⚽ Premier League updates from the 2.05pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Billy Bonds dies aged 79 | Top scorers | Email John West Ham: Areola, Wan Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Diouf, Magassa, Potts, Fernandes, Paqueta, Bowen, Wilson Liverpool: Alisson, Gomez, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Isak, Gakpo Continue reading...

MPs warn axing FCDO’s migration and conflict directorate amid staff cuts risks undermining peace work and expertise The Foreign Office has been warned that a plan to axe its dedicated unit on emerging conflicts and refugee crises is a “real error” that “undermines UK security” as the department grapples with swingeing cuts. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) migration and conflict directorate, which employs about 100 civil servants, is being abolished at the end of this year and its work subsumed by the rest of the department. Continue reading...

Use of 8m pounds of antibiotics and antifungals a year leads to superbugs and damages human health, lawsuit claims A new legal petition filed by a dozen public health and farm worker groups demands the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stop allowing farms to spray antibiotics on food crops in the US because they are probably causing superbugs to flourish and sickening farm workers. The agricultural industry sprays about 8m pounds of antibiotic and antifungal pesticides on US food crops annually, many of which are banned in other countries. Continue reading...

This amazing scallop gratin with a creamy, white wine and shallot sauce and topped with parsley breadcrumbs is a classic for a reason, and can be made in nine easy steps ’Tis the season for food that makes everyone feel a little bit loved and special; for showstoppers – but preferably the kind that don’t stop the show for too long, given how much else is likely to be going on. This French classic, which can be made a day ahead, if necessary, and/or bulked out with other seafood, is a luxurious light starter or fancy canapé. Prep 20 min Cook 15 min Makes 6 Continue reading...

One of Britain’s most outstanding playwrights famed for the ‘hypnotised brilliance’ of his prose and dialogue After the first night of his play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the National Theatre in London in 1967, Tom Stoppard awoke, like Lord Byron, and found himself famous. This new star in the playwriting firmament was a restless, questing bundle of contradictions. Stoppard wrote great theatre because, primarily, he wrote argumentative and witty dialogue. Writing plays, he said, was the only respectable way of contradicting oneself. His favourite line in modern drama was Christopher Hampton’s in The Philanthropist: “I’m a man of no convictions – at least, I think I am.” Stoppard, who has died aged 88, was always patient about the demands of the publicity machine, though just as deeply averse, like Harold Pinter, to discussing his work, or indeed his private life, in public. Yet what one critic called “the hypnotised brilliance” of his English prose and dialogue fascinated journalists, as well as the public, who thought of Stoppard as “a bounced Czech” (he described himself thus, having been born in Moravia) with a showman’s flair and a curatorial devotion to his adopted language on a par with Conrad’s, or Nabokov’s. Continue reading...

Bonds made a record 799 appearances for the Hammers Took the club into Premier League as a manager The former West Ham captain and manager Billy Bonds has died at the age of 79, the Premier League club has announced. Bonds was the longest-serving player for the Irons, making 799 appearances across a 21-year career in which he lifted the FA Cup twice as well as winning the old Second Division. Continue reading...

Request submitted weeks after Donald Trump called on Isaac Herzog to pardon Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Israel’s president for a pardon for bribery and fraud charges and an end to a five-year corruption trial, arguing that it would be in the “public interest”. Isaac Herzog’s office acknowledged receipt of the 111-page submission from the prime minister’s lawyer, and said it had been passed on to the pardons department in the ministry of justice. The president’s legal adviser would also formulate an opinion before Herzog made a decision, it added. Continue reading...

Understanding the surprising mechanism behind apathy can help unlock scientific ways to boost your motivation We all know people with very different levels of motivation. Some will go the extra mile in any endeavour. Others just can’t be bothered to put the effort in. We might think of them as lazy – happiest on the sofa, rather than planning their latest project. What’s behind this variation? Most of us would probably attribute it to a mixture of temperament, circumstances, upbringing or even values. But research in neuroscience and in patients with brain disorders is challenging these assumptions by revealing the brain mechanisms that underlie motivation. When these systems become dysfunctional, people who were once highly motivated can become pathologically apathetic. Whereas previously they might have been curious, highly engaged and productive – at work, in their social lives and in their creative thinking – they can suddenly seem like the opposite. Continue reading...

There is growing understanding that our country is witnessing evil in our public life. Here is a path to confronting it Across the country, organizers are carrying something heavier, clearer and more spiritually charged than anything I have seen in over 30 years of this work. From veteran freedom fighters to young activists, there is a growing alignment around the unmistakable presence of evil in our public life. The horrors unfolding before us have sharpened our collective sight and deepened the understanding that our resistance must be morally unwavering and spiritually grounded. The spiritual framework for this argument begins with a simple conviction. Our movements need to reclaim a moral vocabulary that names evil plainly. Dr King understood this. When he named the pain of poverty, the sickness of racism and the excess of materialism, he called them the “triple evils”, speaking with unflinching clarity about the devastation that this collective evil was inflicting on the country, on our conscience and on our very souls. We are living in such a moment again. The evil is fully out, and anyone with spiritual integrity can see it. Among the forces driving that clarity are Gaza, empire and ICE. Dr Rami Nashashibi is a MacArthur fellow and the founding executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) Continue reading...

Research finds OpenAI’s free chatbot fails to identify risky behaviour or challenge delusional beliefs ChatGPT-5 is offering dangerous and unhelpful advice to people experiencing mental health crises, some of the UK’s leading psychologists have warned. Research conducted by King’s College London (KCL) and the Association of Clinical Psychologists UK (ACP) in partnership with the Guardian suggested that the AI chatbotfailed to identify risky behaviour when communicating with mentally ill people. Continue reading...

The building was once home to the UK’s first US-style multiplex. Now developers are seeking to demolish it for a new housing scheme Forty years ago this month, British cinema-going changed for ever with the opening of The Point in Milton Keynes, the UK’s first US-style multiplex. Looming over Midsummer Boulevard, the Point’s mirrored glass ziggurat and red pyramidal frame audaciously synthesised Maya and Egyptian motifs in a futuristic, hi-tech temple of pleasure. As well as 10 screens (Back to the Future, The Goonies, and My Beautiful Laundrette opened proceedings), there were bars, restaurants, nightclub and even cup holders on seats, an unimaginable novelty for the time. Today, with its cinemas long closed, this now-languishing 1980s superstar is under threat of demolition, caught in a row between local campaigners, politicians and heritage groups trying to preserve it, and developers seeking to demolish it for a much-criticised new housing scheme. Continue reading...

As the first part of his acclaimed Blinding trilogy is released in the UK, the novelist talks about communism, Vladimir Nabokov – and those Nobel rumours In 2014, when he was travelling around the US on a book tour, Mircea Cărtărescu was able to fulfil the dream of a lifetime: a tour of Vladimir Nabokov’s butterfly collection. Cărtărescu is a great admirer of the Russian-American author, and shares with him a literary career that bridges the western and eastern cultural spheres – as well as a history of being mooted as the next Nobel literature laureate but never having won it. Above all, the Romanian poet and novelist shares Nabokov’s fascination with butterflies. As a child, he harboured dreams of becoming a lepidopterist. On a visit to Harvard, Cărtărescu was allowed access to Nabokov’s former office and marvelled at specimens the St Petersburg-born author had collected. “His most important scientific work was about butterflies’ sexual organs, and I saw these very tiny vials with them in,” he whispers in awe. “It’s like an image from a poem or a story. It was absolutely fantastic.” Continue reading...

Competition intensifies as former chief of Domino’s says days of ‘massive growth’ are over Pizza has become ubiquitous on British dinner plates, with chains such as Pizza Express, Franco Manca, Domino’s and Goodfella’s dominating the market – but is its popularity starting to cool? Domino’s Pizza Group announced this week that its chief executive of two years had stepped down with immediate effect, less than two weeks after he appeared to suggest the UK may be approaching “peak pizza”. Continue reading...

A Green-party globalist and a right-of-centre Tory clash over immigration. Would they see eye to eye over reparations? Peter, 34, London Occupation Former civil servant, now a student, studying public health Continue reading...

Tweaks to state laws mean many Americans will be able to benefit from small, simple plug-in solar panels Acquiring solar panels at home can be an expensive hassle for people in the US. But small, simple, plug-in solar panels for use on balconies are soon to become available for millions of Americans, with advocates hoping the technology will quickly go mainstream. Earlier this year, Utah became the first state in the country to pass legislation allowing people to purchase and install small, portable solar panels that plug into a standard wall socket. Continue reading...

Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner expected to meet Kyiv delegation, after another weekend of deadly Russian attacks in Ukraine Ukrainian negotiators are preparing to meet US officials in Florida to thrash out details of Washington’s proposed framework to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Kyiv faces pressure on military and political fronts. The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are expected to sit down with a Ukrainian delegation on Sunday before planned US talks this week in Moscow with Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...

Members vote narrowly in favour at founding conference overshadowed by Sultana’s rift with Jeremy Corbyn UK politics live – latest updates The new leftwing party headed by Jeremy Corbyn and others has voted narrowly for it to have a ‘“collective leadership” in a win for Zarah Sultana, who has been at loggerheads with the former Labour leader. The results were announced on Sunday after a chaotic start to its founding conference in Liverpool. Sultana, a former Labour MP who now sits as an independent, had boycotted the first day of the conference amid disagreements over how Your Party – its provisional name – should be run. Continue reading...

An honest debate is needed on this polarising topic as sectors such as social care struggle with recruitment Keir Starmer’s response to the 69% plunge in net migration revealed in official figures last week was to remark: “That’s a step in the right direction.” Describing a reduction of more than two-thirds of any indicator in a single year as a “step” would be a creative use of statistics, putting it kindly. Continue reading...

Chancellor accused of misleading public about reasons for tax rises, with opposition MPs calling for her to resign UK politics live – latest updates Rachel Reeves has denied lying to the public in the buildup to last week’s budget, insisting that she needed to raise taxes to a record level to ensure economic stability. The chancellor said on Sunday she had announced £26bn worth of tax rises on Wednesday in part to build a buffer against her fiscal rules and reduce the risk of further tax increases in the future, and in part to protect public spending. Continue reading...

Manchester Arena With 70s rock references, tinselly backdrop and some full-on cabaret-theatre vibes, the four-piece have undergone their most fun and complete reinvention yet ‘If I want to wear my sparkly knickers, I will!” Ellie Rowsell giggles into the mic as she struts into The Sofa, a stylish 70s slow-burner about making guilt-free decisions and watching “reruns on the TV” without judgment. Tonight there is no sign of a settee-induced slumber, as the sparkling singer writhes around on the stage in a tight black leotard with red hearts strategically zig-zagged across her torso. She has long since abandoned her tousled blond locks for something closer to PJ Harvey on a glam-rock bender. It’s a fun, snazzy reinvention, and it bodes well for the audience. Wolf Alice have worn many skins and shed them without sentiment – it has come to be expected of a band with more than 15 years of performing, who began as the north London folk duo of Roswell and guitarist Joff Oddie before evolving into a fully-fledged four-piece. There are grunge snarls in their debut, My Love Is Cool; 90s alt-fuzz in the Mercury Prize winner Visions of a Life and Blue Weekend. But their current arena tour shows that the full-throttle cabaret theatre of The Clearing may just be their most complete incarnation yet. Continue reading...

⚽ Updates from the noon GMT KO at Selhurst Park ⚽ Sign up for Football Daily | Top scorers | Email Michael Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell, Sarr, Pino, Mateta. Subs: Benitez, Lerma, Nketiah, Uche, Clyne, Hughes, Esse, Canvot, Devenny. Manchester United (3-4-3): Lammens, Yoro, de Ligt, Shaw, Diallo, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dalot, Mbeumo, Mount, Zirkzee. Subs: Bayindir, Mazraoui, Martinez, Malacia, Dorgu, Ugarte, Heaven, Mainoo, Lacey. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Guardian investigation finds unlicensed jabs offered as experts call for more online regulation Companies selling illegal weight-loss drugs are amassing positive Trustpilot reviews as critics say regulatory gaps allow high-risk operators to appear credible. A Guardian investigation found that Retatrutide UK had a score of 4.4 on the global review site, despite purporting to offer a drug that is unlicensed and illegal to sell or buy. Its website sells a 20mg retatrutide pen for £132. Continue reading...

For John, group sex is a fantasy he wants to make reality. For Sophie, it is a mistake she does not want to repeat • How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously There’s still so much I want to do sexually, and I want to do it now while I still can Continue reading...

Former oversight officials alarmed by dismantling of DHS system that oversees complaints about civil rights harms The federal watchdog system at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that oversees complaints about civil rights violations, including in immigration detention, has been gutted so thoroughly that it could be laying the groundwork for the Trump administration to “abuse people with impunity”, experts warn. Former federal oversight officials have sounded the alarm at the rapid dismantling of guardrails against human rights failures – at the same time as the government pushes aggressive immigration enforcement operations. Border Patrol agents in Arizona forcibly removed a detained man from a cell, handcuffed him and then injected him with ketamine to sedate him in 2023, according to a CRCL document confirming the watchdog’s investigation into the allegation. A Guardian reporter had saved that document just weeks before it was scrubbed from the DHS’s website. Guards at a privately owned Louisiana detention center systematically mistreated detained immigrants, according to a CRCL document. This included an investigation into a 2024 incident during which correctional staff pepper sprayed around 200 detained immigrants who were staging a hunger strike in protest of detention conditions. Guards then allegedly locked the men in the unit and cut the power and water for hours. A majority of the men were allegedly denied medical care, the original complaint, submitted to the CRCL by RFK Human Rights, said. In a Florida jail, a 33-year-old immigrant woman with mental health problems was forcibly stripped naked, strapped to a restraint chair and mocked by male guards, according to a CRCL complaint submitted by the ACLU of Florida and RFK Human Rights. The woman was allegedly left with “contusions and marks on her body” after hours in the restraint chair. The whistleblower declaration said the CRCL had launched an investigation into the case. Agents violated due process during the arrest and detention of Palestinian student and Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, according to the whistleblower complaint. Continue reading...

Rescue teams find more bodies in burnt-out buildings of Wang Fuk Court complex after Wednesday’s fire The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex fire has risen to 146 after investigators discovered more bodies in the burnt-out buildings. A steady stream of people placed bouquets of flowers at an ever-growing makeshift memorial at the scene of the disaster, among the worst in the city’s history. The Hong Kong police’s disaster victim identification unit has been going through the buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex meticulously and has found bodies both in apartment units and on the roofs, the officer in charge, Cheng Ka-chun, said on Sunday. Continue reading...