11 m. ago Miss France contestant is forced to make grovelling apology as leaked video shows her calling her rivals 'w***es' after she missed out on final

Julie Zitouni, who is Miss Provence 2025, appeared in a video alongside Miss Aquitaine 2025, Ainhoa Lahitete, after Miss Tahiti, Hinaukopo Deveze, triumphed at the Miss France pageant.

Culture

12 m. ago Mutant 'superflu' outbreak: Schools shut down, London hospitalisations triple and people are told to wear masks as 100 cruise passengers are struck down with norovirus

Headteachers across the UK have warned escalating sickness rates are causing alarm with some even reducing singing in assemblies to cut the spread of illness.

Science

15 m. ago Zelenskyy meets European leaders in London for talks on ending Ukraine war

Ukraine’s president says latest discussions on peace proposals with US were ‘constructive, although not easy’See all our Ukraine war coverageVolodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting the leaders of the UK, France and Germany in London on Monday amid heavy pressure on Ukraine from the Trump administration to cede territory it currently holds in efforts to reach a quick conclusion to the war.The talks in London follow several days of negotiations between US and Ukrainian officials, which ended on Saturday without an apparent breakthrough and were characterised by the Ukrainian president as “constructive, although not easy”. Continue reading...

Politics

31 m. ago Santa Paws: Here are 21 pictures of adorable dogs in Christmas outfits

Edinburgh’s winter wonderland went to the dogs at the weekend.

Politics

34 m. ago Brits say ‘worst lurgy ever just won’t shift’ as nation hit by wave of illness in 2025

Health officials warned the NHS is bracing itself for an “unprecedent wave” of infections

Events

37 m. ago Eurostar Snow will return this month with winter ski trains to the Alps

Skiers can reach Val Thorens, Val d’Isère and Courchevel on the high-speed service through Lille

Politics

40 m. ago Jeffrey Epstein’s most powerful ally was silence | Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky

When abuse occurs, the first instinct is too often containment. We know this pattern because we have seen it ourselvesFor years, Jeffrey Epstein conjured a kind of grotesque fascination: the private island, the powerful friends, the whispered allegations. But focusing on the lurid details of his life and eventual death obscures the far more unsettling truth his case lays bare. Epstein’s story is not really about one man’s depravity. It is about a system – legal, cultural, and institutional – engineered to protect the powerful through silence. His crimes thrived not because they were hidden, but because the people who knew were coerced, encouraged, or more than willing to shut up.Silence was not incidental to Epstein’s success. It was central to it. And in this, he was hardly unique.Gretchen Carlson is a journalist, bestselling author and internationally recognized advocate for women’s rights. Julie Roginsky is a champion of women’s rights and political consultant. Carlson and Rogins...

Politics

40 m. ago My dream of jet set glamour has died – in a pleather chair full of other people's crumbs | Emma Beddington

The use of airport lounges is soaring, born of a desire to feel a bit special. The reality is we’re all going to end up crammed into the same awful, environmentally disastrous metal tubeThe New Yorker has published a deliciously fact-stuffed long read on the airport lounge: there are more than 3,500 worldwide, of which 37 are in Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. American Airlines opened the first in 1939 and called its VIP members “admirals”.There are almost more admirals than ordinary seamen now (a weird metaphor in an air travel context, yes; blame American Airlines). The “mostly low- and mid-tier” lounge network Priority Pass saw a 31% increase in usage last year, including me: my credit card came with this seemingly seductive perk. I was thrilled to join the global elite in what I imagined would be a cashmere and champagne cocoon, saved from the usual three hours (my husband is one of those travellers) crouched by a bin in the purgatorial wasteland of Manchester Terminal 3, nursi...

Events

40 m. ago Does Pete Hegseth even believe that war crimes exist? | Sidney Blumenthal

The US defense secretary’s belief that the military should not be held to account has been a defining factor in his careerPete Hegseth’s office is located on the third floor of the Pentagon, in the E ring, room 3E880, facing the Potomac River with a scenic view of the monuments and the Capitol. He posted a video on 5 September showing a new bronze plaque being affixed to his door reading: “Pete Hegseth Secretary of War.”His splendid new designation, not established by the Congress as required by law, was purely notional and performative, announced by Donald Trump in an executive order that carried no legal weight, but befitted Hegseth’s self-conceit as warrior-in-chief. He now had the title to go with the tattoos: the crusader cross; “Deus vult”, or “God wills it”, the crusader battle cry; the sniper rifle against the background of an American flag; and the cross and sword inspired by Matthew 10:34: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring...

Events

40 m. ago Why I am proud to be a part of the Guardian | Margaret Sullivan

I’ve found that many people I speak with trust the Guardian’s independent, mission-driven coverage of the news The Guardian has no billionaire or big corporate owner: funded by readers, our fierce independence is guaranteed. Please help us reach our year-end fundraising goalOn election day last month, I spent some time interviewing poll workers in New York City.When I introduced myself to one, I told her that I write a column for the Guardian and her immediate reply was “thank you”. I was a little taken aback: people don’t normally react that way to journalists. Trust in the news media is low, and Donald Trump’s unfair cries of “fake news” and his efforts to depict journalists as “enemies of the people” have taken their toll. Continue reading...

Politics

46 m. ago Angry Ginge reveals how much weight he lost on I'm A Celeb as he devours crisps and Red Bull

Angry Ginge has spoken out just hours after it was revealed that he had won the 2025 series of ITV's I'm A Celebrity, which came as a complete shock to the content creator

Politics

71 m. ago Footasylum discount codes for December 2025 – how to save 20% on bestsellers

We’ve got the latest Footasylum promo codes to help you save on top brands, from adidas and Nike to New Balance and more

Events

72 m. ago UK mortgage rates fall to lowest since September 2022; China’s trade surplus hits $1tn – business live

Trade data shows China’s exports topped forecasts in November, driven by a surge in shipments to non-US marketsBack in China, car sales have fallen for the second month running.Retail vehicle sales fell about 8% to 2.1 million units in November, according to data published by the China Passenger Car Association today. This shows a 22% slump in sales of gasoline cars, with new-energy vehicle sales rising 4.2% for the month.“Usually the trend at the end of the year is that the car market should get stronger and stronger from October. But the retail sales in November compared to previous years is unusual.”“Mortgage rates continue on the downward trend and November was particularly fruitful for fixed rate cuts.The re-pricing by lenders led to the average five-year fixed rate dropping below 5% for the first time in over two years and sits at its lowest point since before the ‘mini-Budget’ in September 2022, alongside its two-year counterpart. Continue reading...

Economics

77 m. ago ITV issues I'm a Celeb final votes as Angry Ginge's staggering win revealed

The Twitch streamer celebrated being crowned King of the 2025 Jungle

Politics

85 m. ago Major queues and travel chaos at Stansted airport with passengers missing flights

Scenes at Stansted aiport show huge queues and a chaotic atmosphere as passengers set off for winter breaks. Many have warned if you're travelling, you should arrive early to avoid missing your flight.

Events

90 m. ago Missing toddler Ben Needham's mum in tears as fresh footage could 'jog someone's memory'

Kerry Needham says "astonishing" AI video of her son left her in tears, and has been sharing details about the day her son went missing in a bid to 'jog someone's memory'

Events

93 m. ago Parents praise simple yet ‘genius’ Elf on the shelf idea that needs no preparation

A mum named Kelsey has been praised for the unique and clever day activity she sent her Elf on the Shelf on, which required no preparations and her kids loved

Politics

99 m. ago Gary Lineker scrapped from another BBC show as secret appearance ruined by TV bosses

Former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has been cut from a new BBC show

Culture

1 hour ago ‘I wanted to be one of them’: why Bring It On is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers paying tribute to their most loved comfort films is an ode to the 2000 teen classicThe opening sequence of Bring It On is – in a word – unapologetic. A dozen cheerleaders scream “I’m sexy, I’m cute, I’m popular to boot” in synchronicity – and I have yet to meet anyone (and I have tried) who has the willpower to look away.It’s certainly not an exaggeration to say I wanted to be one of them – that is, one of the Toros, Rancho Carne high school’s premier cheer squad. But, as a six-year-old watching in north London, I was a world away from the cornucopia of herkies, suggestive dance moves and hair flips of competitive cheerleading in San Diego. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Silenced by China, Hong Kong struggles to voice its grief over the Tai Po fire disaster | Antony Dapiran

The pain is visceral, but civil society, media and the creative community have been sent into retreat since the 2019 pro-democracy protestsAntony Dapiran is the author of two books on Hong Kong politics and protestWhite flowers at makeshift shrines and messages of support posted in a public square. A rainbow of folded paper cranes. Boxes of donated goods for the those in need. Hongkongers’ responses to the Tai Po fire disaster – in which at least 159 people have died and 31 are still unaccounted for – have, on the surface, resembled similar community expressions of solidarity last seen during the 2019 protests. But beneath the surface, Hong Kong civil society is struggling to respond to this latest collective trauma in a city that has deeply changed in the past five years.The cauterisation of Hong Kong’s civil society that has occurred under Beijing’s national security crackdown has meant that the types of grassroots activism that would traditionally have occurred in response to suc...

Events