2 h. ago Manchester United show patience and hope for big things from Benjamin Sesko | Andy Brassell

After the club’s two previous attempts to sign the forward, Ruben Amorim will be hoping they have found the real dealIt has, for a while, appeared to be destiny. Benjamin Sesko’s arrival at Manchester United was third time lucky for last season’s Europa League finalists, having attempted to make a deal for the Slovenia striker when he was leaving Domžale in 2019 and again when he agreed to fly the Red Bull Salzburg nest in 2022, eventually joining up with RB Leipzig a year down the line.Now United have their still-only-22-year-old man and if Sesko has been feted in the inner circles of European football since his mid-teens, one could suggest the wait has not only be worthwhile but that it could work in favour of Ruben Amorim as he attempts to author a dramatic uptick in the fortunes of the English game’s premier fallen giant. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Trump says he’ll seek ‘longterm’ control of DC police and signals he’ll target other cities next

President’s comments come as White House takes credit for dozens of arrests as part of campaign to fight ‘crime crisis’ its leaders say doesn’t existUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump said on Wednesday he would ask Congress for “longterm” control of Washington DC’s police department and signaled he expected other Democratic-led cities to change their laws in response to his deployment of national guard troops and federal agents into the capital.The president’s comments came as the White House took credit for dozens of arrests overnight in Washington as part of Trump’s campaign to fight a “crime crisis”, which its leaders say does not exist. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Boosting productivity will be main priority of my autumn budget, Reeves says

Exclusive: Chancellor says ‘investment and reform are our tools’ as she pushes back against mounting tax speculationRachel Reeves: Labour has fixed the foundations – now we must build a stronger economy for a renewed BritainRachel Reeves has promised to use her autumn budget to prioritise fixing Britain’s dismal record on productivity as she sought to downplay mounting tax speculation with a focus on economic growth.Setting out her priorities for the budget for the first time, the chancellor said tackling the efficiency of the economy through higher investment and a fresh assault on planning rules would form the backbone of her tax and spending plans. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Boosting productivity will be main priority of autumn budget, Reeves says

Exclusive: Chancellor focuses on investment and planning rules as she dismisses talk of tax rises as ‘speculation’Rachel Reeves: Labour has fixed the foundations – now we must build a stronger economy for a renewed BritainRachel Reeves has promised to use her autumn budget to prioritise fixing Britain’s dismal record on productivity as she sought to downplay mounting tax speculation with a focus on economic growth.Setting out her priorities for the budget for the first time, the chancellor said tackling the efficiency of the economy through higher investment and a fresh assault on planning rules would form the backbone of her tax and spending plans. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Ella Baron on Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Europe – cartoon

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Politics

3 h. ago Criminal investigation into death of former Gogglebox star George Gilbey closed by police

A criminal investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) remains ongoing

Events

3 h. ago Putin to face ‘very severe consequences’ if he does not agree Ukraine ceasefire, says Trump

US president also suggests he would push for second summit if his meeting with Putin goes well alongside Vlodymyr ZelesnkyyVladimir Putin will face “very severe consequences” if he does not agree a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine at his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska, the US president said on Wednesday.Speaking after a call with Vlodymyr Zelesnkyy and other European leaders, including Britain’s Keir Starmer, Trump also suggested he would push for a second summit if his meeting with Putin goes well – this time including his Ukrainian counterpart. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Putin faces ‘very severe consequences’ if no Ukraine truce agreed, Trump says

US president also says he would push for three-way summit with Volodymyr Zelenskyy if Alaska meeting goes wellVladimir Putin will face “very severe consequences” if he does not agree a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine at his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska, the US president said on Wednesday.Speaking after a call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, including Britain’s Keir Starmer, Trump also suggested he would push for a second summit if his meeting with Putin goes well – this time including his Ukrainian counterpart. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Cops search for man accused of killing cancer patient’s dog as revenge for a fight between two animals the same day

‘We were sitting on the couch just watching TV, and this guy comes in and pulls him from my couch to the floor’ the dog’s owner said.

Science

3 h. ago France acknowledges role in repression of Cameroon independence movements

Emmanuel Macron writes to Cameroonian president with findings of joint commission on country’s colonial pastFrance has acknowledged its role in decades of violent repression of independence movements in Cameroon, the latest stage in a slow process of reckoning with its brutal colonial past.In a letter to the Cameroonian president, Paul Biya, dated 30 July, Emmanuel Macron said it was “up to me today to assume the role and responsibility of France in these events”. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago UK traffic to popular porn sites slumps after age checks introduced

Figures from digital data company show effect of strict rules brought in last month under Online Safety ActBritish visits to popular pornography sites have slumped following the introduction of strict age checks last month, data shows.Daily visits to Pornhub, the UK’s most used porn site, fell from 3.6m on 24 July, the day before age-gating was introduced, to 1.9m on 8 August, a drop of 47%. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago US judge orders Trump administration to restore part of UCLA’s frozen funding

District judge said the grant funding suspensions violated an earlier June preliminary injunctionA US judge on Tuesday ordered Donald Trump’s administration to restore a part of the federal grant funding that it recently suspended for the University of California, Los Angeles.US district judge Rita Lin in San Francisco ruled that the grant funding suspensions violated an earlier June preliminary injunction where she ordered the National Science Foundation to restore dozens of grants that it had terminated at the University of California. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Trump defense official led thinktank that spread lies about Tren de Aragua

Under Joseph Humire, the thinktank tracked alleged crimes by the Venezuelan gang in the US. A non-profit found multiple false entriesA senior official appointed to the defense department led a thinktank that promoted fake news about the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, according to InSight Crime, a non-profit analyzing organized crime.Joseph Humire was appointed this summer to be the head of policy focusing on the western hemisphere within the office of the under secretary of defense for policy. He was previously the executive director of a conservative thinktank focused on global security. Humire’s appointment comes as the Trump administration is ramping up its aggressive strategy against organized crime in Latin America and the Venezuelan government, which it accuses of working with TdA. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Merz’s manoeuvres on world stage fail to quell doubts about his leadership

The German chancellor’s high-wire statesmanship on Ukraine has done little to alleviate his domestic woesEurope live – latest updatesFriedrich Merz hosted the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Wednesday as a weakened leader 100 days into his term, with his attempts to rally western support for Kyiv and wrangle Donald Trump failing to silence his domestic critics.The German chancellor took the initiative for Wednesday’s lightning round of telephone conferences bringing in EU leaders, Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance. Zelenskyy’s surprise arrival in Berlin to sit in on the calls underlined Merz’s starring role in the diplomatic efforts. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago The big bratwurst brawl: why is this simple sausage so sizzlingly controversial?

The rivalry between the regions who claim to have invented it is more heated than ever – and should it be 8cm or 31cm long?Name: Bratwurst.Age: It depends. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Dale Webster, surfer who rode waves for 14,642 consecutive days, dies aged 77

Surfer rode waves daily for over 40 years straightStreak reached 14,642 consecutive surfing daysGuinness record-holder dies at age 77 in CaliforniaDale Webster, the Northern California surfer who paddled out every day for more than 40 years, has died at the age of 77. News of his death was shared on social media by friends and fellow surfers. No cause of death was given.Known as Daily Dale and Daily Wavester, Webster holds a Guinness world record for the longest streak of consecutive days surfed: an extraordinary 14,642, a stretch that began in 1975 and ended in 2015. His feat required him to surf at least three waves a day, rain or shine, in sickness or in health, through frigid Pacific waters and the shark-rich lineup off Sonoma County. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago The Ice alert app founder sparking fury in Trump officials: ‘Pam Bondi said I better watch out? Please.’

After IceBlock’s launch in April, Kristi Noem attacked developer Joshua Aaron and his wife was fired from the DoJ. The attention has only led to more raids being reportedFor many undocumented immigrants living in the US, the constant threat of Ice raids has turned their homes into prisons. Leaving the house to go to work, school, buy groceries or the doctor’s office all carry unthinkable risks.It’s a problem that Joshua Aaron wanted to tackle. A former indie musician (he played bass in 2000s buzz band The Rosenbergs and later fronted his own group Stealing Heather) turned app entrepreneur, he set about making an app that could spot Ice and alert people, the same way drivers let other drivers know about traffic stops on Waze. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Manchester Arena bomb plotter charged with three counts of attempted murder

Hashem Abedi charged over incident in which four prison officers were injured at a maximum security prison in AprilThe Manchester Arena plotter Hashem Abedi has been charged with three counts of attempted murder after four prison officers were injured at a maximum security prison.Abedi, 28, is also charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of unauthorised possession of a knife or offensive weapon after an incident at HMP Frankland in Durham on 12 April. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago Evil son, 16, killed mom with her own gun because he was mad at her for taking his phone away

Shawn Willis, now 21, was only 16 when he shot his mother, Sandy Willis, with her own gun while she slept in her Rocky Top home on April 20, 2020.

Events

5 h. ago Air Canada cancels flights during peak season ahead of flight attendant strike

Canada’s largest airline expects full shutdown as workers protests over claims of ‘poverty wages’ and unpaid labourCanada’s largest airline has started cancelling flights during the peak summer travel season ahead of a strike by more than 10,000 flight attendants over what they say are “poverty wages” and unpaid labour for work when planes are not in the air.Air Canada said it would start suspending flights on Thursday ahead of full shutdown on Saturday after the flagship carrier and the union representing the flight attendants failed to resolve a months-long dispute over pay and working conditions. Continue reading...

Events