Women are marginally more likely to find small talk more annoying than men with 61% admitting they dislike taking part compared to 58% of men while people over 70 find it 'dull'

Politics

Visitor numbers to the African country lag far behind its neighbours due to lack of infrastructure and national planning. Now some are starting to demand changesAt the top of the Ado-Awaye hills lies a lake suspended 433 metres above sea level. Local people say the lake is named Iyake (Yoruba for “crying woman”) after a weeping, barren woman who fell in the water hundreds of years ago, conferring on it powers of fertility.This belief in the divine is evident in the foothills, where a huge boulder is emblazoned with the words, written in golden letters: “Here we come: African Jerusalem.” Continue reading...

Society

Health secretary Wes Streeting has backed the prescribing of the drugs to obese patients in the hope it can tackle the nation's bulging waistlines.

Economics

Squid Game 2 has only just dropped on Netflix, but people are already playing a game on Google that will have you on the edge of your seat as you try to beat the creepy doll

Sport

People smugglers appear to have taken advantage of the UK's dreary weather with small boat crossings across the English Channel continuing today despite foggy conditions.

Events

Daniel Roche, Tyger Drew-Honey and Ramona Marquez loved reuniting to make this year’s Christmas special, so they’re keen to do more episodes - now they are hoping people power can make it happen

Culture

A woman took to TikTok to share the unusual ways she's using ChatGPT to help her find 'her future husband' in 2025 by changing her daily routine - but people can't decide if it's genius or insane

Technology

The presenter revealed in 2021 that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and later underwent a mastectomy.

Science

The westbound slip road on the M8 at junction 25A for Braehead was shut due to “contaminated water” on the route at around 8.30am on Friday.

Transport

Putin apologises over Azerbaijan plane crash; Russia’s Gazprom announces it will halt gas supplies to MoldovaReport: Putin apologises for Azerbaijan plane crash without admitting Russia at faultItalian police said on Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry.The websites of the ministry, Malpensa and Milan-Linate airport, and the transport systems in Siena and Turin were hit, according to national cybersecurity police spokesman Marco Valerio Cervellini, Reuters reports. Continue reading...

Politics

One year after Ralph was given a life-saving multi-organ transplant, his mother Katie Tatham tells why she is calling for more people in the UK to come forward to helpJust over a year ago, the parents of Ralph Tatham didn’t know if they would make it to Christmas, or if liver cancer would take away their three-year-old son.Now the little boy is just a few weeks away from celebrating his fifth birthday, after receiving a lifesaving multiorgan transplant to replace his liver, pancreas and intestines. Continue reading...

Society

Adverts on TikTok show the deals 'package deals' promising cash-in-hand work and housing, with payment required only upon reaching Dover.

Economics

The finale saw more than 12 million people tune in

Sport

Exclusive figures released by the debt charity StepChange to the Mirror showed that around 14.5million people in the UK will struggle to afford Christmas this year

Events

Institutions in and around the city combine great works with humdrum relics of local life, to fantastic effectI’ve been living partly in Sheffield for the past month or so, which has given me the chance to catch up on some of the great monuments of industry and power in and near the city – the model miners’ village and the fantastical Jacobean castle in Bolsover, the stately home of Wentworth Woodhouse with its battleship-length Palladian facade, the buildings of the subtle modernist Peter Womersley in Huddersfield.Also the Weston Park Museum in Sheffield and the Derby Museum and Art Gallery, both of which combine world-class art with humdrum relics of local life. In one, a large John Singer Sargent portrait of three young Yorkshire women shares the premises with the plastic car roof sign of a 1970s driving school. In the other, there is a gallery full of the illuminated tableaux of science and humanity by Joseph Wright of Derby and another room with a collection of stuffed animals,...

Culture

The number of people consulting their GP about the illness also reached the highest level recorded in seven years.

Science

Police are investigating after around £300 worth of stock was stolen from a family-run shop in Treharris. CCTV has been released by the shop owners

Transport

"A lot of people are doing what I'm doing now. But maybe I’ve set a trend."

Politics

Dance till you drop, then home by 10pm – daytime events offer a glorious escape for those of us bogged down by responsibilityLast Saturday night, I went clubbing with friends. Once upon a time, this wouldn’t have been a remotely odd sentence to type, because it was what I did pretty much every weekend. But a lot has changed since then – let’s just say that in my peak raving years there was a Labour government in power, only it was actually popular – and like most people whose happy place was once on the dancefloor, inevitably with time comes the feeling that you no longer belong. Deep down, you still come to life when the bassline kicks in. But you morph from hardened raver to the kind of person who’s always up for dancing at parties and weddings, and then finally into the kind of person whose friends aren’t getting married any more and who spends their Saturday nights giving their children lifts to parties. So eventually you tell yourself sadly that those days are over now, and tha...

Society

Sir Keir Starmer has put international co-operation with law enforcement agencies in Europe at the heart of his bid to cut the number of arrivals

Economics

A new report suggests gamers who play sports titles are helping young people find an interest in real sports, either through increasing their support for a team or playing themselves

Sport

Four others, including a baby, have been taken to hospital for treatment and one woman remains in a critical condition.

Events

Psychologist Dr Julie Smith has helped millions of people via her TikTok. But when she discovered she had breast cancer, she had to rewrite her rules

Science

Ian Napier, 58, vanished from the island at around 9pm on Friday, December 27.

Politics

Tiny houses - small, functional dwellings with floor spaces of up to 60 square metres - are becoming increasing popular among families and single occupiers.

Society

When David Clarke’s mother died, it took him 10 years to work out what to do with the money she left him. This year, a panel of locals in Liverpool made the decision for himIt was a quiet act of generosity that briefly captured the news agenda: David Clarke, a researcher in Liverpool, made the extraordinary decision to give away the £100,000 he had inherited from his late mother a decade ago. But instead of donating it to one cause, Clarke did something radical. He wrote to 600 addresses in the L8 postcode, where he lives, inviting people to nominate where the money should go.Clarke lost his mother in a cycling accident. “Her death was a devastating shock to me,” he says. “She had a huge social conscience and was interested in the world and how it worked – a lot of my moral framework comes from her. I don’t believe in holding on to inherited wealth, so I spent a long time thinking about what to do with the money.” Clarke wanted to do something that would speak to his mother’s values...

Economics

More than 12 million people tuned in to watch the show

Sport

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people

Events

Diet, obesity, alcohol and smoking could be explanations for the rising cases of early-onset bowel cancer

Science

Kamal Adwan in Beit Lahia was partially destroyed and critical patients are at grave risk, the UN body saysThe World Health Organization says it is “appalled” by an Israeli raid which it said had shut down and partly destroyed the last major hospital still functioning in northern Gaza.Israel’s “systematic dismantling of the health system” combined with a siege of the population in the north of the coastal strip over the past 80 days “puts the lives of the 75,000 Palestinians remaining in the area at risk”, the WHO said. Continue reading...

Politics

A teacher who became fed up with students using their mobile phones to find answers and cheat on university exams came up with a devious way to catch them out - and failed the pupils who fell for it

Society

A Sainsbury's shopper has shared the amazing bargain they found in the supermarket's post-Christmas sale - and people are seriously impressed with the price they paid for the turkey

Economics

The finale saw more than 12 million people tune in.

Sport

Russia's leader Vladimir Putin has called Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev to say sorry for Russian air defences firing at the plane which crash landed in Kazakhstan killing 38 people

Events

A British GP on TikTok shared the symptoms and treatment for a condition few people are aware of

Science

Rafael Graça do Prado was on a boat trip with his children when he saw the bizarre object floating in the water.

Politics

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

Local residents had expressed worries about the bridge for years before it collapsed with several vehicles on, leaving at least nine deaths and several more people missing

Events

For more than 25 years, Horace Lindezey has been making art at Venture Arts, a Manchester-based studio working with learning disabled artists. In his ever-growing collection of ceramic blue plaques, created with the assistance of ceramicist Caroline Tattersall, he celebrates people who have meant something to him – family members, friends, TV personalities and musicians – focusing on life’s central milestones: births, marriages and deaths. “I feel happy with making the plaques,” says Lindezey. “I roll the clay on to the mould, paint it white, then I put the letters on it. I like showing them in exhibitions, in Blackburn and London. I like to see them out there – they are nice memories of some people that have died.”A limited edition book of The Blue Plaques (£25), signed by the artist, is available at venturearts.org Continue reading...

Politics

More than 1,100 people have crossed the Channel in small boats over the Christmas period.

Events

TV historian Lucy Worsley made the bombshell discovery whilst filming for her new BBC series that Queen Victoria was furious with her government over its failure to bring Jack the Ripper to justice.

Politics

The Mirror’s Christmas appeal is raising funds for Missing People which offers support to the families of people who have disappeared, and helps those who have gone missing reunite with their loved ones

Events

Large language models have changed how big corporations function, and the arrival of AI ‘agents’ – essentially automated Moneypennys – could prove irresistibleIf 2024 was the year of large language models (LLMs), then 2025 looks like the year of AI “agents”. These are quasi-intelligent systems that harness LLMs to go beyond their usual tricks of generating plausible text or responding to prompts. The idea is that an agent can be given a high-level – possibly even vague – goal and break it down into a series of actionable steps. Once it “understands” the goal, it can devise a plan to achieve it, much as a human would.OpenAI’s chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, recently explained it thus to the Financial Times: “It could be a researcher, a helpful assistant for everyday people, working moms like me. In 2025, we will see the first very successful agents deployed that help people in their day to day.” Or it’s like having a digital assistant “that doesn’t just respond to your instruct...

Politics

On that day in 1936, members of my Jewish family stood up to the Blackshirts. Their fight against racism inspired our adaptation of The Merchant of VeniceIn the weeks leading up to the battle of Cable Street, Oswald Mosley, inspired by his friend Hitler, sent his Blackshirt militia into the East End of London to whip up hatred against Jewish people. Jewish buildings were daubed, synagogues smashed and posters calling for patriotism and national pride in the face of the “untrustworthy international Jewish Entity” were nailed on walls and doorways.Then, on Sunday 4 October 1936, the fourth birthday of Mosley’s fascist party, he sent more than 3,000 uniformed Blackshirts in four marching columns through London’s East End and its predominantly Jewish community, promising a “Greater Britain” and blaming all society’s ills on these immigrant Jews. He fully expected to be supported by the working-class population of the area and assumed it would be delighted by his rousing speeches of hate...

Events

A technology expert has warned of accelerating progressions in AI development that could be putting humanity in danger, raising the alarm about the threat of 'AIs that are smarter than people'

Politics

Pontiff calls for hope and kindness in BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day messagePope Francis has urged people not to be drawn towards “pessimism and resignation” despite wars and social injustices throughout the world, but to retain a “gentle gaze of hope”.The head of the Catholic church gave the Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday, wishing listeners “peace, fellowship and gratitude” for the new year and emphasising the importance of humility. Continue reading...

Events

He went the full 100 metres!

Politics

Academic Danilo Brozović says studies of failed civilisations all point in one direction – today’s society needs radical transformation to surviveFor someone who has examined 361 studies and 73 books on societal collapses, Danilo Brozović’s conclusion on what must happen to avoid today’s world imploding is both disarmingly simple and a daunting challenge: “We need dramatic social and technological changes.”The collapse of past civilisations, from the mighty Mayan empire to Rapa Nui (Easter Island), has long fascinated people and for obvious reasons – how stable is our own society? Does ever-growing complexity in societies or human hubris inevitably lead to oblivion? In the face of the climate crisis, rampant destruction of the natural world, rising geopolitical tensions and more, the question is more urgent than ever. Continue reading...

Events

Planes were going to drop out of the sky, nuclear reactors would explode. But then nothing. What really happened with Y2K? People still disagree Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, 25 years ago, Queen Elizabeth II stepped off a private barge to arrive at London’s Millennium Dome for its grand opening ceremony. Dressed in a pumpkin-orange coat, she entered the venue with Prince Philip, taking her place alongside Tony and Cherie Blair and 12,000 guests to celebrate the dawn of a new millennium. At the stroke of midnight, Big Ben began to chime and 40 tonnes of fireworks were launched from 16 barges lined along the river. The crowd joined hands, preparing to sing Auld Lang Syne. For a few long moments, the Queen was neglected – she flapped her arms out like a toddler wanting to be lifted up, before Blair and Philip noticed her, took a hand each, and the singing began. A new century was born.One politician who wasn’t in attendance at the glitzy celebration was Paddy Tipping, a Labou...

Politics

People couldn't help but laugh after hearing what a man wants to name his son - as his girlfriend vows to divorce him in the future if he tries to go along with it

Events

Chairwoman of the Work and Pensions Committee and Labour MP Debbie Abrahams also said sick and disabled people had been targeted and used as a 'political football'

Politics

21-year-old Taewoo Kim last seen going for a swim at Moonee beach, near Coffs Harbour, on Boxing Day; police say another man’s body found in sea south of WollongongGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA multi-agency search is under way for a man presumed missing in the ocean since Boxing Day, off the north coast of NSW, as another man’s body has been pulled from the water further south.Taewoo Kim, 21, was last seen around 1pm on Thursday, police said in a statement, going into the water at Moonee beach, north of Coffs Harbour.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Events

Even with abortion bans in place in most Republican-controlled states, the number of people obtaining them has grown slightly

Politics

Fan Weiqiu, angry at his divorce settlement, caused ‘great social harm’ when he drove into people as they exercised in the city of Zhuhai, court saysA court in China has sentenced a man to death for killing 35 people last month by driving into a crowd, in an attack that raised national concern about mass killings.Fan Weiqiu was venting his anger because he was unhappy with his divorce settlement, the court in the southern city of Zhuhai said in handing down the sentence on Friday. The victims were exercising at a sports centre at the time of the attack. Fan pleaded guilty to endangering public safety by dangerous means, a court statement said. Continue reading...

Events

President-elect’s agenda and Project 2025 playbook align in stripping Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s licenseOn the campaign trail this year, Donald Trump routinely criticized US media. The president-elect called for CBS to be stripped of its broadcast license after it aired an interview with Kamala Harris, refused to participate in an interview with 60 Minutes and routinely called journalists the “enemy of the people”.But perhaps no American media has attracted as much ire from the president-elect as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – a non-profit corporation created by federal law in 1967 to distribute funding to public media organizations like PBS and NPR. Continue reading...

Politics

Russia has downplayed speculation that its military was behind the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan

Events

Frank, who goes by the name frankthestagman on TikTok, shared a video about why he loves living in Benidorm. He said it's a lot different to what people think

Politics

Footage shows dozens of young people barging their way into a street wear store in Perth, Australia, with many knocked over in the doorway after they were invited to ransack the store on Boxing Day

Events

EXCLUSIVE: Mother-of-five, Jamie Lee Green, 42, from Essex has hit back at critics at critics who have blasted her Barbie dreamhouse as, 'disgusting' and 'totally ridiculous'.

Politics

The cross is set to be removed from the badge of Army chaplains in a 'woke' move condemned by a formermilitary chief.

Events

Home to choir singers for 650 years, Grade-1 listed Vicar’s Close by Wells Cathedral is in need of funding to keep its medieval houses liveable – and its unique history aliveChoir singers have lived in two handsome terraces of silvery-pink-stoned medieval houses beside Wells Cathedral for more than 650 years. But the gated close – which is thought to be the most complete and continuously occupied medieval street in Europe – is now in desperate need of restoration.“It’s a privilege to live here – it’s a unique place,” says Matthew Minter, 52, who has lived in the close for almost seven years and sings in the cathedral. “But [the house] is cold. The windows leak £10 notes every time you put the heating on and the roof leaks actual water.” Continue reading...

Politics

Earlier today (27 December) hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Yemen’s northwestern city of Sa’ada to demonstrate support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Events

UNO is a popular choice of card game during the Christmas period – but did you ever stop to question the rules? If so, you may have noticed that this popular detail isn't actually in them

Politics

US Department of Housing and Urban Development reports largest increase among families with childrenThe US saw a dramatic rise in homelessness at the start of 2024, counting 18% more unhoused people during its annual tally in January than the year before, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) reported on Friday.Cities reported counting a total of 771,480 unhoused people in January, a number that is larger than the population of Seattle. Representing 23 out of every 10,000 Americans, the number is the highest ever recorded during the tally. Still, experts consider the number an undercount, since it reflects one point in time and misses many people staying with friends or family. Continue reading...

Events

Frank, aka frankthestagman on TikTok, moved to Benidorm a while back, and it's fair to say he loves it. There are simple reasons why he adores his home so much

Politics

Thames Valley Police have issued an update following a Christmas Day knife attack in Milton Keynes in which two people were killed and two others were injured - it was previously reported that a dog also died after the attack

Events