Christmas tourists are noticing a growing military presence in Lapland, where Santa Park doubles as a bomb shelter

Billed as the official home town of Santa Claus, or joulupukki as he is known in Finland, the city of Rovaniemi offers every imaginable Father Christmas-related experience – from a visit to his “office” on the Arctic Circle to reindeer sleigh rides. He even has his own branch of the Finnish design house Marimekko.

But this Christmas season, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world coming in search of Santa, Finnish Lapland’s snow-covered capital is becoming an increasingly popular destination for international military visitors.

Wes Streeting’s plan to make booking easier made sense. Then I encountered an AI triagist, a stubborn receptionist and a Kafkaesque vicious circle

A couple of months ago the health secretary, Wes Streeting, rolled out his latest master plan to save the NHS. From 1 October, it became compulsory for all GP practices in England to offer the online option for patients to request non-urgent appointments or medical advice throughout core working hours (8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday).

The doctors’ union might not have much liked it, but it made sense to regular punters like me. It seemed like a common sense means of avoiding the maddening early morning scramble for the few available appointments, hanging on for an age, only to be told all the slots have gone. Or worse, just have the phone go dead on you.

Simon Hattenstone is a features writer for the Guardian

Our writer tried out seven activities: forget novelty mugs and aftershave – these are the gifts they’ll actually appreciate

• The best Christmas gifts for 2025

Want to give the ultimate waste-free gift, or buy someone something they didn’t even know they wanted? Then try an experience they won’t quickly forget, or stash away at the back of a kitchen cupboard.

You can experience almost anything these days, from pig petting to a “smash it” rage room where you choose a weapon and break things (yes, really). But for this guide, I tried seven more palatable experiences to suit a range of tastes, ages and budgets: experiences that felt unusual but that your recipient might actually enjoy – and some (as I did with life drawing) they might want to take up as a hobby. Most experiences were local to me in London, but all activities selected have alternatives nationwide, of which we’ve listed a few below.

About 56,000 people control three times as much wealth as half of humanity. Here’s one way to illustrate that

Cruising around on private jets, the ultra-rich are the world’s financial elite – but how many people actually occupy this exclusive wealth club? Could they all fit into a floating mega-yacht, or is the group much bigger, possibly the size of a dazzling mega-rich city?

Thanks to an inequality report out on Wednesday, we now have a snapshot of the size of the topmost layer floating above everyone else – the 0.001%.

As the first learning-disabled artist to win the UK’s most prestigious art award, Kalu has smashed a ‘very stubborn glass ceiling’. Her facilitator reveals why her victory is so seismic – and the secrets of her party playlist

The morning after the Turner prize ceremony, the winner of the UK’s most prestigious art award, Nnena Kalu, is eating toast and drinking a strong cup of tea. Everyone around her is beaming – only a little the worse for wear after dancing their feet off at the previous night’s party in Bradford, and sinking “a couple of brandies” back at the hotel bar. I say hello to Kalu, offer my congratulations, and admire the 59-year-old’s beautifully manicured creamy pink nails. But the interview is with her facilitator, Charlotte Hollinshead, who has worked with the artist since 1999. Kalu has limited verbal communication skills; she has learning disabilities and is autistic.

As for Hollinshead, she is struggling to encapsulate the enormity of the win: for Kalu herself; for ActionSpace, the organisation that has supported her for 25 years; and for the visibility and acceptance of artists with learning disabilities within the wider art world. “It’s unbelievably huge,” she says. “I have to think back to where we started, when there was absolutely no interest whatsoever. I’d sit at dinner parties with friends in the art world. Nobody was interested in what I did, or who we worked with. We couldn’t get any exhibitions anywhere. No galleries were interested. Other artists weren’t interested. Art students weren’t interested. We have had to claw our way up from the very depths of the bottom.”

We asked you to share your views on your children’s use of social media and how the ban is affecting your family. Here is what you told us

For some parents, social media sucks up their children’s time and steals them away from family life, instilling mental health issues along the way. For others, it provides their children with an essential line to friends, family, connection and support.

When Australia’s social media ban came into effect on Wednesday, millions of under-16s lost access to their accounts and were prevented from creating new ones.

Britain aligns with some of Europe’s hardline governments in calling for change to allow Rwanda-style migration deals

• UK politics live – latest updates

The UK has joined some of Europe’s hardline governments in calling for human rights laws to be “constrained” to allow Rwanda-style migration deals with third countries and more foreign criminals to be deported.

Twenty-seven of the 46 Council of Europe members including the UK, Hungary and Italy have signed an unofficial statement that also urges a new framework for the European convention of human rights, which will narrow the definition of “inhuman and degrading treatment”.

L/Cpl George Hooley, 28, reportedly died in accident away from frontline while observing test with Ukrainian soldiers

The British soldier who died in Ukraine on Tuesday has been named as L/Cpl George Hooley, 28, of the Parachute regiment.

Keir Starmer told the Commons on Wednesday that Hooley had died in a “tragic accident” away from the frontlines while watching a test of “a new defensive capability” with members of the Ukrainian military.

BMA says consulation on calling off action follows offer from government on ‘ending the jobs crisis for doctors’

Resident doctors are to be consulted on whether or not to call off next week’s planned strike after receiving an offer from the government, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.

Medics are due to strike for five days from 17 December because of an ongoing row over pay and concerns over training places.

Party says appointments needed to balance composition, choosing former advisers to No 10 and the chancellor

• UK politics live – latest updates

Keir Starmer has appointed 25 Labour peers including a number of former senior government and party aides in a bid to strengthen his hand in the House of Lords.

Matthew Doyle, a former No 10 director of communications, and Katie Martin, a former chief of staff to Rachel Reeves, will be among those appointed to the upper house in a move first reported by the Guardian.