Southern Transitional Council, backed by UAE, told it could face airstrikes after its recent huge territorial gains
As many as 20,000 Saudi-backed forces are gathering on the border of Yemen as the separatist Southern Transitional Council comes under pressure to withdraw from the huge territorial gains it has made in the last month in the vast oil-rich governorate on Hadramaut in eastern Yemen.
The STC is using its advance to raise its demand for Yemen to revert to two states, north and south, as it had been until 1990.
Bid includes 11 new stadiums but PIF wants to cut costs
Architecture firms asked to resubmit plans, Guardian told
Saudi Arabia’s construction of stadiums for the 2034 World Cup is facing delays owing to a desire from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, to scale back costs.
The Guardian has been told that several architecture firms awarded contracts to build stadiums in Saudi have been asked to resubmit plans because their designs have been deemed too expensive, and contractors due to start work next year have been told the build will not begin on time.
The defensive end’s pursuit of the NFL sack record defies belief, raising questions about what his perpetually rebuilding team should do about it
The NFL sack record is one of those hallowed figures in professional sports. Michael Strahan’s 22.5 lingered for two decades not because pass rushers failed to get better, but because everything has to break just right for someone to reach it. You need volume. You need game scripts. You need offenses chasing points. When TJ Watt finally tied it in 2021, it felt like he had reached the outer limit. The record had been touched, but not broken.
Myles Garrett has spent this season treating that assumption with contempt. Now, he’s a couple of plays away from history.
Drop is cause for public health concern, but news isn’t all bad as acknowledging struggles is ‘a good sign’, experts say
A record low proportion of Americans rate their mental health as “good” or “excellent” according to a Gallup poll released on Thursday.
The percentage of Americans polled who rated their mental health as “excellent” dropped below 30% for the first time this year while the number who rated their mental health as either “good” or “excellent” also dropped to a record low 72%.
Across the world, incarcerated pregnant women are often held in deplorable conditions, leading some to miscarry or give birth alone inside a cell, say campaigners
Dina Hernández was 35 weeks pregnant when she was arrested near her home in San Salvador in March 2024. The 28-year-old human rights activist, who was with her five-year-old son, was accused of “illicit association” with gang members and jailed without evidence.
Three weeks later, her family received a call from the prison authorities to collect the body of her newborn baby. The cause of death has not been investigated and the family has no idea what happened, or whether Hernández – who is believed to remain in prison – received any postnatal care.
The president’s appearance and schedule have sparked speculation – perhaps fueled in part by his political fortunes
Is Donald Trump OK?
Recently, he’s looked tired. His famous fake tan is a bit more sallow than usual and seems painted on more thickly and clumsily than it was before. He appears to nod off in front of cameras more and more often, including in cabinet meetings and press events in the Oval Office. His public schedule is light: he is often at his golf clubs, has traveled around the country less frequently than at this point in his first term, and now only rarely holds the stadium rallies that once defined his preferred style of politics. He tends to sit, even when others are standing, and has shortened his daily schedule, often not conducting official duties before noon. A New York Times report found that his public appearances have declined by nearly 40% compared to his first year in office. He sometimes disappears from public view for days as he did in the late summer, and he and his administration have released unclear and conflicting information about his health. His right hand seems to be experiencing frequent injury or discoloration – it will often be covered with a band-aid or smeared with makeup; the White House has claimed, implausibly, that he is bruised from shaking too many hands. In some images, his ankles are visibly swollen.
Some traditional treats may be off the menu, but there are plenty of alternatives for a festive feast
For a festival with childbirth at its religious heart, it is perverse how much of our traditional Christmas spread isn’t recommended for pregnant women. Pre-pregnancy, this was not something I’d clocked. I was the soft cheese supremo, canape queen – at my happiest with a smoked trout blini in one hand and a champagne flute in the other. Then one day in October, two blue lines appeared on a test result and everything started to change: my body, my future and most pressingly my Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong: no present under the tree can match the gift I’ve got in store. But as a food writer who loves this season, I can’t think of a worse time to be nauseated, exhausted and forbidden by the NHS to eat, drink or do my favourite things to eat, drink or do in winter. I have no alternatives for saunas, skiing and hot baths. I do, however, know enough chefs, bartenders, retailers and producers to create a Christmas feast that is full of wonder, joy and within the NHS guidelines.
Whether your household is in the mood for singing, driving, quizzing or shouting, here are our top choices for homely holiday fun
Multiplayer hand-to-hand combat games are ridiculously good fun and there are plenty to choose from, including the rather similar Gang Beasts and Party Animals. I’ve gone for this one, however, which lets everyone pick a cake to play as before competing in food fights and taking on mini-games such as roasting marshmallows and lobbing fruit into a pie. If you ever wished that the Great British Bake Off was ever-so-slightly more gladitorial, this is the game for you.
The Reiners’ bodies were discovered on Sunday at their home in Los Angeles. Their son Nick was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and has since appeared in court
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has released reports stating the cause of death of the film director Rob Reiner and his wife, the photographer Michele Singer Reiner.
Both are listed on the organisation’s website with the cause given as “multiple sharp force injuries” and “homicide” stated as the manner of death. The date of death, which had been the subject of some speculation, is given as Sunday 14 December.
Heavily armed tactical operation officers intercepted two cars on a busy street with images showing suspects cable-tied on the side of the road
Police have detained seven men in Sydney’s south-west in connection with possible planned violence.
Tactical operations police had responded to “information received that a violent act was possibly being planned” on Thursday evening, a NSW Police spokesperson said.
After Guardian writers picked their favourite lesser-known festive movies, readers shoutout Klaus, The Ref and more
I thought a real modern hidden gem is All Is Bright starring Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti as two down-on-their-luck Christmas tree sellers. It’s perfectly played by both, with Rudd putting in, not his usual “puppy dog everyone wants to be your mate” role but a sarcastic turn, complementing Giamatti’s Christmas grinch. More a black comedy (by Hollywood standards), it’s an excellent film. Andyouwillknowme
Oh, The Studio – how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Or at least allow me to gaze, rapt, from behind an ornamental palm tree as your vintage convertible hurtles towards yet another catastrophic Hollywood assignation.
The Emmy-winning creation of Seth Rogen and long-term writing partner Evan Goldberg, The Studio follows Matt Remick, an idealistic film executive who finds himself unexpectedly promoted to head of Continental Studios. “This could be my time!” he gasps, cock-a-hoop to find himself in charge of the company to which he has devoted the last 22 years of his life. He is, unfortunately, correct. “Film is my life,” he splutters during his tearfully grateful acceptance speech to CEO Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston). Mill – an oleaginous sod with a spray tan the colour of a 70s ski lodge – smiles thinly. “At Continental, we don’t make films. We make movies. MOOOOVIEEEEES that people wanna PAY to see,” he explains, tightly, and Matt’s face proceeds to sink like a souffle. And it continues to sink over 10 exquisitely excruciating episodes, as his hopes for a new era of intelligent, auteur-helmed blockbusters are repeatedly marmalised by a system both frightened and angered by anything that can’t be deposited in a Swiss bank account.
Schools are reporting growing misogyny from pupils towards teachers and a lack of avenues to seek help about sexually aggressive behaviour, the safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, has said.
Phillips’ comments came as the government was due to launch its long-awaited violence against women and girls strategy. Children as young as 11 who demonstrate misogynistic behaviour will be taught the difference between pornography and real relationships, as part of a multimillion-pound investment to try to tackle misogyny in England’s schools.
Former top medic described as ‘Dr Death’ by prosecutors poisoned 30 people ranging in age from four to 89
A French anaesthetist described by prosecutors as “Dr Death” has been found guilty of intentionally poisoning 30 patients and killing 12 over almost a decade as a top medic.
Frédéric Péchier, 53, once seen by colleagues as a “star anaesthetist”, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after state prosecutors said he was “one of the biggest criminals in the history of the French legal system”.
The documentary-maker on new film 2000 Meters to Andriivka (the Guardian’s No 2 film of 2025), being on the Oscar circuit with 20 Days in Mariupol and filming on the frontline
Adrian Horton: I know you were showing your prior film, 20 Days in Mariupol, to western audiences when you began working on this film. What brought you back to the frontlines? Mstyslav Chernov: What brought me back was not speaking to the audiences, even, but just coming out of Mariupol, we were so devastated and so scarred by what happened. And then we went off to Bucha, where we saw more war crimes. And then I went to Kharkiv, my home town, which was bombed every day, just as Mariupol was. So even when we were starting to edit 20 Days in Mariupol, I was already looking for a story that would be, in a way, a response to that feeling I had, of devastation and helplessness. I kept seeing Ukraine as a victim of this brutal invasion, and I wanted to tell another story which would have an opposite direction – to show some sort of agency, some sort of strength and response to that violence, when Ukrainians push back.
AH: And that was when Mariupol was already out? What was that dissonance like for you – being on the Oscar circuit, then filming on the frontlines? MC: That was when the theatrical release started in July. It was the same time as Barbie and Oppenheimer, and it was the same time when we had dozens and dozens of Q&As for the wider public. It was when the first receptions and red carpets started. But of course, at the same time, the frontline was on fire. Ukraine was fighting this counteroffensive. And I would go from those places in the United States, in the UK, in Europe, these beautiful, peaceful cities, back to Ukraine – fly to the border, get a car, get a train, get another car, get in a trench. And in that trench, I would see a world that was so different. It would be like another planet, or 100 years backward in time. That collision of two worlds – I just tried to express it. I tried to comprehend it, how we live in a world where both war and peace and humanity and violence exist. And so 2000 Meters to Andriivka naturally became a film about distances, not just about the reality of war, not just about the humanity of people who are pinned down in those foxholes. But also about the distance between Europe and Ukraine, between Ukrainian society and people in the trenches. Hopefully that comes through.
The owner of Waterstones and Barnes & Noble is reportedly preparing to list the booksellers on the stock market.
Elliott Investment Management, the hedge fund that owns the most popular bookstores in the US and the UK, has spoken to potential advisers about an initial public offering (IPO), the Financial Times reported.
One study shows that time spent on social media peaked in 2022 and has gone into decline since then, according to an analysis conducted for the Financial Times by digital audience insights company GWI.
Poland’s Donald Tusk issues warning to European leaders before Brussels summit as Zelenskyy says no deal would pose ‘big problems for Ukraine’
Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz confirms his support for the EU’s reparations loan, saying he sees “no better option.”
He diplomatically acknowledges Belgium’s concerns, and says he hopes “we can address them together” to “send a signal of strength and resolve … towards Russia.”
The Scottish actor and presenter – who hosted the Bafta TV awards this year – will take over from David Tennant at the February ceremony
The Scottish actor and presenter Alan Cumming has been named as the new host of the Bafta film awards, taking over the reins from David Tennant.
Cumming, who hosted the Bafta TV awards earlier this year and captivated audiences worldwide as host of The Traitors US, will take the stage at the Royal Festival Hall for the ceremony on 22 February 2026.
AI Security Institute report finds most common type of AI tech used was general purpose assistants such as ChatGPT and Amazon Alexa
A third of UK citizens have used artificial intelligence for emotional support, companionship or social interaction, according to the government’s AI security body.
The AI Security Institute (AISI) said nearly one in 10 people used systems like chatbots for emotional purposes on a weekly basis, and 4% daily.
Remarkably, most of the men connected to the convicted sex offender have barely experienced any fallout. That says as much as the scandal itself
A couple of weeks ago, the annual DealBook Summit got under way in New York. It’s a series of public talks billed as conversations with “the world’s most consequential people”, and is part of that circuit of live events in which the worst people on Earth gather on stage to address the second-worst people on Earth, their paying audience. Hosted by Andrew Ross Sorkin, the conference was a characteristically starry affair, but in a lineup that included Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and “changemaker” Halle Berry, it was Ehud Barak, the former prime minister of Israel and a former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, who really caught the eye.
My first thought about Barak’s appearance was: Larry Summers must be spitting. Summers, the former president of Harvard and another Epstein associate, was very much not on stage at the DealBook Summit, nor is he anywhere else in polite society right now. One can only imagine how bitter he must be feeling about the variance in fortunes of the men – and occasional woman – with known connections to Epstein. Of this list, two are dead (Marvin Minsky and Jean-Luc Brunel), one is in jail (Ghislaine Maxwell) and one has lost his house, his title and his invitation to the family Christmas (Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor). But for the rest of the prominent associates, email correspondents, birthday-card signatories, grant recipients and dinner companions of the late convicted paedophile – all of whom insist that, while in Epstein’s orbit, they remained in total ignorance as to the man’s true nature – the cancellation fairy’s aim has been predictably inconsistent and wide.
Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist
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Children as young as 11 who demonstrate misogynistic behaviour will be taught the difference between pornography and real relationships, as part of a multimillion-pound investment to tackle misogyny in England’s schools, the Guardian understands.
TV’s greatest guilty pleasure is back – and it’s still a total hoot! Prepare to gorge yourself silly on it over the holidays along with the mince pies. You know you want to …
‘Turn off your brain and jump!” So says London geezer Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) to ex-girlfriend Emily’s best pal Mindy (Ashley Park), as they flirt their way through a racy dance scene. It could, of course, be an instruction to viewers of season five of Emily in Paris, too. Once pilloried for its Anglophile tendencies and surface-level commitment to la culture française, the fluffy dramedy about an American in Paris helmed by Lily Collins has – over the past five years – become one of TV’s greatest guilty pleasures: a fancy fever dream of great clothes, strapping love interests and a constant karaoke soundtrack courtesy of Park, a Broadway star whose contract clearly dictates that she sing at least five times per episode. The clothes are less outlandish this time around, but still aspirational – lending the show a strand of Sex and the City DNA (they also share a creator, Darren Star).
But, unlike SATC – whose spinoff And Just Like That devolved into a mindless mess – Emily in Paris is free of any baggage, and at liberty to be as silly as it fancies. Much of season five doesn’t even take place in Paris, as our leading lady continues to mix business and pleasure in Rome with cashmere heir Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini). “Ciao and ni hao!” says Mindy, who has rejected a job as a judge on Chinese Popstar (“I’d rather be judging people in real life than on TV”) and is now headed to Italy, just in time to help Emily and her crack marketing team with some #sponsoredcontent (read: singing inside a giant martini glass). Also in town is Alfie: cue an inadvisable fling between the two that instantly breaks all the rules of girl code.
Connexion
