86 minutes ago UK is joined by 6 countries in ‘blue banana’ zone and it proves one thing about economy

The 'Blue Banana' is a crescent-shaped area that stretches from North West England to Milan, Italy - it covers the countries of the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy

Politics

86 minutes ago Manchester United star reveals four instructions he received from 'demanding' Ruben Amorim

Man Utd drew 1-1 with Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Saturday and Diogo Dalot spoke in the mixed zone.

Politics

89 minutes ago Arsenal's not so secret weapon has been blunted by Premier League's latest trend

Nicolas Jover has been praised for making Arsenal a dominant force from set pieces but their major strength is being dulled by Premier League rivals catching up

Politics

1 hour ago ITV's Lorraine Kelly forced to apologise after major blunder live on air

Lorraine Kelly was forced to apologise after she swore live on air while speaking to Emmerdale star Nicola Wheeler during an episode of her ITV chat show.

Society

2 hours ago Labour warned winter fuel cuts will come back to haunt them 'again and again'

Keir Starmer insists pensioners will still be 'better off' despite scrapping Winter Fuel Payments - but thousands have poured scorn on the PM's claim, with many worried the cuts will push elderly Brits into poverty

Events

2 hours ago Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban 'considering move back to Australia' after 'distressing' year

Urban is said to be planning to step back from touring to support his grief-stricken wife

Politics

2 hours ago ITV Emmerdale stars 'like married couple in real life' away from soap cameras

Emmerdale actress Nicola Wheeler, best known for playing fan favourite Nicola King for over two decades, has opened up about her real-life connection with co-star Nick Miles

Politics

3 hours ago ‘Activates my lizard brain’: why Alita: Battle Angel is my feelgood movie

In a new series of writers revealing their go-to comfort film, an unlikely action flop gets a stirring recommendationWhen I’m in a truly bad mood, about the state of the world or just the state of myself, traditionally uplifting movies (or music, or TV) don’t cut it for me. It’s not the movies’ fault, necessarily; it’s the act of pressing play on even a feel-great movie like His Girl Friday or Toy Story 2 that nags at me as overly self-conscious. It’s hard for the movie to have its desired effect when I’m giving it such a personal, specific mandate to make me feel better – a truly impossible form of video on demand. Instead, I need something that activates my lizard brain, something that goes straight to the pleasure center of my imagination, rather than engaging directly with my emotio...

Events

4 hours ago Ding Liren v Gukesh Dommaraju: World Chess Championship 2024 Game 1 – live updates

Ding and Gukesh face off for $2.5m in SingaporeExplainer: all your pre-match questions, answeredBluesky Bryan at @BryanAGraham or email himOur Leonard Barden has filed his final dispatch ahead of today’s opening game. Barden, who’s written the Guardian’s chess column every week since September 1955, doesn’t divert from the general consensus in his assessment of the match.The preliminaries are nearly over: who will win? I expect Gukesh to be cautious in the first few games, then to probe and push hard in the middle of the match. Ding’s 2024 form has been so wretched that it is difficult to see how he can keep his title. A 7.5-4.5 margin for Gukesh looks about right. Continue reading...

Sport

5 hours ago Who is really escalating the war in Ukraine? It certainly isn’t the west | James Nixey

The policy of the US and Europe remains the same: drip-feeding resources while never giving Ukraine the chance to push Russia outJames Nixey leads the Russia-Eurasia programme at Chatham HouseEven for a country that has been at war for more than 1,000 days, the past month has been rough for Ukraine: its nemesis, Russia, has acquired 11,000 troops from North Korea and mercenaries from Yemen to assist in its project to delete Ukraine. Russia has also pulverised Ukraine’s energy grid with renewed ferocity as temperatures fall below freezing and fired off experimental intermediate-range weaponry, and it continues to make gains in the east. As if that weren’t enough, Russia’s preferred candidate has been elected as the American president, promising to end the war in “24 hours” – and not in U...

Events