44 m. ago Merz makes moves to build coalition as German parliamentary groups meet for first time since election – Europe live

Friedrich Merz aiming to build government before Easter after winning most votes in Germany electionDeutsche Presse-Agentur, the German news agency, has ruled that the new expected coalition between the conservative CDU/CSU union and the Social Democratic party will no longer qualify as a “grand coalition”, or GroKo, as it was known in Angela Merkel years.This is to account for the reality that the two are no longer the largest parties in the new Bundestag – with the far-right Alternative für Deutschland now the second largest, ahead of the SPD, after the elections on Sunday. Continue reading...

Politics

57 m. ago Galatasaray accuse Mourinho of ‘racist statements’ and vow to take legal action

Fenerbahce manager accused of ‘inhumane rhetoric’He criticised Galatasaray behaviour and Turkish refereesGalatasaray have accused José Mourinho of making “racist statements” and said they would initiate criminal proceedings against the Fenerbahce manager over his comments after their 0-0 Super Lig draw on Monday.Although it was not clear which statements Galatasaray were referring to, Mourinho said the home side’s bench had been “jumping like monkeys” and that the match would have been a disaster if a Turkish referee had been in charge. Monday’s game was refereed by the Slovenian Slavko Vincic after both clubs requested a foreign official take charge. Continue reading...

Politics

69 m. ago Mohamed Salah turns it up to 11: devotion, dexterity – and a new deal? | Jonathan Liew

Arguments around the Liverpool star’s future keep adding up, but what if we’re all asking the wrong question?There are numbers, of course, if you choose to want them. Records enough to drown in. Discourse piled sky-high. Here: a colourful infographic setting out his most recent milestones, begging your finger for a double-tap. Here: a TV host in expensive trainers pointing at a very large screen. First for contingent goal involvements. First for final-third shimmies. Look at that shot throb velocity: up a staggering 0.28 on last season. After the break, some nonentities will debate today’s hot question: is Mo Salah enjoying the most venomous Premier League season ever? Stay tuned. Continue reading...

Economics

69 m. ago Glasner thriving at Crystal Palace after rollercoaster run of emotions

Manager marked first anniversary at club with victory and team are hoping to combine away record with more success at Selhurst ParkOliver Glasner comes across as one of the Premier League’s more measured managers, although sometimes he can’t help himself. When Daniel Muñoz scored Crystal Palace’s second goal at Craven Cottage on Saturday, the Austrian was one of the first to join the celebrations after sprinting down the touchline and was handed a yellow card for his efforts. It was the second time Glasner has been cautioned for the same offence after the Colombia defender’s late equaliser against Newcastle in November sparked similar scenes.“I try to be quite controlled but to be honest I don’t always find the midway point,” said Glasner, who marked the first anniversary of his appointment with a fourth straight Premier League away victory. “I like these emotions and I think it’s one of the main reasons that I like being a manager because you get all these emotions sometimes within...

Politics

69 m. ago Deviants by Santanu Bhattacharya; The South by Tash Aw review – love under the eye of the law

Two contrasting but equally impressive Asia-set coming-of-age novels explore gay teenagers navigating their nascent sexuality against the backdrop of personal and political upheavals What makes sex so natural a subject for fiction isn’t simply prurience, but rather the drama built into the evergreen question of how private desire finds expression, not least when the law’s looking. Two new novels, both set in Asia and centred on the coming of age of gay men, play out against the legacy of section 377, the Victorian penal code criminalising homosexuality in British colonies – repealed in 2018 in India, where Santanu Bhattacharya’s Deviants unfolds, and still applicable in Malaysia, the setting of Tash Aw’s The South, the first of a planned quartet from the two-time Booker longlistee.Deviants, Bhattacharya’s second novel, hops with buttonholing vim around three gay men across three generations over the past half-century to draw surprising contrasts and continuities of experience amid l...

Politics

69 m. ago Georgina Hayden’s coronation cauliflower and egg salad – recipe

A punchy and substantial seasonal salad Historically, February is the month when I really embrace the joy of staying in. I want to see friends and family, but I’m also not too fussed about leaving the house. It’s too cold to be checking train times and organising diaries – come to mine and we can curl up in the warm. It’s also the time of year when I most crave comfort and nostalgia: school-style traybakes with cream (or custard, if you must) and retro dishes such as glazed ham, egg and chips. This coronation cauliflower salad is well within that theme: it’s retro and familiar, but also seasonal and worthy. Continue reading...

Politics

69 m. ago Look at Donald Trump and his gang of broligarchs – and tell me we don’t need a wealth tax | Brian Cox

I played a fictional billionaire on TV. It’s time world leaders got serious about taxing the real onesBrian Cox played Logan Roy in HBO’s Succession and is a supporter of Patriotic Millionaires InternationalYou could be forgiven for thinking the second coming of Donald Trump was fiction. Unfortunately, it’s not – the threat he and his “broligarchs” bring to people around the world is very, very real. Last month Trump, surrounded by his uber-rich friends, was inaugurated the 47th president, while his political supporters sat outside in the cold – the perfect metaphor for who really matters in this presidency.Among the clique were the three richest men in the world: Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and top dog Elon Musk, who personally poured $277m into Trump’s election campaign, increasing his own wealth by $170bn as a result.Brian Cox played Logan Roy in HBO’s Succession and is a supporter of Patriotic Millionaires International Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Brit Awards 2025: When are they on, presenters and live performances

From Sam Fender to Sabrina Carpenter, here is everything you need to know about the Brits - the annual celebration of the best music

Events

1 hour ago Atletico Madrid XI vs Barcelona: Predicted lineup. confirmed team news, injury latest for Copa del Rey

Diego Simeone has already confirmed Jan Oblak will play no part against Barcelona

Events

1 hour ago Barcelona XI vs Atletico Madrid: Yamal injury latest, predicted lineup, confirmed team news for Copa del Rey

Barcelona are sweating on the fitness of Lamine Yamal ahead of the huge first-leg showdown

Events

2 h. ago Chelsea XI vs Southampton: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news, injury latest for Premier League today

Blues could play winger up front after series of injuries

Politics

2 h. ago ‘My life expectancy is short’: America’s most vulnerable – in pictures

From train hoppers to addicts and prostitutes, Mark Laita’s photo series unpicks the complex life stories of those who exist on society’s fringe Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Crucial UN nature talks are about to reopen in Rome – but will enough countries turn up?

After last year’s Cop16 biodiversity talks in Cali left key issues unresolved, the extra summit will attempt to seek consensus, especially over fundingGlobal talks to halt the loss of nature will reopen today in Rome, amid “loss of trust” in the United Nations-led process and concerns that countries will not turn up for the meeting. Delegates are due to meet at Cop16, the UN’s biodiversity conference, to discuss global targets to stop nature loss by 2030.The additional meeting in Rome was called after talks were suspended in confusion in the Colombian city of Cali in November when they overran and delegates left to catch flights home. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Britain’s insistence on total Ukrainian victory was misguided – it’s time for a realistic compromise | Robert Skidelsky

By refusing to back negotiations for the past three years, the UK has become irrelevant to the search for peace – we must change courseOn the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, British policy towards the war is in a mess. The continuing official British position, echoed by all the main media, has been “no peace without a Ukraine victory” – meaning, centrally, the expulsion of Russia from all territories seized since 2014. President Trump’s active search for a compromise peace tears up this script.When a long, consistently pursued policy ends in a shambles, it is time to reflect on what was right and what was wrong about it, and what might still be done to reinsert Britain into a process to which it has become largely irrelevant.Robert Skidelsky is a crossbench peer in the House of Lords and author of Keynes: the Return of the Master and co-author of How Much Is Enough? Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago American couple visit 'UK's friendliest city' – and can't get over three things

Travel-obsessed Americans visited Liverpool for the second time to investigate whether it really is the 'UK's friendliest city' as they have been previously assured

Politics

3 h. ago Three Scottish chefs in final for nationwide ‘holy grail’ scholarship

The finalists for the Roux Scholarship 2025 have been revealed and three Scottish chefs have made the cut.

Politics

3 h. ago Eddie Kadi: ‘People think I’m always ready to crack jokes. If you’re a doctor, I don’t ask you to operate on me!’

The standup and presenter on preshow prayers, blending dance with comedy and the night he bombed at the BBCHow did you get into comedy?I feel like comedy got into me. At university, I hosted talent shows as part of the African and Caribbean society, and became popular on the university circuit. After that, someone said: “You’re a pretty funny host, you should try standup.” One of my first gigs was at Kojo’s Comedy Funhouse, performing these funny songs. But explaining those songs made people laugh even more. I didn’t even realise I was doing standup. It was never planned, but the moment I got a taste for it, it was just one gig after another. I never looked back.Who did you admire when you were first starting out?I remember watching Richard Blackwood. His shows would come on TV pretty late and if I caught my parents in a good mood, they would let me watch until the end. I used to love Bruce Forsyth. Ronnie Corbett was hilarious. I was a big fan of Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin. ...

Events

3 h. ago It’s grand theft AI and UK ministers are behind it. Oppose this robbery of people’s creativity | Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alastair Webber

The plan to weaken copyright law, allowing tech firms to profit for free from people’s talent, is an outrage, and the nation would sufferWe are father and son: one has written 16 musicals and counting, the other cofounded The Other Songs, a leading independent record and publishing company. Our work has employed thousands globally, nurturing the next generation of talent. Copyright is the foundation that protects this, and all creative work: from music, theatre and literature to film and art. Copyright ensures creators retain control and are fairly compensated. It underpins the creative economy. Put simply, it allows artists and creatives to make a living. Endless studies have shown what a benefit that creativity – music, theatre, dance, art, film, TV, the list is endless – has on the rest of society.Yet, today, the UK government is proposing changes that would strip creators of this protection. Under the data (use and access) bill, AI companies would be allowed to take works, past ...

Politics

3 h. ago Dartmoor wild boar sightings prompt suspicions of guerrilla rewilding

Dog walker’s close encounter prompts debate over whether the animals, once native to UK, should remainSightings of wild boar on Dartmoor have raised suspicions a guerrilla rewilder has been releasing them – and prompted a debate over whether they should be allowed to remain.Videos of a group of boar on the moors in Devon were posted online earlier this month, and a dog walker has recently complained of a close encounter with one of them, which frightened his pet. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Horoscope today: Your daily guide for Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Read what the stars mean for you today, from Pisces to Gemini

Politics