Gjert Ingebrigtsen used to coach Jakob and his brothers
He ‘punched and kicked’ Jakob since he was a schoolboy
Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s father will stand trial next year on charges that include abusing the double Olympic champion and threatening to “beat him to death”.
From defence to trade, the incoming US president is upending the old order – and standing apart from our neighbours leaves us dangerously exposed
It’s one damn thing after another. As Keir Starmer is discovering, government, like life, can feel like a fusillade of events, each coming faster than the one before. If it’s not a cabinet minister resigning over a past fraud conviction, it’s MPs voting for assisted dying – and that’s just in one day. Through that blizzard of news, it can be hard to make out the lasting changes in the landscape – even those that have profound implications for our place in the world.
The November 2024 event that will have the most enduring global impact is the election of Donald Trump. There are some in the higher reaches of the UK government who are surprisingly relaxed about that fact, reassuring themselves that, in effect, we got through it once, we’ll get through it again. Yes, they admit, Trump has nominated some crazy people to lead in areas crucial to the UK-US relationship, such as defence and intelligence, but don’t worry, officials in London will do what they did last time: work with like-minded counterparts in the Washington bureaucracy to bypass the Trump loyalists at the top.
First step to bill becoming law in England and Wales is now over, with much greater scrutiny to take place next year
Friday’s vote by British MPs in favour of legalising assisted dying is the first step towards landmark legislation that would mean terminally ill adults wishing to end their lives can legally be helped to do so in England and Wales for the first time.
The vote passed by 330 votes to 275, a clear but not overwhelming margin, reflecting the often passionately held positions on each side of the debate.
Designers must commit to ditching skins of animals like crocodiles and snakes from 2025
London fashion week has become the first of the four main fashion weeks to ban exotic animal skins from shows from 2025 – the biggest industry event to do so.
All designers staging fashion shows at the event will have to commit to ditching skins of animals such as crocodiles, alligators and snakes from their collections.
The LGBTQ+ community has been here before – and learned that real change happens when activists are front and center
The ascendency of Donald Trump to his second presidency is fraught with anxiety and fear for many Americans, particularly gay Americans. Books with queer themes are already being removed from school and public libraries. Trans people are being denied the right to use bathrooms or be on sports teams that align with their gender. Trans medical care is under attack in many states. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs that may help LGBTQ+ people as well as others are being eliminated. Justice Clarence Thomas has broached “revisiting” the supreme court decisions that legalized same-sex marriage.
Many queer activists – panicked, tenacious, resolute – are asking what we can do in the face of these attacks that seek to dismantle basic rights and access that were presumed permanent. The enormity and consequentiality of this battle feels like being swept heedlessly into uncharted waters. We are rummaging through US history to find precedents for why Trump won and how to confront the damage he may cause.
Working behind the scenes is necessary, but real change happens when activists are front and center
Michael Bronski is an American academic and writer, best known for his 2011 book A Queer History of the United States. He has been involved with LGBT politics since 1969 as an activist and organizer
Holly Cairns announces birth of her daughter on day of the country’s general election
The leader of Ireland’s Social Democrats party has announced the birth of a baby daughter on the day of the country’s general election.
Holly Cairns, who is standing for re-election in the Cork South-West constituency, posted on Instagram: “She’s here. We are completely in love with her.”
The ties have it: bows are in decline, replaced by an accessory once the preserve of power-dressers that’s being updated by a more fluid generation
Generational divides have been spelt out in everything from hair partings to jeans and socks in recent years. A side parting or a pair of no-show trainer socks can brand you a millennial or gen X. And now the latest item to instantly highlight the generational divide is an accessory. If bows are a favourite of thirtysomethings, those in their 20s have discovered the neck tie.
On the catwalk, at Saint Laurent, there were baggy, boxy trouser suits worn with ties. Celebrities are also wearing the look. Kelly Rowland wore a suit and tie to endorse Kamala Harris in October, Boygenius all wore ties at the Grammys in February and gen Z style whisperer Hailey Bieber wore a suit and tie to dinner last month.
The actor who plays Elphaba in the big screen adaptation of the musical joined the debate declaring ‘we spent this long singing it ourselves – it’s time for everyone else to join in’
Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has joined the debate over whether it’s acceptable to sing along to the blockbusting musical in cinemas – and she’s fine with it.
In an interview with NBC during the traditional Thanksgiving Day parade in New York on Thursday, Erivo was asked about the issue, which appears to have split cinemagoers down the middle and came out as very much in the pro camp, saying: “I’m OK with it. We spent this long singing it ourselves – it’s time for everyone else to join in. It’s wonderful.”
‘Important shift’ made in global attempts to address plastic pollution though final treaty text yet to be agreed
Pressure from an increasingly large bloc of countries has offered hope that a breakthrough at critical international plastic treaty talks could be in sight at last, after two years of deadlock. But some warned that fragile progress could disappear again in the last stages of negotiations over the weekend.
For some time, the talks have been split over demands for the treaty to include plans to reduce the amount of plastic that is being produced – a production cap. A draft text for a final deal published on Friday included language for a global target to reduce the amount of plastic made. But it also included another option for no text – meaning no action would be taken to reduce plastic production worldwide. The final text, which may use either of those options, will hopefully be decided this weekend.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affects about 2.6 million people in the UK, yet misinformation about the condition is rife. Here we separate scientific fact from TikTok-fuelled fiction
‘I can’t believe he’s late again,” my friend said, texting to complain about a colleague. “You’ve got ADHD, too, and you seem fine!” I thought smugly: “Ah yes,” as I prepared to pull another all-nighter to hit a deadline, “that could never be me.”
I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at 14, which, at its worst, feels like having a million YouTube tabs simultaneously playing in my brain. Extreme procrastination and restlessness are some of my most noticeable traits. If you meet me, I’m most probably discreetly tapping my big toe to expel the nervous energy that rips through me on a daily basis. And while I’m hardly ever late these days, that’s only because I’ve jerry-rigged an elaborate system of calendar alarms to alert me to any upcoming event.
A ‘covalent organic framework’ can be used to capture carbon to store it or convert it for industrial use
An innocuous yellow powder, created in a lab, could be a new way to combat the climate crisis by absorbing carbon from the air.
Just half a pound of the stuff may remove as much carbon dioxide as a tree can, according to early tests. Once the carbon is absorbed by the powder, it can be released into safe storage or be used in industrial processes, like carbonizing drinks.
Authors and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month
I have recently enjoyed Doppelganger by Naomi Klein: a miraculously lucid laying-out of what is really happening in the world via the dark web, the interested parties behind fake news and the human psyche. It is at once personal and universal and not in any way hectoring.
A light, orangey sponge topped with orange syrup, amaretti biscuits and boozy cream - Christmas dessert is served
As a flavour pairing, chocolate and orange is much more divisive than it needs to be. Admittedly, it’s something I crave only during the festive season, not least because the very thought of chocolate orange in June feels criminal. This is a great get-ahead dessert made up of a light chocolate-orange sponge and a layer of amaretti biscuit that softens and gets all chewy, all topped off with a rich chocolate and mascarpone cream spiked with orange liqueur.
Hollywood comedian, who was in sitcom I Love Lucy with her husband, told singer: ‘You’re the one with the talent’
It was the showbiz breakup that set the stage for a decades-long music career and entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now, the singer Cher has revealed what finally made her leave Sonny Bono and strike out on her own: the Hollywood legend Lucille Ball reminded her she was the talented one.
The singer told BBC One’s Graham Norton Show she resolved to break up the onstage and marital union unless Bono agreed to an equal split. But she still needed a final push to take that step. “I didn’t know what to do and leaving was a hard thing for me. [Lucille Ball] was on television and part of a couple [with Desi Arnaz], so I went to her, and she said: ‘Fuck him, you’re the one with the talent.’”
Both sides have key absences but England hope to learn from going toe-to-toe with Emma Hayes’s resurgent side
The prospect of the European champions hosting the Olympic champions induces sufficient intrigue on its own. But add in the triumphant return to Wembley of Emma Hayes, and an England side with plenty to improve on after losing to Germany last time they played at the national stadium, and this is much more than a friendly between the top-ranked sides in the world.
For an England team hoping to retain their title at next summer’s Euros in Switzerland, there is no greater yardstick than to test themselves against the USA, who are ranked No 1 and have appeared fully rejuvenated since Hayes left Chelsea to take charge in May.
As Germany and France struggle, Keynesian stimulus alone cannot pull them out of their malaise
As Europe prepares for a potential trade war after the US president-elect, Donald Trump, takes office in January, its two largest economies are struggling. While Germany is heading into its second consecutive year of zero growth, France is expected to grow by less than 1% in 2025.
Is Europe’s economic stagnation the result of insufficient Keynesian stimulus, or are its bloated and sclerotic welfare states to blame? Either way, it is clear that those who believe simple measures such as higher budget deficits or lower interest rates can solve Europe’s problems are detached from reality.
Seventy-five people have died or gone missing trying to cross the Channel in small boats this year. What keeps them coming, despite the ever harsher attempts to deter them?
As you look down on a patch of ground in a pleasant neighbourhood in Calais, a large number of creamy grey boulders are visible. Squeezed in between these enormous rocks are dozens of frayed tents. Smoke from wood fires floats in the air as groups of men and boys walk around laughing and talking in the morning sunshine, sharing clementines and cigarettes.
The tent dwellers are asylum seekers hoping to travel by dinghy across the Channel to the UK. Most on this site only arrived in Calais in the past week or two and none expect to be staying long. But now they must contend with not just the civic authorities in this seaside town but the might of both the British and French states.
As Spain marks one month since floods in Valencia killed 230 people, tossed cars, wrecked infrastructure and destroyed homes and businesses, photographs taken four weeks apart show the results of work by thousands of troops, police, firefighters and volunteers to clear debris, repair damage and extract mud from garages, basements and car parks in the traumatised region
The worst floods to hit Spain in decades on 29 October killed at least 230 people, covered towns in mud and debris, destroyed bridges, roads and rail lines and submerged cars, mainly in the eastern region of Valencia.
A report from Spain’s Higher Council of Colleges of Architects said “the degree of destruction and ruin was historic” in the Valencia region, where 80 towns were deluged by torrential rain.
Louise Haigh was advised to resign by No 10 for a possible breach of the ministerial code, after she did not declare her spent conviction for fraud to the government when she became a cabinet minister.
Multiple sources said Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, delivered the message to the UK transport secretary on Thursday night that it would be best for her to resign.
Australia coach plotting how to unravel his old team after Andy Farrell’s surprise selection of a callow No 10
If you know anything of Joe Schmidt, then he’ll have popped into your head every other time the referee Chris Busby penalised the Wallabies at Murrayfield last Sunday. You could imagine the coach formulating the email that would wing its way to World Rugby – coincidentally where Schmidt spent 12 months of his career a few years back. The attachments would have included all available camera angles, along with the relevant points of law. Chances are, every case made would have been compelling.
Would he have had a good night’s sleep in the south Dublin hotel where his squad checked in after travelling from Edinburgh? You could answer that with the word he would use with Leinster players when they’d suggest a move he didn’t think would work: “Nah.”
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