‘Once whispered, now discussed’: the rise of dubious claims of civil war in the UK

It is a darkly dystopian vision of Britain’s future, in which tens of thousands die in a bitter civil war in just a few years time.Yet such forecasts are no longer limited to niche corners of the internet or the X feed of Elon Musk, condemned by Downing Street for claiming that war in Britain was inevitable after the post-Southport rioting.What remains a rallying cry for the extreme right can now be found across a far broader cross-section of public discussion, appearing everywhere from the opinion pages of the Daily Telegraph to neighbourhood Facebook groups and the speeches of MPs such as Nigel Farage.Less prominent, but increasingly influential, has been the role of some in academia quietly arguing that civil war is coming to a “culturally fractured” Britain amid economic stagnation and a collapse of trust in politics.“I think you will see something like Belfast during the Troubles, or Baghdad circa 2008 and 2010, in largely urban areas where people are essentially fortifying their neighbourhood for protection,” said David Betz, a professor of war in the modern world at Kings College London, in one of a plethora of interviews over recent months to right-leaning podcasts where he has found an eager and sympathetic audience

Guardian readers raise £750,000 for charities uniting divided communities

The Guardian’s Hope appeal has so far raised over £750,000, with generous readers digging deep to support inspirational grassroots charities that bring together divided communities, promote tolerance, and tackle racism and hatred.The 2025 Guardian appeal is raising funds for five charities: Citizens UK, the Linking Network, Locality, Hope Unlimited Charitable Trust, and Who Is Your Neighbour?Launched in December, the Hope appeal is intended as a positive blast of hope and optimism against an unsettling backdrop of extremist violence and harassment, anti-migrant rhetoric, and the re-emergence of “1970s-style racism”.The latest of our editorial series featuring our partner charities highlights the astonishing response of community and faith groups in Liverpool in the wake of the Southport riots in 2024, when “solidarity blossomed” and thousands gathered to face down a threatened racist attack on a local refugee support centre.“There was a sense of relief, solidarity, hope. We had seen a big rise of hate, but [then] we saw a big rise of love,” Dr Badr Abdullah, the chair of Liverpool Muslim Society, a member of appeal partner Citizens UK, told the Guardian’s northern editor Josh Halliday

US sees spike in flu cases in December, after most severe season since 2018

The United States has seen the number of influenza cases climb significantly in December, coming after the most severe flu season since 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.It’s not yet clear whether there will be an increase in the total number of people who get the flu this season – or whether more people just got it at once in December – but more than 3,100 people died from the virus in the US in the year ending August 2025, according to the latest data from the CDC.As such, people who have not yet gotten a flu vaccine should still get one, according to Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Brown University.“Bottom line for people, if they haven’t gotten vaccinated against the flu, they should get vaccinated, particularly young kids and older adults,” Nuzzo said.The spike in cases comes after a 2024-2025 flu season that was the most severe since 2018, according to the CDC

More than half of UK therapists report seeing rise in out-of-control porn use

More than half of therapists who work with men with addiction have noticed a rise in out-of-control porn use over the past year, according to new data.Experts are urgently calling for a national strategy on pornography as a total of 53% of therapists surveyed by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) said they had seen a rise in people seeking help for problematic pornography use that was interfering with their life or driving them to seek out more extreme content.The BACP survey of nearly 3,000 accredited therapists and counsellors found a growing number of people claiming to be addicted to pornographic content, with many reporting that they were neglecting their responsibilities or damaging their relationships as a result.Some people arrived at therapy with physical sexual problems such as erectile dysfunction, having been referred by NHS sexual health clinics, experts said.Dr Paula Hall, an expert in sex and porn addiction, called for the government to urgently look at the problem of porn addiction – something that affects “significant numbers” of people of all ages and genders – and its effects on society more widely

‘I’d try to hide it as best I could’: a UK man on his struggle with porn addiction

Ben Lennard would make jokes with his friends about pornography, the kind of banter men in their mid-20s often share.But in hindsight, he understands the humour was a deflection tool to mask a problem that was destroying his life.“I have a lot of banter with friends and people around me, I have a humorous side,” he said. “So for me, when I was watching it, even if I was out in public or there were people around, I’d just be humorous about it. But no one knew the addiction

Growing numbers of over-60s facing homelessness, charities warn

The housing crisis has reached the country’s oldest generations, charities have warned, with a growing number of people over the age of 60 seeking help for homelessness.Housing charities said they had seen cases of people over-60 developing health problems from being forced to sleep in their car for months, having to sleep on camp beds in emergency shelters and seeking homelessness support even while suffering illnesses such as cancer.Marie Dennehy, a senior service manager at St Mungo’s, said they had seen an increase in over-65s, often with complex health problems, coming to them for emergency housing support over the past two years.“We’ve got a guy in the service at the moment who’s 87 – it’s madness,” she said. “We never used to see the number of pensioners we’re seeing now