Lack of local content is notable this year in the music platform’s analysis of users’ personal music, podcast and audiobook choices

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It may be Fred Again, Donna Summer or Barkaa. Your musical “listening age” could be 21, 57 or three. You have listened to 14 minutes or 40,000.

But it’s not likely to feature much Australian content.

Police say number of dead may still be revised as ‘suspected human bones’ found during search require forensic testing

The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex fire has risen to 159 as officials ordered all scaffolding mesh in the city to be removed by Saturday.

The blaze that last week engulfed Wang Fuk Court in the city’s northern Tai Po district has become the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980.

Ban due to take effect next week, but Meta has started deactivating accounts already

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Facebook and Instagram began shutting down half a million accounts of users under 16 years old on Thursday as the deadline for Australia’s social media ban looms.

The under-16s social media ban is due to take effect from 10 December, but Meta alerted users last month that it would begin shutting down accounts from 4 December.

Do you know more? Email josh.taylor@theguardian.com

Many now concerned about ability to make living in fast-changing climate after one of worst grain harvests recorded

Record heat and drought cost Britain’s arable farmers more than £800m in lost production in 2025 in one of the worst harvests recorded, analysis has estimated.

Three of the five worst harvests on record have now occurred since 2020, leaving some farmers asking whether the growing impacts of the climate crisis are making it too financially risky to sow their crops. Farmers are already facing heavy financial pressure as the costs of fertilisers and other inputs have risen faster than prices.

Brownstone firm buys building with plan for 400 pods in city where median apartment rent tops $3,000 a month

Can’t afford to rent an apartment in San Francisco? No problem. Now you can rent a bed.

Brownstone Shared Housing, a Bay-Area based “sleeping pod” startup, recently bought a six-level building in downtown San Francisco with the intention of housing up to 400 pods. The deal, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, represents a huge expansion for the company, which is currently operating about two dozen sleeping pods at a much smaller location in the city.

Massive cloud over Tanami desert in Northern Territory reminiscent of Uluru, onlookers say

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Lachlan Marchant and his colleagues were driving their golf buggies back to their shed when they saw the earth sweeping towards them.

“It reminded us of Uluru, the sheer size and width of this thing,” Marchant said. “It was just rolling at us.”

Data from Australia shows women told about density had more anxiety and confusion, as measure considered in UK

Telling women whether they have dense breasts as part of their breast cancer screening results may leave them feeling unnecessarily anxious and confused, according to a study.

Breast density refers to the level of glandular and fibrous tissue relative to fat in breasts. Dense breast tissue is a risk factor for breast cancer, and can also make mammograms more difficult to read.

Exclusive: event, scheduled to air on 13 December, will focus on ‘grief, faith, politics, and more’, according to internal files

Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News, is scheduled to moderate a network town hall event with Erika Kirk, the widow of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the Guardian has learned.

The event will air on 13 December at 8pm and will focus on “grief, faith, politics, and more”, according to internal marketing materials.

Agency says missile struck citizens in Khan Younis, as Israel reports targeting ‘Hamas terrorist’ after clash with militants

An Israeli strike on Palestinian territory has killed five people including two children, Gaza’s civil defence agency told AFP on Wednesday.

“Five citizens, including two children, killed and others injured, some seriously, as a result of an Israeli missile strike,” in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

The celebration was justified yet indicative of another worrying night for Arne Slot. It was the 94th minute and Federico Chiesa was waving his arms in front of Liverpool fans, rejoicing not in delivering a victory befitting his job as a striker but in saving the Premier League champions from certain defeat. Sunderland should consider their point at Anfield as an opportunity missed.

Chiesa’s celebration followed his goalline clearance to deny Sunderland a first win at Anfield since October 1983. Slot, though restrained in his technical area, must have been tempted to join in. His team were staring at a 10th defeat in 14 games when Wilson Isidor, on as a Sunderland substitute, raced through from goalkeeper Robin Roefs’s smart pass and rounded Alisson in the Liverpool goal. Chiesa, on as a substitute as Slot chased victory, had abandoned his attacking instincts to track back and produced a vital block. Liverpool were spared another inquest, just about.

Los Angeles have turned a feelgood reunion into a late-career humiliation for one of their greatest players – and exposed a franchise stumbling into a darker new era

Pull out your Los Angeles Clippers bingo cards. Anyone have the square marked “owner and star player accused of skirting the salary cap through improper means”? Go ahead and stamp that one. How about “losing 14 of 16 after a hopeful 3-2 start”? Mark it. And yes, you can fill in “other star averaging nearly 27 a night at age 36 – including a 50-piece against the Detroit Pistons, one of the league’s best teams”. The box reading “Clippers fans tearing out their hair at alarming rates and contemplating shameful, fairweather defections” is probably safe to cross off, pending review. And after the wee-hours media cycle on Wednesday morning, everyone gets to tick the most dispiriting square of all: “beloved, decorated veteran unceremoniously kicked to the curb in his final season”.

The Clippers had posted a winning record every year since 2010-11, building a reputation as one of the NBA’s most reliable playoff fixtures. Twenty-one games into this young season, that identity has dissolved into something hazy around the edges – and unmistakably sinister.

On the night when Leeds celebrated the career of one of their great managers, how fitting the timing felt that the 2025 class of Elland Road delivered a display and a result of which Howard Wilkinson would have been proud – and one which the incumbent manager desperately needed.

Leeds’s season may ultimately not be defined by a night such as this, but it could well be reignited by it. The pressure had been mounting after a run of four successive defeats that had dropped the side into the relegation zone, and left speculation swirling over Daniel Farke’s future at the club.

Prolific musician was known for work on songs like Green Onions and Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay

Steve Cropper, the legendary guitarist whose work as an instrumentalist, producer and songwriter at Stax Records left an indelible impression on Memphis soul music, has died at the age of 84.

Hs son Cameron confirmed his death to Variety.

Move marks president’s latest effort to dismantle pollution regulations and support for cleaner-running vehicles

Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he is repealing the Biden-era federal fuel economy standards, significantly weakening fuel efficiency requirements for tens of millions of new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks.

It marks the US president’s latest effort to dismantle pollution regulations and federal support for cleaner-running vehicles and renewable energy. Burning gasoline is a significant contributor to global heating and transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

A night after the chaos of Manchester City almost capitulating during their 5‑4 victory against Fulham, Arsenal seized the opportunity to prove that they are a sturdier proposition than Pep Guardiola’s side.

The Gunners kept their eighth clean sheet of the season, despite losing another centre-back to injury, and restored their five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League by seeing off Brentford thanks to an early header from Mikel Merino and a late goal from Bukayo Saka.

Kenyan parliament says UK army training unit ‘dismissed most complaints as false, without publishing its findings’

A report by the Kenyan parliament into the conduct of troops stationed at a British military base close to the town of Nanyuki in Kenya has alleged human rights violations, environmental destruction and sexual abuse by British soldiers.

The inquiry into the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk) was carried out by Kenya’s departmental committee on defencе, intelligence and foreign relations.

The establishment of a survivor liaison unit to offer legal aid to victims of crimes linked to Batuk personnel.

For the British and Kenyan governments to negotiate “mechanisms to hold Batuk soldiers accountable for child support”.

The creation of a military-linked crimes taskforce to oversee investigation and prosecution of offences committed by foreign military personnel.

A Guardian investigation reveals Dollar General and Family Dollar stores often fail to honor their shelf prices – charging more at checkout for everything from frying pans to Frosted Flakes

On a cloudy winter day, a state government inspector named Ryan Coffield walked into a Family Dollar store in Windsor, North Carolina, carrying a scanner gun and a laptop.

Inside the store, which sits along a three-lane road in a county of peanut growers and poultry workers, Coffield scanned 300 items and recorded their shelf prices. He carried the scanned bar codes to the cashier and watched as item after item rang up at a higher price.

Salvador Plasencia pleaded guilty to giving actor ketamine in month before overdose death in Los Angeles in 2023

A Los Angeles doctor who sold ketamine to Matthew Perry before his overdose death has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Dr Salvador Plasencia, 44, had pleaded guilty on Wednesday to giving Perry ketamine in the month leading up to the Friends star’s overdose death in 2023. Perry died at 54 after struggling with addiction for years, dating back to his time as one of the biggest stars of his generation for his role as Chandler Bing.

• Mbappé scores twice and Camavinga once in 3-0 win

• Kane scores and gives away penalty as Bayern progress

Kylian Mbappé scored twice as Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless run in La Liga.

Mbappé’s France teammate Eduardo Camavinga also scored as Real moved back within a point of Barcelona, who defeated Atlético Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday.

• Sport and Rights Alliance has made seven requests for action

• Amnesty International USA worried by US government’s role

Fifa risks becoming “a public relations tool of an increasingly authoritarian US government”, human rights organisations have warned as they call on football’s international governing body to do more to protect the rights of residents and supporters at the World Cup next summer.

With concerns rising over the possibility of local communities and travelling fans being subjected to immigration raids or arbitrary detention during the tournament, the Sport and Rights Alliance has made seven requests for action from Fifa before the World Cup draw in Washington on Friday.

⚽ Updates from Wednesday’s Premier League action
⚽ Scores | Table | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Daniel
⚽ Follow Liverpool v Sunderland – live

Email! “Could this be the first time that a player with the surname Henry will grace the Arsenal pitch since Thierry’s retirement? wonders Peter Oh – no, I’m sure Karl Henry played there for Wolves, as well as Rico himself, and how good it is to see him back.

“As a Liverpool fan I would love to see Arsenal drop points today and feel some Schade-freude. Ouattara the chances?”

Russian leader’s rejection of latest peace proposal was predictable and shows the Kremlin continues to hold the trump card

Before the harsh white glare of the Kremlin reception room came a telling prologue: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s self-described “deal guys”, being led by Kremlin officials through the sparkling streets of a festive Moscow.

Wasn’t it lovely, Vladimir Putin asked later, as both sides sat down to a five-hour negotiation that seems to have led right back to where they started. “It’s a magnificent city,” Witkoff replied. Then the cameras cut out.

⚽ Updates from the 8.15pm GMT kick-off at Anfield
⚽ Scores | Table | Follow us on Bluesky | Read Football Daily
⚽ Arsenal v Brentford, Leeds v Chelsea, and more – live

1 min Liverpool kick off from right to left as we watch. They are in red; Sunderland are sporting their stylish Hummel change strip.

YNWA is being sung with the usual gusto at Anfield. The players on both sides look ready for business; let’s get it on.

• O’Neill has been in interim charge since Rodgers’ exit

• Celtic two points behind Hearts with a game in hand

Celtic have appointed Wilfried Nancy, coach of Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer, as their new permanent manager to replace Brendan Rodgers, who was dismissed in October. He has signed a two-and-a-half year contract.

The Glasgow club are two points behind the Scottish Premiership leaders, Hearts, with a game in hand after winning all four of their league matches under Martin O’Neill. The interim manager also beat Rangers in a League Cup semi-final to set up a match at Hampden Park against St Mirren scheduled for 14 December and takes charge of the side for the final time tonight in the league encounter with Dundee at Celtic Park.