It contains enough steel to go round the world twice – and even has a fake breeze to flutter the stars-and-stripes flag in its lobby. If this colossus is just the first of a new breed of bulky supertalls, is Britain next?

Among the slender needles and elegant spires of the Manhattan skyline, a mountainous lump has reared into view. It galumphs its way up above the others, climbing in bulky steps with the look of several towers strapped together, forming a dark, looming mass. From some angles it forms the silhouette of a hulking bar chart. From others, it glowers like a coffin, ready to swallow the dainty Chrysler building that trembles in its shadow. It is New York’s final boss, a brawny, bronzed behemoth that now lords it over the city with a brutish swagger.

Fittingly, this is the new global headquarters of JP Morgan, the world’s biggest bank. The firm enjoys a market capitalisation of $855bn (£645bn), more than Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup’s combined, and it looks as if it might have swallowed all three inside its tinted glass envelope. Last year, for the first time, it made more than $1bn a week in profits. Chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon likes to boast of its “fortress balance sheet”, and he now has an actual fortress to go with it – built at a cost, he revealed at the opening, of around $4bn. He has certainly made his mark. It would be hard to design a more menacing building if you tried.

When his book Notes on Being a Man was released last month, it raced to the top of the bestseller lists. The US author, tech entrepreneur and podcaster explains his theories on dating, crying – and the rise of Donald Trump

It takes balls to title your book Notes on Being a Man. And, superficially, Scott Galloway could easily be lumped in with a dozen other manosphere-friendly alpha-bros promising to teach young men how to find their inner wolf. He is, after all, a wealthy, healthy, white, heterosexual, shaven-headed, 61-year-old Californian who made his name and fortune as a successful investor and podcaster.

But in reality, he is almost the opposite: liberal, left-leaning and surprisingly sensitive. The guy who advises his readers on “how to address the masculinity crisis, build mental strength and raise good sons” has been described as a “progressive Jordan Peterson”, or “Gordon Gekko with a social conscience”.

From the threat of superintelligent AI to the secrets of a longer life; plus the evolution of language and the restless genius of Francis Crick

This felt like the year that AI really arrived. It is on our phones and laptops; it is creeping into digital and corporate infrastructure; it is changing the way we learn, work and create; and the global economy rests on the stratospheric valuations of the corporate giants vying to control it.

But the unchecked rush to go faster and further could extinguish humanity, according to the surprisingly readable and chillingly plausible If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies (Bodley Head), by computer scientists Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, which argues against creating superintelligent AI able to cognitively outpace Homo sapiens in all departments. “Even an AI that cares about understanding the universe is likely to annihilate humans as a side-effect,” they write, “because humans are not the most efficient method for producing truths … out of all possible ways to arrange matter.” Not exactly cheery Christmas reading but, as the machines literally calculate our demise, you’ll finally grasp all that tech bro lingo about tokens, weights and maximising preferences.

Pillion, which explores a relationship between leather dom Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) and submissive Colin (Harry Melling), has just opened in UK cinemas. But how realistic is its portrayal of a group little seen in mainstream cinema?

Dr Lori Beth Bisbey, 62, Edinburgh

This year’s outstanding tracks – from post-punk rap to indie-disco and operatic pop – as voted for by 30 Guardian music writers

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Shopping for a Swiftie, a Brat or a Short n’ Sweet superfan? We’ve rounded up the ultimate pop-girlie gifts of 2025, inspired by everyone from Chappell Roan to Olivia Rodrigo

• The best 90s Christmas gifts

From Olivia Rodrigo headlining Glastonbury to Chappell Roan winning a Grammy for best new artist, 2025 has been yet another slay for the pop girls. And with recently released albums from Taylor Swift, Olivia Dean and Sabrina Carpenter (and one on the way for Charli xcx), there’s no sign of them slowing down.

So, whether you’re shopping for a loved one who’s clinging on to Brat summer or in need of a present for a Swiftie, we’ve rounded up thoughtful gifts inspired by their favourite artists. From a blush used to create Sabrina Carpenter’s rosy cheeks to a Polaroid camera for taking snaps at concerts, you’ll find something on this list to delight the pop girlie in your life.

Comments come after Putin rejects peace deal after US talks and warned that Russia is ‘ready’ for war with Europe

in Brussels

In other news, Belgian police have arrested three people including the EU’s former top diplomat Federica Mogherini and raided the headquarters of the EU foreign service and the elite College of Europe as part of an investigation into suspected fraud.

One donor tells FT that Reform leader described an agreement as ‘inevitable’, despite denials from both sides

• UK politics live – latest news

Nigel Farage has told donors he expects a deal or merger between his Reform UK party and the Conservatives before the next general election.

Reform donors told the Financial Times that the leader expected his party to join with or make a deal with the Tories.

The country’s transport ministry said the search would resume on 30 December and confirmed that US robotic company Ocean Infinity would take part

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume this month, the Malaysian transport ministry has said, more than a decade after the plane disappeared in one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

In a statement on Wednesday, the transport ministry confirmed the search would resume on 30 December, saying that US-based robotic company Ocean Infinity would recommence a search of the seabed over a period of 55 days, conducted intermittently.

Failings of legal system mean 97 people were unlawfully killed, but no one will be held accountable

When the Independent Office for Police Conduct published the final report on its mammoth investigation into the Hillsborough disaster, the response from bereaved families and survivors was conflicted.

Some of the IOPC’s findings could be regarded as historic, in particular that 12 former officers would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct, including Peter Wright, the chief constable of South Yorkshire police at the time of the 1989 disaster.