Residents report homes shaking from 3.3-magnitude quake that British Geological Survey says was centred just off the coast of Silverdale, Lancashire
A 3.3-magnitude earthquake shook homes in north-west England late on Wednesday, the British Geological Survey (BGS) reported.
The quake struck shortly after 11.23pm and was felt across Lancashire and the southern Lake District, including the towns of Kendal and Ulverston, within 12 miles of the epicentre.
25 questions on notable pop culture, sporting and public figures we lost this year. How will you fare?
Something a little different this week. As the year draws to a close, the Thursday quiz pauses to pay tribute to some of the notable pop culture, sporting and public figures we lost over the past 12 months, with the annual in memoriam edition. No prizes, except the chance to remember the joy they (mostly) gave us – via the medium of trying to recall obscure trivia about them. Let us know how you get on in the comments. Allons-y!
The Thursday news quiz, No 226 – annual in memoriam edition
If you typed the words “believe, belong and become” into a Google video search on Thursday morning, the first return may have been a sermon by TJ Mauldin, the lead pastor of the First Baptist church of Tifton, Georgia.
Directly below the bearded and blue-jeaned pastor’s video under that alliterative banner, you may have clicked through to a sermon by West Florida Baptist church’s Mike Brown, who had those three b-words emblazoned on a snug-fitting black T-shirt.
The controversy over flags has faded from the national agenda – but street by street, late at night and with ingenious equipment, their raising and removal is the subject of a roiling dispute over local identity
The Christmas lights have gone up in Stirchley. A multifaith mix of stars and swirls add a festive air to the lamp-posts along the main street of this south Birmingham suburb. Stirchley is a modest kind of place, sandwiched between better known (and better off) areas such as Bourneville and Moseley, but there is plenty of evidence here of the lively community spirit that last year resulted in the area being named the best place to live in the Midlands.
Posters in shop windows along Pershore Road advertise a knitting group, a neighbourhood winter fair and the local food bank, while in the former swimming baths, now a community hub, friendly flyers for coffee mornings and choirs are stacked.
In the 21st-century imbalance of power, Europe and Nato have neither the arms nor the wealth to impel Russia or the US to take its peace settlement seriously
The failure of this week’s peace talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff fits into a now well-established pattern of standoffs on Ukraine during Trump’s second term. But the dynamic that produced these talks may be becoming more entrenched. The US and Russian interests driving the process have not changed, while the conflict on the ground is intensifying. The lack of progress this week means there will be another attempt to end the war soon, and perhaps another after that, until, one day, there is some kind of US-backed deal to halt the conflict on terms broadly favouring Russia.
The geopolitical algorithm driving this effort is too consistent to ignore. It has been repeated ever since Trump re-entered the White House in January. On the campaign trail, Trump had claimed he could stop the war in a day. That was never going to happen. But from 12 February onwards, when Trump first talked directly to Putin about Ukraine, the intention and approach have not altered. There is no reason to suppose they will do so now. Indeed, Tuesday’s impasse may spur them on again.
Halloween hadn’t even happened this year when my local supermarket began proudly displaying its festive womenswear. Almost exclusively spattered in sequins, it looked much the same as the previous year’s party offering and was already reduced by 50% by – wait for it – 11 November. For £9 you could pick up a black sequin vest a mere two weeks after it was available at an already worryingly low full price.
Judging by the sale and well-stocked rails, the items didn’t appear to be in demand, and with so many identikit sequin garments in existence (more than 500 black sequin vests at the same price and under on Vinted at the time of writing in the UK), what’s the point of producing more every year?
The Northern Irishman’s appeal was clear at the Australian Open with queues forming at the crack of dawn to catch a glimpse of the golf star
Organisers didn’t have to wait long to feel the full impact of Rory McIlroy’s appearance at the Australian Open on Thursday. Two thousand fans were waiting outside at Royal Melbourne at 6.30am, eager to get to the 10th tee for the Northern Irishman’s first swing at Australia’s premier tournament in a decade.
Agitation was building. Time was ticking. Scanning all those barcodes might take half an hour or more. And so on a warm and windy workday in Australia’s biggest city, the gates were flung open. Rory mania had begun.
Chelsea beaten 3-1 by Leeds after meek first-half display
Maresca: ‘I think they were better than us in all aspects’
Enzo Maresca conceded that Chelsea were second best “in all aspects” and the head coach offered no excuses after a disappointing defeat at Leeds as his side’s hopes of a Premier League title challenge took a significant hit.
Maresca’s side are now down to fourth place and nine points adrift of the leaders, Arsenal, after stumbling in West Yorkshire, with Leeds worthy 3-1 winners on a night when Daniel Farke’s side moved out of the relegation zone.
Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has ordered a clinical review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions, according to reports.
Streeting is understood to be concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Times reported.
He has asked leading experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised”, the newspaper said, as he seeks to grapple with the 4.4 million working-age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit.
The figure has risen by 1.2 million since 2019, while the number of 16 to 34-year-olds off work with long-term sickness because of a mental health condition is said to have grown rapidly in the same period.
Streeting told the Times he knew from “personal experience how devastating it can be for people who face poor mental health, have ADHD or autism and can’t get a diagnosis or the right support”.
He added: “I also know, from speaking to clinicians, how the diagnosis of these conditions is sharply rising.
“We must look at this through a strictly clinical lens to get an evidence-based understanding of what we know, what we don’t know, and what these patterns tell us about our mental health system, autism and ADHD services.
“That’s the only way we can ensure everyone gets timely access to accurate diagnosis and effective support.”
The review, which is expected to be launched on Thursday, is set to be led by Prof Peter Fonagy, a clinical psychologist at University College London specialising in child mental health, with Sir Simon Wessely, a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatry, acting as vice-chair.
There is something about Unai Emery and thrilling comebacks. The Aston Villa manager believes he became a better coach after witnessing his Paris Saint-Germain side surrender a three-goal advantage against Barcelona in 2017 in the Champions League game that became known as La Remontada. This time it was the Spaniard who had the last laugh as Villa hit back with two goals for Ollie Watkins on his recall to the side before Amadou Onana and Donyell Malen condemned Brighton to their first home defeat of the season.
Fabian Hürzeler had talked up his side’s chances of challenging for the top four after three wins in their previous four matches. But having raced into a two-goal lead thanks to Jan Paul van Hecke’s controversial opener and an own goal from Pau Torres, his side showed they remain naive at the back despite Lewis Dunk making his 500th appearance for the club. Hürzeler was still a youth player at Bayern Munich when his captain made his first, in League One against Port Vale in 2010, and the German is still searching for consistency after a promising start to the season.
Australia: Jake Weatherald, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (capt), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey (wk), Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett.
The speculation comes to a close but the debate will continue across the afternoon at least, as Australia turn to a horses for course approach with Nathan Lyon left out of a home Test for the first time in almost 14 years. The off-spinner was also omitted from the XI in Australia’s most recent pink-ball Test in the Caribbean, but it still feels like a huge call to leave out a bowler who has claimed 562 wickets. Michael Neser comes in to add more pace in the day-night Test, as well as reducing the length of the Australia tail.
Artist who once draped Barbican in brightly coloured fabric says he is humbled by recognition in ArtReview rankings
The Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama has become the first African to be named the most influential figure in the art world in ArtReview magazine’s annual power list.
Mahama, whose work often uses found materials including textile remnants, topped the ranking of the contemporary art world’s most influential people and organisations as chosen by a global judging panel.
Inaugural prize expected to be handed to Donald Trump but ‘process’ for choosing future winners to be proposed by controversial tycoon’s committee
It was the timing that set off the first alarm bells. With Donald Trump brooding over missing out on the Nobel peace prize, and shortly before Gianni Infantino, the president of world football’s governing body, Fifa, was due to meet the US president in Miami, an announcement was made.
In a press release and a post on his personal Instagram account last month, Infantino said Fifa would launch its very own peace prize, to be awarded each year to “individuals who help unite people in peace through unwavering commitment and special actions”.
Nootka lupins, introduced in the 1940s to repair damaged soil, are rampaging across the island, threatening its native species
It was only when huge areas of Iceland started turning purple that authorities realised they had made a mistake. By then, it was too late. The Nootka lupin, native to Alaska, had coated the sides of fjords, sent tendrils across mountain tops and covered lava fields, grasslands and protected areas.
Since it arrived in the 1940s, it has become an accidental national symbol. Hordes of tourists and local people pose for photos in the ever-expanding fields in June and July, entranced by the delicate cones of flowers that cover the north Atlantic island.
Terry Ball – renowned shoe salesman, friend to former mafiosi – has vowed to spend his remaining years finding ways to cheat authorities he feels have cheated him. His greatest ruse? A tax-dodging snail empire
It is a drizzly October afternoon and I am sitting in a rural Lancashire pub drinking pints of Moretti with London’s leading snail farmer and a convicted member of the Naples mafia. We’re discussing the best way to stop a mollusc orgy.
The farmer, a 79-year-old former shoe salesman called Terry Ball who has made and lost multiple fortunes, has been cheerfully telling me in great detail for several hours about how he was inspired by former Conservative minister Michael Gove to use snails to cheat local councils out of tens of millions of pounds in taxes.
It borders Brazil, but French Guiana is now a remote outpost of the EU. It is home to Europe’s only spaceport, some of the most biodiverse forest on the planet and a military mission that is testing the limits of western power
Above me, a ceiling of rough wooden branches and tarp. To my right, an officer in the French Foreign Legion types up the daily situation report. In front of me a French gendarme named David is standing in front of a table full of large assault rifles, pointing out locations on a paper map. A generator hums. All around us, splotches of forest dot the hundreds of islands that make up the archipelago of Petit-Saut, a watery ecosystem three times the size of Paris.
Except Paris is 7,000 kilometres away from where I am, in Guyane, or French Guiana, a department of France in South America, just north of the equator.
Seizures and warrants involve Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, who heads US-sanctioned Prince Group, and Cambodians Kok An and Yim Leak
Thailand has seized assets worth more than $300m, including shares in a major regional energy company, and issued arrest warrants for 42 people in a high-profile push against regional scam networks, officials said on Wednesday.
Parts of south-east Asia, including the border areas between Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, have become hubs for online fraud, with criminal networks earning billions from illegal compounds where trafficking victims are often forced to work.
Overnight camping was banned and motorists were told to plan their journey as New Zealand finally joined the flatpack family
“I’ve been waiting 25 years for this,” says Annie Sattler.
A quarter of a century after she emigrated from Germany, and seven years since the store was first announced, Sattler was prepared to wait just a few hours extra to be among the earliest through the doors of Ikea’s first outlet in New Zealand.
Communities across large parts of Australia have been urged to take precautions as temperatures begin to soar ahead of severe and extreme heatwave conditions, with parts of western Sydney expected to reach the low 40s by Saturday.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued heatwave warnings in New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, with an extreme warning in place on the NSW south coast – indicating the highest level of risk.
Nine-country poll finds half of people believe risk of war with Russia is high and three-quarters want to stay in EU
Nearly half of Europeans see Donald Trump as “an enemy of Europe”, rather more rate the risk of war with Russia as high and more than two-thirds believe their country would not be able to defend itself in the event of such a war, a survey has found.
The nine-country poll for the Paris-based European affairs debate platform Le Grand Continent also found that nearly three-quarters of respondents wanted their country to stay in the EU, with almost as many saying leaving the union had harmed the UK.
The path ahead for Ukraine peace talks is unclear, Donald Trump has said, after what he called “reasonably good” talks between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US envoys which nonetheless failed to achieve a breakthrough
After their hours-long meeting at the Kremlin on Tuesday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, were set to meet top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida on Thursday.
Crackdown on applications from countries also under travel restrictions comes after shooting of two national guards
Immigration groups and lawmakers are sharply criticizing Donald Trump’s latest move to halt immigration applications from 19 countries already under US travel restrictions, a decision that comes amid reports that naturalization ceremonies for people on the travel ban list are also being canceled.
On Tuesday US Citizenship and Immigration Services posted a policy memo that announced an immediate “adjudicative hold” on all asylum applications “regardless of the alien’s country of nationality”, as well as a review of individuals from “high-risk countries” who entered the US following Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
Vladimir Putin has stalled progress on a peace plan for Ukraine being brokered by Donald Trump’s US and has said he is ‘ready for war’ with Europe ‘if it starts one’. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian's foreign correspondent Luke Harding who has just returned from Kyiv
After a decade, millennials’ favourite comfort watch is dropping off the streamer, prompting threats of cancelled subscriptions. But will it really vanish?
If you have noticed a heightened sense of millennial angst in the air recently, it is likely to be because Friends is leaving Netflix this month. And, reader, the fans have not taken it well.
“Absolutely raging,” one viewer tweeted upon hearing the news. “I’m cancelling my Netflix subscription,” raged another. A third, simultaneously managing to capture the mood of the nation while retaining a healthy sense of perspective, wrote: “FUCK OFF FRIENDS IS LEAVING NETFLIX IN THE UK WHAT THE FUCK WILL I DO TO RELAX WTF THIS HAS BEEN THE SHOW TO GET ME TO SLEEP SINCE I WAS A BABY WHAT DO U MEAN ITS COMING OFF NEFLIX IM SORRY BUT NO.”
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