46 m. ago Even Bazball’s implosion can’t shake Barmy Army’s crew of Ashes veterans | Emma John

If anyone knows how to weather a whitewash, it’s the merry band of England fans marking their 30th anniversary at their spiritual homeCourage, soldier. Ben Stokes’s England team may be heading into the third Ashes Test already 2-0 down, but not everyone in English cricket is fazed. There is one group tailor-made for this scenario, a crack(pot) unit who can lay claim to be the ultimate doomsday preppers. Have your dreams been shattered? Are you crushed beneath the weight of unmet expectation? Then it’s time to join the Barmy Army, son.Already their advance guard are moving in on Adelaide, the city where they officially formed 30 years ago. England’s most famous – and per capita noisiest – travelling fans will be hoping for an anniversary win-against-the-odds, like the one they witnessed on that 1994-95 tour. And whatever happens on the pitch, off it the parties will be long and loud. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Joyride by Susan Orlean review – an extraordinary, curious life

An exuberant, inspiring memoir from the New Yorker writer and author of The Orchid ThiefIn 2017, 10 years after Susan Orlean profiled Caltech-trained physicist turned professional origami artist Robert Lang for the New Yorker, she attended the OrigamiUSA convention to take Lang’s workshop on folding a “Taiwan goldfish”. I was with her, a radio producer trying to capture the sounds of paper creasing as Orlean attempted to keep pace with the “Da Vinci of origami”, wincing when her goldfish’s fins didn’t exactly flutter in hydrodynamic splendour.It was Orlean in her element: an adventurous student, inquisitive and exacting, fully alive to the mischief inherent to reporting – and primed to extract some higher truth. “When we first met you said something to me I’ve never forgotten,” Orlean told Lang. “That paper has a memory – that once you fold it, you can never entirely remove the fold.” Was that, she wondered, an insight about life, too? Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Abrego Garcia won release from detention. He must check in with immigration officials 14 hours later

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was due to check-in with immigration authorities less than 14 hours after he was released from detention on a judge’s orders

Politics

3 h. ago PHOTO ESSAY: In Texas, a former Chinese official targeted by Beijing's surveillance finds refuge

The Chinese government is using an increasingly powerful tool to control and monitor its own officials: Surveillance technology, much of it originating in the United States, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Events

3 h. ago A Chinese whistleblower now living in the US is being hunted by Beijing with help from US tech

Retired Chinese official Li Chuanliang fled to the U.S. seeking asylum, fearing persecution from the Chinese government

Politics

5 h. ago Japan earthquake LIVE as tsunami warning issued and thousands evacuated after 6.7 magnitude quake

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake was recorded on Monday -

Events

5 h. ago Japan earthquake LIVE as tsunami warning issued and thousands evacuated

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake was recorded on Monday -

Events

7 h. ago Every night Putin tries to kill us with drone and missiles. But in the morning we have to go to work because Ukraine has to keep going

IAN BIRRELL meets the battle-weary and traumatised citizens of Kyiv as they face a forth Christmas at war.

Events

7 h. ago US ‘prepares to board more Venezuela oil tankers’ as White House ‘won’t watch them sail the seas’ & sanctions 6 more

US officials are reportedly preparing to storm and seize more tankers transporting Venezuelan oil to put pressure on dictator Nicolás Maduro. Tensions between Washington and Caracas escalated when rifle-wielding US troops rappelled from helicopters to raid an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Stunning footage showed commandos sweeping through the ship as they executed...

Events

8 h. ago Virgin Media outage LIVE as thousands of customers report issues across UK

The media service is out across several parts of the UK leaving thousands of customers frustrated as there is no indication when their homes will be reconnected

Economics

9 h. ago Jason Collins, NBA’s first openly gay player, says he has a year to live after brain tumor diagnosis

Collins discloses stage 4 glioblastoma diagnosisFormer NBA trailblazer pursuing new therapiesSymptoms appeared and worsened rapidlyJason Collins, the former NBA player who became the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, said Thursday he’s battling “one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer”.Collins, who revealed in a brief statement in September that he was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, said in an interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne published Thursday that he has stage 4 glioblastoma. Continue reading...

Sport

10 h. ago Explosion on residential street that sent six to hospital being investigated

Fire officials confirmed six individuals were taken to hospital

Events

10 h. ago Government announces £3bn plans to create ‘tens of thousands’ of school places for SEND pupils

'This will reduce waiting lists that cause misery and deep anxiety for parents'

Politics

10 h. ago Major boost for parents as £3billion inclusive schools package unveiled

Thousands of students with special education needs and disabilities will be better supported in mainstream schools under a multibillion-pound plan to reform classrooms.

Economics

10 h. ago £3bn announced to create ‘tens of thousands’ of school places for Send pupils

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the Government will make sure local schools are the right schools for children and young people with Send.

Economics

10 h. ago Florida's capital city approves plan to sell golf course built on slaves' graves, despite outcry

Local officials in Florida’s capital city have voted to sell a city-owned golf course built on top of the graves of enslaved people to a once-segregated country club

Politics

10 h. ago ICE issues deportation order for Belarusian woman extradited by FBI

Yana Leonova faces multiple charges including fraud and conspiracy for smuggling US aviation parts to RussiaAn ongoing FBI investigation into a Belarusian woman accused of smuggling US aviation parts and electronics to Russia is teetering on the brink of collapse after being caught in what one judge called a “Kafkaesque” case brought on by the Trump administration’s attempts to deport her before she faces trial.Federal prosecutors had worked for over a year to secure the extradition of Yana Leonova, who faces multiple charges including fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. But their efforts unraveled when immigration officials abruptly issued an order to detain and deport her soon after she was flown into the US last month, a move that plunged the case into legal chaos. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago Have we learned NOTHING from Covid? Illegal pangolin meat seized in Deptford

Officials from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) found the wild animals at a site in Deptford, south east London on December 5.

Events

11 h. ago Employees and customers of California appliance chain shocked over abrupt closure and bankruptcy before holidays

Howard’s Appliance officials reportedly gave employees just two days’ notice before the sudden closure

Economics

11 h. ago Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy’s new footwear revealed as he changes things up after frenzy over green trainers vs Hearts

IF Wilfried Nancy wanted an insight into the bizarre nature of the Glasgow football goldfish bowl then his first week in Scotland will have opened his eyes massively. Pull out a tactics board on the bench? Expect trolling. Spotted wearing green trainers on your debut? Brace for ridicule. Mention that you're "not about losing and...

Politics