⚽ Premier League updates from the 5.30pm GMT kick-off
⚽ Live scores | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail Dominic

The players are out and we’re almost ready to go. Chris Paraskevas emails in, presumably from Australia/somewhere far away where it’s currently very early in the morning:

This might seem a little pessimistic but at the end of the day, anyone forced to wake up for Kieran Trippier’s ‘set pieces’ (loose definition) at 4:30 in the morning isn’t/couldn’t possibly be concerned with staying positive.

• India, 161-9, bt USA, 132-8, by 29 runs

• Suryakumar’s 84 from 49 balls proves the difference

There was, in the end, no shock – but there was not a lot of awe either. India’s form over the last two years has made them the most feared side in world cricket but for a while as they got their World Cup campaign under way the only dread was being experienced by their own fans as the USA threatened a humiliating upset. But for some missed chances, a hugely unfortunate injury and the brilliance of Suryakumar Yadav it might well have happened.

But as it was Suryakumar’s late acceleration took him to 84 off 49 and his team to 161 for nine, the USA reply started with three early wickets – the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, ruled out by illness, doing little to dull India’s cutting edge – and the margin in the end was 29.

Clive Foster says action needed now to deliver justice to UK residents who had been wrongly classified as illegal immigrants

The Windrush commissioner has warned of a “hurry for justice” as more victims of the scandal die without redress, while stakeholders call for a public inquiry and legislative changes amid fears that a Reform government could stall progress toward justice.

Speaking on the sidelines of a people’s inquiry symposium for those affected by the Windrush scandal, Rev Clive Foster said action was needed “now” to deliver justice for those British residents whose lives were upended after being wrongly classified as illegal immigrants.

• 18-year-old’s strike helps Barça to 3-0 win over Mallorca

• Lens return to top of Ligue 1 after win over Rennes

Barcelona outclassed Mallorca 3-0 at home on Saturday to increase their lead at the top of the LaLiga standings.

Hansi Flick’s side controlled possession from the start and Marcus Rashford fired narrowly wide before playing a key role in the opener, as Dani Olmo headed his blocked effort into the path of Robert Lewandowski, who finished calmly in the 29th minute.

It would be easy to paint this as a Cole Palmer masterclass, the Chelsea midfielder completing his hat-trick inside the opening 38 minutes, but it is fair to say by the time he was substituted on the hour, his work was done. At that point it was 3-1 to the visitors, Wolves pulling a goal back early in the second half when Tolu Arokodare spun in the box to convert at a corner.

From there, if not earlier, it was hard not to feel as though Chelsea were going through the motions. Palmer’s trio of cool finishes, two from the penalty spot, earned victory and his third, capping a slick team move, was surely the most pleasing for Liam Rosenior. Rosenior’s record as Chelsea head coach now reads seven wins in nine matches and four successive victories in the Premier League.

There are times when the best thing for a side is an uneventful win. Titles are won less in the big set-piece games than against mid-table teams in the easily forgotten circumstances of a Saturday afternoon. Arsenal weren’t brilliant against Sunderland, but they were good enough to win comfortably, and that increases their lead at the top of the table to nine points, adding a degree of extra pressure to Manchester City’s Sunday visit to Liverpool.

“They’re really tough opponents, really good at what they do,” said Mikel Arteta. “It’s very difficult to get sequences with threat and momentum, so I’m delighted with the performance.”

Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism

The global publishing platform Substack is generating revenue from newsletters that promote virulent Nazi ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism, a Guardian investigation has found.

The platform, which says it has about 50 million users worldwide, allows members of the public to self-publish articles and charge for premium content. Substack takes about 10% of the revenue the newsletters make. About 5 million people pay for access to newsletters on its platform.

• Former QB initially said he had no ‘dog in the fight’

• Comments had angered fans and former teammates

As the New England Patriots prepare for Sunday’s Super Bowl, Tom Brady has decided he is backing his former team after all.

Brady, who won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, came under heavy criticism this week after saying he won’t have a “dog in the fight … may the best team win” when New England take on the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday.

• Head coach says defender apologised to he and his team

• ‘There is not any regret in making him captain’

Thomas Frank will not consider stripping Cristian Romero of the Tottenham captaincy despite the defender invoking a four-game ban after he was sent off in the 2–0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday. It was Romero’s second red card in 10 matches following his two yellows in the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool on 20 December and the ban is his fourth this season.

Romero’s off-field conduct has also been a source of concern for the Spurs manager. Following last Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City, Romero described the depth of Spurs’ squad as “disgraceful”. The outburst on social media called into question his status as captain after the Argentinian was critical of the club’s ownership following the 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth in early January. “They only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies,” Romero posted on social media, but later deleted the reference to lies.

• Italy 18-15 Scotland

• Azzurri resist fightback in appalling conditions

They say the Six Nations is all about momentum and Scotland, again, find themselves sliding rapidly downhill. Passion and effort are guaranteed from any Italy team, but they were clinical and defended magnificently in Rome. Gonzalo Quesada’s side ruthlessly capitalised on Scotland’s often rank inaccuracy and this richly deserved win – a second in three years against Scotland – sets them up beautifully for the tournament.

The fly-half Paolo Garbisi played the appallingly wet conditions superbly to celebrate his 50th Test, testing the visitors’ defence with spiralling contestable kicks and striking the ball sweetly off the tee. The centres Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex, also marking his 50th cap, were sensational again while the energy and skill of the wing Louis Lynagh significantly softened the blow of Ange Capuozzo’s injury absence.

• Six Nations updates from the 4.40pm GMT kick-off

• France 36-14 Ireland | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail Sarah

Are we about to watch the tournament winners? And no I’m not talking about Wales. There are a lot of whispers about England being the favourites to list the silverware but what do you think? Get in touch and let me know. As always do let me know what snacks you are digging into.

Here is Ugo Monye’s column on today’s game:

• Show director hails singer’s ‘extraordinary’ performance

• IOC plays down booing of US vice president JD Vance

The organisers of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony have refused to deny speculation that the US pop diva Mariah Carey lip-synced her part in the show. Carey took to the stage to sing Domenico Modugno’s Nel Blu, dipinto di Blu in Italian, followed by one of her own songs, Nothing Is Impossible, but many social media users quickly claimed that there were several times where her lip movements were out of time with the music.

When asked directly whether Carey was lip-synching, the director of the show, Maria Laura Iascone, confirmed that there had been a pre-recording – but refused to say whether it had been used or the American had sung live.

Liam Byrne is echoing Robin Cook’s ethical trade policy, warning the UK needs deals more open to scrutiny to prevent future issues

Trade can be a dirty business. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was tolerated as a “special representative for trade and investment” in the noughties despite allegations that he kept convicted gun smugglers for friends, while Peter Mandelson’s ability to schmooze the rich and famous repeatedly overruled concerns about his probity.

To close a deal, there are always compromises to be made, and sometimes the terms are unsavoury.

New Anthropic campaign suggests other AI platforms will incorporate targeted ads in their chatbot conversations

The Seahawks and the Patriots aren’t the only ones gearing up for a fight.

AI rivals Anthropic and OpenAI have launched a war of ads trying to court corporate America during one of the biggest entertainment nights of the year.

Irish politicians condemn use of Shannon airport by private jet en route to Israel, owned by Trump donor Gil Dezer

• Revealed: Private jet owned by Trump friend used by ICE to deport Palestinians to West Bank

Politicians in Ireland have said the use of an airport in County Clare by planes deporting Palestinians from the US to Israel is “reprehensible”.

A private jet owned by the Donald Trump donor Gil Dezer was chartered by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for two separate flights that took detainees to Israel, a Guardian investigation revealed this week.

Proceedings briefly halted after audio from The Rest Is History broadcast over the courtroom speakers

As the highest court in the UK, the supreme court is usually the forum for proceedings of the utmost gravity. But last week, one hearing was momentarily interrupted by an unlikely and comic intervention.

As one legal professional addressed the bench, the voice of Tom Holland, host of the popular podcast The Rest is History, boomed out through the court’s microphone system, delivering a satirical impersonation of the late US president Jimmy Carter.

We take a look at the best images from the opening day of the Games, including curling, downhill skiing, and ice hockey

Immigration operations are still stoking fear and disrupting the ability to go to work, school or doctor’s appointments

With the public’s outrage and attention focused on the deadly surge of federal agents in Minneapolis, immigration operations have quietly continued across the US – albeit in less noticeable but still troubling ways, advocates say.

In recent weeks there have been day laborers swept up at a Home Depot in San Diego. A taco truck vendor chased down outside a church in Los Angeles. Immigrants arrested at check-in in North Carolina, and during traffic stops in the nation’s capital.

Americans are expected to devour nearly 280m pounds of avocados during Super Bowl weekend. Are they actually healthy?

Most American adults today didn’t grow up with avocados, but we’ve certainly developed a hearty appetite for them. In 1990, the United States imported 38m pounds of avocados; by 2023, that number was 2,789m, mostly from Mexico.

On average, each of us eats about 20 avocados, or 9lbs of the fruit, a year – a sixfold increase from 1998. Super Bowl guacamole alone fuels a staggering demand for the fruit; in the lead-up to this Sunday’s game, Americans are expected to devour nearly 280m pounds of avocados, a historical record.

As Emerald Fennell’s adaptation hits cinemas, a slew of visitors are expected at the sites that inspired Emily Brontë’s novel. People living close by, however, are taking it in their stride

The four-mile trail from the village of Haworth to Top Withens in West Yorkshire is well trodden; numerous footprints squelched into the boggy ground by those seeking the view said to have inspired the setting for Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel Wuthering Heights. The landscape rolls in desolate waves of brown bracken. A lone tree punctuates the scene. It’s bleakly, hauntingly beautiful.

With the release of Emerald Fennell’s new film of the Gothic masterpiece starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi next week, Haworth and many of the filming locations in the Yorkshire Dales national park, where the book is set, are braced for a slew of visitors.

• Derby captain Travis scores own goal and sees red

• Southampton extend Watford’s woeful run

Leif Davis’s superb late header gave Ipswich a 2-1 victory at Derby to strengthen their promotion challenge. The visitors took the lead in the eighth minute when the Derby captain, Lewis Travis, headed a corner into his own net but Derby hit back in the second half and drew level through Rhian Brewster’s penalty.

But Davis had the final word and the home side ended the match with 10 men after Travis’s miserable afternoon ended with him sent off in added time for a second yellow card.

After first dismissing uproar over depiction of Obamas as apes, White House then said it was erroneously posted by staffer

Donald Trump said on Friday he made the call to post a now-deleted video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes but deflected blame for the move, causing new speculation in his orbit about whether the blame lay with the president or his aide Natalie Harp.

The brief clip, shared late Thursday night on Trump’s Truth Social account, appeared in a video pushing conspiracies about the 2020 election. Invoking racist tropes, the video depicted the Obamas’ faces superimposed on the bodies of cartoon apes dancing to The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

Michael Carrick’s Manchester United revival has a fourth consecutive league win, while Thomas Frank’s Tottenham sink further, with still no victory in the competition in 2026. Bruno Fernandes’s 81st-minute strike was a feathered touch off a shin – from Diogo Dalot’s cross – that beat Guglielmo Vicario to the left of the Spurs goalkeeper, and confirmed a miserable day for Frank.

“He is our captain and one of our important players,” the Dane had said after retaining Cristian Romero as captain despite the defender’s “disgraceful” outburst regarding there being only 11 outfield players available for last Sunday’s draw with Manchester City.

Ukrainian president says Trump administration has proposed to host next round of trilateral talks in US

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the US has given Ukraine and Russia yet another deadline to reach a peace settlement, and is now proposing the war should end by June. The Ukrainian president also told reporters that both sides had been invited to further talks next week.

Zelenskyy said the Trump administration “will probably put pressure” on Ukraine and Russia to end the war by the beginning of the summer. “They say they want to get everything done by June,” he said. “They will do everything to end the war and they want a clear schedule of all events.”