In this age of crisis, technology is pulling us apart. At its best, journalism can bring us together again, writes Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner

I have a confession to make. It has taken me years to write this article.

For a long time, I have felt that something was missing in the public conversation about human connection and community and how they are being eroded. And yet I haven’t been able to articulate it. Thinking and writing have become harder. It’s as if the neurons in my brain don’t connect with each other in quite the same way. I go to check a fact and get instantly diverted by a hundred other distractions on my phone. I find myself unable to devote time to thinking and writing like I used to.

The funniest comedy on British TV is back. Its stars talk about scruffiness, mortifying encounters with the public and why they’ve loved each other for two decades

In a north London TV studio, there’s a sense of unpredictability in the air. A gaggle of singing teenagers are on set; there’s a dog traipsing around; and – just down the hall in the canteen – Joanna Lumley has paused our interview to very politely ask a catering lady not to pack up her tangerine for her. “Darling, I literally cry with gratitude but I don’t need it in a box this time, it can travel on its own,” she purrs. She’s as poised as you might imagine – even if she looks ready for an arctic expedition, wrapped in a big mustard puffer jacket against the December cold. “Sorry, I’ve gone off on a tangent.”

We’re talking about Amandaland, the funniest and biggest comedy on British TV. Masterminded by the crack team of Sharon Horgan, Barunka O’Shaughnessy, Helen Serafinowicz, Laurence Rickard and Holly Walsh, this spin-off of the Bafta-winning Motherland has shifted the focus from perma-stressed Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin) to pretentious side character Amanda (Lucy Punch) and her mother, Felicity, played by Lumley. The show has been an undeniable hit, with the Christmas special – an Absolutely Fabulous reunion set at Aunt Joan’s (Jennifer Saunders) decrepit country pile – the most-watched comedy over 2025’s festive season, with 7.4 million viewers.

The alleged conflict between the pair began on a film set and has been disastrous for everyone involved. Apart from the lawyers, naturally

Ladies, gentlemen, cineastes: our long nightmare is over. The It Ends With Us legal drama has finally Ended With Us. In a first-person-plural statement on behalf of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, snuck out as a horde of nippled breastplates swarmed up the Met Gala carpet, our pair of ferociously feuding actors were forced to remind the wider public that, actually, their insanely costly legal binfire had always been about two creatives graciously shining their combined lights on the issue of domestic violence. “The end product – the movie It Ends With Us – is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life,” ran yesterday’s formal epilogue on a case even Pyrrhus would have settled 12 months ago. “Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic-violence survivors – and all survivors – is a goal that we stand behind.”

Note that gorgeously magnanimous “and all survivors” – so if you survived a plane crash, or Glastonbury, or even your best friend’s hen weekend, then this one was for you too. You’re welcome, victims! And if it took up to eight figures in legal fees to get here, and if that would have bought a lot of women’s shelters, then yeah – no doubt Blake and Justin are sorry for simply caring too much. It’s a cross to bear.

Marina Hyde’s new book, What a Time to be Alive!, is out in September (Guardian Faber Publishing, £20). To support the Guardian, order your signed copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist

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Three people have died after an outbreak of hantavirus onboard a cruise ship travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde. The World Health Organization says a total of seven cases – two confirmed by laboratory testing and five suspected – have been identified on the cruise ship so far. It is also investigating whether rare human-to-human transmission of the virus could be behind the cases. Madeleine Finlay talks to Prof Jonathan Ball from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to find out where the virus comes from, how it is transmitted to humans, and what health agencies will be doing to try to contain it

British crew member in need of urgent medical care amid suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship

Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod

Opening of ‘the dressed body’ show inspires Beyoncé, Kardashians and Skepta, as others pay tribute to fashion moments in art history

• Met Gala 2026 red carpet: the best looks in pictures

Two assets the modern 1% love to show off are their designer wardrobes … and their expensive bodies. The Met Gala opening of an exhibition about “the dressed body” presented an opportunity to do both, and it proved irresistible. The evening raised a record-breaking $42m (£31m) for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with the lead sponsors Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos thought to have contributed $10m, and individual guests writing cheques for up to $1m in order to make the Anna Wintour-approved final cut.

The official dress code was “Fashion Is Art”. But the golden rule in fashion, as in life, is that those with the gold make the rules, and this elite crowd bent Wintour’s diktat according to their will. The red carpet was divided between looks that paid tribute to famous fashion moments in art history, and others that celebrated the body itself as a very modern masterpiece.

Zia Yusuf’s mad idea of building migrant detention centres exclusively in areas that vote Green works a treat

It’s a classic from the Donald Trump playbook: everything’s been going a bit tits up, so you create a distraction. Get everyone looking in the wrong direction. Last week was the worst in months for Reform. First the party was pegged back in the opinion polls, then the Guardian revealed Nigel Farage had been given a £5m handout by Christopher Harborne, a Thai-based crypto dealer. A donation that Nige had never thought to declare.

Not the best look for a party leader who claims to be a man of the people. I mean why don’t we all get by on multimillion-pound handouts from our friends. The best you can say is that at least Nige wasn’t trying to defraud the state by claiming universal credit. Since then, Reform has been on the back foot. Sending out countless press releases trying to explain the situation away. Ones that often contradicted each other.

US president says he is pausing US effort to guide stranded vessels out of the strait of Hormuz but blockade remains

Donald Trump announced he is pausing ‘Project Freedom’, the US effort to guide stranded vessels out of the strait of Hormuz, so he can finalise a deal with Iran, but added that his blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.

Trump’s abrupt change of plan was declared in a social media post, saying he was pausing the effort for “a short period” to give space for US efforts to finalise a settlement with Iran to end the war.

Green party leader also accused of incorrectly stating he was a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy

Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be a spokesperson for the British Red Cross while campaigning for the Green party leadership, the charity has said.

The claim was also mentioned on his personal website in 2020, where he said he was “really proud of the work we do”.

Shoppers concerned about effect of Middle East conflict, as UK retailers say government running out of time to cut costs

Four in five people are worried that the Iran war will make food more expensive, according to a new poll, as businesses warned the “window is closing” for ministers to cut energy costs for UK retailers.

Research by Opinium found that 80% of people are worried about the rising price of groceries, which would come from retailers passing on cost increases to consumers, while 73% expect the conflict to push up prices of other products.

West Midlands Labour MPs write to borough Reform leader after alleged posts by Stuart Prior

Labour MPs have called for a Reform UK election candidate in Essex to be suspended after he allegedly celebrated the rape of two Sikh women in the Midlands.

A joint investigation by the Mirror and the anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate alleged Stuart Prior, who is standing for Reform in Rayleigh West (for Essex county council) as well as Sweyne Park and Grange (for Rochford district council), had made a string of racist comments on social media in the past few months. This included declaring white people the “master race” and calling Muslim people “rats”.