The voting for Parliament is almost sure to favor the ruling military junta, which is stage-managing the polls. Still, some see them as the most pragmatic way to try to improve conditions.

Many details of the Jeju Air disaster that killed 179 people remain unclear despite multiple investigations by officials and protests by the victims’ families.

© Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

As the year drew to a close, we reached out to Opinion columnists and contributors for personal lists.

Amid a ruinous civil war, the military government is holding elections that are widely seen as a sham, as the main opposition remains barred or jailed.

© Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

To the designers of film posters, I suppose it looks cleverly exotic – but there are 250 million readers of Cyrillic globally, and its misuse grinds our gears

One of the worst bugbears to possess is one that is shared by hardly anyone else. It’s lonely being the only person who cares about something. It’s even lonelier when the thing you care about makes you want to stamp your feet, tear your hair out and run naked into the streets while making the face of Edvard Munch’s The Scream. And so it is for me whenever I see a film poster, headline, book cover or screen caption featuring the incorrect use of the Cyrillic alphabet.

You might think this is a niche preoccupation. But you would be surprised how many times the name of “STДLIN” pops up in poster designs, supposedly representing “STALIN”. This phenomenon annoys me most when the entity depicted is not fictional. If you write the (nonexistent-in-any-language) word “STДLIN” instead of “STALIN” you are writing “STDLIN”. Which would be fine if you were attempting some kind of wordplay comparing the impact of the one-time Soviet leader to a sexually transmitted disease. But clever wordplay is not the intention of these designs. The intention of the incorrect use of the Cyrillic alphabet is to indicate one thing and one thing alone: “This is about something that is happening east of Warsaw! It is probably connected to the former Soviet Union! It should give you a frisson of creepy exoticism!”

Viv Groskop is a comedian and author of One Ukrainian Summer

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© Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

Balkan country will become 21st country to adopt EU currency, with policymakers hoping move will boost economy

Bulgaria is preparing to adopt the euro in January amid fresh domestic political turbulence and fears that Russia-aligned disinformation is deepening distrust of the new currency.

The Balkan country of 6.5 million people will become the 21st country to join the eurozone on 1 January, as policymakers in Brussels and Sofia hope it will boost the economy of the EU’s poorest nation and cement its pro-western trajectory.

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© Photograph: Dimitar Kyosemarliev/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Dimitar Kyosemarliev/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Dimitar Kyosemarliev/AFP/Getty Images

It might seem like all gains for her and all losses for you, but it’s really the start of an exciting new chapter in your relationship

I am a single mum to an 18-year-old daughter. It has always been just us two, and we have a very open, supportive, healthy relationship.

She is going away to university in the new year and has recently developed a new friendship group I know less well than her old friends. They all seem friendly, look out for each other, and don’t let anyone go home on their own, etc. At first, I found her being out late with her friends particularly worrying. It took me a few days to get used to this new part of life, but we talked and I got across to her that it’s purely me worrying about her safety – I think she felt I was annoyed with her. I just worry, though I really appreciate that she keeps me informed of where she is, and I know many 18-year-olds wouldn’t be so open.

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© Illustration: Alex Mellon/The Guardian

© Illustration: Alex Mellon/The Guardian

© Illustration: Alex Mellon/The Guardian

Do hot baths improve endurance? Will creatine bolster your brain power? Does pickle juice prevent cramp? Here’s what we learned about living well this year

The best advice for living a healthy, well-adjusted life – eat your vegetables, get a good night’s sleep, politely decline when the Jägerbombs appear – never really changes. Other nuggets, such as how much protein you should be eating or how to maximise workouts, seem to change every year. But as we wonder whether we should really give sauerkraut another go, science marches on, making tiny strides towards improving our understanding of what’s helpful. Here’s what you might have missed in the research this year, from the best reason to eat beetroot, to how to ruin your five-a-side performance before the game even starts. There’s still time to break out the pickle juice shots before 2026 …

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© Illustration: Dominic McKenzie/The Guardian

© Illustration: Dominic McKenzie/The Guardian

© Illustration: Dominic McKenzie/The Guardian

The search was continuing on Sunday morning, Fathur Rahman, mission coordinator for Indonesia's search and rescue agency in the area, told Reuters.

He made his return a triumphant one. And an impressive one. 

Demographers warn new births to hit lowest level since records began in 1899 as population crisis deepens

"Some of you clowns are just insufferable."

A luxury expedition vessel has struck a coral reef off Papua New Guinea’s coast in the latest setback for the troubled cruise operator, still reeling from a passenger’s tragic death.

McLaughlin was reacting to a minute-long video that appears to show Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran illegal immigrant who became a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, filming himself lip-syncing to a song in Spanish. 

First, tech companies usurped the meaning of ‘friends’ and ‘connection’ — now they are coming for ‘companionship’

Volunteering has declined along with religion — it needs a revival

UK lender is latest major bank to retreat from sector in pivot towards lucrative corporate clients

Rate of increase in output expected to slow despite Berlin’s fiscal push, FT survey finds

Exploration falls to lowest level since oil and gas were discovered in UK basin 60 years ago

Jakarta and its sprawling environs’ 42mn inhabitants are now the most populous conurbation, according to the UN

Tariff deals with the US have bought time but investment momentum is elsewhere

Opposition hopes to tap into frustrations of people living in country where conflict remains a daily reality

Central African Republic goes to the polls on Sunday with the president, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, seeking a third term.

As many as 2.3 million registered voters will cast ballots for what observers are calling a quadruple election: votes for the presidency and parliament as well as local and municipal offices.

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© Photograph: Annela Niamolo/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Annela Niamolo/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Annela Niamolo/AFP/Getty Images

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY, demanded Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz be "held accountable."

He deserved better, as he has many times this season.