The American president’s sabre-rattling over Greenland should alert member states to the need for solidarity and a reset

European leaders, Sir Keir Starmer among them, will gather on Monday in Brussels to informally discuss defence and security issues five years after Britain left the EU. When the meeting was set last year, few expected US aggression toward a European nation to be on the agenda. But initial incredulity at Donald Trump’s bellicose claims on Greenland, a Danish territory, has been followed by shocked expressions of solidarity with Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen. A bullying 45-minute phone call between Mr Trump and Ms Frederiksen was described as “horrendous”.

So it begins. As Europe reacquaints itself with Mr Trump’s aggressive “America First” brand of diplomacy, further such provocations can be guaranteed. Fighting talk emanating from the White House will sometimes be a prelude to eventual compromise. But there can be no doubt that the challenges raised by the president’s second coming are substantial and wide-ranging.

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Few sights are as majestic as an 82-year-old legend being nonplussed at promoting Captain America: Brave New World. Plus: is Thunderbolts* Marvel’s answer to The Suicide Squad and will Tron: Ares be as good as it looks?

There are moments in life when you expect to be confronted by greatness: hearing a live orchestra swell into the opening notes of John Williams’ Star Wars theme; standing at the edge of the Scottish Highlands; watching a dog somehow open a fridge and retrieve a beer for its owner. And then there are moments when greatness sneaks up on you in the form of an 82-year-old Hollywood legend, materialising like a grumpy mirage, one metre from your face, during what you thought was a routine Disney presentation of new movies and TV shows.

Harrison Ford is not a man one simply stumbles upon. He is a force of nature, a living relic of an era when leading men didn’t have to spend six months on a chicken-and-rice diet before taking their shirts off. And yet, here he is, looking suitably nonplussed with the entire concept of being on a stage, fielding questions alongside his Captain America: Brave New World co-stars in an impromptu Q&A with all the enthusiasm of a guy who somehow finds himself trapped in the world’s most boring hostage video.

• India 181-9; England 166; India win by 15 runs
• Concussion replacement Harshit Rana takes key wickets

An appetising decider at the Wankhede on Sunday seemed likely. The hosts were 12 for three, stunned by a triple-wicket maiden by Saqib Mahmood, Jos Buttler finally on the right end of the toss. Three and a bit hours later the series belonged to India, England 3-1 down with one to play, a tinge of substitute controversy in there, too.

The saviours with the bat were Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube, the pair hitting 53 apiece to set an imposing target of 182. Dube was conked on the helmet during his knock, prompting a concussion replacement, with Harshit Rana coming in for his Twenty20 international debut. With Rana a far more significant bowling threat, this was hardly a like-for-like replacement, as the playing conditions demand.

Plan to tighten migration policy was brought by the opposition leader Friedrich Merz with the help of AfD

The German parliament has rejected a bill to tighten immigration controls brought by the frontrunner to be the next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, with the backing of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.

It came after a similar but non-binding motion was passed by parliament on Wednesday with the votes of the AfD, prompting a wave of protest from those who said it was a breach in Germany’s longstanding “firewall” between the far right and the mainstream.

Two-page document praises loyalty of Yang Tengbo and says he is ‘at very top of tree’ within Duke of York’s network

The full text of a gushing letter written by Prince Andrew’s adviser to alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo reveals how intimate the relationship between the two had become in the aftermath of the prince’s disastrous 2019 interview with the BBC.

Extracts from the correspondence were quoted in a judgment upholding a decision to exclude Yang from the UK last month, but the two-page letter written by Dominic Hampshire at the end of March 2020 is eye-catching for its tone.

• England captain expresses fears over paywall plans
• ‘Rugby needs more eyes on it, not less’

The England captain, Maro Itoje, has called for Six Nations organisers to keep the championship on free-to-air TV on the grounds that rugby union needs more exposure, amid fears the championship will disappear behind a paywall next season.

Itoje, who leads England for the first time in Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Ireland in Dublin, issued an impassioned plea, pointing to how he grew up watching the championship on the BBC and ITV.

European Central Bank picks two themes for redesign submissions: ‘iconic personalities’ or rivers and birds

He was a master of notes, and now the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven could be one of the faces of the redesigned euro, the first time the EU currency’s banknotes have been revamped.

In a process that started in 2021 and has already involved a public inquiry and two multidisciplinary advisory groups, the European Central Bank (ECB) has selected two themes for the redesign.

Music A-listers from Dr Dre to Olivia Rodrigo perform at fundraising extravaganza FireAid at neighboring LA arenas

Making my way through the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, it was clear that FireAid was set to be a different kind of musical extravaganza. Taking place simultaneously at both at the state-of-the-art arena (which opened in August) and the longtime city staple the Kia Forum, the roster, which included everyone from Joni Mitchell to Peso Pluma, was announced in the wake of the devastating fires that struck the area earlier this month and broadcast around the world to raise funds and awareness, the atmosphere before showtime was neither celebratory nor subdued, striking a delicate balance to coalesce over a common love for Los Angeles and its ongoing strife.

A red carpet where flashbulbs are usually popping was mostly quiet as a mouse, with photographers invariably checking their lenses; perhaps the stars in attendance knew it would be inept to have a fashion moment on such an occasion. Even inside the arena, the usual pre-concert buzz of boisterous mingling and drink sipping was missing.

Revered Helmet of Coțofenești among items from ancient Dacian civilisation stolen while on loan at Drents Museum

Hours before the sun rose over the Netherlands, the group crowded around the large external door, appearing to pry it open. Seconds later, the grainy security video appeared to show a powerful explosion, sending plumes of smoke and sparks into the air, and the thieves rush into the museum in the north-eastern city of Assen.

Minutes later they were gone. But the mystery of what exactly took place during their few minutes in the Drents Museum – and what came afterwards – has left officials in the Netherlands scrambling for answers, and prompted a row that has stretched to the other side of Europe.

The music mogul’s ‘freak offs’ allegedly involved kink, BDSM – and coercion. That’s not us, says the community

When music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in September on federal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, a narrative started to build: Diddy parties apparently extended far beyond his celebrated white parties, in which guests at the star-studded events donned white clothing and munched white food supposedly to represent simplicity and break down barriers.

Accounts soon emerged of other legendary Combs parties. Referred to as “freak offs”, these events allegedly involved group sex, kink, BDSM, public masturbation and plenty of baby oil – more than 1,000 bottles of the slippery stuff was found when officers raided Combs’s Los Angeles mansion.

(XO Music/Republic)
On a somewhat exhausting sixth album, Abel Tesfaye uses Brazilian funk, punishing house and lush 70s soul to press great songs into the service of rotten lyrics

It takes precisely 20 seconds for the Weeknd’s sixth album to imply that it might also be his last. “All I have is my legacy … I’m all alone when it fades to black,” Abel Tesfaye sings over a lush bed of synthesisers that quickly takes on the influence of 80s boogie. It’s a line that feels very on brand. Hurry Up Tomorrow’s release has been promoted with billboards declaring “THE END IS NEAR”, social media posts in which Tesfaye has inferred the album is the final “beautiful chapter” in his story and interviews during which he’s suggested that a 2022 incident in which he lost his voice on stage was some kind of cosmic message: “You can end it now … when is the right time to leave if not at your peak?”

It is perhaps worth noting that the same was true of his last album more-or-less: 2022’s Dawn FM was rich with end-times imagery, mentions of the afterlife and arrived accompanied by interviews in which Tesfaye announced his desire to “remove the Weeknd from the world”. A cynic might suggest that implying he’s about to retire – or at least retire the Weeknd persona that he has inhabited for the last 13 years – now seems part of his release strategy. In fairness, it feels a lot more explicit this time around. One theory is that Tesfaye is more interested in pursuing a career in film, something viewers of The Idol, the abysmal drama series he co-wrote and starred in in 2023, might consider less of a career move than a terrible threat.

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For those that don’t follow basketball in the US, there’s a legendary phrase coined by Grant Napear, the Sacramento Kings TV announcer: “If you don’t like that, you don’t like NBA basketball.” Roared into the mic with all the gusto of Big John ordering a takeaway, Napear would unload his trademark remark every time a Kings player made a brilliant play. Between 1998 and 2001, Napear nearly wore his phrase out watching Jason “White Chocolate” Williams – a small, harmless-looking six-footer out of a tiny West Virginia town with a heavy drawl – who had happened to have one of the biggest bags (skill-sets for you association football folks) in the game. But rather than hitting three-pointers or dunks, Williams was a master of something different. Assists were his business, and business was booming. Buttery bounce passes, alley-oops, behind-the-back, off-the-elbow, through-your-legs, what-the-heck-was-that dimes for his teammates, Williams had no equal. You don’t have to like NBA basketball to appreciate what is going on here.

Multiple football matches all kicking off at the same time in Europe this week? Whatever will they think of next? I hope the various football correspondents won’t all collapse in confusion at 3pm this Saturday. The final day of the season must be an absolute nightmare for the poor dears” – Tim Eveleigh.

Arguably the most satisfying thing about the Bigger Vase group phase was that the Nice guys did not finish last” – Peter Oh.

Max Maxwell winning letter o’ the day for his Shakespeare riffs (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). Rewarding such shenanigans sets a dangerous precedent. Max should be Bard” – Antony Train.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

• City face Real Madrid over two legs in February
• ‘We have tougher schedules for the teams in Europe’

Pep Guardiola could not hide his frustration with Manchester City’s fixture schedule in February after being handed a daunting two-legged Champions League playoff tie with Real Madrid.

City’s failure to qualify automatically for the last-16 of the Champions League means they have to face the current holders in order to reach that stage. City will host the first leg on 11 February before travelling to the Bernabéu on 19 February.

Shadow home secretary says fact 9 million people are out of work shows Britain must ‘up our game’

One of Kemi Badenoch’s senior team has been accused of “real brass neck” after saying Britain needed a better work ethic.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said there were 9 million working-age people not in work and Britain needed to “lift our game and to up our game”.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels are seizing control of areas within the DRC. This will only escalate unless western governments act

As if this world needs more bloodshed, here comes another major war knocking on the door of the crumbling international order. This week’s ferocious assault and capture of the largest city in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by rebels backed by troops from its tiny neighbour, Rwanda, marks an escalation with far reaching consequences beyond Africa. It also exposes the complacency of western governments, who many Congolese accuse of paving the way for this crisis.

The rebellion, known as the M23, has been snowballing since 2021. In recent months, M23 seized swathes of territory as it encircled Goma, a city nestled below a group of volcanoes facing the Rwandan border. This week, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, called for Rwanda to stop supporting M23 and to remove its troops from Congolese territory, adding that the conflict had inflicted a “devastating toll” on civilians, millions of whom need aid. In DRC’s capital, Kinshasa, angry protesters lit fires and attacked the Rwandan, French and US embassies.

Dino Mahtani is an independent researcher and writer

This brash debut with Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher is slickly made but it’s not as clever or original as it thinks it is

Imagine, if you will, a skewed sci-fi reality that envisions a Black Mirror episode but for an entire movie? Can you even begin to grasp what that would look like? Maybe you can if in the last few years you’ve seen Foe or Fingernails or Don’t Worry Darling or Swan Song or Love Me or The Pod Generation or The Substance or Possessor or any one of the many attempts to recall the magic of at least some of the sci-fi anthology’s earlier episodes. It’s not as if the Charlie Brooker-created series was the first to spin “what if?” nightmares from the dangers of tech but its stickiness has had a noticeable effect on younger creators eager to Say Something about the times we live in.

Companion, a wink-wink pre-Valentine’s sci-fi comedy, is not just part of that trend but also belongs at the back of the long line of post-Get Out social thrillers, standing behind Fresh and Blink Twice, using an outlandish conceit to comment on something we’re all too aware of. The film, from the first-time writer-director Drew Hancock, is an attempt to skewer a certain, familiar type of shitty guy whose outward nice bro persona betrays a corroded and controlling core. He’s played by Jack Quaid, son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid, who has cleverly turned his handsome and charming nepo baby privilege into something ultimately petulant and pathetic. It worked well as one of the Reddit-pilled killers in Scream 5 and works well here too, even if his character feels a little under-baked.

Trump’s meme coin has some conservatives complaining over ‘most blatant ponzi scheme in history’

When Donald Trump announced – three days before assuming the presidency of the United States, and followed shortly by Melania Trump – that he was launching a self-named “meme coin” cryptocurrency, many in the crypto industry were quick to express frustration. Ethics experts were also alarmed.

Among Trump’s base, however, a similar backlash – smaller, more muted, but similarly anguished – has been taking hold.

An adventure in Scandinavian baking, from starter to finish

In Scandinavia, people are crazy about cardamom buns. They’re usually much drier than I’d like, and after much testing I’ve found that the secret to making a much moister bun is underproofing the dough. Normally, baking something that’s underproofed is nothing but disappointing, but in this instance it’s the way to go. A slightly underproofed centre lets the dough hold on to that sticky, gooey texture you want in a cardamom (or cinnamon) bun.

This is an edited extract from Bread, by Richard Hart, published by Hardie Grant at £28. To order a copy, go to guardianbookshop.com

A demographic change is unfolding, and many of us can expect a long life. It’s time to provide the support needed

At the age of 111, a British accountant named John Tinniswood has just been declared the oldest man alive. Asked for the secrets to his remarkable longevity, he mentioned his fondness for a plate of fish and chips every Friday. Mostly, he thought it was down to “pure luck”.

When Tinniswood was born in Liverpool in 1912, the idea of living to 111 would have struck his parents as fanciful, if not absurd. The average life expectancy of a British male then was 52 years.

Andrew J Scott is Professor of Economics at London Business School and author of The Longevity Imperative : Building a Better Society for Healthier, Longer Lives, Basic Books, 2024.

Messaging app said it had ‘high confidence’ some users were targeted and ‘possibly compromised’ by Paragon Solutions spyware

Nearly 100 journalists and other members of civil society using WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Meta, were targeted by spyware owned by Paragon Solutions, an Israeli maker of hacking software, the company alleged on Friday.

The journalists and other civil society members were being alerted of a possible breach of their devices, with WhatsApp telling the Guardian it had “high confidence” that the 90 users in question had been targeted and “possibly compromised”.

If China has done to Sam Altman what his OpenAI has been accused of doing to creatives, it would take a heart of stone not to laugh

I once saw an episode of America’s Dumbest Criminals where a man called the cops to report his car stolen, only for it to turn out he’d stolen it from someone else in the first place. I couldn’t help thinking of him this week while watching OpenAI’s Sam Altman wet his pants about the fact that a Chinese hedge fund might have made unauthorised use of his own chatbot models, including ChatGPT, to train its new little side project. This is the cheaper, more open, extremely share-price-slashing DeepSeek.

As news of DeepSeek played havoc with the tech stock market, OpenAI pressed its hanky to its nose and released a statement: “We are aware of and reviewing indications that DeepSeek may have inappropriately distilled our models, and will share information as we know more,” this ran. “We take aggressive, proactive countermeasures to protect our technology.” Oooooooooh! I want to say “welcome to America’s Dumbest Tech Barons”, except I can’t, because I think we all know that no law enforcement is coming to get Sam for the stuff he’s alleged to have made unauthorised use of first. That was the good type of alleged theft, whatever the claims of all the lawsuits belatedly trying to claw something back for the alleged copyright victims of his firm’s own inappropriate methods.

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist

The Guardian’s reporter in the territory describes the journey back to see what might remain of their prewar lives

When the ceasefire came, there was a moment of relief that we had escaped death, although we still carry the sadness and pain of everything lost in those 15 months.

Palestinians know that there are still more battles ahead, they have to keep fighting, in a war of daily suffering – the fight for water, for a loaf of bread – and a war against memories, that bring pain to the heart and madness to the mind.

With nominations led by Beyoncé and Charli xcx, the event will serve a dual-purpose by acknowledging the devastating wildfires in California

• Grammy awards 2025: list of nominees

A “very different” Grammy awards will take place in Los Angeles this weekend, impacted by the recent wildfires that have affected California.

The annual celebration of music, taking place at the Crypto.com arena on Sunday, will still feature a range of big-name performers but there will be a noticeable shift in purpose.

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

• Warning: graphic content