In the first Cup game of the weekend, Liverpool got their revenge on Wolves with a 3-1 win at Molineux. The Reds suffered a shock 2-1 loss at the same stadium on Tuesday in the Premier League but bounced back last night to progress to the FA Cup quarter-finals. Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones scored the goals to see Arne Slot’s side through.
Steve Borthwick has reacted in the best way after two demoralising defeats and they need a fast start in Italy
During their 12-match winning run, when England were at the peak of their powers, they were setting the bar when it came to the kicking game. Steve Borthwick’s side adapted fastest to the law changes around escorting and reaped the rewards as a result. There are plenty of reasons why that winning run has come to an end in spectacular fashion but the fact that other nations have caught up and overtaken England is a significant one.
Part of the problem is personnel. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s absence is a huge blow in this championship and for all Henry Arundell’s qualities, he does not have the same aerial prowess. Tom Roebuck has been in and out, coming back from an injury, so England just haven’t had the same cattle. But it’s clear to me that their rivals have put in the work to get up to speed and are reaping the rewards.
Restart of operations will be a relief to those stranded but may not dispel doubts raised by past week about key transit hub
After nearly a week of uncertainty, airspace closures and very limited flights, news that hundreds of thousands of passengers around the world were hanging on for emerged: the Gulf-based carrier Emirates was restarting operations in earnest despite the US-Israel war on Iran.
Omission of presidents of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, however, exposes failure of US president’s ‘theatrical’ doctrine, say experts
Donald Trump will welcome the leaders of at least 10 Latin American countries to a palm-dotted golf resort in Miami on Saturday as the president continues his quest to transform the US’s standing in the region and outmuscle China.
In an extract from his book, Philippe Auclair reveals the influence of mother, Fayza, and prominent women on the Mbappé image and brand
The Mbappés did their utmost to keep outsiders at arm’s length from the outset. The agents – dozens of them – who approached them to become Kylian’s representatives ever since the eight-year-old was making fun of defenders twice his size with Bondy were rebuffed. The financial advisers who offered to broker sponsorship deals met with the same response: father Wilfrid would take care of his son’s sporting career, mother Fayza of all the rest, with Kylian having the final word in any decision involving his future, be it on or off the field; and so it has remained to this day. Kylian does not have a Fifa-registered agent. Nobody but the closest members of his family gets a cut from the deals he signs with clubs or commercial partners. This is not to say that nobody else is involved in the projet.
Luís Campos, sporting adviser for the clubs owned by Qatar Sports Investments after fulfilling a similar role for Lille and Monaco, remains a trusted confidant, as he’s been since playing a central role in smoothing the difficulties the young Kylian encountered at Monaco. Former L’Équipe journalist Bilel Ghazi, who, though unlicensed by Fifa, has been working with players like Rayan Cherki (whom Kylian’s mother Fayza also represented for a short while), has provided media guidance to the Mbappés. Neither Campos nor Ghazi are part of the inner circle, however.
In a park overlooking the city, I ran into a group of young people chatting and joking. As the bombs fall, fragments of life remain
I was at work last Saturday when I heard the blast. Since that moment, the world has been turned on its head. The school called asking me to come and pick up my child. I rushed to the metro and headed north in a carriage filled with anxious people calling their loved ones to ensure their safety, melancholy etched on their faces, uncertainty metastasising from one to another as they checked the latest news on their mobiles.
This is the second time within a year that Israel has decided to go for a war of choice with Iran, but I suppose that is the new normal. Israel has long enjoyed a unique position of near-total impunity when it comes to harassing Palestinians, and now the green light to aggression seems to extend to its unending wars and spreading of terror across the region. And it feels different this time. The pretence that there is some level of precision in the strikes is gone. Instead, the attacks appear indiscriminate, with targets ranging from schools to hospitals, from police stations to urban amenities – all hit with a level of might that seems aimed at demolition, total destruction, the flattening of the city.
Oscar favourite insists she is a ‘lover of cats’ after telling podcast about ultimatum she once gave to now-husband
If Jessie Buckley fails to win the Oscar for best actress next week it will be a sign that cat lovers have got their claws out.
The Irish actor is the runaway favourite for her performance in Hamnet, but in recent days has stumbled into a controversy over a stated antipathy to cats.
British driver qualifies fastest with 1min 18.518sec lap in Melbourne
Lando Norris sixth after running over Mercedes cooling fan
George Russell claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix, the opening race of the new Formula One season, with an ominously dominant run for Mercedes. Russell and teammate Kimi Antonelli locked out the front row with their nearest competitor Isack Hadjar in the Red Bull almost eight-tenths of a second behind the pole time in third place.
Streaming services: there’s a lot of them (with yet another, HBO Max, on the way later this month) and everyone seems to be signed up to different ones, making recommendations a challenge. Step forward the Guide’s fourth edition of A Show for Every Streamer (previous versions can be seen here, here and here), which does exactly as it describes. As is tradition, we’ve tried to avoid series that everyone has been nattering about (unlucky, Heated Rivalry), and instead spotlight less heralded, more surprising picks, starting with …
Apple TV | Drops of God
… a Japanese-American-French drama about warring wine experts, of course. A curious one, though it does fit in with Apple’s penchant for high-end subject matter. After a first series that saw the daughter of a deceased French wine expert face off against his Japanese mentee for ownership of his multimillion-dollar wine collection, season two – which arrived in January – sees the two team up to investigate the mysterious origins of a bottle of red from dad’s collection.
From ancient China and Paris’s Latin Quarter to ‘Han shot first’, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz
1 The slogan “Han shot first” protested against the re-editing of which film? 2 The boundaries of the North, East and West Ridings met at which city? 3 What is the smallest species of UK crow? 4 Which notorious Disney film was based on stories by Joel Chandler Harris? 5 Which precursor of the UN was established by the treaty of Versailles? 6 Rama IX ruled which country from 1946 to 2016? 7 Which singer and pianist was born Eunice Waymon? 8 What military force was the BAOR? What links:
9 Ancient China; California; Nagasaki; Latin Quarter of Paris; Rome? 10 Alert (possible); warning (expected); severe warning (risk to life and significant disruption)? 11 Covalent; ionic; metallic? 12 Bakelite; french fries; internal combustion engine; saxophone; standard map projection? 13 Ade Adepitan; Ian Dury; Frida Kahlo; Joni Mitchell; Itzhak Perlman; FDR? 14 Bligh’s ship; Olympus Mons location; Panthera leo; Via Lactea? 15 Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou; Chester Burnett; Jordan Belfort?
Mountain hikes, river swims and centuries-old traditions appeal to the whole family on a trip to the Balkans
‘Uno, Uno, Uno No Mercy!” the six-year-old son of our hosts for the day bellows while leading my boys, 10 and 12, into his dimly lit corrugated iron home. I let out a little sigh of relief. The popular card game is a much-needed icebreaker as ominous clouds close in on the remote stan (the Albanian word for a shepherd dwelling). Despite the language barrier, much laughter and consternation soon spill out of the darkness, just as hail hammers down on the tin roof. Dogs bark, chickens cluck and sheep bleat as the thunder grows louder, and we all – our eight hosts, seven guests and one guide – shelter in the tiny kitchen, the living room-cum-bedroom (now Uno parlour), or on the veranda.
It’s day two of a seven-day trip with Undiscovered Balkans, crisscrossing between Albania and Montenegro on foot and by car. Having always wanted to hike the Peaks of the Balkans trail, a 119-mile (192km) hike linking Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania, I jumped at the chance to sample this new guided itinerary. Combining some of the region’s most famous hikes with gentler excursions for kids, such as a day experiencing life as a shepherd, or visits to remote swimming spots, it seemed a novel alternative to our usual “get a map and hope for the best” approach to hiking holidays.
Bank criticised for tone of spending summaries, with one user complaining to ombudsman over ‘humiliating’ use of data
When does lighthearted banter become inappropriate and humiliating?
The digital bank Monzo has been accused of overstepping the mark by using the data it holds to tell one customer with a past eating disorder that she eats a lot of fast food, spends “more than most” on Just Eat takeaways, and had banished her life goals thanks to her spending choices.
This sophisticated, character-driven sitcom from the creators of Scrubs and Ted Lasso is very funny. And it’s proof that all that drama hasn’t blunted Carrell’s comic edge
Here’s a funny thing. When comically gifted actors go “straight”, taking on dramatic roles with zero laughs, the world falls over its feet to give them flowers. You might not realise it from looking at every single acting award ever handed out but comedy is much harder than drama. Both share techniques and aim at truth. But with comedy, rhythm and originality are crucial, and the spotlight is merciless. (Fart noise.)
From Robin Williams to Jim Carrey, Hugh Laurie to Daniel Kaluuya, when an actor gets more admiration keeping the hahas in, they often don’t go back. Which brings me to Rooster, a show that, along with last year’s Four Seasons, marks Steve Carell’s return to TV comedy. Since leaving The Office, Carell has spent 13 years fictionally fathering drug addicts, being an abusive wrestler-philanthropist, and getting fired from his job as a news anchor for sexual misconduct. (That was on The Morning Show, not Anchorman.) Incredible projects, obviously. But don’t they sometimes have the hint of homework?
My sexuality had to be hidden from my friends, my parents, not to mention the authorities. Then I found freedom at house parties and one song that sums up me finally being able to be myself
I was raised in Tehran, under the Ayatollah’s sharia law and daily watch of Basij – the “morality police”. My parents fell in love with the Islamic Revolution when I was a baby and welcomed life under its strict religious rules. The Ayatollah’s face stared down from the walls at home, a daily reminder of what was expected and what was forbidden. This included being gay, but by my teenage years I knew I was different from my peers, and began hiding my sexuality from my parents and the world outside.
The other side of life under the regime was that there was little room for celebration: happy events, even religious ones, came with inherent guilt while frivolous outside influences, including western music, were considered dangerous. And so I was in my mid-20s before I went to my first real party: an underground gathering that would become my gateway to a hidden, gay Tehran.
How are we to account for things that lie outside ordinary language? A woman’s emotions are precisely observed in a novel that brilliantly captures what it means to be human
In each of her previous novels and story collections, the Irish author Mary Costello has revealed the inner vastness hidden within even the quietest lives. Her latest book, A Beautiful Loan, goes further, with a faithful, poetic exploration of the multitudes we contain and what it means to be human.
From the outset, in the novel’s prologue, Anna tells us she is determined to account for herself and her life. But we are to expect no ordinary narrative, concerned only with “actual events”, “evidence-based” or relying on “historical data”. No, Anna is interested in the “climate of the psyche” and “the vibrations of the soul”. Can it be that the very things we cannot quantify or rationalise are what make life meaningful?
One week on from the first strikes, we look at why the war started, what the cost has been and what may come next
The US-Israeli war on Iran, now into its seventh day, has set the Middle East alight, threatening millions of people’s lives and livelihoods as the violence spreads in widening arc stretching from central Asia to the edge of Europe.
The joint operation, named “Epic Fury” by the US and “Roaring Lion” by Israel, has been sold as a high-impact show of intimidating power, but its impact so far beyond the chaos and bloodshed is unclear. What is certain is that predictions that this type of war would destabilise the region have indeed rapidly materialised.
The ding of half a million phones, a pause and a collective gasp: in an instant, more than 500,000 people had been made homeless.
Shooting in the air, panicked phone calls and honking filled the streets of Beirut as people began to flee. Thousands abandoned their cars and began the slow march to the sea, desperate to escape the Israeli bombs which they knew would soon fall on their homes, whether they were in them or not.
A Hollywood-themed propaganda video released by the White House promising “justice the American way” for Iran features movie stars from Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and promotes characters including a corrupt lawyer, a drug dealer and a freedom fighter who stands up to the overwhelming force of an invading foreign army.
The 42-second video posted on the official X account of the White House on Thursday was met with almost universal mockery online, with comments accusing the Trump administration of immaturity, and likening its social media strategy to one run by teenagers.
Four illegal migrants, who are members of the notorious MS-13 gang, have been indicted after they allegedly brutally murdered a 14-year-old boy in a Maryland park.
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