Letter signed by 25 rebel MPs claims approach from the top is ‘increasingly unpopular’ with public Union leaders and 25 Labour MPs have urged Keir Starmer to end a “narrow, factional agenda” within the Labour party. A letter signed by the MPs, by the leaders of several Labour-affiliated trade unions and by campaign groupings within the party, claimed the approach from the top was “increasingly unpopular with the public”. Continue reading...

Cases reported in seven schools and a nursery in Enfield amid concern over low levels of MMR vaccination in capital More than 60 children have been infected by a measles outbreak in north London, it has been reported. Seven schools and a nursery in Enfield reported the cases, with some children treated in hospital, according to the Sunday Times. Continue reading...

When Mohamed Salah last faced Brighton at Anfield in December, there was uncertainty over whether he would be seen in a Liverpool shirt again. Two months on and with the Egyptian a starter once more, Salah and Arne Slot reaped the rewards of their appeasement as Liverpool eased into the fifth round with a comfortable victory over Brighton. Salah produced a sublime assist, his fourth since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, and scored from the penalty spot as Liverpool condemned Brighton to a fourth defeat in five games. There was no evidence of Brighton not performing for the under-pressure Fabian Hürzeler but after a promising start the visitors faded rapidly. Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai, with a superb goal, and Salah capitalised in a commanding victory. Continue reading...

Brewer last month said it was closing its distilling brands, prompting concerns for jobs at its Scottish facility The beer-maker BrewDog could be broken up after consultants were called in to help find new investors. The Scotland-based brewer, which makes craft beer such as Punk IPA and Elvis Juice, has appointed consultants AlixPartners to oversee the sale process. BrewDog last month announced it was closing its distilling brands, prompting concerns for jobs at its facility in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. The company, which was founded in 2007 by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie, said it made the decision to focus on its beer products. No decision has been made in respect of the sale process. A spokesperson for BrewDog said: “As with many businesses operating in a challenging economic climate and facing sustained macro headwinds, we regularly review our options with a focus on the long-term strength and sustainability of the company. “Following a year of decisive action in 2025, which saw a focus on costs and operating efficiencies, we have appointed AlixPartners to support a structured and competitive process to evaluate the next phase of investment for the business. “This is a deliberate and disciplined step with a focus on strengthening the long-term future of the BrewDog brand and its operations.” The spokesperson added: “BrewDog remains a global pioneer in craft beer: a world-class consumer brand, the No 1 independent brewer in the UK and with a highly engaged global community. “We believe that this combination will attract substantial interest, though no final decisions have been made. “Our breweries, bars, and venues continue to operate as normal. We will not comment on any further speculation.” The company announced job cuts across the business in October last year after posting a £37m loss. BrewDog operates 72 bars around the world, as well as four breweries. The firm employs about 1,400 people and has breweries in Ellon, as well as in the US, Australia and Germany. Continue reading...

ISS now fully crewed after a medical issue forced the evacuation of four astronauts in January The International Space Station (ISS) returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns. SpaceX delivered the US, French and Russian astronauts a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral. Continue reading...

Concern grows over Narges Mohammadi’s health, family says, after reports of ‘life-threatening mistreatment’ Iranian authorities have without prior warning transferred Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to a prison in the north of the country as concern grows over her health, her family said on Saturday. Mohammadi, who won the peace prize in 2023 in recognition for more than two decades of campaigning, was arrested on 12 December in the eastern city of Mashhad after speaking out against Iran’s clerical authorities at a funeral ceremony. Continue reading...

Their best players and managers may move on, but this thoroughly modern club keep punching above their weight When the news cycle spins so fast, it’s worth remembering where Brentford were in the summer. They had lost their popular manager of seven years, Thomas Frank. They had lost their two best forwards, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. They had lost their goalkeeper Mark Flekken. And they had lost two stalwarts in Christian Nørgaard and Ben Mee (even if the latter’s involvement the previous season had been limited as he turned 35). Departure and replacement is an unavoidable part of life for a club such as Brentford, but this seemed a like a lot to deal with. Their summer signings were hard to judge. As a rule of thumb, if Brentford are signing someone about whom you already have considered opinions, it’s likely something has gone awry. That said, Caoimhín Kelleher’s gifts are clear, and a fee of just under £13m seemed good value for a goalkeeper with Premier League experience, while Dango Ouattara had demonstrated at Bournemouth how effective he could be either through the middle or out wide. But Antoni Milambo, Michael Kayode and Kaye Furo were unknown quantities. Continue reading...

Football’s interminable video assistant refereeing debate has its latest chapter following a bizarre evening, and refereeing performance, at Villa Park. With the FA Cup not allowing the video protocol until the fifth round, here was an occasion to make the abolitionists think twice. Is elite football already too far gone to referee without a bank of screens in a faraway business park? Or was Chris Kavanagh, the referee, and his assistants, just having a nightmare day at the office? Sandro Tonali’s two goals, and Nick Woltemade’s clincher booked Newcastle’s fifth round place, completing a comeback that came in the face of officiating mistakes weighing against Eddie Howe’s team. Eventually, they prevailed over an Aston Villa team who lost discipline, and should have been down to ten men earlier than they eventually were. Continue reading...

Asher-Smith runs third-quickest time of her career Keely Hodgkinson sets national indoor 800m record Given the doldrums that was British female sprinting prior to her emergence, it was perhaps little surprise that Dina Asher-Smith stood largely unchallenged on the national stage for the best part of her 20s. So, it was to some raised eyebrows that the country’s sprint queen was usurped by Amy Hunt last summer – the young upstart claiming world championships 200m silver, while Asher-Smith faded to fifth. Continue reading...

Family pay tribute to Demi Edmunds, from Caldicot, saying she ‘loved her friends, and she was loved by all’ A 17-year-old girl who died in a collision involving three cars in Wales was “funny, kind and caring”, her brother said. Demi Edmunds was the sole pedestrian in the incident on the A4042 in Cwmbran, Torfaen, Wales, which occurred at about 12.25pm on Thursday, Gwent police said. The teenager from Caldicot was pronounced dead at the scene. Her brother Jake said in a tribute published by the force on Saturday: “Demi was the best sister I could’ve ever asked for. She was funny, kind and caring. “Me and her were very close, she was like a best friend to me that I could trust with anything and everything, but she’s no longer with us any more. Hopefully she’s in heaven, somewhere better.” Police said the family has requested privacy to grieve. In a shared statement, the family said: “Demi was a beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin and niece. Demi loved her friends, and she was loved by all.” Inquiries are ongoing and police have asked anyone with information including CCTV or dashcam footage to get in contact quoting log reference 2600046163. The Welsh ambulance service also attended the incident. Continue reading...

Love has long been framed as a pursuit of the young, but this narrative lags behind reality As Valentine’s Day approaches, we are once again flooded with the usual suspects: roses, chocolates, sophisticated dinners and glossy ads featuring young heterosexual couples staring earnestly into each other’s eyes. The problem isn’t just that this version of romance is exclusionary – though it is – it’s that it’s profoundly out of step with how love is actually being lived, negotiated and reimagined in contemporary Australia. Culturally, love has long been framed as a pursuit of the young. From Romeo and Juliet to Normal People, from Bridget Jones to When Harry Met Sally, romantic fulfilment is depicted as something you secure early; ideally before your knees give out or your mortgage locks in. The message is consistent: find love in your twenties or thirties, settle down, and then coast (emotionally paired and narratively complete) until death do you part. Lisa Portolan is an academic. Her latest book is 10 Ways to Find Love … and How to Keep it. She will appear in ‘Heterofatalism’ at the All About Women festival at the Sydney Opera House on 8 March Continue reading...

There was a language barrier, a mother who burned their letters and a record label manager who disapproved. But Kerry Cox and Hitomi were madly in love Find more stories from the moment I knew series Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email In my early 20s, I quit my job in New Zealand and moved to Sydney to study martial arts. In 1982, after competing in the World Pugilist championships in Hong Kong, I hitchhiked around Japan for a month or so, then headed for Korea via ferry in January of 1983. I’d heard air fares were cheap from Korea. No internet back then! While boarding, I was approached by a very attractive Japanese woman, with limited English, who told me that if I bought one box of bananas and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black label, I could pay for most of my trip in Korea. These items were very much in demand back then. Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

Scotland 31-20 England: Jones (2), Ritchie, White tries Arundell sees red as visitors lose unbeaten record Certain wins feel bigger than others and for Scotland this result will reverberate for ages. Reclaiming the Calcutta Cup is always sweet but convincingly ending England’s 12-Test unbeaten record was a glorious bonus. For Gregor Townsend and his side, under pressure after their opening-round defeat in Rome, this was some riposte to their critics. Ultimately, it was not even particularly close. Two tries by Huw Jones, a hard-nosed collective effort from the Scottish pack and a typically artful display from Finn Russell were simply too much for an England side who had dared to believe this week that their previous tartan traumas were behind them. Instead, they were outplayed and tactically out-thought by Townsend and his coaching staff and have now won just two of the last nine meetings between the nations. Continue reading...

Institutional menace and an idealistic take on redemption sit side-by-side in Top Boy actor Ashley Walters’ empathic and occasionally over-earnest film The lawless brutality of a young offender institution is the setting for this British movie written by Marching Powder’s Nick Love and directed by Ashley Walters. It’s a place where terrified newbies realise they can survive only by abandoning their innocence and decency, and submitting to the gang authority of a psycho top G, naturally involving a horrible loyalty test. This is a place where drugs arrive by drone, where facially tattooed men meet each other’s gaze with a cool opaque challenge in the canteen, and where the cues and balls on the recreation area’s pool table have only one purpose: to give someone a three-month stay in the hospital wing while underpaid guards in lanyards and ill-fitting v-neck jumpers look the other way. Continue reading...

Speaking in Munich, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also called for a clear date for his country to be allowed to join the EU Ukraine wants security guarantees for a minimum of 20 years from the US before it can sign a peace deal with dignity, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of talks next week with Russia and the US. He was speaking in Munich on Saturday where he also called for a clear date for Ukraine to be allowed to join the EU. Some EU officials have put the date as early as 2027. Continue reading...

Updates from 8pm kickoff (GMT) at Anfield Follow us over on Bluesky | And get in touch: email Scott Liverpool go into this match off the back of an impressive midweek win at Sunderland that eased the pressure that has been building on Arne Slot. Brighton by contrast are reeling from the concession of a late, late winner at Aston Villa. Meanwhile the Reds have won four of their last five matches against the Seagulls. So. But! Brighton created plenty of chances in their 2-0 defeat at Anfield a couple of months ago. And they’ve got form against Liverpool in the cup, having knocked Jürgen Klopp’s side out three years ago, and famously seeing off the otherwise all-conquering team of the Paisley-Fagan era in back-to-back seasons. So despite being on an underwhelming run right now – no win for Fabian Hürzeler’s men since the third-round victory at Manchester United, six matches ago – they’ll not be without hope. Could be a doozy. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. Extra time and pens if necessary. It’s on! Continue reading...

Residents who escaped violence tell of bandits riding in on motorbikes and shooting indiscriminately Armed assailants on motorbikes killed at least 30 people and burned houses and shops during raids on three villages in northwest Nigeria’s Niger State early on Saturday, residents who escaped the violence told Reuters. The attacks on villages in the Borgu local government area, near the border with Benin Republic, are part of a surge in attacks blamed on “bandits,,” who have carried out deadly assaults, abductions for ransom and displaced communities across northern Nigeria. Continue reading...

US speed skating star’s four-gold pursuit continues 500m considered toughest of Stolz’s individual events Entire podium finishes below previous Olympic record The men’s 500m is speed skating distilled to its most unforgiving form: one and a quarter laps of the oval, no pacing, no recovery window, no margin for technical compromise. On Saturday afternoon in Milan’s western suburbs, Jordan Stolz mastered the sport’s fastest and most unpredictable race and pushed his Olympic campaign toward historic territory. The 21-year-old American won the 500m in an Olympic-record 33.77 seconds, securing his second gold medal of the Milano Cortina Olympics and adding pace behind what is rapidly becoming one of the defining individual campaigns of these Winter Games. Continue reading...

At his official installation, Archbishop Richard Moth recognised the Catholic church’s failures but insists it’s a time of ‘opportunity’ The new leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales has said that the church has failed vulnerable people, urging more work to be done to address the struggle of refugees and learn from victims of abuse. At a ceremony where he was officially installed in his new role as archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth said: “Here, I am most aware of every occasion on which members of the church, or the church as a whole, have failed – most especially when the vulnerable have been abused. Continue reading...

Pep Guardiola spoke of the slog of the schedule and Manchester City went out and performed as if dog-tired, yet with only Phil Foden and Rayan Aït-Nouri having started Wednesday’s win against Fulham, this was no excuse. City were abject and half-paced and in danger of being forced into extra time, at least, until Marc Guéhi’s 80th-minute close-range strike doubled the lead. Continue reading...

Speaking with progressive YouTuber, former US president stressed ‘unprecedented nature’ of agency’s actions Barack Obama publicly gave his support to demonstrators in Minneapolis for standing up to the “unprecedented nature” of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Minnesota. Speaking in an interview with progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen on Saturday, the former president discussed the power that US citizens hold when standing up for the values they believe in and his hopes for the next generation of American leaders. Continue reading...

Mansfield gave blood and sweat to reach the FA Cup fifth round by shocking a Burnley side intent on boring everyone to tears. A stunning Louis Reed free-kick completed a hard-fought turnaround for the League One side against their labouring Premier League opponents. There is little doubt that Burnley are getting relegated, leaving the Cup as their only hope of salvaging a desperate season, but they lacked quality from start to finish on another desperate day for Scott Parker. Mansfield were not necessarily the better side but worked harder for the victory. Continue reading...

Updates from 5.45pm (GMT) game at Villa Park Follow us over on Bluesky | And get in touch: email Barry Aston Villa: Bizot, Bogarde, Lindelof, Torres, Digne, Luiz, Onana, Rogers, Barkley, Bailey, Abraham. Subs: Martinez, Konsa, Mings, Watkins, Garcia, Buendia, Sancho, Maatsen, Kone Referee: Chris Kavanagh Assistant referees: Gary Beswick and Nick Greenhalgh Fourth official: Paul Tierney Continue reading...

Ireland 20-13 Italy Azzurri led at half-time for first time in Dublin After what felt like 40 days and 40 nights of darkness and rain, the sun came out in Dublin. Cold, yes, and a grey day by kick-off but bright enough to throw light on an Ireland side scrambling for their footing, and a bullish Italy one looking to break new ground. Never having won a Six Nations game in Dublin might be the sort of statistic to weigh you down. The Azzurri carried it like a backpack with only a couple of bits and bobs. For the first 40 minutes of physical, narky and very watchable Test rugby, they looked like they have never looked before at this venue in this competition: a well-rounded side with self-assurance to go with passion. By the end of 80 minutes the picture had changed only to reflect a shortage of finesse to finish, as they pounded away in the Ireland 22 before James Lowe lifted the siege. Continue reading...

Senators said repeal was ‘particularly troubling’ and was counter to EPA’s mandate to protect human health More than three dozen Democratic senators have begun an independent inquiry into the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following a huge change in how the agency measures the health benefits of reducing air pollution that is widely seen as a major setback to US efforts to combat the climate crisis. In a regulatory impact analysis, the EPA said it would stop assigning a monetary value to the health benefits associated with regulations on fine particulate matter and ozone. The agency argued that the estimates contain too much uncertainty. Continue reading...