Barcelona increasingly unlikely to make loan permanent United keen to sell forward but few can afford wages Marcus Rashford could have a summer of transfer limbo in store despite Michael Carrick admitting the door is not completely closed on the forward playing for Manchester United again. Rashford is currently on loan at Barcelona but it is becoming increasingly unlikely the move will be made permanent, which will obligate a return to Old Trafford where he would receive a wage rise if the club qualify for the Champions League. The 28-year-old has not played for United since December 2024, spending the past 16 months out on loan at Aston Villa and Barcelona, who have the option to purchase Rashford for €30m (£26m). United sit comfortably in third, seven points above Saturday’s opponents, sixth-placed Chelsea, but will not want to see the gap close come full time at Stamford Bridge. Continue reading...

Arsenal coach sees trip to Etihad as ‘a big opportunity’ Bukayo Saka still unavailable with an achilles problem Mikel Arteta will go all out for victory in Sunday’s Premier League title showdown at Manchester City and has not thought for “one second” about setting up for a draw. Arsenal are six points clear of City, albeit they have played an extra game, and a stalemate could move them decisively towards the trophy they crave. According to Opta’s projections, Arsenal would have an 89% probability of winning the title if it finished all square at the Etihad Stadium. Continue reading...

Coventry City are finally back in the big time for the first time in a generation. After 25 years away, a period during which the club changed stadiums, hit financial rock bottom and plummeted to the depths of League Two as recently as 2017-18, manager Frank Lampard has led them to the promised land, with this 1-1 draw sealing a famous promotion. The Sky Blues struggled to find a way past Blackburn for much of this tense evening and went behind to Ryoya Morishita’s strike, before Bobby Thomas blew the lid off the away end at Ewood Park with a header that will go down in Coventry folklore. The Premier League is calling once again. Continue reading...

Transplanted from YouTube, this nostalgic, low-budget revival offers some welcome musical performances – but the chat is superficial The biggest chatshow news of 2026 so far has been Claudia Winkleman’s foray into celebrity chinwagging, not least because there was something slightly hubristic about the beloved Traitors host taking on the genre. Not because of any shortcomings on Winkleman’s part, but because chatshows seem almost impossible to get right (especially for female hosts; the UK TV landscape is littered with single-series attempts by Nigella, Davina and Lily Allen). As the country was watching Winkleman, however, another veteran broadcaster was debuting their own new(ish) chatshow to far less fanfare – and far less pressure. In February, Chris Evans began putting out episodes of TFI: Unplugged on YouTube. Produced by Virgin Radio – where Evans has hosted the breakfast show for the past seven years – this was a lo-fi endeavour that saw the presenter joined by a handful of guests in a poky studio lined by dressed-down staff members professionally obliged to laugh and whoop. Still, the guests were good (Danny Dyer, Chris Hemsworth, Bono, Noah Wyle) and the show quickly built a decent audience – so much so that Channel 4 considered it worth their while to acquire a run of six episodes that have just begun airing at 11pm on Fridays. Will this revival of the 1990s juggernaut turn out to be the real chatshow story of the year? Continue reading...

The last season of this once hugely funny comedy absolutely tears out of the blocks in its best outing in years. But it’s still not the show it once was – despite the brilliant performances For a while there, Hacks represented the height of comedy. Actual funny comedy, as opposed to trauma-ridden half-hour dramas like The Bear. When it won an Emmy for best comedy in 2024, it felt like Hacks and Hacks alone was at the vanguard of proper comedy. That seems like a while ago now. Since then, The Studio came along: another entertainment business satire, only one with bigger stars, better production values and sharper barbs. At last year’s Emmys, The Studio won everything in sight, while all Hacks could muster were a pair of trophies for Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, playing a rich but disconnected comedian and her put-upon writer respectively. So the question is this: can Hacks rally in its final season? Continue reading...

Actor accused of acting negligently after firing loaded gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox A judge in Los Angeles has ruled that a civil lawsuit accusing Alec Baldwin of acting negligently in the deadly 2021 shooting on the set of his western film Rust can proceed to trial. According to Variety, the superior court judge Maurice Leiter issued a summary judgment on Friday allowing the case to move forward. Leiter’s ruling – obtained by the outlet – said that “a reasonable jury could find that Mr Baldwin recklessly disregarded the probability that pointing a gun in the direction of someone, with the finger on the trigger, would cause emotional distress”. Continue reading...

As revelations mount and accusations fly, prime minister prepares for MPs’ anger and Olly Robbins’ testimony early next week Keir Starmer’s claim he was “staggered” not to have been told of Peter Mandelson’s vetting failure has provoked incredulity across Westminster and accusations that he sacked a senior civil servant to save his premiership. Senior government figures said the prime minister faced “judgment day” next week when Olly Robbins, who is understood to be furious at being forced to quit the Foreign Office, is expected to appear before a powerful committee of MPs. Continue reading...

The Blues’ star talks candidly about treatment-room frustrations, transfer talk and how he’s learned to love living down south There are two sides to Cole Palmer. There is the shy character who can fool you into thinking he has nothing much to say for himself. On the other hand there’s the artist with the ball at his feet. The player with the “Ice Cold” celebration copied by kids in playgrounds everywhere. The improviser who makes the price of a ticket worthwhile. “I know what you’re saying,” Palmer replies as, on a sunny afternoon at Chelsea’s training ground, we talk about the contrast between his shy conversational style and his ability to make an impact on people when he steps on the pitch. “I don’t really say too much in general but when I’m on a pitch I try to. I feel like it’s two different personalities. Off the pitch it’s quiet. I find it hard to speak to new people. But when I’m on the pitch I feel it just comes freely.” Continue reading...

Arrest by Dubai police comes as Irish authorities issue warrant related to alleged organised crime offences Daniel Kinahan, alleged to be the leader of the Kinahan organised crime group, has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates. Irish police said they were aware of the arrest of a man in his late 40s, on foot of an arrest warrant issued by the Irish courts in relation to alleged serious organised crime offences. Continue reading...

The streamer has strangely kept this witty and detailed college comedy from critics but it’s far better than one has come to expect The initial fruits borne from Adam Sandler’s early days deal with Netflix were largely rotten; empty-brained and dated comedies like The Ridiculous 6, The Do-Over and Sandy Wexler. But as Sandler matured, so did his decision-making and outside of his increasing attempts to work in smarter, more textured dramatic fare, his production company Happy Madison has found success by going sweet without risking a sugar crash. His animated adventure Leo had real warmth and insight to it while his performance in the charmingly trad basketball drama Hustle was strong enough for many to see his lack of Oscar nomination as a cruel snub. But it was 2023’s coming-of-age comedy You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah that showed where his company’s most fertile future might lie, as shepherd to a younger generation of film-makers who want to tell stories about teens that don’t patronise or undervalue. Filling the film with roles for his family – wife and two daughters all in – might have seemed like one of the more obviously bleak signs of how nepotism has corroded Hollywood but, against all odds, it worked and he’s found another role for eldest Sadie in another winner, the bizarrely buried college comedy Roommates. Continue reading...

Crisis in the Middle East, Russian strikes in Kyiv, Orthodox Easter and Karol G at Coachella – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading...

Price hikes for MetLife Stadium travel prompted outcry NJ governor Sherrill sparred with Fifa over cost burden New Jersey’s transit agency has confirmed it will charge $150 for a return ticket to World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium this summer. The price for a round-trip ticket from New York’s Penn Station to MetLife Stadium is typically $12.90. Reports this week of the elevenfold increase were met with outcry from fans and sparked a back-and-forth between New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, and Fifa over responsibility for price rises. Continue reading...

Neither former world champion was at obligatory event as two British prospects look forward to moment in spotlight If there were any doubt remaining that Ronnie O’Sullivan retains a gravitational pull on the world of snooker, few moments hammered home the point better than Friday’s launch of this year’s World Snooker Championship when the seven-time champion became the story without even being there. The first ball will not be potted in Sheffield until Saturday morning and the first headline has been generated by a player not in action until Tuesday. When the traditional photo of the world’s top 16 took place as usual outside the Crucible on Friday afternoon it did so without two of the sport’s biggest names in O’Sullivan and Judd Trump. Continue reading...

Nothing about No 10’s version of the Mandelson debacle makes sense as the excuses factory works overtime On days like these you reckon the prime minister would have more chance of being believed if he had said that the dog ate his homework. After all, it’s quite possible that Keir Starmer has not yet realised he doesn’t have a dog. His amnesia and lack of curiosity are a piece of performance art. Almost up there with Boris Johnson. Keir would probably take that as a compliment. As it is we are left with a dilemma. Occam’s razor. Either No 10 think we were born yesterday. Or everyone in No 10 was born yesterday. The excuses factory has been working overtime. But most people have already made up their minds. Continue reading...

Reports of alleged crime led to protests in the Surrey town this week, after claims woman in her 20s attacked Police investigating a rape incident in Epsom have said they have “not found any evidence” of the offence as reported. The reports prompted protests in the Surrey town this week. Sarah Grahame, assistant chief constable at Surrey police, said the force is continuing to investigate a report that a woman in her 20s was raped and attacked by a group of men on 11 April in Epsom after she left the Labyrinth Epsom nightclub. The alleged attack is said to have happened between 2am and 4am outside a Methodist church. Continue reading...

Chancellor aims to curb rising household bills as she consults on reforms to weaken link between gas and electricity prices Rachel Reeves is poised to raise the government’s windfall tax on low-carbon electricity generators to help limit UK household energy bills, the Guardian understands. The chancellor is ready to hike the levy introduced in 2022 to target the excess profits made by the owners of older renewable energy and nuclear plants as electricity market prices soared after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

⚽ Championship updates from the 8pm BST kick-off ⚽ Latest table | Nick Ames on the Championship | Mail John In 2001, Cov’s run of being in the top division since 1967 came to an end after a defeat to Aston Villa. The Sky Blues had stayed up on the final day 10 times over that time though this was the penultimate games of the season. They closed out by being relegated alongside Bradford in a 0-0 draw. Teams that day: Continue reading...

Exclusive: Officials have spent weeks debating whether or not to release highly sensitive information about the affair Keir Starmer was kept in the dark about sensitive information relating to Peter Mandelson’s security vetting by two other top civil servants, including the head of the civil service, the Guardian can reveal. The prime minister said on Friday that it was “unforgivable” and “staggering” that senior officials did not tell him that Mandelson failed a security vetting process weeks before he took up his role as ambassador to Washington. Continue reading...

Not least because JD Vance’s show of support for Viktor Orbán appeared to have opposite of desired effect So much of the news is depressing these days. The ongoing wars in Iran, Lebanon and Ukraine. The cost of living crisis. At times it feels the world has tipped into the surreal. Donald Trump posting photos of himself on his Truth Social account as the Risen Christ. A step too far even for Nigel Farage. To round it off we have the US president picking a fight with the pope. Leo is a terrible man apparently for not endorsing war. Trump has yet to work out that, on the whole, popes are not in favour of illegal wars. Continue reading...

Opposition accuses Narendra Modi government of using quotas as cover for redrawing electoral map The Indian government has failed to pass a bill to increase female representation in parliament after being accused of using the plan as a guise to redraw the country’s electoral map. It was the first time in 12 years in power that a constitutional amendment proposed by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government was not passed by parliament. Continue reading...

The prime minister’s explanation has shifted between being misled and admitting error, raising questions about vetting, accountability and what he knew In February, the prime minister apologised to victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying he had “believed (Peter) Mandelson’s lies” before making him Britain’s ambassador to the US. By March, that account had shifted. Faced with evidence that he was warned the appointment posed a “reputational risk”, but gave the peer the job anyway, Sir Keir Starmer accepted on a trip to Belfast that he “made a mistake”. On Thursday responsibility appears to have moved again – this time on to officials. Sir Olly Robbins, the top civil servant in the Foreign Office, was forced out after the Guardian reported that Lord Mandelson had been denied security clearance for the role. No 10 said it was not told. These are not complementary explanations. They are competing ones. Either Sir Keir was misled, ignored warnings, or was failed by the system. Continue reading...

Dazzling new additions like V&A East are a source of national pride, but so are much-loved regional institutions The V&A East Museum, which opens its doors for the first time in Stratford, London, on Saturday, is the latest addition to the buzzing East Bank cultural quarter on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This £135m architect-designed V&A outpost is a short walk from the V&A East Storehouse (on Time Magazine’s list of The World’s Greatest Places to Visit 2026) and Sadler’s Wells East, both of which arrived last year. The London College of Fashion has been there since 2024 and BBC Music Studios are due to open in 2027. Art, design, dance, fashion and music – welcome to London’s 21st-century culturopolis. This once-neglected area of London – “a place where fridges went to die” as Gus Casely-Hayford, the director of V&A East, put it – has been transformed into a creative mecca. But in many parts of the UK the story is one of falling visitor numbers, job losses and the closure of much-loved music venues and art spaces. These architectural palaces are a far cry from many of the crumbling theatres and museums outside the capital (and their well-maintained European equivalents). Continue reading...

Data shows only a third of concluded claims in scheme for those wrongly classed as illegal migrants resulted in pay outs The Home Office has refused to pay compensation for more than half the claims made by victims of the Windrush scandal , new analysis by the UK’s public spending watchdog has shown . The National Audit Office’s (NAO) “government’s compensation and financial recognition schemes report” found that by January 2026, 11,475 claims had been received to the scheme. It was set up in 2019 to compensate mainly Black Britons whose lives were upended by being wrongly classed as illegal migrants by the Home Office. Continue reading...

If only the PM had been the process-obsessed technocrat he was once painted as, this disaster wouldn’t have happened – and he wouldn’t be on the brink Keir Starmer is dull and managerial, they said. He’s a process-obsessed technocrat, they said. He is, his opponents argued long before Starmer won a landslide election victory nearly two years ago, a bad choice for prime minister – indeed, unsuited to politics itself – because he is not so much a leader as a lawyer, animated less by ideology than by official documents and boring details. If only. Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Exclusive: The club, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, received the grant without a contract or final state aid assessment in place Wrexham AFC, the football club part-owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, was given a £3.8m government grant without a contract or a finished state aid assessment in place, raising questions over whether the award was lawful. The club has received £18m in taxpayer-funded grants – far more than any other in the UK – to help to redevelop its stadium, the Racecourse Ground (Y Cae Ras in Welsh). Continue reading...