decided to shun the traditional start of the sales. Footfall at the country’s high streets and shopping centres fell on Friday morning, running slightly behind last year, according to figures from the monitoring company MRI Software. Across all UK retail destinations footfall slipped 0.3%. Continue reading...

The $10bn Trump-approved sale to Taipei triggers Beijing sanctions against firms such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman China’s foreign ministry has hit US defence companies, including Boeing, with sanctions after Donald Trump approved a large package of arms sales to Taiwan. The ministry said on Friday that the measures – against 10 individuals and 20 US firms including Boeing’s production hub at St Louis in Missouri – freeze any assets the companies and individuals hold in China and bar domestic organisations and individuals from doing business with them. Continue reading...

You don’t have to wake at 5am or commit to hardcore exercise. But by working out a handful of habits that suit you, and introducing them slowly, you can change your life • Sign up here to get the whole series straight to your inbox The first thing to say about the ideal morning routine is that it probably doesn’t exist. Yes, endless influencers promise that they have tweaked, tested and fine-tuned the process of revving up for the day, but how history’s most productive people actually get things done is so varied that it’s hard to draw definitive conclusions. Beethoven, reportedly, used to count out exactly 60 beans for his morning cup of coffee, while Victor Hugo downed two raw eggs after reading a daily missive from his mistress. Mark Wahlberg, on the other hand, wakes at 3am for pre-workout prayer, chasing up his gym time with a few holes of golf and a jolt in the cryo chamber before he even thinks about doing any work. It is clear, though, that having some sort of routine is key: a set of automatic actions that you do every day, to ease you into your responsibilities with a bit of momentum and a fresh frame of mind. And there is some stuff that seems beneficial enough that everyone should be doing a version of it, even if individual methods differ: one person’s meditative bean arithmetic, after all, is another’s mindfulness. But if you want to finesse your routine, the key is to add one change at a time. “When you focus on a single behaviour,” says the behaviour change specialist Dr Heather McKee, “you build confidence through quick wins, and give your brain the clarity and dopamine hit it needs to automate that action. Once that habit feels natural, you free up mental space to layer in the next change.” But what habits should you be building? Continue reading...

Every Sunday, protesters from Florida and beyond go to the notorious immigration jail and advocate for its closure They come on buses, in cars and RVs. Some ride on motorcycles. Every Sunday afternoon, convoys of protestors from all over Florida, and others from out of state, descend on the notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration jail in the Everglades to stand vigil for those held inside. It is a ritual that began in August, a month after the opening of the remote detention camp celebrated by Donald Trump for its harsh conditions, and hailed by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, as a model for the president’s aggressive detention and deportation agenda. Continue reading...

Alain Rodriguez Colina was working at a scrapyard that the UPS cargo plane crashed into on 4 November The death toll from the UPS cargo plane crash in Kentucky in early November has risen to 15 after a man injured on the ground died on Christmas from his wounds, according to officials. Alain Rodriguez Colina was working at a scrapyard that was one of the businesses into which UPS Flight 2976 crashed as it took off from Louisville’s airport on 4 November. Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, and Louisville’s mayor, Craig Greenberg, each confirmed that Rodriguez died on Thursday. Continue reading...

Nearly 7m tuned in to watch monarch praise ‘great diversity of our communities’ on 25 December The king’s Christmas address was the most watched TV programme in the UK on Christmas Day, overnight data has shown. Nearly 7 million viewers tuned in to the BBC, ITV, Sky News or GB News to watch King Charles deliver his annual message, which was recorded in Westminster Abbey. Charles praised the “great diversity of our communities” and used his Christmas address, to urge the nation to “cherish the values of compassion and reconciliation”. The King (BBC, ITV, BBC News and Sky News) 6.56m (not including other channels) The Scarecrows’ Wedding 4.31m Strictly Come Dancing 4.24m Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel 3.71m Call the Midwife 3.44m Gladiators 3.16m Amandaland 3.05m EastEnders 2.85m The 1% Club 2.75m The Weakest Link 2.63m Continue reading...