The Best of Culture
Our culture and lifestyle editor looks back at the year’s top pop culture moments.
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‘My target was just to take the gun’: wounded hero Ahmed al-Ahmed speaks of saving lives at Bondi beach
‘I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost,’ Ahmed tells CBS News of those who died on 14 DecemberGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAhmed al-Ahmed, who disarmed one of the Bondi gunmen before being shot five times, says he knows his bravery saved many lives but is sad for those who were killed in the attack.In an interview with CBS News, Ahmed said he “didn’t worry about anything” except for the lives he could save as he disarmed Sajid Akram on 14 December. The act was caught on camera and shared around the world. Continue reading...
The World Wants More Ube. Philippine Farmers Are Struggling to Keep Up.
Soaring demand and extreme weather worsened by climate change have wiped out harvests of the popular purple yam.
With Critical Decisions Ahead, Netanyahu Faces Mounting Pressure
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has a series of vexing choices to make in the year ahead on issues including Gaza, conscription and a judicial overhaul, with elections looming.
Freemasons seek injunction against Met policy requiring officers to declare membership
Exclusive: Organisation accuses Sir Mark Rowley of religious discrimination and ‘whipping up conspiracy theories’Freemasons have demanded an emergency injunction from the high court to halt the Metropolitan police’s new policy that orders officers to tell their bosses if they are members of the organisation.The Freemasons filed papers in London on Christmas Eve and claim the Met’s policy amounts to “religious discrimination” against Freemasons who are also police officers. Continue reading...
New series of The Traitors is really, really brutal, says Claudia Winkleman
After the huge success of the celebrity version the producers added a twist – and host says it all gets ‘hardcore’With its cloak and dagger plots and gripping finale, The Celebrity Traitors became the biggest show of 2025 in the UK – but the new series of the regular version is even more brutal, the host Claudia Winkleman has said.And as Kate Garraway might put it, audiences are set to be flabbergasted by a new twist that the producers say has been introduced to “change the conversation” around the regular version of the hit reality gameshow when it returns for its fourth series on 1 January. Continue reading...
More than 300 earthquakes recorded in UK this year, study finds
Western Highlands and southern Wales among most active regions, according to British Geological SurveyMore than 300 earthquakes have been recorded in the UK this year, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS).Among the most active regions to experience quakes were Perthshire and the western Highlands in Scotland, southern parts of Wales, and Yorkshire and Lancashire in England, the BGS data shows. Continue reading...
Search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 expected to resume on Tuesday
Marine robotics firm to renew its search more than decade after plane disappeared with 239 people onboardThe search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is expected to resume on 30 December, more than a decade after the plane disappeared with 239 people onboard in one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.A renewed search by Ocean Infinity, a UK and US-based marine robotics company, had begun earlier this year but was called off in April because of bad weather. Continue reading...
Gambling firms spent nearly £5m to advertise on TfL since London mayor’s ban pledge
Sadiq Khan’s office blames delay on lack of government guidance on links between gambling ads and harmGambling companies have spent nearly £5m to advertise on the London transport network since Sadiq Khan pledged to stop them from doing so, amid a prolonged impasse between the mayor’s office and the government.Khan said during his 2021 mayoral election campaign that he would order Transport for London (TfL) to extend a ban on junk food ads to cover online casinos and bookmakers as well, citing the “devastating” impact of addiction. Continue reading...
Fire at Indonesia retirement home kills 16 people
Police say the fire at the Werdha Damai retirement home in the city of Manado killed 16 and wounded three others.