Actor says the defence of his peers and fans was ‘really nice’ after Quentin Tarantino’s scathing assessment calling Dano ‘a weak, weak, uninteresting guy’

Paul Dano has responded to Quentin Tarantino’s scathing criticism of his acting abilities, thanking those who came to his defence after Tarantino called him a “weak, uninteresting guy” and “the limpest dick in the world”.

On Wednesday, Dano told Variety that the supportive responses that poured in from his peers and across social media was touching.

Richard Hetherington forced to play Prince Calàf in Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot after French tenor Roberto Alagna taken ill

In terms of drama at the opera, it will be difficult to surpass Tuesday’s performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot after a tenor became unwell leading to a surprise substitution.

A Royal Opera House chief, dressed in a jumper, chinos and trainers, deputised in the lead role after French tenor Roberto Alagna, playing Prince Calàf, became ill after the second act.

High hopes for Optimus robot help company beat forecasts despite yearly revenue decline and flailing car business

In the clearest sign yet that Tesla is pivoting away from its electric car business, CEO Elon Musk announced on Wednesday’s investor call that the company would discontinue production of its Model X SUV and Model S full-size sedan.

“It’s time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end,” Musk said. “We expect to wind down S and X production next quarter.”

• Anatoliy Trubin scores dramatic goal against Real Madrid

• Barça and Sporting in last 16, Bodø/Glimt make playoffs

Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a 98th-minute header as Benfica defeated Real Madrid 4-2 to secure a Champions League knockout place on Wednesday and deny their opponents an automatic spot in the last 16.

Benfica were heading out despite leading 3-2 with seconds of stoppage time remaining before Trubin met a free-kick to score the goal they needed to get into the playoff round on goal difference.

PM is first UK leader to visit China in eight years and hopes to strengthen bond with superpower amid uncertainty over US alliance

Keir Starmer will meet the Chinese president Xi Jinping on Thursday for historic talks he hopes will deepen economic ties at a time when some inside government fear the US is no longer a reliable partner.

The prime minister – the first UK leader to visit China in eight years – will hold a 40-minute meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing before a number of cultural and business receptions.

Stranger allegedly threw Thermos of coffee on nine-month-old boy in Brisbane park in 2024

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A Chinese team will visit Australia to help search for a man who allegedly randomly attacked a baby with hot coffee before fleeing the country.

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, announced on Wednesday that investigators will travel to Queensland to work with police to investigate the 33-year-old accused attacker.

Liam Rosenior made a mess, cleaned it up and left Naples praying that Cole Palmer’s injury woes are over. All over the place during a wretched first half, an inspired comeback had Chelsea celebrating at full time. They had looked to Palmer for inspiration and, although the attacker was kept in reserve until the second half, he did enough during his time on the pitch to show why Chelsea have responded to suggestions that their main man is pining for a return to Manchester by branding him untouchable.

It was a cutting cameo from the player whose virtuoso brilliance downed Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final last summer. Introduced with Chelsea 2-1 down against Napoli and staring at the prospect of a two-leg playoff to reach the last 16 of the Champions League, Palmer was minimalistic but impactful. The 23-year-old’s presence alone was enough to restore order and, even if he is still not in peak condition, his first assists of a season disrupted by an array of niggles were a reminder of what Chelsea have been missing while their best player has been recovering from nagging groin and thigh complaints.

Liverpool are having to stomach “a very bad cocktail” in the Premier League of wasted chances and cheap goals conceded, according to Arne Slot. To extend the mixologist’s analogy, his team are enjoying life with a few margaritas in the Champions League.

Slot’s side cruised into the last 16 for the second successive season with a demolition of Qarabag at Anfield. Mohamed Salah was among the goalscorers for the first time since accusing Liverpool of throwing him under the bus, while Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz, the potent Hugo Ekitiké and substitute Federico Chiesa were also on the scoresheet.

On a chilly, fun, boisterous night in Paris, with the Champions League mega-table scrolling away in the background, Newcastle produced a fine performance at the home of the European champions that left both teams outside the automatic qualification slots, but Newcastle much the happier of the two.

A 1-1 draw means Eddie Howe’s team finished 12th overall. They will now enter the knockout phase in the last two weeks of February, as had always seemed likely, to face either Qarabag or Monaco. More surprisingly, Paris Saint-Germain will join them there after some late score-ticker malarkey nudged them out of the top eight.

Company reports second-quarter revenues of $81.27bn but posts slowing growth in key cloud computing business

Investor interest in Microsoft’s shares may have weakened in recent months, but the company posted strong financial results on Wednesday that yet again demonstrated that the AI boom is roaring on.

Microsoft reported earnings for the second quarter of fiscal year that are likely to keep the party going for Wall Street, despite slowing growth in its key cloud computing business.

Action comes amid federal agencies’ campaign in the city, prompting an official complaint to US embassy in Quito

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent attempted to enter Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis, but was turned back by an employee, prompting an official complaint to the US embassy in Quito, the country’s foreign ministry said.

The Tuesday incident came as ICE and other federal agencies continue their aggressive campaign of arresting people in Minnesota’s largest city suspected of being in the United States illegally, despite outrage over the deaths of two US citizens in the operation dubbed “Metro Surge”.

• Arsenal 6-0 AS Far (Blackstenius 8, Maanum 12, Caldentey 21pen, Smith 41, Russo 66 76)

• Arsenal play Corinthians of Brazil in Sunday’s final

A businesslike performance against AS Far earned Arsenal a place in Sunday’s final of the inaugural Fifa Women’s Champions Cup against Corinthians.

Four goals in the first half – from Stina Blackstenius, Frida Maanum, Mariona Caldentey and Olivia Smith – allowed Renée Slegers to rotate players and rest some legs and the substitute Alessia Russo added two after the break to complete the rout.

Fed voted to pause cuts to interest rate, which currently sits between 3.5% and 3.75%, after slashing it three times in fall

The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged after its first rate-setting meeting of the year on Wednesday, resisting enormous pressure from the White House to lower rates.

A majority of members in the Fed’s federal open market committee (FOMC) voted to pause interest rate cuts after slashing rates three times in the fall. Rates currently sit at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%.

Suit filed by Amplify Legal says laws violate constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

As Emily Waldorf languished in an Arkansas hospital, she felt like “a ticking time bomb”. It was 2024, and the physical therapist was in the midst of miscarrying a much-wanted pregnancy. But because her fetus still had a heartbeat, hospital officials said Arkansas’s near-total abortion ban blocked them from taking steps to induce labor and end her pregnancy.

Instead, Waldorf had to wait and hope that she didn’t develop a deadly infection.

Local officials confirmed that ICE will conduct immigration operations during 8 February game in Santa Clara

US Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) agents are expected to conduct immigration enforcement operations during next month’s Super Bowl game in Santa Clara, California.

Local officials confirmed to media that ICE is expected to deploy for the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations team has long worked the Super Bowl and other major sporting events, largely focused on preventing human trafficking and stopping the sale of counterfeit goods, but immigration operations would be unusual.

Ali Akbar, 73, honoured by Emmanuel Macron with National Order of Merit for dedication he pours into work

For more than five decades he’s pounded the pavements of Paris, becoming part of the city’s cultural fabric as he strikes up conversations, greets longtime friends and offers parodies of daily news headlines.

On Wednesday, the efforts of the man believed to be France’s last newspaper hawker were recognised, as Ali Akbar, a 73-year-old originally from Pakistan, received one of France’s most prestigious honours.

Fallout from second fatal shooting amid immigration operation in city dogs White House, though raids continue

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The two agents who fatally shot a man in Minneapolis over the weekend have been on administrative leave since Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday, as Donald Trump tried to quell the backlash even while immigration raids in the city continued.

The move, which the DHS emphasized is standard protocol when agents are involved in fatal shootings, comes as the president suggested he would “de-escalate” his immigration enforcement crackdown in the state, but without offering details or whether tactics would change.

‘One day, Nangala,’ Aunty Agnes would say. ‘We’ll dance together at Mina Mina.’ And one day, for no good reason, I answered her: ‘Let’s do this thing’

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There are places on this Earth that still belong to themselves, places where very few people have stood. And some of those places are holy.

It was the summer of 2018 when we packed my old Hilux and a Troopie and set off from Lajamanu to Mina Mina. It had been Aunty Agnes’s idea. Although she’d painted this place for decades, she’d never set foot on Mina Mina, on her grandfather’s Country, in the jaws of Lake Mackay, Northern Great Sandy Desert.

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Liam Rosenior spoke to TNT ahead of kick-off: ““It’s been a positive start. Firstly the players and their engagement and attitude and willingness to learn, I think they have enjoyed it as well. Tonight is another big test for us and if we manage to come through it , it gives us a great chance of being in the top eight.”

“They are very good on transition. They are very organised in their press. From what I’ve seen they will press us really, really high, whether that is from a 3-4-3 or a 5-4-1. They have outstanding players. They build well from the back. It is going to be a difficult game and we are prepared for it.”

Antiheroine, a new film about the musician’s tumultuous life and career, premiered at the festival with some frank admissions but the star not present

A new documentary about the gen X icon and “queen of grunge” Courtney Love caused a stir at the Sundance film festival – without the legendary Hole frontwoman in attendance.

The musician and actor, now 61, was supposed to attend the premiere of Antiheroine, a new retrospective documentary by Edward Lovelace and James Hall that traces her storied life and career, but did not make it for undisclosed reasons. “We’re really gutted that Courtney couldn’t make it tonight to celebrate this moment with us all,” said Lovelace in his introduction for the film’s premiere in Park City, Utah, calling Love “so unfiltered, so truthful”.

The prime minister cannot wish away the contradictions between upholding democratic values and pursuing commercial interests with Beijing

It has been clear for many years that China’s status as a second global superpower poses challenges to the world’s democracies. Donald Trump’s marauding behaviour as president of the first-placed superpower makes those challenges more acute. In the past, the UK’s relationship with Beijing has been anchored, and sometimes dictated, by the alliance with Washington. Mr Trump’s contempt for former allies, expressed as sabotage of Nato and a scattergun imposition of tariffs, scrambles the old strategic calculus.

This is an ominous backdrop for Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing. The prime minister is trying to perform a difficult balancing act, looking for commercial opportunity in a growing powerhouse while protecting national security from an authoritarian behemoth.

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Keir Starmer has landed in China to meet Xi Jinping, in the first trip to the country by a British prime minister in eight years. But Starmer is facing myriad issues, including pressure to try to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, the jailed former media tycoon and one of Hong Kong’s most significant pro-democracy voices, as well as raising other human rights concerns.

On top of that he has the difficult task of trying to boost trade with China without triggering the fury of Donald Trump.

Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar, who joins from Beijing.

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Napoli Meret, Di Lorenzo, Juan Jesus, Buongiorno, Spinazzola, Lobotka, McTominay, Olivera, Vergara, Elmas, Hojlund.

Subs: Contini, Spinelli, Gutierrez, Lukaku, Beukema, De Chiara, Garofalo.