Rebel spokesperson claims Uvira ‘fully liberated’ as offensive continues despite Trump-brokered peace deal

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels claimed to have captured a key eastern city in Democratic Republic of the Congo as they continued their march to control more of Africa’s second largest country.

In statements in English and French on Wednesday evening, a rebel spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, claimed the city of Uvira had been “fully liberated, secured and under the control of the liberation forces”.

• UK tourists would be among those affected by US policy

• ‘Unacceptable’ and ‘chilling’, says European fan group

A plan to require supporters travelling to the United States for the World Cup to disclose information about their social media accounts has been described as “profoundly unacceptable”.

Tourists from 42 countries, including the UK, which use the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta) as part of the visa waiver programme would be obliged to provide information about accounts they have held in the last five years in their applications. Previously it had been optional to provide the information.

Soldier’s account corroborates reports Ukrainian journalist was transported to prison deep inside Russia, where it is believed she died

Details of the last days in captivity of the Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died last year, have emerged with the witness account of a soldier who was with her when she was transported to a prison deep inside Russia.

Roshchyna was seized while reporting from behind enemy lines in occupied Ukraine in the summer of 2022, one of an estimated 16,000 civilians detained by Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

BMA will put Wes Streeting’s pledge to double specialist training places to members as flu cases jump 55% in a week

• NHS ‘facing worst-case scenario’ as hospital flu cases jump 55% in a week

Hospitals have hailed an improved government offer to resident doctors as a “huge move”, despite union warnings that it does nothing to address their concerns on pay.

British Medical Association leaders said although the offer was a “mixed bag” they would consult their membership on whether to call off planned strike action starting next week.

Number of people in England being treated remains at record level for this time of year with daily average of 2,660

The number of people in hospital in England with flu remains at a record level for this time of year and has increased by 55% in a week, NHS figures show.

An average of 2,660 flu patients were in hospital each day last week, up from 1,717 the previous week. At this point last year the number stood at 1,861 patients, while in 2023 it was just 402.

The mashup Satisfaction Skank was unofficial for years but band allow Norman Cook to remake it using original stems of their 1965 hit

A classic bootleg recording by Fatboy Slim which samples the Rolling Stones’ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction has finally been released, as the band give it their blessing after 25 years.

Satisfaction Skank was a familiar track on turn-of-the-century dancefloors, as Fatboy Slim mashed up his own 1999 hit The Rockafeller Skank with the Stones’ 1965 classic, hurling Keith Richards’ iconic guitar riff into the “big beat” sound of the late 90s.

Say no to throwaway this Christmas! From tools and jewels to tartan rugs and teapots, here are the pressies you’ve given or received that have stood the test of time

• 14 easy ways to cut Christmas waste

In our throwaway consumer culture, giving gifts can feel like a whole lot of pressure: get it wrong and that present could fall apart, end up in the back of a cupboard (or worse, landfill), or be re-gifted.

The trick is finding something timeless but not boring; thoughtful and personal; well made and useful. We asked you for the gifts you’ve given or received that are still treasured (and going strong) years – often decades – later.

Far-right rhetoric fuelled rioting here in 2024, but Back on the Map is helping to unite the community, through good accommodation, new shops, and an aim to genuinely uplift and improve people’s lives
• Donate to the Guardian Charity Appeal 2025 here
• Communities are our defence against hatred. Now, more than ever, we must invest in hope

When 47-year-old shop assistant Claire Carter was younger, her mother told her to “never live on the long streets” – terrace-lined roads about half a mile long that lead from the centre of Hendon, Sunderland, to the sea. These six streets have a reputation for being “full of wrong ’uns, full of stolen cars, places getting smashed up”, she says. Close by is Fletcher’s News & Booze, the shop where Tommy Robinson hosted a book signing in 2017 that ended in physical fights and 21 arrests.

Sunderland more widely has been a key site for far-right politics: in 2024 violent anti-Muslim riots broke out after misinformation spread on social media, suggesting that the man behind fatal stabbings at a children’s dance class in Southport was an illegal migrant. About 500 people came to Sunderland’s city centre to a protest that quickly descended into what a judge has since described as “an orgy of mindless destruction, violence and disorder”, with rioters setting a car on fire, shouting Islamophobic chants and throwing stones at the police.

What started as Guillaume Broche’s personal project has been nominated for 12 Game awards, sold more than 2m copies and been praised by Emmanuel Macron as a ‘shining example of French audacity’

The record-breaking 12 nominations at the Game awards this year was beyond the wildest dreams of Guillaume Broche when he first began inking out Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as a personal project while working at Ubisoft.

Before selling more than 2m copies, the narrative-driven roleplaying game with “a unique world, challenging combat and great writing” was a technical demo called We Lost. It was Broche’s appetite for risk and a few hopeful Reddit posts that would create the game’s world of Lumiere and its struggle against the Paintress.