Just four Welsh players in tonight’s 23 played against South Africa in November, so it’s somewhat of a restart for Gatland tonight.
Club form has been rewarded and Cardiff’s Ben Thomas starts at 10. The Blues have carried the flag this season in the URC and are fifth in the table. Last season no Welsh clubs finished in the top half of the 16-team competition, so there are signs of improvement.
A fatal crash on 29 January took down a commercial jet and a US military helicopter on a training flight near Washington DC’s Reagan National airport. Authorities have said all 64 people on the American Airlines flight were presumed dead as well as three more on the army helicopter, making the incident the deadliest US air tragedy since 2001.
Colombian links up with Cristiano Ronaldo in £71m deal
Neymar rejoins Santos from Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal
Jhon Durán has completed his move from Aston Villa to Al-Nassr for a fee of up to £71m, becoming the latest player from one of Europe’s top leagues to move to Saudi Arabia.
The 21-year-old Colombia international will team with Cristiano Ronaldo and wear the No 9 shirt. The initial fee is about £65m and represents a significant profit for Villa, who signed him from Chicago Fire for £18m. Durán has scored 12 goals in 29 games for Villa this season, including a memorable winner against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Palestinians return to Gaza, Americans survey the aftermath of the Palisades fire and Hindus gather at the Shahi Snan in India: the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists
• Warning: this gallery contains images that some readers may find distressing
Sharp rise in population in 11 of 16 cities expected to continue as rising temperatures make it easier for the animals to breed, say researchers
Rat numbers are soaring in cities as global temperatures warm, research shows.
Washington DC, San Francisco, Toronto, New York City and Amsterdam had the greatest increase in these rodents, according to the study, which looked at data from 16 cities globally. Eleven of the cities showed “significant increasing trends in rat numbers”, said the paper published in the journal Science Advances, and these trends were likely to continue.
Move to issue 03-mini model follows sudden arrival of much cheaper Chinese rival DeepSeek’s R1
OpenAI is releasing a new artificial intelligence model for free, after the company said it would speed up product releases in response to the emergence of a Chinese rival.
The startup behind ChatGPT is issuing the AI, called o3-mini, after the surprise success of a rival product by China’s DeepSeek. It will be available without charge – albeit with usage limits – to people who use the free version of OpenAI’s chatbot.
IRS handbook containing mentions of taxpayers’ ‘inequity’ and ‘inclusion’ have been wiped, WSJ reports
As the Trump administration continues to get rid of diversity programs throughout the government, it is deleting any mention of the words “diversity,” “equity” and “inclusion”.
That meant that in the Internal Revenue Service’s procedural handbook for employees, the terms were wiped out when referring to finances and tax procedures rather than actual DEI programs, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Without Fews Net, recognised as ‘a vital life-saving tool’ for preventing food crises, people will die, experts warn
The system for monitoring global food crises appears to have been suspended after President Donald Trump’s executive order froze US foreign aid.
The website for the US-funded famine early warning systems network (Fews Net) was not accessible on Friday. A banner said reports and data were “currently unavailable” without elaborating.
Winning bid for 49% stake values London Spirit at £295m
Welsh Fire stake sold for reported £35m to tech entrepreneur
The Hundred is set to deliver an eye-watering windfall for English cricket that exceeds all projections after a Silicon Valley consortium featuring the chief executives of Microsoft and Google claimed a 49% share in London Spirit for £144m.
It was the first of two sales to take place on Friday afternoon, with a 49% stake in Cardiff-based Welsh Fire later sold for a reported £35m. The England and Wales Cricket Board has now raised around £279m after similar stakes in Oval Invincibles (£60m) and Birmingham Phoenix (£40m) were claimed 24 hours earlier.
Emily Hernandez, 24, killed Victoria Wilson, 32, and injured her husband in a 2022 Missouri wreck
One of the US Capitol attackers pardoned by Donald Trump at the start of his second presidency has been handed a 10-year prison sentence for killing a woman in a drunk-driving crash, according to authorities.
Emily Hernandez served 30 days in federal prison after she joined the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 and was photographed holding the broken nameplate of Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker at the time.
The American president’s sabre-rattling over Greenland should alert member states to the need for solidarity and a reset
European leaders, Sir Keir Starmer among them, will gather on Monday in Brussels to informally discuss defence and security issues five years after Britain left the EU. When the meeting was set last year, few expected US aggression toward a European nation to be on the agenda. But initial incredulity at Donald Trump’s bellicose claims on Greenland, a Danish territory, has been followed by shocked expressions of solidarity with Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen. A bullying 45-minute phone call between Mr Trump and Ms Frederiksen was described as “horrendous”.
So it begins. As Europe reacquaints itself with Mr Trump’s aggressive “America First” brand of diplomacy, further such provocations can be guaranteed. Fighting talk emanating from the White House will sometimes be a prelude to eventual compromise. But there can be no doubt that the challenges raised by the president’s second coming are substantial and wide-ranging.
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Few sights are as majestic as an 82-year-old legend being nonplussed at promoting Captain America: Brave New World. Plus: is Thunderbolts* Marvel’s answer to The Suicide Squad and will Tron: Ares be as good as it looks?
There are moments in life when you expect to be confronted by greatness: hearing a live orchestra swell into the opening notes of John Williams’ Star Wars theme; standing at the edge of the Scottish Highlands; watching a dog somehow open a fridge and retrieve a beer for its owner. And then there are moments when greatness sneaks up on you in the form of an 82-year-old Hollywood legend, materialising like a grumpy mirage, one metre from your face, during what you thought was a routine Disney presentation of new movies and TV shows.
Harrison Ford is not a man one simply stumbles upon. He is a force of nature, a living relic of an era when leading men didn’t have to spend six months on a chicken-and-rice diet before taking their shirts off. And yet, here he is, looking suitably nonplussed with the entire concept of being on a stage, fielding questions alongside his Captain America: Brave New World co-stars in an impromptu Q&A with all the enthusiasm of a guy who somehow finds himself trapped in the world’s most boring hostage video.
An appetising decider at the Wankhede on Sunday seemed likely. The hosts were 12 for three, stunned by a triple-wicket maiden by Saqib Mahmood, Jos Buttler finally on the right end of the toss. Three and a bit hours later the series belonged to India, England 3-1 down with one to play, and a tinge of substitute controversy in there too.
Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube were the saviours, hitting 53 apiece to set England an imposing target of 182. Dube was conked on the helmet during his knock, prompting a concussion replacement, with Harshit Rana coming in for his Twenty20 international debut during the England innings. With Rana a far more significant bowling threat, this was hardly a like-for-like change, as the playing conditions demand.
Plan to tighten migration policy was brought by the opposition leader Friedrich Merz with the help of AfD
The German parliament has rejected a bill to tighten immigration controls brought by the frontrunner to be the next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, with the backing of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.
It came after a similar but non-binding motion was passed by parliament on Wednesday with the votes of the AfD, prompting a wave of protest from those who said it was a breach in Germany’s longstanding “firewall” between the far right and the mainstream.
Two-page document praises loyalty of Yang Tengbo and says he is ‘at very top of tree’ within Duke of York’s network
The full text of a gushing letter written by Prince Andrew’s adviser to the alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo reveals how intimate the relationship between the two had become in the aftermath of the prince’s disastrous 2019 interview with the BBC.
Extracts from the correspondence were quoted in a judgment upholding a decision to exclude Yang from the UK last month, but the two-page letter written by Dominic Hampshire at the end of March 2020 is eye-catching for its tone.
England captain expresses fears over paywall plans
‘Rugby needs more eyes on it, not less’
The England captain, Maro Itoje, has called for Six Nations organisers to keep the championship on free-to-air TV on the grounds that rugby union needs more exposure, amid fears the championship will disappear behind a paywall next season.
Itoje, who leads England for the first time in Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Ireland in Dublin, issued an impassioned plea, pointing to how he grew up watching the championship on the BBC and ITV.
European Central Bank picks two themes for redesign submissions: ‘iconic personalities’ or rivers and birds
He was a master of notes, and now the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven could be one of the faces of the redesigned euro, the first time the EU currency’s banknotes have been revamped.
In a process that started in 2021 and has already involved a public inquiry and two multidisciplinary advisory groups, the European Central Bank (ECB) has selected two themes for the redesign.
Music A-listers from Dr Dre to Olivia Rodrigo perform at fundraising extravaganza FireAid at neighboring LA arenas
Making my way through the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, it was clear that FireAid was set to be a different kind of musical extravaganza. Taking place simultaneously at both at the state-of-the-art arena (which opened in August) and the longtime city staple the Kia Forum, the roster, which included everyone from Joni Mitchell to Peso Pluma, was announced in the wake of the devastating fires that struck the area earlier this month and broadcast around the world to raise funds and awareness, the atmosphere before showtime was neither celebratory nor subdued, striking a delicate balance to coalesce over a common love for Los Angeles and its ongoing strife.
A red carpet where flashbulbs are usually popping was mostly quiet as a mouse, with photographers invariably checking their lenses; perhaps the stars in attendance knew it would be inept to have a fashion moment on such an occasion. Even inside the arena, the usual pre-concert buzz of boisterous mingling and drink sipping was missing.
Revered Helmet of Coțofenești among items from ancient Dacian civilisation stolen while on loan at Drents Museum
Hours before the sun rose over the Netherlands, the group crowded around the large external door, appearing to pry it open. Seconds later, the grainy security video appeared to show a powerful explosion, sending plumes of smoke and sparks into the air, and the thieves rush into the museum in the north-eastern city of Assen.
Minutes later they were gone. But the mystery of what exactly took place during their few minutes in the Drents Museum – and what came afterwards – has left officials in the Netherlands scrambling for answers, and prompted a row that has stretched to the other side of Europe.
The music mogul’s ‘freak offs’ allegedly involved kink, BDSM – and coercion. That’s not us, says the community
When music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in September on federal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, a narrative started to build: Diddy parties apparently extended far beyond his celebrated white parties, in which guests at the star-studded events donned white clothing and munched white food supposedly to represent simplicity and break down barriers.
Accounts soon emerged of other legendary Combs parties. Referred to as “freak offs”, these events allegedly involved group sex, kink, BDSM, public masturbation and plenty of baby oil – more than 1,000 bottles of the slippery stuff was found when officers raided Combs’s Los Angeles mansion.
(XO Music/Republic) On a somewhat exhausting sixth album, Abel Tesfaye uses Brazilian funk, punishing house and lush 70s soul to press great songs into the service of rotten lyrics
It takes precisely 20 seconds for the Weeknd’s sixth album to imply that it might also be his last. “All I have is my legacy … I’m all alone when it fades to black,” Abel Tesfaye sings over a lush bed of synthesisers that quickly takes on the influence of 80s boogie. It’s a line that feels very on brand. Hurry Up Tomorrow’s release has been promoted with billboards declaring “THE END IS NEAR”, social media posts in which Tesfaye has inferred the album is the final “beautiful chapter” in his story and interviews during which he’s suggested that a 2022 incident in which he lost his voice on stage was some kind of cosmic message: “You can end it now … when is the right time to leave if not at your peak?”
It is perhaps worth noting that the same was true of his last album more-or-less: 2022’s Dawn FM was rich with end-times imagery, mentions of the afterlife and arrived accompanied by interviews in which Tesfaye announced his desire to “remove the Weeknd from the world”. A cynic might suggest that implying he’s about to retire – or at least retire the Weeknd persona that he has inhabited for the last 13 years – now seems part of his release strategy. In fairness, it feels a lot more explicit this time around. One theory is that Tesfaye is more interested in pursuing a career in film, something viewers of The Idol, the abysmal drama series he co-wrote and starred in in 2023, might consider less of a career move than a terrible threat.
For those that don’t follow basketball in the US, there’s a legendary phrase coined by Grant Napear, the Sacramento Kings TV announcer: “If you don’t like that, you don’t like NBA basketball.” Roared into the mic with all the gusto of Big John ordering a takeaway, Napear would unload his trademark remark every time a Kings player made a brilliant play. Between 1998 and 2001, Napear nearly wore his phrase out watching Jason “White Chocolate” Williams – a small, harmless-looking six-footer out of a tiny West Virginia town with a heavy drawl – who had happened to have one of the biggest bags (skill-sets for you association football folks) in the game. But rather than hitting three-pointers or dunks, Williams was a master of something different. Assists were his business, and business was booming. Buttery bounce passes, alley-oops, behind-the-back, off-the-elbow, through-your-legs, what-the-heck-was-that dimes for his teammates, Williams had no equal. You don’t have to like NBA basketball to appreciate what is going on here.
Multiple football matches all kicking off at the same time in Europe this week? Whatever will they think of next? I hope the various football correspondents won’t all collapse in confusion at 3pm this Saturday. The final day of the season must be an absolute nightmare for the poor dears” – Tim Eveleigh.
Arguably the most satisfying thing about the Bigger Vase group phase was that the Nice guys did not finish last” – Peter Oh.
Max Maxwell winning letter o’ the day for his Shakespeare riffs (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). Rewarding such shenanigans sets a dangerous precedent. Max should be Bard” – Antony Train.
City take on Real Madrid over two legs in February
Premier League champions play seven games in 24 days
Pep Guardiola could not hide his frustration with Manchester City’s fixture schedule in February after being handed a daunting two-legged Champions League playoff tie with Real Madrid.
City’s failure to qualify automatically for the tournament’s last 16 means they have to face the current holders in order to reach that stage. City will host the first leg on 11 February before travelling to the Bernabéu on 19 February.
Shadow home secretary says fact 9 million people are out of work shows Britain must ‘up our game’
One of Kemi Badenoch’s senior team has been accused of “real brass neck” after saying Britain needed a better work ethic.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said there were 9 million working-age people not in work and Britain needed to “lift our game and to up our game”.
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