As temperatures drop in this winter's first cold snap, people across the UK are bracing for their health to dip too. "The cold weather will most probably push up colds and other respiratory viruses this week," virologist Professor Steve Griffin of Leeds University told the i news site.

Does cold weather actually make us ill?
The winter chill doesn't directly cause illness, but it does create conditions for viruses to thrive. Colder weather drives more people indoors, and viruses have a better chance to spread in close quarters.

So cold temperatures have nothing to do with it?
There is a bit more to it than that. Colder temperatures do weaken our immune response, according to a 2022 study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The study examined an immune response in the nose that causes the cells lining the nasal cavity to release loads of virus-fighting particles, called extracellular vesicles. The researchers found that when cold weather causes temperatures inside the nose to drop – from 37C to 32C, in their study – the release of these particles slows, and so does their antiviral response.

What else could make us feel under the weather?
Keeping windows and doors shut to keep the warmth in and heating costs down can worsen indoor air quality. And having heating systems on can release allergens, dust and mould into the air, adding to pollutants already present, such as cleaning-product chemicals and cooking fumes. Without regular fresh air, these particles can cause irritation. On top of that, warm indoor air tends to dehydrate us.

How can we stay healthy during the winter?
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, and avoid touching your face as much as possible. "Aside from practising good hygiene, the maintenance of a strong immune system is crucial for long-term protection," GP Donald Grant told The Mirror. To help boost the immune system, "aim to get around seven to nine hours of sleep each night, eat well-balanced, nutritional meals and manage water intake".

Israel is "rushing to advance" a ceasefire deal in Lebanon in order to deliver an "early foreign policy win" for Donald Trump, according to The Washington Post.

In "a sign of how swiftly America's political centre of gravity has shifted" since the election, Israel's strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, kicked off a US tour with a visit to the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago yesterday, before heading to the White House. "There is an understanding," an unnamed Israeli official told the paper, "that Israel would gift something to Trump."

'Penchant for unpredictability'
During his first presidency, Trump recognised "Jerusalem as the capital of Israel", as well as "Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights", wrote Middle East expert Amin Saikal on The Conversation. Trump "castigated Iran" and oversaw the signing of the Abraham Accords, which led to several Arab states normalising relations with Israel. But the Gaza and Lebanon wars, and skirmishing between Israel and Iran, have "changed the regional texture". With Arab populations "boiling over with frustration", the "transactional" Trump may struggle to strengthen America's "lucrative economic and trade ties" with Arab regimes.

How the incoming president might "rearrange the chessboard" of the region is "still unclear", said Aaron Boxerman in The New York Times. Trump has "expressed broad support" for Israel's "right to defend itself", but he has also called on Benjamin Netanyahu to "finish up" the campaign. "I'm going to stop wars," Trump said in his victory speech. But the "isolationist forces" in the Republican Party, and his own "penchant for unpredictability", raise "a mountain of questions", said Tia Goldenberg at PBS News.

'American interests, not Israel's'
The Israeli government must "brace" for a future in which the new Trump administration could be "warm and supportive" but also "tight and tough" when that suits the US agenda, said a leader in The Jerusalem Post. "Ultimately", the Trump White House will "act in accordance with American interests, not Israel's".

Some feel an early hint of Trump's intentions was shown by his choice of Mike Huckabee as his nominee for US ambassador to Israel. Huckabee has been a "consistent supporter" of many Israelis' "ambitions to expand into territories that would form part of any future Palestinian state", wrote Joe Inwood for BBC News. The "right-wing of Israeli politics" views the Huckabee selection as "highly favourable" to their "longstanding aims".

"Savoury sippers are in, with vegetables filling cocktail glasses across the capital and beyond," said Charlotte Lytton in The Times. These "allotment-inspired" drinks, ranging from wild carrot margaritas to mung bean old-fashioneds, showcase locally sourced produce in a "glamorous and tasty" way.

"People have been drinking their vegetables since the 1920s", when Fernand "Pete" Petiot is said to have created the Bloody Mary by combining tomato juice, vodka, spices and lemon juice at a New York bar, said Rosanna Dodds in the Financial Times. But mixologists are  now getting more "adventurous" and using ingredients that might otherwise end up in the bin. The Gleneagles hotel in Scotland, for example, uses "discarded cucumber ends, aubergine skins and avocado stones" to craft elegant cocktails, while London's Michelin-starred Apricity restaurant transforms "upcycled Brussels sprouts" into martinis.

And "who said a vegetable has to be savoury?" Naturally sweet vegetables such as carrots, beetroots and parsnips can make a delicious alternative to fruit-based cocktails. An added benefit is the chance for mixologists to incorporate "superfoods" into their recipes: Yannick Alleno's restaurant Pavyllon in the capital serves a "Boulevard of Desire" cocktail with mushroom white port and a garnish of antioxidant-packed enoki mushrooms.

Not every cocktail may benefit from a veggie makeover though, said Stuart Heritage in The Guardian. I tried making a "pickletini" based on a recipe by Dima's Vodka at home. While there's a "lovely simplicity" to the "classic James Bond-style martini", this one also includes pickle juice, which means that "inevitably, the whole drink tastes like gherkins". 

"There is a reason that 007 never sidled up to a bar and growled: 'Martini. Shaken not stirred. And can you make it taste like the worst bit of a Big Mac, please?'"

I've seen hard-pressed mums get benefits from one vital space
Gordon Brown in The Mirror
As "temperatures plummet" and energy prices "soar", writes former PM Gordon Brown, "I am privileged to be a founding patron" of Warm Welcome, a charity that runs communal spaces offering "the warmth of both heating and friendship". These spaces are "opening all over the country" and "make a huge difference" to people's lives. "Together, we can drive out the worst of Britain" by "unlocking the power of the community".

Worklessness isn't a slur – it's a crisis crippling Britain
Lucy Burton in The Telegraph
"Economically inactive" is "not the most poetic term", says Lucy Burton, but "hand-wringing over how to describe those not in work is missing the point". Many young people are "struggling with a fog of depression and anxiety". But while "they are not rubbing their hands with glee at being off work, nor will they be wondering whether the term economically inactive is rude", and "getting bogged down in feelings won't help this government get people back into jobs".

As a teenager, I ditched my hated last name. As an adult, I've learned to love it
Evelyn Rose Worman in The Guardian
The "unflattering nickname" Wormy came to "plague my childhood", writes Evelyn Rose Worman. "How clever" my schoolmates "must have felt" – and "how infuriating it was for me". But later, coming across surnames "far more wonderful and unusual than mine", and meeting people who remarked on my name's "uniqueness", felt "oddly gratifying". Now, as a mother in my early 30s, "I've become fiercely protective of my surname".