“We are ... counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.”
Thomas Tuchel has said he would rather England lose their final World Cup qualifier to Albania than any of his players risk picking up a red card that would rule them out of the start of next summer’s tournament.
The head coach has taken note of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo possibly facing a two-game ban at the World Cup after his dismissal against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday and will remind his side about the importance of discipline at the Air Albania Arena on Sunday night. Tuchel does not want any needless slips from England, who have already won their qualifying group, and will even tell his players to think twice before fouling an opponent who is through on goal.
In a culture of therapy-approved ‘forgiveness’, the author’s new memoir shows how hilarious long-delayed vengeance can be
“A lot of people have died, so I can actually say these things without destroying somebody’s life. Except for the people whose lives I wish to destroy.” Thus spake Margaret Atwood in a recent interview about Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts, in a clip that has gone viral. “They deserve it,” she says, of the people she hasn’t said such nice things about. Asked if she likes holding a grudge, she replied: “I don’t have a choice. I’m a Scorpio.”
Part of the clip’s appeal is Atwood’s icily sardonic delivery: you can understand why a recent review of her autobiography describes her as “a literary mafia don”, reminding those who have crossed her that she knows who they are, even if they remain unnamed, or pointing out that they may well be dead by now anyway. It reminds me a bit of the writer who once said to me: “If you wait by the bend in the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will eventually float past”. Not a Buddhist proverb, for obvious reasons.
Resignations, suspensions and infighting lead to party losing crown of highest number of seats in the county
“I know whenever I come back here next,” Nigel Farage told a jubilant crowd of hundreds in a leisure centre in Redruth, “Reform UK will become a dominant force, not just in Cornwall politics, but in British politics.”
That was in February and when the local elections arrived three months later it appeared Farage’s prophecy was in part coming true – Reform took 28 seats on Cornwall council, the highest number of any party.
The actor moved to LA 22 years ago. Now she’s back in the UK to star alongside Bryan Cranston in All My Sons. She talks about the frightening rehearsal schedule, how she’d work again with Mike Leigh in a heartbeat, and why she’s taking up boot-making
Marianne Jean-Baptiste arrives at the rehearsal space in Southwark, south London, and immediately announces that she’s exhausted. It wouldn’t be surprising if nerves were getting the better of her; she’s seven days into a three-week rehearsal period for a new production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, which is brutally short by anyone’s standards. Peeling off unnecessary layers of clothes – it’s not a cold morning – she says jet lag has been messing with her circadian rhythms since she flew in from Los Angeles 10 days ago. “I woke up at 3.17am and was like: fucking hell, it’s early. I lay there for a while, running lines from the play in my head. Then I thought: ‘Just get up and marinate the chicken.’ I made some ginger and lemon tea and finally went back to bed at 5.30am – better to rest and meditate even if I couldn’t sleep.” She was just dropping off when the alarm went off at 7am.
These days it takes a lot to lure Jean-Baptiste away from her home in Los Angeles, where she has lived with her husband and two daughters full-time since 2003. She loves coming back to her native London to see family and friends, but LA has a slower pace, optimism, a vast ocean – and, for a long time, it offered better opportunities to work. Her breakthrough role as the optometrist in search of her birth mother in the 1996 Mike Leigh film Secrets & Lies brought a Golden Globe nomination and she became the first Black British woman to be nominated for an Academy Award. She memorably played Doreen Lawrence in the 1999 TV movie The Murder of Stephen Lawrence, but then – nothing much. Most offers of work came from the US.
Flood warnings still in place in England and Wales, as plunging temperatures forecast with possible snow and ice
Emergency services are continuing to deal with severe flooding caused by Storm Claudia.
A major incident was declared in Monmouth, south-east Wales, where people were rescued or evacuated from homes that were flooded during torrential rain on Friday.
CRC mission will seek to deepen public understanding of Britain’s colonial legacy and its lasting impact
A delegation from the body leading the Caribbean’s slavery reparations movement will be in the UK next week for a “historic” first official visit to advocate for former British colonies.
The Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC) will be meeting with UK parliamentarians, Caribbean diplomats, academics and civil society groups from 17 to 20 November.
Prince Buster’s Al Capone changed the Madness singer’s life and Aretha Franklin is his go-to at karaoke, but what song makes him cry?
The first song I fell in love with
Judy Teen by Cockney Rebel. I’d seen Steve Harley on Top of the Pops and liked his look, with the mascara and bowler hat, like Alex from A Clockwork Orange. One day, me and my mates decided to cycle to Salisbury Plain. I had a transistor radio tied to the handlebars and Judy Teen came on. Unfortunately, the batteries ran out when we got to Swiss Cottage [in north London] … and my legs ran out at the same time!
The first single I bought
The Wall Street Shuffle by 10cc, from Woolworths in Camden Town. Later on, we used to pinch records, but I paid my dues for a while.
The Spain Under-21 centre-back on his club’s ‘crazy’ defensive numbers, his dual identity and his love of multicultural London
“Jesus Christ! All I want to do is get you in a straight bloody line. What do I have to do?” Gerald asks. So Horse says: “It’s the Arsenal offside trap, isn’t it?” Lomper here becomes Tony Adams, and Cristhian Mosquera starts to laugh.
The Spain Under-21 international is sitting at a table in the team hotel in Lugo, Galicia. Through the window, the sound of rain falling; in front of him, the famous scene from The Full Monty, cinematic representation of a defence so perfect, so instantly identifiable it became part of popular culture; a backline never to be bettered. Until now?
Steve Borthwick has engineered his team to get stronger in the last quarter and the All Blacks could not cope with this monstrous lot
There’s the England they sell you in the glossy magazines and then there’s the England you find on days like this one at Twickenham. Cold, grey, hostile, the days when anyone lucky enough to have the choice takes one look out the window and realises time is going to be best spent indoors.
The All Blacks did not have that luxury. Their head coach, Scott Robertson, spoke in the week about the work he had done to prepare his players. “We’re looking forward to it,” he said. Perhaps he really believed it. But so long as England are playing like this, it will be a long time till any team takes any pleasure in the prospect of a day out here.
Conor Benn, who has been through notoriety, shame and a chastening defeat, finally gained a large measure of sweet relief when he totally outclassed and beat up his diminished old rival Chris Eubank Jr over 12 one-sided rounds on Saturday night. Benn came close to sealing the knockout he craved in the last minute of the fight when he twice dropped Eubank Jr heavily.
A shuddering combination from Benn had an initially delayed reaction but the right hand that smashed into the side of Eubank Jr’s head finally sent him toppling to the canvas. He rose to his feet but was soon down again as Benn threw punch after punch at his wilting and shrunken frame. Eubank Jr staggered to his feet just before the referee completed his count. The fight would surely have been waved over – but the last bell echoed above the bedlam.
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