• Richarlison’s stunning double sinks Serbia to get Brazil up and running

    Yes, Brazil: that’s pretty much how we remembered you. This is a new generation of Brazilian players, a new era and a new World Cup challenge. And yet by the same token this was a classic Brazilian tournament performance: the sort that feels like it’s being put on for our benefit. On a still night in the giant golden ark of the Lusail Stadium, the tournament favourites played the game you expect from tournament favourites: solid, expansive, and embellished with the sort of effortless
  • England transformed soccer in America. Now its players stand in USA’s way

    When the US meet England on Friday night, they will effectively be facing one of the reasons for the sport’s rising profile back homeUSA captain Tyler Adams was a 13-year-old New York Red Bulls academy prospect in 2012 when NBC became the exclusive US media rights-holder for the Premier League in a deal that has since been credited with propelling soccer to new heights of popularity in the United States.Until then, nearly all English league matches were carried on Fox Soccer, a pay channel
  • San Francisco police propose using robots capable of ‘deadly force’

    City’s board of supervisors to consider proposal involving remote-controlled devicesThe San Francisco police department has proposed that it be allowed to use robots with “deadly force” while responding to incidents, according to a policy draft..The document outlines how the department proposes to use its collection of robots, which number 17 in total although 12 are not operational.Continue reading...
  • Channel dinghy tragedy: investigation confirms boat was in UK waters

    Marine Accident Investigation Branch condemned for slow progress in determining how last November’s tragedy occurredBereaved families who lost relatives in a mass drowning in the Channel a year ago have criticised the UK body investigating the tragedy for a lack of progress in determining how and why dozens of lives were lost.An interim report from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) published on Thursday confirmed that the boat had reached UK waters. Continue reading...
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  • Saudi government would back private bids for Manchester United or Liverpool

    Sports minister talks of strong interest in English clubsSaudi Arabia may also place a bid to host a future World CupPrince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister, has said his government would definitely support any private sector bids from the country for Manchester United or Liverpool.While the Saudi Public Investment Fund backed the purchase of Newcastle United last winter, Prince Abdulaziz said private businesses in his country have a strong interest in English
  • Ben Jennings on British parents skipping meals – cartoon

    Order your own print of this cartoon from the Guardian Print Shop Continue reading...
  • Camilla gives Queen Elizabeth II's Paddington Bears to Barnardo's

    People paying their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II left the bears outside royal residences.
  • Dr Martens can’t complain about getting a kicking from investors

    Share plunge may look like an overreaction but profits are forecast to fall and the boot maker was clearly overpriced at IPODr Martens stands for “rebellious self-expression”, according to the blurb, so the company is in no position to complain if an independently minded stock market decides to stick the boot in. Investors’ reaction to Thursday’s half-year numbers was blunt. While the chief executive, Kenny Wilson, warbled about “another strong set of results”
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  • RFU under fire from MPs over its role in demise of Worcester and Wasps

    Julian Knight accuses Bill Sweeney of being ‘asleep on the job’DCMS committee focuses on Worcester’s ownershipThe Rugby Football Union was accused of “failure on an epic scale” as the recent collapses of Worcester Warriors and Wasps were subjected to parliamentary scrutiny on Thursday. Julian Knight, chair of the digital, culture, media and sport select committee, put it to Bill Sweeney, the governing body’s chief executive, that he should consider his future
  • Somerville review: minimalist British horror is the perfect game for winter

    Xbox, PC; Jumpship
    One man and his dog traverse the English countryside after an alien invasion in this haunting, wordless game: a masterclass in foreboding sound design and minimal storytellingIt’s a Sunday – or at least feels like one. Waking up with a start, you realise you’ve fallen asleep in front of the TV. The dog barks impatiently for his dinner. Reluctantly, you leave your wife’s warm embrace, put your son to bed and drag up the dog chum from the basement. This i
  • Adidas to investigate claims Kanye West showed pornography to staff

    Move comes after one of company’s biggest shareholders demanded information about allegationsThe sportswear giant Adidas is to launch an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct made this week against the US rapper and fashion designer Kanye West, including that he showed pornography to staff at company meetings.The claims by unidentified staff at Yeezy and Adidas, which surfaced in a Rolling Stone article on Tuesday, included allegations that the musician, who has changed
  • ‘Desensitised’ ex-IS followers remain threats, Shamima Begum hearing told

    Home Office argues people trafficked to Syria were exposed to extreme violence which poses ‘almighty problem’People trafficked to Syria and radicalised remain threats to national security as they may be desensitised after exposure to extreme violence, the Home Office has argued, in contesting Shamima Begum’s appeal against the removal of her British citizenship.Begum was 15 when she travelled from her home in Bethnal Green, east London, through Turkey and into territory control
  • Johnson and Truss join rebels against Sunak keeping new onshore wind ban

    About 20 Conservative MPs want to end longstanding de facto block on new wind farms in EnglandBoris Johnson and Liz Truss have joined a growing Tory backbench rebellion against Rishi Sunak’s refusal to allow new onshore wind projects in England, in another challenge to the levelling up bill.The former prime ministers are among about 20 Conservative MPs to have signed an amendment tabled by Simon Clarke, who served as a minister under Johnson and Truss, that would end the de facto ban on ne
  • French McKinsey investigation widened to cover election campaigns

    Prosecutor looking into allegations about 2017 and 2022 elections, which were won by Emmanuel MacronFrance’s financial prosecutor has opened an investigation into the role of consultancy groups including McKinsey in the 2017 and 2022 French election races, when Emmanuel Macron was elected and then won a second term.The financial prosecutor’s office confirmed that its current investigation into potential tax fraud by the US-based consultancy giant McKinsey had been widened to include
  • UK minister rejects measure designed to tackle Slapp legal cases

    Tom Tugendhat says economic crime bill is not right law to stop courts being used by super-rich to silence critics and journalistsThe government has refused to accept a proposed change in the law to stop super-rich oligarchs from using their fortunes to exploit British courts to intimidate and silence investigative journalists.Tom Tugendhat, the minister of state for security, on Thursday refused to accept an amendment to the economic crime bill that would have given judges the power to dismiss
  • Nurses likely to join postal, education and rail staff in pre-Christmas strikes

    Royal College of Nursing expected to announce unprecedented action as UK faces month of disruptionBritain is facing a torrid month of industrial action and disruption before Christmas, with nurses likely to join postal workers, education and rail staff in a wave of strikes that will peak during the busiest weeks for office parties and festive shopping.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is expected to announce unprecedented industrial action after the passing of a deadline given to ministers foll
  • Mako Vunipola fired up by World Cup final heartache against Springboks

    England prop faces South Africa on Saturday three years on from the match that will ‘stay with me for the rest of my life’Three years have now passed but Mako Vunipola’s memories of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final remain horribly clear. Things did not end well for England on the last occasion he faced a South Africa pack and the Saracens loosehead is seeking a more positive experience when he encounters the Springbok forwards again at Twickenham this Saturday.Even the mere sight
  • Eight glasses of water a day excessive for most people, study suggests

    ‘One size fits all’ guidance could lead to 20m litres of drinking water being wasted each day in UK, scientists sayA recommendation to drink eight glasses of water a day is likely to be excessive for most people, according to scientists.The suggestion has become accepted wisdom and often appears in health guidance. The latest work, however, the most rigorous study to date on water turnover, reveals that people have a wide range of water intakes. Many people only require about 1.5 to
  • Man charged with murder of woman and her two daughters in Nottingham flat fire

    Jamie Barrow, 31, charged over death of Fatoumatta Hydara and her children aged one and threeA man has been charged with the murders of a mother and two children who died after a fire in their home in Nottingham.Nottinghamshire police said 31-year-old Jamie Barrow, of Clifton, Nottingham, had been charged with three counts of murder on Thursday. Continue reading...
  • The Guardian view on crony capitalism: a moral corruption stalks parliament | Editorial

    The country is in trouble if during a national emergency the economy could be so easily rigged to favour connected insidersCrony capitalism in the House of Lords is not a good look for Britain. Yet during the Covid crisis, there appeared to be a strong case that political access allowed privileged individuals to extract a great deal of wealth from the state. On Wednesday, the Guardian produced astonishing evidence for those wishing to prosecute this argument. It suggested that Michelle Mone, a T
  • The Guardian view on the pandemic’s educational impact: make good learning losses | Editorial

    Increasing numbers of primary-age pupils are missing targets. Nurseries as well as schools need resources to catch upChildren in England should have learned to read by age seven. Given an age-appropriate book, they are expected to be able to focus on understanding – who the story is about, what is happening – rather than expend effort on sounding out individual words. Literacy, numeracy and social and physical skills are the blocks on which all learning is built. So it is concerning
  • Justice department asks Pence to testify in Trump investigation

    Ex-vice-president considering the request, according to sources, but said last week he would not testify to the January 6 panelThe US justice department has asked Mike Pence to testify in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, according to a person familiar with the matter.The request came before the attorney general, Merrick Garland, appointed a special counsel last week to oversee inquiries examining Trump, which are focused on two a
  • France moves closer to making abortion a constitutional right

    Lower house approves resolution to guarantee access to ‘the right to voluntarily end a pregnancy’France has moved a step closer to becoming the first country in the world to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right, after lawmakers approved a resolution in the lower house to guarantee access to “the right to voluntarily end a pregnancy”.In a rare cross-party move, members of parliament from the left’s La France Insoumise party and Emmanuel Macron’s centrist
  • ‘We are Ukrainians. We’re strong’: morale the key in Kyiv as winter sets in

    Residents shelter in ‘invincibility stations’ offering power, water and food as Russian missiles knock out suppliesThe residents of Kyiv taking shelter in their local “invincibility station” were well aware that their own morale has become the central battlefield of the war, and it is not territory they are prepared to concede to Vladimir Putin.The insulated grey tent set up on a street corner in the Pecherskyi district of Kyiv, one of thousands established around the cou
  • Wales fans allowed to take rainbow-coloured clothes and flags to Iran match

    Fifa confirms policy after holding talks with Wales officialsSupporters had bucket hats confiscated before USA gameThe Football Association of Wales has been reassured by Fifa that supporters with rainbow-coloured clothing and flags will be allowed to enter Friday’s match against Iran and that the policy will be applied across all World Cup venues.The FAW held urgent talks with the tournament organisers after Wales staff and fans had multicoloured bucket hats, shoelaces and wristbands conf
  • Iran’s Queiroz tells media: ‘Why don’t you ask Southgate about Afghanistan?’

    Manager unhappy with political questions before Wales gameGareth Bale says Wales will not take ‘difficult’ Iran game lightlyThe Iran manager, Carlos Queiroz, confronted a journalist at the end of a media conference after taking umbrage at politics again dominating the discourse in the buildup to Friday’s match with Wales. In an animated exchange Queiroz suggested his peers should face similar questions, taking the extraordinary step of asking the BBC journalist Shaimaa Khalil w
  • China imposes new lockdowns as local Covid cases hit record high

    Country reports 31,444 new locally transmitted cases, the highest daily figure since pandemic beganChina has imposed a fresh series of Covid lockdowns, including in a city where workers at the world’s largest iPhone factory clashed with police this week, as a record daily high in coronavirus cases tests its commitment to follow the rest of the world in easing pandemic restrictions.The national health commission reported 31,444 new locally transmitted Covid cases on Wednesday, the highest d
  • Met police officer David Carrick charged with six more counts of rape

    Carrick, who served with parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, now faces 53 charges, including 27 counts of rapeA Metropolitan police officer who has already been charged with 44 offences has been charged with a further nine, including six counts of rape.PC David Carrick, an armed officer who served with the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command and worked on the parliamentary estate, now faces 53 charges, including 27 counts of rape. Continue reading...
  • Scottish independence activists urge Sturgeon to ‘trust yes movement’

    Campaigners support first minister’s ‘de facto referendum’ plan, while MPs and MSPs struggle to unite behind itUK politics live – latest news updatesNicola Sturgeon faces calls from veteran independence activists to “trust the yes movement”, as MPs and MSPs struggle to unite around her “de facto referendum” plan amid fears it could kill off independence as a prospect for decades if it fails.Sturgeon confirmed that the Scottish National party would
  • Cristiano Ronaldo scores in fifth World Cup as Portugal see off Ghana in thriller

    A stodgy contest morphed into a thriller and, cutting through it all, Cristiano Ronaldo managed to own the story. At times it felt most of the stadium was willing him to score and they were ecstatic to see their wish granted when he converted a penalty midway through the second half, becoming the first player to score at five different World Cups. Against most expectations it opened the floodgates, André Ayew equalising for a decent Ghana side before João Félix and Rafael Le
  • World Cup goal celebration songs – ranked!

    Fifa has decreed each nation should have a different song pumped into the stadium when they score. So which team has the best anthem to robot dance to and which expects their strikers to celebrate to a flute solo?Does it matter what music is played around the stadium when a goal is scored? To answer that question let me revisit a particularly grim time during the pandemic when Liverpool FC were playing in empty stadiums and their goals were followed not by the famed Anfield roar but a blast of S
  • Tories run for the hills rather than face Labour over Michelle Mone and PPE | John Crace

    When a minister was needed to field Angela Rayner’s questions over the VIP fast lane, luckless Neil O’Brien was the only one to pick up the phoneSpare a thought for Neil O’Brien. A minister so beige, so junior, that not even his colleagues know he is working with them. At home, he merges into the muted pastel paintwork. So much so that his family aren’t always aware if he’s there or not. So it’s a wonder he even became a minister, given that few had ever seen
  • Let’s reverse the mad experiment of Brexit | Letters

    Readers on the anti-Brexit mood in the country, the folly of looking to a Swiss-style deal and the need for rational dialogueRishi Sunak may have to placate his party (Sunak tries to pacify Brexiters but keeps door open to closer EU ties, 21 November), but we the people don’t. We were never asked to vote on a hard Brexit; the consequences were just not explained. Did the Brexiters consider the labour shortages and economic consequences, or the effects on Northern Ireland? It seems unlikely
  • I was sent for therapy to get rid of my working-class accent | Letter

    While her friends practised tennis, Clair Battaglino was sent to speech and language therapy to learn how to speak ‘properly’Jamie Fahey’s article (I had to fight my way through class barriers into my job. Why has so little changed?, 23 November) brought back painful memories for this working-class, immigrant-heritage woman who went on to gain an MSc from LSE and an MLitt from Oxford. It wasn’t until I was a special educational needs coordinator in a school that I reflect
  • Family of boy who died from mould in flat call for housing board to resign

    Awaab Ishak’s family say they have no confidence in the board of Rochdale Boroughwide HousingThe family of Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old who died as a result of mould in a social housing flat, have said they have no confidence in the board of the landlord body and called for their mass resignation.In a statement on Thursday after a meeting in Rochdale with Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, they said: “While the current board remains, ther
  • Nadia Sawalha reveals she has been diagnosed with ADHD in late 50s

    Actor says diagnosis gives reason ‘for chaos I’ve experienced throughout my life’Nadia Sawalha has revealed that she has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in her late 50s.Speaking on Loose Women on Thursday, Sawalha, 58, revealed that she had been living with the condition since childhood, but had only been diagnosed after making a film about ADHD for the daytime show. Continue reading...
  • People don’t pay enough for food, says farmer Jeremy Clarkson

    Broadcaster says looking after pigs is ‘really hard work’ and that food prices should be twice as highJeremy Clarkson has said people in the UK “do not pay enough for their food” and that prices should be double what they are.The 62-year-old presenter, who bought an Oxfordshire farm in 2008, made the comments as he spoke about the difficulties in producing food. Continue reading...
  • Saunders: Skin; Void; Unbreathed review | Andrew Clements's classical album of the week

    Dierstein/Rothbrust/Berlin RSO/Poppe/Quatuor Diotima/Fraser/Klangforum Wien/Wiegers
    (NMC)
    Brilliantly sculpted textures, sometimes intensely fragile, sometimes furiously wrought, show Rebecca Saunders to be one of the leading figures of European music today
    For more than 30 years, NMC has steadfastly championed a wide range of contemporary British composers, but until now it has never released a disc devoted to the works of Rebecca Saunders. Over the past two decades she has emerged as one of th
  • Series of opportunities missed to protect Logan Mwangi, review finds

    ‘Systemic’ failures found to have led to inaction on warning signals before murder of five-year-old boyHealth professionals and local authority staff missed a series of opportunities to protect Logan Mwangi, the five-year-old boy murdered by his mother, her partner and his stepson, a damning review has concluded.Staff saw that Logan, whose body was found in a Welsh river in summer 2021, had suffered a series of “significant” injuries almost a year before he died but did n
  • Colorado Springs suspect’s father makes homophobic remarks in interview

    Man tells reporter he was relieved his child ‘wasn’t gay’ after hearing about shootingThe father of the suspected Colorado Springs shooter has provoked a backlash over comments he made over the armed attack on LGTBQ+ bar that killed five and wounded 17.In a series of interviews, Aaron Brink told San Diego’s CBS8 that when he first received a telephone call from his child’s public defender, his first reaction was to question why his child was in the club.This article
  • Top Iran footballer arrested at club for ‘spreading propaganda against the state’

    Detention of Voria Ghafouri, who is not part of World Cup squad, seen as warning to players in QatarIranian security forces on Thursday arrested one of the country’s most famous footballers, accusing him of spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic and seeking to undermine the national World Cup team.Voria Ghafouri, a former member of the national football team and once a captain of the Tehran club Esteghlal, has been outspoken in his defence of Iranian Kurds, telling the governmen
  • Journalist under strict bail terms in Somalia after arrest in crackdown

    Abdalle Mumin was held after press groups said government edicts on coverage of offensive against al-Shabaab put them at riskAuthorities in Somalia have imposed strict bail conditions on a respected journalist and media rights campaigner that will prevent him from seeking medical attention for a suspected kidney condition aggravated by poor conditions during his detention by intelligence services and police earlier this year.Abdalle Mumin, a co-founder of the Somali Journalists Syndicate and a f
  • More homeless people are dying in the UK – we have a solution, so why aren’t we acting on it? | Daniel Lavelle and Simon Hattenstone

    During the pandemic the government housed rough sleepers and gave them tailored support, until it came to an abrupt endOn 19 December 2018, Gyula Remes collapsed on parliament’s doorstep after having slept rough around Westminster for months. The Hungarian national died just over the river from the Palace of Westminster at St Thomas’s hospital, after collapsing in Westminster tube station, in the tunnels that MPs walk through to their offices. He was 43. Politicians were quick to exp
  • London barber who received Covid grants sent £25k to IS fighter, court told

    Tarek Namouz accused of making at least seven money transfers to Islamic State fighter last year A barber who received taxpayer-funded Covid grants allegedly sent £25,000 to an Islamic State fighter in Syria, a court heard.Tarek Namouz, 43, is accused of making at least seven transfers to Yahya Ahmed Alia between November 2020 and May 2021 so Alia could buy weapons and explosives to commit terror attacks in Syria. Continue reading...
  • Gove under pressure to explain role in PPE deals for Mone-linked firm

    Minister’s insistence he referred all offers to civil service channels appears at odds with previously released email correspondenceUK politics live – latest news updatesMichael Gove is facing mounting pressure to fully explain his role in the government’s award of large PPE contracts to a company that was first recommended to him by the Tory peer Michelle Mone.Asked in an interview on Thursday how he had responded to Lady Mone’s approach in May 2020, Gove said he had ref
  • Iran protests: UN council votes to investigate human rights abuses

    Official says country is in ‘fully fledged human rights crisis’ as fact-finding mission launchedThe UN’s human rights council has voted overwhelmingly to set up a fact-finding investigation into human rights abuses in Iran, where an estimated 300 people have been killed and 14,000 arrested since protests began 10 weeks ago.At a special session convened by Germany in Geneva the HRC voted by 25 to six to set up the inquiry, with 15 abstaining. The vote is regarded as a significan
  • The World Cup of Whataboutery – Stephen Collins cartoon

    Continue reading...
  • People in the UK: have you been forced to rehome a pet?

    We would like to speak to people who have been forced to give up their pet amid rising costsThe deepening cost of living crisis is forcing people in the UK to rehome their pets, according to figures from the Dogs Trust. The charity received 42,000 inquiries from pet owners about rehoming between 1 January and 31 October – a rise of almost 50% on the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, pet food banks have also opened across the country. Continue reading...
  • Christmas rail strikes still on, says Mick Lynch after meeting minister

    ‘Until we get tangible outcome, action will be on,’ says RMT leader after talks with transport secretaryUK politics live – latest news updatesThe RMT’s Mick Lynch said that rail strikes planned around Christmas would still go ahead but added that the union had “started a dialogue” after a first meeting with the new transport secretary, Mark Harper.The Rail, Maritime and Transport union general secretary said he did not expect the secretary of state “to b
  • Sam Ryder review – Eurovision star shines with goodwill

    HERE at Outernet, London
    Bounding onstage like an excited puppy, the Space Man singer is hungry for feelgood audience interaction and he leads with a genuinely astonishing voiceSam Ryder stands in the middle of the crowd, singing directly to a fan. Just moments earlier, he had asked the audience if anyone was feeling “up against it” and, spotting one woman who clearly was, he jumped off the stage and dedicated his latest single All the Way Over to her. “If anyone else is strugg

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