Cynthia Erivo, left, and Idris Elba are among 1,157 people on King Charles's New Year honours list. PA Wire
Cynthia Erivo, left, and Idris Elba are among 1,157 people on King Charles's New Year honours list. PA Wire
Cynthia Erivo, left, and Idris Elba are among 1,157 people on King Charles's New Year honours list. PA Wire
Cynthia Erivo, left, and Idris Elba are among 1,157 people on King Charles's New Year honours list. PA Wire

Cynthia Erivo, Idris Elba and Warwick Davis on King Charles's New Year honours list


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Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has been given the Order of the British Empire (OBE). The British singer and actress is among 1,157 people in politics, sport, the arts ‌or community service named in King Charles's New Year honours list – an annual tradition that recognises people for their contributions to the UK.

The honorees were awarded titles ranging from Member, Commander or Officer of ​the Order of the British Empire to the highest honours of knighthoods and damehoods. They will formally receive their titles from King Charles or a member of the British royal family at an investiture ceremony later in the year.

Actor Idris Elba, who is known for his roles in the television series Luther and The Wire, was ‌awarded a knighthood for his anti-knife crime campaigning with young people.

“I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young people and to the responsibility we all share to help them find an alternative to violence,” Elba said.

Idris Elba has been made a knight by King Charles III. PA Wire
Idris Elba has been made a knight by King Charles III. PA Wire

Meanwhile actor Warwick Davis, ‍who has appeared in the Star Wars, Harry Potter and Willow franchises, and founded the dwarfism charity Little People UK, was ⁠also awarded ‌an OBE.

Actor and writer Meera Syal, whose credits include Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars at No ⁠42 and the novel Anita and Me, was made a dame.

Veteran ice dancers Jayne Torvill, 68, and Christopher Dean, 67, were made dame and knight respectively for services to their sport and to voluntary service. The pair, whose perfect scores won them gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics, were awarded OBEs in 2000.

“It was like a tidal wave hit me,” Dean told The Independent newspaper. “It’s such an amazing award to receive this, an honour, and we’re really humbled by it.

“We’ve been together for 50 years and I think in that time we’ve created this body of work and skated and performed and entertained over all that time, and we’ve worked with a lot of charities as well with our skating."

British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are also known for their charity work. Reuters
British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are also known for their charity work. Reuters

Other honorees include England women's soccer team's coach Sarina Wiegman, a Dutch national, who was awarded an honorary damehood. Simon Roberts, the chief executive of supermarket chain Sainsbury's, was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

"This year's honours list celebrates the very best of Britain – people who put the common good ahead of themselves to strengthen communities and change lives," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

The New Year honours, which have been awarded since at least 1890, aim to recognise not only well-known figures, but people who have contributed to national life through often unsung work over many years.

Agencies contributed to this report

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The biog

Siblings: five brothers and one sister

Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota

Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym

Favourite place: UAE

Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera

What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books

Allardyce's management career

Clubs (10) - Limerick (1991-1992), Perston North End (1992), Blackpool (1994-1996), Notts County (1997-1999), Bolton Wanderers (1999-2007), Newcastle United (2007-2008), Blackburn Rovers (2008-2010), West Ham United (2011-2015), Sunderland (2016), Crystal Palace (2016-2017)

Countries (1) - England (2016)

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

BRIEF SCORES

England 353 and 313-8 dec
(B Stokes 112, A Cook 88; M Morkel 3-70, K Rabada 3-85)  
(J Bairstow 63, T Westley 59, J Root 50; K Maharaj 3-50)
South Africa 175 and 252
(T Bavuma 52; T Roland-Jones 5-57, J Anderson 3-25)
(D Elgar 136; M Ali 4-45, T Roland-Jones 3-72)

Result: England won by 239 runs
England lead four-match series 2-1

Dr Graham's three goals

Short term

Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines


Intermediate term

Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations


Long term

A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness  

UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
Winners

Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)

Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)

Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)

Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)

Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

Expert advice

“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”

Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles

“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”

Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre 

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”

Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
 

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Updated: December 30, 2025, 5:49 AM