King has announced a genealogist working with the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds found no evidence of Cherokee ancestry in his family lineage A prominent Canadian-American author, who has long claimed Indigenous ancestry and whose work exposed “the hard truths of the injustices of the Indigenous peoples of North America”, has learned from a genealogist that he has no Cherokee ancestry. In an essay titled “A most inconvenient Indian” published on Monday for Canada’s Globe and Mail, Thomas King said he had learned of rumours circulating in recent years within both the arts and Indigenous communities that questioned his Cherokee heritage. Continue reading...

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and Xi told Trump that its return was an ‘integral part of the post-war international order’ Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told Donald Trump that Beijing’s claims to Taiwan remain unchanged, in a phone call that came amid rising tensions over the self-governing island. Xi told Trump on Monday that Taiwan’s return to China was an “integral part of the postwar international order” forged in the joint US-China fight against “fascism and militarism”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. Continue reading...

Her commitment to food directly connected to its source shaped the tastes and thinking of a generation of cooks. We all wanted to sit next to her at dinner Spring is a season of transition, when bare earth transforms into something alive with promise. It was also the name chef Skye Gyngell, who has died at age 62, chose for her London restaurant. She said it was her favourite season, but the truth is she embraced all four and lived them wholly. Gyngell was singular: she had the palate of a chef and the palette of an artist. Those twin gifts met in food that was painterly in its composition, delicate in its details and tuned to nature’s shifting notes. Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

The Muslim Brotherhood one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements The Muslim Brotherhood is a pan-Islamist organisation that was founded in Egypt in 1928 as an Islamic political movement to counter the spread of secular and nationalist ideas. It swiftly spread through Muslim countries, becoming a major player but often operating in secret. Its founder, Egyptian schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna, believed that reviving Islamic principles in society could enable the Muslim world to resist Western colonialism. Continue reading...

The 65-year-old woman shocked temple staff when they heard a faint knocking and she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation. Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok , posted a video on its Facebook page, showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered. Continue reading...

Claimants forced to pay back thousands of pounds tell of ‘horrendous’ court ordeals and of desire for official apology DWP to reassess hundreds of thousands of cases in carer’s allowance scandal The carer’s allowance scandal – a timeline Vivienne Groom had never been inside the dock of a criminal court when she stood, sobbing and shaking, before a judge last year. She was accused by the government of unlawfully claiming nearly £17,000 in carer’s allowance while she juggled a minimum wage supermarket job with being the sole carer for her dying mother. Continue reading...

Damning official review finds many unpaid carers left with huge debt because of government failure ‘It’s like the Post Office scandal’: victims of carer’s allowance crisis speak out The carer’s allowance scandal – a timeline Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable unpaid carers will have their cases reassessed after a damning official review concluded they had been left with huge debts because of government failure and maladministration. The review, due to be published on Tuesday, was triggered after a year-long Guardian investigation revealed how carers had been hit with draconian penalties of as much as £20,000 relating to carer’s allowance. Some were plunged into hardship, others were jailed. Continue reading...

Trades, machine operations and administrative roles are most at-risk, says leading educational research charity Up to 3m low-skilled jobs could disappear in the UK by 2035 because of automation and AI, according to a report by a leading educational research charity. The jobs most at risk are those in occupations such as trades, machine operations and administrative roles, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) said. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak hands health secretary open letter calling for testing for men at the highest risk More than 100 MPs, including Rishi Sunak, have urged Wes Streeting to introduce screening for prostate cancer. The UK National Screening Committee, a government agency that advises ministers and the NHS about all aspects of screening, will recommend whether men at higher risk of the disease should be offered checks. It is due to write to the health secretary later this week, the Telegraph reported. Continue reading...

Two others rescued as authorities work to recover the bodies of those killed after they fell near the summit Two mountain climbers have died on Aoraki, New Zealand’s tallest peak, with two others from the same group rescued, authorities said. The climbers’ bodies have been found and specialist searchers were working to recover them “in a challenging alpine environment”, the police area commander Inspector Vicki Walker said on Tuesday. None of the climbers have been publicly identified. Continue reading...

Midfielder sent off after slapping teammate Keane United ‘were not perfect’ in the loss, says Amorim David Moyes said he likes his ­players “fighting each other” after Idrissa Gueye was sent off in the 13th minute for slapping his teammate Michael Keane in Everton’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday. The victory was a first at Old Trafford in the Premier League for the visitors since 2013. After Gueye’s red card, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s 29th-minute strike proved the winner as United lost for a first time in the competition at home after an opponent was reduced to 10 men. Continue reading...

A year to the day since Ruben Amorim fielded his first Manchester United XI, his latest iteration folded in capitulation to 10-man Everton, who ended United’s unbeaten run at five games. Idrissa Gueye’s bizarre walking orders for slapping Michael Keane, his centre-back, gave United most of the match to overcome Everton, who had previously won once at Old Trafford in 32 years before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s 20-yard strike gave David Moyes a first victory here as a visiting manager in the Premier League. Continue reading...

Aardman studios to put props, sets and storyboards on show for its 50th anniversary event at the Young V&A Aardman studios is known around the world for its seamlessly animated stop-motion train chases, hacked “smart gnomes”, tea-consuming heroes and villainous penguins. Now fans will get a behind-the-scenes look at the studio’s best-known projects and see how they went from rough ideas sketched out on a kitchen table to Oscar-winning films in a major exhibition at the Young V&A in east London. Continue reading...

The mightily stressful and incredibly close-to-the-bone BBC show traces the demise of four ancient worlds – and it’s wildly prescient stuff. Will we never learn? Rome, 24 August, AD410. The empire that’s dominated Europe for five centuries is on the brink of collapse, its capital at the mercy of a barbarian leader. What do the people do? They do as they’ve always done. The rich scramble to hide their wealth. The poor run for their lives. The fateful decisions of a tiny number of power-obsessed men bring the mightiest civilisation on Earth to its knees. Sounds familiar? And yet. No one saw it coming … OK, apart from us, the hollow-eyed cynics of the future, watching the BBC’s latest iteration of a landmark series from the discomfort of our own civilisation’s real-time plummet. The first, less-close-to-the-bone Civilisation aired in AD1969. An equally un-self-aware era when it was totally fine for a Tory politician in trilby and tie (Kenneth Clark) to chart western culture’s triumph over the barbarians. (Some may say: plus ça change.) Next, in 2018, came its well-intentioned successor fronted by Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga. Which, like a weak emperor, was trying to be everything to everyone and thus, not unlike ancient Rome’s Honorius, suffered mixed reviews and plunging ratings. Now the sumptuous threequel strides into the arena, all fire, war, disease, disaster and slick Netflix-era dramatic re-enactments. It also comes, somewhat aptly, at a time of deep existential crisis within the BBC itself. Which in less ancient times was the instrument of another empire that fell … Continue reading...

Discounted loans for construction of stadiums Priority given to developing nations Fifa has announced the creation of a partnership with a Saudi Arabian government agency, with up to $1bn (£762m) being pledged to fund the development of football infrastructure across the globe. The game’s global governing body announced on Monday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Fund for Development that would lead to it offering discounted loans “for the construction and rehabilitation” of stadiums and other infrastructure. Under the arrangement, priority for any loans will be given to developing nations. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader’s responses to allegations of racist and antisemitic behaviour at Dulwich college have varied over time Nigel Farage’s response to allegations of teenage racism during his time at Dulwich college have ranged from vehement at times and rather more nuanced at others. Here is what he has said. Continue reading...

The actor won best performance for BBC drama Gatsby in Harlem at the inaugural British Audio awards, while Nicola Coughlan’s narration of Juno Dawson’s Queen B clinched best sci-fi audiobook Audiobooks narrated by Ncuti Gatwa, Nicola Coughlan and David Tennant were among those recognised at the inaugural British Audio awards, the “Speakies”. Gatwa’s performance in the lead role of Gatsby in Harlem helped it emerge as one of Monday evening’s biggest winners: it took three major prizes including audio of the year. The reimagining of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby also won best audio drama adaptation, while Gatwa took home the best performance award for what organisers described as his “remarkable poise and flair” in capturing Gatsby’s character. Continue reading...

Members of rightwing base disorientated by cordial Oval Office meeting – but not all Trump supporters downcast A flurry of social media posts from Maga influencers have laid bare the disorientation felt by members of Trump’s base at the spectacle of Friday’s cordial Oval Office meeting with Mamdani, who the president previously painted as a “communist lunatic”. “Wild to allow a jihadist communist to stand behind the president’s desk in the Oval Office. Sad to see,” wrote far-right activist Laura Loomer, one of Trump’s most fervent online backers. Continue reading...

Caroline Daniel tells MPs leaked memo by Michael Prescott that sparked resignations at BBC did not provide full picture Claims of “serious and systemic problems” in the corporation’s coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans issues, which led to the resignation of its director general, Tim Davie, have been disputed by a former adviser to the corporation. Deborah Turness, the head of BBC News, also resigned after the allegations by Michael Prescott, a PR executive and former independent external adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee (EGSC). Continue reading...

Chancellor tells parliamentary party they will not like every measure but promised budget will be ‘fair’ Rachel Reeves has privately urged Labour MPs to back her make-or-break budget, saying they will not like every measure but promising it will be “fair.” Speaking to a fractious parliamentary party, after a fortnight of leadership speculation, the chancellor said “politics is a team sport” and promised them there would be a package of appealing measures in the budget that they could promise their constituents. Continue reading...

Magpies’ away record is a worry before Champions League meeting with Roberto De Zerbi, Mason Greenwood and co Newcastle fans are travelling to Marseille with a soundtrack of uncertainty echoing in their ears. Quite apart from the official warnings about rampant pickpocketing, street crime and potential football-related violence, their phones seem full of concerned messages from families and friends. Those oft-repeated exhortations to variously “take care”, “watch yourself” and “stay safe” in a city regularly listed among Europe’s “most dangerous” could, in a different context, easily apply to Eddie Howe’s team. Continue reading...

Chair Samir Shah is a picture of misery before MPs while Robbie Gibb proves the master of deflection This was the BBC in its happiest of happy places. Sure the Beeb likes to do the news, but there is nothing it likes more than reporting on itself. The holy grail of its output. There are whole departments within the Beeb dedicated to making TV and radio programmes about other BBC TV and radio programmes. There can be no other organisation that subjects itself to quite so much self-analysis. Only a psychotherapist would be able to fully determine whether it is solipsism or self-hatred. Maybe both. So much so that it goes out of its way to recruit people whose sole job is to criticise it. Some who are even ideologically opposed to it. Would not be that bothered if it no longer existed. Or lost its licence fee. Not that anything would ever be said to this effect. Because all its critics are motivated solely by love. This hurts them so much more that it hurts the BBC. Really. Continue reading...

Reform leader denies engaging in racist or antisemitic behaviour ‘with intent’ at school, but says he can’t remember everything from 49 years ago Nigel Farage has broken his silence nearly a week after he was accused by about 20 people of racism and antisemitism as a teenager, by saying he “never directly, really tried to go and hurt anybody”. His remarks came after the publication of a detailed investigation by the Guardian in which many of his school contemporaries claimed to be victims of, or witnesses to, repeated incidents of deeply offensive behaviour. Continue reading...

When Chelsea host Barcelona, fans can assess two 18-year-olds who are equally tipped as future Ballon d’Or winners Comparisons mean little to Estêvão Willian. The Brazil winger did not even take kindly to being nicknamed Messinho – “Little Messi” – earlier in his career. He called the nickname “disruptive” and made clear that he had no interest in trying to be someone else. “I don’t like comparisons,” the 18-year-old told ESPN Brasil last year. “For those who don’t know how to deal with it, it’s quite disruptive. Me being Estêvão is very good.” Chelsea no doubt agree. After all, opposition defenders aside, who could possibly complain about Estêvão just being Estêvão? Not for nothing is he widely tipped to win the Ballon d’Or one day. The teenager’s talent is outrageous, his start to life in England has been better than expected and, although the obvious risk with heaping too much praise on a young prospect is that it makes them take their eye off the ball, it is telling that those who know Estêvão say one of the qualities that set him apart is his character. Continue reading...

⚽ Premier League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Weekend talking points | Email Michael Manchester United: Lammens, Yoro, de Ligt, Shaw, Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu, Diallo, Mbeumo, Zirkzee. Subs: Bayindir, Dalot, Martinez, Mount, Malacia, Ugarte, Heaven, Mainoo, Lacey. Everton: Pickford, Garner, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Coleman, Gueye, Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish, Barry. Subs: Travers, King, McNeil, Beto, O’Brien, Dibling, Alcaraz, Aznou, Iroegbunam. Continue reading...