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France triumph in topsy-turvy match to leave Australia winless on autumn tour

  • France 48-33 Australia

  • Les Bleus run in seven tries to end autumn series in style

France beat Australia in a see-saw match to end the Wallabies’ first winless tour of Europe in 67 years, spoiling Joe Schmidt’s farewell Test as both teams closed their autumn series at the Stade de France on Saturday.

Les Bleus, whose November campaign produced mixed results, alternated moments of attacking flair and periods of costly indiscipline, repeatedly allowing Australia back into a match that fluctuated throughout.

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© Photograph: Christophe Ena/AP

© Photograph: Christophe Ena/AP

© Photograph: Christophe Ena/AP

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Scottish Premiership: Celtic close gap to Hearts after McGregor’s late winner

  • Captain scores in injury time for 1-0 win at St Mirren

  • Rangers beat Livingston thanks to Diomandé winner

Callum McGregor scored a late winner as Celtic cut the gap on the Scottish Premiership leaders, Hearts, to four points with a 1-0 win over St Mirren in Paisley.

The below-par visitors failed to muster a shot on target for much of the match and almost fell behind when Declan John shot straight at Kasper Schmeichel with six minutes remaining. But McGregor, the Celtic captain, came to the rescue deep into added time when he lashed home the winner from 25 yards to claim the points for Martin O’Neill’s side.

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© Photograph: Steve Welsh/PA

© Photograph: Steve Welsh/PA

© Photograph: Steve Welsh/PA

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Starmer says Andrew should give evidence in US investigation into Jeffrey Epstein

Prime minister says in principle anyone with knowledge of child sexual offence cases should disclose what they know

Keir Starmer has increased the pressure on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to cooperate with a congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, saying those who are caught up in child sexual offence cases should disclose any information they have.

Asked whether Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles last month, should respond to the US House oversight committee, the prime minister said those with “relevant information” should share it. The former prince had a long friendship with Epstein and is alleged to have sexually assaulted one of his victims, Virginia Giuffre – allegations he denies.

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© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

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South Africa make heavy weather of victory over indisciplined Ireland

  • Ireland 13-24 South Africa

  • Home side have five players sent to sin-bin

The IRFU may be disconnected from a chunk of their audience on the price of Test rugby at Lansdowne Road but at least those who paid up can claim to have witnessed a truly crazy event.

In the 2013 Six Nations in Rome Ireland had their backline sundered by a freakish run of injuries, leaving holes being filled by men who didn’t know how to hold a shovel. But here, on a perfect night for rugby and with a game promising to develop into a gripping contest, we saw four players banished for crimes and misdemeanours in the first half alone. Mad stuff, at the end of which – after well over two exhausting hours – the world champions stumbled to a win that should have been managed with half the effort.

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© Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

© Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

© Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

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Arteta is feeling the heat but north London derby offers chance to reset title push | Jonathan Wilson

Whatever doubts there are for Arsenal, at Tottenham they are far greater – and the similarity between these old rivals is stark

Two goals for Harry Kane, another for Son Heung-min and, to compound Arsenal’s misery, Rob Holding sent off. Tottenham had won the derby and would go on to win their last two games of the season to take fourth place and the final Champions League qualification spot from Arsenal. It was the end of the 2021-22 campaign, and the sixth season in a row in which Tottenham had finished above Arsenal and, for the first time since the 60s, it seemed that they had a definitive superiority in north London.

Since when – although Spurs will point out they have won a trophy and Arsenal have not – the pendulum has swung decisively back the other way. Mikel Arteta has remade Arsenal, but the question is whether, after three straight second-place finishes, they can go one better and win the league for the first time since 2004, a drought that itself makes success more difficult.

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© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

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Harvey Barnes double helps Newcastle derail Manchester City revival

Newcastle’s recent slide left them 15th in the Premier League at kick off but, by the end of an always absorbing, sometimes almost anarchic, evening they had ascended to Cloud Nine.

It is very hard to argue that Eddie Howe is not an elite coach – what price he ends up eventually being poached by Liverpool as Arne Slot’s successor? – but, until this watershed win, his record against Pep Guardiola was pretty dismal. In 16 previous Premier League matches against Guardiola’s Manchester City, with Bournemouth and Newcastle, Howe had lost 14 and drawn two. All that changed as, with Harvey Barnes scoring twice, his players dealt a potentially debilitating blow to City’s title hopes. Guardiola’s side now sit third, four points behind Arsenal and one in arrears of Chelsea.

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© Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

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Arne Slot offers no excuses and vows to plot route out of Liverpool malaise

  • Nottingham Forest leave Anfield as 3-0 winners

  • Slot: ‘I should look at myself first and my team’

Arne Slot said he needed to “look at myself” after Liverpool suffered a sixth defeat in seven Premier League games at home to Nottingham Forest and insisted he would find a way out of the champions’ slump.

Forest, in the relegation zone before kick-off, produced the biggest win at Anfield in their history as Liverpool slipped to an eighth loss in 11 matches in all competitions. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was again anonymous and Liverpool argued Murillo’s opener should have been ruled out for similar reasons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against Manchester City before the international break. But Slot admitted the buck stopped with him and made no excuses.

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© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

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Travball 1-0 Bazball: Head’s big numbers add up to a damning zero for England | Geoff Lemon

Australia’s bold call as replacement for creaking Usman Khawaja in second innings set up a Test-winning 69-ball ton, the second-fastest in Ashes history

In short, England tried to play a certain style of Test cricket. Travis Head succeeded at it. As his numbers grew on the second afternoon here, what they represented grew more astonishing.

A normal 16 runs from 20 balls became brisk at 26 from 23. By the time it was 50 from 37, the frame of the usual had disappeared. Soon it was 68 from 49. Yes, players have scored faster now and then, but imagine batting in a fourth-innings Ashes chase on 84 from 59 balls. Imagine coming from behind in the first Test of a series to score 92 from 61.

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© Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

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Rocky Horror creator Richard O’Brien: ‘The Spice Girls couldn’t sing. But lovely girls’

The actor, writer and musician on growing up on a sheep farm in New Zealand, being in Spice World and a lovely afternoon with Aretha Franklin

Strange Journey: The Story Of Rocky Horror is out to celebrate 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. What’s the strangest journey Rocky Horror has taken you on?

I was at the 30th anniversary at Queen’s Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. After the show, I was in the downstairs bar, chatting to a couple of people. I turned around and going up the stairs was a man in such high heels – these fetish shoes – that he couldn’t walk in them. He had a leather thong up his arse, and I thought to myself: “I suppose I’m responsible for that, aren’t I?”

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© Photograph: Kaleidoscope Entertainment

© Photograph: Kaleidoscope Entertainment

© Photograph: Kaleidoscope Entertainment

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Being labelled a Highly Sensitive Person was validating and empowering – until it wasn’t | Miranda Luby

An online personality quiz made me feel understood, but it also created a mental cage

Sometimes, taking an internet quiz on a random Tuesday night can change your life – first for the better, then for the worse.

Are you bothered by intense stimuli, like loud noises, strong smells or caffeine? Are you deeply moved by the arts or nature? Do you become overwhelmed when a lot is going on around you? Do you have difficulty with big changes?

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© Illustration: CSA Images/Getty Images/CSA Images RF

© Illustration: CSA Images/Getty Images/CSA Images RF

© Illustration: CSA Images/Getty Images/CSA Images RF

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The moment I knew: he presented me with my hearing aids like they were a little gift

When Lynda Leigh and David started dating, his small, silent gesture spoke volumes about how much he cared

In 2013 I was a divorcee in my early 40s in need of some financial advice. I was living in Canberra and a friend recommended a polite, plain-speaking accountant who came to town from time to time. That’s how I met David. He was a handsome, jovial fellow with sparkling blue eyes, not quite a silver fox then, but a few years my senior. At 6 foot 3 and dressed in a smart suit and tie (a weakness of mine), he certainly made an impression.

At some point between sorting out my taxes and asking where I wanted to be financially in 10 years, he noticed I was wearing hearing aids and went on to tell me what a hard time his ex-wife and stepson gave him about his hearing, and anyway, wasn’t I far too young to need them? I explained, perhaps a little curtly, that I’d worn them since I was eight so he shouldn’t be so silly as to think they’d make him look old. I had an appointment coming up with my specialist and somehow it was arranged that he’d join me.

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© Photograph: Tara Chui/Daisy Hill Photography

© Photograph: Tara Chui/Daisy Hill Photography

© Photograph: Tara Chui/Daisy Hill Photography

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European football: Olise inspires Bayern’s 6-2 comeback; Pogba returns to football as Monaco sub

  • German champions win in style; Undaz stuns Dortmund

  • Pogba makes first appearance for over two years after ban

Bayern Munich raced from two goals down to crush visitors Freiburg 6-2 in the Bundesliga, with Michael Olise scoring twice and setting up three more goals, to maintain the champions’ unbeaten run and lead the title race.

Bayern, who saw their 16-match winning run in all competitions end with a 2-2 draw at Union Berlin before the international break, found themselves two goals down after 17 minutes.

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© Photograph: Matthias Schräder/AP

© Photograph: Matthias Schräder/AP

© Photograph: Matthias Schräder/AP

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Tom Rogers makes hat-trick history in vain as New Zealand surge past Wales

  • Wales 26-52 New Zealand

  • Wing becomes first to score three tries against All Blacks

Another week, another Welsh defeat. This latest one was 52-26 and to those who missed it will look like just another in their lengthy list of losses to New Zealand, which stretches back 34 matches. But it is possible, too, that for the men who coached it, and the men who played in it, for the tens of thousands watching in the ground and the hundreds of thousands watching on TV, it might yet come to stand for something more significant.

Wales did not exactly turn a corner here, but they took a little look around one and got a glimpse of what a better future might be like. “A lot of what we want to do and what we’ve been working on as a team shone through today,” said their captain, Dewi Lake. “We made them work for it.”

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© Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

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Jiménez calms choppy waters at Fulham with late winner against Sunderland

Uncertain times at Fulham. The word is out that the club’s ownership would like to extend Marco Silva’s stay. The manager himself has been noncommittal, while also making explicit his dim view of a lack of summer transfer business. Raúl Jiménez’s winner, coming when it seemed Fulham were incapable of scoring, might still choppy waters for now.

It lifted Fulham away from the increasing threat of a relegation battle but the manager stayed noncommittal. “I don’t need this type of performance to make important decisions,” he said.

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© Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters

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West Ham throw away two-goal lead as Unal salvages draw for Bournemouth

Enes Unal scored moments after climbing off the bench to snatch a point for Bournemouth. The Turkish forward, making his second substitute appearance after recovering from a second ACL injury, struck nine minutes from time to deny West Ham a first away win under Nuno Espirito Santo. “Everyone is so happy and so pleased when these things happen,” said Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth’s manager. “Ten months fighting almost alone, with the physios.”

Callum Wilson had marked his return to his former club with two first-half goals, but when he went off West Ham’s momentum went with him. Marcus Tavernier pulled one back from the penalty spot before Unal struck, with the 28-year-old visibly emotional as he celebrated.

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© Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images/Reuters

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Liverpool in disarray as Nottingham Forest storm Anfield again with 3-0 win

Last season it was a one-off, a blip in an otherwise commanding Premier League home campaign, but Nottingham Forest’s latest victory at Liverpool was symptomatic of myriad problems engulfing the faltering champions. Arne Slot cannot pin this one on set-piece failings alone.

Sean Dyche’s team – and his gameplan – were exemplary as Forest recorded the biggest win at Anfield in their club’s history. Goals from Murillo, outstanding at both ends of the pitch, Nicolò Savona and the superb Morgan Gibbs-White deservedly lifted Forest out of the relegation zone on the foundation of a first clean sheet in 20 league games.

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© Photograph: Ian Hodgson/AP

© Photograph: Ian Hodgson/AP

© Photograph: Ian Hodgson/AP

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Pino stunner for Crystal Palace inflicts painful start on Rob Edwards at Wolves

It was in the 69th minute when Yeremy Pino wheeled away after doubling Crystal Palace’s lead, his delicious shot from the edge of the area crashing in off the underside of the crossbar. In the away technical area, Oliver Glasner was also on the move, the Palace manager briefly dancing on ice as he almost lost his footing. “Almost,” he said, grinning, “but fortunately I am Austrian, I am a really good skier so I am used to being on slippery surfaces.”

By the end, the delirious away support were asking their goalkeeper Dean Henderson for song suggestions after the substitute Eddie Nketiah went close to adding a third goal. For Wolves and Rob Edwards, this his first game in permanent charge, there was only more pain. Pino scored six minutes after Daniel Muñoz opened the scoring to earn a win that propels Palace into fourth. Wolves remain on two points and rooted to the bottom of the table after a dozen matches; they are the only winless team in the top seven tiers of English football and hurtling towards the Championship.

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© Photograph: Jacob King/PA

© Photograph: Jacob King/PA

© Photograph: Jacob King/PA

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Boris Johnson took four days off as NHS warned Covid could ‘overwhelm’ system

Files show then PM was walking dog, riding motorbike and hosting guests as pandemic planning stalled in ‘lost month’

Boris Johnson took four days off from official government business during a key period in the UK’s Covid preparation when the NHS was bracing to be “overwhelmed” by the virus.

Official disclosure for the period in February 2020 – described by the Covid inquiry as a “lost month” in the country’s crisis response – reveal Johnson enjoyed an extended break during the half-term holidays at Chevening, a governmental estate in Kent, where he spent time walking his dog and taking motorcycle rides.

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© Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

© Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

© Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

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Newcastle United v Manchester City: Premier League – live

⚽️ Premier League updates from the 5.30pm GMT kick-off
⚽️ Live scoreboard | Latest tables | And do send Scott a mail

25 seconds: Donnarumma gets away with a dreadful pass out from the back. Joelinton nips in ahead of Foden, who didn’t want the ball, and pokes to Barnes. The Newcastle winger, on the left-hand edge of the D, aims for the bottom right but his curler is weak and the keeper makes amends. What a start that could have been!

Eddie Howe and Pep Guardiola greet each other warmly, then Manchester City kick off. A huge roar from the St James’ Park faithful. Oh me lads.

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© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

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End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff

Wealthy countries should triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal

The world edged a small step closer to the end of the fossil fuel era on Saturday, but not by nearly enough to stave off the ravages of climate breakdown.

Countries meeting in Brazil for two weeks could manage only a voluntary agreement to begin discussions on a roadmap to an eventual phase-out of fossil fuels, and they achieved this incremental progress only in the teeth of implacable opposition from oil-producing countries.

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© Photograph: André Penner/AP

© Photograph: André Penner/AP

© Photograph: André Penner/AP

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Ireland v South Africa: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – live

Rugby union updates from the 5.40pm GMT kick-off
Follow us on Bluesky | Get The Breakdown | Mail Daniel

Sam Prendergasr gets the nod at fly-half as an otherwise settled side takes aim at the world champions.

Experience duo Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier return with gnarled veterans joining them across the park.

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© Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

© Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

© Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

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Scotland’s World Cup qualifying win reactions equivalent to small earthquake

Celebrations to McLean’s jaw-dropping goal picked up by seismic activity monitors at Glasgow Geothermal Observatory

When Scotland qualified for the men’s football World Cup for the first time in 28 years, supporters were propelled into wild celebration – and even made the earth move in the process.

According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), when Kenny McLean scored from the halfway line to seal a breathtaking 4-2 win over Denmark, which are ranked 18 places higher in the world than Scotland, the reaction at Hampden Park was equivalent to a very small earthquake.

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© Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

© Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

© Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

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Santa Monica’s shine has dimmed – can a bold reset revive the beach city’s fortunes?

Years of hollowed out shops, safety worries and stalled leadership have left the famed coastal city searching for a way back

Santa Monica is a city that would seem to have everything. A glorious, wide sandy beach. A fabled pier framed by palm trees and views of the southern California mountains. An aura of Hollywood magic, with a native honor roll that runs from Shirley Temple to Sean Penn. Streets that smell like the Mediterranean, filled with restaurants, cafes and interesting one-off shops.

And yet, for the past several years, almost nothing has gone right for a beach resort known and envied in the Los Angeles area for its beauty, its excellent public schools, and a progressive political culture that has sought to keep the city accessible and affordable to people of all income levels.

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© Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

© Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

© Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

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Trump to end temporary protected status for Somali immigrants in Minnesota

Move could affect hundreds of Somalis who fled civil war in their home country

Donald Trump said on Friday night that he’s “immediately” terminating temporary legal protections for Somali migrants living in Minnesota, further targeting a program seeking to limit deportations that his administration has already repeatedly sought to weaken.

Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali community. Many fled the long civil war in the east African country and were drawn to the state’s welcoming social programs.

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© Photograph: Elizabeth Flores/TNS/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Elizabeth Flores/TNS/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Elizabeth Flores/TNS/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

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