51 m. ago Iran arrests protest leaders as crackdown intensifies amid threat of US intervention

Washington and Tehran step up war of words over Donald Trump’s threat to intervene in response to unrestIranian authorities have arrested key members of the protest movement that has rocked the country over the last two weeks, the national police chief said, as Washington and Tehran threaten each other over the prospect of US intervention in the Islamic republic.“Last night, significant arrests were made of the main elements in the riots, who, God willing, will be punished after going through legal procedures,” the police chief, Ahmad-Reza Radan, told state TV on Sunday, without specifying the number of those arrested. Continue reading...

Events

55 m. ago Portsmouth vs Arsenal LIVE: FA Cup latest score, match stream and goal updates

Gunners face Championship strugglers in third-round tie at Fratton Park

Sport

59 m. ago Manchester United vs Brighton LIVE: FA Cup match stream, latest team news, lineups, TV, prediction

Darren Fletcher takes charge of second game as interim manager

Sport

61 m. ago Gnonto and Tanaka turn tie on its head as Leeds knock Derby out of FA Cup

Daniel Farke had no need to channel Marcel Bielsa and send any spies to watch Derby train this past week to know that, even with eight changes to his starting XI, his Leeds squad had more than enough Premier League class to overcome mid-table Championship opposition. Goals from the fringe players Wilfried Gnonto, Ao Tanaka and James Justin enabled Leeds to bounce back from their dramatic 4-3 defeat at Newcastle and overturn Ben Brereton Díaz’s first-half goal. Leeds have lost just once in nine games now and, as well as an eight-point buffer from the relegation zone, can now countenance the prospect of an FA Cup run.With all the history surrounding this midday kick-off, it was a tame opening half-hour before Leeds upped the intensity to earn the chance to go ahead. Even with their much-changed lineup, the running off the ball and incision of passing of the Premier League side suggested an opening goal was incoming. The fact it then went to Derby only accelerated the adrenaline. Conti...

Politics

70 m. ago ‘You can’t replace time’: Harcourt’s wine and beer producers mourn loss of industry’s heart in Victoria bushfires

The Harcourt Cooperative Cool Stores stored priceless stock for local businesses – but it was also the focal point for friendships in ‘a passionate industry’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTrevor Peeler has spent 50 years of his life driving in and out of the gates of the Harcourt Cooperative Cool Stores. He didn’t see the site burn to the ground on Friday night because he was blocks away protecting his house.Not that he could have done anything. The Cool Stores were directly in the path of the fire and turned into an inferno. Continue reading...

Events

70 m. ago As the year begins, don’t look away from the headlines, look better and deeper | Justine Toh

It’s important to cultivate a fresh way of seeing – one that isn’t blind to harsh realities but refuses to be cowed by themMaking sense of it is a column about spirituality and how it can be used to navigate everyday lifeI once heard that a journalist, stunned by the horrors they’d witnessed while on assignment as a foreign correspondent, was almost equally shocked to find themselves seeking solace in the strangest of places: a church. Not to pray; that wasn’t their thing. But to sit and take stock in silence – perhaps the most appropriate response when processing history’s bloody body count.If we’re news junkies, or just extremely online, we’re a little like that traumatised journalist. A little. More removed from frontline carnage, sure, but subject to a similar onslaught of non-stop bad news: polarisation, the climate crisis, grim domestic violence statistics. The rising cost of living, the rise of the far right, and AI threatening to upend our livelihoods. Continue reading...

Politics

70 m. ago She spent 366 days searching for her cats after losing them in the LA fires: ‘I promised my babies’

After her Altadena home burned down, Darlene Hamilton wondered whether her cats Merlyn and Kiki had escaped. A year later, she hasn’t given up hopeMost nights for the last year, Darlene Hamilton slept four hours and woke at about 4.30am. She wanted to sleep, but she could not.Instead the 66-year-old started the day at her Altadena rental home in morning darkness with a familiar routine, scouring through websites of local humane societies and lost animal groups in search of two familiar little faces. For a year, her days often began and ended with this ritual. Continue reading...

Events

70 m. ago Former Republican chair says US institutions yielded to Trump, ‘the bully’

Michael Steele argues law firms, universities and media capitulated with startling speed and voters want accountabilityThe biggest surprise of Donald Trump’s first year back in office is how quickly America’s institutions capitulated to “the bully”, said Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) turned arch critic.But with the midterm elections for Congress looming, Steele predicts a resounding Democratic victory amid a hunger among voters to hold the president and his allies accountable for threatening democracy. Continue reading...

Politics

70 m. ago The kindness of strangers: alone in the crowd at Glastonbury, a stranger hugged me tight while I cried about my dead dad

As I sobbed to U2, she would hug me tighter as we swayed to the musicRead more in the kindness of strangers seriesMy father died when I was 19, after a short and sharp fight with cancer. Unsure of what to do or how to proceed with life, I took a year off university and went backpacking through Europe. The other side of the world seemed like a good place to be.I ended up at the music festival Glastonbury in 2011. It was a great lineup that year but there was one act on the bill that really caught my eye: U2. They were my dad’s favourite band, so it seemed only right that I should go and see them. Of course, U2 aren’t exactly a massive draw for people my age, so I ended up alone in the massive crowd at the main stage while my friends saw other bands. Continue reading...

Events

70 m. ago ‘There’s a dark side to floristry’: are pesticides making workers seriously ill – or worse?

Unlike in food, there is no upper limit on the amount of pesticide residue levels in flowers. But after French officials linked the death of a florist’s child to exposure in pregnancy, many in the industry are now raising the alarmOn a cold morning in December 2024, florist Madeline King was on a buying trip to her local wholesaler when a wave of dizziness nearly knocked her over. As rows of roses seemed to rush past her, she tried to focus. She quickly picked the blooms she needed and left.I’m not doing this any more, she thought. Continue reading...

Politics

70 m. ago Grab your fidget spinners! Why gen Z are pining for 2016 | Coco Khan

As galling as it is to see young people refer to the items I wore 10 years ago as ‘vintage’, surely the real problem is that so many of them believe their best years are behind them‘I grow old I grow old I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled,” wrote TS Eliot in 1915, in his seminal poem The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock. And as I sit here in 2026 with my jeans turned up (as per the style of the thirtysomething urban millennial), well, I can relate. What has brought on this bout of contemplation? The latest TikTok craze. Loosely known as “Bring Back 2016”, it involves TikTokers urging their mostly gen Z audience to “live 2026 like it’s 2016” – complete with mannequin challenges, a Major Lazer soundtrack and the promise of never-ending summer. And it’s sure to get heads spinning quicker than the fidget spinners it’s resurrecting.Admittedly, most of the content is just plain silly: 2016 challenges and dances (the bottle flip, the dab); nostalgia for tech crazes (Pokémon Go an...

Politics

1 hour ago Golden Globes 2026 'exposed' as scandals 'plotted before ceremony', expert claims

EXCLUSIVE: The Golden Globes 2026 takes place tonight [11 January] but it's claimed any dramatic wardrobe malfunctions you see have actually been planned in advance

Science

1 hour ago Ice cold purification and sleeping bike riders: photos of the weekend

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Culture

2 h. ago Meghan Markle slapped with dire warning as she plots huge career move this year

The Duchess of Sussex has been busy reshaping her career as a lifestyle influencer with her brand As Ever and Netflix shows, but one expert has warned she could be making a huge mistake in 2026

Events

2 h. ago How to make penne all’arrabiata – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Arrabiata means angry, but this simple and delicious pasta dish is pure joyPasta all’arrabbiata is the perfect dish for January. Not only is it quick, vegan and made from ingredients you might conceivably have in the cupboard already, but the name, which means angry, could be said to suit my mood now that the last of the Christmas festivities are over. Happily, a big plate of rich, tomatoey pasta can always be relied upon to lift the spirits.Prep 5 min Cook 25 min Serves 2 Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Ending the war in Ukraine has more support than ever. So why is peace still not in sight? | Gwendolyn Sasse

The Paris declaration by the ‘coalition of the willing’ supports a nonexistent ceasefire that remains at the mercy of Russian intransigenceGwendolyn Sasse is director of the Centre for East European and International StudiesAn end to Russia’s war against Ukraine is still not in sight. The frequency of high-level meetings of Ukrainian, US and European representatives in recent weeks, as well as the intermittent US-Russia exchanges, have not changed this fundamental reality. There is no ceasefire in place, European and US military support is not confirmed and, most importantly, Russia does not want the war to end.The latest talks in Paris managed to bring 35 countries of the “coalition of the willing” together. The core objective was to advance the principle, and implementation, of security guarantees for a future ceasefire. The participation of the US alongside European leaders and a wider coalition of partners was noteworthy. However, the actual result remains vague.Gwendolyn Sasse ...

Events

2 h. ago Nobel Institute rejects María Corina Machado’s offer to share peace prize with Trump

Organisers clarify award ‘cannot be revoked, shared or transferred’ after Venezuelan opposition leader’s commentsThe organisers of the Nobel peace prize have said it “cannot be revoked, shared or transferred” after Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, said she wanted to give her award to Donald Trump.When Machado was named Nobel laureate in October, it was seen as a snub by the White House, despite Machado rushing to dedicate the prize to the US president and his “decisive support of our cause”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Defending champion Shaun Murphy handed Masters warning as Mark Selby prediction made

Shaun Murphy will begin the defence of his title against Wu Yize in the first round of the 2026 Masters at Alexandra Palace on Sunday afternoon

Events

2 h. ago Grand Prix ticket and hotel deals for F1 in 2026 to Monaco, Spain, Italy, Silverstone, Singapore and more

THE spectacular sights and sounds of a Formula 1 race – nothing comes close to the thrill of a live Grand Prix.  For motorsport fans around the world, the pilgrimage to Silverstone is a hallowed tradition.  F1 races in 2026 * Prices correct at time of writing but are subject to change. But a growing...

Sport

2 h. ago Family seeks answers after ICE deported man to Costa Rica in vegetative state

Exclusive: Before Randall Gamboa Esquivel died, his health had deteriorated badly while he was in ICE custodyCosta Rican family demands answers after ICE deportation and death: ‘Have you ever smelled a cadaver?’The family of a Costa Rican man who was deported from the United States in a vegetative state and died shortly after arriving back in his home country is still urgently seeking answers from the authorities about what happened to him while he was in detention.Randall Gamboa Esquivel had left Costa Rica in good health and crossed the United States-Mexico border in December 2024, according to his family. However, Gamboa was detained by the US authorities for re-entering American soil unlawfully, as he had previously lived there undocumented between 2002 and 2013. Continue reading...

Politics