Netflix to acquire Warner Bros in massive $82.7bn deal

Netflix has struck a bombshell deal to buy Warner Bros, including its film and television studios HBO and HBO Max, for $82.7 billion. This means that fan-favorite franchises — including Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Harry Potter and the DC universe — will all join Netflix’s portfolio.

A memo sent to Warner Bros employees and viewed by The Independent stated the deal is subject to several conditions, including the completion of the separation of Discovery Global and Warner Bros Discovery.

“This decision reflects the realities of an industry undergoing generational change – in how stories are financed, produced, distributed and discovered – and recognizes the strong, transformed company we are today,” the memo read in part.

The deal — which includes about $10 billion in debt, with an equity value of $72 billion — is not expected to close before the third quarter of 2026, when the Discovery Global separation is set to be completed. It’s not yet clear what changes will affect customers when the deal closes.

In the end, Netflix sealed the blockbuster deal by offering $27.75 per share, which will see each WBD shareholder receive $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in shares of Netflix common stock. On top of that, Netflix is offering a $5.8 billion reverse breakup fee if government regulators do not approve the deal, which topped the $5 billion that David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance had offered in its latest bid.

“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” co-CEO of Netflix Ted Sarandos said in a statement.

“By combining Warner Bros’ incredible library of shows and movies — from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends — with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we’ll be able to do that even better,” he continued. “Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”

Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who sent a memo to WBD staffers Friday morning explaining details of the deal, declared the merger “combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world” to bring more options to consumers.

“For more than a century, Warner Bros has thrilled audiences, captured the world’s attention, and shaped our culture,” he added. “By coming together with Netflix, we will ensure people everywhere will continue to enjoy the world’s most resonant stories for generations to come.”

While Paramount was proposing to acquire all of Warner Bros Discovery’s assets as part of its bid, the Netflix deal will allow WBD to proceed with the announced separation of its Streaming & Studios and Global Networks divisions into two separate companies. Discovery Global, which will separate from Warner Bros in late 2026 and prior to the completion of the Netflix deal, includes the cable television brands CNN, TNT Sports, Discovery and TBS, a number of free-to-air channels in Europe, as well as digital and streaming products such as Discovery+ and Bleacher Report.

The acquisition comes after a bitter bidding war that pitted WBD against Paramount and Comcast, the home of NBCUniversal.

Lawyers for Paramount sent a blistering letter to Zaslav this week, complaining about the sale process, claiming that it had become “tilted and unfair” after Warner Bros requested second-round bids from suitors looking to acquire some or all of the company’s assets. Besides Paramount and Netflix, Comcast – the corporation that owns NBCUniversal – has also expressed interest in merging with Warner Bros.

“It has become increasingly clear, through media reporting and otherwise, that WBD appears to have abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process, thereby abdicating its duties to stockholders, and embarked on a myopic process with a predetermined outcome that favors a single bidder,” the letter from attorneys at Quinn Emanuel states, which CNBC published in full.

“We specifically request and expect this letter will be shared and discussed with the full board of directors of WBD.”

The note to Zaslav and the WBD board of directors comes on the heels of a Reuters report that Netflix’s proposed purchase of WBD’s studios and streaming unit would likely reduce streaming costs for consumers by bundling Netflix’s app with HBO Max.

“In recent talks with Warner Bros Discovery, Netflix said the potential combination of its streaming service with HBO Max would benefit consumers by lowering the cost of a bundled offering,” Reuters noted, adding that the vast majority of Netflix users also subscribe to WBD’s streaming service.

Backed by his ultra-wealthy father Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and a close ally of President Donald Trump, David Ellison had been desperately attempting to add Warner Bros Discovery to his burgeoning media empire in recent months. Following the Trump administration’s approval of Skydance’s $8.4 billion merger with Paramount, which came on the heels of a politically fraught process that saw Paramount pay Trump $16 million to settle his “meritless” 60 Minutes lawsuit, Ellison began an aggressive campaign to take over WBD.

Ellison, who felt he had a “Trump card” in his takeover pursuit of Warner Bros, was rebuffed at every turn. After the WBD board roundly rejected Paramount’s first three offers, Zaslaz essentially hung a “for sale” sign on the company and opened up the bidding to other suitors. Still, throughout the process, Ellison exuded confidence that he would ultimately succeed in convincing the board to approve a merger between the two media giants — largely because he argued that only Paramount’s bid would be approved by the Trump administration.

“Other potential acquirers of WBD — today or in the future — would need to overcome significant (perhaps insurmountable) hurdles given their dominant market positions,” Ellison wrote to the board in October.

Trump, who has repeatedly gushed over Ellison and praised him as a “great man” since the Paramount-Skydance merger, has applauded the changes Ellison has made to CBS News in recent months. This includes hiring anti-woke opinion writer Bari Weiss as CBS News’ editor-in-chief, installing a former Trump appointee and right-wing think tank leader as the news network’s ombudsman, and eliminating the company’s diversity hiring policies. The prospect of Ellison reshaping CNN — which Trump has long despised and deemed “fake news” — in the same vein as CBS News obviously appealed to the media-bashing president.

Despite the belief that he had the inside edge due to a favorable regulatory path enabled by his family’s friendship with the president, Ellison began lashing out this week when it became obvious that Netflix had jumped into the lead after Warner Bros Discovery asked suitors to submit a second round of bids. Amid reports that Zaslav and the board were leaning towards Netflix, Paramount fumed that the sale process had become tainted.

“Several U.S. media outlets have reported on the enthusiasm by WBD management for a transaction with Netflix, and on statements by management that a transaction between WBD and Netflix would be a ‘slam dunk,’ while also referring to Paramount’s bid in a negative light,” Paramount’s memo to Warner Bros stated this week. “Additional reporting since the submission of revised bids on December 1 has indicated that WBD’s ‘board has really warmed to’ a transaction with Netflix due to the ‘chemistry between’ WBD management and Netflix management.”

Ahead of the Netflix-WBD deal announcement, Status News noted Thursday evening that a failed deal this past summer between WBD and Paramount over a South Park licensing agreement “helped poison the well between David Zaslav and David Ellison,” and this tension was an undercurrent running through the Warner Bros auction.

Meanwhile, the New York Post reported earlier this week that Ellison had a “Plan B” in place in case he fell short — and it involved invoking his relationship with the president.

“But if the board chooses Netflix, the Ellisons are developing a game plan that involves going over the head of the board and directly telling Warner’s shareholders, similar to a hostile bid for the company, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter,” the Post wrote. “Their pitch: the Netflix deal is doomed to fail, facing rejection by President Trump’s antitrust cops at the Department of Justice and, if litigated, a loss in federal courts.”

Even before the Netflix deal was announced on Friday morning, MAGA lawmakers were expressing their concern about the merger and suggesting that the purchase wouldn’t clear regulatory hurdles.

“Learning about Netflix’s ambition to buy its real competitive threat — WBD’s streaming business — should send alarm to antitrust enforcers around the world,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) tweeted Wednesday night. “This potential transaction, if it were to materialize, would raise serious competition questions — perhaps more so than any transaction I’ve seen in about a decade.”

Flights delayed and cancelled at Edinburgh Airport after IT issue

All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue with air traffic control.

The airport announced all flights from the Scottish hub have now resumed, but many passengers may still face delays and cancellations throughout Friday.

According to the airport’s live departure and arrival boards, one flight from Manchester was diverted, about 12 flights were cancelled, and 20 flights were facing delays, with some by more than two hours.

Flights to London Gatwick, Bristol, Amsterdam and Frankfurt have been cancelled. Others, including flights to London and Dublin, have been delayed.

Some passengers have reported being stuck in planes on the runway on Friday morning.

Passengers said they were “gutted and stressed” when they heard their flights had been cancelled.

Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, told Sky News they were due to travel to Amsterdam on their first holiday together. But when they arrived at the airport, there was an announcement that their flight had been cancelled.

“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already. This was our first time going away together,” Morven said.

Another passenger said they were told the airfield was closed due to air traffic control halfway through boarding their flight.

The airport explained on social media platform X that the outage was a localised issue, and advised customers to contact their airline for information about their flight.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said: “Flights at Edinburgh Airport have now resumed following the IT issue with ANS, our air traffic control provider. We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”

The resumption of flights comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted, which read: “No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport.

“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible. We will provide updates when possible – please contact your airline for the latest information on your flight.”

It is understood that the issue was not linked to the earlier Cloudflare outage. Visitors to a number of pages saw a “500 internet server error” warning, rather than the content they expected, on sites including X, Substack, Canva and Down Detector.

The airport is the sixth-busiest in the UK, and the busiest in Scotland. It was used by 15.8 million passengers last year.

Nats, which manages most of the UK’s airspace, said during the outage it would “work closely with the airlines impacted and support as best we can”.

A spokesperson for Air Navigation Solutions, which is responsible for air traffic control at the airport, said: “This morning, a technical issue affected one of our systems at Edinburgh Airport, and it impacted flight operations.

“Our technical capability has now been reinstated, and flights have since resumed.

“Safety is our number one priority, and our engineers worked at pace to restore system capability as quickly as possible.

“We regret the inconvenience that this is causing and thank everyone for their patience.”

It is not yet known exactly how many passengers were affected by the incident.

World Cup 2026 draw live: England and Scotland learn group stage fate

The World Cup 2026 draw takes place today as one of the most extraordinary tournaments in history begins to takes shape.

This World Cup will be the first to include 48 nations, and Fifa’s newly expanded format will see each team drawn into one of 12 groups, from A to L. It will also be the first World Cup to be hosted by three countries as Mexico and Canada join forces with USA to stage the giant showpiece, taking place in 16 cities across North America from Los Angeles to New York via Mexico City and Toronto.

England are among the favourites to lift the trophy in New Jersey on 19 July, as Thomas Tuchel aims to do what Gareth Southgate couldn’t quite manage and claim glory in a major final. But there will be plenty of contenders next summer such as Spain, France, Germany, Brazil and reigning champions Argentina. Scotland, meanwhile, will be aiming to make a big impact at a first World Cup for 28 years.

The draw is taking place at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC amid much pomp and ceremony, with US President Donald Trump in attendance alongside Fifa president Gianni Infantino, a move that has attracted accusations over ‘shame’ towards the governing body. Follow the 2026 World Cup draw below.

Dr Alex George explains his proven tips for feeling happier

The way we process emotions and regulate our mood is a series of patterns that starts when we’re young. Dr Alex George’s new book Happy Habits: your guide to feeling happy, calm and confident was written for children to help them master tools to help with this, but the advice inside is relevant for all ages.

Speaking on the Well Enough podcast, George told host Emilie Lavinia: “Every emotional state has its role, and if you think about someone sat in a control room with lots of levers [for] happiness, anger, sadness, guilt, shame, all these different things, those levers all have a job and they all need to work at the right time. But what we don’t want is being stuck on sad all the time. We don’t want to be stuck on happy all the time either.

“But ultimately, we do want to be in a state where when the time comes that we would normally be happy – maybe on holiday with a group of good people – that we are able to access that feeling. So many people are extremely depressed, they have this kind of anhedonia or this lack of ability to feel that emotion. And that’s a scary feeling to have. “

Psychotherapist Anna Mathur joined Dr George on the podcast and reflected on the barriers and catalysts that affect our emotional states. She said: “we can feel so much guilt, can’t we? ‘I’m so grateful for being on this holiday but I’m living in a waiting room for bad things to happen’. We’re just kind of there in this brace position and wondering why we’re not kind of able to lean into the joy and the good things around us. We can see it, but we don’t feel it.”

Mathur, the author of The Uncomfortable Truth and The Good Decision Diary explained how we can often mistake a quick hit of dopamine for true happiness and how this can be incredibly confusing for the majority of people.

“We know about the serotonin and the endorphins, the happy hits that make us feel good. But it’s so much more than that. There are so many other things in our lives and ultimately, we have to feel safe to feel happy,” she said.

“If you are in that kind of activated nervous system state, the fight or flight or the sympathetic nervous system as we call it, you are braced. We are just waiting for the next curve ball to come and we’re questioning, where is the joy, where is the ease? We are stressed and we might not even realise it. And then happiness becomes so much harder to access.”

The pair discussed simple tools for understanding and processing complex emotions and techniques for accessing feelings of safety and joy. Dr George reflected on some of his personal experiences, including his decision to start the #postyourpill movement on social media – a phenomenon that began with a viral photo of his packet of antidepressants.

“Maybe I’m the great oversharer – I guess that’s ADHD. It’s like, ‘oh god, maybe I shouldn’t overshare that much’, he said.

“People look to me and say, you’re this mental fitness advocate, you’re this mental health campaigner. You therefore should be whole and fixed all the time. But the reason I share is that life is very messy. People are messy. And often the people that seem to have it most together often really don’t. I really just wanted to show people real life isn’t like that. Unfortunately grief is part of life and that’s difficult. Ups and downs, your mental health is inevitable.”

Mathur also spoke candidly about masking emotions, the burden of toxic positivity and her own life behind the scenes. She explained how she now prioritises resting and sees rest as a tool for happiness and resilience, rather than feeling guilty about it.

Reflecting on the advice in his book and Mathur’s suggestions, Dr George said: “I think if I’d have been given even some of those tools and the science of why it happens – cause there is science, this isn’t just fluffy stuff, it is hard science – I think a lot of my suffering would’ve been reduced and I think I probably would’ve been a lot happier as a child.”

The episode also covered both guests’ wellness tips and non-negotiables such as going for a walk and spending time in nature, and practical tips and tools for regulating mood, supporting child mental health and finding mental health support close to you.

Listen to the episode here and watch the full episode on YouTube. Well Enough is available wherever you get your podcasts.

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I’m with you, Meghan – no one should lecture you on how to deal with a problem parent

The irony couldn’t be more Meghan Markle if she’d gift-wrapped it, sprigged it with holly, and tied it with a bow. Just as the Duchess of Sussex unveils her Christmas Netflix broadcast, declaring this a time for family, her estranged father, Thomas Markle, is perilously ill in intensive care.

Cue the world and his wife demanding: “Will she attend what could be his deathbed?” Then issuing a Mexican wave of horror that the answer looks like: “No.”

Markle Sr, who lives in the Philippines, was taken into intensive care on Tuesday, undergoing amputation surgery a day later. He now requires a further procedure.

“If Meghan doesn’t visit her seriously ill father now, she will regret it,” threatened one commentator. “Unforgivable!” thundered another. Comparisons to King Lear abound. For a woman so fascinated by inspirational quotes, the collective message was clear: “Drop the celebrity fake friends and get your ass to Manila.”

The Duchess and her husband both have form with this – but so does their generation. Here, the millennial intolerance for so-called “toxic” behaviour and passion for “boundaries” has led to what some refer to as an epidemic of familial, not least parental, ostracism. This gets blamed for being a therapised response, yet appears more about Instagram counselling, rendering this private form of cancelling a routine response. In a book on the topic, Cornell’s Professor Karl Pillemer estimated that 67 million Americans are estranged from a relation – and that was five years ago, before the Insta-spurning trend took hold.

Even in this context, the Montecito royals have impressive form, having shunned first an ex-husband and former friends, then their parents, siblings and an entire nation. Still, is it right for any of us to tell any adult with an ailing parent that she must do her “duty” and see him? Hell, no. This is a private relationship in which private s**t has gone down.

As for the contention that Meghan’s father “wasn’t abusive”, thus doesn’t deserve this treatment – who are we to judge? Only a couple of months ago, a close friend of some 25 years confided that her father had sexually abused her, in addition to all the other damage he had inflicted. She still spends time with him, which is her call. Just as it is Meghan’s call not to do so with her parent.

If I sound as if I have skin in the game here, I hold my hands up to it. I’m not saying my family invented “cut-off culture”, as they call it in the United States, but the Bettses were certainly early adopters. My father never spoke to my mother’s father (who opposed their union). My mother’s parents cast her off in my early years, then again when I was in my teens. While my father refused contact with his twin for the final quarter century of his life. I myself have been on the receiving end of such edicts, not least my mother excommunicating me from the fold for a decade for something I hadn’t done. She relented when I was 42. Six months later, she was dead.

This act blighted my thirties, f***ing me up in precisely the ways Philip Larkin details in “This Be the Verse”. You’d think this would make me an opponent of cut-off culture. And, it’s true, I would do anything for the Bettses not to replicate this practice into future generations. Still, I defend the right of every human being to decide who is and isn’t in their life.

The Ten Commandment voodoo about parental honouring be damned. We needed kin to survive back in the Bronze Age when said Commandments were composed. These days, that kin can feel more of a stranglehold.

Just because someone shares your DNA doesn’t mean they’re allowed infinite opportunity to mess with your mind. Forget the EastEnders cry of “faaam’ly!”, or the proverb that “blood is thicker than water”. People can do things that are beyond the pale, and those people can be related to you. You, in turn, are allowed to draw a line. Your clan, your call.

Cut-off culture may be a generational shift in what constitutes abuse, but that’s for every generation to decide. Some of these spurnings may be “snowflake” neuroticism. However, like divorce figures, they will also conceal a refusal to be driven to despair, death-bed drama included.

As so often, the opening lines of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina spring to mind: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Just as one can’t judge a marriage from the outside, so it is impossible to judge a family. I’m lucky. I was reconciled with my mother before she died, nursing a redemptive act. However, Meghan Markle is at liberty not to choose this course, and the rest of the world should butt out.

Perfect portraits: from groups to selfies and candid pics, expert tips

Portrait photography has come a long way from the days where everyone needed to be smiling directly into the camera, as a flash bulb popped.

And in fact, following on from an era where social media sites offered very curated, sometimes heavily filtered snapshots of our lives, more natural, candid images that really show off our personalities and experiences are now very much on trend. Think authentic photos of genuine moments where no-one is really paying attention to the camera. Instead they’re focused on enjoying what’s happening and the people they are with. For example, friends around a table enjoying a drink and a chat. Families engaged in a favourite activity. Photos that look like a glimpse into someone’s normal every day.

The best way to capture these in-the-moment shots? On a mobile: our ever-present, hand-held, do-everything device that has steadily taken over photography in the 26 years since the first camera phone appeared. Samsung’s newest device, the Galaxy S25 FE offers a wealth of photography-first features, from multiple cameras, lenses and wide angle settings, to in-built AI technology that will help you take the best possible pictures, then easily edit them afterwards. And as a photographer who runs masterclasses in mobile photography I couldn’t wait to try it out.

The phone itself is slim and lightweight, which makes it so much easier to hold steady, for clear, crisp, blur-free images, and take discreet, candid snaps.

Of course, we all have friends, family members and even pets who love performing for the camera. But for those who are a bit more reluctant to step into the frame, the Galaxy S25 FE offers a whole host of easy-to-use, fun AI features that will have even the most camera-shy feeling completely confident and ready for their close-up.

Samsung’s Drawing Assist function is a prime example and was an absolute hit with my kids, transforming our Sunday afternoon walk from a litany of moaning and dragging feet into a fun-filled adventure involving a lucky escape from the shark that apparently now lives in the park pond, and flying through the air with some giant balloons.

And all it took was a few simple, if strategically positioned snaps and some quick sketches using the Sketch to Image* function when editing the photo. This works best when you have some space in the frame around your subjects so you can easily draw what you want to add. In the shark image, for example, we needed enough water to the left of my kids for the shark to emerge from.

In the photo where the children are flying with the balloons, I needed them to be high up against the sky, and I also wanted the trees visible to add some context to the story we were trying to tell. They’re on top of the boulders, but I had to crouch down on the ground to cut out the houses in the background. By using the Generative Edit** function I was then able to replace the boulders with trees and then used Sketch to Image to draw in some balloons to make it look like they were floating away.

You don’t need to be an amazing artist for Sketch to Image to work well either, just enough line and shape for the app to recognise what you want to add into your image. The only limit here is your imagination and creativity. Involving the kids in some fun photography also meant that I got to capture some real, candid moments of them in the beautiful Autumn sunshine, with none of the usual complaints.

While playing around with reality can be fun, the Galaxy S25FE’s other AI features can also be used to make more subtle adjustments to enhance your images.

Just a few minutes of work with the Generative Edit function on a day out with a friend, helped me erase two unwanted photobombers from a photo (in which she perfectly co-ordinated with the graffitied heart wall in Borough Market). While removing some distracting weedkiller from the table where my cat was basking in the sunshine ensured the perfect pic where I can really appreciate him in all his fluffy glory.

Aside from fun and helpful editing functions, the phone’s AI technology is also running in the background to give your photos a boost, whatever and whenever you are capturing them.

This is great when you’re shooting challenging lighting conditions, for example at night. Dark, grainy and blurred photos are a thing of the past, with Samsung’s Nightography feature. Tapping the yellow moon icon that appears in dim lighting will enable this clever function which captures multiple images and then uses AI to blend them together to create one sharper, brighter image.

This can take a few seconds, so you’ll need to keep very still when using this feature – if you can, brace your arms on a table and hold the phone with two hands to keep the camera as steady as possible. It also helps if your subject is still, so this is more for capturing adults and older kids than snapping a restless pet or fast-moving child.

For these trickier subjects, from youngsters to four-legged friends, the excellent autofocus on the device makes for pin-sharp portraits rendered in high definition. And if you couple that with the outstanding Samsung colour profile you get beautifully saturated, nicely contrasted images which really pop. All the colours are beautifully rendered and all skin tones (and fur tones) are true to life. No filters are needed here.

And this is not just true of portraits you take of other people. The 12 MP camera lens on the front of the phone makes for gorgeously rendered, high resolution selfies with a variety of crop options, so you can find the perfect angle or image composition.

Taking a selfie at a 1:1 square crop, as well as the standard 3:4 crop option means you can easily include a friend or family member in your photo. And there’s a lovely little feature where you can get the lens to zoom out a little by tapping the ‘two person’ icon to provide a little extra space.

The 9:16 crop option means you can opt for a more flattering, longer and thinner photo while the full frame cop allows you a more zoomed-in selfie.

And if you want to take your selfies to another level, the option to add a little skin toning and smoothing effect and iron out any wrinkles (or in my case remove evidence of a sleepless night) is one of the additional features that makes the selfie camera stand out!

The excellent battery life means you don’t need to worry about it lasting, even after a few hours of photo fun. And when your battery does run down, lightning fast charging will see you back at 60 per cent in just 30 minutes, so you don’t have to wait long until you are good to go again.

Overall, whether it is taking vibrant portraits of yourself or capturing creative, candid images of the people (and pets) in your lives, making memories you’ll want to share is easy and fun with the Galaxy S25 FE.

Kirsty Hamilton is a portrait photographer – find out more at her website and on Instagram.

To find out more about the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE visit Samsung

*Samsung account login and network connection may be required for certain AI features.

**Samsung account login is required. Requires network connection.

Wear a face mask if unwell amid flu ‘tidal wave’, say health officials

Britons have been urged to wear a mask in public if they feel unwell, amid warnings the NHS is facing a “tidal wave” of illness ahead of Christmas.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued advice on how to avoid catching and spreading flu, Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses this winter.

This year’s flu season started earlier than usual and is yet to reach a peak, meaning pressure on hospitals is likely to grow in the run-up to Christmas.

Experts said the early start to the current flu season and the emergence of a “drifted influenza A(H3N2) strain” has caused some concern.

Outlining how people can reduce the spread of respiratory infections, it advised people to “wear a mask when you are unwell and need to go out”.

It also advised people get vaccinated if you are eligible, stay at home if you are feeling unwell, let fresh air in if meeting others indoors, practise good hygiene such as coughing into your bent elbow and washing your hands frequently with warm, soapy water.

“Along with the other measures set out in the current guidance, face coverings continue to be a useful tool in limiting the spread respiratory viruses in some situations,” it said.

“As existing guidance states, wearing a well-fitting mask when unwell can reduce the number of particles containing viruses that are released from the mouth and nose of someone who is infected with a respiratory infection.

“Face coverings can also protect the person wearing them from becoming infected with other respiratory viruses.”

If you have a high temperature, do not feel well enough to go to work and have symptoms of a cold, flu or other respiratory infection, the UKHSA advises to stay at home and avoid contact with other people, until you feel better.

It added: “If you need to go out, then avoid close contact with anyone who you know is at higher risk of becoming seriously unwell.”

It comes as health chiefs warn the NHS is facing a “tidal wave” of illness ahead of Christmas, as flu cases reach the highest on record for this time of year.

Every day last week 1,717 patients were admitted to hospitals in England with the infection, up 56 per cent on the same week last year, according to NHS England.

Data suggests the UK could be facing the worst flu season in decades, putting pressure on hospitals just as resident doctors are set to stage another five-day strike over pay and conditions.

The latest flu figures have been published by the NHS to show the performance of hospitals in England this winter. They are seven times as high as in 2023, when there was an average of 243 flu patients a day.

Daniel Elkeles, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “The NHS is facing a tidal wave of flu. It’s very worrying to see the figures at a record high for the time of year — and still heading up. That’s alongside all the other winter bugs piling the pressure on the NHS.

“The last thing anyone needs now is the prospect of another strike by resident doctors bringing yet more disruption and distress for patients. We urge the BMA to see sense, get round the table with the government and end the dispute so we can have all hands on deck in the lead-up to Christmas.”

As Israel is set to compete, Eurovision’s future hangs in the balance

Is this the end of Eurovision as we know it? The annual song contest is in crisis once again after it confirmed that Israel would be allowed to participate in next year’s event, despite calls from several participating broadcasters to exclude the country over its war in Gaza. Four countries – Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands – immediately announced their intention to boycott the contest in response.

To many, Eurovision has become politicised to the point of no return. It’s a sad state of affairs for a show that introduced the world to Abba and Celine Dion, and whose slogan is “united by music”. Only in the last decade, too, did it feel as though it had shaken off its image as a cheesy novelty show – especially to our cynical UK audience – and gone mainstream as one of the year’s cultural highlights. It is not an understatement to say that Eurovision is now facing the biggest crisis of its 69-year history, as other participating countries threaten to walk out if Israel is not allowed to compete.

By banning Russia in 2022, a precedent was set. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the event, disqualified the country over “the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”, stating that the inclusion of a Russian entry would bring the competition into disrepute. This marked an about-turn on their original (and highly controversial) statement: that they would not ban Russia as Eurovision was a “non-political cultural event that unites nations and celebrates diversity through music”.

In doing so, as The Independent’s critic Mark Beaumont argued last year, the EBU “painted Eurovision and its anti-political ethos into a corner”. Yet the show’s insistence on its status as a non-political celebration of the power of music in bringing people together has been shaky for some time. As the contest grew from a fun, frequently cheesy celebration of pop, it started to become increasingly relevant to the social and political changes taking place around the world. Israel’s win with transgender singer Dana International in 1998 was hailed as a powerful expression of tolerance and LGBTQ+ visibility. Conchita Wurst’s victory in 2014 echoed that sentiment, while much was made of the solidarity and support for Ukraine with Kalush Orchestra’s emotional win in 2022, which occurred three months into Russia’s invasion.

In the last two years though, the situation involving Israel has shown the EBU’s “non-political” stance to be untenable. Insiders told me of the “horrible” atmosphere backstage at the 2024 contest in Malmö, Sweden, while contestants also reported a “tense” and difficult time. Irish delegate Bambi Thug, who uses they/them pronouns, publicly accused the EBU of failing to support them after they accused Israel’s broadcaster, KAN, of a rule break, while thousands of people protested outside the arena against the country’s inclusion. This year was no better, as Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael – a survivor of the 7 October Hamas attack on the Nova music festival – performed to boos and an attempt to crash the stage during the live final.

It was in stark contrast to my experience attending the 2022 contest in Turin, Italy, where the backstage mood could only be compared to that of a school play – excited contestants hanging out together in all manner of colourful costumes, cheering each other on. And in my 10 years of covering Eurovision for The Independent, I can’t recall a more tense round of voting than the moment Israel looked set to take the win this year, only to be trumped by Austria’s JJ at the last minute. The 2026 contest would therefore be held in Vienna, hosted by the winning country. Graham Norton, hosting the BBC’s coverage, said: “I think the EBU will be breathing the largest sigh of relief that they are not faced with a Tel Aviv final next year.”

The EBU did not hold a vote on Israel’s participation for 2026, perhaps in a misguided attempt to avoid further confrontation between countries that still support it, and the ones that have condemned its attacks on Gaza. Instead, it asked broadcasters to vote on whether to introduce new rules designed to prevent governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to influence voters. In a statement after its general assembly on Thursday (5 December), it said that a “large majority” of members had agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation, and that “the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place”.

This includes a change to the public voting system after the Israeli government was accused of breaking the spirit of the contest’s rules by encouraging citizens abroad to use their 20 allotted votes for Raphael. In future contests, no viewer will be permitted to cast more than 10 votes on the night.

This hasn’t been enough to placate those who still believe that Israel should not be allowed to participate. Irish broadcaster RTÉ said taking part would be “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”. Spain’s culture minister Ernest Urtasun backed the boycott by national broadcaster RTVE, commenting: “You can’t whitewash Israel given the genocide in Gaza. Culture should be on the side of peace and justice. I’m proud of an RTVE that puts human rights before any economic interest.” It is safe to presume that other countries might follow suit.

Eurovision turns 70 next year, but it seems unlikely that it will find much cause for celebration. Announcing the voting changes last month, Martin Green, who runs the contest, said: “The Eurovision Song Contest belongs to all of us, and it must remain a place where music takes centre stage.” At this point, he and the EBU are only fooling themselves. Far from united by music, the world’s biggest singing competition has never felt so divided.