Tadej Pogacar retains overall leader’s yellow jersey
Italy’s Jonathan Milan claimed his second victory in this year’s Tour de France when he won a crash-disrupted sprint in the 17th stage on Wednesday.
Milan prevailed in a 10-man sprint after the peloton was held up behind a massive crash with just one kilometre to go, as riders went down on slippery roads in a rainy finish in Valence. Biniam Girmay was attended to by race doctors after a crash with 1km to go.
Prosecutors say Michael Gann stored explosive devices on SoHo rooftops and threw one on to Williamsburg Bridge
A man has been charged for allegedly crafting and attempting to detonate homemade explosives in New York City.
Federal prosecutors say 55-year-old Michael Gann, who lives in Inwood, New York, used chemicals bought online last month to manufacture multiple explosive devices.
By focusing on certain areas – like nutrition, exercise and positive connections – you can age well in every decade
Staying healthy in your 50s, 60s and 70s means adapting to wear and tear, but also embracing all the different ways to thrive. By focusing on some common areas – like nutrition, exercise and meaningful connections – you can age well in every decade.
Here’s what you need to know to extend the quality of life in these decades.
Footage shows the pedophile at Trump’s 1993 wedding and the two attending a Victoria’s Secret fashion event in 1999
Newly uncovered photos and video footage published by CNN show more links between the notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump, including Epstein’s attendance at Trump’s wedding to Marla Maples at the Plaza hotel in New York in 1993.
The media organization said on Wednesday that Epstein’s attendance at the wedding ceremony was not widely known.
Organisations working on route used by people trying to reach Europe say they are punished for saving lives
Italian officials have detained NGO rescue vessels five times in the past six weeks, as campaigners criticise an escalating crackdown they fear will lead to more fatalities on one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.
On Tuesday the Berlin-based NGO Sea-Watch received confirmation that its vessel, the Aurora, had been detained in Lampedusa for 20 days. It was detained after the vessel had helped to rescue about 70 people in international waters, many of whom had been suffering from fuel burns, seasickness and dehydration.
European leaders piled pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday to reverse a contentious decision to weaken the powers of two anti-corruption agencies, as demonstrators took to the streets of Kyiv for a second day.
Ukraine’s European backers including Germany, France and Sweden raised concerns about new legislation, which the Ukrainian president approved on Tuesday night. They warned it could hamper Kyiv’s attempt to join the EU and hinder the fight against corruption.
David Lammy seemingly believes Israel and its supporters will always be able to act with impunity – but the status quo surely cannot hold
A terrible tipping point in Gaza has been reached. The number of people admitted to hospital or dying from starvation has surged. The journalists’ union for Agence France-Presse (AFP) has issued a statement warning that “without intervention, the last reporters in Gaza” will die of hunger.
This is horribly shocking, but it is no surprise: after all, we are now more than 140 days into Israel’s total siege on Gaza. In May, Israel abolished the UN’s effective method of delivering aid in favour of a dystopian system in which Palestinians are forced to compete for a trickle of often unusable aid, and are shot at while doing so. About 1,000 civilians have been murdered while seeking food since the end of May. “There is no case since World War II of starvation that has been so minutely designed and controlled,” declares Alex de Waal, one of the world’s leading experts on hunger. Under the Geneva conventions, “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited”.
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist
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James Ijames was told Shakespeare wasn’t for the likes of him. Yet his Hamlet revamp electrified Broadway and scooped up Tony nominations. As Fat Ham hits the UK, he talks violence, vengeance, strongmen and joy
When he was still in his 20s and studying for a master’s degree in acting, James Ijames was advised to take a swerve away from all things Shakespearean. His tutors thought his southern accent, the product of an upbringing in North Carolina, was not conducive to declaiming Elizabethan verse. Believing them, he did just one professional Shakespeare production in 10 full years of treading the boards.
Now Ijames is righting that old wrong, although he does not see it quite that way. Fat Ham, his latest drama, is based on Hamlet and features a queer protagonist called Juicy, who is commanded by the ghost of his murdered father to avenge his death. Significantly, Juicy hails from a Black American family in North Carolina. “The thing I kept hearing over and over,” he says, “was that my regionalism – the slowness of my southern accent – would make it difficult for me to do Shakespeare. I did avoid it for those reasons. That’s a little bit of what’s in this. I wanted to take this thing I was told I couldn’t access and see if I could make it work for me.”
Thai foreign ministry says landmines along disputed border newly deployed as it downgrades diplomatic relations
Thailand has recalled its ambassador to Cambodia and will expel Cambodia’s ambassador, the ruling Pheu Thai party said on Wednesday after a landmine incident that injured a Thai soldier along the disputed border between the two countries.
The Thai foreign ministry has lodged a formal protest with Cambodia, saying the landmines found in the area were newly deployed and had not been encountered during previous patrols, the party said on social media.
Supporters in Geneva recall thrilling victory against Italy and the scramble to secure tickets for the final on Sunday
For those among England’s travelling support whose energy had not been entirely sapped by yet another night of knife-edge drama at Euro 2025, the victory against Italy was an excuse to power through and party. Geneva is hardly known for its booming midweek nightlife but more than a dozen fans found a way to celebrate before boarding the first train north at 4.45am on Wednesday.
Among them was a group of five who had taken the plunge and travelled without overnight accommodation, eventually returning to their campsite in Lucerne. The tournament has reached that heady stage where plans are excitedly patched together on the hoof; there is something about the logistical dilemmas behind plotting routes to a major final that clears tired minds and bleary eyes.
Unlike other rock stars of the 70s and 80s, Osbourne talked like a bloke from Birmingham should talk. The teenage me loved it
In the olden days, you could listen over and over again to your musical heroes do their thing, yet go for years without hearing them speak. The songs themselves gave few clues to the real accents of the singers. Singing seemed to iron out regional vowel sounds so that, in song, everyone sounded the same – rather American. I was aware that both Slade and (half of) Led Zeppelin were from the same neck of the woods as me, but I struggled to pick up any trace of Walsall in Noddy Holder’s singing voice or any hint of West Bromwich in Robert Plant’s. It was years before I heard either of them talking properly in their own proper Black Country accents. I loved it.
I’m talking about the 1970s here, when there were fewer radio or television interviews, and very little in the way of what came to be known as reality shows. Even when the 70s turned into the 80s and I was old enough to go to concerts, the spoken words of British frontmen and women, when they found something to say between songs, sounded at best neutral and at worst mid-Atlantic. Over the years, with all the touring or living in the States, their original English accents could even desert them completely.
The head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday that a “large proportion” of Gaza’s population was staving, while aid organisations urged Israel to ease its aid blockade as more Palestinians died of hunger.
“A large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving. I don’t know what you would call it other than mass-starvation – and it’s man-made,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Thanks to its sense of romance and camaraderie, Killeagh went viral on TikTok and spent 18 weeks in the Irish Top 10. The band explain how a studio jape has united Ireland
‘Welcome to the best thing we’ve ever written,” jokes Kingfishr lead singer Eddie Keogh, in a video recorded in a studio in October 2024, before he knew just how right he was. Keogh, flanked by bandmates Eoin “Fitz” Fitzgibbon on guitar and Eoghan “McGoo” McGrath on banjo, reads from his phone as he lends his chesty baritone to the just-written chorus of Killeagh: “They’d go rarin’ and tearin’ and fightin’ for love / For the land they call Killeagh, and the Lord up above / Kill-la la, la la la la la la la la la / For the green and the white I adore / For the parish to last ever more.”
It has since spent 18 weeks in the Irish Top 10, gone four-times platinum, and become the first traditional, folk-leaning song to see this level of success since The Fields of Athenry was a hit for numerous artists in the early 80s. But the trio wrote Killeagh in 20 minutes: “It literally could not have been more of a slapped-together job,” says Keogh.
Aeneas program, which predicts where and when Latin texts were made, called ‘transformative’ by historians
In addition to sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a freshwater system and public health, the Romans also produced a lot of inscriptions.
Making sense of the ancient texts can be a slog for scholars, but a new artificial intelligence tool from Google DeepMind aims to ease the process. Named Aeneas after the mythical Trojan hero, the program predicts where and when inscriptions were made and makes suggestions where words are missing.
Court’s decision expected to be used in future litigation and to support political negotiations by vulnerable states
A “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is a human right, according to judges at the top court of the United Nations.
The international court of justice (ICJ) delivered a landmark advisory opinion on Wednesday about countries’ obligations to tackle climate change, and the consequences they may face if they do not.
English commentators have, historically, been a reserved bunch. The finest from these shores – from Kenneth Wolstenholme to Barry Davies, Brian Moore to Martin Tyler – all typically showed a rather comforting self-supervision to the game as increasingly excitable co-commentators swirled around them, an internal belt that stopped the trousers from falling down even in the most dramatic of moments. Perhaps even especially in the most dramatic of moments. “You have to say that’s magnificent,” is probably not what the Argentinian commentators were bellowing when Diego Maradona rounded Peter Shilton in 1986 after his solo run, but Davies’ commentary was still inimitably perfect.
Thank you for the Kasi Flava link (yesterday’s Football Daily). It brings back memories of a Sunday pub team I played for. Our skill set was not at that level, but our ability to go to sleep standing up and fall over unimpeded was sans pareil” – Steve Robjant.
The sides for our weekend pick-up games at university in Dundee in the mid-60s often aligned deliberately along north-south lines (Football Daily letters passim). Given the number of Scots available there was a bias in the north team. Being Cumbrian-born and raised I usually squeezed into the northern line-up. Then for one game, Mel, from Blackburn, found himself playing for the south. He was not pleased” – Maurice Mandale.
All the ‘where does the north begin?’ correspondents are showing the same fundamental misunderstanding of the concept. ‘North’ is not an absolute expression. Like Einstein’s theoretical astronaut, vainly trying to accelerate to the speed of light, we experience northness as a relativistic term. In global terms, the whole UK is north. More locally, we jumble phrases like South Kensington, which I believe lies in north London. Why, there’s even a North Parade in Penzance and a South Road where the A99 thunders through Wick, some 800 miles further, er, up the page. Northness is a state of mind we take with us, or avoid at all costs, influenced but not defined by our immediate environment. But unlike Alfred’s relativistic traveller, this discussion has been a journey from which we’ve all returned many, many, years older and no further forward” – Ken Muir.
£300,000 might seem a lot to pay for the shirt of a losing goalkeeper (Peter Shilton: yesterday’s Football Daily, full email edition) but if you think of it in terms of pounds per kilo, it’s probably a good deal. I’m assuming the shirt was made from 100kg of some kind of rare, dense metal: how else can you explain Peter Shilton, 6ft professional keeper, being unable to outjump the 5ft 5in Diego Maradona?” – Derek McGee [or those penalties in 1990 – Football Daily Ed].
On the podcast today: England are through to the Euro 2025 final, but they left it late again! Michelle Agyemang’s 96th-minute equaliser forced extra time before Chloe Kelly converted a rebound from her own saved penalty in the 119th minute to seal a 2-1 victory over Italy in Geneva. The panel break down another nerve-shredding performance, the mentality behind this Lionesses side, and the game-changing role of England’s “finishers”.
Elsewhere, what's next for Italy after a heroic campaign under Andrea Soncin? The panel evaluate the next moves for both the Italian national side and domestic leagues. Plus, a look at Sarina Wiegman’s record of five consecutive major finals, the fitness worries facing England before Sunday, and why Jess Carter’s reception was one of the most critical moments of the night.
Man who worked for US military in Afghanistan seized by immigration agents and taken out of state after arriving for green card appointment, say attorneys
Lawmakers are calling for the release of an Afghan interpreter, who worked with the US military for years in his home country, who was seized by armed, masked Ice agents after a routine appointment for his green card.
The former wartime interpreter, identified only as Zia for his safety and that of his family, aided American troops in Afghanistan for about five years during the war and fled the country with his family after the Taliban resumed power in 2021.
Zia has done everything right. He’s followed the rules. He has no criminal history.
Following the rules are supposed to protect you. It’s not supposed to land you in detention. If he is deported, as so many of the people have articulated today, he faces death.
What happened to him is the worst kind of abhorrent violation of basic decency. Put aside the legal causes and the issues here for unmasked agents to snatch someone off the street with no warning, no counsel, no opportunity even to know who is doing it while it’s in process is un-American.
To Zia, we have your back. We’re going to fight for you. We’re going to leave no stone unturned.
Our credibility is at stake. We have families who have risked everything not just for themselves, but for their entire family. They have risked their health and safety. And in the name of standing up for the promises of our American democracy, that could not have been easy at the time. So this betrayal has to be that much more difficult in this moment.
This isn’t about one person. This is about thousands of people. This is about our veterans. If their word means nothing when they’re on the battlefield, risking their lives, and being saved in so many instances by the support of people like Zia who are giving this services as their family and their own lives are being threatened and tortured, then what does that mean for our word going forward?
In June this year, average daily arrests were up 268% compared with June 2024.
Ice is increasingly targeting any and all unauthorized immigrants, including people who have no criminal records.
Despite Trump’s claims that his administration is seeking out the “worst of the worst”, the majority of people being arrested by Ice now have no criminal convictions.
Detention facilities have been increasingly overcrowded, and the US system is over capacity by more than 13,500 people.
The number of deportations, however, has fluctuated as the administration pursues new strategies and policies to swiftly expel people from the US.
The US government has deported more than 8,100 people to countries that are not their home country.
Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, says that Ukraine, as a candidate country for membership, needs to uphold ‘fight against corruption’
Back to Russia-Ukraine talks, AFP just reported, quoting a source in the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs, that the negotiations will start at 4pm GMT, so that’s 5pm London time and 6pm CEST in large parts of Europe.
The EU has also confirmed that trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič will speak with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick this afternoon as they continue talks on the EU-US trade relations ahead of next month’s deadline for tariffs.
Study finds that only 9.5% of fungal biodiversity hotspots fell within existing protected areas
The underground network of fungi that underpins the planet’s ecosystems needs urgent conservation action by politicians, a research organisation has said.
Scientists from the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (Spun) have created the first high-resolution biodiversity maps of Earth’s underground mycorrhizal fungal ecosystems.
Some are using Final Fantasy and GTA Online as dating sites and long-time lovers are finding comfort and connection through Resident Evil. Could video games be the ultimate relationship tool?
Last week, Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour talked about the role of women in the video games industry. It featured interviews with gaming insiders, from esports presenter Frankie Ward to members of the inclusive online community Black Girl Gamers. It was wonderful to hear so many disparate, expert views on games culture being given so much time on the show.
One of my favourite moments was when presenter Nuala McGovern read out some listener responses to the question: why do you play video games? “I don’t think there’s enough recognition of gaming as an activity for couples,” one replied. “My husband and I bonded over our shared love of gaming. Our honeymoon was playing Borderlands 2 while we saved for a flat deposit, and now, with a young child, we explore stories, we visit new worlds, we solve mysteries … There is an underappreciated romance to gaming – we communicate, encourage, collaborate and celebrate together. It’s a joy.”
‘When Mustapha leaned forward to look into this old well in eastern Morocco, it seemed part ritual – and part desperation’
I travelled to Merzouga in east Morocco three years ago, hoping to photograph some wall drawings and writings I had seen there earlier – markings that showed the distance from the village to Timbuktu, in Mali, by camel. But when I arrived, the markings had vanished. Faced with this absence, I found myself seeking a new story, something unplanned.
Mustapha was my guide that day. At first, he took me along the typical tourist trails, which didn’t speak to my photographic interests. Then he suggested we explore the sand dunes. Initially, I wasn’t particularly interested in these either, but then we came across this old well. I set up my camera, a 1972 Hasselblad 500, and my tripod. As I started to photograph the well, Mustapha stepped forward, instinctively leaning in to look inside. I hadn’t imagined him in the picture but he didn’t pay attention to me. That spontaneous gesture – part ritual, part desperation – transformed the scene completely. It felt sacred, as though he were praying for the return of something essential: water.
(Warner) Much anticipated set of remixes and lost songs give a glimpse of a great pop mind trying out new tricks
It’s hard to overstate the impact of Ray of Light, Madonna’s seventh album. Released in 1998, it totally reshaped Madonna’s career, embracing trip-hop, electronica and Britpop and essentially proving to an unfriendly public that she was one of pop’s great auteurs. It spawned one of her biggest singles – the haunting power ballad Frozen – and its title track is still a staple of radio and DJ playlists. In the past few years, many of contemporary and underground pop’s most significant names – including Caroline Polachek, Addison Rae, a.s.o., Shygirl and FKA twigs – have referenced Ray of Light, whether directly or indirectly. It’s a fool’s errand to try to make a case for the best or most significant Madonna album – she has at least five strong contenders – but if there’s a consensus pick, it’s Ray of Light.
Which is why the announcement of Veronica Electronica, a full-length Ray of Light remix album, was met with such hysteria from fans earlier this year. Madonna has spoken at length over the years about both Veronica the character – in true Madonna fashion, Veronica stems from a vaguely contradictory concept in which she is both a girl dancing at a club and, somehow, “medieval” – and the album, which she intended to release after Ray of Light but ended up shelving. For diehards, the promised record is something of a holy grail – never mind that this long-awaited release only contains two truly new songs, one of which, an old demo titled Gone Gone Gone, has been floating around on the internet for years.
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