4 h. ago 'Evil' Donald Trump effigies set ablaze by protestors in 'Burning of the Devil' Christmas event

The annual incineration of devil-like figures is the traditional start to Christmas festivities, and is meant to symbolise 'putting bad things in the past' and 'the triumph of good over evil'

Events

6 h. ago Szoboszlai steps up in place of Salah to sink Inter as Liverpool fans sing Slot’s name

First the Liverpool hierarchy protected Arne Slot’s authority by axing Mohamed Salah from a daunting Champions League assignment in Milan. The Liverpool team then followed suit by inflicting Inter’s first European home defeat since September 2022. A brooding superstar with a bruised ego watched from afar while Liverpool fans serenaded Slot at San Siro.Salah might well have taken the decisive 88th minute penalty had he not talked himself out of the trip to San Siro, another legend of the game that is showing its age. Instead it fell to Dominik Szoboszlai, the friend Salah had effectively argued should not be playing on the right ahead of him, to deliver a precious victory for Slot after Alessandro Bastoni had been penalised for pulling Florian Wirtz’s shirt in the box. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Vile dad and son who raped child they 'found pretty' say 'we got carried away'

A father and son who raped a child sickeningly claimed they got 'carried away', a court has heard - this is a breaking story

Events

9 h. ago ‘He’ll be embarrassed and hurt’: Alan Shearer weighs in on Mo Salah’s Liverpool fallout

Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge also hopes the club and player can ‘repair the relationship’

Politics

9 h. ago Woltemade makes Germany return with no care about transfer fee critics

£69m forward happy he chose Newcastle before taking on Bayer Leverkusen in Champions League on WednesdayAs Nick Woltemade made his way out of Bayer Leverkusen’s media theatre on Tuesday night he noticed that a series of chairs had been dragged untidily out of position. Most footballers would simply have walked on by but the 6ft 6in Newcastle forward is a little different from the rest and he duly stopped and tucked them all back into position beneath a long desk.Out on the pitch Woltemade’s highly-technical approach is nothing if not similarly neat and he has returned to his home country on a Champions League mission. Namely to show his compatriots that Eddie Howe has imbued his game with a dangerous new dimension. While the adhesive touches, deft flicks and clever link play that have always distinguished Woltemade’s performances remain, the Newcastle manager’s “physics” have enhanced the mix. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Amy Winehouse's father denies 'jealousy and greed' is behind £730,000 court case against pop star daughter's friends who sold her clothes and used make

Amy Winehouse's father has denied 'jealousy and greed' motivated his £730,000 legal claim that could bankrupt two of his daughter's friends, a court heard.

Economics

10 h. ago The Guardian view on Trump and Europe: more an abusive relationship than an alliance | Editorial

The White House is aggressively seeking to weaken and dominate the United States’ traditional allies. European leaders must learn to fight back.Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz have become adept at scrambling to deal with the latest bad news from Washington. Their meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Downing Street on Monday was so hastily arranged that Mr Macron needed to be back in Paris by late afternoon to meet Croatia’s prime minister, while Mr Merz was due on television for an end-of-year Q&A with the German public.But diplomatic improvisation alone cannot fully answer Donald Trump’s structural threat to European security. The US president and his emissaries are trying to bully Mr Zelenskyy into an unjust peace deal that suits American and Russian interests. In response, the summit helped ramp up support for the use of up to £100bn in frozen Russian assets as collateral for a “reparations loan” to Ukraine. European counter-proposals for a ceasefire will ...

Politics

11 h. ago Queen Camilla praises 'very brave' survivors of economic abuse as she hosts afternoon tea reception at Clarence House

The royal, 78, met officials from the Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) charity and heard women tell their stories in a room at the London residence.

Events

11 h. ago Woman, 71, accused of fatally stabbing elderly husband of nearly 30 years before claiming death was accident

A woman fatally stabbed her elderly husband of almost 30 years but then claimed his death was the result of a tragic accident involving a knife on a lunch tray, a jury heard.

Events

12 h. ago BREAKING: 'Treasured' couple found dead in home named as family pay tribute

The family of an elderly couple who were found dead in their home together have remembered the pair as 'much loved grandparents' and 'dear great grandparents'

Society

12 h. ago Girl, 10, was 'awake' when caravan fire sparked by 'phone or electronic tablet malfunction' killed her and father, inquest hears

A girl who died during a fatal caravan fire after a faulty phone or tablet caught alight, an inquest has heard.

Events

12 h. ago The Mavericks star Raul Malo dies age 60 as tributes paid to 'greatest voice ever heard'

Raul Malo, the operatic vocalist and frontman of country music group the Mavericks, has died at the age of 60 following a cancer battle

Events

12 h. ago Lionel Messi named 2025 MLS MVP, the second player to win award twice

Inter Miami star scored 29 goals with 19 assistsMessi won MLS Cup MVP in South Florida on SaturdayAfter a season in which he led Inter Miami to the club’s first MLS Cup, Lionel Messi has been named the Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player for the 2025 season. League commissioner Don Garber made the announcement on Tuesday, capping a season in which Messi scored 29 goals with 19 assists in 28 appearances, one short of Carlos Vela’s record for goal contributions in a single season (though Vela’s was done in 31 games).Messi joins Kansas City Wizards legend Preki as the only players to win the MVP award twice, with Messi being the first to win two such awards consecutively. At 38, Messi is not the oldest MVP in MLS history – that distinction also goes to Preki, who was the oldest MVP in the history of North American professional sports when he won the award at age 40 in 2003. Continue reading...

Sport

12 h. ago London borough named in top five most peaceful places to live in England

Area of London is among the country’s most zen-inducing, survey finds

Politics

13 h. ago Girl, 10, killed alongside dad in caravan horror fire 'was sadly awake' when flames took hold

The deadly inferno reached temperatures exceeding 400C, an inquest heard

Events

13 h. ago Oslo appearance by Nobel peace prize winner María Corina Machado cancelled

Press conference was expected to have been Venezuelan opposition leader’s first public appearance in 11 monthsA press conference in Oslo with the Nobel peace prize laureate María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader in hiding, has been cancelled, the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said, adding that it was “in the dark” as to her whereabouts.Machado last appeared in public on 9 January at a demonstration in Caracas protesting against the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro for his third term as president. The press conference, traditionally held by the Nobel laureate on the eve of the award ceremony, had been expected to be the 58-year-old’s first public appearance in 11 months. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago UK's top 10 Christmas heroes revealed as Brits confess 'overlooking' vital workers

A new poll has named the top 10 unsung heroes who make Christmas what it is - and they're not who you might expect

Politics

13 h. ago Ministers FINALLY name chair for national grooming gangs inquiry... but victims warn Labour peer will run 'tick box exercise'

Former children's commissioner Baroness Longfield has been announced as the head of the probe by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Events

13 h. ago Failure to name Stakeknife ‘slightly ludicrous’, Justice Minister says

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn insisted that identifying agents risks ‘jeopardising’ national security,

Politics

13 h. ago How to fight stress from the pressure of following traditions during the holidays

It’s December, the weather’s turning, and the holidays are fast approaching. You’ve got to find the perfect gift for your partner, parents or that weird relative you only see once a year. At work, there’s the secret Santa for a colleague you barely know, and the office party you’d rather avoid.

Sport