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Will Mohamed Salah still be a Liverpool player by the time Afcon concludes? John Duerden looks at the prospect of the Egyptian forward moving to Saudi.

Burkina Faso head coach Brama Traoré: “We are in Morocco to live up to our country’s reputation, and since our arrival we have focused on addressing the areas where we had shortcomings. We know that every team aims to win its first match in the tournament, and that is a legitimate objective for us as well.

Francisco Gaspar-Andrés died in El Paso hospital after being detained at Fort Bliss – his wife was deported to Guatemala without a chance to see him

A Guatemalan man has become the first person to die in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Fort Bliss army base in Texas. His wife of 25 years was deported from the same camp without a chance to see her dying husband.

Francisco Gaspar-Andrés, 48, died on 3 December at a hospital in El Paso, as Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates were ramping up demands that the camp be closed down amid allegations of inhumane conditions there. The DHS has said such allegations are “categorically false”.

The great Santa deception arguably breaches the ninth commandment (‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’). I think God would cut us some slack

When I was first ordained, an older priest gave me three commandments for a successful ministry: one, try not to upset the flower ladies; two, don’t preach pacifism on Remembrance Sunday; and, three – and most important – never tell children that Santa isn’t real.

If only someone had had that talk with RevDr Paul Chamberlain, who last Christmas reduced a classroom full of year 6 children to tears by telling them the truth: “It’s your mum and dad.” (I hope that doesn’t come as a shock to any of you.)

Ravi Holy is rector of the United Wye Benefice in Canterbury, Kent, and a standup comedian

Report recommends adoption of US-style punishment and rewards for most dangerous inmates

A long-awaited report that examined how the Manchester Arena plotter was able to carry out an alleged violent attack on prison officers has recommended a new punishment and rewards system for the most dangerous inmates, similar to that used in a US Supermax jail.

David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, is facing demands to publish the report, which looks into why Hashem Abedi, who was jailed for life for helping his brother carry out the 2017 bombing, was able to target staff at HMP Frankland with boiling oil and homemade weapons in a planned ambush.

While it struggles to hold up land advance, Kyiv eyes economic and political fronts to turn around fortunes

A depleted – but far from defeated Ukraine – looks to 2026 with few good military options, even though a critical €90bn (£79bn) loan from the EU has been agreed. The financing will help Kyiv to continue defending at its current intensity until late 2027, but it will not lead to a transformation of its battlefield prospects.

On land, the pattern of the last two years should, in the first instance, continue. Russia has held the initiative since 2024, but only gaining territory incrementally, largely because it constantly throws people into the “meat grinder” of the frontline. During 2025, Russian advances amounted to 176 sq miles a month to the end of November, but at an estimated cost of 382,000 killed and wounded.

US lifestyle entrepreneur joins Snoop Dogg and Luka Modric by making minority investment in the Welsh club

The American lifestyle personality Martha Stewart has become the latest celebrity to become a co-owner of Swansea City football club.

Stewart will join the rapper Snoop Dogg and the footballer Luka Modric as a minority owner of the Welsh club, which plays in the second tier of England’s football pyramid. The announcement was made in a post on the club’s website by two of its owners, Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen. The post did not disclose the size of the investment.

Five-time major champion looks poised to become a fascinating test case for golf’s future after exiting Saudi-funded breakaway tour

It was portrayed as amicable when it felt so inevitable. News that Brooks Koepka will step away from LIV Golf in 2026 comes as no shock. This never felt a particularly sensible alliance; an individual who craves glory at the top level and a disruption regime that has grasped for relevance with only varying degrees of success.

Koepka has looked unhappy in his professional domain for some time. He has all but admitted he would never have joined LIV but for fears over a potentially career-threatening injury. Golf’s ultimate alpha male was the captain of LIV’s Smash GC team. The whole thing always seemed preposterous.

Two of the couple’s children have said they are planning a memorial service for their parents, as further details are released about their cause of death earlier this month

New details have emerged about the deaths of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, whose bodies were discovered on Sunday 14 December in their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles.

Their death certificates have been released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, obtained by TMZ and reported by multiple US outlets. They record that Rob Reiner’s body was found at 15.45, and Singer Reiner’s at 15.46. The cause of death for both is given as “multiple sharp force injuries” with the circumstances described as “homicide” and “with knife, by another”.

From Sinners to F1 to Highest 2 Lowest, Guardian writers pick the scenes that stuck with them the most this year

Spoilers ahead

Disclosure: I covered auto racing for years and still follow Formula One skeptically. I definitely went into F1: The Movie knowing what I was in for, an answer to the hypothetical: what if the bougiest sport on God’s green earth was turned into a western? But you can’t help going along for the ride once Brad Pitt starts filling the frame with his blue-eyed winks, wry smiles and Butch Cassidy swagger. I should’ve been more indignant about this martinet sport making a literal hero out of the biggest rogue on the grid. But I left disbelief in parc fermé as Pitt’s Sonny Hayes bumped and nicked his way to the season finale at Abu Dhabi to much consternation before his wingman (Damson Idris) takes up the ticky tactics at Yas Marina circuit and winds up sacrificing himself and producer Lewis Hamilton (not again!) to help Sonny win his first race and thwart a hostile takeover of their fragile team. And when the lights went up at my desolate midday screening, it was just me still on the edge of my seat and my disbelief still firmly off track. Andrew Lawrence

Can Bill Nighy solve your life problems? Why are comedians moonlighting as detectives? And what happens when an AI steals your heart? This year’s most addictive podcasts …

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Americans are not paying high prices because of other western countries. Pharmaceutical companies are to blame

When Donald Trump spoke about drug prices on 19 December, he struck a familiar note. Americans, he said, were paying far too much for medicines – and it was everyone else’s fault.

There would be no talk of reining in private insurers or pharmaceutical profits. Instead, Trump blamed foreign governments for getting a better deal. Countries like France, Germany and Japan, he argued, were piggybacking on the United States by keeping their drug prices low.

Susi Geiger and Théo Bourgeron are the authors of Peak Pharma: Toward a New Political Economy of Health (Oxford University Press)

The Spin’s annual selection marks a history-making World Cup triumph for India, and work to do for England

India’s mission to build a global women’s cricket dynasty advanced apace in 2025. Few will forget the sight of Harmanpreet Kaur’s team converging joyously on the field at the DY Patil Stadium to celebrate a fairytale World Cup win that was five decades in the making.

That final was the highlight of a year that included only one Test match – the Ashes affair at Melbourne at the end of January. As ever, therefore, the Spin’s team of the year is cross-format, though we gave substantial weight to performances at crunch moments in the aforementioned World Cup.

Stonepeak will acquire 65% of lubricants business as part of wider plans for the oil company to pay down its debt

• Business live – latest updates

BP has agreed to sell a majority stake in its $10bn (£7.4bn) lubricants business Castrol to the US investment firm Stonepeak, as the new chair, Albert Manifold, rapidly reshapes the under-pressure oil and gas company.

Stonepeak will acquire a 65% stake in Castrol, in a deal that values the division at $10.1bn including its debt. The deal, in which BP will retain a 35% stake in the business through a joint venture, is expected to close at the end of next year, the company said on Wednesday.

Synthetic fabrics, particularly from fast fashion retailers, can be treated with a range of hazardous chemicals which can cause an allergic reaction. If you think this is happened to you, we’d like to hear from you

Have you suffered any personal health repercussions you suspect may have been caused by your fashion purchases?

Research has shown that synthetic fabrics, particularly from fast fashion retailers, are often treated with a range of hazardous chemicals - including dyes containing heavy metals such as lead, antimicrobial agents, and anti wrinkle treatments - that can cause allergic reactions such as skin irritation or respiratory issues in some people.

What prompted this change, and how has it affected you?

Are you bored of AI slop dominating news feeds? Fed up of “enshittification”? Tired out by “advice pollution”? Done with polarising content? Giving up social media and rediscovering the joy of boredom?

One study shows that time spent on social media peaked in 2022 and has gone into decline since then, according to an analysis conducted for the Financial Times by digital audience insights company GWI.

These gentle, hydrating toners impart the glassy look popularised by Korean skincare – and I can’t do without them

I wouldn’t say it was rare that the beauty industry invents a whole new product category, but my own willingness to adopt another step certainly is. Ten years ago, I’d have told you not to bother with toner unless you particularly enjoyed using it, which is as good a reason as any in a world on fire. And yet over the past couple of years, the new “milky toners” have, to me at least, become so functional as to be indispensable.

These are cloudy fluids, thicker than a toner but thinner than a moisturiser, usually containing gentle, universally skin-pleasing ingredients like glycerine, ceramides and peptides.

From a family showdown on Guitar Hero III to the winter levels in Diddy Kong Racing, the designers of some of today’s top titles recall the gifts and moments that lit up their childhoods

There is a viral video that tends to get passed around at this time of year. It’s an old home movie showing a boy and a girl on Christmas morning eagerly unwrapping a present that turns out to be an N64 console – the boy is, to put it mildly, extremely pleased. It’s a scene a lot of us who play games will recognise: the excitement and anticipation provided by that big console-sized parcel, or the little DVD-shaped package that could be the latest Super Mario adventure. Although I never got a games machine at Christmas, I remember one year being given Trivial Pursuit on the Commodore 64 and the whole family gathered around the TV to play. It was one of the few times my mum and my sisters showed any interest in the computer, and I loved getting them involved.

Veteran designer Rhod Broadbent of Dakko Dakko recalls the Christmas of 1992, when his father, a programmer who had previously looked down on games consoles, bought him Mario Kart and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. “Zelda was completely unknown to me at the time,” he recalls. “I think Dad was probably expecting me to be more excited. But after I had spent the morning in Mario Kart, I plugged in Zelda and everything changed. From the title music, through the intro and into that beautiful initial thunderstorm, everything was so polished and smooth and unlike the video games I’d played before. It didn’t leave the cartridge slot for weeks. I remember that Christmas morning like it was yesterday …”

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Is the Christmas shopping period more of a whimper than a bang for Britain’s retailers this year?

Shopper traffic yesterday remained “stubbornly muted”, according to the latest footfall data from Sensormatic Solutions, which shows that visits were 13.1% lower than a year ago.

“After an unsettled start to the festive period - defined by shaky consumer confidence and spending hesitancy – retailers will be left feeling frustrated that footfall remains stubbornly muted, after many were pinning their hopes on a surge in store traffic yesterday.”

“With consumers leaving purchases right up to the wire, some retailers have released Boxing Day deals early to try and unlock that, so far, elusive consumer spending.”

“What we’ve seen over the past week is a combination of position squaring in thin markets, after last week’s breakdown failed to gain traction, coupled with heightened geopolitical tensions, including the US blockade on Venezuela and supported by last night’s robust GDP data.”

As crowds attack newspaper offices and violence has killed 184 people, the optimism around Sheikh Hasina’s overthrow has dimmed

The sounds of a mob were already audible when Zyma Islam hit send on her article for Friday’s edition of Bangladesh’s Daily Star newspaper. She quickly headed out, hoping to avoid the crowd that had already burned down the offices of Prothom Alo, another of Bangladesh’s most prestigious newspapers. But when she reached the door, they were already there.

The rioters were angered by the assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent leader from the pro-democracy movement that unseated the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. Hadi’s killers were Hasina loyalists who had escaped to India, according to the authorities. The crowd that had rapidly gathered on the night of 18 December was ready to lash out at anyone they saw as linked to the previous government.

Film that follows a Milwaukee married couple as they rise to fame with a real-life band called Lightning and Thunder is undeniably entertaining

Here is a startlingly strange, undeniably entertaining true-life story from the heartland of American showbusiness; a lovable crowdpleaser whose feelgood flavour won’t prepare you for the way the plot repeatedly and savagely twists like an unsafe fairground ride. I actually had my eyes closed and mouth open at certain key points, and was grabbing the seat in front of me with both fists. It also may yet prove that, yes, Hugh Jackman really is the greatest showman (his role here is much more interesting than his bland impersonation of PT Barnum) and his co-star Kate Hudson brings just the same performance megawattage.

Mike and Claire Sardina, terrifically played by Jackman and Hudson, were a Milwaukee married couple with kids from previous relationships who in the 90s formed a cheesy Neil Diamond tribute act called Lightning and Thunder; they became a cult hit in their home state and even opened for Pearl Jam whose guitarist Eddie Vedder good-naturedly joined them on stage for an encore. But things were not easy for them, and this film broods on how tough it is when the lightning of ill fortune strikes more than once.

A thought-provoking examination of the literary stars who became Catholic – from Evelyn Waugh to Muriel Spark

In the five decades between 1910 and 1960, more than half a million people in England and Wales became Catholics. Among them were a clutch of literary stars: Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh, Muriel Spark and Graham Greene. But there was a whole host of poets, artists and public intellectuals less known to us today, whose “going over to Rome” provoked envy and dismay.

In this thoughtful though brisk book, Melanie McDonagh, a columnist for The Tablet, gives us 16 case histories of Britons who went “Poping” during the scariest decades of the 20th century. At a time when reason and decency appeared to have been chased out by political extremism and global warfare, it was only natural to long for something solid. Writing in 1925, Greene confided to his fiancee “one does want fearfully hard for something firm and hard and certain, however uncomfortable, to catch hold of in the general flux”.

Researchers share the easy ways to uncover moments of festive discovery, proving you don’t need a lab coat to experiment this Christmas

Christmas may seem like a time for switching off and suspending disbelief but there are plenty of ways to introduce a little science into the celebrations.

We asked experts for their top home experiments to challenge friends and family.

• Archer ruled out for rest of series with side strain

• Pope dropped for MCG Test with Bethell and Atkinson in

Ben Stokes has called for the public and the media to show “empathy” towards his embattled England players. It comes as their Ashes campaign threatens to fully unravel in response to a guaranteed series defeat and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-tour break in Noosa.

Sitting 3-0 down going into the Boxing Day Test, England have been hit by reports that their downtime in between the defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide was akin to a “stag do”. The emergence of footage appearing to show Ben Duckett drunk and slurring his words on a night out has heightened things.

Tributes paid to Alfie Hallett, 13, as police say suspect also died in incident believed to be domestic violence related

A 13-year-old British boy has died after being stabbed at his home in Portugal allegedly by the ex-partner of his mother.

The boy has been named locally as Alfie Hallett, with tributes paid on social media by the basketball team that he played for.