The art activists made headlines during the US president’s state visit when they shocked the waiting media with a short documentary – and were quickly arrested

When Donald Trump’s second state visit was announced, and when the finer details for the Windsor banquet on 17 September 2025 became known, there was no way Led By Donkeys was going to let that pass unprotested. It was just so craven, rolling out the red carpet for Trump. Their next art-activist event unfolded like clockwork.

Led By Donkeys made a nine-minute film about Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein which ended: “The president of the United States was a long-time close friend of America’s most notorious child sex trafficker. He’s alleged to be mentioned, numerous times, in the files arising from the investigation into that child sex trafficker … Now that president, Donald Trump, is sleeping here, in Windsor Castle.” (Trump says that he fell out with Epstein years before Epstein was first arrested, and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.)

Change in attitudes has been stoked by disinformation, viral videos and the election of rightwing populist president

Valeriia Kholkina was out buying ice-cream with her husband and four-year-old daughter when a man overheard them speaking Ukrainian. “Teach your daughter to speak Polish,” said the stranger. Then he physically assaulted both parents.

The incident, which happened in the city of Szczecin in north-west Poland, reflects an increasingly hostile atmosphere for Ukrainians in the country, a dramatic turnaround from the mood in 2022. Then, in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion, hundreds of thousands of Poles put on a show of support and hospitality for their neighbours, volunteering at the border and offering up their homes to refugees.

From corny adverts to snowy murder plots, test your knowledge with these seasonal questions

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Guardian investigation reveals at least 119 direct attacks on hospitals and delivery wards since start of wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan

• ‘I can’t forget the horror’: a young mother on giving birth twice during the Gaza war

Thirty women were sheltering in the Saudi maternity hospital in El Fasher, Sudan, on 28 October when the massacre began. Some had just given birth and others were still in labour.

Working at the hospital that night, lab technician Abdo-Rabo Ahmed, 28, was one of the few known survivors. “I heard the voices of women and children screaming,” he says. “They were killing everybody inside the hospital. Those of us who were able to run, did.”

There’s no shortage of stunning scenery and daytime activities in the Lakes. Now, an observatory is offering stellar nocturnal events too

A tawny owl screeches nearby in the dark and her mate replies, hooting eerily from the forest below. A white dome floats in the gloaming above a plain black doorway outlined with red light, like a portal to another dimension. I’m in Grizedale Forest, far from any light-polluting cities, to visit the Lake District’s first public observatory and planetarium, which opened in May.

Grizedale Observatory offers immersive films in the planetarium and three-hour stargazing events that go on late into the night. There are sessions on astrophotography and, on moonless nights, dark sky astronomy with the chance to see “a glittering tapestry of stars, galaxies, nebulae and star clusters”. Its director, Gary Fildes, is a veteran in the field, having founded and led three UK observatories over two decades. The goal at Grizedale, he says, is to create “an immersive, year-round astronomy and science destination that brings the beauty of the Lake District skies to visitors”.

Raisa K’s solo album is primitive and intimate, Saeko Killy adds a euphoric touch to her dimly lit sound and Bitchin Bajas get blissed out
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Chicago minimalist trio Bitchin Bajas are experts in crafting the ultimate slow burn, with a discography full of soundscapes that often stretch languorously around or beyond the 10-minute mark. Their latest record follows suit with four winding, blissed-out tracks over a 40-minute run time. But it’s not just overindulgent lounge music: the analogue loops quietly build to transcendental heights, nudged along by wandering sax solos, spritely keys and other cosmic flourishes. It’s a lush, often moving odyssey which, towards the end of the epic 18-minute closer, climaxes in an effervescent flurry.

Documents released Monday outline allegations against Naveed Akram and his father Sajid over the 14 December attack

New details about the police case against the alleged Bondi terrorists have been released, including details of an alleged video manifesto linked to the Islamic State and the undetonated explosives – including a “tennis ball bomb” – found at the scene.

Naveed Akram, 24, faces charges of murdering 15 people and injuring dozens more in the shooting at a Hanukah celebration on 14 December. His 50-year-old father, Sajid Akram, 50, is the second alleged shooter, and died at the scene.

Mary-Ann Stephenson defends convention as ‘really important’ and warns against demonisation of migrants

Taking the UK out of a European human rights treaty to quell rightwing anger over immigration would be a mistake, the new head of Britain’s equalities watchdog has said, as she warned against the demonisation of people who migrate to the UK.

Mary-Ann Stephenson, who became chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in December, said the European convention on human rights (ECHR) was part of a framework that provides rights most people would agree were fundamental. But she said the tone of public conversation on it was often dangerous.

Office for Students accused of ‘glacial’ response to allegations of fraud, bullying and mismanagement

England’s universities regulator has been attacked for being “asleep at the wheel” over its delays in investigating suspected fraud, bullying and mismanagement at the University of Greater Manchester.

Phil Brickell, the MP for Bolton West whose constituency includes the campus, has accused the Office for Students (OfS) of failing to act on whistleblowers’ reports and media investigations for almost a year.

BMA calls on Wes Streeting to be equally positive and says 11th-hour talks before five-day stoppage came too late but were encouraging

Resident doctors have said they will approach talks with Wes Streeting with a “can-do spirit” to avoid further strikes in the new year, as their five-day action ended on Monday morning.

The British Medical Association called on the health secretary to come to the table with the same “constructive” attitude, saying the tone of 11th-hour talks before their stoppage had been encouraging but too late to avoid the strike in England.