I have no interest in defending his social media posts, but calls to strip the newly freed activist of British citizenship pile torment on top of torture

What is the proper punishment for hateful social media posts? Should you lose your account? Your job? Your citizenship? Go to jail? Die? For the people who have launched a campaign against the British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, no punishment is too great.

I have no interest in defending the awful tweets in question, which Abd el-Fattah posted in the early 2010s. Many are indefensible and he has apologised “unequivocally” for them. He has also written movingly about how his perspective has changed in the intervening years. Years that have included more than a decade in jail, most of it in Egypt’s notorious Tora prison where he faced torture; missing his son’s entire childhood – and very nearly dying during a months-long hunger strike.

Naomi Klein is a Guardian US columnist and contributing writer. She is the professor of climate justice and co-director of the Centre for Climate Justice at the University of British Columbia

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Whether you go for an easy jog or actively limit your screen time, studies show there are tried and tested ways to wind down and be sure of a good night’s sleep

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After a hard day at work, the last thing you want to do is fritter away your precious downtime slumped on the sofa in a dazed doomscroll. Yet, in the absence of a better plan, it happens with depressing ease. How we spend the hours between shutting down the laptop and slipping under the duvet affects sleep quality, mood and how restored we feel the next day. So, how can we reclaim those lost evenings?

According to Jason Ellis, a professor of psychology at Northumbria University and director of the Northumbria centre for sleep research, establishing a regular end-of-day routine sends a signal to your brain that you are making a shift between work mode, and rest and recreation. “It’s about putting the day to bed before you go to bed,” he says. Gretchen Rubin – an author, podcaster and creator of the Happiness Project – agrees. “Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life,” she says.

Despite reviews of the district as a raucous tourist trap, improved policing has restored safety and an eclectic vibe

When Ireland redeveloped a swathe of central Dublin in the 1990s, the idea was to create a version of Paris’s Left Bank, a cultural quarter of cobbled lanes, art and urban renewal.

Planners and architects transformed the run-down Temple Bar site by the River Liffey into an ambitious experiment that drew throngs of visitors and won awards.

From the phenomenal Vince Gilligan show Pluribus to horny, life-changing ice-hockey drama Heated Rivalry and much more … here are Guardian readers’ shows of the year

(Disney+) It’s embarrassing to say about a product released by the Disney Corporation within the Star Wars brand, but it’s by far the most searing and narratively sound portrayal of the creep of totalitarianism I’ve seen on-screen in years. Airtight character work, pitch-perfect action and the ideal moment to tell an inherently political story about the hope of truth and resistance against an endless barrage of falsehoods and atrocities. Eoin, London

We could learn a lot from the pampered sausage dog who became a canine Bear Grylls. Perhaps all of us are capable of more than we might expect

Who among us hasn’t yearned, at least momentarily, to cast off the trappings of our comfortable lives and live wild, unfettered and free? This year someone showed us the way: a charismatic Aussie sausage dog (I believe that’s “snag” in local vernacular). Whether you already carry Valerie the miniature dachshund’s story in your heart or managed, somehow, to miss the pint-sized phenomenon’s incredible journey, join me as we revisit this heart-warming tale.

In November 2023, Valerie was a one-year-old “absolute princess” of a pup – those are the words of her emotional support human, Georgia Gardner, who received the sausage as a graduation gift. A diminutive 15cm high, she needed a ramp to help her get into bed in her New South Wales home and wore a pink sweater in chilly weather, with matching pink collar and lead. But Valerie chose to swap her pampered life of roast chicken and pupuccinos for freedom in the dangerous wilds of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, escaping while Gardner and boyfriend Josh Fishlock were on holiday there.

The bioscience startup has attracted billions in investment – and a flurry of criticism, but founder tells the Guardian plans to bring back the woolly mammoth will not be derailed

Death and taxes are supposed to be the things we can depend on in this life. But in 2025, the American entrepreneur Ben Lamm sold much of the world on the idea that death did not, after all, need to be for ever.

This was the year the billionaire’s genetics startup, Colossal Biosciences, claimed it had resurrected the dire wolf, an animal that disappeared at the end of the last ice age, by tweaking the DNA of grey wolves. According to the company, it had also edged closer to bringing the woolly mammoth back from the dead, with the creation of genetically engineered “woolly mice”.

Exclusive: Met figures thought to reflect national picture with Covid, poverty and more people seeking help possible factors

The number of violent offences involving an adolescent attacking their parents or step-parents has increased by more than 60% in the past decade, according to figures recorded by the UK’s biggest police force.

Data released by Scotland Yard reveals that there were 1,886 such offences recorded in 2015 but this increased to 3,091 in the first 10 months of 2025 alone.

Lack of prompt access to primary care blamed for rise in hospital cases of minor ailments including blocked noses

Millions of people are turning to A&E departments in England for minor ailments including coughs, blocked noses and hiccups, according to data that health leaders say lays bare a failure to give patients prompt access to primary care.

Emergency wards are designed for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies only. But many are becoming swamped with patients whose health concerns should be dealt with elsewhere, including a near tenfold increase in people seeking help for a cough.

Exclusive: Officers described a culture of silence and lack of support during police-on-police complaints

Police officers fear reporting colleagues for wrongdoing because they do not believe they will be supported for breaking a culture of silence, a new survey has found.

Almost half of officers think their complaints against fellow officers are mishandled, the survey seen by the Guardian found. It was carried out by the Police Federation (PFEW), which represents 140,000 rank and file officers across England and Wales.

Join our live coverage as we cross the globe to enter the new year

Sydney is the self-appointed “world capital of new year’s eve” and arguably rightly so. As always, eyes will be on the Opera House at 13:00 GMT when fireworks will light up the sky in spectacular fashion. But there are also huge crowds out in Melbourne to see off the year in style.

Thousands of people are expected to descend on Melbourne this evening to celebrate NYE. There will be two 7 minute firework displays and light shows tonight, first a family one at 9.30pm for young children, and the main one at the stroke of midnight.