‘Like a mini Louvre’: two generations of Rothschilds fight over treasure trove of artworks
Ariane – who was married to Edmond and Nadine’s only child, Benjamin, who died in 2021 – insists the collection must remain intact and in the chateau. A source close to the family said Ariane and her daughters would not discuss the falling out. View image in fullscreen Chateau de Pregny in Switzerland is reported to house art by Goya, Rembrandt, El Greco and others. Photograph: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images“We are talking about major objects, classified historic objects that belong in a museum,” Nadine says. My only hope is that one day they will appreciate that I am doing this for the honour of the family.”
Source:The Guardian
December 14, 2025 15:21 UTC
US wargames played out scenarios for Maduro’s fall. None of them ended well for Venezuela
A palace coup sends Venezuela’s authoritarian leader into exile, sparking a bloody power struggle between members of his disintegrating regime. “Everyone wrestling with this issue [is] sort of hoping that you could wave a magic wand and have a new government [in Venezuela],” said Farah. Miguel Pizarro, another opposition leader, dismissed the suggestion Venezuela was doomed to become a South American version of Iraq, Libya or Haiti if Maduro was toppled. View image in fullscreen Nobel peace prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado speaking in Oslo, Norway, on 11 December. Whatever happened, Farah feared post-Maduro Venezuela was likely to suffer “a huge mess that would last a while”.
Source:The Guardian
December 14, 2025 14:32 UTC
Lindsey Vonn second at St Moritz a day after historic World Cup win
One day after becoming the oldest woman to win a World Cup race, the American came within a quarter-second of doing it again, finishing second in Saturday’s downhill at St Moritz behind Germany’s Emma Aicher. Less than 24 hours after rewriting the World Cup age record, Vonn briefly looked on course for another victory as she surged ahead of Italy’s Sofia Goggia on the sunlit Corviglia course. View image in fullscreen Lindsey Vonn competes in the women's downhill race on Saturday in St Moritz. For Aicher, the victory was her third World Cup win and second in downhill, further establishing the 22-year-old as one of the tour’s most versatile skiers. The St Moritz weekend concludes with a super-G on Sunday, where Vonn is expected to line up alongside teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, who surpassed her as the most successful women’s World Cup skier of all time in 2023.
Source:The Guardian
December 13, 2025 16:23 UTC
Lindsey Vonn continues remarkable comeback with World Cup ski victory at 41
Lindsey Vonn’s extraordinary comeback from retirement and serious knee surgery gathered pace on Friday when she became the oldest skier to win a World Cup race at the age of 41. It was Vonn’s first downhill victory for nearly eight years, and the first in her comeback with titanium implants in her right knee. After her victory was confirmed, Vonn first collapsed into the snow before thrusting her ski poles in the air to celebrate. View image in fullscreen Lindsey Vonn on her way to victory in San Moritz. “I’m actually really excited for Super-G because I’m skiing better in Super-G than I am in downhill.”The previous oldest World Cup race winner was Switzerland’s Didier Cuche at 37 in a men’s Super-G in 2012.
Source:The Guardian
December 12, 2025 12:35 UTC
Eurovision winner Nemo to return trophy in protest at Israel taking part in 2026
Nemo, the Swiss singer who won the 2024 Eurovision song contest, has said they are handing back their trophy in protest over Israel’s participation in next year’s event. The 26-year-old, the first non-binary winner of the contest, said on Thursday there was “a clear conflict” between the Eurovision ideals of “unity, inclusion and dignity for all” and the decision to allow Israel to compete. They were joined on Wednesday by Iceland, where the board of the national broadcaster RÚV voted not to participate. The contest was repeatedly used to soften the image of a state accused of severe wrongdoing, all while the EBU insisted Eurovision is ‘non-political’. Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has said Israel “deserves to be represented on every stage around the world”.
Source:The Guardian
December 12, 2025 00:46 UTC
Economic growth no longer linked to carbon emissions in most of the world, study finds
The once-rigid link between economic growth and carbon emissions is breaking across the vast majority of the world, according to a study released ahead of Friday’s 10th anniversary of the Paris climate agreement. Countries representing 92% of the global economy have now decoupled consumption-based carbon emissions and GDP expansion, according to the report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). Between 2015 and 2023, China’s consumption-based emissions rose 24%, less than half the growth of its economy (more than 50%). For the past 18 months, its emissions have plateaued and many analysts believe they may have peaked. For most of the past two decades US emissions have been falling, according to the authors of the report.
Source:The Guardian
December 11, 2025 18:40 UTC
Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv’s SBU cripples shadow fleet tanker in Black Sea
Ukrainian sea drones on Wednesday hit and disabled a tanker involved in trading Russian oil as it sailed through Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea to the Russian port of Novorossiysk, a Ukrainian official said. The attack is the third sea drone strike in two weeks on vessels part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of unregulated and often western-sanctioned ships helping Moscow export oil to fund the war. “The SBU continues to take active measures to reduce petrodollar revenues to the Russian budget,” said the official. The war was putting “more women at risk of dying and more pregnancies ending in life-threatening complications” said Florence Bauer, the agency’s director for eastern Europe. Despite Trump’s capricious attitude to Ukraine and European allies, lawmakers included several provisions meant to keep up US support for countering Russian aggression.
Source:The Guardian
December 11, 2025 06:52 UTC
Come with me to Jacob Rees-Mogg’s house. The Brexiters are rattled – and it shows | Polly Toynbee
Our host, Rees-Mogg, was in jubilant form, celebrating Keir Starmer’s recent speeches that named the economic damage done by Brexit. Are they right that Labour reopening the Brexit wound will reignite toxic old referendum passions? Its leaders were in it for fun and personal advancement: the Tory party was destroyed by it, only Nigel Farage has benefited. But the dam has broken because there is no disguising the truth about what Brexit does to UK growth. That’s a good reminder of how they won the referendum: these cavalier romancers trounced the roundhead number-cruncher remainers.
Source:The Guardian
December 09, 2025 21:30 UTC
European leaders rally behind Ukraine in Downing Street talks
But Downing Street said “positive progress” was made on the issue during crisis talks hosted in Downing Street with Zelenskyy, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz. View image in fullscreen Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron in 10 Downing Street on Monday. During the meeting, leaders “underscored the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine” including “robust security guarantees” against further Russian aggression, Downing Street said. A spokesperson for the Belgian prime minister said he would be meeting Starmer in Downing Street to discuss “priorities like migration, supporting Ukraine, European security and mutual economic growth”. View image in fullscreen Keir Starmer welcomes Emmanuel Macron outside 10 Downing Street.
Source:The Guardian
December 09, 2025 15:29 UTC
The Guardian view on solar geoengineering: Africa has a point about this risky technology | Editorial
It is fitting that this week’s UN environment talks are in Nairobi, with Africa shaping the global climate conversation. While not on the formal summit agenda, on the sidelines they are arguing that it’s time to stop promoting solar geoengineering technology as a solution to global heating. The reason for a moratorium is obvious: solar geoengineering doesn’t cut greenhouse-gas emissions. Yet an industry is being built on the idea that someone can take charge of the global thermostat. Mexico banned solar geoengineering experiments in 2023, after an unauthorised trial over its territory by a US startup.
Source:The Guardian
December 08, 2025 21:34 UTC
‘He’s got something against the world’: Bellamy reignites feud with Canada’s Marsch
Craig Bellamy has revived his feud with Jesse Marsch after Wales were put on the same World Cup path as co-hosts Canada. Bellamy felt slighted by Marsch and his staff celebrating with touchline high fives before the final whistle sounded on Canada’s 1-0 September friendly victory in Swansea. “I’ve got nothing against that guy, by the way, I think he’s got something against the world. Victory would see them play Italy or Northern Ireland at home five days later for a place at the World Cup. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter.
Source:The Guardian
December 08, 2025 18:36 UTC
Britain’s Norris pips Verstappen to win maiden F1 world title after third place in Abu Dhabi – as it happened
I guess that’s what he did.” View image in fullscreen Lewis Hamilton congratulates Lando Norris on his world title. Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters Share Updated at 14.38 GMT1h ago 14.30 GMT Lando Norris is F1 world champion! What a season, and what a moment for Lando Norris after a season full of twists, turns, pain and drama. Meanwhile, Ana de Armas is out trackside, ready to wave the chequered flag as Lando Norris’ family watch on. Live title standings:1) Norris 423 (15pts today)2) Verstappen 421 (25pts)3) Piastri 410 (18pts) View image in fullscreen McLaren driver Lando Norris hunting his maiden title.
Source:The Guardian
December 07, 2025 15:30 UTC
C of E to challenge Tommy Robinson’s ‘put Christ back into Christmas’ message
The posters, which will go on display at bus stops, say “Christ has always been in Christmas” and “Outsiders welcome”. Photograph: Church of EnglandThe C of E’s decision to challenge Robinson’s extreme rightwing stance comes amid growing unease among church leaders about the rise of Christian nationalism and the appropriation of Christian symbols to bolster the views of his supporters. Last week, Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, announced next weekend’s Christmas carol event at an undisclosed outdoor venue in central London. View image in fullscreen Last week, Robinson announced next weekend’s Christmas carol event at an undisclosed outdoor venue in central London. Photograph: Ben Whitley/PAThe C of E posters are part of a wider response to Robinson and Unite the Kingdom from a number of churches.
Source:The Guardian
December 07, 2025 15:09 UTC
How three Uyghur brothers fled China – to spend 12 years in an Indian prison
After two months of interrogation by the military, the brothers were handed over to local police to face charges of illegally crossing the border. Unable to communicate in any Indian language, the three men struggled to navigate the legal system. View image in fullscreen An India border police report about the brothers’ arrest in 2013, which describes them as ‘Chinese intruders’. For the past decade Shafi has been fighting for their release on a pro bono basis, but the Indian government remains unmoved. While in prison, the three brothers have learned four local languages as well as English by talking to inmates and reading books and newspapers.
Source:The Guardian
December 05, 2025 15:30 UTC
The AI boom is heralding a new gold rush in the American west
View image in fullscreen Pyramid Lake, at the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation, is fed by the Truckee River and is located about 40 miles north-east of Reno. Situated at the base of several mountain ranges, the lake is owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and entirely surrounded by the tribe’s reservation. The Pyramid Lake Paiute’s petroglyphs date back 10,000 to 14,000 years BCE, the oldest in North America. Next to the deep green of Pyramid Lake was a large, flat, white mass, the remnants of a second lake. On the reservation at Pyramid Lake, Wadsworth said rolling brownouts are common during the hot summer months.
Source:The Guardian
December 05, 2025 15:25 UTC