88 minutes ago Mark Zuckerberg’s end to Meta factchecking is a desperate play for engagement

As factchecking attempts end, Meta’s platforms will become a wasteland of fake news and misinformationMark Zuckerberg craves one metric more than any other: engagement, the statistic that tracks how long social media users spend scrolling, clicking, commenting, and viewing ads. More engagement, more profit. The Meta CEO will do almost anything to keep users online for an extra two minutes – even, it seems, surrender his websites to a flood of fake news.On Tuesday, Zuckerberg announced that his company plans to fire its US factcheckers and weaken its ability to moderate disinformation on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. This new policy is meant to curry favor with the coming Trump administration. It’s also a desperate attempt to boost engagement across all Meta’s social networks. Continue reading...

Politics

4 hours ago TikTok ban: company urges supreme court to scrap law it says would violate free speech of 170m Americans – live

Justices hear arguments after app’s Chinese-based parent company ByteDance asked justices to review caseTikTok maintains it is not controlled by the Chinese government. It’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, but TikTok operates separately with headquarters in Singapore and the US. TikTok says its user data in the US is handled by the company Oracle.Justice Samuel Alito asked TikTok’s lawyer if the company was owned directly by the Chinese government would he make the same arguments. Continue reading...

Society

31 hours ago Tierney cover broken by Arsenal, Jota price tag and £7m winger bidding war fear – Celtic transfer state of play

Brendan Rodgers is facing a busy month with the Hoops

Economics

4 hours ago The worrying numbers behind Martin Odegaard’s goal drought amid Arsenal’s scoring struggles

Odegaard is yet to score from open play this season and his drop-off in front of goal is a central part of Arsenal’s declining threat

Sport

67 minutes ago Love Island's Kaz had no choice but to return as she makes bombshell admission

Love Island star Kaz Crossley is hoping she'll find love this time around as she enters the All Stars villa on Monday and she's revealed exactly why she signed up to the show

Events

6 hours ago Perv actor jailed for using hidden camera to film kids and women changing costumes at theatre

Indecent footage was found during a random police visit after Connell was previously placed on the register in 2023.

Culture

2 hours ago Trump says meeting with Putin being planned as fight over Arctic set to begin

Trump calls Ukraine war ‘bloody mess’ as he refuses to rule out military action to gain control over Greenland

Politics

26 hours ago Everton SACK manager Sean Dyche just three hours BEFORE they play in the FA Cup, as club captain Seamus Coleman takes charge tonight

The Toffees are in another fight against relegation but the timing of Sean Dyche's dismissal will raise eyebrows with it coming so close to kick-off at Goodison Park on Thursday night.

Society

7 hours ago NFL announces Jets, Browns, Jaguars will play games in London during 2025 season

NFL announces Jets, Browns, Jaguars will play games in London during 2025 season  5GOATs

Sport

2 hours ago Germany calls a Russian oil tanker adrift in the Baltic Sea a threat to security

An oil tanker believed to be part of Russia’s efforts to evade international sanctions went adrift and had to be towed ashore by a German tugboat

Events

7 hours ago ‘They created a Vegas in 10 years’: photographing the hedonistic gambling mecca of Macau

Photographer Adam Lampton discusses capturing the vice, cash and sheer excess of the special administrative region of China – a place built on contradictions“I am not a huge gambler,” says Adam Lampton. “The first time I went to Macau, fresh out of grad school, I didn’t have any money to spare – it all went on camera film. People take it all very seriously, so I was too intimidated to sit down and be the white guy who didn’t know what the hell he was doing.”As a non-gambler in Macau, the American photographer would have been an oddity – most tourists go there to “play”, hoping Lady Luck glances their way. The former Portuguese colony, now a special administrative region of China, is the world’s gambling mecca. Located on China’s south-east coast, just across the water from Hong Kong, Macau’s gambling revenues often put the US’s “Sin City” in the shade. The Macau government expects its gaming revenues to hit about $27bn in 2024, while declining Nevada looks set to fall below 2023’s r...

Culture

3 hours ago The Guardian view on Magnus Carlsen’s power play: checking chess’s ruling body in style | Editorial

The latest controversy reveals deeper tensions about who will shape the sport’s future: its greatest players or the governing authoritiesA persuasive case can be made that Magnus Carlsen is the greatest chess player of all time. The 34-year‑old Norwegian is no longer world champion – bored with classic (long-form) chess, he chose not to defend his title in 2023 – but his name resonates with the public more than ever. This is not due to his expertise in the Sicilian Defence but because chess’s world governing body, Fide, recently barred him from playing in a tournament for wearing jeans. “Jeansgate” illustrates that while the public may care little for the niceties of chess openings, they are captivated by the eccentricities of the chess world.The fabulous (often chess-inspired) costumes in Netflix’s drama hit The Queen’s Gambit made style magazines swoon. But in real life, chess and fashion rarely intersect, though the great Cuban world champion of the 1920s, José Raúl Capablanca, w...

Politics

27 hours ago Everton SACK manager Sean Dyche, just three hours BEFORE they play in the FA Cup, as club captain Seamus Coleman takes charge tonight

Everton have sacked Sean Dyche as their manager just three hours before their FA Cup third-round tie against Peterborough United on Thursday night.

Society

37 hours ago History made: Habib is 1st Lebanese player in Open era to play in a Grand Slam men's singles draw

Hady Habib isn’t likely to find anything too daunting at the Australian Open now that he’s become the first Lebanese player in the Open era to reach a Grand Slam men’s singles draw

Sport

2 hours ago Debunked: Did sending aid to Ukraine leave LA Fire Department unprepared?

As the worst wildfires in LA’s history continue to ravage the city, Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk suggested that the fires have been worsened by the LA Fire Department’s aid to Ukraine during Russia’s invasion, depleting local resources.

Events

9 hours ago O'Donnell + Tuomey draws on Stratford's industrial past for London dance theatre

O'Donnell + Tuomey draws on Stratford's industrial past for London dance theatre  Dezeen

Culture

4 hours ago Fans Roast NFL for Choosing Jets, Jaguars, Browns to Play in London in 2025

Fans Roast NFL for Choosing Jets, Jaguars, Browns to Play in London in 2025  Sports Illustrated

Politics

29 hours ago Tyrrell Hatton paired with star set to snub PGA Tour for LIV Golf at Ryder Cup warm

The DP World Tour's Ryder Cup warm-up event, the Team Cup, could provide a window into the near future for rumoured LIV Golf recruit Tom McKibbin, who will play with Tyrrell Hatton in Abu Dhabi

Society

3 hours ago Royal Shakespeare Company slaps trigger warning on children's classic play over 'scary music, flashing lights and derogatory language'

The show, based on the children's tale by Hans Christian Andersen, is warned to contain 'haze, loud music, flashing lights, stage blood and derogatory language' as well as 'grief and cruelty'.

Events

4 hours ago Biden administration imposes toughest sanctions on Russian oil and gas

Measures targeting Russian energy sector attempt to leverage peace deal for Ukraine in Trump administrationThe Biden administration on Friday imposed its broadest package of sanctions yet targeting Russia’s oil and gas revenues in an attempt to give Kyiv and the incoming administration of Donald Trump leverage to reach a deal for peace in Ukraine. The move is meant to cut Russia‘s oil revenues for the war that started in February 2022, and has killed or wounded tens of thousands and reduced cities to rubble.National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the timing of the was chosen because “oil markets are in a fundamentally better place” and the US economy is better positioned to absorb any market disruption. Continue reading...

Politics

3 hours ago TikTok ban: government tells supreme court Chinese government could ‘weaponize’ app at any time – live updates

Justices hear arguments after app’s Chinese-based parent company ByteDance asked justices to review caseHow would a TikTok ban in US work?TikTok maintains it is not controlled by the Chinese government. It’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, but TikTok operates separately with headquarters in Singapore and the US. TikTok says its user data in the US is handled by the company Oracle.Justice Samuel Alito asked TikTok’s lawyer if the company was owned directly by the Chinese government would he make the same arguments. Continue reading...

Events

5 hours ago Biden slaps his final sanctions on Russia in move putting pressure on Trump

The outgoing Biden administration is hitting vessels in Russia's 'shadow fleet' and big oil producing firms with new sanctions meant to raise the costs of Putin's war on Ukraine.

Politics

3 hours ago Shadow fleet of tankers keeps Russia's oil money flowing despite Western sanctions

The Group of Seven democracies have sought to crimp Russia’s oil export earnings that help fund the war against Ukraine

Events

5 hours ago Horrific moment hulking driver BODYSLAMS single mother to the ground for unthinkably small reason

Gladior Kwesiah, 26, was arrested and charged with assault and battery for allegedly slamming Hailea Soares, 31. The tiny mother of two waited to hear if she'd ever walk again.

Politics

5 hours ago Shamima Begum's prison camp 'release is ticking time bomb' for terrifying reason

As runaway ISIS bride Shamima Begum's fate has been thrown into doubt, a legal expert warns of the chilling consequences of her possible release from a Syrian detention camp

Events

6 hours ago Enzo Maresca reveals double Chelsea selection decision with transfer twist

Blues duo will not play against Morecambe in the FA Cup as exits likely loom, but there is hope for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

Politics

6 hours ago Jets, Browns and Jaguars will play 2025 game in London as part of NFL International Series

Jets, Browns and Jaguars will play 2025 game in London as part of NFL International Series  USA TODAY

Politics

5 hours ago Teenager arrested after homes evacuated and bomb disposal team called to Manchester street

The item was described as a 'crude contraption' but was viable

Events

6 hours ago Russia responds to Trump's claim he's setting up talks with Putin to 'get that war over with'

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, the Kremlin said on Friday.

Politics

6 hours ago TikTok ban: US supreme court hears oral arguments over fate of app – live updates

Justices hear arguments after app’s Chinese-based parent company ByteDance asked justices to review caseCould Donald Trump stop the TikTok ban?Trump has filed a request with the Supreme Court to delay the implementation of a ban on TikTok until he takes office on 20 January, which the court declined to immediately act on. The president-elect’s intervention shows the significant effort by TikTok to forge inroads with Trump and his team during the presidential campaign. Continue reading...

Events

7 hours ago Cleveland Browns to play 2025 game in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Cleveland Browns to play 2025 game in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium  WKYC.com

Politics

6 hours ago Where kids TV presenters are now after Mr Tumble bombshell – drugs, 'Banksy' and tragedy

Mr Tumble, or Justin Fletcher as he's known in real life, won't be as regular a fixture on CBeebies. Here, find out what other former children's TV presenters did after moving on to new pastures

Events

7 hours ago Anne Reid to star as Queen Elizabeth II in By Royal Appointment stage show

The play will provide a light-hearted look at how the Queen used her dress to express what she was thinking when she was unable to say it.

Politics

6 hours ago Charity shares harrowing photos of animals injured in devastating LA wildfires

Pasadena Humane - an LA-based animal shelter - said it has taken in over 300 animals due to evacuations, while its staff and volunteers are 'working nonstop' to help with their care.

Events

7 hours ago Jets, Browns, Jaguars will give up home games to play in London in 2025

Jets, Browns, Jaguars will give up home games to play in London in 2025  NBC Sports

Politics

6 hours ago Harry and Meghan urge people to open homes to LA wildfire victims as they shelter friends fleeing flames

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex issued a formal statement regarding the wave of devastating wildfires

Events

7 hours ago NFL London: New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars to play in 2025 UK games

NFL London: New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars to play in 2025 UK games  BBC.com

Politics

8 hours ago ‘She was a fiend!’: how the interview that destroyed Thatcher became an intense TV drama

In 1989, an on-camera head to head triggered the then PM’s demise. Harriet Walter, Steve Coogan and James Graham discuss their gripping take on the bombshell broadcastIt was the interview that destroyed Thatcher. Three days after the furious resignation of her chancellor Nigel Lawson in October 1989, she went on TV for a 45-minute interview with an unlikely confidant of hers – Brian Walden, the Labour MP turned ITV journalist. She was ready for him, but she also trusted him: it wasn’t their first rodeo together. It was, however, emotionally intense.“I think so many of his questions are beseeching,” says James Graham, the celebrated writer of Sherwood and Brexit: The Uncivil War, who has turned it into new drama Brian and Maggie, starring Steve Coogan as Walden and Harriet Walter as Thatcher. “Just say that you get it. Just say that you were wrong, just say that you’re not flawless. And if you do that, grab my hand and I’ll save you.” Saving her is the opposite of what happened. Cont...

Events

7 hours ago Jacksonville Jaguars to play a game at Wembley, one of three hosts for 2025 London Games

Jacksonville Jaguars to play a game at Wembley, one of three hosts for 2025 London Games  Florida Today

Politics

8 hours ago Forensics in Christmas cake poisoning case make bombshell discovery during tests on exhumed body of baker's husband

Paulo Luiz, 68, died last September after eating contaminated bananas and his wife Zeli Dos Anjos, 61, was also taken ill but survived.

Events

7 hours ago London calling (again): Browns to play home game in London next season

London calling (again): Browns to play home game in London next season  92.3 The Fan

Politics

8 hours ago Judge will weigh holding Giuliani in contempt of court after jury's $148 million defamation award

A federal judge is set to hear arguments on whether to hold Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for continuing to spread lies about two Georgia election workers after they secured a $148 million defamation judgment against him

Events

7 hours ago New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars to play in 2025 NFL London Games

New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars to play in 2025 NFL London Games  NFL.com

Politics

9 hours ago Furious celebs vent anger as man is arrested over devastating LA fires

Conspiracy theorists have been pushing the foul play narrative online since Tuesday, when two fires erupted in the city about 40 miles apart. Four additional fires have since broken out in area.

Events

9 hours ago Michael Sheen to usher in ‘new dawn’ with new Welsh National Theatre company

Sheen, artistic director of the Welsh National Theatre, said it was a new dawn for theatre in Wales.

Politics

9 hours ago The North Korean soldiers used as 'human mine detectors' in Putin's war: Kim Jong

The soldiers are deployed across a battlefield until they are blown up one after another, according to Lieutenant Colonel 'Leopard' of Ukraine's 33rd 'Big Cats' battalion.

Events

10 hours ago I always wanted to play with Marcus Rashford – now Man United can make my dream come true

Marcus Rashford's time at Manchester United looks set to come to an end, but while many fans will feel sad, one player may yet be particularly pleased if he joins him this month

Politics

9 hours ago Harry and Meghan 'open up home' to friends fleeing devastating LA wildfires as they make plea

Harry and Meghan are poised to evacuate their Montecito home as a series of devastating fires sweep LA - but they're offering shelter to friends who been forced to flee their own properties in the meantime.

Events

11 hours ago Lisa Nandy rejects calls for England to boycott Afghanistan cricket match

UK culture secretary says it should go ahead despite pressure for it to be cancelled over Taliban’s treatment of womenUK politics live – latest updatesEngland should be allowed to play next month’s cricket game against Afghanistan, the UK culture and sport secretary has said, despite calls for a boycott over the Taliban government’s treatment of women.Lisa Nandy on Friday backed a decision by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to allow the game to go ahead, saying that cancelling it would “deny sports fans the opportunity that they love”. Continue reading...

Politics

10 hours ago Ashley Young vents as killjoy Darren Ferguson denies Everton star chance to play against his teenage son

The build-up to the tie at Goodison Park was dominated by the father-son dynamic

Events