In the headlines
Officials in Westminster have threatened to veto a new Scottish law allowing trans people to self-declare their gender without a medical diagnosis. The Scottish Parliament has also voted to lower the age when people can legally change their gender to 16, which UK ministers say could threaten the safety of children. Thousands of flights have been cancelled in the US as a “bomb cyclone” brings the coldest Christmas in decades, says the BBC. The “once-in-a-generation” storm will see temperatures drop as low as -55C, chilly enough to cause frostbite on bare skin in five minutes. Nigella Lawson has warned against “obscene over-indulgence” this festive season. It’s “madness” to serve starters before Christmas lunch, the celebrity chef told The News Agents podcast, because it leaves you feeling like “a bloated wreck”. Bah, humbug!