32 m. ago Thousands ring in 2026 – after a year like no other in Manchester

The characteristic Mancunian rain held off for one night so our city, rocked by heartbreak in 2025, could start a new year in hope

Sport

33 m. ago How to watch Brentford vs Tottenham: TV channel and live stream for Premier League today

Thomas Frank back at his old club as Spurs bid to start 2026 on a high

Politics

45 m. ago Essential hygiene habit to do every day in 2026 but most people skip it

Lots of people plan to implement new health and wellbeing habits throughout the new year, with one hygiene habit commonly missed - even though it should be done every day

Politics

49 m. ago How to watch Liverpool vs Leeds: TV channel and live stream for Premier League today

Reds bid to continue good form with winning start to 2026

Politics

49 m. ago What's ahead in 2026: Flying taxis, key elections, and going round the Moon

From key elections and major sporting events through to technological breakthroughs and natural wonders, there is a lot in store in 2026

Politics

50 m. ago When racists shout ‘Go home’, and you come from 15 places, what to do? | Hugh Muir

A DNA test showed me that theoretically I have links to a long list of countries – and that the way we look at belonging makes little senseWhile accepting that David Lammy, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary is, for many, the human embodiment of Marmite – loved or hated, with not much in between – one can still question whether, for all his faults, he should “go home to the Caribbean”. Whether you agree with him over this or that utterance or the broad sweep of government policy, he has, unquestionably made his contribution to Tottenham, in north London, whose people he has represented for a quarter of a century, to parliament, as a senior MP, as foreign secretary and now as an important figure with several key portfolios.So when a lieutenant of Nigel Farage, admittedly no fan of Lammy’s, suggests, without notable contradiction or condemnation from Reform, that Lammy “should go home to the Caribbean”, one is tempted to look at that askance. But then, in the year just pa...

Politics

50 m. ago Doomed lovers, high heels and The Odyssey: films to get excited about in 2026

Margot Robbie busts her corset in Wuthering Heights, the Devil Wears Prada sequel goes fashionably to war, and Christopher Nolan brings us a Greek epic. Plus much more in our pick of the best films coming to UK cinemas this year• More from the 2026 culture previewJessie Buckley may need to hire a carpenter for the silverware-cabinet she is expected to need for her hugely admired performance in the film based on the Maggie O’Farrell novel. She plays Anne (or Agnes) Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, grieving the terrible loss of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, in 1596, which the story imagines to be a spur to the creation of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Paul Mescal plays Shakespeare and Emily Watson his mother, Mary. • 9 January. Continue reading...

Politics

50 m. ago ‘It’s a matter of time before a farmer is seriously injured’: on the trail of hare coursers in Wiltshire

Police show the Guardian around hotspots for a rural crime that has links to international gangs – and is on the riseA cold, bright afternoon in the Vale of Pewsey and a couple of brown hares were nibbling away in a field of winter barley. It was a tranquil scene in this tucked-away corner of the English West Country but tyre tracks cutting through the crop were a sign of the violence that takes place when night falls.This is one of the hotspots in Wiltshire for hare coursing, in which criminal gangs set dogs – usually greyhounds or lurchers – on the mammals. Continue reading...

Events

50 m. ago Where to buy in 2026: four London areas on the up with new homes, regeneration and house price growth

Under-the-radar London areas set to outperform in 2026 and beyond

Society

50 m. ago Voices: How do I stick to my new year’s resolutions without feeling like a failure?

The Independent’s agony aunt Victoria Richards is here to help. Email dearvix@independent.co.uk for advice on love, work, family and relationships

Events

50 m. ago Scottie Scheffler's Grand Slam, Tiger Woods to return and a huge year for LIV Golf in 2026

After Rory McIlroy won the Masters and Europe retained the Ryder Cup in 2025, here are the potentially big stories in golf this year

Politics

83 m. ago New Year's Eve live: New year arrives in New York City as the world continues to usher in 2026

New Year's Eve live: New year arrives in New York City as the world continues to usher in 2026  BBC

Politics

88 m. ago New Year’s Eve live: US begins to enter 2026 as clock strikes midnight on east coast

Join our live coverage as we cross the globe to enter the new yearSydney is the self-appointed “world capital of new year’s eve” and arguably rightly so. As always, eyes will be on the Opera House at 13:00 GMT when fireworks will light up the sky in spectacular fashion. But there are also huge crowds out in Melbourne to see off the year in style.Thousands of people are expected to descend on Melbourne this evening to celebrate NYE. There will be two 7 minute firework displays and light shows tonight, first a family one at 9.30pm for young children, and the main one at the stroke of midnight. Continue reading...

Events

92 m. ago Key money changes in 2026 including deadlines, dates and new tax rises

The new year brings a slate of new laws, deadlines and changes affecting household budgets

Economics

1 hour ago Seven 'red list' destinations Brits should not travel to in 2026

There are seven destination on the No List that holidaymakers should avoid in 2026, according to one travel publication

Politics

1 hour ago Brits urged against treating one January challenge like a 'crash diet' in 2026

A doctor warns that treating Dry January like a crash diet provides little long-term health benefit

Events

1 hour ago Australian man reportedly killed fighting with Ukrainian forces against Russia

Australia’s foreign affairs department seeking to verify reported death of Russell Allan Wilson on 12 DecemberGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe department of foreign affairs is trying to confirm the death of an Australian man who was reportedly killed while fighting with Ukrainian forces against Russia last month.According to multiple posts on social media, Russell Allan Wilson was killed on 12 December in the Donetsk region. The ABC reported that a friend of Wilson said he was killed during his final mission, and had been due to be married the week after his death. Continue reading...

Events

1 hour ago Horoscope today: Your daily guide for Thursday, January 1, 2026

Read what the stars mean for you today, from Capricorn to Gemini

Politics

1 hour ago Cecilia Giménez’s botched Monkey Christ became a global meme. The real marvel was the humble, graceful woman behind it | Sam Jones

The restorer, who died on Monday, brought unwanted attention to herself – and her small Spanish town. Then, slowly, a small miracle took placeVery few of us find fame quite as late, or quite as brutally, as Cecilia Giménez did in the summer of 2012. The Spanish amateur artist was already 81 when her efforts to restore a decent, if unremarkable, fresco of the scourged Christ brought her a renown that almost destroyed her.Almost overnight, Giménez, who died on Monday at the age of 94, was stripped of her quiet existence in the north-eastern Spanish town of Borja, and recast as the well-meaning and unwitting creator of what would become known around the English-speaking world as Monkey Christ. In Spain, the meme phenomenon was dubbed Ecce Mono (Behold the Monkey), a play on the painting’s Latin title Ecce Homo (Behold the Man).Sam Jones is Madrid correspondent for the Guardian Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago World is in better place than when Eden Project created 25 years ago, founder says

Tim Smit also says extreme political views will fade when people realise good things around the cornerSir Tim Smit says the world is in a better place than it was when he co-founded the Eden Project 25 years ago and he believes people are more attuned to the natural world.Speaking as the project in Cornwall reaches its 25th anniversary, Smit describedextreme political views as the “roar” of people fearful that they cannot control the future but he said they would fade when people realised that good things were around the corner. Continue reading...

Politics