Well-preserved oak and maple boats used for transport and fishing to be displayed in Peterborough

After lying undisturbed in mud for more than 3,000 years, three rare bronze and iron age log boats have emerged to offer fresh insights into prehistoric life.

The boats were among nine discovered in a Cambridgeshire quarry 13 years ago – the largest group of prehistoric boats found in the same UK site. Most were well preserved, with one still able to float despite its long incarceration.

Charvet Drucker captures dramatic video and photos of seal being hunted by orcas in Salish Sea, north-west of Seattle

A wildlife photographer on a whale-watching trip in waters off Seattle captured dramatic video and photos of a pod of killer whales hunting a seal that survived only by clambering on to the stern of her boat.

Charvet Drucker was on a rented 20ft (6m) boat near her home on an island in the Salish Sea about 40 miles north-west of Seattle when she spotted a pod of at least eight killer whales, also known as orcas.

• Trump opens LPGA career with 13-over 83

• Day’s biggest gallery trails debutante

• Sorenstam defends controversial invite

Kai Trump, the US president’s granddaughter and the eldest child of Donald Trump Jr, opened her LPGA career with a 13-over-par 83 on Thursday at The Annika, a debut round that left her at the bottom of the leaderboard and underscored the chasm between elite junior golf and a field stacked with the sport’s top professionals.

The 18-year-old amateur, playing on a much-discussed sponsor’s exemption, began her round on the back nine alongside former major champion Hinako Shibuno and Germany’s Olivia Cowan. She received warm applause when her name was announced on the par-4 10th tee and again after she drove it safely into the fairway, one of the few calm moments in a jittery start.

• Troy Parrott double enough for famous win

• France beat Ukraine 4-0 to book spot for 2026

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off as Troy Parrott fired the Republic of Ireland to a sensational 2-0 victory against Portugal to set up a qualifying showdown with Hungary.

The 40-year-old Portugal captain was dismissed for elbowing defender Dara O’Shea off the ball with a little more than 30 minutes remaining at the Aviva Stadium, but Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men were already well on their way to a win over the side ranked fifth in the world.

Donald Trump signed order creating ‘Foster the Future’ to develop opportunities and online hub for resources

Melania Trump, the first lady, is spearheading a new initiative aimed at improving career and education opportunities for children raised in foster care.

Her husband, Donald Trump, signed an executive order on Thursday that creates a “Fostering the Future” program that brings together federal entities, non-profits, educational institutions and the private sector to develop those opportunities for foster youth.

It was down to England’s consistency and the paucity of the opposition in World Cup qualifying Group K that there was zero jeopardy about this occasion. Thomas Tuchel’s team can only beat what is in front of them and they had done that with sufficient regularity to guarantee their place at the finals next summer with two matches to spare.

It made for the question. Could they do it on a soggy midweek night when most of the people outside their camp did not care? The answer was yes, even if it was not a performance or an occasion to quicken the pulse or live for any length of time in the memory. The serious business is to come.

• Borthwick’s side chasing 10th straight victory

• ‘The quality of the playing squad has improved’

England have endured plenty of agonising near misses against New Zealand in recent years but there is no shortage of belief this time around.

The home captain, Maro Itoje, says he believes his side are “ready” to secure a first victory over the All Blacks since 2019 and suggests they now have the rising confidence and mental clarity to extend their winning run to 10 games.

President’s attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw backing for vote appear to have failed

Donald Trump is facing the prospect of a politically damaging congressional vote on releasing the Jeffery Epstein files after attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw their backing for it appeared to have failed.

The reported refusal of Lauren Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, and Nancy Mace, from South Carolina, to remove their names from a discharge petition to force a vote leaves Trump exposed on an issue that carries the possibility of turning segments of his Maga base against him.

Warning comes as scenario in which global demand continues to grow until 2050 is included in IEA outlook report

The world is producing more oil than it needs and by next year there could be a glut of 4m excess barrels a day entering the market, according to the global energy watchdog.

The International Energy Agency said the surplus in 2026 was likely to be larger than previously forecast, despite a decision from the biggest oil producers to pause their plan to increase crude exports.

Wall Street endured its worst day in a month on Thursday as fears that tech companies are now overvalued loom large

Wall Street came under pressure on Thursday, enduring its worst day in a month as a sell-off of technology stocks intensified.

After an extraordinary rally around hopes for artificial intelligence that propelled global stock markets to record highs, fears that tech firms are now overvalued loom large.

Revelation comes despite US justice department downplaying possibility that other men involved in Epstein’s abuse

While Donald Trump’s justice department has downplayed the possibility that other men were involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of teen girls, an email released on 12 November as part of the House oversight committee’s Epstein investigation shows an exchange between the late financier and an associate where they discuss “girls” and travel.

Epstein sent an email asking “what is your schedule?” on 23 July 2010 to an associate. The latter responded the next morning saying: “the other girl name is [redacted].” The Guardian is withholding the associate’s name, as attempts to identify and contact him were unsuccessful.

Already through to the semi-finals, Carlos Alcaraz was far too good for Lorenzo Musetti, a 6-4 6-1 win ensuring he ends the year as world no 1

Of course my wife ordered the shopping to arrive, then went to a work dinner. But it’s in, you’ll be relieved to learn, and they’re still knocking up.

Alcaraz, meantime, looks focused. He’ll not be taking it easy tonight, I’m sure.

‘We strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim’, reads statement expressing ‘sincere regrets’ over Panorama episode

The BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the editing of a Panorama documentary that led to the resignation of its director general, Tim Davie, and the BBC News chief, Deborah Turness.

However, the corporation has rejected his demands for compensation, after lawyers for Trump threatened to sue for $1bn (£760m) in damages unless the BBC issued a retraction, apologised and settled with him.

Move escalates legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to help Democrats flip House seats in 2026

The justice department on Thursday joined a lawsuit brought by California Republicans to block the state’s new congressional map, escalating a legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to give Democrats a better chance of retaking the House of Representatives next year.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, challenges the congressional map championed by Gavin Newsom, the state’s Democratic governor, in response to a Republican gerrymander in Texas, sought by Donald Trump. The justice department’s intervention in the case sets up a high-profile showdown between the Trump administration and Newsom, one of the president’s chief antagonists and a possible 2028 contender.

State department claims groups in Germany, Italy and Greece ‘conspiring to undermine foundations of western civilization’

The US state department has announced that it will designate four European self-described anti-fascist groups as Foreign Terrorist Organisations, as the Trump administration broadens its campaign against what it portrays as an international wave of leftist violence.

In a public statement on Thursday, the state department said it would designate Antifa Ost in Germany, the Italy-based International Revolutionary Front, and two organisations in Greece – Armed Proletarian Justice and Revolutionary Class Self Defense – as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists … conspiring to undermine the foundations of Western Civilization through their brutal attacks”.

Canada’s spy agency says it has observed intelligence threats targeting country’s government and private sector

Canada’s domestic spy agency says Russia and China have a “significant intelligence interest” in Canada’s Arctic, and are targeting both the country’s government and its private sector.

In his annual speech on threats facing Canada, Dan Rogers, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), flagged mounting concerns over hostile nations growing increasingly emboldened in the Arctic.

Government established joint venture with Trump’s son-in-law in February 2024 to build hotel, apartments and museum complex

The Serbian government has established a joint venture with a property development company owned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to develop a hotel complex in Belgrade, giving Serbia until next May to demolish the existing buildings, according to leaked documents.

An independent Serbian news magazine, Radar, published what appears to be a 2024 investment agreement giving Kushner’s firm Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC a 77.5% stake in the joint venture, and the Serbian government a 22.5% stake.

Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze scored the goals as England maintained their perfect record in Group K

Here come the teams. England in white, Serbia in blue. It is hosing down at Wembley. A bit like this …

ITV also quizzed Tuchel on reading between the lines of his press conferences … “Normally everything I say to you, the guys have already heard it in the locker room, or between us in a chat … I don’t give messages via the camera … everything is already said … they heard the message already … normally this is how I operate.”

⚽ World Cup qualifying updates, 7.45pm GMT kick-offs
⚽ Live scores | England v Serbia – live | Email Luke

This was Ed’s take on Group I. Norway are now six points clear of Italy …

Norway lead Italy by three points and no one else can finish in the top two. A win for Norway at home to Estonia on Thursday would in effect secure qualification before they travel to San Siro on Sunday because the astonishing 29 goals plundered by Erling Haaland and co from six matches have given the team a frankly ridiculous goal difference of +26, 16 ahead of Italy. Gennaro Gattuso’s side need maximum points from their games, which start in Moldova on Thursday, and a Norway slip against Estonia to avoid the playoff for which they appear destined as they try to qualify for a first World Cup since 2014.

A massing of forces in the region have prompted widespread speculation that military action against Venezuela are imminent

• Is US preparing to attack Venezuela and how has Maduro regime responded?

• Pentagon’s largest warship enters Latin American waters as US tensions with Venezuela rise

Democrats appear more enthusiastic than Republicans about voting in next year’s congressional elections following the party’s victories in recent state and local contests, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, which showed Republican President Donald Trump’s approval steady at 40%.

The six-day poll, which closed on Wednesday, showed 44% of registered voters who called themselves Democrats said they were “very enthusiastic” about voting in the November 3, 2026, elections, compared with 26% of Republicans who said the same. Some 79% of Democrats said they would regret it if they didn’t vote in the election, compared to 68% of Republicans.

Newsnight is the second flagship BBC news programme accused of editing the speech to make it appear Trump made a more explicit call for violence from his supporters

BBC’s Newsnight has been accused of editing a Donald Trump speech in a way that made it appear that he made a more explicit call for violent protest ahead of the Capitol riots.

The corporation is already reeling from the resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness, which followed the splicing together of the same Trump speech in an edition of Panorama last year.

The disclosure of emails from the paedophile financier has fuelled calls for the full release of FBI files on his case

It is 20 years since Florida police first investigated the financier Jeffrey Epstein for the sexual abuse of underage girls; six years since he killed himself in prison following his arrest on federal sex-trafficking charges; and more than a year since Donald Trump said that he would have “no problem” with releasing the FBI files on the offender.

As the Democratic politician Ro Khanna noted, releasing the files “was core to Trump’s promise … It was his central theme that the American corrupt elite had betrayed forgotten Americans”. The question is not only what Epstein’s associates did, but also what they knew and what they did not do. It is not only about their own behaviour, but about any knowledge or suspicion of his crimes, and willingness to overlook them.

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.

The Labour leadership briefing furore highlights failures at the centre of government. Keir Starmer needs to raise his game

Sir Keir Starmer went to north Wales on Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This is a significant policy event, with local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not spend much time in Wales promoting solutions to UK energy needs. Instead, he spent it trying to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that No 10 had not, in fact, briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day was a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become more generally. On the one hand, he wants his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this because of the way he – and to an extent the country more generally – now does politics and government.

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.

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi lead the Saltburn writer-director’s Charli xcx-soundtracked take on Emily Brontë’s novel, referred to as ‘the greatest love story of all time’

Emerald Fennell’s vision for Wuthering Heights is coming into focus.

The first full-length trailer for the Saltburn writer-director’s already controversial adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel sketches out an epic love story – “the greatest love story of all time”, according to a title card – beyond the erotic visuals of the first trailer.