diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index 6451a5b48..8362f0dc5 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ List of Copyright holders
 =========================
 
   Copyright (C) 1997-2019 Werner Koch
-  Copyright (C) 2003-2024 g10 Code GmbH
+  Copyright (C) 2003-2025 g10 Code GmbH
   Copyright (C) 1994-2021 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
   Copyright (C) 2002 Klarälvdalens Datakonsult AB
   Copyright (C) 1995-1997, 2000-2007 Ulrich Drepper <drepper@gnu.ai.mit.edu>
diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 9a50d3adf..0d98dc89a 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,6 +1,19 @@
 Noteworthy changes in version 2.5.3 (unreleased)
 ------------------------------------------------
 
+  * gpg: Allow for signature subpackets of up to 30000 octets.
+    [rG36dbca3e69]
+
+  * gpg: Silence expired trusted-key diagnostics in quiet mode.  [T7351]
+
+  * gpg: Allow smaller session keys with Kyber and enforce the use of
+    AES-256 if useful.  [T7472]
+
+  * gpg: Fix regression in key generation from existing card key.
+    [T7309,T7457]
+
+  * gpg: Print a warning if the card backup key could not be written.
+    [T2169]
 
   See-also: gnupg-announce/2024q4/000xxx.html
   Release-info: https://dev.gnupg.org/T7442
diff --git a/README b/README
index 3e1e2793d..bb452bf56 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -86,15 +86,20 @@
 ** Quick build method on Unix
 
   To quickly build all required software without installing it, the
-  Speedo target may be used:
+  Speedo target may be used.  But first you need to make sure that the
+  toolchain is installed.  On a Debian based system it should be
+  sufficient to run as root:
+
+    apt-get install build-essential libusb-1.0-0-dev libsqlite3-dev patchelf
+
+  Then as regular user run
 
     make -f build-aux/speedo.mk native
 
   This target downloads all required libraries and does a native build
-  of GnuPG to PLAY/inst/.  GNU make and the patchelf tool are
-  required.  After the build the entire software including all
-  libraries can be installed into an arbitrary location using for
-  example:
+  of GnuPG to PLAY/inst/.  After the build the entire software
+  including all libraries can be installed into an arbitrary location
+  using for example:
 
     make -f build-aux/speedo.mk install SYSROOT=/usr/local/gnupg26
 
@@ -105,6 +110,17 @@
   which will also start any daemon from the same directory.  Make sure
   to stop already running daemons or use a different GNUPGHOME.
 
+  If you want to use the gnupg-w32-n.m.n_somedate.tar.xz tarball you
+  only need to change the first make invocation to
+
+      make -f build-aux/speedo.mk this-native
+
+  The advantage of this alternative tarball is that all libraries are
+  included and thus the Makefile does not need to download new
+  tarballs.  Note that in any case all downloaded files come with
+  signatures which are verified by the Makefile commands.  The
+  patchelf command is required to change the search path for the
+  shared libraries in the binaries to relative directories.
 
 ** Specific build problems on some machines:
 
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 7744d03d3..e8d5122a9 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # configure.ac - for GnuPG 2.1
 # Copyright (C) 1998-2019 Werner Koch
 # Copyright (C) 1998-2021 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-# Copyright (C) 2003-2023 g10 Code GmbH
+# Copyright (C) 2003-2025 g10 Code GmbH
 #
 # This file is part of GnuPG.
 #
@@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ AH_BOTTOM([
 #define GNUPG_OPENPGP_REVOC_DIR "openpgp-revocs.d"
 #define GNUPG_CACHE_DIR         "cache.d"
 
-#define GNUPG_DEF_COPYRIGHT_LINE "Copyright (C) 2024 g10 Code GmbH"
+#define GNUPG_DEF_COPYRIGHT_LINE "Copyright (C) 2025 g10 Code GmbH"
 
 /* For some systems (DOS currently), we hardcode the path here.  For
    POSIX systems the values are constructed by the Makefiles, so that