Possible security pact overshadowed by need to settle EU-UK dispute over fishing rights
Keir Starmer’s hopes for a defence and security pact risk being stalled over fishing rights, as he heads to Brussels for the first post-Brexit meeting of its kind on Monday.
The prime minister has been invited to join the EU’s 27 heads of state and government for dinner in Brussels to discuss EU-UK defence, a subject that has gained urgency following Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Epic drama takes top prize, Ralph Fiennes and Marianne Jean-Baptiste win best actors and RaMell Ross best director
The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half-hour drama about the treatment of a brilliant Hungarian postmodern architect in the US after the second world war, has taken best picture at the London Critics’ Circle awards.
The film, which stars Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce, missed out on other prizes, however, with best director going to RaMell Ross for his much-acclaimed but little seen Colson Whitehead adaptation Nickel Boys, which also won the technical achievement prize for Jomo Fray’s cinematography.
Fears grow for global trade, with major indices likely to plunge as US trading partners quickly retaliate, raising chance China and EU will follow suit
Trading on the brokerage IG’s weekend markets indicated shares were likely to fall on Monday after the US president signed an order on Saturday to bring in sweeping tariffs this week, a move that could prompt a trade war with some of the country’s largest trading partners.
There were plainly scores to settle from the previous meeting, a desire for one-upmanship in an increasingly fractious rivalry and how Arsenal settled them. The moment of the match was provided by Myles Lewis-Skelly; the image of it, too.
When the precociously talented 18-year-old scored with a curling shot for 3-1 to crown a driving performance, he sank into a meditative yoga pose that had previously been the copyright of Erling Haaland.
Angry rallies in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich accuse Friedrich Merz of cooperating with AfD
Tens of thousands of people marched in Germany on Sunday to protest against the decision by the centre-right leader – and frontrunner in a looming election – to send to parliament proposals for tough migration rules that received the backing of a far-right party.
Angry protesters in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich said that Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats (CDU) broke Germany’s unwritten post-Nazi promise by all democratic parties to never pass any rule or resolution in parliament with the support of far-right, nationalist parties such as Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
This England side have character and can carry out a game plan, but there is no guarantee they will improve in time
Steve Borthwick is a man of character in an age that prefers to reward personality. Try as he might to explain England’s latest collapse, to reassure supporters that a corner will be turned, he failed to grasp the gravity of a seventh defeat in nine games in a manner that is now his side’s trademark. It was left to his predecessor-turned-pundit, Eddie Jones, to sum up England’s plight far more adroitly and in only four words when asked how he would have reacted if he were in Borthwick’s position: “I’m glad I’m not.”
It is a measure of Borthwick’s character that he chose not to turn on the referee, Ben O’Keeffe, for some questionable decisions against his team during the period in which Ireland scored 22 unanswered points. Borthwick pointed instead to his side’s indiscipline as they let a 10-5 half‑time lead slip through their fingers. “That’s something that needs to be improved this week,” was about as close as he came to chastising his players for capitulating.
Mare nearly brought down stablemate in dramatic exit
Kopek Des Bordes scintillating in Mullins treble on day
The most significant news after the Irish Champion Hurdle on Sunday was that Lossiemouth got up. Willie Mullins’s mare, the odds-on favourite, took a crashing fall four out in the day’s feature race, all but bringing down State Man, her stable companion and the winner for the last two seasons, in the process. State Man was effectively left to come home alone, but at that moment, the sight of Lossiemouth bouncing back to her feet, seemingly unscathed, was all that anyone wanted to see.
Until the favourite’s dramatic departure, Sunday’s race had been a private duel between Lossiemouth and State Man, with both horses hurdling fluently and a long way clear of their three, outclassed rivals.
Nika Melia and Gigi Ugulava detained as thousands try to block highway into Tbilisi amid unrest against ruling party
Georgian police have arrested two opposition leaders during a street protest against the ruling party, which has been accused of democratic backsliding and of moving Tbilisi closer to Russia.
The Black Sea nation has been rocked by daily mass protests since the Georgian Dream party claimed victory in October parliamentary elections whose results the opposition rejected as falsified.
Trump’s treasury secretary gives the world’s richest person entry to one of the most sensitive US government databases
Elon Musk’s government-slashing crew, the “department of government efficiency”, has been given access to the federal payment system, exposing the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans as well as details of public contractors who compete directly with Musk’s own businesses, an influential US senator has confirmed.
Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator from Oregon and the ranking member of the Senate finance committee, posted on Bluesky that sources had confirmed to him that the Treasury’s highly-sensitive database had been opened up to the tech billionaire and his team.
Rishi Sunak, a man well-versed in seismic defeats, was present to watch another. The former prime minister was among the spectators in Mumbai as India’s Abhishek Sharma struck a staggering 54-ball 135 to set up a 150-run win over England in the fifth and final Twenty20 international.
Sharma’s hands flew on the way to 13 sixes, his final return the highest score by an India batter in T20 internationals. Forget the English, none of his teammates could match him either; Shivam Dube’s 13-ball 30 was the next-best contribution as India put together a total of 247.
Experts say success of shows such as The Night Agent and Prime Target reflects growing public distrust of the state
If television dramas are a reflection of society, then it is safe to say we are feeling extremely suspicious right now. It does not take an intelligence operative to spot the number of spy thrillers that have infiltrated TV streaming services, in what has been hailed as a golden age for the genre.
This week, season two of The Night Agent climbed to the top of Netflix’s chart, while Prime Target, an espionage thriller starring Leo Woodall, became Apple TV’s most watched show. Other series such as Black Doves, The Diplomat (both Netflix), Slow Horses (Apple TV+), The Day of the Jackal (Sky Atlantic) and The Agency (Paramount Plus) have also been huge hits.
Federal investigators are still working to piece together the events that led to the crash that killed 67 people
Families of victims of the deadliest US air disaster in nearly 25 years visited the crash site on Sunday amid a swirl of ongoing questions on what caused the mid-air collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter at an airport just outside Washington DC.
Dozens of people walked along the banks of the Potomac River near Reagan National airport, close to where an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into each other on Wednesday, killing all 67 aboard.
President Sheinbaum and politicians across the spectrum condemn accusation, which follows imposition of US tariffs
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has hit back at Donald Trump’s “slanderous” claim that her government had joined forces with drug bosses, amid anger and incredulity at the US president’s attack on the leaders of Latin America’s second biggest economy.
Trump made the claim on Saturday as he announced 25% tariffs against Mexico that the US said were a response to illegal immigration and the “intolerable alliance” between drug trafficking organisations and Mexico’s government, which had allegedly offered safe haven to “dangerous cartels”.
In this forceful and lucid memoir the author details the impact of her father’s crimes on the family and her decision to never forgive or forget
“I was sacrificed on the altar of vice,” said Gisèle Pelicot in her opening testimony of a trial that shook France and the world between September and December 2024. Waiving her right to anonymity, the 72-year-old made her ordeal public so that, in her words, “shame must change sides”. For nearly 10 years, her husband of 50 years Dominique had invited dozens of men via an online site (now closed) to rape her while she lay comatose in bed in their home near Avignon. Each time, he had sedated her with a mix of anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills slipped into her food and glasses of wine. He filmed the rapes and stored the videos neatly in his computer under the title “abuse”.
Dominique Pelicot may never have been arrested had it not been for the perseverance of supermarket security guards who noticed him making upskirt videos of female shoppers. They convinced three of them to file a complaint to the police in September 2020. A young police officer then seized Pelicot’s computer and electronic equipment to investigate further. Police technicians unearthed more than 20,000 pornographic videos and pictures documenting his crimes against his wife. In just a few weeks, the police established that Gisèle Pelicot had been raped at least 200 times, the equivalent of once a fortnight for almost 10 years. Convinced that she was in mortal danger because of the repeated sedation, they worked night and day until they could gather enough evidence and arrest Dominique Pelicot. On 2 November 2020, Gisèle accompanied her husband to the police station in Carpentras, near where they lived. He had admitted to upskirting and had cried for her forgiveness. While police officers dealt with her husband (he would never walk free again), Gisèle Pelicot was invited into a room by the young investigative officer, who started revealing the torture she had endured unknowingly. She now understood why she had suffered from severe memory losses, fainting and gynaecological problemss. She did not have Alzheimer’s, as she had feared.
Ruben Amorim’s wish to “create some danger” flamed at the start of each half, then faded, as Manchester United were sucker-punched by Jean-Philippe Mateta’s second goal on 89 minutes that sealed a first defeat in four games.
United and Crystal Palace were becalmed in front of goal except for when the Eagles twice took advantage of the home side’s slipshod backline.
Tottenham were in no position to spurn a crucial goal off somebody’s backside and, give or take a few centimetres, that is exactly what they were handed here. Their season had been in freefall but a first league victory since 15 December was well earned, particularly given the scratchy resources at Ange Postecoglou’s disposal. Another makeshift backline, in which Archie Gray was outstanding, withstood one of the division’s toughest physical examinations and deserved their luck at the other end through Vitaly Janelt’s first-half own goal.
The Brentford goalkeeper Hákon Valdimarsson, making his first top-flight start due to Mark Flekken’s injury, should have spared Janelt’s blushes in dealing more decisively with the corner that struck his teammate. But he was less culpable three minutes from time when Pape Sarr, finishing deftly after being played through by Son Heung-min, made the points safe. Postecoglou, who knew his team would have to scrap, leapt off the bench and punched the air.
Barcelona closed the gap on La Liga leaders Real Madrid to four points, but were reliant on Robert Lewandowski’s second-half goal to beat struggling Alavés.
The hosts dominated possession with Alavés, who sit in 18th place, happy to sit back and defend. Barça almost scored near the half-hour mark when Manu Sánchez’s attempt to clear Raphinha’s cross went to Lewandowski, but the Polish striker put his shot wide.
Two of the best players in the NBA are reportedly swapping teams. The Mavericks could benefit this year but the Lakers look winners in the long-term
Every lifetime, you get to experience a few “where were you when?” moments. Finding out Michael Jackson died. The American presidency being called for Donald Trump in 2016. And any true NBA fan will remember where they were on the evening of 1 February 2025. I was waiting in line for a drink at a bar in Los Angeles when a friend tapped me on the shoulder and asked: “Have you seen this fake Shams tweet?”
The tweet, as it turns out, was real, as unbelievable as it still may be. The Dallas Mavericks have, indeed, traded Luka Dončić, the 25-year-old who was supposed to be the face of the franchise for years to come, to the Los Angeles Lakers. In return, they will get the man who was supposed to lead the Lakers for the next five years or so, 31-year-old Anthony Davis. There are a few more players involved in the trade (who will be discussed below), and even a third team in the Utah Jazz to help facilitate the deal. But for all intents and purposes, this was the most dramatic case possible of bona fide top 10-superstar musical chairs.
How can neighbors have such a fundamental disagreement about seemingly basic concepts of rightness and justice?
In 2016, it was easy for the left to process Donald Trump’s election as a fluke – thanks to the electoral college, he’d essentially won on a technicality. But as he took office once again this month after winning the US popular vote, there is a sense that his every action comes with the tacit endorsement of the voting public.
Trump is, of course, far from the first American leader to be accused of cruelty. What’s striking about him is that he doesn’t pretend otherwise. Presidents in recent memory at least paid lip service to compassion; the new one has made exclusion, spite and bullying his brand. He seems to celebrate violating the basic rules we’re taught from infancy: be kind to others, share resources, welcome those who may seem different.
People who have lost homes feel an overwhelming sense of uncertainty as impact on their lives becomes clearer
When Marcus Beer and Shawna Dawson Beer first returned to their charred Altadena home, they were in shock. Visiting the Los Angeles neighbourhood for the second time last weekend, they fully comprehended the destruction.
“It very quickly felt like a graveyard,” Shawna said. Someone had tied pink ribbons with black polka dots on trees and buildings on their street, which floated in the breeze and looked pretty. “I thought it was a solidarity thing and thought ‘oh, isn’t that really nice’,” Marcus said. “But we found out it meant the cadaver dogs had gone by and no bodies had been found on the property.”
Hadi Matar, 26, accused of stabbing author 10 times in case likely to draw world’s media to tiny upstate New York town
A man accused of attacking Salman Rushdie as he was being introduced at a literary lecture in New York state in 2022 is going on trial this week in a case likely to create global headlines.
The trial could upend life in the tiny upstate New York village of Mayville, whose population of less than 1,500 is not accustomed to finding itself at the center of a media circus covering the attempted assassination of one of the world’s most famous writers.
A North Yorkshire couple’s home celebrates their creative individuality
If a house can change your mood, I just don’t know why you wouldn’t want to concentrate on the joy.” Neil Bedford has been asked about his thoughts on beige homes and he’s trying his hardest to be diplomatic. “A house like this makes coming home a little more exciting,” agrees partner Daisy Fry, gesturing to their Selfridges-yellow staircase. “It cheers you up.”
The couple moved into this early Edwardian terrace in the North Yorkshire coastal town of Saltburn-by-the-Sea in 2021. Neil is a photographer, while Daisy, who has a masters’ degree in creative practices and has dotted the house with her “soft sculptures” – is now taking time out to be at home with the couple’s young son, Solo.
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