The Guardian
In evidenza
Being the best in Asia is no longer enough for Japan seeking World Cup breakthrough | Jonathan Wilson
Two arrested after girl critically injured in loading vehicle incident in Essex
Tutte le notizie
World Custard Pie Championships 2026 – in pictures
The championships, which take place in Maidstone, Kent, were dreamed up as a way of raising funds for Coxheath village hall about 50 years ago Continue reading...
Former NBA MVP James Harden arrested on weapon charge in Houston
11-time All-Star released on $100 bond Police spotted handgun in player’s Mercedes Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden was released from a Houston jail after he was arrested early on Saturday morning on a misdemeanor gun violation. Harden was driving through downtown Houston with four others when he was stopped by police just before 4am. When Harden drove up behind another vehicle, an officer spotted a handgun in the cup holder of his Mercedes, according to court records. Continue reading...
Far-right and anti-racist protesters clash in UK cities after Belfast riots
Police make several arrests as rival demonstrators take to streets of Brighton, Liverpool, Sheffield and Glasgow Far-right marches took place across the UK on Saturday after violent unrest in Belfast and Southampton in recent days. Several people were arrested on Saturday afternoon as far-right groups clashed with anti-racist and anti-fascist demonstrators in Brighton, Liverpool, Sheffield and Glasgow. Continue reading...
Preliminary peace deal could be signed within days, says US, Iran and mediators
Pakistani PM claims Islamabad preparing for electronic signing, while Trump and Tehran trade conflicting claims Iran, the US and mediators suggested on Saturday that a preliminary peace deal could be signed within days to end the three-month war in the Middle East, though they gave differing timelines and versions of its text. Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, said on Saturday that Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing within 24 hours to be followed by technical-level talks next week. Continue reading...
Qatar v Switzerland: World Cup 2026 – live
⚽️ Kick-off 12pm local, 3pm EST, 8pm BST, 4am Sun AEST ⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail John Sunderland fans will be looking forward to seeing their local hero in action. The 2022 hosts’ preparations for the tournament were disrupted as the US-Iran war caused the cancellation of valuable friendlies against Serbia and champions Argentina in March. The coach, Julen Lopetegui, had wanted as many minutes as possible with his players, having only been appointed in May 2025. Worryingly, they had won only one out of 11 games under the former Spain and Real Madrid manager before the World Cup warm-up games. Continue reading...
Bath stunned as Exeter head for final after last-ditch drama caps comeback
Semi-final: Bath 26-27 Exeter Chiefs will meet Northampton next Saturday For the first time since the greatest game in Premiership history, the away team have won a playoff. This was not a comeback to match that of Harlequins at Bristol in 2021, but Exeter looked every bit as dead and buried at half-time. And then a new team took to the field for the second half. And so we will have a new champion. Bath had so dominated the first half, their lead was the least they might have expected. But in the second half, they looked utterly bewildered, like a golfer who just cannot understand why he can no longer hit the ball straight. Where they had once smashed through collisions, they were now staggering off rampant Exeter runners. Same sport, apparently – they just couldn’t play it any more. Continue reading...
MPs call for end to real estate event over fear it pushes sale of Israeli settlements
More than 100 UK lawmakers urge government to cancel London event, warning it is linked to land ‘stolen from Palestinians’ More than 100 UK lawmakers have called for the cancellation of an Israeli real estate event scheduled to take place in London on Sunday, which had appeared to advertise the sale of land in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. In a letter sent to the foreign secretary on Friday, 101 parliamentarians and members of the House of Lords, warned the event was “firmly embedded in Israel’s project of colonial expansion by facilitating the sale of land that has been stolen from Palestinians” and called on the government to take “all necessary steps” to stop the event from going ahead in the capital. Continue reading...
Revealed: DWP still allowing unpaid carers to run up debts despite being told about overpayments
Chris Farrell was given benefit for six months despite his repeated requests for payments to stop A former unpaid carer has urged welfare officials to “get their act together” after they continued to pay him carer’s benefit for six months after the death of his husband, potentially landing him with debts of more than £1,300. Chris Farrell, 65, who claimed carer’s allowance for four years while providing full-time care for his late husband repeatedly tried to get the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to stop paying him the £86.45 a week benefit. A carer who has accumulated more than £2,000 of unwanted carer’s allowance since their mother went into a care home 10 months ago. They said they had contacted the DWP to cancel the benefit five times, by phone and online form, to no avail. A carer who found it impossible to get the DWP to stop carer’s allowance payments despite reporting over a year ago she had taken on a new work contract and was no longer eligible for the benefit. She had been overpaid more than £2,650. A man trying to manage work and care for his father, who claimed carer’s allowance for several months after being made redundant, has been unable to stop the benefit despite telling officials repeatedly he no longer needed it after finding a new job. Continue reading...
George Russell bounces back in style to claim pole at Barcelona-Catalunya GP
‘I feel like my old self again. It’s a bit of a relief’ Lewis Hamilton second ahead of Kimi Antonelli George Russell scorched to pole position for Sunday’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton narrowly failed to pip him with a thrilling last-ditch effort for Ferrari. Another dramatic qualifying session was stopped early in Q3 when Charles Leclerc, Hamilton’s Ferrari teammate, suffered a heavy high-speed crash that knocked him out of contention. Russell had said on arrival in Spain that the pressure is off him, having fallen 68 points behind championship leader and Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli due to a run of bad luck. The latest episode had come with an incorrect penalty for pit lane speeding last weekend in Monaco. But his fastest lap of 1min 15.717sec was enough to see him top the standings with Hamilton 0.064sec slower. Continue reading...
The case for Labour to introduce a wealth tax has never been stronger | Phillip Inman
A 2% levy on fortunes above £100m – with no exemptions – could begin to reverse decades of rising inequality Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting have sought to blunt the Green leader Zack Polanski’s popularity with a hint that a government run by either of them, should they win a Labour leadership race, would favour a tax of some kind on the wealthy. With SpaceX’s stock market launch on Friday sending Elon Musk’s fortune to the stars, it is clear to most people that the world’s super-rich are running away with the lion’s share of the spoils and there is not much left for anyone else. Continue reading...
Big Lalas Energy to ulcerative colitis meds: Fox is this World Cup’s very soul in the US
The US version of the tournament’s opening ceremony helpfully focused on one of its main themes: aspirational consumerism The 2026 World Cup: a festival of football; a moment to revel in upsets, spectacular goals, stars made, and reputations ruined; a test of Didier Deschamps’s unshakable addiction to Adrien Rabiot. But also: a celebration of America; a chance for Fox Sports to prove the haters wrong; a social experiment to see how long Thierry Henry can last on set with Alexi Lalas before resorting to physical violence. “This is going to be filled with American fans,” Lalas shrieked as Los Angeles Stadium began to swell with spectators before the US’s opening match against Paraguay. “This is going to be bursting at the seams with America!” But where was the pomp, the bombast, the Americana? The US opening ceremony – the third and final installment in the trio of launch parties for this supertanker of a World Cup – didn’t quite live up to the Lalasian hype. This was a ceremony with all the charm of Rob Stone in his pocket square fake-smiling as he says the immortal words, “Brazil v Morocco, live tomorrow from New York New Jersey, brought to you by Verizon”: a ceremony that felt oddly flat, but was trying all the same. It was almost as if Fifa had absorbed all the pre-tournament criticism and decided: “You know what? We just can’t be bothered.” But Friday’s launch did still offer a sense for how this tournament will play out as a cultural spectacle. The early verdict: this is a World Cup built above all to accommodate the insatiable needs of American TV. Fox Sports is not simply the host broadcaster for this World Cup; it is the tournament’s very soul. If that’s the type of sentence that gives you hives, the next five weeks will best be watched on mute (or Telemundo). Continue reading...
Kretinsky set to become West Ham‘s biggest shareholder and addresses Sullivan allegations
Czech billionaire to increase his stake from 27% to 43% Kretinsky and Gold ‘deeply concerned’ by revelations Daniel Kretinsky, the owner of Royal Mail, is set to overtake David Sullivan as West Ham’s largest shareholder after agreeing to buy an additional stake in the club from the Gold family. The Czech billionaire has moved to increase his power at West Ham after Sullivan stepped down as a director and co-chair of the club last weekend, before a joint investigation by the Times and Panorama reporting on seven women accusing him of abusing his power and preying on them for sex in claims that date back to the 1980s and 90s. Continue reading...
Albanians protest against another luxury development on Adriatic coast
Fencing removed at environmentally sensitive site, mirroring protests against Trump son-in-law’s project About 200 protesters on Saturday tore down metal and razor-wire fences surrounding a luxury development site on Albania’s Adriatic coast, in another sign of growing anger against construction in environmentally sensitive areas. Albanians have been protesting for weeks against a planned luxury resort backed by a company linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump, near Vlora, which is famed for its flamingos and a turtle nesting site. Continue reading...
Football Daily | A cult classic kit, 4-4-2 and refcam: 10 things we’ve noticed in World Cup so far
Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! We’re almost a 25th of the way through the Geopolitics World Cup – four games down, 100 to go – so it’s the perfect time to reflect on what we’ve learned and noticed so far. Continue reading...
Raducanu overcomes injury scare to reach Queen’s Club semi-final with win over Rakhimova
Raducanu to face Jovic later after 6-3, 7-5 win British No 1 falls in second set of quarter-final Everything seemed to be progressing perfectly for Emma Raducanu in the early stages of a day that, in the best case scenario, would require a marathon effort like no other. The British No 1 was in the middle of putting together a cool, efficient performance on a mercifully sunny day in Barons Court. She led, 6-3, 3-1. Then she slipped on the slick grass. Raducanu emerged from her fall wincing and clutching at her left thigh, clearly in pain, and as her lead evaporated, a victory began to look in serious doubt. However, Raducanu impressively dug deep and held her nerve to drag herself into the semi-finals at the Queen’s Club for the first time with a 6-3, 7-5 win over the Uzbekistani lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova. Continue reading...
Kidnapped US journalist faces Taliban captor in court as 42-year sentence caps long saga
Haji Najibullah imprisoned for role in capture of David Rohde, New York Times journalist held for months in 2008 Haji Najibullah appeared unbothered as he walked into Manhattan federal court earlier this week to learn whether he would face life behind bars for his role in brutal violence during his time as a Taliban commander – including the 2008 kidnapping of US journalist David Rohde. Najibullah, who walked into the courtroom in shackles at about 9.50am Monday, sporting khaki jail garb and a black skullcap, could even be seen grinning at various points before proceedings started. Continue reading...
Bryce powers Scotland to maiden Women’s T20 World Cup win against Ireland
Group 2: Scotland, 161-5, beat Ireland, 121, by 40 runs Kathryn Bryce struck 60 from 39 balls Scotland notched up a historic maiden World Cup win on Saturday, coming out on top against Ireland by 40 runs. The Scotland captain, Kathryn Bryce, struck a powerful 60 from 39 balls and followed it up with a brilliant one-handed caught-and-bowled to see off Alana Dalzell in the first over of Ireland’s chase. It was an emotional occasion for the 28-year-old Kirstie Gordon, who switched allegiance back to her native Scotland this year after playing a handful of internationals for England in 2018-19. Gordon had been in tears before play as Flower of Scotland rang out around the ground, but she was all smiles three hours later after returning figures of three for 16. Continue reading...
Mourners line Bangkok streets to pay respects to Thailand’s Princess Bha
Funeral procession travels to palace as people remember royal’s campaigning and work for underprivileged As the sun began to set on the golden spires and gilded finials of Bangkok’s Grand Palace, the gates waited to open for the return of a princess. Since December 2022, Princess Bajrakitiyabha had been in hospital, having collapsed while out training her dogs. After nearly four years in a coma, the princess died earlier this week. Continue reading...
‘You make people a bit happier’: the football app building friendships in London
Footy Addicts helps amateur players find a game at short notice – and tackles the problem of loneliness Cries of “Boss! Boss! Boss!” emerge from the pitch during a hard-fought game of football in a London park. There aren’t a lot of names used in this game, because most players only met just before kick-off. They were brought together by an app that’s injecting life into grassroots football. Footy Addicts was invented to solve an infuriating problem for amateur players – the late dropout, which can lead to unbalanced teams and ruined games. The app brings together strangers who are desperate to play football, and who can step in after a cancellation to make up the numbers at short notice. Continue reading...
Formula One: Barcelona-Catalunya GP qualifying – live updates
️ F1 qualifying updates from 3pm BST ️ Gasly reinstated to Monaco podium | Mail Philip Just when George Russell thought his luck could not get any worse … Formula One and the FIA would like you to remember the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix for Kimi Antonelli’s fifth straight race win. That was a stunning achievement and one unsullied by what was going on around Mercedes’s young Italian. Lewis Hamilton came in second and no one can argue that the Ferrari driver did not deserve it. Everything else, however … Continue reading...
Anthropic to disable its most advanced AI models after US order limiting foreign access
Company said US government believes safeguards can be bypassed and product used to identify software vulnerabilities Anthropic said it will “abruptly disable” its most advanced AI models for all users after the US government ordered it to suspend access to the models for foreign nationals, citing national security concerns. The company received the export control directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all foreign nationals, without being given specific details of the national security concern, Anthropic said in a statement. Continue reading...
Ghana strongly criticises Canada for denying Thomas Partey a World Cup visa
‘High-handed and extremely unfair,’ government says Official note of protest sent calling for a review Ghana’s government has described Canada’s decision to deny Thomas Partey a visa for his country’s World Cup game against Panama on Wednesday as “high-handed and extremely unfair”. Ghana’s foreign ministry said it understood the decision to be based on pending criminal proceedings in Britain. The 32-year-old Partey, a former Arsenal midfielder who plays for Villarreal, faces allegations of rape and sexual assault in Britain. He has denied the charges. Continue reading...