General news

• Sir Jim Ratcliffe holds face-to-face talks with Amanda Staveley to thrash out Dan Ashworth’s Man Utd move... - The Sun

  11-04-2024 23:29
  Sir Jim Ratcliffe holds face-to-face talks with Amanda Staveley to thrash out Dan Ashworth’s Man Utd move...  The SunJim Ratcliffe meets Amanda Staveley in bid to resolve Dan Ashworth impasse  The TimesTransfer notebook: Dan Ashworth delay gives Erik ten Hag stay of execution at Man United, Man United and...  talkSPORTSir Jim Ratcliffe holds talks with Amanda Staveley over Dan Ashworth Man Utd move - Paper Talk  Sky SportsAshworth and Wilcox Not Join
  
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• Leeds v Norwich: Championship playoff semi-final, second leg – live

  16-05-2024 20:35
  
  Championship news from the 8pm BST kick-off (first leg: 0-0)Live scoreboard | And read the latest edition of Football DailyNorwich manager David Wagner speaksWe know it will be decided tonight and we are prepared for all scenarios. It’s important we start well, stay in the game. If we are able to score the first goal it will be a massive boost.[On Ashley Barnes] The medical department worked tirelessly. Barnesy is a tough guy and he was desperate to be involved. Josh Sargent’s ankle
  
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• US PGA Championship 2024: first round – live

  16-05-2024 20:34
  
  Day one updates from Valhalla, the second major of yearLive scoreboard | And feel free to drop Matt an emailTiger’s tee shot at the par-three 11th is long and to the right. He can’t get anywhere close with his wedge out of the thick cabbage, and drops to +1. Meanwhile a slow start for another former champion, Shaun Micheel. Three bogeys in the opening five holes and the 2003 winner (and 2006 runner-up) is +3 in short order.Another birdie for Doug Ghim! He rattles in a 30-footer acros
  
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• Jim Jordan claims transcripts of Biden’s special counsel interview cannot be trusted after president blocks release of tape – live

  16-05-2024 20:32
  
  Jordan accuses White House of altering transcripts after Biden asserts executive privilege to block Republicans from accessingOnce again, a group of House Republicans is making a pilgrimage to the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s business fraud trial is taking place in a show of support for their party’s presumptive presidential nominee.Among the group is Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who on X shared a photo of himself outside the courtroom while echoing Trump’s instr
  
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• Trump lawyer casts doubt on Cohen’s testimony about October 2016 call to Trump – live

  16-05-2024 20:31
  
  Entire hush-money trial likely to succeed or fail on whether jurors believe Michael Cohen’s testimonyMichael Cohen takes stand for cross-examination in Trump trialJudge Juan Merchan is on the bench and the court is in session.Donald Trump has arrived in the courtroom for day 18 of his criminal trial.Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican representativeLauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican congresswomanEric TrumpBoris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump aide Continue reading...
  
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• Caleb Azumah Nelson wins £20,000 Dylan Thomas prize for Small Worlds

  16-05-2024 20:15
  
  Judges describe second novel set between south-east London and Ghana as ‘symphonic’ and ‘viscerally moving’British-Ghanaian author Caleb Azumah Nelson has won this year’s Dylan Thomas prize for his second novel Small Worlds, which judges described as “symphonic” and “viscerally moving”.Azumah Nelson, 33, was awarded the £20,000 prize at ceremony on Thursday in Swansea, the home city of the poet Dylan Thomas. The prize is given to a writ
  
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• ‘More than capable’: Taylor backs City’s scoring ability for WSL decider

  16-05-2024 20:07
  
  ‘They can score three or four in five or six minutes’Manchester City manager upbeat before Villa showdownGareth Taylor has backed his side to score enough goals to overhaul Chelsea on the final day of the Women’s Super League season. Manchester City are level on points with the champions but their title rivals have a better goal difference of two. City make the trip to Aston Villa while Chelsea travel to Manchester United.Taylor, however, is confident his side can recover from
  
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• ‘He was not radical’: Slovakia tries to make sense of Fico shooting

  16-05-2024 20:07
  
  Friends in town of Levice say 71-year-old showed no signs of planning attack, while Slovakian president says climate of hate is collective workMile L’udovit, like other residents of the unassuming grey apartment block on the outskirts of the sleepy central Slovakian town of Levice, considered Juraj Cintula a reliable neighbour and friend.Having lived side by side with him for more than 40 years, L’udovit could never have imagined the 71-year-old former security guard and amateur poet
  
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• All football fans are different so wanting to lose – or have massive tattoos – is fine | Max Rushden

  16-05-2024 20:00
  
  Angst suffered by Spurs supporters about doing Arsenal a favour was a rarity. It’s already time to move onSon Heung-min is running through in the 87th minute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A draw does virtually nothing for Spurs, but it hands Arsenal a great advantage in the title race. Did I, a Spurs supporter, want him to score? The honest answer is – with apologies to Ange Postecoglou – that I’m not totally sure.Most of my natural instincts were willing him to slot
  
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• The Guardian view on Labour’s election campaign: Keir Starmer sounded like a prime minister in waiting | Editorial

  16-05-2024 19:46
  
  The opposition leader knows that he is being measured for the highest office in the landThe outward purpose of Labour’s campaign event in Thurrock on Thursday was to launch Sir Keir Starmer’s six “first steps” commitments, most of which were already familiar in some way. This was duly done, and with presentational panache. But the event had a far larger objective – to make it clear to the public that the Labour party is now ready to govern Britain.In all but name th
  
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• Woman accusing Christian Brückner of rape says his eyes ‘bored into my skull’

  16-05-2024 19:45
  
  Hazel Behan, who says main suspect in Madeleine McCann case raped her in Portugal in 2004, tells court she will never forget his eyesA woman who alleges she was raped at knifepoint by the main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has told a court she would never forget the eyes of her attacker, which “bored into my skull”.Giving evidence in the trial of Christian Brückner, who stands accused of five sexual assaults in Portugal of women aged between 10 and 80 between
  
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• The Guardian view on the shooting of Slovakian PM Robert Fico: an attack on democracy | Editorial

  16-05-2024 19:45
  
  The assassination attempt has shocked the country, but reflects deep divisions there and across EuropeSlovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, is an immensely divisive figure who has helped polarise his country. But Wednesday’s assassination attempt has rightly united figures from across the political spectrum and the world in condemnation. The shooting was not only an attack on the prime minister but, as his domestic opponents stressed, an attack on democracy itself.The background an
  
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• NI government failed to be proactive in Covid pandemic, Sue Gray tells inquiry

  16-05-2024 19:44
  
  Former civil servant who investigated Partygate says power-sharing executive was prone to ‘silo working’ and leaksNorthern Ireland’s government lacked cohesion and failed to be proactive during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Sue Gray, the former senior civil servant who investigated the Downing Street Partygate scandal.Gray, who is now Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, said the power-sharing executive at Stormont was prone to “silo working” and leaks that wo
  
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• Former Post Office executive tells Horizon inquiry she blocked Paula Vennells’ number

  16-05-2024 19:43
  
  Lesley Sewell said departed CEO had called for help ‘plugging gaps in her memory’ before select committee appearanceA former Post Office executive has told the inquiry into the Horizon scandal that she blocked Paula Vennells’s phone number after the company’s ex-CEO contacted her asking for help to “plug memory gaps” and to “avoid an independent inquiry”.Lesley Sewell, who was chief information officer at the Post Office until she left in 2015, sai
  
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• Lando Norris confident McLaren will challenge Red Bull after maiden win

  16-05-2024 19:39
  
  Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is the first race since Miami triumph‘I think we are the third-best team behind Red Bull and Ferrari’Lando Norris returns to racing after his first Formula One win confident he and his McLaren team are in a position to begin a challenge for the world title against Max Verstappen.Norris took his first F1 victory at the 110th attempt at the last round in Miami, seeing off Verstappen in a car that, with the upgrades McLaren had applied at the race, was quickest
  
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• Three UK banks announce cuts to cost of fixed-rate mortgages

  16-05-2024 19:38
  
  Barclays Bank, HSBC and TSB reveal reductions, reversing some ofprice rises seen in recent weeksThree UK banks have announced cuts to the cost of fixed-rate mortgages, reversing some of the price rises seen in recent weeks.Barclays Bank has announced it will reduce the price of five-year fixed-rate deals for new borrowers and remortgagers by up to 0.45 percentage points from Friday. Its five-year fixed-rate for borrowers with a 40% deposit is decreasing from 4.47% to 4.34%. Continue reading...
  
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• Love Island and Towie stars charged with promoting trading scheme on Instagram

  16-05-2024 19:29
  
  Financial regulator brings charges against nine people including Lauren Goodger in crackdown on ‘finfluencers’The UK’s financial watchdog has charged seven reality TV stars, including former Love Island contestants and cast members from The Only Way is Essex (Towie), with promoting an unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme on Instagram.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has brought charges against nine people in a crackdown on “finfluencers” who have a tota
  
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• Economics adds up for Dante delight but Derby picture left murkier than ever

  16-05-2024 19:22
  
  Winner may be favourite if switched to run at EpsomColt pulled out as trainer fears would not act on trackThe Dante Stakes, the last recognised Derby trial before the Classic on 1 June, had the emphatic winner that everyone had turned up hoping to see on Thursday, but with one significant caveat that left the ante-post market murkier than ever.Economics, a strapping chestnut trained by William Haggas, cruised up to the leaders and then accelerated six lengths clear of Ancient Wisdom, one of last
  
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• Starmer’s gear change shows inevitability of Labour election victory

  16-05-2024 19:19
  
  Endorsements came from business, policing and the heart of the establishment – the only question is how to avoid complacencyFrom corporations to counter-terrorism officers to coffee shop owners, Keir Starmer’s launch event on Thursday was a stark display of how inevitable a Labour victory now seems.It had the feeling of an election launch – a party leader in shirt sleeves, tightly choreographed pitches from the most senior shadow cabinet ministers, candidates from target seats,
  
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• Ben Jennings on Keir Starmer’s ‘first steps for change’ – cartoon

  16-05-2024 19:13
  
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• Russia expels British military attache in diplomatic tit for tat

  16-05-2024 19:05
  
  Adrian Coghill ordered to leave in response to UK expelling Kremlin’s attache to London for alleged spying Russia is expelling Britain’s defence attache to Moscow in the latest diplomatic tit for tat, after the UK accused it of sponsoring espionage and hacking attacks against top British officials in a years-long campaign of “malign activity”.The Russian foreign ministry said it had declared the British defence attache, Adrian Coghill, as “persona non grata. He must
  
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• Union warns of threat to Harland & Wolff jobs if Treasury vetoes £200m support

  16-05-2024 19:01
  
  GMB says historic shipyard’s workers are concerned by reports that chancellor could withhold vital export credit guaranteeA union representing workers at the historic Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast has written to the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, warning that doubts over financial support for the company are putting jobs in jeopardy.The GMB said workers were concerned by claims that a £200m export guarantee could be blocked by the Treasury, despite having the backing of the minis
  
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• Keir Starmer: ‘no quick fix to Tory mess’ if Labour wins election

  16-05-2024 19:00
  
  Party leader says six election pledges revealed at launch event will take two terms of government to materialiseUK politics live –latest updatesThere will be no “quick fix” to the deep problems Labour will inherit if it wins the next election, Keir Starmer has said while unveiling his party’s six election pledges amid a fanfare of endorsements from senior public figures.The Labour leader said “most reasonable, tolerant people” in the country wanted what his pa
  
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• So Russell Brand has repented? I’ll believe it when I see it | Letters

  16-05-2024 18:58
  
  Readers respond to Marina Hyde’s article about the former TV presenter’s recent baptism in the River ThamesMarina Hyde might be surprised to learn that this Baptist minister shares much of her opinion on the baptism of Russell Brand (So Russell Brand was baptised in the Thames, and all his sins were washed away. Cheaper than a lawyer, I suppose, 14 May).Baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity does indeed signify the washing away of sin, since it marks the transition into a new life i
  
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• Gudrun Ure obituary

  16-05-2024 18:58
  
  Actor who found fame late in her career after landing the role of the children’s TV character Super GranGudrun Ure, who has died aged 98, was 59 – and playing older than her years – when she landed the television role that finally made her famous after 40 years as an actor. She starred in the 1980s ITV children’s series Super Gran, as the happy, gentle elderly woman who finds, after a magic-ray machine is fired at her during a stroll in the park, that she has new special
  
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• How does Natalie Elphicke fit in with Labour’s values and vision? | Letters

  16-05-2024 18:57
  
  Readers remain unconvinced about how the rightwing MP can help the party’s ‘national renewal’Who could argue with Keir Starmer’s desire for the Labour party to be “less tribal” or being welcoming to those “who want to join in our object of national renewal” (Labour should be ‘less tribal’, says Keir Starmer after Elphicke defection, 10 May). But platitudes are normally expected of leaders operating at the fag end of a failing government
  
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• Labour urged to return donation given to Vaughan Gething’s campaign

  16-05-2024 18:54
  
  Welsh first minister accepted money from firm whose owner was convicted of environmental crimesThe Labour party is coming under increasing pressure to return money donated to the new Welsh first minister by a company whose owner was convicted of environmental crimes.Opposition politicians in Wales said Labour must not use money left over from Vaughan Gething’s successful campaign to become first minister and argued it was now a matter for the UK party rather than just Welsh Labour. Continu
  
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• Beryl Cook/Tom of Finland review – ‘One’s trying to make you laugh, the other’s trying to make you horny’

  16-05-2024 18:52
  
  Studio Voltaire, London
  From Tom’s pert-bottomed hunks to Cook’s curvacious ladies, both artists wanted to give pleasure‘Hate the politics, love the uniform,” would pretty much sum up Touko Valio Laaksonen’s attitude towards the Wehrmacht soldiers he encountered as a young, conscripted anti-aircraft officer in the Finnish army, fighting alongside the Germans in the second world war. After the war, Laaksonen began signing his commercial drawings for physique magazine
  
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• Swallow, swift and house martin populations have nearly halved, finds UK bird survey

  16-05-2024 18:46
  
  Reduction in insect numbers contributes to drop, and there are declines across more than a third of bird species surveyedSwallows, swifts and house martins were once a common sight over UK towns and cities, dextrously catching insects on the wing. But these spring and summer visitors are becoming increasingly rare, according to the definitive survey of the country’s birds.Populations of these insect-eating birds have dropped by 40% or more in the past decade, according to the latest Breedi
  
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• Scientists find buried branch of the Nile that may have carried pyramids’ stones

  16-05-2024 18:42
  
  Discovery of the branch, which ran alongside 31 pyramids, could solve mystery of blocks’ transportationScientists have discovered a long-buried branch of the Nile River that once flowed alongside more than 30 pyramids in Egypt, potentially solving the mystery of how ancient Egyptians transported the massive stone blocks to build the monuments.The 40-mile-long (64km) river branch, which ran by the Giza pyramid complex among other wonders, was hidden under desert and farmland for millennia,
  
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