6 mins. The visitors are not here to shepherd France to victory and FInn Russell get them going with a raking cross-kick that finds van der Merwe on the left. He’s set to turn on the pace but a slip halts his plan. The pace of the game is relentless and possession is traded a couple of times.
4 mins. More possession for France, this time via a massive maul that marches forward fifteen metres and leaves Scotland with little choice but to infringe to stop it’s murderous progress.
Like their rivals, the problem is not the rise in revenue that a new home offers but that so little of it ends up being spent on players
Build it and they will come – but you should be aware that you will be left with significant debt repayments, an element of the story to which Kevin Costner took a characteristically cavalier attitude. Which may be why Field of Dreams was about building a baseball stadium in Iowa for Shoeless Joe Jackson and the ghosts of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox rather than, say, Daniel Levy constructing a football stadium in Haringey for Vincent Janssen and the remnants of the 2019 Tottenham Hotspur team.
In the past week, Manchester United have revealed plans for a new £2bn stadium, capacity 100,000, next to Old Trafford, while Newcastle are reported to be looking to move from St James’ Park to a 65,000-capacity stadium on Leazes Park. Everton will move into a new stadium at Bramley-Moore dock next season. Wrexham are building a 5,500-capacity Kop. New stadiums suddenly are fashionable again after a period in which they came to seem almost an afterthought. That, perhaps, is an unintended consequence of profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
Houthis reported series of explosions and images show plumes of smoke rising over the Sana’a airport complex
Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, on Saturday, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor.
The Houthis reported a series of explosions in their territory on Saturday evening. Images circulating online show plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sana’a airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility. The extent of the damage was not yet clear.
A time when the clubs were old Third Division mainstays may be a distant, chintzy memory now both are upwardly mobile, model organisations but Bournemouth have still not beaten Brentford in the Premier League. For a club with now very different horizons, this was a most costly defeat.
If Thomas Frank’s hopes of taking his team into Europe rely on a collision of coefficients, coincidences and collapses then Bournemouth’s fade is coming at a bad time. Andoni Iraola’s team lost their early flow to be sunk by the set-piece expertise that brought goals for Yoane Wissa and Christian Nørgaard. And a fourth defeat in six.
Hundreds of civilians murdered by militant groups, throwing doubt over new government’s ability to control the country - and US willingness to lift sanctions
When armed men entered Hayan’s house last Friday, he thought he was going to be killed like his neighbours before him. Militants dragged him outside, threw him to the ground and started shooting right above his head, making it so he could no longer hear the insults they lobbed at him for being a member of the country’s minority Islamic Alawite sect.
Hayan was lucky – they chose merely to scare not kill him – but by the time the rampage finally ended, 25 residents of the Alawite town of Salhab, northwest Syria, were dead. They included a 90-year-old local religious figure whom militants killed after forcing him to watch them murder his son.
Henry Pollock scores two debut tries in Cardiff thrashing
There is no cauldron quite like Cardiff on a big match day. On this occasion, though, it was England who ran white hot on the final day of this see-sawing Six Nations season to secure a record-breaking 10-try demolition job, sealed by two eye-catching tries on his debut from the 20-year-old Northampton flanker Henry Pollock.
Any notion of a potentially tight, nervy affair was summarily blown away by Steve Borthwick’s side, who have now won their last four Test matches on the trot. They were 33-7 up by half-time, with the glimpses of attacking promise evident over the past month coalescing into the most impressive and authoritative English display of the season.
Prime minister tells a summit of 29 leaders that the Russian president cannot delay peace talks indefinitely
Keir Starmer accused Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet over agreeing to a ceasefire with Ukraine on Saturday as international pressure grew on the Russian president to enter talks.
The prime minister said there was a limit to the length of time Putin could prevaricate, after he convened a virtual summit with 29 other international leaders who agreed to take plans for a peacekeeping force to an “operational phase”.
On paper, everyone is in agreement: Donald Trump says he wants a ceasefire; Kyiv’s negotiating team has already agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal at marathon talks with the Americans in Jeddah; and Vladimir Putin says he accepts the idea, albeit with a few “nuances”.
But Putin’s so-called nuances are bigger than mere wrinkles, and at the end of an intense week of diplomacy around Russia’s war in Ukraine, a ceasefire – never mind a sustainable peace – still looks to be something of a distant prospect.
Carabao Cup final offers Liverpool’s entertaining and erratic forward a chance to write himself into club folklore
The prevailing sensation while watching El Chavo del Ocho is to wonder how this thing ever got made in the first place. It’s a low-budget Mexican sitcom that ran from the 70s to the 90s, centred on an eight-year-old orphan who lives in a barrel in an apartment complex. The boy is played by Roberto Gómez Bolaños, who was in his 40s when the series began and his 60s when it ended. Pretty much all the humour is derived from slapstick: situational farce, physical jokes, people getting their heads trapped in buckets. That kind of thing.
Try to imagine ChuckleVision gone global, to the point where it was a genuine cultural touchstone for hundreds of millions, to the point where Paul and Barry Chuckle have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and are unable to walk through Manhattan without being mobbed. That’s El Chavo. Even today it remains one of the most famous comic creations in the history of television: syndicated across the Americas, enthralling successive generations long after it was decommissioned. Including – at some point in early 2000s Uruguay – a young Darwin Núñez.
Meta’s attempt to silence ex-employee Sarah Wynn-Williams has drawn attention to its work on stifling freedom of expression in China
There’s nothing more satisfying than watching a corporate giant make a stupid mistake. The behemoth in question is Meta, and when Careless People, a whistleblowing book by a former senior employee, Sarah Wynn-Williams, came out last week, its panic-stricken lawyers immediately tried to have it suppressed by the Emergency International Arbitral Tribunal. This strange institution obligingly (and sternly) enjoined Wynn-Williams “from making orally, in writing, or otherwise any ‘disparaging, critical or otherwise detrimental comments to any person or entity concerning [Meta], its officers, directors, or employees’ ”. To which her publisher, Macmillan, issued a statement that could succinctly be summarised thus: “Get stuffed.”
Clearly, nobody in Meta has heard of the Streisand effect, “an unintended consequence of attempts to hide, remove or censor information, where the effort instead increases public awareness of the information”. The company has now ensured that Wynn-Williams’s devastating critique of it [see our review inthe New Review] will become a world bestseller.
The Northern Irish journalist turned author on writing a haunted house novel for the rental age, her trick for capturing dialogue and favourite millennial reads
Róisín Lanigan, 33, grew up in Belfast and studied at Queen’s University Belfast before moving to London to work as a journalist. She previously covered pop culture at i-D magazine, and is now contributing editor at the independent quarterly the Fence. Her absorbing debut novel, I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There (Fig Tree), remakes the haunted house genre for the rental age, following a millennial couple, Áine and Elliott, as they first move in together. Soon, Áine begins to think the flat is against them, and Lanigan incisively tracks her character’s very modern descent into despair.
Up until now you’ve worked as a journalist. Did you always want to be a novelist? I always wanted to write fiction, but it’s one of those jobs that feels so out of reach. It took me a long time to take it seriously and to believe that I could do it, especially when it comes to making up characters. It’s a strange departure from one where everything is factual and you can’t make up quotes.
I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There by Róisín Lanigan is published by Fig Tree, £16.99. To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
Launched by Nasa and SpaceX, the Falcon 9 is picking up Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, whose eight days on board the International Space Station became nine months
A long-awaited mission to return stranded US astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station has been launched by Nasa and SpaceX.
The pair were due to spend eight days on the ISS in June, but technical problems with the experimental spacecraft that took them there have left them stuck on the orbital laboratory for nine months.
Farmers and bikers join students in climax to movement that Aleksandar Vučić labels an ‘imported revolution’
A vast demonstration has been gathering in Belgrade, marking the climax of more than four months of student-led protests and the biggest challenge to President Aleksandar Vučić in the 11 years of his increasingly autocratic rule.
Vučić stoked tensions in the run-up to yesterday’s mass protest, suggesting there would be an attempt to overthrow him by force and calling it an “imported revolution” with the involvement of western intelligence agencies, but he provided no evidence for the claims. The demonstrations against government corruption and incompetence have so far been overwhelmingly peaceful.
Sané opens scoring before Hollerbach punishes error
A moment of uncertainty from the goalkeeper Jonas Urbig allowed Benedict Hollerbach to score a late goal as Union Berlin secured a 1-1 home draw on Saturday with Bayern Munich, who still extended their lead atop the Bundesliga standings to nine points.
Bayern, chasing a record-extending 34th league title, climbed to 62 points. Champions Bayer Leverkusen, who are in second place, have a game in hand and travel to face Stuttgart on Sunday.
While Donald Trump has no plan beyond halting the gunfire, Russia’s leader does. Peace at any price is no peace at all
A halt to the killing in Ukraine is a highly desirable aim. A permanent end to the war would be a truly wonderful achievement. Who would not welcome an agreement that stopped Russia’s daily slaughter of civilians and its destruction of Ukraine’s cities, and which allowed millions of displaced people to return home? But peace at any price is no peace at all, as history shows and we have repeatedly argued here. In his untutored haste, Donald Trump risks rushing into a bad deal with Vladimir Putin that could set the stage for renewed conflict in Ukraine and other vulnerable countries bordering Russia and for an overall weakening of Europe’s security.
The initial 30-day truce under discussion by US and Russian officials reportedly entails a complete halt to fighting and temporary freezing of the frontlines in eastern Ukraine. It provides for the exchange of prisoners of war, release of civilian detainees and return from Russia of abducted Ukrainian children. The truce could be extended. But Russia’s president is adamant that, before it even begins, many complex, longer-term issues must be addressed, including the most fundamental: Ukraine’s future as an independent, sovereign state.
This showdown of Champions League contenders ended with spoils shared so Manchester City, in fifth place, still lead Brighton, who are seventh, by a point. The draw is a rosy result for Newcastle, as they are sandwiched between them and have played a game fewer so have an opportunity to leapfrog City.
Match day 29 for City and Brighton fired the gun on the final 10 matches and with many teams in the chase for a shot at the European Cup, final-day excitement surely awaits.
Thomas Frank was effusive in his praise for both his own team and Bournemouth during his pre-match press conference. “Bournemouth have been really, really impressive,” the Brentford manager said.
5 mins. Wales possession in the England half has Mee brought into the attack in midfield but he’s a little isolated and that allows Earl to get to the ball and win a turnover penalty. Fin Smith sends it to touch, but Cowan-Dickie’s throw isn’t straight.
3 mins. It’s a simple peel off the lineout that Tom Curry drives to the line. He is stopped but next up Itoje takes turn and drives over to open the scoring very early and give England a perfect start.
A SpaceX mission was launched to replace two Nasa astronauts who have been stuck at the International Space Station for nine months. The stuck astronauts are scheduled to depart the station on 19 March after the Crew-10 astronauts arrive on 19 March
Militant group hardening its negotiating position in ceasefire talks amid new violence in territory
The current fragile pause in hostilities in Gaza has come under further threat with Hamas hardening its negotiating positions amid new Israeli airstrikes in the devastated territory.
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement ended two weeks ago but Israel is refusing to implement the scheduled second phase, which is supposed to end with its withdrawal from Gaza, the freedom of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, and a definitive end to the conflict.
The G7 meeting in Canada was a vital show of unity that put the ball firmly in Russia’s court. There’s not a shred of ambiguity about that
In diplomacy, focus is often on where we disagree. But Britain and our partners are stronger when we stand together. Last week’s G7 meeting made that clear.
We arrived in Canada with real momentum. Our Ukrainian and American friends deserve a lot of credit for the breakthrough at Jeddah – with British diplomacy, from the prime minister down, making a big difference behind the scenes.
Sharing secrets is a natural human instinct – and the boom in audio is providing new platforms for the juiciest stories
In the latest series of The White Lotus, childhood best friends Laurie, Kate and Jaclyn arrive at a luxury Thai hotel for a girls’ holiday. The trio appears to have a perfect dynamic, but on the first night, two friends descend into a gossiping session about the third, crystallising unspoken tensions in the group.
Gossip drives all kinds of dramas – it’s the central force behind every series of Bridgerton, the beating heart of teen drama Gossip Girl. Where would Jane Austen’s characters, or even Hilary Mantel’s imagining of Thomas Cromwell, be without insider secrets?
After just a few weeks in the White House, the self-appointed peace-giver has stoked war, accelerated the nuclear arms race and alienated US allies
If Robert K Merton, the founding father of American sociology, were alive today, he’d be fascinated by the Donald Trump phenomenon. Scarcely more than 50 days into his second presidential term, hapless Trump provides daily proofs of Merton’s universal “law of unintended consequences”.
Rooted in ignorance, error, wilful blindness and self-defeating prediction, Trump’s rash actions produce contradictory, harmful and often opposite results to those he says he wants. The ensuing chaos characterises what may become the briefest honeymoon in White House history.
For more than a decade, Michigan-based artist Ted Lott has been retro-fitting vintage suitcases and furniture with miniature dwellings. He tailors the architectural elements to the objects: a 1920s suitcase, for example, might become an art deco-style house, while a traditional chair might be made into a neoclassical residence. “I’m drawn to objects that carry a sense of their own history before they arrive in my studio,” he says. The idea of shelter is at the heart of his work, as is migration. “I wanted to embrace the idea of immigration and celebrate the uncertainty, hardship and sacrifice that people have endured over the centuries to build this country.”
LBC’s Iain Dale and historian Tessa Dunlop tackle Very Important Topics. Plus, deliciously chaotic fun at a much-loved East End cafe, and a vital but uncomfortable retelling of recent racism in Britain
I try, honest, but all these history podcasts just don’t do it for me. Also, while I’m in the confessional podcast booth, nor do many political ones either. The audio charts are full of both, but – sorry, clever bro-chatters! – they leave me cold.
Ireland recover from poor start to claim bonus-point win
The destiny of the title was out of Irish hands but there was a point to prove – not to mention a handful of legendary careers in green to be celebrated. Thousands of Ireland supporters booked a St Patrick’s weekend sojourn to Rome hoping to see their tribe seal three consecutive titles. After a sobering defeat by France top spot looked out of reach: a bonus-point victory, to maximise their chances, would have to do. Mission accomplished thanks to a hat-trick of tries by the front-row dynamo Dan Sheehan.
But forget the points table, forget the performance: since Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony announced their decision to retire from international rugby at the end of this tournament, it would be an emotional day regardless. Healy’s international career began at Croke Park in 2009 and a 20-20 draw against Australia. All O’Mahony had to do, in the second half, was take his tracksuit off to prompt a deafening roar.
Israel’s growing network of roadblocks are cutting off communities from major transport routes, disrupting work, education and aid supplies
The road to Atara from Ramallah winds through the hills and valleys of the occupied W est Bank. To drive the nine miles to the village from the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority should take about half an hour, despite the potholes and traffic.
These days, the taxi drivers waiting for fares on Radio Street in the north of the city shrug when asked when they will arrive at their destination.
(Black Acre) Pianist and producer Alfa Mist’s latest project, with drummer Richard Spaven, showcases two musicians at the top of their game
In the London jazz scene of the past decade, pianist and producer Alfa Mist has carved out a niche of melodically intricate improvisations that play through hip-hop swing and soulful harmony. It’s a fusion best expressed across his five albums since 2015’s debut EP Nocturne, while his collaborations with other artists delve into related influences, such as lo-fi UK rap on 2016’s 2nd Exitwith MC Lester Duval, and downtempo R&B on 2020’s Epochwith singer Emmavie.
Mist’s latest project, 44th Move, is a duo with drummer Richard Spaven that explores rhythm. Harnessing Spaven’s astounding capacity to play time-shifting yet metronomically perfect grooves, the duo’s debut album, Anthem, is a mighty showcase of beats and keys. Tracks such as the title number and 2nd September channel the classic Mist sound, featuring reverb-laden Rhodes chords and a laidback groove over an earworming motif, yet it’s when Anthem departs from the formula that itbecomes most engaging.
If Sam Altman’s new model were a creative writing student, you probably wouldn’t stop them pursuing other job prospects
Like all parents who pretend to be impressed by their children’s terrible art, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman proudly announced to the world that the company’s new AI model is gifted at creative writing. “This is the first time I have been really struck by something written by AI,” he enthused on X.
The prompt was to write a metafictional literary short story about AI and grief. The story closely follows the instructions. The individual sentences mostly make sense. But – with the greatest respect to Jeanette Winterson, who called the story “beautiful and moving” – it is an atrocious piece of writing.
UK prime minister accuses Putin of trying to delay peace and calls for ‘guns to fall silent’
Keir Starmer has called for the “guns to fall silent in Ukraine” and said military powers will meet next week as plans to secure a peace deal move to an “operational phase”.
The UK prime minister said Vladimir Putin’s “yes, but” approach to a proposed ceasefire was not good enough, and the Russian president would have to negotiate “sooner or later”.
Chaotic weekend sees blizzard warnings in midwest, wildfires in southern plains and dust storms in Texas
At least 17 people have been killed across the US as a storm system unleashed multiple tornadoes that struck across several states in the south and midwest, officials said.
On Saturday, the Missouri state highway patrol reported three deaths in Ozark county, one death in Butler county, six deaths in Wayne county and one death in Jefferson county.
Latest from the Stadio Olimpico (2.15pm kick-off, GMT)
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1 min: Italy win their first lineout and look to test the visiting defence early on, but cede possession and it’s with Ireland. Crowley, a big day for him, has it.
The referee Luke Pearce blows long and loud, we are under way at Stadio Olimpico!
Michael Faraday’s illustrated notes that show how radical scientist began his theories at London’s Royal Institution to go online
He was a self-educated genius whose groundbreaking discoveries in the fields of physics and chemistry electrified the world of science and laid the foundations for Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity nearly a century later.
Now, the little-known notebooks of the Victorian scientist Michael Faraday have been unearthed from the archive of the Royal Institution and are to be digitised and made permanently accessible online for the first time.
The comedian and former drama teacher was only expecting to do one series of HBO’s hit comedy-drama. Now, as Belinda, she’s stealing season three. She talks ADHD, big breaks and micro-resistances
Natasha Rothwell pops up on video from the US looking super-glamorous in a silvery-grey dress, with her hair and makeup on point. Did we miss a memo about a dress code for our interview? “I’ve just come from an event and thought, even though you’re not filming this, you could at least admire,” she laughs. “You know what they say: share the hair and never waste a face.”
Rothwell is currently stealing the show as spa manager Belinda in season three of HBO hit The White Lotus – reprising her role from season one, for which she was Emmy-nominated. Having endured the whims of Jennifer Coolidge’s needy heiress in Hawaii, Belinda has now travelled to the titular resort in Thailand to take part in its wellness training programme. She’s “cosplaying as a guest”, as Rothwell puts it – and in the process both finding romance and uncovering a potential crime.
Careers fair at Pinewood is among initiatives to lure young to an industry hit by cost inflation, writers’ strikes and an advertising recession
In a corner of a cavernous hangar in Buckinghamshire, a group of Jedi are honing their lightsaber skills, Deadpool and Chewbacca are posing for photos, while a squad of Imperial stormtroopers make their presence felt by arresting a passing reporter.
Pinewood Studios is pulling out all the stops – including a stunt display at the underwater stage famous for scenes including the sinking Venetian villa in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale – to wow young attendees at the third edition of Europe’s largest free careers fair for the film industry.
Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett head a starry cast to match the luxurious production design, but the director’s espionage yarn could do with some grit
In a world built on deception, populated by people who can lie as easily as breathe, strait-laced British intelligence agent George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) values the truth above all else. Which is probably why he’s given the task of unmasking a traitor suspected of stealing and selling a piece of potentially devastating technology. What complicates matters is the fact that one of the main suspects is his wife, high-ranking fellow agent Kathryn (Cate Blanchett). Others in the frame include in-house psychiatrist Dr Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris), alcoholic maverick Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke) and junior agent Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela).
This knotty spy thriller from Steven Soderbergh attempts to distract us from a convoluted plot and baffling character motivations with fabulously chic interiors, impeccable tailoring and a general sense of dissolute luxury. And for a while it almost works: it’s always a pleasure to watch Blanchett slink expensively around a set, and Fassbender wears his serious, Harry Palmer-style thick-framed glasses with suitable gravity. But times have changed, and to audiences acclimatised to the grubby, malodorous whiff of frustration and professional disappointment that seeps out of something like the TV adaptation of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses, this all feels about as authentic as a set of dental veneers.
New memo lists 41 countries – including Afghanistan, Cuba and Syria – that could face new restrictions, evoking first-term Muslim ban
The Trump administration is considering issuing travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters.
The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups. The first group of 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea, among others, would be set for a full visa suspension.
Women’s League Cup final: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City
Ramírez 8, Hasegawa 77og; Fujino 64
It seems as though nothing can stop Sonia Bompastor in English football. Not a change of manager from Manchester City, not a sublime individual goal from Aoba Fujino and not even the sand on the pitch. The Frenchwoman is unbeaten as Chelsea manager after 28 games and has secured the first of a potential quadruple this season.
Chelsea’s 26th victory of the season was played on a surface their midfielder Erin Cuthbert told the BBC was not fit for a final and Bompastor, who clearly had higher hopes for the facilities in her first experience of a final in English football, agreed. “That’s a bit of a shame to have this pitch for a final, especially in England where you expect to have the best pitches in the world,” she said. “I’m not sure if it was a men’s final it would be the same.”
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