Dispute about rules elevates from insults to fisticuffs, with as many as 20 players becoming involved

A dispute over a rule led to a brawl during a pickleball game at a central Florida country club, authorities said, with one player hitting his opponent in the face with a paddle and punching him on the ground before others got involved.

A 63-year-old man was charged Sunday with two counts of felony battery on a person 65 or older, and his 51-year-old wife, who joined the fight in Port Orange, was charged with a single count of felony battery on a person 65 or older, according to an arrest affidavit.

Burnley have the chance of a Cup run, Leicester fear an unwelcome repeat and Brighton fans get a raw deal

Chelsea have kept two clean sheets in 10 games since appointing Liam Rosenior as head coach last month. Repeated doziness at the back has cost them. They have held commanding advantages against Charlton, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leeds, only to give away silly goals. It is a bad habit and proved costly when a 2-0 lead was squandered during Tuesday’s draw with Leeds. Rosenior was livid afterwards, and is waiting for a consistent performance. Chelsea travel to Hull , Rosenior’s former club, on Friday night. They will surely advance against Championship opponents, but how they do it will matter. It is time for them to get serious. Jacob Steinberg

Hull City v Chelsea, Friday 7.45pm (all times GMT)

Burton Albion v West Ham, Saturday 12.15pm

Burnley v Mansfield, Saturday 3pm

Southampton v Leicester, Saturday 3pm

Glimpse of sun after weeks of unrelenting rain marks end of longest sunless period in area since records began

Aberdeen has finally had some sunshine, for the first time in 21 days – marking the end of the longest sunless period in the area since Met Office records began in 1957.

Residents of the Granite city in north-east Scotland glimpsed the sun late on Thursday afternoon, with sunshine having been last recorded on 21 January.

Australia stands at a crossroads as it rolled out the red carpet for some, while greeting others with batons

Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia was not a routine diplomatic engagement. It was an ethical and political test of the Australian state. At the very moment a red carpet was rolled out for a man accused of inciting genocide, peaceful Australian citizens were met with batons while exercising their democratic right to protest.

For me, this was never an abstract political debate. Before the visit, I pursued the legal channels that are meant to protect citizens and lodged a formal complaint with the Australian government about the role Herzog played in rhetoric and policies that contributed to the destruction of my family in Gaza. Seven of my relatives were killed. My father died because of a lack of medicine, food and water. My brother, his wife, their four children and her father were also killed. Their bodies remain buried beneath the rubble. Despite the seriousness of this complaint, I have received no response from the government.

• Semi-final first leg: Atlético Madrid 4-0 Barcelona

• E García 6og, Griezmann 14, Lookman 33, Alvarez 45+2

You must always have faith, Diego Simeone had insisted and so it was. A biblical storm blew through the Metropolitano, leaving Barcelona in pieces and Atlético Madrid closer to a first Copa del Rey final in 13 years. “I’m not a wizard but I did believe that the team could play like this,” Simeone said at the end of a wild night, yet even he could not have imagined anything quite like this, 45 extraordinary minutes giving his team a 4-0 lead to take to the Camp Nou in three weeks’ time.

“This will remain in the memory however the tie ends,” Simeone said, careful to note that this is not over yet. Hansi Flick, meanwhile, vowed that his Barcelona team will fight, claimed they had been handed a “great lesson” that might yet be helpful, and outlined a plan for the second leg: 2-0 in each half. But an an own goal from Eric García and three more before half-time here from Ademola Lookman, Antoine Griezmann and Julián Alvarez, did the kind of damage that will be mightily difficult to fix. Barcelona could not begin that task here, a Pau Cubarsí effort ruled out after a seven-minute VAR check the only “goal” of the second half. Indeed, another VAR check made their second leg task even harder when Eric García was sent off in the final minutes.

Inquest concluded Robin Windsor was ‘vulnerable to rejection’ which was among ‘contributing factors’ that led to death

The family of a Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer have told of their “profound sadness” after an inquest jury concluded he took his own life.

Robin Windsor, 44, was found in a hotel room in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, in February 2024.

US attorney general displayed records of Congress members’ searches into Epstein files during House hearing

Members of Congress are calling for investigations after discovering the Department of Justice created records of their research activities while they dug into files connected to Jeffrey Epstein.

Photographs taken by Reuters during a congressional hearing on Wednesday showed the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, holding a document titled “Jayapal Pramila Search History”, listing files that the Democratic US representative Pramila Jayapal had accessed during her review of the Epstein materials.

Simon Stiell tells audience in Cop31 host nation Turkey that climate extremes are fuelling famine, displacement and war

National security strategies that fail to take account of the climate crisis are “dangerously narrow”, and will leave countries open to “a new world disorder” threatening famine and conflict, the UN’s climate chief has warned.

The warnings came as a draft of a key agenda for the Cop31 climate conference omitted to mention fossil fuels, and skewed instead to the interests of the Turkish hosts, such as waste management and tourism.

Canadian authorities seized firearms from the residence approximately two years ago but later returned them

Police have said they were called on multiple occasions to the home of the teenage suspect behind one of Canada’s deadliest school shootings after concerns were raised regarding mental health problems and weapons.

Six people, including a teacher and five children, were killed in a school shooting on Tuesday in the western Canadian town of Tumbler Ridge. About 25 other people were injured and two of them remain in critical but stable condition.

• York Knights 19-18 Hull KR

• Hingano drop goal earns stunning comeback win

York Knights produced an incredible comeback to stun the reigning Super League champions and win their first ever game in the top flight on the opening night of the 2026 season.

North Yorkshire hosted Super League rugby for the first time in front of a full house and many of those who were watching York for the first time will have seen enough to return. They trailed last year’s treble winners 18-6 at one stage but scored 13 unanswered points in the final quarter to inflict a rare defeat on the Robins and cause pandemonium in the stands.

This was billed as a test of Arsenal’s mettle after Manchester City had picked themselves off the canvas against Liverpool at Anfield to reignite the title race. But having seen their lead at the top whittled down to three points since the weekend, Mikel Arteta’s side showed their fallibility as they were held by a dogged Brentford side who felt that they should have even claimed victory.

Just when they needed to put in a statement performance, Arsenal were edgy throughout and struggled to create anything of note until Noni Madueke opened the scoring. Keane Lewis-Potter’s equaliser that came from a Michael Kayode long throw was fully deserved as Keith Andrews’ side showed exactly why they are enjoying such a successful season since he stepped up to replace Thomas Frank last summer.

Manchester United took a big step towards the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League by sealing a comfortable lead in the first leg of their playoff against Atlético Madrid after goals from Elisabeth Terland, Melvine Malard and Julia Zigiotti Olme.

“I think it was [a professional win],” a delighted Marc Skinner, the United manager, said. “It was ­difficult for both teams on the pitch. I can understand it with the number of storms they had ... but I did think it affected the football. I thought we were ruthless. The three goals were fantastic. I felt like our defending as a whole team was excellent.”

Though Department of Homeland Security almost certain to shutter at midnight Friday, ICE to be largely unaffected

• US politics live – latest updates

Democrats in the US Senate have blocked a funding package for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid ongoing fury over the Trump administration’s crackdown and the deaths of two people in Minneapolis.

Thursday’s vote means that the department is almost certain to shut down at midnight on Friday evening, affecting a range of services yet largely leaving the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) – the target of Democrats’ ire – unaffected because it is already the recipient of lavish federal funding.

Tax exile has already proven himself a terrible club owner; now his ill-informed diatribe about immigration has poured fuel on wider flames

Well I, for one, am shocked. Shocked to learn that a tax-exiled English expat who made his billions squeezing chemical plants doesn’t have liberal, let alone accurate, views on immigration. Or at least, in public anyway.

It seems highly likely Sir Jim Ratcliffe knew what he was doing in the course of his now semi-recanted Sky News interview. And it is above all vital that at least one part of his empire of influence – football, sport, Manchester United – rejects it, as the club have done to some extent in their statement.

⚽ Minute-by-minute updates from the 8pm (GMT) kick-off
⚽ Preview | Live scores | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Sarah

I share the same last name as one of Manchester United’s substitute keepers in Kayla Rendell, no relation though. Do you have a family connection to a footballer or have a similar name and try to pass yourself off as say Sam Kerr’s cousin? Get in touch and let me know by emailing.

A great feature here about the new format:

⚽ Premier League updates from the 8pm (GMT) kick-off
⚽ Tables | Top scorers | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail Scott

3 min: … but then Gabriel inexplicably toe-punts a wild backpass out for a corner. So careless. An early chance for Brentford to cause some of that six-yard-box chaos their manager was talking about before the game.

2 min: Brentford stroke it around a bit. Then Arsenal stroke it around a bit. One of those starts.

• Choi wins snowboard halfpipe title with third run

• American star takes silver behind strong first round

The snowfall coming down on Livigno Snow Park on Thursday night helped produce one of the bigger Olympic upsets in snowboard history, as Chloe Kim’s bid to become the first rider to win three consecutive Olympic halfpipe gold medals fell just short.

Kim finished with a best score of 88.00 from her opening run, settling for silver behind surprise winner Choi Gaon of South Korea, whose heroic third run after an early fall earned 90.25 and rewrote the Olympic record books. Japan’s Mitsuki Ono took bronze with 85.00.

Much-needed supplies but no oil arrive on navy ships as Trump stokes island nation’s economic crisis

As the sun came up on a flat calm Florida Straits, two ships arrived off the port of Havana: the Isla Holbox, a squat logistics ship, followed by the more aggressive looking Papaloapan, whose bow ramp gave the appearance of a large beetle.

The two Mexican navy ships docked on Thursday laden with humanitarian aid as part of Mexico’s efforts to support Cuba amid a deepening crisis exacerbated by Donald Trump’s economic pressure campaign.

There’s fun to be had in Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski’s satisfyingly tech-fearing adventure – but some restraint wouldn’t have gone amiss

Despite directing a phenomenally successful franchise starter (Pirates of the Caribbean), two of its sequels (Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End), a smash-hit horror remake (The Ring), an Oscar-winning animation (Rango), and films starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts (The Mexican) and Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine (The Weather Man), Gore Verbinski never quite broke through as a name the average cinemagoer would instantly recognise. There are some through-lines in his work – a dark sense of humour, an ease with pushing megastars past their limits – but he was mostly there in service of something or someone else, whether it be IP or an A-lister.

After both consumed him in 2013’s loathed flop The Lone Ranger, Verbinski went away and returned three years later with an extravagant “one for me”, the ambitious throwback horror A Cure for Wellness. I ultimately admired what he was trying to do (a gothic, exquisitely crafted original chiller with a real budget) more than what he actually achieved, and with another box-office disappointment under his belt, he disappeared again. A longer wait of almost a decade followed, and now he’s back with an even bigger swing, the sci-fi comedy adventure Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.

Comments on the ‘colonisation of the UK’ by the co-owner of Manchester United were erroneous, crass and a gift to divisive forces in British society

In 2020, the year Sir Jim Ratcliffe moved his huge fortune to Monaco, migrants in the United Kingdom made tax contributions estimated to be worth around £20bn. Sir Jim, by jetting off to a tax haven on the French Riviera, saved himself an estimated £4bn. It took some brass neck for the expat owner of Ineos and co-owner of Manchester United football club to lecture the country, using inflammatory and offensive language, on the perils of immigration.

Where to begin? The statistics used by Sir Jim to back his claim that Britain was being “colonised” by migrants, in an interview with Sky News, were flatly wrong. They were also astonishingly crass, coming from a man who presides over a sporting institution famous for and proud of its global fanbase and international connections.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

A campaign of ethnic cleansing and ‘tectonic’ new legal measures are killing the two-state solution to which other governments pay lip service

Protecting archaeological sites. Preventing water theft. The streamlining of land purchases. If anyone doubted the real purpose of the motley collection of new administrative and enforcement measures for the illegally occupied West Bank, Israel’s defence minister spelt it out: “We will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state,” Israel Katz said in a joint statement with the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

While the world’s attention was fixed upon the annihilation in Gaza, settlers in the West Bank intensified their campaign of ethnic cleansing. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed there since October 2023; a fifth of them were children. Many more have been driven from their homes by relentless harassment and the destruction of infrastructure, with entire Palestinian communities erased across vast swathes of land.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Rollback of government’s ability to limit climate-heating pollution will make families ‘sicker and less safe’, environmental advocate says

• US politics live – latest updates

The Trump administration has revoked the bedrock scientific determination that gives the government the ability to regulate climate-heating pollution. The move was described as a gift to “billionaire polluters” at the expense of Americans’ health.

The endangerment finding, which states that the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endangers public health and welfare, has since 2009 allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit heat-trapping pollution from vehicles, power plants and other industrial sources.

Doubling of fish biomass and rebounding of endangered species shows government measures starting to work, biologists say

The Yangtze River in China, which has been in ecological decline for 70 years, is showing signs of recovery thanks to a sweeping fishing ban.

The ban was made more effective by the implementation of “evolutionary game theory”, which included finding alternative employment for fishers.

Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron’s Olympic competition is set against backdrop of assault and abuse allegations involving their former partners

The American duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the reigning three-time world champions contentiously missed out on Olympic ice dance gold on Wednesday despite a flawless skate. But the controversy surrounding the event is not merely a debate over artistic and technical merits.

Gold went by a narrow margin to the French duo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. It was a stunning achievement for a partnership that is less than a year old. But the union was forged after the fallout from sexual assault allegations levelled at Fournier Beaudry’s boyfriend and former ice dance partner, while Cizeron is the subject of allegations of abusive conduct from his erstwhile skating partner.