The powerful stories that won awards and changed lives in 2025
In this week’s newsletter: human stories of the climate crisis; an investigation into EU-funded migrant abuse; and Afghanistan’s women under the Taliban
Is Susie Wiles an innocent bystander in Trump’s White House?
As chief of staff, she has stifled her temptation to intervene time and time again
Now that phones alter our photos without us knowing, how do we know what’s real?
Comparing the pictures taken with my camera’s automatic software to those taken with a ‘zero-processing’ app, the results are shocking. Is this a good idea, asks writer Isabel Brooks
Jes Staley and Larry Summers were made executors of Jeffrey Esptein’s estate, files reveal
Ex-Treasury secretary and former Barclays chief are named in versions of will belonging to deceased child sex offender
Two men found guilty of Manchester plot to ‘kill as many Jewish people as they could’
Preston court finds Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein guilty of preparing acts of terrorism after buying AK-47s from undercover officer
Chris Rea obituary
Singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his enduring hit Driving Home for Christmas
Country diary: Welcome to the woods where bomber aircraft once hid
Speke, Merseyside: Walking through Stockton’s Wood today, you’d never know it played such a vital role in the second world war
Andy Burnham apologises for past police LGBTQ+ discrimination
Greater Manchester mayor acknowledges ‘unacceptable discrimination’ after region’s police chief declined to apologise
Four-day week may be considered a sign of failure, England councils told
Local government secretary writes to town halls warning them against ‘part-time work for full-time pay’
‘My blood is boiling, brother’: the foiled plot to massacre Jews on streets of Greater Manchester
Walid Saadaoui and Amar Hussein thought ‘zero hour’ had finally arrived until undercover operative thwarted them
Once hailed as heroes, Afghans fear deportation under Trump
The very same immigrants welcomed to the US after risking their lives to fight the Taliban now fear detention or worse
UK police leaders to call for ‘non-crime hate incidents’ to be scrapped
Review will request ‘commonsense’ system with most serious incidents recorded as antisocial behaviour
Email from ‘A’ at Balmoral urges Ghislaine Maxwell to find ‘inappropriate friends’
Epstein files reveal messages between his accomplice and a man who appears to be Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
‘Rare’ squirrels set free together after bonding at Florida hospital for injured wildlife
Big Cypress fox squirrels released as a pair to reduce stress and support natural behaviors during transition back into the wild
‘Haunted and cursed’: Lake Lanier has a deadly reputation. A darker tale hides beneath the surface
After years of fatalities and bizarre incidents, the Georgia reservoir has spawned countless ghost stories. Are they merely legend or the aftereffects of a history steeped in racial trauma?
‘It just went insane’: why the Christmas garland is making a comeback
The homemade velvet ribbon chain garland is one of the most popular home accessories this festive season
The 50 best TV shows of 2025
This year saw everyone from Alan Carr to demon sheep run riot on our screens – but there could only be one winner. Here’s our full countdown of the very best television of 2025