The father-and-dad pair are a total delight in this tale of a 16-year-old trying to prove Santa’s existence. They deserve a whole new episode together In an era in which it is now an annual tradition for the US streaming giants to put out bland paint-by-algorithm holiday movies, there is something rather satisfying about the oddball British Christmas stand-alone special. The ingredients tend to be as follows: appearances by the year’s favourite comic actors; niche cultural references, with or without cameos; a wittily biting but heartwarming script that preferably leaves the viewer weeping into their Baileys. In many ways, Finding Father Christmas hits all those notes, if never quite fulfilling its potential. It follows 16-year-old Chris (Bafta-winner and total delight Lenny Rush), who still believes in Santa despite being in the middle of his GCSEs. Three years after the death of his mother and with Chris still writing letters to the north pole, his concerned dad and depressed postman Nicholas (The Inbetweeners’ James Buckley) decides it’s finally time to have “the talk”. Continue reading...

Governor declared emergency in several counties, with near white-out snow conditions in parts of the Sierra Nevada A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rain and gusty winds leading to evacuation warnings for mudslides in parts of the southern part of the state, bringing near white-out snow conditions in the mountains and hazardous travel for millions of holiday drivers. California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency in several counties, including Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Two stars of Irish acting unite in eagerly anticipated film about gypsy gangster Tommy Shelby Two stars of Irish acting are united as Cillian Murphy meets Barry Keoghan in the first look at the eagerly anticipated Peaky Blinders film. Murphy questions his identity as “famous gypsy gangster” Tommy Shelby in the 70-second teaser released by Netflix on Christmas Eve. Continue reading...

Fourteen countries, including Britain, Canada and Germany, say actions ‘violate international law and risk fuelling instability’ Fourteen countries, including Britain, Canada and Germany, have condemned the Israeli security cabinet’s approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying they violate international law and risk fuelling instability. Israel approved a proposal last Sunday for the new Jewish settlements which brings the total number over the past few years to 69, a new record, according to the far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich. Continue reading...

Australians of any faith or background urged to do a good deed ‘in memory and honour of those who no longer can’ When the New South Wales government asked Jewish faith leaders what they wanted after the explosion of hate that targeted their community and claimed 15 lives at Bondi beach, they requested positive action. The idea Rabbi Nochum Schapiro presented to the emergency meeting of the NSW Faith Affairs Council convened by the minister for multiculturalism, Steve Kamper, was simple. It was for everyone to perform one mitzvah – an act of kindness. Continue reading...

The 44-year-old has gone through three rounds of surgery in a Sydney hospital since after suffering five gunshot wounds Ten minutes of terror: how the Bondi mass shooting unfolded in real time – video Follow the latest live updates Ahmed al-Ahmed has been recovering well from gunshot wounds suffered while confronting the Bondi shooters and may soon leave hospital, Syrian community members say. The 44-year-old has gone through three rounds of surgery in a Sydney hospital after suffering five gunshot wounds during a terrorist attack on a Hanukah event by Bondi beach. Continue reading...

Did you watch KPop Demon Hunters? Have you listened to Rosalía? And do you know who ‘fedora guy’ is? If you answered yes to all these, this is the quiz for you Continue reading...

Joyce Beatty seeks to remove the president’s name from the newly minted ‘Trump-Kennedy Center’ Democratic US representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio sued Donald Trump on Monday to seek the removal of his name from the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC. The lawsuit from Beatty, an ex-officio trustee on the board, argued that the vote to rename the Kennedy Center is a “flagrant violation” of law as congressional approval is required for such an action. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Reform leader promotes Direct Bullion – but experts say commodity is not for everyday investors Nigel Farage has been criticised over his £400,000-a-year second job promoting the idea that people should buy physical gold and put it into their pension pots. Farage is paid more than four times his MPs’ salary for the four-hour-a-month job at Direct Bullion, where he has featured in Facebook and YouTube videos. Continue reading...

Amid outrage over limited release so far and widespread redactions, DoJ analysts labor to vet remaining files The US justice department estimates it has hundreds of thousands of additional records related to Jeffrey Epstein to review – a process that involves a team of 200 departmental analysts and which will take another week to complete. According to Axios, which cited unnamed justice department officials, about 750,000 records have been reviewed and disclosed, and about 700,000 more remain to be examined. However, many of those may be duplicates, so the remaining number of records may only be in the thousands. Continue reading...

Rituals are different from routines – they elevate everyday life. Here’s how to create meaning beyond the festive season How do you celebrate the end of the year? Office parties can be a drag, but if you’re self-employed, it can be easy to roll without ceremony from one year into the next. Three years ago, two friends and I were bemoaning the lack of festivities and decided to make up for it by organising our own end-of-year lunch. I’m an adult. Why do I regress under my parents’ roof? I like my own company. But do I spend too much time alone? People say you’ll know – but will I regret not having children? I Can Fit That In: How Rituals Transform Your Life by Erin Coupe is out now Continue reading...

Despite fresh attempts to make women cover up, many believe the regime wouldn’t risk mass arrests for fear of sparking a wave of popular unrest last seen after the killing of Mahsa Amini On the streets of Iran’s capital, Tehran, young women are increasingly flouting the compulsory hijab laws, posting videos online that show them walking the streets unveiled. Their defiance comes more than three years after the killing of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman taken into custody by the “morality police” for allegedly breaching the dress code rules. Her death led to the largest wave of popular unrest for years in Iran and a crackdown by security services in response, with hundreds of protesters killed and thousands injured. Under Iran’s “hijab and chastity” law, which came into force in 2024, women caught “promoting nudity, indecency, unveiling or improper dressing” face severe penalties, including fines of up to £12,500, flogging and prison sentences ranging from five to 15 years for repeat offenders. Two young female friends meet up in Laleh park to rest and drink tea together after a long working day. They used to be classmates studying English Continue reading...

Chi Onwurah speaks out after Marco Rubio accused five Europeans, including two Britons, of ‘seeking to suppress American viewpoints they oppose’ A senior Labour MP has accused the Trump administration of undermining free speech after Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, announced sanctions against two British anti-disinformation campaigners. Chi Onwurah, the chair of parliament’s technology select committee, criticised the US government hours after it announced “visa-related” sanctions against five Europeans, including Imran Ahmed and Clare Melford. Continue reading...

Burkina Faso win 2-1 against 10-man Equatorial Guinea Two goals in three minutes of added time cap turnaround Edmond Tapsoba headed Burkina Faso to a dramatic 2-1 Africa Cup of Nations victory over 10-man Equatorial Guinea as they struck twice in stoppage time to snatch the points. The Stallions dominated the first half of the opening Group E encounter at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, with Sunderland’s Bertrand Traoré and Brentford’s Dango Ouattara causing problems down the flanks, but ultimately had nothing to show for their efforts at the break. This story will be updated later on Continue reading...

Boy, 14, arrested on suspicion of harassment and later bailed after death of ‘one of a kind’ Madison Richardson A family has paid tribute to their “one of a kind” 13-year-old daughter after her death a month ago as police said they would continue to investigate the full circumstances. A 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of harassment and later bailed after the death of Madison Richardson. Continue reading...

‘It’s impossible to replace Bruno … we need more leaders’ United host Newcastle in Premier League on Boxing Day Ruben Amorim has described Bruno Fernandes as “impossible to replace” but has told Manchester United’s players the captain’s injury is a chance for them to step up. Fernandes was forced off at half-time of Sunday’s loss at Aston Villa owing to a soft-tissue injury that will rule him out for a prolonged period. United host Newcastle in Boxing Day’s only Premier League fixture and Amorim was asked how he could compensate for Fernandes’s absence when the 31-year-old’s deputy, Kobbie Mainoo, is also injured. Continue reading...

Strikes were latest violation of year-long ceasefire and targeted what Israel said were Hezbollah sites Israel carried out several airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Wednesday targeting what it said was Hezbollah infrastructure, as a new year’s deadline for the Lebanese state to disarm the group in the south of the country loomed. Israeli warplanes bombed the valleys of Houmin, Wadi Azza and Nimeiriya in the southern Nabatieh area on Wednesday morning. Residents reported that Israeli drones continued to hover over the area and other areas of south Lebanon and its eastern Bekaa valley after the strikes. Continue reading...

France’s rule over Algeria from 1830 to 1962 is marked by mass killings and large-scale deportation Algeria’s parliament has unanimously approved a law declaring France’s colonisation of the country a crime and demanded an apology and reparations. Lawmakers, standing in the chamber wearing scarves in the colours of the national flag, chanted “long live Algeria” on Wednesday as they applauded the passage of the bill, which states that France holds “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused”. Continue reading...

From postcards to 3D models of nativity scenes, Ken Bonham has spent decades crafting the vast collection of dioramas that fill his home in Birmingham A miniature world can be found hidden inside a one-bedroom flat in Birmingham. For decades, Ken Bonham, a retired teacher, has made memory boxes of places he has visited with his dressmaker wife of 54 years, Maggie, each made up of items they have collected on their travels or Bonham has made. Models of barns, castles and churches are also crammed into the property – made from cork, balsa wood, styrofoam – or 3D card elevations from Bonham’s photos. Each Christmas, Bonham delights his neighbours by crafting nativity scenes from items he has collected and crafted. Continue reading...

Critics compare offensive to Iraq war, citing familiar mix of regime-change rhetoric, security pretexts and oil interests Donald Trump’s recent claims that the US should keep Venezuelan oil from seized tankers are part of a broader belief in rightwing “resource imperialism”, experts say. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated pressure on Venezuela, invoking drug-trafficking claims. This month, the US intercepted two tankers carrying Venezuelan oil and began pursuing a third, while intensifying its campaign against the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Continue reading...

From Copenhagen’s cycle lanes and Vienna’s shared parks to Barcelona and London’s unfulfilled potential, better living is close at hand The angry rumble of a speeding SUV. The metallic smog of backlogged traffic. The aching heat of sun-dried neighbourhoods baking in an oven of concrete and asphalt. For most people, the mundane threats that plague our environments are likely to annoy more than they spark dread. But for scientists who know just how dangerous our surroundings can be, the burden of knowledge weighs heavy each day. Across Europe, environmental risks cause 18% of deaths from cardiovascular disease and 10% of deaths from cancer. Traffic crashes in the EU kill five times more people than murders. Continue reading...

In this week’s newsletter: Pushing Buttons readers on their favourite games of the year, from Death Stranding 2 and Arc Raiders to Ghost of Yōtei and more Happy holidays, Pushing Buttons readers! Once again, we are approaching the cherished time of year between Christmas and New Year when we might actually have the time to play some video games. I hope Santa brought you something new to play, instead of taking one look at all the unplayed games in your Steam library and putting you straight on the naughty list. Over the past few weeks you have been sending in your favourite games of the year. I maintain that you readers have excellent taste: there’s crossover with our own Guardian games of the year list, but also plenty here that I haven’t played myself. Thank you to everyone who sent in a recommendation, and I hope you find yet another game to add to your pile of shame among the following suggestions. I’ll be back next week with a year-in-review issue – in the meantime, go enjoy yourselves! Continue reading...

Critics say deployment is unwarranted and could cause fear in the city, which has seen a decrease in violent crime rates The Trump administration is deploying 350 national guard troops to New Orleans ahead of the new year, launching another federal deployment in the city at the same time that an immigration crackdown led by border patrol is under way. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Tuesday that guard members, as they have in other deployments in large cities, will be tasked with supporting federal law enforcement partners, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Parnell added that the national guard troops will be deployed through February. Continue reading...

Trump has shown erratic and bizarre behavior throughout the year, leading to questions about his mental acuity In an address from the White House in December, Donald Trump claimed that, over the past 11 months, his administration had brought “more positive change” than any government in US history. “There has never been anything like it,” Trump added. America is respected again as a country. We were not respected with Biden. They looked at him falling down stairs every day. Every day, the guy’s falling down stairs.” I said: ‘It’s not our president. We can’t have it.’ I’m very careful, you know, when I walk downstairs for – like I’m on stairs, like these stairs, I’m very – I walk very slowly. Nobody has to set a record, just try not to fall because it doesn’t work out well. A few of our presidents have fallen and it became a part of their legacy. We don’t want that. Need to walk nice and easy. You not have – you don’t have to set any record. Be cool, be cool when you walk down, but don’t, don’t bop down the stairs. That’s the one thing with Obama, I had zero respect for him as a president, but he would bop down those stairs, I’ve never seen – da da da da da da, bop, bop, bop, he’d go down the stairs, wouldn’t hold on. I said, it’s great, I don’t want to do it. I guess I could do it, but eventually bad things are going to happen and it only takes once, but he did a lousy job as president.” Continue reading...

I’ve taken in refugees from time to time, and formed ties that have lasted to this day. Instead of demonising people, we could try sharing our lives with them There is one Christmas story from when my father first arrived in the UK, 43 years ago, that can still make me howl with laughter. It was a cold winter and my dad had been gripped by the idea of roasting chestnuts. He had grown up in the southern hemisphere, in a former British colony, so despite the fact that his Christmases were hot – spent in shorts and flip-flops – he had been surrounded by images of snowy churches, robin redbreasts, holly, ivy and, yes, chestnuts roasting on an open fire. And so, he headed out to Clapham Common in south London to collect conkers. They were chestnuts, after all. Horse chestnuts but hey, that’s still a chestnut. Or so he thought. And so, that evening when his British friends arrived at the house where he was staying, they were greeted by the suspiciously acrid smell of about 30 conkers, baking away in the little gas oven, plus a wild-haired man in his 20s primed to chomp into his tray of baked poison. Nell Frizzell is a journalist and author Continue reading...