1 hour ago Republicans in Washington circle the wagons around an increasingly damaged Pete Hegseth

Two Republicans are willing to say Trump’s defense secretary acted improperly, but predictably neither one is sticking around, writes John Bowden

Politics

2 h. ago Pentagon announces it has killed four men in another boat strike in Pacific

Strike comes amid congressional turmoil over legality of US attacks on suspected drug smugglersThe Pentagon announced on Thursday that the US military’s southern command had conducted another deadly strike on a boat suspected of carrying illegal narcotics, killing four men in the eastern Pacific.Video of the new strike was posted on social media by the US southern command, based in Florida, with a statement saying that, at the direction of Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, “Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization”. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago Ruben Amorim explains controversial Manchester United subs vs West Ham after defensive criticism

Man Utd threw away a winning position against West Ham and Ruben Amorim came under scrutiny for his subs in the game.

Events

4 h. ago A brown pelican 'feeding frenzy' is an encouraging sign for the often

On a jagged coastline in Central California, brown pelicans take flight to feed on a vast school of fish just offshore

Politics

4 h. ago FA chief makes bullish World Cup promise with honest appraisal of Thomas Tuchel

England head to the USA, Canada and Mexico next summer as one of the World Cup favourites and, ahead of Friday's draw, FA chief Mark Bullingham is relishing the opportunity

Politics

4 h. ago Thomas Tuchel considering unusual England tactic to achieve World Cup dream

England are among the favourites to go all the way at next summer's World Cup in a tournament that will be played in stifling temperatures in USA, Mexico and Canada

Politics

4 h. ago Arsene Wenger predicts World Cup 2026 winners with England to miss out and Argentina not defending trophy

ARSENE WENGER claims England could win the World Cup but admits the Three Lions are not as good as France. England will discover their opponents on Friday for next summer’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada with the draw due to start at 5pm. Former Arsenal boss Wenger, now FIFA’s chief of global...

Politics

4 h. ago A supersized World Cup field begins taking shape at Friday's draw

The World Cup draw takes place Friday, featuring four debuting teams: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan

Politics

6 h. ago Experts urge release of boat strike video as US admiral denies ‘kill them all’ order

Democrat Jim Himes calls footage ‘one of the most troubling scenes’ he’s observed in public serviceAnalysis: Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shakyTop Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Congress on Thursday said that the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, had not ordered the military to kill surviving members of a a deadly attack on a boat alleged to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean, but differed over whether the double strike was appropriate.The allegation that Hegseth ordered the killing of survivors sparked bipartisan concern in Washington that he or others involved may have committed a war crime. On Thursday, US navy admiral Frank Bradley, who commanded the attack, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, appeared before the House and Senate’s armed services and intelligence committees for a closed briefing in which they showed video and discussed the attack with lawmakers. Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago Why Matthijs de Ligt is missing from Manchester United squad against West Ham today

Amorim forced into two defensive changes for Old Trafford clash

Events

8 h. ago ‘Deeply troubling’: Canadian legislators call for halt to ICE armored vehicle sale after report by The Independent

Canadian MP Jenny Kwan says she will be proposing revisions to a bill she sponsored, that would prevent such items from going to the United States

Events

9 h. ago AUKUS will survive Trump, says former defense minister Smith

AUKUS will survive Trump, says former defense minister Smith  abc.net.au

Politics

9 h. ago Hegseth put troops at risk by sharing sensitive plans on personal phone, Pentagon watchdog finds

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put U.S. troops at risk by sharing sensitive military plans on his personal phone

Events

9 h. ago Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly out for two to four weeks with calf strain

Injury expected to keep him out for up to a monthPreliminary scans ruled out achilles damageComes amid ESPN report on his future with BucksMilwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to miss around two to four weeks with a right calf strain, according to an ESPN report.The injury occurred less than three minutes into Wednesday night’s win over the Detroit Pistons. Antetokounmpo collapsed without contact as he tried to get back on defense and immediately reached for his lower right leg. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago Noise around Donald Trump an unwanted distraction to World Cup draw of dreams

Amid all the hoopla circling its Washington backdrop, Friday’s event must be all about firing the starting gun on football’s biggest showWhen the sculptor Joel Shapiro created Blue, the piece that stands around the back of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, looking out over the Potomac River in Washington, he wanted to tap into a number of elements. The giant matchstick figure denotes movement and energy, risk and possibility. As Shapiro himself has said, it is supposed to “reconfigure depending on how you look at it”.It has the perfect home at the Kennedy Center, the vast cultural hub for ballet and opera, stage productions and concerts. And it resonates on a new level now as the venue prepares to host Friday’s World Cup draw, at which the competing nations at next summer’s extravaganza in the United States, Canada and Mexico will discover their group opponents and knockout round pathways. Because from one angle it is plain that Blue is executing a raking pass. From...

Politics

11 h. ago Grant funding helps elite Lanarkshire swimmer make a splash in the pool

A Connect2 Renewables further education grant of £500 helped fund travel and start-up costs to make sure he could take up his studies.

Politics

12 h. ago World Cup 2026 draw: Start time, pots, teams qualified and how to watch on TV

The tournament in USA, Canada and Mexico will be the first with 48 teams taking part in a 12-group format

Politics

12 h. ago Irish authorities asked to investigate Microsoft over alleged unlawful data processing by IDF

Move follows Guardian revelations of Israel’s mass surveillance of Palestinians using Microsoft cloudIrish authorities have been formally asked to investigate Microsoft over alleged unlawful data processing by the Israeli Defense Forces.The complaint has been made by the human rights group the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) to the Data Protection Commission, which has legal responsibility in Europe for overseeing all data processing in the European Union. Continue reading...

Events

13 h. ago A diving prince, sunken treasure and snared by the Titanic: Joe MacInnis on his ‘rip

At 88, the Canadian reflects on a golden era of underwater discovery and how shipwrecks and the cruel sea are the ‘greatest of all teachers’Joe MacInnis admits there are simply too many places to begin telling the story of life in the ocean depths. At 88, the famed Canadian undersea explorer, has many decades to draw on. There was the time he and a Russian explorer and deep-water pilot, Anatoly Sagalevich, were snagged by a telephone wire strung from the pilot house of the Titanic, trapping the pair two and a half miles below the surface.Another might be the moment he and his team stared in disbelief through a porthole window at the Edmund Fitzgerald, the 222-metre (729ft) ship that vanished 50 years ago into the depths of Lake Superior, so quickly that none of the crew could issue a call for help. MacInnis and his team were the first humans to lay eyes on the wreck.MacInnis diving in Lake Huron, off Tobermory, Canada, in 1969. Photograph: Don Dutton/Toronto Star/Getty Images Contin...

Politics

13 h. ago New York Times suing Pentagon over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's new press rules

The New York Times has filed a lawsuit to stop the Pentagon from imposing new rules on journalists who cover the military

Events