The parents of a 16-year-old who took his own life after he fell victim to a sextortion gang on Instagram are suing Meta for the alleged wrongful death of their son, in the first UK case of its kind.

Annie Ovenden (British, b.1945) "The Barn at Nighttime," n.d. Oil on board #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Nick Reiner, who has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, made his first appearance in court on Wednesday.

The UK has given its final warning to Roman Abramovich to release £2.5bn from his sale of Chelsea FC to give to Ukraine, telling the billionaire to release the funds or face court action.

Ministers and senior MPs have warned that the UK’s agreements with Donald Trump are “built on sand” after the Guardian established that the deal to avoid drug tariffs has no underlying text beyond limited headline terms.

Police in London and Manchester have pledged a further crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on anyone chanting the words “globalise the intifada” or holding a placard with the phrase on it.

This year has officially been the UK’s sunniest on record. With two weeks to go, and largely thanks to an “exceptional” spring, the Met Office has already recorded 1,622 hours of sunshine, eclipsing the previous record of 1,587 set in 2003.

UK inflation fell more than expected to an eight-month low of 3.2% in November, down from 3.6% in October. The Office for National Statistics figure is below the 3.5% expected by City economists and paves the way for the Bank of England to cut interest rates again tomorrow.

William Hays (American, b.1956) "In For the Night," 2022 Linocut print 12 x 9 in #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Peak Geminids Meteor shower this past Saturday night captured over Stonehenge. Photo credit: Sandra.Davies6869

🪶Black Skimmers all facing into the wind. #BirdIfTheDay #Groups #GeorgiaBirds

Marjorie Taylor Greene: "Even if you don't agree with Rob Reiner politically, there was no reason for his statement ... it was absolutely completely below the office of the president. Classless and it was just wrong."

I just finished reading A Game of Thrones for the first time! George R. R. Martin is such an incredible writer that it almost feels like I'm experiencing the story for the first time again! I'm going to start A Clash of Kings tomorrow, I'm excited! #Booksky #ASOIAF #GameofThrones

Phillip Island, we are here to see the fairy penguins at sunset. Western Port bay Victoria Australia. #phillipisland #australia #friends

Chronically creamy and confused

Today, I reviewed some of the classified Epstein files. They were disturbing & hard to review—but even harder for survivors to have experienced. The DOJ must follow the law & release the files, with protections for survivors. Our march towards healing, transparency, & accountability continues.

🇺🇸🇪🇺🇺🇦Trump administration pressures EU countries to abandon plan to use €210 billion in frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine, - Politico

If I pull two all nighters, I can be done this book that is four months overdue. Me: Surely I can do that at 50. Also me who injured herself knitting and had to have her ribs put back into place by a physiotherapist: lol sure you delicate flower, let's see this in action

Please note - @kollagesquare.bsky.social did *not* endorse this DPN holder; this is all my shenanigans 😌 As a middle-aged white woman I buried the last of those when I turned 40 😑 #KnitSky 🧶

I love how my dog politely jingles the bell we have hanging on our front door when we get deliveries. Then starts barking like a lunatic when I won't open the door

Call your reps and tell them we don’t want to go to war with Venezuela!

sometimes i wish i had a tail so i could flick it angrily instead of having to explain myself

Lemme take my headache pills so I can start my day and be an obnoxiously annoying person to everyone around

Me while decorating the tree: I should put the Christmas ornaments a couple feet off the ground so the cats can’t get them. The cat:

David Lidbetter (Canadian Artist, born 1962) "Strawberry Moon", 2025. Oil on Canvas, 24" × 30". Private Collection. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Nick Reiner has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, the acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner and the photographer Michele Singer Reiner, authorities announced on Tuesday.

Donald Trump has ordered “a total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.

An agreement to rejoin Erasmus – the EU’s student exchange programme – is expected to be announced on Wednesday as part of the UK government’s drive towards closer relations with Brussels.

Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the BBC over its editing of a speech he made to supporters in Washington before they stormed the US Capitol in 2021, requesting at least $5bn in damages.

The US has paused its promised multi-billion-pound investment into British tech over trade disagreements, marking a serious setback in US-UK relations.

Resident doctors in England will go on strike as planned this Wednesday for five days, after they voted to reject the government’s latest offer to end the long running pay and jobs dispute.

Europe is ready to lead a “multinational force” in Ukraine as part of a US proposal for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, European leaders have said.

The Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele have been found dead at their Los Angeles home, with police believed to be questioning a family member over the incident. The acclaimed filmmaker was known for classics including This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men.

A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a US air force refuelling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the military plane for crossing his path.

Assassination plots, sabotage, cyber-attacks and the manipulation of information by Russia and other hostile states mean that “the frontline is everywhere”, the new head of MI6 will warn today.

Human rights and refugee campaigners are calling on the Home Office to be transparent about the numbers of asylum seekers who die in its care by publishing quarterly data as other government departments do.

British police forces are stepping up security in Jewish communities after the antisemitic terror attack at Bondi beach in Australia.

The most spectacular meteor shower of the year will reach its peak this evening, offering skywatchers the chance to see up to 100 shooting stars an hour. If it’s a dark, clear night, the Geminids will be at their best at around 2am, but you should be able to see meteors from mid-evening onwards.

The US wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donbas region, and Washington would then create a “free economic zone” in the parts where Kyiv has held off the Russian invasion – but “they don’t know” under whose control it would be, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

Downing Street has vowed to force the Lords to vote on the employment rights bill again next week, after Conservative and cross-bench peers blocked it on Wednesday night.

A child bride who was due to be executed this month in Iran over the death of her husband has had her life spared by his parents, who were paid the equivalent of £70,000 in exchange for their forgiveness.

The NHS is facing its “worst-case scenario” for flu cases this month across England after the number of people in hospital with the illness increased by 55% in a week.

Hana Choi (Soud Korean painter, b. 2003) Blindmand’s Bluff, 2025 Giclée on Canvas with Mixed Media 38 1/5 × 76 3/10 in | 97 × 193.9 cm #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

The US is engaging in “extreme rightwing tropes” reminiscent of the 1930s, British MPs warned ministers on Thursday, after the release of Donald Trump’s national security strategy.

Madeleine Wickham, known for writing the bestselling novel Confessions of a Shopaholic under her pen name Sophie Kinsella, has died aged 55.

Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has responded to US claims that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” by saying it backs efforts for a nationalist revival on the continent.

Students could be sitting some of their GCSEs and A-levels on a laptop by the end of the decade, according to England’s qualifications watchdog.