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Flying rumour, or ground for concern? The lengths ski jumpers go to for Olympic glory

9 février 2026 à 22:08

After a national scandal involving two athletes, Norwegian fans at these Winter Games don’t enjoy becoming a punchline

Yes, it’s time to talk about the ski jumpers’ penises. Although to be honest the ski jumpers themselves would prefer it if everyone could keep the conversation to their testicles. Figuratively. “This sport,” the former Olympic champion Sven Hannawald once said, “has a lot to do with balls.”

This turns out to be more true than you might imagine, even for a sport that involves flying 100m down a mountain. As the world now knows, being well endowed is a distinct advantage for the simple key reason that when a jumper spreads their legs the crotch of their trousers stretches out into a wing, and the bigger that wing is, the further they’re likely to fly.

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© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Keir Starmer says he is ‘not prepared to walk away’ after call for resignation

PM survives day of high tension after Scots Labour leader Anas Sarwar urges him to step down amid Peter Mandelson row

Keir Starmer has seen off an immediate challenge to his position from Labour’s leader in Scotland, telling his MPs he was “not prepared to walk away” from power and plunge the country into chaos.

But the prime minister emerged badly damaged from a tumultuous 24 hours that brought his premiership to the brink, leaving his party united for now but fearful of what the coming days and weeks will bring.

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© Photograph: Alberto Pezzali/AP

© Photograph: Alberto Pezzali/AP

© Photograph: Alberto Pezzali/AP

Air Canada cancels all flights to Cuba as US oil blockade cuts off fuel access

Airlines from as far away as Russia, China and Spain have also been affected as island nation warns of fuel shortage

Air Canada has cancelled all flights to Cuba after the island’s authorities said they were running out of aviation fuel, as a consequence of the US oil blockade on the Caribbean country.

The airline, one of a dozen who serve the island, said it would begin repatriating 3,000 customers. Cuba’s beaches are a major holiday draw for Canadian tourists in winter, and one of the government’s most important sources of hard currency.

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© Photograph: Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA

© Photograph: Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA

© Photograph: Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA

Jutta Leerdam’s ruthless brilliance leaves speed skating in awe and Jake Paul in tears

The Dutch star, who combines commercial visibility alongside elite results, won gold on Monday in front of a packed arena that included her influencer boyfriend

Jutta Leerdam delivered the defining race of her career on Monday night, roaring to Olympic gold in the women’s 1000m and setting a new Olympic record of 1min 12.31sec to lead a Dutch one-two and deliver the Netherlands’ first medals of the Games.

The 27-year-old finished 0.28sec ahead of compatriot Femke Kok, who had briefly held the Olympic record after clocking 1:12.59 earlier in the final group. Japan’s defending Olympic champion Miho Takagi took bronze in 1:13.95.

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© Photograph: Henk Jan Dijks/MTB-Photo/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Henk Jan Dijks/MTB-Photo/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Henk Jan Dijks/MTB-Photo/Shutterstock

Wuthering Heights review: too hot, too greedy adaptation guarantees bad dreams in the night

9 février 2026 à 21:00

Emerald Fennell’s take on Emily Brontë is an emotionally hollow, bodice-ripping misfire that misuses Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi but makes the most of Martin Clunes

Emerald Fennell cranks up the campery as she reinvents Emily Brontë’s tale of Cathy and Heathcliff on the windswept Yorkshire moor as a 20-page fashion shoot of relentless silliness, with bodices ripped to shreds and a saucy slap of BDSM. Margot Robbie’s Cathy at one stage secretly heads off to the moor for a hilarious bit of self-pleasuring – although, sadly, there are no audaciously intercut scenes of thirst-trap Heathcliff, played by Jacob Elordi, simultaneously doing the same thing in the stable, while muttering gruffly in that Yerrrrrkshire accent of his.

This then is Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, or rather “Wuthering Heights”; the title archly appears in inverted commas, although the postmodern irony seems pointless. Cathy is a primped belle quivering in the presence of Heathcliff, who himself is a moody, long-haired, bearded outsider, as if Scarlett O’Hara were going to melt into the arms of Charles Manson. However, he does get substantially Darcyfied up later on, rocking a shorter and more winsome hairstyle, his gossamer-thin shirt never dry.

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© Photograph: Warner Bros/Everett/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Warner Bros/Everett/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Warner Bros/Everett/Shutterstock

Casemiro proved his doubters wrong. Now Manchester United must try to replace him

9 février 2026 à 21:00

The Brazilian was often exposed by the tactics of Ten Hag and Amorim, but was always adaptable and a replacement will be expensive

“Leave the football before the football leaves you.” The meme-baiting quote from Jamie Carragher hung heavy over Casemiro for a long while, but it is testament to the Brazilian’s character and durability that he will leave Manchester United this year on his own terms, two years after those infamous words from the former Liverpool player.

In fairness to Carragher, context at the time was key. After United were hammered 4-0 by Crystal Palace in May 2024, Casemiro looked spent at the elite level, bypassed too easily in increasingly fast‑tempo matches and left for dead by Erik ten Hag’s high-risk tactics.

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© Photograph: Phil Duncan/Every Second Media/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Phil Duncan/Every Second Media/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Phil Duncan/Every Second Media/Shutterstock

‘A beaver blind date’: animals given freedom to repopulate Cornish rivers

9 février 2026 à 20:00

Release into Helman Tor reserve marks historical first for keystone species hunted to extinction in UK 400 years ago

Shivering and rain-drenched at the side of a pond in Cornwall, a huddle of people watched in hushed silence as a beaver took its first tentative steps into its new habitat. As it dived into the water with a determined “plop” and began swimming laps, the suspense broke and everyone looked around, grinning.

The soggy but momentous occasion marks the first time in English history that beavers have been legally released into a river system, almost one year after the government finally agreed to grant licences for releases.

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© Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

Pakistan agree to play India at T20 Cricket World Cup after scrapping boycott

9 février 2026 à 20:00
  • Match to go ahead in Sri Lanka on Sunday

  • Government made decision after negotiations

Pakistan are poised to fulfil their T20 World Cup fixture against India on Sunday, having previously been instructed by their government to boycott the game in a move that could have cost the sport millions.

The crisis was triggered by Bangladesh withdrawing from the tournament last month – their place handed to Scotland – when a request to play their matches outside India on security grounds was rejected by the International Cricket Council.

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© Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The Guardian view on Morgan McSweeney’s resignation: Sir Keir’s premiership is on the road to nowhere | Editorial

9 février 2026 à 19:55

The departure of the prime minister’s chief of staff signals the demise of the political project which put him in No 10. All bets are off now.

The Labour party spent 14 years in the wilderness, following the general election of 2010. It has taken only 18 months for the political project with which it returned to power to implode. The resignation of Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and the man credited with orchestrating his path to Downing Street, has left the prime minister isolated, rudderless and at the mercy of events he is in no position to control.

Mr McSweeney fell on his sword after taking responsibility for backing the appointment of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador, despite what was known about the peer’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. The hope, clearly, was that his departure will give the prime minister the breathing space to reset yet again. Monday’s call for Sir Keir’s own resignation by Anas Sarwar, Labour’s leader in Scotland, soon dispelled that illusion, although it also provoked a show of loyalty from cabinet colleagues.

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.

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© Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Ryan Jenkinson/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Ryan Jenkinson/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Ryan Jenkinson/Shutterstock

Keir Starmer, you have two choices now – sort your warring party out or call an election | Ed Davey

9 février 2026 à 19:52

The country just can’t afford another three and half years of this dysfunctional soap opera. I say, get a grip or get thrown out

“It’s nice, isn’t it. The quiet.” The now-infamous social media post produced by a Starmer supporters at the start of his time in office is now written only in sarcasm beside yet another terrible news headline. Rayner resigns: “Nice, isn’t it. The quiet”; Mandelson sacked: “Nice, isn’t it. The quiet”; the prime minister loses his chief of staff – you get the picture.

Around the time of that post, we had our glorious first conference in Bournemouth after winning our best election result in a century, and a prominent BBC journalist said to me: “We won’t have to cover the soap opera like before – it’s going to be about policy.” Imagine being the leader of the Liberal Democrats, known for our torrents of policy, and being told this by a BBC journalist; the phrase pig in excrement comes to mind.

Ed Davey is leader of the Liberal Democrats

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.

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© Photograph: Richard Pohle/The Times/PA

© Photograph: Richard Pohle/The Times/PA

© Photograph: Richard Pohle/The Times/PA

Is Britain about to lose another prime minister?

While the herd is yet to move against Keir Starmer, many believe his tenure may be coming to an end

When Boris Johnson resigned as the British prime minister in 2022, he explained that the politicians who had once loyally supported him had turned against him.

This had sealed his fate. “The herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves,” he said.

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© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

Futile resignations and blatant revisionism to the fore as Starmer staggers on | John Crace

9 février 2026 à 19:30

The same cabinet ministers who failed to speak up for the PM in the morning were soon offering their undying support

Not another one. On Sunday it was Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, who took one for the team by resigning over the Peter Mandelson appointment. On Monday, No 10’s head of communications, Tim Allan, did likewise without offering much by way of an explanation.

Presumably it was another effort to delay the inevitable. “We need a futile gesture, chaps.” No matter that most normal people won’t have heard of either of them. Let alone be able to identify them in a police lineup.

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© Photograph: James Manning/PA

© Photograph: James Manning/PA

© Photograph: James Manning/PA

Emma Raducanu retires in Qatar opener after on-court blood pressure test

9 février 2026 à 19:27
  • Briton forced to pull out when 2-0 down in deciding set

  • Qualifier Camila Osorio into Qatar Open second round

Emma Raducanu retired during the third set of her first-round match with the qualifier Camila Osorio at the Qatar Open, having tried to play on after taking a medical timeout.

The British No 1 was looking to move swiftly on from the disappointment of losing in straight sets on Saturday against the home ­favourite Sorana Cirstea in the ­Transylvania Open final, a match she described as “very difficult emotionally and physically”.

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© Photograph: Robert Prange/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robert Prange/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robert Prange/Getty Images

Streeting wrote off his re-election chances in WhatsApp exchanges with Mandelson

9 février 2026 à 19:15

Health secretary publishes messages as he seeks to draw line under his relationship with former peer

Wes Streeting predicted he would be “toast” at the next general election, according to private WhatsApp messages exchanged with Peter Mandelson and published by the health secretary in an effort to draw a line under his relationship with the disgraced peer.

In the messages, Streeting said the government lacked a growth strategy and questioned No 10’s communications operation – remarks that appeared to form part of an effort to position himself for a potential leadership contest.

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© Photograph: James Manning/PA

© Photograph: James Manning/PA

© Photograph: James Manning/PA

Twickenham crackdown with 24 fines for ‘public urination’ after England v Wales

9 février 2026 à 22:01
  • RFU trying to tackle antisocial behaviour after games

  • Borthwick to keep changes to minimum against Scots

Unruly spectators at Twickenham felt the force of a crackdown on antisocial behaviour at the match between England and Wales last Saturday, with Richmond council issuing 24 fixed-penalty notices for public urination, the Guardian can reveal.

The Rugby Football Union is trying to persuade local residents to ditch their opposition to proposals to increase the number of concerts held every year from three to 15. Much of the opposition centres around antisocial behaviour experienced during England matches and, as revealed by the Guardian, the RFU hosted a drop-in event for residents in an effort to convince them that their concerns were being taken seriously.

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© Photograph: Bob Bradford/CameraSport/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bob Bradford/CameraSport/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bob Bradford/CameraSport/Getty Images

Files cast light on Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to cryptocurrency

9 février 2026 à 15:00

Newly released documents detail convicted sex offender’s early backing of bitcoin and Coinbase

Millions of files related to Jeffrey Epstein have brought to light his ties to the highest echelons of the cryptocurrency industry.

Documents published last week by the US Department of Justice reveal Epstein bankrolled the “principal home and funding source” for bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, during its nascent stages; he also invested $3m in Coinbase in 2014, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, and cut a check that same year to Blockstream, a prominent bitcoin-focused technology firm. Both crypto startups accepted Epstein’s investments in 2014 – six years after his 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

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© Photograph: US Justice Department/Reuters

© Photograph: US Justice Department/Reuters

© Photograph: US Justice Department/Reuters

Russian military scrambles to find Starlink alternative after access blocked

9 février 2026 à 13:39

Elon Musk’s SpaceX curbs illicit use of satellite internet network, which Ukraine says is already affecting operations

Russia’s military is scrambling to find alternatives to Starlink satellite internet after access to the network was curtailed, disrupting a key communications system that its forces had been using illicitly on the battlefield.

Ukraine said last week that Starlink terminals being used by Russian troops had been deactivated after talks between its defence minister and Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX operates the satellite network.

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© Photograph: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

France’s letters to 29-year-olds to remind them to have babies is a spectacular missing of the point | Zoe Williams

9 février 2026 à 19:12

A serious plan to tackle low birthrates could include addressing the fact that if people could afford to house themselves, they might be quicker to settle down

I almost never wonder how I’d feel if I were a 29-year-old French woman. I fear the question would lead to dissatisfactions too profound (would I be eating oysters right now? Would my socks be cashmere? Would I know what existentialism meant – no, I mean really know?). This morning, however, I did stop and give it some serious thought: specifically, how would I feel if my government wrote to me, reminding me to have children? To get that letter from childless Macron would be like getting told off about your BMI by a nurse whose BMI is definitely the same as yours, if not greater: on the one hand, it’s none of your business who has kids or what anyone’s BMI is. But on the other, how about we just all keep out of each other’s business? Luckily the letter is going to be sent out by the health ministry, and say what you like about ministries, you can’t criticise their lifestyle choices.

Before you get your panties in a twist, feminists, this letter will be sent to both men and women of the 29-year-old variety, and the government underscored that “fertility is a shared responsibility between women and men” – a statement that is both true and woke (yup, I’m reclaiming “woke” to mean “things I approve”).

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.

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© Photograph: andresr/Getty Images

© Photograph: andresr/Getty Images

© Photograph: andresr/Getty Images

Jimmy Lai: will Hong Kong media tycoon die in jail? | The Latest

The media mogul and prominent pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong for national security offences. His family has described the sentence as ‘heartbreakingly cruel’, given the 78-year-old’s declining health. Lai was convicted in December on charges of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, after pleading not guilty to all charges.

Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins.

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© Photograph: The Guardian

© Photograph: The Guardian

© Photograph: The Guardian

Irish man with valid US work permit held in ICE detention for five months

9 février 2026 à 18:04

Seamus Culleton has lived in US for two decades, married a citizen and runs a plastering business but faces deportation

An Irish man has spent five months in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and faces deportation despite having a valid work permit and no criminal record.

Seamus Culleton was a “model immigrant” who had become the victim of a capricious and inept system, said his lawyer, Ogor Winnie Okoye.

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© Photograph: Irish Times

© Photograph: Irish Times

© Photograph: Irish Times

Savannah Guthrie pleads for public’s help as search for her missing mother continues

9 février 2026 à 22:22

Investigation in apparent abduction enters second week as deadline for purported ransom note demanding $6m looms

Television host Savannah Guthrie issued a desperate plea for anyone who might know anything about her missing mother to contact law enforcement on Monday, as the search for Nancy Guthrie entered its second full week.

“We need your help,” said Savannah Guthrie, eight days after her mother was first reported missing. Investigators returned to search Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home this weekend. They appear no closer to finding her, or identifying an alleged abductor.

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© Photograph: @savannahguthrie via Instagram

© Photograph: @savannahguthrie via Instagram

© Photograph: @savannahguthrie via Instagram

Goat review – noisy, lightning-speed basketball animation does it for the kids

9 février 2026 à 18:00

A diminutive young buck aspires to compete with rhinos and horses in ‘roarball’, but this by-numbers tale is not the greatest of any time

Greatest of all time? No. Possibly not even the greatest of half-term. This loud, chaotic and unlovable animated kids’ comedy feels as though it is bordering on AI slop, algorithmically generated and instantly familiar from Zootropolis, Sing and other movies with talking animals. It is a shame, because it has a real-life inspiration: basketball star Stephen Curry, who was repeatedly told at the start of his career that he was too skinny and too small to make it as a pro. Curry is a producer here, and has a performing role. But in spite of this connection, Goat lacks heart and soul, and a sense of genuine emotions.

What it does have is some pretty decent voice acing, bringing a degree of charm to the movie. Will Harris (voiced by Caleb McLaughlin) is a goat who has grown up dreaming of playing professional “roarball”, a fiercer and faster version of basketball. But Will is a “small” and roar players are all “bigs” – powerful beasts such as rhinos and horses. Will’s hero and the star of his favourite team, the Thorns, is a panther called Jet (Gabrielle Union), a champ close to retirement but determined to win the league. When Will gets a shot at joining the Thorns, he is laughed at, underrated but undeterred.

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© Photograph: Sony Pictures Animation/Sony Pictures Animation undefined

© Photograph: Sony Pictures Animation/Sony Pictures Animation undefined

© Photograph: Sony Pictures Animation/Sony Pictures Animation undefined

‘Made me feel proudly American’: stars react to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show

9 février 2026 à 17:48

While Trump has attacked the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican star, celebrities have come out in force to support the half-time show

As blue, red and white fireworks filled the sky at the end of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show, a message filled the screen in all capitals: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

It was the enduring statement from a 13-minute spectacle that invited an estimated 135.4 million viewers into Bad Bunny’s world, with richly textured references to politics, history and Puerto Rican culture. The artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio transformed the pitch of the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, into his own love letter to the island, with cinematic set pieces including sugarcane fields, a house party, and a lively wedding ceremony featuring a surprise performance by Lady Gaga.

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© Photograph: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

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