In his weekly newsletter, Jonathan Wilson takes a look at Thomas Frank’s fragile tenure at Tottenham.
Remember Sergio Reguilón? The former United loanee has signed for Inter Miami, more than six months after leaving Spurs at the end of his contract. The left-back will wear No 3 and is replacing Jordi Alba, who announced his retirement today.
Maduro regime accuses Caribbean nation of participating in ‘theft of Venezuelan oil’ as tensions mount in region
Venezuela has accused the government of Trinidad and Tobago of taking part in the US seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast last week, as Donald Trump’s four-month pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro continues to reverberate across the region.
In a statement on Monday, the Maduro regime accused Trinidad and Tobago of participating in “the theft of Venezuelan oil, committed by the US administration on 10 December with the assault on a vessel transporting this strategic Venezuelan product”.
Sunday’s events in Bondi have stunned Australia and the watching world before a third Test that could be a decisive one for this England team’s legacy
Adelaide may be 1,300km to the west of Bondi but the sense of pain in the city has been no less for the distance. People are in shock here trying to make sense of the horrors that unfolded on Sunday evening – a day that was supposed to be one of celebration for Sydney’s Jewish community.
As the first national public event being staged in Australia since, the third Ashes Test that starts here on Wednesday will play out to a sombre backdrop. The flags at Adelaide Oval will fly at half-mast, a minute’s silence will be observed before the toss, while players are likely to wear black armbands throughout. Inevitably, security for the match has been increased.
It will doubtless be an emotional week for Australia’s players and not least given the number of links to New South Wales within their squad. Nathan Lyon summed up the helplessness many were feeling on Monday, offering thoughts and prayers to those affected before admitting: “Nothing I’m going to say right now is going to make anyone feel any better.”
Pledge to invest billions in UK paused, with Washington citing lack of progress on trade barriers across pond
The US has paused its promised multi-billion-pound investment into British tech over trade disagreements, marking a serious setback in US-UK relations.
The £31bn “tech prosperity deal”, hailed by Keir Starmer as “a generational stepchange in our relationship with the US” when it was announced during Donald Trump’s state visit, has been put on ice by Washington.
Guan Heng, who filmed at sites in China of alleged rights violations against Muslim group, detained by ICE in August
A Chinese man who left his country after filming at sites of alleged human rights violations against Uyghurs now faces the risk of removal from the United States, according to his lawyer and mother.
Guan Heng, 38, underwent an immigration hearing in New York on Monday after being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in August, his mother said in an interview.
From the US to Hungary to Argentina, rightwing leaders are praising José Antonio Kast’s win in Chile’s presidential race
José Antonio Kast’s victory in Chile’s presidential election has been widely praised by leaders of the global right, with congratulations coming from the US secretary of state Marco Rubio, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Argentina’s Javier Milei and X’s Elon Musk.
The son of a Nazi party member, a father of nine and a staunch Catholic known for opposing abortion and same-sex marriage, Kast won 58.16% of the vote in the runoff – more than 2m votes than the leftist Jeannette Jara, a former labour minister under the current president, Gabriel Boric.
Our investigation of the Free Birth Society points to problems with maternity care and the role played by technology
Despite all the proven advances of modern medicine, some people are drawn to alternative or “natural” cures and practices. Many of these do no harm. As the cancer specialist Prof Chris Pyke noted last year, people undergoing cancer treatment will often try meditation or vitamins as well. When such a change is in addition to, and not instead of, evidence-based treatment, this is usually not a problem. If it reduces distress, it can help.
But the proliferation of online health influencers poses challenges that governments and regulators in many countries have yet to grasp. The Guardian’s investigation into the Free Birth Society (FBS), a business offering membership and advice to expectant mothers, and training for “birth keepers”, has exposed 48 cases of late-term stillbirths or other serious harm involving mothers or birth attendants who appear to be linked to FBS. While the company is based in North Carolina, its reach is international. In the UK, the NHS only recently removed a webpage linking to a charity “factsheet” that recommended FBS materials.
As EU countries face multiple challenges in a new era, they must fight to preserve the continent’s social model. That means a new economic approach
More than a year after the election that handed Donald Trump a decisive comeback victory, the Democratic party has still not released its postmortem analysis. But last week, an influential progressive lobby group published its own. Kamala Harris’s campaign, its authors argued, failed to connect with core constituencies because it did not focus enough on addressing basic economic anxieties. By prioritising the menace to democracy that Maga authoritarianism represented, progressives neglected the bread-and-butter issues that were uppermost in many people’s minds.
As the EU braces for a tumultuous period of politics between now and the end of the decade, that is a lesson that needs to be fully absorbed in Brussels, Paris and Berlin. The White House, as its recently published national security strategy makes clear, is hopeful that “patriotic” parties in Europe will soon replicate Mr Trump’s success. In the EU’s Franco-German engine room, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) and Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) lead the polls, backed by large swaths of blue-collar voters. But among mainstream leaders and parties, it is hard to discern a response that is adequate to troubling times.
Football is often lauded for its capacity to bring people together but in Nice, it has also laid bare its capacity to tear a city apart.
It’s a Sunday night, and the Nice players and staff have just landed back in the Côte d’Azur after another defeat, their sixth in succession in all competitions. It wasn’t just the loss but the manner of it, and who it came against. “We lost at Lorient, a team that should be relegated. We’re rubbish, we know it,” said a visibly-emotional Sofiane Diop as the midfielder pleaded with the travelling fans after the 3-1 defeat on 30 November.
Hilda Ramirez Sanan and her two US citizen children were ‘illegally and forcefully detained’, the lawsuit alleges
A US immigrant with legal status and her two American children have filed a lawsuit against ICE, after they were hospitalized following a “violent” and “unlawful” detention in Massachusetts.
Hilda Ramirez Sanan, a green card holder who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, and her two US citizen children were “illegally and forcefully detained”, the lawsuit alleges.
Bus and train initiative comes as government struggles to survive corruption and sexual harassment allegations
Spain’s socialist-led government is to launch a national public transport pass that will allow people to travel anywhere in the country by bus or train for a flat monthly fee of €60 (£52.70).
The prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, unveiled the initiative on Monday, saying it would come into effect in the second half of January and was intended “to change the way Spaniards understand and use public transport for ever”.
Italian prime minister’s charity sale may also feature presents from Narendra Modi, Viktor Orbán and Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Passing on unwanted presents might be considered a little discourteous – unless it’s done the right way.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, will offload 270 gifts given to her by world leaders during her travels abroad, which could include a chainsaw-wielding statuette of Javier Milei, the Argentinian president, or a pair of blue python skin shoes with gold heels, in a charity auction.
Glaciers in the European Alps are likely to reach their peak rate of extinction in only eight years, according to a study, with more than 100 due to melt away permanently by 2033. Glaciers in the western US and Canada are forecast to reach their peak year of loss less than a decade later, with more than 800 disappearing each year by then.
The melting of glaciers driven by human-caused global heating is one of the clearest signs of the climate crisis. Communities around the world have already held funeral ceremonies for lost glaciers, and a Global Glacier Casualty List records the names and histories of those that have vanished.
Representative says her son was let go once he showed ID as Trump ramps up operation targeting Somali population in Minneapolis
Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar told a Minneapolis broadcaster that her son had been stopped over the weekend by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, after Donald Trump ordered an operation targeting the Minnesota city’s Somali population.
“Yesterday, after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by [ICE] agents, and once he was able to produce his passport ID, they did let him go,” Omar said on Sunday in an interview with WCCO.
Australia is in mourning after gunmen opened fire on Bondi beach on Sunday, killing at least 15 people in an attack on the Jewish community during its Hanukah celebrations. One of the alleged gunmen was also killed during the incident
In at least half a dozen states, librarians have joined forces with civil rights groups to oppose book bans, often facing personal and professional repercussions
For decades, libraries served as a safe haven for many queer and marginalized youths in eastern Texas, says former county library director Rhea Young. Unlike the school cafeteria, the library was a space where they could explore and find acceptance in who they wanted to be.
“There were books where they can find characters like them, and realize it’s okay to be who they are,” Young said. “There needs to be more places like that, not fewer.”
US president fiercely criticized for claiming Hollywood director was killed due to his having ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer also paid tribute in a post on X, not only to Reiner’s work in film but also to his being “a relentless defender of democracy and the values so many of us share”.
Horrific news today out of California of the tragic death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele. Not only was Rob an incredibly talented actor & director, he was also a relentless defender of democracyand the values so many of us share. He will be missed dearly. My prayers this morning are with the Reiner family and all those who loved his movies and what he and Michele stood for.
He was one of the most talented movie-makers to have ever lived. From Spinal Tap to When Harry Met Sally, from A Few Good Men to my favorite movie of all time, The Princess Bride. We are weeping the loss of a comedic and story-telling master. His movies touched us, deeply, and spoke to our fundamental humanity. Rob Reiner was one of a kind, and he will be missed.
The tragic circumstances of his murder make it all the more horrible. Heidi & I are praying for his family. Rest in Peace.
Nick Reiner has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the deaths of his parents, the renowned actor-director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, according to the Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell.
Nick Reiner, 32, was taken into custody on Sunday night, and his bail was set at $4m, jail records show.
Menzies apologises saying ‘it was the wrong thing to do’
Cameron Menzies saw red and punched the table in frustration following his 3-2 defeat by Charlie Manby in the first round of the World Darts Championship.
Scot Menzies led twice in the game as he took the opening set before going 2-1 up, but the 20-year-old from Huddersfield fought back to take it into a deciding set before he finally pinned double four, after both players missed several darts at double.
Australia’s prime minister has rejected accusations from his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state earlier this year had contributed to Sunday’s deadly antisemitic terrorist attack on Bondi beach in Sydney.
In an interview with national broadcasters, Anthony Albanese was asked if he accepted “any link between that recognition and the massacre in Bondi”.
Arguably the poster-boy for Bazball, England’s vice-captain is in dire need of an innings of substance in Adelaide
“They were shocking shots. I’ll admit that every day of the week. Especially the one in Perth. It was nearly a bouncer and I’ve tried to drive it. It was just bad batting. The one in Brisbane I’ve tried to hit it for six. That’s what I mean when I say I need to rein it in a bit.”
Oh yes, Harry. This is real transgression. Inject that mild good sense into my throbbing veins. Trash talk binned. Mind games deactivated. Tell me about reining it in again. Shock me with your filthy, filthy conservatism. Talk sensible to me baby.
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