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I was shaken out of my musical apathy by the rapper, whose video channel shows him listening to others’ tracks for the first timeThroughout the pandemic, I, like many others, found myself turning to familiar music I listened to as a teenager, seeking comfort in 2000s nostalgia playlists and the hollow, monotonous “landfill indie” of the 2010s. It wasn’t that I especially enjoyed listening to music that I’d last heard on student nights at bad nightclubs in York, or that they marked a particularly happy period of my life. Instead, I returned to these playlists because I found myself unable to listen to new music.Initially, I blamed this on Spotify. It’s well documented that the platform’s recommendation algorithms are less likely to introduce you to new, interesting genres of music than to recommend songs that sound similar to your favourites – producing an endless feedback loop, where music is not something to be enjoyed and shared, but rather a way to fill silences with constant background noise. I was listening to more music than ever, but appreciating barely any of it.

Antonio Horta-Osório flew in from Switzerland in July without isolating for 10 days, as was required

A startling 488,000 cases were reported Wednesday, but even that figure is likely an undercount of the true numberThe United States set a new record for daily infections of Covid-19 after reporting almost half a million positive cases as the surge of the Omicron variant spreads across the country.On Wednesday there were a startling 488,000 cases of the virus in the US, according to a New York Times database. However, even that figure is likely a serious undercount of the true numbers of positive cases due to the rising popularity of home tests and people who are infected but asymptomatic.The Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

Analysis: Lack of affordability for first-time buyers means last year’s stellar price rises are unlikely to be repeatedIf Boris Johnson wants to know why the Conservative party struggles to win the support of young voters in London he could start by looking at the annual report on the housing market from the Nationwide.There is no single reason for the government’s unpopularity among people in their 20s and 30s in the capital, but housing is clearly a factor, and the current state of the market shows why. Without a top salary or generous parents, homeownership is all but impossible. Continue reading...

Eike Schmidt says it is also crucial to highlight issues of today rather than simply glorifying artistsThe world-famous Uffizi gallery in Florence displays an unrivalled collection of works by Renaissance greats including Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael. However, its director believes that is not enough, and says it is now crucial for museums to play a role in highlighting the issues of today and confront the “toxic social structures” of the past rather than simply glorifying its artists.Eike Schmidt, the director of Uffizi Galleries since 2015, has a reputation for modernisation and in a dramatic shift from the norm, he hosted an exhibition before Christmas aimed at reflecting the violence women have suffered at the hands of male perpetrators – beginning with one of the greatest sculptors of the 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Continue reading...

About 1,000 people, mostly Kurds, are waiting at a converted customs centre in Bruzgi for the chance to cross into EUThe giant warehouse towers over the Belarus countryside, less than a mile from the Polish border. In this 10,000 sq metre space patrolled by dozens of armed soldiers, 1,000 asylum seekers are crammed among countless industrial shelving units, held up on their way to Europe in the midst of a frigid winter.“We’re trapped in this building,” says Alima Skandar, 40. “We don’t want to go back to Iraq and we can’t cross the border. Please, help us.” Continue reading...

For 16 years, on and off, I was held at Her Majesty’s pleasure. It was the struggles and loss of a friend on the outside that made me realise how powerless I wasI am sure those who know my backstory of criminality imagine – reasonably – that the toughest times of my life were while I was a guest of Her Majesty, who kindly gave me full board and lodgings for 16 years, on and off, during the first six decades of my existence. And they are half right.My first taste of her hospitality came in 1957 when, at 14, I was ordered to spend three months in a detention centre. Then a relatively new concept, these were designed to give miscreants a “short, sharp shock” that would teach us to stay on the straight and narrow. Continue reading...

As the traditional dance is increasingly associated with nightclub culture, Amie Sultan seeks to change perceptions of the artform and those who perform itAs a trickle of tourists slowly returns to Egypt, the floating nightclubs along the Nile are back in business.And belly dancers are once again in high demand. The glitzy late-night shows attract visitors from all over the world, and especially from the Gulf’s Arab states, with dancers in revealing outfits performing with full traditional musical backing. Continue reading...

Egyptian singer Amr Diab uses camera installed in car to take photo of woman without consentThe French car manufacturer Citroën has withdrawn an advertisement featuring the Egyptian singer Amr Diab after it sparked widespread accusations of promoting the harassment of women.In the ad posted on Egyptian social media in early December, the 60-year-old pop star uses a camera installed in the car’s rearview mirror to secretly take a picture of a woman crossing in front of the vehicle. Continue reading...

Ride-hailing firm’s operating losses hit $6.3bn as Chinese regulators pursue customer-data inquiryThe Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Global has reported widening losses and a decline in third-quarter revenue, after its domestic business took a hit from a regulatory crackdown by Beijing.The company said operating losses hit $6.3bn (£4.68bn) in the nine months to the end of September, while revenue fell nearly 2% in its third quarter. Continue reading...

Scott Morrison calls for a ‘reset’ as a record 21,000 new cases are reported nationwide

I had refused to accept my PTSD had returned. But on a flight to Budapest it became impossible to ignoreIt is hard to pinpoint the worst moment of your life. But when I think about my lowest ebb, a certain image begins to solidify: me, lying in the gangway of a plane, the cabin crew administering oxygen via a canister and a mask as we descend to Budapest airport and other passengers look on (bemused or horrified, I couldn’t say). A couple of minutes previously, a fog had descended on me as I sat in the seat next to my boyfriend; peculiar black clouds coalesced at the margins of my vision. I was passing out. “I need to lie down,” I said, with some urgency. “I need to lie down, now.”Why does this image stand out? I suppose it is because, ultimately, it is about denial – and the point at which that stops being possible. The thing I didn’t want to know was that I was ill. Again. I had no business being on a plane. I had only been able to get on the plane at all as a result of the large white wine and two co-codamol tablets I had necked at the airport. It was no doubt the chemical effects of these that led to me almost blacking out. That and the fact I had been hyperventilating for the duration of the flight. Continue reading...

We went for walks, marvelled at the views, saw baby eagles and had a lot of sex. But as the proprietor of the guest house could tell, not all was well between usBack in 2008, I lived in New York. I wasn’t a total stranger to North American winters – my stepmother is from Michigan, and the one and only time she persuaded me to go on a family sledging outing I was so cold I bailed and went back to sit in the car, like the moody teenager I most definitely was. But I’d never been on the continent for an entire winter. I bought a gigantic army surplus parka and resigned myself to months of wading through freezing slush, alternated with sitting in my studio apartment at night with the windows open because the ancient radiators had one setting: on. That was until I read an article in the New York Times travel section about upstate getaways. The mere mention of a charming B&B overlooking the Delaware River, where you could watch nesting eagles on a nearby bluff while sipping cognac, was all it took. Manhattan’s dreary ice-bound streets slipped away momentarily, and I imagined myself on that very deck. I was in a long-distance relationship at the time, and what, I reasoned, could be more romantic than such a weekend?It was February, the very worst part of winter, and any twinkle of New York City’s seasonal cheer had well and truly died. My boyfriend was due a visit, and I was ecstatic at the prospect of a trip out of the city. We would go somewhere a hundred times more romantic than my apartment (which housed the world’s smallest and most uncomfortable bed), a thousand times more interesting than the corner diner, and a million times more nurturing than the intersection of Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. I could see it all: the icy river threading its way below the B&B’s deck, the eagles soaring majestically above us, me and my boyfriend holding hands and laughing in the snow, pink-cheeked and very much in love. Continue reading...

Tony Blair’s policy chief thought inquiry into police racism would raise unrealistic hopes for changeDowning Street initially opposed allowing the landmark Stephen Lawrence inquiry to examine police relations with minority ethnic communities, arguing that to do so would only raise unrealistic hopes for real change.The Macpherson inquiry eventually concluded that the Metropolitan police was institutionally racist, providing a watershed moment in race relations in the UK. But newly released Cabinet papers show Tony Blair wanted to treat the racist murder as an individual incident and to search for lessons to be learned for future investigations of racist killings. Continue reading...

France sets European record, as Italy tightens measures against the unvaccinated

Reports say editors, board members and pop singer were held in early morning sweep as 200 officers raid officeThe most prominent pro-democracy media outlet still operating in Hong Kong, Stand News, said it will shut down after police raided its offices, froze its assets and arrested senior journalists and former board members including pop star Denise Ho.Authorities deployed an anti-sedition law in their crackdown that was drawn up under British colonial rule and had not been used for decades. A senior police officer accused the online site of “inciting hatred” against the Hong Kong government in news articles and interviews. Continue reading...

Analysis: the police raid and closure of the pro-democracy website has left journalists wondering who will be nextThe Christmas attack on Hong Kong website Stand News was no great surprise in a city where all forms of political opposition are being dismantled wholesale, but the scale, speed and nature of the operation to shutter this pro-democracy website were still shocking.Over 200 police officers swept into the newsroom, and others fanned out over the city making arrests under a harsh sedition law from the days of British colonial rule that had been gathering dust for decades. Continue reading...

Checking your speed and ISP plan are among the first things to do to set up for the increased needs of more time indoors

Body of Declan Jones, who is believed to have just left prison, discovered in Bromsgrove, WorcestershireA former police officer jailed after being caught on camera assaulting members of the public has been found dead.Declan Jones was reported to have been discovered at an address in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on Tuesday. It is believed he had recently been released from prison, having been jailed for assaulting two people – including a 15-year-old boy – on consecutive days during the first coronavirus lockdown in England. Continue reading...

Memorial Human Rights Centre liquidated a day after its sister group, Memorial, in assault on civil libertiesA Russian court has ordered the closure of the Memorial Human Rights Centre (MHRC), a day after the supreme court revoked the legal status of its sister organisation, Memorial International.Moscow city court authorised the dissolution of the group – one of Russia’s most venerated human rights institutions – for the “justification of extremism and terrorism” by religious groups including Jehovah’s Witnesses officially considered “extremist” in Russia. Continue reading...

I’ve spent 12 months of the pandemic obsessively listening to the song Uwrongo, with its line: “This is not working, go home.” I’m very grateful to its singerI was born on a farm in northern South Africa. My parents moved nearer to Johannesburg when I was still a baby. They have a photograph of me at maybe six months old, asleep inside my dad’s guitar case. Just picturing it in my mind makes me feel safe. I can hear my dad playing.When I feel overwhelmed, I need something I can listen to on loop. Not just for hours, but for days, sometimes weeks. I think of these tracks as an aural hood. They hold my head together. Continue reading...

Fatima Shbair’s photo of a girl in her ruined home is an indelible image of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’s resurgence in May

Telling your story in a book is hard enough. But what if it ends up on screen? Adam Kay, writer of This Is Going to Hurt, and Dolly Alderton, who penned Everything I Know About Love, relive the shocks

We asked our photographers to pick their best image of the pandemic in 2021From vaccination centres and ICU wards to family reunions and lockdown beards, the images selected by the Guardian and Observer photographers, accompanied by their thoughts, give individual takes on covering the ongoing pandemic.The Covid-19 ICU ward at the University College hospital in London, 27 January Continue reading...

Coastal communities in Mexico, Bangladesh and Somalia are struggling to adapt to the climate crisis. Many people have already lost livelihoods and homes to rising waters Continue reading...

Prime minister urges people to get third jab during visit to a vaccination centre in Milton Keynes

I have not ‘overcome’ anything, but I am happy and hopeful. Chronic illness is sometimes described as a form of grief, but I prefer to think of it as beginning the next stageFour years ago, I caught the flu – and I am still stuck in bed, struggling to breathe. A bit like those with long Covid now, I developed postviral fatigue after a short illness. You could say I was into viruses before their mainstream second album.Born with a muscle weakness, I was already familiar with the fragility of the human body. But the overnight change, post‑flu complications, hit me like a truck. In the early days, stuck on a ventilator and barely able to move, my brain was so traumatised that I thought my bedroom curtains were on fire. I didn’t even have curtains. Continue reading...

Here are 20 articles that may have helped convince people to support the Guardian’s journalismThe Guardian benefited from hundreds of thousands of acts of support from digital readers in 2021 – almost one for every minute of the year. Here we look at the articles from 2021 that had a big hand in convincing readers to support our open, independent journalism.Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House – Luke Harding, Julian Borger and Dan Sabbagh

The climate, pandemic and tensions between states means the year ahead is likely to be as tumultuous as the last 12 monthsOn the brink of a new year, the world faces a daunting array of challenges: the resurgent Covid-19 pandemic, the climate emergency, the struggle between democracy and authoritarianism, humanitarian crises, mass migration, and trans-national terrorism. There is the risk of new inter-state conflicts, exacerbated by the breakdown of the rules-based international order, and the spread of lethal autonomous weapons. All in all, for most people on Earth – and a handful in space – 2022 will be another year of living dangerously. Continue reading...

Ex-PM warns poverty and starvation mean country is at risk of world’s biggest humanitarian crisisThe west is “sleepwalking into the biggest humanitarian crisis of our times” in Afghanistan, Gordon Brown has warned, as he called for a support package to save the country from economic and social collapse after the Taliban’s takeover.Four months after the western-backed government was overthrown following a mass military withdrawal, the former UK prime minister said the case for action was not based only on morals but also “in our self-interest”. Continue reading...

Health secretary says it is not ‘justified or proportionate’ to restrict outdoor exercise during Covid

Scuffles broke out in Jordan's parliament where lawmakers were discussing a proposed amendment to the constitution on Tuesday. Heated arguments degenerated when MPs began pushing and shoving each other during the session in Amman Continue reading...

Woman tried to claim her fear of catching virus was a protected belief, after her employer refused to pay her

After decades of decline, jidō hanbaiki are back in fashion with public wary of human interaction

Lawyer argues court does not have jurisdiction as Virginia Giuffre’s ties to Colorado are ‘very limited’Prince Andrew’s lawyer has called for the US civil case against the royal over alleged sexual assault to be stopped because his accuser is “actually domiciled in Australia”.Virginia Giuffre is suing the Queen’s son for allegedly assaulting her when she was a teenager. Andrew strongly denies the allegation. Continue reading...

I am not sure if it’s social phobia or stage fright, perhaps a bit of both. But I want it to stop. So I sign up for something that terrifies me – an improv classI am in the pub. It is dark, loud and at full capacity. Sitting with a group of people, my mind drifts towards something funny that happened at work. I wonder if it is funny enough to repeat and, if so, how it would sound if I were to say it out loud. I mouth the story to myself, word by word, trying out different intonations.Further inane questions skip through my mind. How do I start the story? Do I provide dialogue? Do I do voices? Under the table, my hands rehearse the accompanying gestures. Just as I am about to speak, I sense an ambient dread rising up, like reflux. I blush and the conversation moves on. Continue reading...

Report from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows domestic flights were down by almost 60%

Wait times for testing – and results – have ballooned, leaving many to make their own decisions about dealing with a possible Covid case

The pandemic finally brought into being a European public, as we discovered that our health is a common concernMarch 2020: an insidious virus seeds itself across the globe pitching tens of thousands in the European continent into a life-and-death battle. Most European countries secure their borders; millions of households lock their front doors. Hellish scenes flash by, feeding fears of infection. In Europe a disaster is unfolding, but there is no joint response.The loudest cry comes from Italy, hit by the virus early on. Appeals for help go unanswered and bitter reproaches ensue. The EU is slow to react: the fact that Brussels’ institutions lack the “competences”, or formal powers, to act in the field of public health impresses no one. When, soon thereafter, an economic depression looms, prophets of doom start predicting the end of the EU. Continue reading...

Analysis reveals widespread violations of international democratic freedoms in response to pandemicEurope’s political approach to the coronavirus pandemic has divided down stark east-west lines, a Guardian analysis has found.Five of 18 eastern European countries have registered major violations of international democratic freedoms since March 2020, according to research conducted by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute, compared with none of 12 western European countries. Continue reading...

Australia records 18,243 Covid cases as NSW infections top 11,000; AMA says it asked government for testing plan when Australia opened up; labs ‘running at capacity’; Scott Morrison calls rapid antigen tests a ‘precious commodity’ ahead of national cabinet meeting; NSW authorities tell holidaymakers to ‘avoid’ testing. Follow all the latest updates

During the annual Els Enfarinats battle in the south-eastern Spanish town of Ibi participants dress in military clothes and stage a mock coup d’etat as they battle using flour, eggs and firecrackers outside the town hall. The 200-year-old tradition is part of the Day of the Holy Innocents celebrations, a time in Spain for pulling pranks Continue reading...

Abandoned and neglected, I was close to a breakdown when I entered Wormwood Scrubs. Then Simeon introduced me to the black literature that inspired me to writeIt was June 1981 and I was 18. I stood in the dock at Camberwell Green magistrates court in south London. I was just about to receive my sentence for my role in the Brixton uprising of that April, after being arrested for assaulting a police officer. Ignoring the summary of my case, I stared into the public gallery. Relatives of the other six accused sat there in quiet, hopeful silence. I imagined they were mums, dads, aunts, uncles, siblings and grandparents. But not one belonged to me.I studied their faces, trying to comprehend what it might be like to have someone of your own blood supporting you. I tried to picture what my own parents looked like and what they might feel as I was handed down my sentence. If my mother were present, would she be weeping? I barely heard the 12‑month custodial term being given to me. Continue reading...

The Davies have farmed their Welsh heartland for generations – and neither trade pressures nor tree-planters will stop themJohn Davies’ family has farmed in the hills and valleys of mid Wales just north of Brecon since the 19th century and his most cherished times now are when he is working shoulder to shoulder with his 91-year-old father, Elwyn, and 20-year-old son, Brychan.“That’s incredibly rewarding,” says Davies, 55. “There’s a balance there. Dad has seen it all, done it all. Brychan brings in the new things from college. It’s good to see that blend of experience and ambition and I’m in the middle, the bridge. Continue reading...

More students now study Korean than Russian, and Japanese than Italian, report showsInterest in anime, gaming and K-pop is fuelling a boom in Korean and Japanese university degrees that is helping to revive modern languages departments struggling with falling enrolments.Acceptances to study Korean more than trebled from 50 to 175 between 2012 and 2018, while Japanese places grew by 71% in the same period, according to a report published this year by the University Council of Modern Languages (UCML). More students now study Korean than Russian, and more take Japanese than Italian, the report shows.

We were stuck on a trek in the Andes during the worst blizzard in 20 years. Luckily we had Travel Scrabble – unfortunately, we had no toilet rollStrictly speaking, my “winter” love story took place in a whole other season. Although it was January, my girlfriend and I were visiting Argentina, at the height of the Austral summer. But we were in the Andes, 4,000 metres above sea level, surrounded by ice and snow. If that doesn’t count as winter, I don’t know what does.At this point in 2003, Jane and I had been travelling for 10 months – the New Guinea Highlands, Easter Island, Angkor Wat … and we had experience-fatigue. Continue reading...

Declassified documents show officials drew up plan to deal with predicted arrival of flu from far eastHealth chiefs believed a pandemic was “imminent” in 1997 and drew up a contingency plan that included a mass vaccination programme and closing borders.Officials expected a flu pandemic to emerge from the far east and established a UK-wide plan to deal with the health crisis, newly declassified documents have revealed. Continue reading...

A fully vaccinated person who arrived on a flight from the United Kingdom spent two days in the community before the infection was detected

Around 120 Muslim refugees were trying to reach Malaysia when their vessel reportedly foundered off the coast of Aceh, SumatraIndonesian authorities have said they will push a boat containing 120 Rohingya Muslims back to international waters despite fears that it could sink off the country’s northernmost province of Aceh.The boat was reportedly leaking, had a damaged engine, and was at risk of capsizing in harsh weather, the United Nations refugee agency said. Continue reading...

Hamilton, Come From Away, Jagged Little Pill, A Chorus Line, Frozen the Musical and Opera Australia disrupted by major outbreaks as Sydney festival show Qween Lear cancels entire run