84 minutes ago Who is playing at World Darts Championship tonight? Full Friday schedule and start times as Luke Humphries in action

The darts are back and the tournament is starting to reach crunch time with top stars edging closer to silverware

Politics

6 hours ago Climate crisis exposed people to extra six weeks of dangerous heat in 2024

Analysis shows fossil fuels are supercharging heatwaves, leaving millions prone to deadly temperaturesThe climate crisis caused an additional six weeks of dangerously hot days in 2024 for the average person, supercharging the fatal impact of heatwaves around the world.The effects of human-caused global heating were far worse for some people, an analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA) and Climate Central has shown. Those in Caribbean and Pacific island states were the hardest hit. Many endured about 150 more days of dangerous heat than they would have done without global heating, almost half the year. Continue reading...

Society

19 hours ago Am I too drunk, do I have rabies, and a human bit me: The bizarre questions to NHS at Christmas and Boxing Day

Information on alcohol consumption, rabies, and bites – both animal and human – were among the top of the list for NHS advice being sought on Christmas and Boxing Day last year

Sport

99 minutes ago Netflix throws another log on the fire in festive TV virtual blaze craze

Crackling fireplace edges out new series of Squid Game as streaming service’s most watched Boxing Day show in UKIt pays the world’s biggest stars and utilises the most cutting-edge special effects to entice families away from terrestrial TV over the festive period.But Netflix viewers this year were instead drawn to one of humanity’s oldest sources of fascination: fire. Continue reading...

Events

11 hours ago Bird flu virus shows mutations in first severe human infection in US, CDC says

Mutations are rare but have been reported in some cases in other countries and most often in extreme infectionsThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday its analysis of samples from the first severe case of bird flu in the country last week showed mutations not seen in samples from an infected backyard flock on the patient’s property.The CDC said the patient’s sample showed mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, the part of the virus that plays a key role in it attaching to host cells. Continue reading...

Science

3 hours ago Hubris by Johannes Krause and Thomas Trappe review – learning from the Neanderthals

Why did we succeeded when other hominins didn’t, and can lessons from our evolutionary past help rein in our destructive impulses?In an institute in Germany, scientists are growing “Neanderthalised” human brain cells in a dish. These cells form synapses and spark as they would have done in a living Neanderthal as she (they are female cells) foraged or breastfed or gazed out of a cave mouth at dusk. That is the spine-tingling opening gambit of a book co-authored by one of the directors of the institute, Johannes Krause, and the information that sets it apart from a host of popular science books that attempt to predict humanity’s future based on our evolutionary past.A mere 90 genetic differences distinguish modern humans, Homo sapiens, from Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis. That’s paltry, given the roughly 20,000 genes that make up the human blueprint, and not all of them affect the brain. Yet those 90 differences could explain why Neanderthals died out, s...

Politics

2 hours ago UK greyhound racing hit with drug scandal over illegal use of human ‘birth control pills’

Exclusive: Tests showing dogs swallowed contaminated substances triggered action against trainers

Events

27 hours ago The symptom that means you have Covid rather than flu, RSV or norovirus

With more people getting ill, how can you distinguish one virus from the other?

Science

9 hours ago BRYONY GORDON: Keir Starmer's latest lunacy has tipped me over the edge. I now see he's just a clown in donated designer clothes

Everyone has their limit with Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party, and I think I just reached mine. For some it was the reversal of the winter fuel allowance, for others it was the betrayal of the Waspis.

Politics

12 hours ago Bombshell twist in death of AI whistleblower found dead by 'suicide' after speaking out

The mother of the AI whistleblower found dead of an apparent suicide just weeks after speaking out revealed that her son 'felt AI is a harm to humanity.'

Events

11 hours ago Boxing Day Test 2024: Australia vs India fourth men’s cricket Test, day two – live updates

Updates from the Boxing Day Test at the MCGStart time in Melbourne is 10.30am AEDTAny thoughts? Get in touch with an email 89th over: Australia 324-6 (Smith 74, Cummins 16) Now the key battle of the morning: Steve Smith v Jasprit Bumrah. India’s master quick yesterday added 3-75 to his 21 wickets for the series. Smith has taken guard two inches outside leg stump to allow his now-customary stride across the pegs. He watches the first four warily, then flinches at the last with a half-shot, edging along the ground and through slips for four.88th over: Australia 320-6 (Smith 70, Cummins 15) Akash Deep will bowl the second over, probably to allow Bumrah to charge in from his preferred end. Deep went to stumps with 1-59 from his 19 wickets and he starts with a maiden today. Continue reading...

Politics

14 hours ago Chinese jet stuns the world after advanced fighter plane is spotted on its maiden voyage missing one key feature

The new stealthy plane was spotted over China and speculation suggests the country may be on the edge of unveiling new high-performance combat aircraft.

Events

14 hours ago Beachgoer stumbles upon human leg that washed up on Southern California coast

The human remains were found just a day after two fishermen went missing after setting sail from a nearby beach, but it’s not yet clear if the incidents are related

Politics

14 hours ago BBC EastEnders' Cindy's fate sealed amid Christmas bombshell as attacker revealed

EastEnders viewers were on the edge of their seats on Christmas Day as Lauren Branning tore both the Knight and Beale family apart as she uncovered Cindy and Junior's affair

Events

17 hours ago Scientists explore longevity drugs for dogs that could also ‘extend human life’

Researchers say drugs may be able to increase lifespan by extending health and thus shortening the rate of ageingNot for nothing are dogs called man’s best friend: they are good for their owners’ mental and physical health, and some studies have shown that if you’re looking for a date and want to seem more attractive, it might be time to get a canine companion.So what would it be like if dogs could live for ever – and what if that secret could help their owners live longer, healthier lives too? Continue reading...

Events

19 hours ago Am I too drunk, do I have rabies, and what should I do if a human bit me?

Information on alcohol consumption, rabies, and bites – both animal and human – were among the top of the list for NHS advice being sought on Christmas and Boxing Day last year

Politics

19 hours ago Elon Musk reveals he’s taking drug for weight loss in bizarre ‘Ozempic Santa’ post

The world’s richest man has clashed with incoming Health and Human Services chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the role weight-loss medications should play in making Americans healthier and thinner.

Events

19 hours ago Scientists measure exact speed of human thought and the results are surprising

Brain processes signals from sensory organs at only about 10 bits per second, researchers say

Politics

23 hours ago 17 reported killed in Syrian clashes after attempted arrest of former prison officer

Security personnel and three armed men killed in clashes in Tartus province, a former Assad stronghold, say monitorsFourteen security personnel from Syria’s new authorities and three armed men were killed in clashes in Tartus province after forces tried to arrest an officer linked to the notorious Sednaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.The monitoring group said the clash broke out in Tartus, a stronghold of the ousted president, Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority, on Wednesday, and was sparked by the attempted arrest of the former prison official. Continue reading...

Events

22 hours ago The 'peaceful' Scottish Highlands waterside lodge you can book for half price this winter

At the moment, a Scottish Highlands lodge on the edge of a loch that has been described as "lovely" and "very peaceful" can be booked at a significantly reduced price.

Politics

26 hours ago Middle East crisis live: 14 security personnel killed in Syria after clash over former prison officer

Security personnel and three armed men killed in Tartous province after forces sought to arrest officer linked to Sednaya prison, says Syrian Observatory for Human RightsHello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and developments in the Middle East more widely.Fourteen security personnel from Syria’s new authorities and three armed men were killed in clashes in Tartous province when forces attempted to arrest an officer linked to the notorious Sednaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Five journalists were killed when their vehicle was struck in the vicinity of Al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat in central Gaza, health authorities said. Palestinian media and local reporters said the vehicle was marked as a media van and was used by journalists to report from inside the hospital and Nuseirat camp. The journalists worked for the Al-Quds Al-Youm television channel. The Israeli army said its air force attacked the vehicle in a “targete...

Events

23 hours ago Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were tipped 'over the edge' by tense moment at Christmas

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry last spent Christmas with the Royal Family in 2018 and it seems one thing left them 'furious' after the final festive gettogether

Politics

26 hours ago Syrian rebels are killed in gun battles trying to arrest Assad official accused of issuing execution orders for thousands of prisoners

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the fighters were from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led the stunning offensive that toppled Mr Assad with the fall of Damascus

Events

25 hours ago Sam Konstas makes debut to remember as Australia edge India on day one

Fourth Test, day one: Australia 311-6Teenager makes fearless 60 but Bumrah strikes lateIt has been a tour of polygraphic variation for India’s Test team. Down and out to begin in Perth, becoming ascendant by the end. Back to the bottom in Adelaide, dragging themselves out of trouble in Brisbane to finish the draw there on a high. But starting the fourth Test in Melbourne, right in the series at 1-1, was the first time the Indians have looked completely at a loss.It’s not that nobody has ever batted aggressively in Tests. Gilbert Jessop, David Hookes, Sanath Jayasuriya, Rishabh Pant, most of England’s current lineup – plenty have had their shot. It’s not that nobody has ever played a scoop shot to Jasprit Bumrah in a Test – ask Joe Root, who soon found it didn’t work out so well. Continue reading...

Politics

30 hours ago Squid Game season two review – TV that will make you uncomfortably bloodthirsty indeed

When we get into the actual games, the smash-kit K-drama finds its feet. But it spends far too many episodes dragging its heels extremely painfully. Series three must do betterOne of Hollywood’s many bad habits is the bloat caused by splitting a story in half in a bid to double the profits (cough, cough, Dune and Wicked). Squid Game was always a perfect one-series story. Gambling addict Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) became Player 456, a desperate man who attempts to pay off his debts by taking part in a twisted underground fight-to-the-death competition. He beats the odds by surviving every one of its potentially fatal playground games. When it first appeared, it was horrifying, it was thrilling, and its satirical edge – which examined capitalism and class in South Korea – was clever and acidic. The world took to it in vast numbers.That it became one of Netflix’s most successful, and therefore most profitable, series of all time placed it in a creative bind. Inevitably, it was renewed...

Events

28 hours ago Is it right to cut Afghanistan off from global climate funding over Taliban’s rights record?

Taliban say access to climate funds is the right of their people. But experts tell Stuti Mishra that giving them a seat at the table might be seen as legitimising their human rights abuse

Politics

28 hours ago Australia v India: fourth men’s cricket Test, day one – as it happened

The teenage debutant Sam Konstas made an audacious 60 to help Australia reach 311 for 6 on the first day of the Boxing Day Test1st over: Australia 0-0 (Konstas 0, Khawaja 0) There’s a real good lip curl from Konstas on the close-up cam, waiting for Bumrah. The crowd hushes in anticipation and sighs as he leaves the ball. A big jerky action, shouldering arms over the top of the ball and pulling his bat around to face back down the pitch.Plays and misses at the next one, a pearler that goes away off the pitch. Bumrah doing heaps early. Draws another leave third ball, but the fourth and the fifth are lovely. Beaten, beaten again, both times drawing Konstas into the defensive shot before seaming past the edge. Perfect seam position, upright then scrambling away. Continue reading...

Politics

35 hours ago Boxing Day Test 2024: Australia vs India fourth men’s cricket Test, day one – live updates

Updates from the Boxing Day Test at the MCGStart time in Melbourne is 10.30am AEDTAny thoughts? Get in touch with an email1st over: Australia 0-0 (Konstas 0, Khawaja 0) There’s a real good lip curl from Konstas on the close-up cam, waiting for Bumrah. The crowd hushes in anticipation and sighs as he leaves the ball. A big jerky action, shouldering arms over the top of the ball and pulling his bat around to face back down the pitch.Plays and misses at the next one, a pearler that goes away off the pitch. Bumrah doing heaps early. Draws another leave third ball, but the fourth and the fifth are lovely. Beaten, beaten again, both times drawing Konstas into the defensive shot before seaming past the edge. Perfect seam position, upright then scrambling away. Continue reading...

Politics

35 hours ago Britain's equalities chief intervenes after Labour insisted tightening law to protect single

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has demanded to see the transgender policies of hundreds of public bodies after concerns about them were dismissed by ministers.

Politics