United manager admits a lot of wins would be needed Carrick: ‘You can’t rule anything out in football’ Michael Carrick has refused to rule out Manchester United catching Arsenal and challenging for the title, though the interim manager admitted a lot of wins would be needed. United recorded a sixth victory under Carrick when defeating Crystal Palace 2-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday, making it 19 points from 21 since he took over. Their form is the best in the Premier League over that period but United trail Arsenal by 13 points with a game in hand and have 10 matches to play. Carrick was asked before United’s game at Newcastle on Wednesday whether he would rule out catching Mikel Arteta’s team. Continue reading...

Only five days earlier Rob Edwards had streamed down the touchline and pulled his calf, he said, celebrating Wolves’s second goal in a rare victory against rivals Aston Villa. This time he cut loose again deep into six minutes of second-half stoppage time, as André’s deflected strike floored Liverpool. Edwards booted a ball off a pitch-side cone and went to drink in the moment with the locals. Joe Gomez dragged his red Liverpool shirt over his face. Arne Slot was punch-drunk. Liverpool were beaten by the league’s bottom club. Wolves had stunned the visitors by taking the lead with 12 minutes of regular time to play, Rodrigo Gomes’s clinical finish capping a well-worked attack that Virgil van Dijk will not want to see again in a hurry. Liverpool were toiling but then, after another anonymous display, Mohamed Salah came to life with an equaliser. Continue reading...

Sunderland departed West Yorkshire 13 months ago on a snowy February night with their hopes of automatic promotion from the Championship seemingly in tatters. Leeds had come from behind to clinch a 95th-minute victory that took them top of the second tier and only the most optimistic visiting fans expected a rematch this season. Continue reading...

Nigel Farage’s attempts to appeal to centre-ground voters may cause tension in his party, according to Hope Not Hate More than half of Reform UK members believe non-white British citizens born abroad should be deported or encouraged to leave, according to the first publicly available poll of those in Nigel Farage’s party. The findings come as the Reform leader attempts to court centre-ground voters while facing pressure from his right-flank, including a hardline new party launched by Rupert Lowe, who left Reform after falling out with Farage. Continue reading...

Regularly bracketed together, holding the same ambition of European football for the first time, Brentford continue to hold the advantage. The chase may come down to one of these much-admired teams and Bournemouth were frustrated by a 13th drawn game of the season. On a midweek night where the Premier League resembles Prem Rugby, all hustle, grappling, kicking for territory and physicality closing off creativity, Brentford toughed it out. The Bees remain the only team in the Premier League that Bournemouth have never beaten. Continue reading...

Texas showdowns between Republicans John Cornyn v Ken Paxton as well as Democrats James Talarico v Jasmine Crockett have made US Senate seat most expensive primary on record Let’s start with perhaps the biggest race of the night: the Texas Republican primary. The Texas Senate primary has become the most expensive ad campaign on record, according to analysis firm AdImpact, with the GOP establishment candidate’s campaign spending at least $69m of the $122m (this includes both parties). President Donald Trump has, notably, not endorsed a candidate in this race. Continue reading...

Everton harbour ambitions of bringing European football to Hill Dickinson Stadium next season and a first Premier League win at their new home in seven attempts will increase the optimism. The hosts were effective, rather than magnificent, against a woefully poor Burnley but the result is all that matters. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are the next three visitors to Everton, so goals from James Tarkowski and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were essential as they looked to build momentum. It was only Everton’s fifth win in 15 league games since leaving Goodison Park, helping solidify their position in eighth, which could be good enough for continental qualification come the end of the season. Continue reading...

Donald Trump’s commerce secretary has acknowledged visiting convicted sex offender on private island in 2012 Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, has agreed to appear voluntarily before the House committee on oversight and government reform as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network, the committee’s chair announced Tuesday. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the panel, said Lutnick had “proactively” agreed to the transcribed interview. Continue reading...

The rationale keeps changing – from Iran planning a preemptive strike to lobbying by Israel US-Israel war on Iran – live updates It took months for the Bush administration’s falsehoods about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to come to light, after an invasion, regime change, an investigation, and then, finally, the truth. For the Trump administration’s warnings of an imminent threat from Iran, it took an afternoon. On Capitol Hill on Monday, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, swiftly undercut the Trump administration’s claims that Iran was planning a preemptive strike by adding a key piece of information: Israel was planning to strike first. Continue reading...

Chair of merged production company says move creates a ‘world class’ offering across live events and programming The European maker of television shows ranging from Peaky Blinders to Big Brother is to merge with the UK super-indie behind hits including The Traitors to create a €4.4bn (£3.8bn) global TV production giant. Paris-headquartered Banijay Group, which last year considered making a takeover offer for ITV’s studio operation, has struck a deal to merge with All3Media, which is owned by RedBird IMI. Continue reading...

Contradicting images of parties and war flooded feeds after Iran targeted Gulf states in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks Mike Babayan was in a hookah lounge when he heard the explosion on Saturday night. Dubai – a gilded playground for the ultra-rich and oligarch class, billed as one of the safest places on Earth – had been attacked by Iranian missiles. Phones lit up with emergency messages urging residents to take shelter. But Dubai is resilient, at least when it comes to partying. “Everyone just went back to their hookah and food a minute later,” said Babayan. Still, as a precaution, that night Babayan moved from his main home in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building and anchor of the Dubai skyline, to a residence further from the city center. There, he could hear the explosions much clearer – one every 20 to 30 minutes, he said. “But everyone is just having coffees, walking around like there’s no care in the world. It’s pretty insane.” Continue reading...

Ukraine 1-6 England Georgia Stanway and Jess Park also score twice With a flurry of second-half goals England began their Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign in a 6-1 victory against Ukraine. Alessia Russo, Georgia Stanway and Jess Park all scored twice. The European champions may feel they should have won by a greater margin: they were profligate in the first half, but eventually opened the floodgates as Park continued her bright Manchester United form. Continue reading...

Despite rebukes from Donald Trump, many MPs back Keir Starmer’s stance so far, and say lessons from conflict in Iraq must not be forgotten Calvin Bailey keeps his Iraq medal, issued to members of the British armed forces who served as part of Operation Telic, safe in a drawer in his home. It features a clasp, given to personnel who were part of the very first wave of flights to leave British bases to invade Iraq in March 2003. So when the Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead spoke at a meeting between Labour MPs and the prime minister on Monday evening, people listened. “I was exposed to and aware of all the things that were happening in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, the groupthink, the sense of unstoppable momentum,” he said on Tuesday. “If you look at what is happening right now, it’s materially different to 2003, but I think I can speak with adequate weight and credibility.” Continue reading...

Strikes on Iranian leadership are putting Tehran under unprecedented military and diplomatic pressure Middle East crisis – live updates The war in the Middle East in maps, video and photos Iran endured a day of unprecedented military and diplomatic pressure on Tuesday as US airstrikes pushed the death toll in the country above 800 and the offices of Assembly of Experts, the body due to select a replacement for the assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei, were bombed. It would be an extraordinary security lapse if it emerges that many of the 88 elderly clerics on the assembly had been in the building in Qom voting at the time. “There was another hit today on the new leadership, and it looks like that was pretty substantial,” Trump said at a White House event, although it was unclear what specifically he was talking about. Continue reading...

Donald Trump said the US and Israel are hitting Iran ‘where it is much more appropriate’ US-Israel war on Iran – live updates Continue reading...

Extending settlement waits risks deepening labour shortages while misreading public concern about migration’s economic and demographic realities The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is expected this week to press ahead with plans to make it harder for migrants to gain settled status, extending the wait from five to 10 years. She will not change tack despite Labour’s crushing byelection defeat to the Greens. This is a mistake. Ms Mahmood argues that Denmark’s Social Democrats curbed inflows to protect the welfare state and won at the ballot box. A general election in Denmark later this month will test whether that policy remains popular. Her recent visit to Copenhagen kept the spotlight on asylum, the most politically charged part of the UK system. Yet asylum flows are a small fraction of overall migration and largely disconnected from the labour shortages that undergird Britain’s economic debate. Public concern about migration is real – shaped by pressures on housing, services and wages. But pollsters say that this is disproportionately driven by Reform UK supporters, who worry substantially more about immigration than voters backing far-right parties in Europe. That suggests that the politics of migration is more complex than headlines imply. Continue reading...

An energy shock from war in the Gulf will expose the limits of rigid fiscal rules. The real question is who absorbs the loss: the state, firms or households? The war in the Middle East has sent oil and gas prices soaring – and Britain remains deeply exposed to global energy markets. If the shocks persist they will feed directly into household bills, business costs and inflation. On Tuesday, the Office for Budget Responsibility released projections that were finalised before the US-Israeli strikes began. Rachel Reeves was right to warn that household bills might rise. But she gave no clue as to whether her policy would be flexible enough to respond if they did. In her spring statement the chancellor argued for fiscal discipline. That’s understandable. The OBR says borrowing will fall and that the “headroom” against her self-imposed rules has increased. Her message was that Britain needed “stability”. The logic is that discipline reassures markets, and that keeps borrowing affordable. But markets constrain the UK only insofar as its institutions let them. If energy prices spike, the economy suffers a drop in real income. The question is: who soaks up that loss? Households, firms or the state, via higher deficits? Privileging fiscal credibility might signal that she prefers households to absorb the shock rather than the state. Continue reading...

Amid global volatility, Rachel Reeves tried to project calm with a low-key forecast. But business owners have their doubts Rachel Reeves gave a deliberately low-key spring forecast on Tuesday, in an attempt to project calm amid volatility abroad and after repeated tax rising budgets. But for some business owners struggling with rising costs, a lack of policy announcements this time around was a disappointment. Continue reading...

Valdo Calocane approached security at Thames House in 2021 but did not meet threshold for further assessment, public inquiry told A man who killed three people during a 2023 knife attack in Nottingham had attempted to hand himself into MI5 for arrest two years earlier, an inquiry has heard. Valdo Calocane, 34, fatally stabbed Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, during a stabbing spree in the city on 13 June 2023. Continue reading...

Prosecutors argued Colin Gray gave 14-year-old son, who is accused of killing four in 2024 shooting, access to firearm Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The father of a teenage boy accused of killing two students and two teachers in a mass shooting at a Georgia high school in 2024 was found guilty on Tuesday of second-degree murder and other charges. After roughly two weeks of testimony, jurors deliberated for just a few hours before convicting 54-year-old Colin Gray on more than two dozen charges, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, related to the 4 September fatal shooting at Apalachee high school in Georgia. Continue reading...

Unemployment is now predicted to reach 5.3% this year, up from the previous forecast of 4.9% Unemployment in the UK is set to peak this year at a higher rate than previously estimated, with a “worrying” increase in young people being out of work, the government’s official forecaster has said. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said unemployment will peak at 5.3% this year, up from its previous forecast in November of 4.9%. Continue reading...

EFL to discuss maximum fee proposal on Wednesday Top-tier clubs increasingly targeting academy players The Premier League wants EFL clubs to agree to cap the compensation fees they pay for signing youngsters from lower-division academies. Under current rules clubs receive compensation for the loss of young players through a combination of fixed training compensation, appearance-based payments and sell-on entitlements, which involves an element of negotiation. Continue reading...

His credits range from Men Behaving Badly to Wuthering Heights, and now he’s playing Huw Edwards. What would you dearly love to know about the actor and documentary presenter? It’s delightful that Martin Clunes has won so many plaudits for his performance in this year’s Wuthering Heights, alongside Margot Robbie’s Cathy and Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff. He plays Cathy’s drunk but generous, cruel yet humorous father in a part that could easily have drifted into the background. But he makes such an impression that the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw reckons he “pretty much pinches the whole film”. It’s not as if Clunes hasn’t brushed shoulders with the Hollywood A-list before. You might remember him as Richard Burbage, opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes and Judi Dench, in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love – a role with added resonance given that his father, Alec Clunes, who died when Clunes was eight, was a distinguished Shakespearean actor. Other roles include 1992’s Carry On Columbus (the last ever Carry On); 1994’s Staggered (which he also directed), in which he wakes up naked on a remote Scottish island after a stag do gone wrong; and 1999’s Hunting Venus, where he reunites with his former on-screen flatmate Neil Morrissey, as a washed-up 80s New Romantic, sporting a flopped quiff that puts even A Flock of Seagulls to shame. Continue reading...

Literacy experts say move comes over cost concerns and fears costumes can detract from reading for pleasure Schools in England are moving away from pupils dressing up as their favourite literary characters for World Book Day, with experts telling MPs they feared the costs of costumes undermined efforts to increase reading for pleasure. Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, said schools were aware of the strains that preparing costumes could place on disadvantaged families, telling MPs on the Commons’ education select committee: “Many schools are incredibly sensitive to that, and are taking away the narrative around dressing-up on World Book Day.” Continue reading...

⚽ Premier League updates, kicking off from 7.30pm GMT ⚽ Live scores | Tables | Today’s Football Daily | Email Niall Premier League Bournemouth v Brentford (7.30pm, all times GMT) Everton v Burnley (7.30pm) Leeds v Sunderland (7.30pm) Wolves v Liverpool (8.15pm) FA Cup fourth round Port Vale v Bristol City (7.45pm) Championship Ipswich v Hull (7.45pm) Continue reading...