They may lack Labour’s party machine, but Zack Polanski’s burgeoning popularity could have seismic consequences for British politics, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

Medicines watchdog says criminals are designing packaging and branding to look like legitimate product Organised crime gangs have begun manufacturing their own branded weight-loss drugs, designed to look like legitimate medicines, in what authorities warn is a significant threat. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the trend had only just emerged, leading them to conduct the largest single seizure of trafficked weight-loss drugs ever recorded by any global law enforcement agency. Continue reading...

Russell Crowe has a malevolent charm as the Nazi on trial in a compelling new film. His co-stars and director explain how they understood this monster – and the persistence of evil today

Last year, romance fraud rose 52% for over-55s in the UK. Victims often feel they’ve made a terrible mistake and are at fault – but really, they’ve been expertly groomed by criminals

Briefing paper warned proscription could also heighten Muslim-Jewish tensions and be seen as favouring Israel Ministers banned Palestine Action despite being told by their advisers it could “inadvertently enhance” the group’s profile, an official government document shows. The briefing paper was written three months before the proscription of the group, which was set up to take direct action to halt UK arms supplies to Israel. Continue reading...

Sports personalities including Martina Navratilova and the swimmer Sharron Davies sign letter condemning Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani’s death sentence

The failure by state governments to do anything about pollution means it has often been met with apathy. But at a rare protest anger and frustration were rife

Writer and author had testified, and won, at trial that the president had sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s Donald Trump asked the US supreme court on Monday to throw out a jury’s finding in a civil lawsuit that he sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll at a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s and later defamed her. Trump’s lawyers argued in a lengthy filing with the high court that allegations leading to the $5m verdict were “propped up” by a “series of indefensible evidentiary rulings” that allowed Carroll’s lawyers to present “highly inflammatory propensity evidence” against him. Continue reading...

Canada has lost its measles elimination status as vaccination rates have slipped below the 95% coverage rate needed to stop outbreaks Canada is no longer measles-free because of ongoing outbreaks, international health experts said on Monday, as childhood vaccination rates fall and the highly contagious virus spreads across North and South America. The loss of the country’s measles elimination status comes more than a year after the highly contagious virus started spreading. Continue reading...

In 60-40 tally, coalition of Democrats break from their party and vote with Republicans, enraging many in their caucus * US politics live – latest updates The Senate on Monday advanced a funding package that is expected to bring to a close the longest government shutdown in US history, after a coalition of Democrats broke from their party and voted with Republicans, in a move that has enraged many in their caucus. The procedural vote passed in a 60-40 tally, with seven Democrats and one independent joining all Republicans to advance a compromise deal that would fund most federal agencies through January. The Senate will now vote on the funding package itself, which would then need to go to the House for approval. The new agreement does not directly address the expiring tax credits for healthcare premiums, the issue at the center of the 40-day stalemate between Democrats and Republicans, though the Senate majority leader John Thune has promised a Senate vote later this year on the subsidies. Continue reading...

The Netflix film graphically highlights the importance phones bring to both work and home life, as well as their potential to wreak havoc on a global scale

As investor jitters grow, the loss-making ChatGPT firm’s vast spending commitments test the limits of Silicon Valley optimism

Whether you want boozy treats, foodie indulgence or crafty delights, we opened the doors of 26 Advent calendars to see which are worth the countdown

As the Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scott’s expand, and Blue Note eyes its arrival, proprietors say there’s an energy in the scene – but financial pressures remain

Influencers tend to give hair care advice based on vibes. We asked medical professionals

Sunday league team with over 1,800 top-flight appearances has contributed to feelgood factor in community

Products that fail fire safety checks, are counterfeit and breach laws protecting children targeted in raids in London

Thailand’s military chief suspended the peace agreement with neighbouring Cambodia after a landmine blast injured two Thai soldiers near the border Thailand has suspended the implementation of a peace agreement with neighbouring Cambodia after a landmine blast injured two Thai soldiers near the border, escalating tensions between the neighbours who clashed in July. US president Donald Trump helped broker a peace deal between the two southeast Asian nations, after a five-day border conflict. Both sides signed an expanded truce in Malaysia in October but on Monday Thailand’s armed forces chief said that had been halted. Continue reading...

Ron’s conspiracy theory deep dive is leavened by some touching moments. Plus, nightmarish horror It: Welcome to Derry continues. Here’s what to watch this evening

Black and Asian staff left feeling ‘deliberately intimidated’, according to chief executive of one NHS trust NHS staff who care for patients in their own homes fear some areas have become “no-go zones” for them because of the presence of St George’s flags, health leaders have said. Black and Asian staff have been left feeling “deliberately intimidated” as a result of the flags that were put up in many parts of England during the summer, according to the chief executive of one NHS trust in England, who asked to remain anonymous. Continue reading...

World’s biggest polluter on track to hit peak emissions target early but miss goal for cutting carbon intensity China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months, analysis reveals, adding evidence to the hope that the world’s biggest polluter has managed to hit its target of peak CO2 emissions well ahead of schedule. Rapid increases in the deployment of solar and wind power generation – which grew by 46% and 11% respectively in the third quarter of this year – meant the country’s energy sector emissions remained flat, even as the demand for electricity increased. Continue reading...

Industry body says shoppers are waiting for discount day, as Barclays reports falling consumer confidence Retailers suffered the slowest sales growth since May last month as shoppers were cautious in the run-up to expected budget tax rises and held out for Black Friday discounts. Sales rose 1.6% in October, a step down from 2.3% the month before, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and the advisory group KPMG. Continue reading...

Ahmed al-Sharaa and Donald Trump hold first White House summit between a US and Syrian leader since 1946 The US has announced a partial suspension of sanctions on Syria after a historic meeting in Washington DC between its new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Donald Trump. Monday’s meeting was the first summit between a US and Syrian leader at the White House since 1946. The meeting is part of a remarkable turnaround in US-Syrian relations after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, who had prosecuted a deadly civil war in the country from 2011 until his forces collapsed in December 2024. Continue reading...

The judges ‘had never read anything quite like it’, says panel chair Roddy Doyle, announcing the Hungarian-British author’s novel as the winner of the £50,000 award Hungarian-British author David Szalay has won the 2025 Booker prize for his novel Flesh. Szalay’s sixth work of fiction traces the life of one man, István, from his youth to midlife. The judges “had never read anything quite like it”, said panel chair Roddy Doyle, who won the prize in 1993. “It is, in many ways, a dark book, but it is a joy to read.” Continue reading...

Sami Hamdi’s visa was revoked in what appeared to be retaliation for criticism of Israel while touring the US The family of British political commentator Sami Hamdi, who was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in late October while on a speaking tour in the US, say he is set to be released and will be able to “return home soon”. “The government has agreed to release Sami,” the family said in a statement on Monday. “He will be able to return home soon insha’Allah.” Continue reading...