A former friend and others who were at Dulwich college with the now Reform UK leader speak of his behaviour ‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school It had been a fun sleep-over at Nigel Farage’s house and Jean-Pierre Lihou, a teenager with an appetite, was delighted with his schoolfriend’s mother’s hospitality. “I remember the fantastic cooked English breakfast, as opposed to what you get at a boarding house on a morning,” Lihou recalled. “I was a boarder and he was a day boy,” he said of their education at Dulwich college in south-east London. Farage was a great mimic, and funny with it, Lihou said. But, over time, he found that there was a darker side to his 14-year-old friend. Continue reading...

Agriculture minister calls for immediate investigation over carbonara sauce containing the wrong type of cured meat Italy’s agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, has called for an immediate investigation after coming across what he claimed were jars of “Italian sounding” pasta sauce on the shelves of the European parliament’s supermarket. Lollobrigida, of Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, was particularly vexed by a carbonara sauce made with “Italiaanse pancetta” – the classic Roman pasta dish is made with a different cured meat, guanciale – and a tomato sauce containing “oignons de Calabria”, or onions from Calabria. Continue reading...

Pam Bondi speaks after US Senate passes bill to release files – but agency may hold back material that could affect a Trump-ordered investigation One quick note, there haven’t been any changes to Donald Trump’s schedule today, per the press pool. Which means, as of now, the president doesn’t have any time allotted to sign the bill forcing the justice department to release the full batch of Jeffrey Epstein files. We’ll keep you updated if things change throughout the day. Continue reading...

Award-winning author whose novels, including her debut, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, united comic skills with serious themes Marina Lewycka, who has died aged 79 from a degenerative brain condition, appeared to achieve a kind of fairy-tale transformation when, in her late 50s, her comic debut novel became a million-copy bestseller. However, behind the literary stardust that settled on the British Ukrainian novelist after A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian lay not just “a long career as an unpublished author”. That book grew from intimate involvement with the sorrow and pity of war-torn Europe: a “measureless ocean of tears and blood”. Continue reading...

No one suffers a cold like I do. Drops and brandy don’t touch the sides – but thanks to a friendly singer, I’ve learned a more extreme regime for countering the snuffles This time last year, I was on a TV programme with three singers. There was a rapper of Ghanaian heritage, a big pop star, and a famous mezzo-soprano. It was deep midwinter. The night before, I’d been at an old friend’s 60th birthday, crammed into the function room of a pub somewhere in Surrey. It had been a good night, but now, just for something to say, I wondered how it was possible to avoid catching a cold when half the people at the party were players in a symphony of coughs, sneezes, snuffles and nose-blows. By the way, how come some people have nose-blows like trumpets, and others don’t? A question for another day. At mention of my night out, this trio of troubadours in the TV green room did two things. First, they shrunk away from me slightly. Second, they engaged in a feverishly enthusiastic discussion on how to avoid catching colds which, naturally enough given their line of work, was something of an obsession for them. I get that, but I have skin in this game too – I must avoid colds at all costs because the colds I get are worse than anyone else’s. I don’t have a medical certificate to confirm this, but I know it to be true. My colds last longer. My nose is more blocked, my throat is scratchier, my coughing fits are louder, barkier and apparently endless. My family, wise to the couple of quick throat-clearances which herald the coming storm, either kick me out of the room, or clear the room themselves. Back when I presented football on ITV, my poor colleagues in the studio gallery grew attuned to the warning signs. “Cans off!” the studio director would holler to his team, before I deafened them all, blowing the wiring in their headphones. Continue reading...

Thorough reform of how flooding is managed is necessary to reconnect people to their watery environments, says Dr Ed Rollason. Plus a letter from Moira Robinson John Harris correctly identifies that the UK is hopelessly unprepared for flooding, but is wrong to suggest that the public is not told about the threat (Flooded and forgotten: the UK’s waters are rising and we’re being kept in the dark, 16 November). In fact, the UK has some of the most detailed and accurate flood-risk information in the world. The Environment Agency publishes comprehensive flood-risk maps and impact information that is searchable by address, and regularly undertakes public-information campaigns. The north-east of England has also pioneered community flood-resilience officers, whose sole purpose is to engage with at-risk communities and to encourage the development of “community resilience”, a model increasingly being mirrored in other regions. Continue reading...

Elizabeth Taylor fully backs industrial action and feels that doctors have been taken advantage of for decades; Dr Natasha de Vere would not consider striking I totally support the resident doctors’ strike (Why the NHS doctors’ strikes look set to continue, 14 October). I am a retired consultant anaesthetist who worked in the NHS for 40 years. Throughout my career, I felt that I was totally underpaid for my work. As a junior doctor in the 1970s and up until my consultant appointment in 1991, I was paid a pittance for working excessive, unsafe hours – often 80 to 100 hours a week. Accommodation and catering were minimal. Overtime was paid at a much lower rate. Continue reading...

Private appointments, tests and operations are a grave threat to the future of the health service, writes Margaret Greenwood Gaby Hinsliff is right to ask if the government’s reorganisation of the National Health Service will be the final nail in its coffin (Wes Streeting’s gamble with the NHS is greater than any play for Downing Street, 14 November). Such large‑scale redundancies are bound to create problems. There are other threats to the delivery of NHS services too. The privatisation of the NHS is happening in plain sight. Last month, the government proudly announced that “A total of 6.15 million appointments, tests and operations were delivered by independent providers for NHS patients this year”, an almost 500,000 increase on last year, which it says is “helping to cut waiting times [and] free up NHS capacity”. Continue reading...

Canvassing opinion | From A Lane to the bus lane | GWR wifi | Suits in the White House | Blancmange rabbit | Narcissism The Guardian may get a better idea of why some young people support Reform UK by asking actual Reform voters who work in shops, offices and factories in “red wall” towns and cities such as Mansfield, Grimsby and Derby what they think, rather than three students, an environmental activist and a youth equality organiser (How should we tackle Reform and the rise of the far right? Our gen Z panel has some ideas, 13 November). Nigel Scollin Breaston, Derbyshire • Back in 1984, my driving test examiner in Lampeter, Wales, was called Mr A Lane (‘You get more attention than you would choose’: how an unusual name can shape your life – for better or worse, 13 November). I passed the test first time and never drove again. Do I get brownie points for using the buses all these years? Nicholas Q Gough Swindon, Wiltshire Continue reading...

The 1975 drama, one of the only films to ever receive the big five Oscars, remains a touchstone of American cinema with a resonant message of resisting conformity A movie winning the big five Academy Awards – best picture along with honoring the lead actor and actress, writing, and directing – happens so rarely that there’s not much use in examining the three movies that have pulled it off for common ground. But among It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and The Silence of the Lambs, it may be Cuckoo’s Nest, released 50 years ago today, that feels like the unlikeliest across-the-board triumph. It Happened One Night and The Silence of the Lambs both belong to rarely awarded genres (romantic comedy and horror, respectively), which makes their big wins unusual but also clearcut: here is an example of the best this type of movie has to offer. Cuckoo’s Nest, meanwhile, is potentially much thornier. It’s a comedy-drama made at least in part as allegory – an anti-conformity story of fomenting 1960s social rebellion, disguised as a movie about lovable patients at a mental health facility. The Ken Kesey novel that the movie is based on was published in 1962, chronicling some of what Kesey saw as a hospital orderly and anticipating some of the coming pushback against postwar American conformity. The major change in Miloš Forman’s film is to shift the narrative away from Chief (Will Sampson), a towering Native American who presents himself as deaf and mute. Chief narrates the book, while the movie hews closer to the perspective of Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), who enters the facility having faked mental illness in the hopes that he can avoid serving out a prison work-camp sentence. Though the doctors don’t seem entirely convinced by his ruse, his behavior is apparently erratic enough for him to stay at least a little while. His attempts to bring more individualism and fun to his cohabitants runs afoul of Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), who exercise tight control over the ward. Continue reading...

WCL updates from Germany; kick-off 5.45pm GMT Live scores | Read Moving the Goalposts | Mail Taha Wolfsburg: Johannes, Linder, Dijkstra, Küver, Levels, Huth, Peddemors, Minge, Bussy, Beerensteyn, Popp Subs: Smolarczyk, Tufekovic, Kleinherne, Lattwein, Kielland, Bergsvand, Wedemeyer, Endemann, Zicai, Pujols Continue reading...

Jamal Khashoggi was dismembered in a Saudi consulate. The president says ‘things happen’ “Things happen.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the truth. The US president’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came in a press conference with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.) Jodie Ginsberg is CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists Continue reading...

Government has officially announced ban on reselling for profit, described by minister as ‘no-brainer’ Last May, in a dimly lit basement beneath London’s South Bank, the UK’s most prolific ticket touts gathered to discuss Labour’s plan to effectively put them out of business. One seasoned ticket “trader” pleaded with colleagues to help fund a war chest to lobby against the party’s election manifesto pledge to ban reselling tickets for profit. Continue reading...

Tom Pickup confirms he was member of group in which one participant allegedly called for ‘mass Islam genocide’ A Reform UK councillor has been suspended for participating in a WhatsApp group where members allegedly called for a “mass Islam genocide”. Tom Pickup, who was elected to Lancashire county council in May, confirmed to the Guardian he was a member of the group set up by a rightwing activist. Continue reading...

The health organisation is to lose almost a quarter of its workforce in 2026, reducing its ability to help countries facing disease outbreaks The loss of more than 2,000 jobs at the World Health Organization (WHO) “will leave the world less healthy and less safe”, experts have warned. The global health body said it expected to lose 2,371 posts – nearly a quarter of its workforce – by June 2026 as it deals with budget cuts after the US withdrawal from the organisation in January. At that point the WHO had 9,401 staff members. Continue reading...

Move comes after French scientists issued urgent appeal to prevent La Pascaline from leaving the country A rare example of the first functioning calculating machine in history looks likely to stay in France after Christie’s withdrew it from auction pending a definitive ruling from a Paris court on whether or not it can be exported. La Pascaline, developed by the French mathematician and inventor Blaise Pascal in 1642, when he was just 19, and billed as “the most important scientific instrument ever offered at auction”, had been expected to fetch more than €2m (£1.8m). Continue reading...

Proposed legal case understood to allege that app has breached data protection law varying driver pay rates Uber has been hit with legal demands to stop using its artificial intelligence driven pay systems, which have been blamed for significantly reducing the incomes of the ride hailing app’s drivers. A letter before action – sent to the US company by the non-profit foundation, Worker Info Exchange (WIE), on Wednesday – is understood to allege that the ride hailing app has breached European data protection law by varying driver pay rates through its controversial algorithm. Continue reading...

Excitement is palpable as Tartan Army to head to the biggest stage for the first time in quarter of a century The prognosis from the north Glasgow primary schools squad had been bleak. “Everybody says Scotland are going to get pumped,” my eight-year told me as he left football training on Tuesday evening, with a realism born of experience even over his short life. But three hours later, Scotland fans across the nation and beyond were catapulted beyond euphoria as their team qualified for the World Cup for the first time in more than a quarter of a century after a bum-squeaking, breathtaking 4-2 win against Denmark at Hampden. Continue reading...

Exclusive: André Corrêa do Lago says rise of clean energy must be acknowledged and rich countries need to give more assurances on finance Cop30 live –latest updates Cop30: click here for full Guardian coverage of climate talks in Brazil Oil-producing countries need to acknowledge the rise of clean energy, and rich countries will have to provide more assurances on finance if the chasm between negotiating nations at Cop30 is to be bridged, the president of the summit has said. André Corrêa do Lago, the veteran Brazilian climate diplomat in charge of the talks, said: “Developing countries are looking at developed countries as countries that could be much more generous in supporting them to be more sustainable. They could offer more finance, and technology.” Continue reading...

Commission’s plans would make it easier for tech firms to use personal data to train AI models without asking for consent The European Commission has been accused of “a massive rollback” of the EU’s digital rules after announcing proposals to delay central parts of the Artificial Intelligence Act and water down its landmark data protection regulation. If agreed, the changes would make it easier for tech firms to use personal data to train AI models without asking for consent, and try to end “cookie banner fatigue” by reducing the number times internet users have to give their permission to being tracked on the internet. Continue reading...

For the New York and Washington great and good who loved the company of wealth and power, all that glitters is no longer gold Many years ago, I went to a party in central London thrown by a host known for curating interesting and heavyweight guest lists and, on entering, encountered David Irving, the disgraced historian and Holocaust denier. As a marker of social pariahdom, Holocaust denial is up there with – or perhaps even more potent than – a conviction for sex offences, and I turned around and walked out; not through any particular moral superiority, but because I thought “notoriety” as a criteria for inclusion on a guest list was stupid and offensive. As I left, I remember looking across the room at the host and thinking: you silly bloody bint, I’m embarrassed for you. I thought about that party and Irving this week while reading, with grim amusement, the absolute scramble currently under way in the US among media and other public figures seeking to explain, justify, downplay and generally paddle away as fast as they can from their social interactions with Jeffrey Epstein. I’m not talking about the men alleged to have joined the late paedophile in abusing trafficked girls, but rather the apparently endless list of notable figures – mostly in New York, but also reaching down to Washington DC, and across America’s Ivy League campuses – who enjoyed his hospitality, appeared with him at parties, and exchanged cordial emails with the man long after his true nature was known. As the Senate voted this week to release the Epstein files, the chorus of “we didn’t know!” from certain corners grew so loud it might’ve been Germany in 1946. Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Trump had fought against releasing the files but reversed course after it was clear the House would pass legislation US politics live – latest updates Donald Trump is expected to sign a bill to compel the justice department to release more files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased child sexual abuser. Trump had fought against releasing the Epstein files, calling the issue a “hoax” and railing against those who wanted to make the documents public, despite promising their release on the campaign trail. Continue reading...

A skilled interpreter and social justice champion, Gaughan is a hero to the likes of Richard Hawley and Billy Bragg. Yet much of his work has been stuck in limbo for decades – until a determined fan stepped in ‘It felt to me as if the world had forgotten about the Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley of folk, or a singular figure in the mould of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash or Richard Thompson.” So says Colin Harper, curator of a slew of new releases celebrating the stunning music of Scottish musician Dick Gaughan. Harper had recently reconnected with his music after several decades, “and I couldn’t believe the quality of it. His singing and guitar playing were astonishing – he performed traditional songs and championed social justice so powerfully.” But if you haven’t heard of the 77-year-old Gaughan, it’s not surprising: much of his work has been unavailable for years, the rights to it having been claimed by the label Celtic Music, who have not made it available digitally. Gaughan doesn’t recall receiving a royalty statement from the company in 40 years. He is battling for ownership and, in turn, hopes to help other veteran folk artists regain control of their catalogues. “To find that the music I made, that I put a lot of work into, is just not available – it’s like your life isn’t available,” he says. Continue reading...

He’s been in everything from Love Actually to Shakespeare with Al Pacino – but will he always be thought of as the string-vest-wearing boozy Glaswegian? Ahead of a tour as himself, the actor and Instagram cookery guru looks back Few actors are more indelibly associated with one role than Gregor Fisher – and few comic characters (although Alan Partridge leaps to mind) grow with their audiences over decades rather than years. “Somebody pointed out to me the other day,” says Fisher of his most famous alter ego, the unemployed Glaswegian alcoholic Rab C Nesbitt, “that it’s 40 years since he first appeared on the telly”. Fisher wore the string vest on and off for 30 of those years, weaving himself into Glasgow folklore – but backing himself into a casting cul-de-sac too. Now 71, he’d love you to bear in mind the other roles he can play – not least that of Gregor Fisher, in which out-from-behind-the-mask persona he is soon to set off, for the first time, on a UK tour. You might imagine that an actor stepping out as himself after years in character(s) could be scary, or exciting, or a chance to set the story straight. But Fisher is not, as I discover when meeting him in Glasgow on the eve of his tour, a man apt to self-dramatise. Ask him about his career and he’ll toss the word back at you in scare quotes. Ask him about Nesbitt and he’ll tell you: “It’s just a part. It’s gossamer wings. It’s nothing.” Continue reading...

Caribbean island team are the smallest to reach tournament after appointing wily coach and drawing on diaspora The delay in Dick Advocaat becoming Curaçao’s head coach might have been ominous but instead was the foundation for glory. Frustrated by the national federation’s financial problems, he deferred starting until January 2024, when the issues were resolved and players paid, paving the way for a historic World Cup qualifying campaign. Curaçao will be the smallest nation – by land area and population – to play at the 2026 World Cup after their 0-0 draw in Jamaica on Wednesday. The Caribbean island has a population of 156,000, sinking the previous record holders Iceland, which has about 400,000 inhabitants. Last month Cape Verde were confirmed as surprise tournament debutants but the African nation is almost 10 times bigger by area than the former Dutch colony, indicating the level of achievement by Advocaat and his squad. Continue reading...