Fresh Geneva negotiations suggest Trump’s team believes the Iranian government is making serious proposals Iran and the US are expected to meet for a further round of talks in Geneva this week in a sign that Donald Trump’s team believes Tehran is making serious proposals to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and show it is not seeking a nuclear weapon. As fears loomed of renewed conflict after Washington carried out a major redeployment of military assets to the region, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said he thought there was still a good chance of finding a diplomatic solution. Continue reading...

Karoline Vitto, Phoebe English and Sinead Gorey include wide range of body shapes on catwalks Body diversity has made a comeback at London fashion week despite a wider shift towards ultra-thinness in the fashion industry. Emerging designers including Karoline Vitto, Phoebe English and Sinead Gorey included a wide range of body shapes on catwalks over the past four days. Sizes have ranged from a UK size 10-16, a category referred to as mid-size in the industry, to plus-size, also known as curve models, which measures from a UK size 18 upwards. Sample size, often referred to as straight models, ranges from a UK 4-8. Continue reading...

Arsenal could feel the breath of Manchester City on their necks and the questions mounting; the anxiety all around them. The draw at Wolves on Wednesday had been a disaster and, with only two Premier League wins in seven, everybody seemed to want to say the same thing. Mikel Arteta and his players were cracking up in their pursuit of the title. This was the soothing tonic they craved, a comfortable and confident dismissal of a Tottenham team desperate to feel a new manager bounce under Igor Tudor. Spurs did show personality to find a Randal Kolo Muani goal for 1-1 in the 34th minute; it was the striker’s first for the club in the league. Continue reading...

Investigation under way in to death of Cpl Lucy Wilde, 25, who prince said ‘served with courage and distinction’ Prince William has paid tribute to a young army medic found dead in her barracks who “served with courage and distinction”. Cpl Lucy Wilde, 25, who posted videos on TikTok documenting her daily life in the army, was found dead in her barracks in Warminster, Wiltshire, on 5 February. An investigation is under way, the Ministry of Defence said. Continue reading...

The Reform UK leader flew to the Maldives for a day despite not having permit to visit nearby archipelago Nigel Farage has been accused of “performing Maga stunts” after claiming the British government stopped him from travelling to the Chagos Islands on a humanitarian mission. The Reform UK leader said he had flown to the Maldives to join a delegation bringing aid to four Chagossians who are trying to establish a settlement on one of the archipelago’s islands to protest against Britain’s plans to transfer control of the territory to Mauritius. Continue reading...

Jamieson Greer also said US won’t pull out of deals with UK, EU and others after court declared Trump tariffs illegal Top US trade negotiator Jamieson Greer insisted on Sunday that US policy on tariffs “hasn’t changed”, two days after the supreme court declared many of Donald Trump’s tariffs illegal. The ruling issued on Friday by the highest US court was a sharp rebuke to the Republican president that toppled a key pillar of his aggressive economic agenda – even as it prompted Trump to announce a new global tariff using different statutes, albeit temporary. Continue reading...

After Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, officials said ‘nobody is above the law’. Sadly that doesn’t seem true Schadenfreude isn’t a particularly noble sentiment. But who cares, eh? These days bad things never seem to happen to bad people; accountability is fleetingly rare. So I think we should all take a moment to really appreciate how glorious the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday was. Not only was the disgraced royal dragged in for questioning like a mere commoner; the arrest happened on his 66th birthday. Instead of birthday cake, he got his just deserts. And, to top things off, the occasion was immortalized with a photo – an instant classic – of Andrew leaving the police station looking shell shocked and decrepit. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was one of world’s most wanted drug traffickers One of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers – the Mexican cartel boss known as “El Mencho” – has reportedly been killed by his country’s security forces. The drug lord, whose real name is Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, was killed on Sunday in the western state of Jalisco, Mexican newspapers reported, citing government sources. Continue reading...

France 33-8 Italy Winger scores in eighth consecutive match France pulled clear at the top of the Six Nations table and kept their grand slam ambitions on track with a hard-fought victory against Italy on Sunday. The Azzurri had unfinished business in Lille. It was two years ago in the northern city that Les Bleus, still in the midst of a post-World Cup hangover, miraculously escaped with a draw after being outplayed by the visitors. For the French, that quasi-defeat prompted a complete rejuvenation of the team which yielded immediate results. Continue reading...

Fermín López caps 3-0 win over Levante Atalanta strike late to beat Napoli 2-1 Barcelona returned to the top of La Liga with a 3-0 victory over relegation-threatened Levante as Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and substitute Fermín López struck at Camp Nou. Last season’s champions moved to 61 points from 25 games, one ahead of Real Madrid after their rivals’ defeat by Osasuna on Saturday. Barça had slipped to second following last week’s 2-1 loss to Girona but rarely looked troubled by a Levante side second from bottom on 18 points. Continue reading...

George Ford: ‘We want to get to root of the problems’ Second straight loss destroyed championship hopes George Ford has vowed that England will conduct a “properly honest” and “uncomfortable” review of their Six Nations humiliation against Ireland on Saturday. The hosts collapsed spectacularly in the face of an Irish onslaught at Twickenham, falling 22-0 behind after half an hour, with Ford’s surprising inaccuracy at fly-half exemplifying an error-strewn team display. The Sale No 10 missed two kicks for touch which proved terminal to England’s hopes of applying pressure in the decisive early stages. Continue reading...

Readers respond to an article by Larry Elliott which argued that all is not lost for the beleaguered party The plans set out by Larry Elliott certainly suggest a way forward for the Starmer government (If Keir Starmer is ousted, Labour could still win the next election. Here’s how that would work, 19 February). But politics and political approval also involve a balance sheet in which there has to be some recognition of the negative ways in which support had been lost. For many liberals, “old” Labour voters and sections of the left, Keir Starmer lost credibility on three issues: the relatively trivial one of “freebies”, and the much more substantive ones of benefit cuts for the most vulnerable and policies concerning Gaza. All the political choices taken in these contexts ignored values and ideals with long histories, not least of democratic commitment to the mitigation of the abuse of power and the needs of the most powerless. Policies about various locations for domestic investment might be welcome, but the question remains of how to define policies that, rather than ignoring what has been lost, recognise the importance of those values that have, for many of us, simply been ignored. That they continue to be ignored is a matter of shame. Mary Evans Patrixbourne, Kent Continue reading...

Johnny Rich proposes a sustainable funding model for higher education. Plus letters from Henry Malt and David Gleave On the subject of student debts (Student debt is a generational injustice. Why are we squeezing graduates harder than the super-rich?, 16 February), Gaby Hinsliff writes: “If the government has better options, then let’s hear them sooner rather than later.” Any better option must address the problem that the courses that universities offer – brilliant though they mostly are – aren’t what the economy needs and so aren’t maximising returns. Universities are funded to offer the courses students want to study, not what society and employers value most. Understandably, young people pursue choices based on their ambitions rather than the national interest. This creates an oversupply in forensic science, for instance, and skills shortages in engineering. Continue reading...

Karen Ford’s granddaughter became seriously ill, highlighting just how important it is for communities to have herd immunity Your report on the response to the measles outbreak in north London highlights the profound consequences of falling immunisation uptake (‘A lot of vaccine hesitancy’: how north London council is responding to measles outbreak, 16 February). Behind the statistics are real and frightening experiences for families like ours. My granddaughter, not yet eligible for the vaccine, was admitted to hospital in late November with respiratory syncytial virus and bronchiolitis. Shortly after being discharged, she developed pneumonia, later followed by a rash: measles. She became seriously ill and needed urgent readmission. Sitting for hours holding her small body, unsure how the illness would progress, is something our family will never forget. She was so weak she could barely cry. Continue reading...

Kate Soper responds to an article by Christopher Marquis which discussed why so many university teachers were named in the Epstein files I hope Prof Marquis understands how revealing of himself he is in his presumptions about Jeffrey Epstein’s putative attraction for academics (Why are so many academics in the Epstein files? It’s not just about money, 20 February). Most academics, I suspect, would have felt queasy about having anything to do with Epstein, and if they had been invited to fly private in his “Lolita Express”, would certainly not have accepted. (Some of us try not to fly at all for environmental reasons.) And so far from feeling ground down by the “constant and myriad indignities” of life in the academy, many university teachers are well aware of the privileges of their position relative to the lack of autonomy and dreariness of so many other kinds of work. The professor also has it back to front when he invites us to “look beyond sex and money” in order to understand Epstein’s power over the gullible. Most of us, academics or otherwise, can see perfectly well that there was nothing but sex and money involved. Kate Soper Professor emerita, London Metropolitan University Continue reading...

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson suggests priority is grants for poorer students rather than cutting interest Kemi Badenoch has said the Conservatives would scrap the “unfair debt trap” of high interest rates on student loans, piling pressure on Labour ministers to tackle the growing outrage over the high costs. The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, admitted the system of plan 2 loans had “problems” but suggested the government’s priority would be maintenance grants for poorer students, rather than tackling the high interest rates. Continue reading...

Author of report for Labour Together on Sunday Times journalists allegedly examined investigations correspondent A lobbyist who examined journalists on behalf of an influential thinktank has now been accused of recently investigating a Guardian reporter. Tom Harper, a senior director at the US public affairs company Apco, was the author of a 58-page report examining the journalists behind a 2023 Sunday Times story about undisclosed donations to Labour Together, the thinktank that was instrumental in Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership victory. Continue reading...

The leader of Scottish Labour will use its spring conference to demonstrate that he is his own man. Ironically, the prime minister’s survival may depend on his success At Scottish Labour’s spring conference last year, Sir Keir Starmer bullishly addressed mounting discontent at his government’s performance, telling his audience: “I always said it would take time to turn this ship around.” On Friday, ahead of the Holyrood election in May, Anas Sarwar’s party will assemble again in Paisley. Sir Keir – whose time Mr Sarwar now considers up – is not expected to be on the speaking roster. The Scottish Labour leader’s call for Sir Keir’s resignation this month was instantly interpreted through the prism of a (stillborn) Westminster coup. In truth, it was more an act of self-isolation stemming from exasperation. As they attempt to challenge the hegemony of the Scottish National party (SNP), unionist parties in Scotland must constantly look over their shoulders and worry about what London is doing. But at the time of the general election, no one could have anticipated the chaotic sequence of unpopular policies and U-turns – now compounded by the Mandelson scandal – which appears to have quashed hopes of a Scottish Labour renaissance at Holyrood. Continue reading...

Financial difficulties at one of the UK’s most prestigious institutions are a sign of the times. But maintaining free access to great art must be a priority “The National Gallery is doing a great job isn’t it?” David Hockney reflected in 2024. “Everything in the collection is good, every single picture is good.” Judging by recent performance, the artist would seem to be right. The gallery’s blockbuster Van Gogh exhibition closed in January last year after a record-breaking 335,000 visitors. Its 200th anniversary celebrations, including the opening of the newly designed Sainsbury Wing and rehang, attracted a 60% rise in visitors since May. But barely 10 months later, the art world is digesting the stark news that the National Gallery will face a deficit of £8.2m in the coming year. Proposed cuts could include fewer free exhibitions, higher ticket prices, less international borrowing and job losses. Two huge cash donations of £150m each are ringfenced to build an ambitious new wing for contemporary art, not for daily running costs. The National’s predicament is a grim reflection of the perilous state of the country’s cultural sector as a whole. Last year the Tate lost 7% of its workforce, and staff took strike action over “endemic low pay”; jobs have been also lost at London’s opulent Royal Academy. Continue reading...

East coast scrambles to prepare for storm forecast to bring major disruption to more than 35 million people Blizzard conditions were forecast to bring major disruption across the north-eastern United States on Sunday and well into Monday, with a dangerous combination of heavy, wet snow and ferocious winds gusting up to 70mph. Residents along the east coast scrambled to prepare for the late-winter storm that spurred blizzard warnings from Maryland to Massachusetts, affecting more than 35 million people. Continue reading...

American fractured tibia in downhill last week Skier is recovering from injuries in US Lindsey Vonn has hit back at the “haters” who were critical of her decision to take part at this year’s Winter Olympics. The American crashed out early in her run during the women’s downhill competition during the opening weekend of this month’s Games. She suffered a complex tibia fracture and underwent multiple surgeries in Italy before being flown back to the US for further treatment earlier this week. Continue reading...

Condolences given to families of two men and 23-year-old woman killed near Moy on Saturday night Three people died and four others were injured in a multi-car collision in County Armagh on Saturday night. Emergency services dispatched three rapid response paramedics, seven emergency crews and one hazardous area response team after the Armagh Road crash was reported near Moy, in south-east County Tyrone. Continue reading...

A 99th-minute winner from Naomi Girma sent Chelsea through to the quarter-finals of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup as they saw off a stubborn Manchester United 2-1. In a competitive encounter at Kingsmeadow, Sonia Bompastor’s side needed extra time to keep their cup defence alive after Simi Awujo had cancelled out Sam Kerr’s opener in normal time. This encounter felt like it came at a critical moment in Chelsea’s season after an uncharacteristic wobble in recent weeks had all but ended their hopes of defending their league title. Securing their third win in a row, however, will have been the perfect tonic to boost morale ahead of a month during which they will face the same opponents in the League Cup final before coming up against Arsenal in a mouthwatering Champions League quarter-final. Continue reading...

“Opportunities missed. Board inept. Fans disrespected. Glasner finished,” read the banner unfurled by the Crystal Palace supporters behind Dean Henderson’s goal after barely 30 seconds of their meeting with bottom side Wolves. If it was meant to inspire a first league victory here since 1 November then it somehow had the desired effect. Having huffed and puffed against a side playing with 10 men for half an hour after Ladislav Krejci was shown a second yellow card for stupidly kicking the ball away, it looked like being another miserable afternoon for Oliver Glasner. But when Evann Guessand’s winner went in during the final minute of normal time, there was an explosion of joy as some of the frustrations of the previous few weeks suddenly melted away. Continue reading...

Raúl Jiménez will turn 35 in May yet Fulham’s Mexican striker remains as vital to Marco Silva’s team as ever. It is now approaching six years since his career was placed in serious jeopardy by a skull fracture but Jiménez exhibited precious few signs of wear and tear as his latest two goals, a second-half header and a penalty, sunk Sunderland. Continue reading...