Outgoing BBC news head rejects claims of institutional bias as Trump welcomes resignations – latest updates

Deborah Turness says broadcaster is ‘world’s most trusted news provider’

We have heard from Culture, Media and Sport committee chair Caroline Dinenage, who has suggested that the outgoing BBC director Tim Davie ignored an internal dossier into bias at the BBC (see post at 09.06 for more detail on the dossier).

She said Davie “ignored” concerns raised in Michael Prescott’s report over the way the speech by Donald Trump was edited for Panorama.

I’m very sad about Tim Davie stepping down. I think he was an effective leader at the BBC.

I think he was a great champion for public service media, but there is no escaping the fact that he was very slow to act on this particular issue. But this isn’t the first time and on this particular issue, Michael Prescott’s report, he just didn’t take it seriously until it was too late.

I would like to say it has been the privilege of my career to serve as the CEO of BBC News and to work with our brilliant team of journalists.

I stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me. But I’d like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased. That’s why it’s the world’s most trusted news provider.

11/8: CBS Weekend News

Flight cuts could double if shutdown drags into Thanksgiving, transportation secretary warns; Inside dads’ hunt for the perfect burger: A “silly topic that we take very seriously”

Government shutdown could be headed for end as Senate passes first stage of new deal

The U.S. government shutdown has dragged on for weeks because of the refusal by Democrats in the Senate to approve a bill that does not extend ACA tax credits.

FAA prohibits most private jets at 12 major airports amid shutdown's air traffic staffing problems

The new restrictions come less than a week after the FAA ordered commercial airlines to cut flights due to air traffic controller staffing shortfalls.

Poem of the week: Leaves by Frederic Manning

A landscape of illusory peace is depicted just before the guns of battle reach it in the first world war

Leaves

A frail and tenuous mist on baffled and intricate branches;
Little gilt leaves are still, for quietness holds every bough;
Pools in the muddy road slumber, reflecting indifferent stars;
Steeped in the loveliness of moonlight is earth, and the valleys,
Brimmed up with quiet shadow, with a mist of sleep.

Ghislaine Maxwell plans to ask Trump to commute sentence, House Democrats say

Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking co-conspirator, is planning to apply for a commutation of her 20-year prison sentence, House Judiciary Committee Democrats say.

Defiant Sarkozy says prison life is ‘very hard’ as he seeks release from jail – Europe live

Former president is seeking to be released pending his appeal against a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy

If Sarkozy gets released with an ankle tag, it won’t be his first: Reuters notes that last year, France’s highest court upheld a separate conviction for corruption and influence peddling, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a year, a first for a former French head of state. The tag has now been removed.

In his closing arguments, reported by BFM TV, Sarkozy is reported to have lamented that his life in prison was “hard, very hard,” or “even say it’s gruelling,” as he once again insisted he was innocent.

Coffee may protect people against irregular heartbeats, US study finds

Trial’s findings go against common beliefs that people with atrial fibrillation should avoid caffeinated coffee

Drinking coffee may protect people against irregular heartbeats, despite the conventional wisdom to the contrary, according to a new study.

The Does Eliminating Coffee Avoid Fibrillation (Decaf) clinical trial found 200 patients with persistent irregular heartbeats had a “significantly” lower risk of the condition recurring if they belonged to the study group that was allocated coffee consumption rather than the one abstaining from it – 47% to 64%.

Andrew Robertson admits Liverpool face ‘huge uphill battle’ to retain title

• He feels Van Dijk’s disallowed goal should have stood

• City’s Doku reveals body position tip from Guardiola

Andrew Robertson admits Liverpool have a “huge uphill battle” to defend the title after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, which leaves Arne Slot’s team eighth.

The reverse was a fifth in six league matches, with Liverpool eight points behind the leaders, Arsenal, after 11 matches. Robertson said: “Obviously, we’ve given ourselves a huge uphill battle, but I don’t think any of the teams will really look at the league table until we’re halfway through. That’s what we’ve got to do but we’ve got to pick up points on a more consistent basis. Then let’s see where we are after Christmas time or whatever. We’ve just got to focus on ourselves and focus on performance levels.

‘Such a tonic’: why Burn After Reading is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers remembering their most rewatched comfort film is a tribute to the Coens’ playful star-packed comedy

The opening credits suggest a work of serious intrigue: a view of Earth from outer space zeroes in on the east coast ot the US and zooms into what’s revealed to be a large building complex nestled in woodland – what we’ll soon learn is CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia – to a soundtrack of propulsive, thundering percussion. From here, it will only gradually become apparent that there is no great mystery to the film, Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2008 spy thriller pastiche Burn After Reading, its characters instead set to chase phantoms, walk down blind alleys and, ultimately, learn nothing at all.

In one of the Coens’ noir-inflected knotted plots, Washington DC gym workers Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt) happen upon a disc containing the raw memoir of former CIA analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) – what Chad deduces is “highly classified shit” – and decide to try blackmailing the ex-spook for its return. Meanwhile, Linda begins a dalliance with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a paranoid US marshal who’s also having an affair with Osborne’s wife Katie (Tilda Swinton).

Countries are gathering for climate negotiations. Here's where the U.S. stands

Under President Trump, the U.S. has taken steps to roll back climate policies. Here are six significant changes.

People want to avoid ultra-processed foods. But experts struggle to define them

The evidence that ultra-processed foods are bad for us is piling up. But efforts to reduce their role in our diets face a big hurdle: experts can't agree on what they are and which to target.

100 Meters review – mesmerising anime of young athletes in search of physical and spiritual high

Dazzling rotoscoped running sequences make up for a lack of narrative subtlety in Kenji Iwaisawa’s film

Much has been written about the act of running, a therapeutic exercise with the potential for cathartic release. Within the context of professional sports, however, the pressure of competition can make people lose sight of this ultimate goal. Adapted from the eponymous manga, Kenji Iwaisawa’s mesmerising anime looks beyond trophies and medals to investigate the existential drive that spurs an athlete’s ambition.

100 Meters follows Togashi and Komiya, childhood friends whose life paths diverge when they go pro. Formerly the fastest grade-schooler in Japan, Togashi helps the less self-assured Komiya with the basics. As the pair enter their teens and their 20s, Komiya steadily accelerates up the ranking of top athletes, while Togashi is stuck in a slump; both battle anxieties and insecurities. Spanning more than 15 years, the story tracks their internal hurdles, laying bare the struggles of an athlete’s life, locked in a cycle of public scrutiny, performance expectations and sponsorship demands.

Why do people love spicy food – even when it hurts to eat it?

Tearing up, sweating and other bodily functions are all signs that the body is trying to expel spicy foods as quickly as possible. But there is a simple reason why some people enjoy those sensations

The first thing to understand about eating spicy food is that it really isn’t a matter of taste. Capsaicin, the active chemical in capsicum plants that are a key ingredient in anything you’d think of as “spicy”, evolved as an irritant to stop mammals from chewing and destroying plant seeds. It acts on the nervous system directly through receptors in the tongue, throat and skin – no taste buds required – and, in theory, tells our bodies that the thing we’ve just ingested is something to get rid of as soon as possible. The obvious question, then, is: why do some of us like the sensation so much?

To start to understand that, it’s helpful to know a bit more about what’s going on in the body. “Think of an engineering brief where we have to detect irritants in a system and clear them rapidly,” says Liam Browne, an associate professor at UCL who specialises in the neuroscience of sensory perception and pain. “Capsaicin binds to a receptor in the body called TRPV1, which is found in a specialised class of neurons called nociceptors that usually detect things that are potentially damaging to the body.” When that happens, it’s like a little fire alarm goes off and activates parts of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates various involuntary bodily functions without conscious control. “That’s what leads to all these physiological effects like tearing up, sweating, or your nose running,” says Browne. “It’s your body trying to get rid of the irritant.”

Fury as Indonesia declares late authoritarian ruler Suharto a national hero

Former leader presided over period marked by corruption, nepotism, censorship and claims of rights abuses

Indonesia has awarded former authoritarian leader Suharto the title of national hero, in a move that has sparked accusations of historical revisionism in the world’s third-largest democracy.

The award has deepened fears about attempts to whitewash Suharto’s rise and decades-long rule, a period marked by rampant corruption, censorship and accusations of mass human rights violations.

Typhoon Fung-wong leaves 4 dead and 1.4 million displaced in the Philippines

Typhoon Fung-wong blew out of the Philippines after setting off floods and landslides, knocking out power to entire provinces, killing at least four people and displacing more than 1.4 million.

Erasmus’s coaching scholarship takes South Africa to a higher plain | Robert Kitson

Victory in Paris with 14 men showed what the world champions can still do, leaving New Zealand and others playing catchup

Some wins count double in terms of the message they send. And amid the blizzard of weekend Test matches it was Saturday night’s result in Paris that will resonate the longest in both hemispheres. Not only the outcome, either, but the manner of it. To say South Africa exploded a few cosy theories would be the understatement of the rugby year.

So much for the idea, for example, that France would avenge the injustice of their World Cup quarter-final defeat to the Springboks. That entering the final quarter with a narrow lead and an extra man would translate into inevitable glory. That even without their talisman Antoine Dupont they still had more than enough tranquiliser darts to keep the big beasts safely at bay.

Is it true that … the harder you work out, the more you sweat?

Sweat levels can be misleading, and factors such as age, sex, humidity and even your clothes all make a difference

It seems like common sense: if you leave a fitness class looking as though you’ve just ridden a log flume, you’ve probably worked harder than if you’re barely glistening. But that’s not always the case, says Adam Collins, a researcher from the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism at the University of Bath.

Sweating, he says, is part of the thermoregulation process. When your body temperature rises, it signals to your brain to sweat in order to cool you down. As the sweat evaporates, it helps regulate your core temperature.

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s football

Everton duo stake England claim, Jaydee Canvot steps up for Crystal Palace, and Benjamin Sesko struggles to settle

Amid the headlines about Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham being recalled for England, there was a little less said about Nico O’Reilly being named in Thomas Tuchel’s squad. Myles Lewis-Skelly paid the price for his lack of game time and now the City man gets his opportunity to stake a claim for a World Cup spot. The 20-year-old now goes into camp having become the latest defender to shut out Mohamed Salah. That’s less of an achievement than it used to be, but O’Reilly still had to show tenacity and patience against this nuggety, late-era version of the Egyptian superstar. The City full-back nicked the ball off his man regularly – much to the delight of the home fans – and got forward to decent effect, too. If Pep Guardiola trusts O’Reilly in the biggest games and he can avoid injury there is no reason to think that the City academy graduate cannot make England’s most open position his own. Tom Bassam

Match report: Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool

Match report: Aston Villa 4-0 Bournemouth

Match report: Crystal Palace 0-0 Brighton

Match report: Brentford 3-1 Newcastle

Match report: Nottingham Forest 3-1 Leeds

Match report: Tottenham 2-2 Manchester United

As a palliative care specialist, I’ve witnessed the human tragedy of our end-of-life care crisis | Rachel Clarke

While the government debates assisted dying, palliative care is an afterthought. And many more people face death without the care and support they need

A baby, in Britain, in 2025, takes its stuttering final breaths. All deaths in infancy are harrowing. But the fact that this particular death might have been prevented – had neonatal care not depended so heavily on charity, had the NHS not failed to fund more than two-thirds of the healthcare babies need – is unforgivable.

Mercifully, the dystopian scenario I’ve just described does not exist in the UK today. Although paediatric care is undeniably overstretched, it is at least regarded as a core, bedrock NHS service.

Dr Rachel Clarke is an NHS specialist in palliative medicine and the winner of the 2025 Women’s prize for nonfiction

‘We never had much fun – we were angry’: Eve Libertine on life with anarcho-punk pioneers Crass

Accused of obscenity and sued by police and Tory MPs, Libertine outraged the establishment as part of Crass. Now she’s back – and she hasn’t mellowed with age

‘Things haven’t changed,” sighs Eve Libertine as she contemplates her new album. “All those songs are as relevant as they ever were.” The album in question, Live at the Horse Hospital, shows no sign that one of punk’s most anti-establishment figures is mellowing with age. Recorded at one blistering London live show in April 2024, Libertine collaborated with Chilean guitarist Eva Leblanc, reimagining tracks from Libertine’s back catalogue including ones from her time singing with 1970s anarcho-punk pioneers Crass. Produced by Crass founder Penny Rimbaud, it treads a path between performance art, experimental music and earth ritual; with her strident operatic tones, Libertine sounds like a soothsayer foretelling an apocalypse. It’s not an easy listen, but that was never the case with Crass, either.

“We never had much fun, to be honest,” Libertine says. “It was really heavy going at times. We were angry; we were trying to say things in a way that was confrontational and shocking to get a reaction. And we definitely did.”

11/9: CBS Weekend News

Freeze alerts and warnings are in effect for millions of Americans; flight delays are mounting as the government shutdown continues.

Can you solve it? Two dead at the drink-off – a brilliant new lateral thinking puzzle

Who poisoned who?

Today’s puzzle is credited to Michael Rabin, the legendary computer scientist, who in the late 1980s posted it to an electronic bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University.

It has recently been brought to light by a puzzle enthusiast who thinks it deserves to be better known. I agree – it’s an all time classic.

Girl, 17, joins lawsuit against UK government after seeing horrific phone videos at school

Flossie McShea from Devon says she saw a shooting, a beheading and porn and that other students ‘show you their screen without invitation’

A 17-year-old girl who says she was exposed to horrific images and videos including porn, a shooting and a beheading on a smartphones during the school day has joined a legal action against the education secretary.

Flossie McShea, from Devon, says she also received threatening messages while at school, as she put her name to a judicial review in an attempt to get smartphones banned in schools in England.

Israeli soldiers speak out on killings of Gaza civilians

IDF soldiers tell documentary of opening fire unprovoked and arbitrary designations of who was an enemy

Israeli soldiers have described a free-for-all in Gaza and a breakdown in norms and legal constraints, with civilians killed at the whim of individual officers, according to testimony in a TV documentary.

“If you want to shoot without restraint, you can,” Daniel, the commander of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tank unit, says in Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War, due to be broadcast in the UK on ITV on Monday evening.

Rebecca Clarke review – composer of spirited chamber music and songs finally gets her due

Wigmore Hall, London
In a deftly curated programme, youthful compositions rubbed shoulders with music from her most productive period, the 1920s

Among the plethora of female composers finally receiving their due in recent years, Rebecca Clarke stands out for sheer quality and consistency of inspiration. Born in 1886, she studied with Stanford, worked with Vaughan Williams and, as a virtuoso violist, became one of the first professional female orchestral players in London. Relocating to the United States, her output declined, but her spirited chamber music and more recently her rediscovered songs, have proved fertile ground for today’s performers.

In a deftly curated programme, the culmination of a Wigmore Hall Clarke study day, youthful compositions rubbed shoulders with music from her most productive period, the 1920s. Ailish Tynan opened proceedings, her soaring soprano and snappy diction illuminating songs that suggested the influence of Vaughan Williams. Ravel, in Orientalist mode, hovered over settings of Chinese poetry, perfect material for Kitty Whately’s fresh, flaming mezzo-soprano with its cushioned lower register. Ashley Riches’ warm baritone embraced Clarke’s memorable melody for Yeats’ Down by the Salley Gardens while raising a smile in The Aspidistra, a melodramatic song about the calculated murder of a pot plant.

My search for the perfect steak frites in Paris, the staple of French brasserie cuisine

It’s on every prix fixe menu in France, but which restaurant serves up the best incarnation in the capital? I stomped and chomped my way across the city to find out

I once ate seven bowls of ragù bolognese over the course of a single weekend. I was in Bologna, to be fair, and on a mission – to get to the bottom of spag bol (yes, I know it should be served with tagliatelle). A few years earlier, I did something similar with a Polish stew called bigos (a sort of hunter’s stew). I wanted to learn about its variations, its nuances, and I wondered what you could find out about a place if you dived into one dish in particular. In the case of bigos, I gleaned that the Polish are prepared to wait a long time for things to be done.

My friend Tom suffers from a similar obsession (just last month he dropped a dozen scotch eggs on a bank holiday Monday) and so when he said he was heading to Paris to eat multiple steak frites, I wasn’t exactly surprised. He wasn’t just going for a laugh, mind you: Tom runs a pub in London called the Carlton Tavern, and had come to the opinion that his steak and chips could do with a bit of zhooshing up. Hence the recce in Paris. But a man travelling all that way to examine meat and potatoes cannot do so alone, so I volunteered my services.

‘The tigers are hungry’: endangered but deadly, the world’s largest big cat is sowing fear in Siberia’s villages

The spread of African swine flu among the wild boars the animals eat has led to the deadliest winter for attacks on people in the Russian region for decades – and a spike in tiger killings

The attacks seemed to come from nowhere. At first, the tigers snatched guard dogs on the edge of villages in Russia’s far east, emerging from the forest at night to prey. Others went for livestock, going after horses and cattle.

Then the attacks on people began. In January, an ice fisher was mauled at night and dragged away by a big cat, just weeks after a forester had been killed. In March, another man was attacked and partly eaten by a tiger. It was the deadliest winter for tiger attacks in Siberia for decades.

A new start after 60: I found my feet in midlife, became a park ranger at 85 – and retired happily at 100

At 104, Betty Reid Soskin has had the most extraordinary life, from protest singing to civil rights activism to meeting the Obamas. She reflects on what it takes to stay strong and keep going

Betty Reid Soskin was 92 when she first went viral and became, in effect, a rock star of the National Park Service. She was the oldest full-time national park ranger in the US – this was back in 2013; she’d become a ranger at 85 – but she had been furloughed along with 800,000 other federal employees during the government shutdown. News channels flocked to interview her. She was aggrieved not to be working, she told them; she had a job to do.

“In a funny way, I suppose that started lots of things,” Soskin says. Her memoir, Sign My Name to Freedom, was published in 2018, and a documentary about her work, No Time to Waste, was released in 2020. Another film is in the works. Barack Obama called her “profoundly inspiring”. Annie Leibovitz photographed her. Glamour magazine named her woman of the year. Now, Reid Soskin is 104, and “all of whatever I was supposed to do, I’ve done”, she says.

SNAP benefits: Appeals court again rejects Trump admin bid to halt full payment order

The question of whether the Trump administration can be compelled to pay 42 million Americans full food stamp benefits is set to return to the Supreme Court.

Trump is first sitting president to attend regular season NFL game since '78

Some fans booed as Mr. Trump read an oath for members of the military to recite as part of an on-field enlistment ceremony during the break in the game.

Documentary explores whether JMW Turner may have been neurodivergent

Programme uses artist’s sketches, drawings and watercolours to build unprecedented psychological portrait

He is widely regarded as England’s greatest painter, but despite his extraordinary output, elements of JMW Turner’s personality have remained a mystery.

Now, a groundbreaking BBC documentary delves into Turner’s 37,000 sketches, drawings and watercolours to build an unprecedented psychological portrait, one that raises the possibility that Turner’s singular vision was shaped by childhood trauma and neurodivergence.

Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks is on BBC Two on Wednesday 19 November.

‘I can’t control how others perceive me’: Sydney Sweeney on boxing, weight gain and her flair for controversy

She ignited a culture war with a jeans advert. Now she has delivered a knockout performance as boxer Christy Martin. Sweeney talks about taking punches in the ring – and in the media

There was much blood and sweat – but few tears – involved in Sydney Sweeney’s transformation into Christy Martin. David Michôd’s biopic of the trailblazing fighter, who hauled women’s boxing into the US mainstream in the mid-1990s, spends much of its runtime recreating Martin’s real-life fights. And she doesn’t always win. I left the screening wondering if I had genuinely just seen Sweeney – whose acclaimed acting career, canny commercial ventures and unwitting contributions to the online outrage cycle have combined to make her one of the world’s most famous women – being mercilessly and repeatedly punched in the head. Turns out I had.

“Oh yeah, they were all real. Every fight that you see, we’re hitting each other,” says the 28-year-old cheerily. “I had concussions, there were some bloody noses.” Were the concussions frightening? “Nah, I loved it! The lady who played Laila Ali” – Muhammad Ali’s daughter, who defeated Martin by knockout in 2003 – “is an actual professional boxer. She’s in the air force and fights for Team USA – she hit hard and it was very, very real. She’s how I got my concussion.” Sweeney felt she truly “became a fighter. It was such an exhilarating feeling. In between takes, I’d be like: ‘I think I won that round!’”

From Keir Starmer’s popularity to a hopelessly lost phone: Edith Pritchett’s week in Venn diagrams – cartoon

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Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s reimagined chicken dinner classics – recipes

Small but clever tweaks to old favourites chicken kiev and steak diane (but with chicken) make for winner dinners

There is a unique comfort in the dishes we call classics, recipes that bring a sense of familiarity while leaving space for reinvention. British cooking is full of such touchstones, of dishes that feel timeless, yet that also respond beautifully to a fresh approach. I love exploring that balance, keeping the heart of a dish while introducing flavours, textures and ideas that make it feel new, and that’s the philosophy at the heart of Rosi, our new restaurant at the Beaumont hotel in London. Chicken diane and chicken kiev may be rooted in nostalgia, yet, with a little imagination, they can become exciting again.

Senate advances funding measure, moving a step closer to ending shutdown

On Day 40 of the shutdown, eight Democrats joined Republicans in advancing a government funding measure, after 14 previous votes fell short.

Investors’ ‘dumb transhumanist ideas’ setting back neurotech progress, say experts

Fascination of investors such as Elon Musk with uploading their brains to computers is hindering progress in curing disease, say scientists

It has been an excellent year for neurotech, if you ignore the people funding it. In August, a tiny brain implant successfully decoded the inner speech of paralysis patients. In October, an eye restored sight to patients who had lost their vision.

It would just be better, say experts, if the most famous investors in the space – tech magnates such as Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman – were less interested in uploading their brains to computers or merging with AI.

Syrian president to hold talks with Trump at White House

Ahmed al-Sharaa is expected to push for full lifting of remaining sanctions imposed during 13-year civil war

Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, will on Monday hold talks with Donald Trump at the White House, the first such official visit by a Syrian leader since national independence in 1946. He is expected to push for a full lifting of the remaining sanctions on his war-ravaged country.

Sharaa, whose Islamist rebel forces toppled the longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, has courted the US president to try to reverse the economic restrictions imposed during the 13-year civil war, arguing they are no longer justified.

‘I enter a room and people say: “God just walked in”’: Morgan Freeman on voicing the divine, meeting Mandela – and his six decades on screen

The 88-year-old actor has appeared in more than 100 films, playing everyone from presidents to prisoners. Here, he reflects on AI’s ‘robbing’ of his voice, not believing in Black History Month – and why he’s nowhere near retirement

In a dishonest age when truth is under siege, media attention shatters into a thousand shards of glass and nothing is quite what it seems, what could be more precious than a voice of authority? Cue Morgan Freeman, an actor who has portrayed a US president, Nelson Mandela and the Almighty, and replaced Walter Cronkite on the voiceover introducing the CBS Evening News. If John Gielgud’s baritone was described as being “like a silver trumpet muffled in silk”, Freeman’s is like rich wood polished to a quiet shine.

It was less God’s gift than the product of hard work, thanks to an inspiring voice and diction instructor at his community college in Los Angeles. “If you’re going to speak, speak distinctly, hit your final consonance and do exercises to lower your voice,” says Freeman, dapper in light jacket , via video call from New York. “Most people’s voices are higher than they would be normally if they knew how to relax it. He taught that sort of thing. It was Robert Whitman: I will never forget him.”

Waiting for the all-clear: how medics and villagers rallied when Ebola returned to DRC

If no new cases are reported in Bulape by early December, the country will have vanquished its 16th outbreak of the deadly virus since it was discovered there in 1976

His two-year-old daughter died first, then his mother, then his wife. But Bope Mpona Héritier still had no idea what illness had taken their lives. Then the 25-year-old also began to develop symptoms. When his blood was tested and sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, the results confirmed he had the Ebola virus.

“I felt pain everywhere,” he says. “I had a migraine, a sharp pain in my eyes and throat, and I was vomiting. I couldn’t eat anything because I had no appetite, so I lost a lot of weight.”

Trump administration demands that states 'undo' full SNAP benefit payments

The Trump administration has resisted continuing the SNAP program, which provides food stamps to 42 million Americans, during the government shutdown.

Transportation Sec. Duffy warns air travel will be 'reduced to a trickle,' with flight cancellations worsening as the shutdown drags on

Airlines will have to slash hundreds of more flights if shutdown continues into next week.

Senators take first step toward reopening the government after historic shutdown

The Senate voted late Sunday evening on a compromise that could reopen the government following the longest shutdown in history.

Senate advances funding bill to end longest US government shutdown in history

The amended package will still have to be passed by the House and sent to Trump for his signature, a process that could take days

The Senate on Sunday made significant progress towards ending the longest US government shutdown in history, narrowly advancing a compromise bill to reauthorize funding and undo the layoffs of some employees.

But the measure, which resulted from days of talks between a handful of Democratic and Republican senators, leaves out the healthcare subsidies that Democrats had demanded for weeks. Most Democratic senators rejected it, as did many of the party’s lawmakers in the House of Representatives, which will have to vote to approve it before the government can reopen.

Two dead and more than a million displaced after super typhoon Fung-wong slams the Philippines

More than 1.4 million people were evacuated across the country as the storm triggered flash flooding, landslides and gale-force winds

Super typhoon Fung-wong has blown through the Philippines, leaving at least two dead, 1.4 million people evacuated and widespread damage in its wake.

More than 1.4 million people were evacuated across the country as the storm triggered flash flooding, storm surges, landslides and gale-force winds, Philippine authorities said on Monday.

Cop ahoy! Sailing up the Amazon to the climate summit – podcast

Jonathan Watts sets off on a three-day boat trip down the Amazon – with indigenous leaders, scientists, artists and more – to report on Cop30, the climate summit taking place this year in Brazil

This week, delegations from countries from all over the world are flying into Belem, Brazil, to attend Cop30, the world’s biggest climate summit.

The Guardian’s global environment reporter Jonathan Watts, however, had a different idea – to take the slow road. Or, in fact, the slow boat – a three-day journey up the Amazon, across hundreds of kilometres, to arrive in Belem just in time.

Ukraine war briefing: Lavrov reappears, ready to offer Marco Rubio same demands

Ukraine answers Russia’s strikes on energy grid; Zelenskyy tells the Guardian that King Charles eased Trump tensions. What we know on day 1,356

State legislators maneuver to preserve history of U.S. Capitol riot

While GOP lawmakers and the Trump administration have downplayed the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, there are state efforts underway to ensure it's recorded for history.

Who is ‘fedora man’? Dapper French teenager in viral Louvre heist photo unmasked

Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux was captured looking suave in a picture outside the Paris museum on the day of a crown jewels heist

When 15-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux realised an Associated Press photo of him at the Louvre on the day of the crown jewels heist had drawn millions of views, his first instinct was not to rush online and unmask himself.

Quite the opposite. A fan of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot who lives with his parents and grandfather in Rambouillet, 30km (19 miles) from Paris, Pedro decided to let the mystery linger.

Flight delays mounting across U.S. airports as longest government shutdown continues

The effects of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history are intensifying, with flight disruptions and delays across the country. Shanelle Kaul is at Newark International Airport with the details.

11/9: Face the Nation

New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill and Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger join to discuss the past week's state and local elections.

Maggots in the meals, glass in the rice: Indonesia’s free school meals tainted by food poisoning

Thousands of cases of food poisoning have been linked to programme launched with fanfare by the president, Prabowo Subianto

Rini Irawati feared the worst when she found her teenage daughter Nabila pale and barely breathing in an emergency centre in Indonesia’s West Java. “My heart was shattered,” Rini said.

After consuming one of the government’s free school meals this October, 16-year-old Nabila and 500 other students at schools in her area became violently ill. “I’ve seen nothing like it, even during Covid-19,” said Aep Kunaepi, who works at the shelter Nabila was taken to before she was admitted to hospital for three days.

No link between paracetamol in pregnancy and autism or ADHD in children, review finds

Wide-ranging review finds no convincing connection after Trump said women should ‘fight like hell’ to avoid painkiller

A wide-ranging review into paracetamol use by pregnant women has found no convincing link between the common painkiller and the chances of children being diagnosed with autism and ADHD.

Publication of the work was fast-tracked to provide prospective mothers and their doctors with reliable information after the Trump administration urged pregnant women to avoid paracetamol – also known as acetaminophen or Tylenol – claiming it was contributing to rising rates of autism.

Growth in global demand for ‘green’ office buildings slows amid Trump policies

Fall reported by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as UN calls for accelerated action in buildings sector to meet global climate goals

The growth in global demand for “green” office buildings has slowed after Donald Trump’s assault on environmental protection policies caused a slump in interest in the US, according to a survey of construction industry professionals.

Building occupiers and investors across North America and South America expressed significantly lower growth in demand for green commercial buildings, a shift that “seems to be in response to a change in US policy focus”, according to a survey of members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Reported demand across the rest of the world also fell, albeit not as sharply.

Meet Atlanta's urban cowboy

A Georgia man is living his dream in a saddle. CBS Atlanta's Brian Unger reports on a real-life urban cowboy.

With visa renewals for religious workers backlogged, a Texas pastor is self deporting

Thousands of foreign-born faith leaders across the U.S. are finding it difficult to stay with their congregations as visa renewals for religious workers have been backlogged for years. Omar Villafranca reports from Gordon, Texas.

Consumer confidence in U.S. economy is near record-lows, survey shows

A recent survey shows consumer confidence in the economy is near record-low amid the ongoing government shutdown. Andres Gutierrez is in Burbank, California, with the details.

Trump admin. orders states to "undo" SNAP payments ahead of Senate vote to fund government

The U.S. Senate is voting on a bill to fund and reopen the government. Earlier Sunday, the Trump administration ordered states to "undo" SNAP benefits payments amid the funding halt. Willie James Inman is at the White House with latest.

Arctic blast threatens millions across Great Lakes region, South with possible record-cold

Freeze alerts and warnings are in effect for more than 70 million Americans. Near blizzard conditions are forecast in Chicago. CBS News meteorologist Andrew Kozak is watching arctic air pouring into the Midwest, to the East and to the South.

Trump booed at Commanders NFL game before calling plays from Fox broadcast booth

• President greeted with jeers by many fans at game

• Trump has appeared at several sports events this year

Donald Trump became the first sitting US president in nearly 50 years to attend a regular-season NFL game when he dropped in on the Detroit Lions’ win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

There were boos from large sections of fans, as well as scattered cheers, at the Commanders’ Northwest Stadium when Trump was shown on the screens late in the first half – and again when the president was introduced by the stadium announcer at halftime. The Washington DC area has strong Democratic support, while Trump’s cuts to the government have affected many workers in the vicinity of the Commanders’ stadium. Sunday was not the first time Trump has received a hostile reception from a Washington sports crowd: he was greeted with ‘lock him up’ chants at the Washington Nationals’ home stadium during the 2019 World Series.

MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz charged with taking bribes to rig pitches

Two Major League Baseball pitchers have been indicted on charges they took bribes to give bettors advance notice of the types of pitches they'd throw and intentionally tossed balls instead of strikes.

The Mushroom Tapes review – Erin Patterson through the eyes of Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein

This account of what the three authors observed during Patterson’s triple murder trial does resemble a podcast transcript at times, but it is extremely readable

Every reader of The Mushroom Tapes will open the book knowing that Erin Patterson was found guilty in July of murdering three people – her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson – and of the attempted murder of Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson. They will also know she was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years, and is now appealing against her conviction. Who among us hasn’t been roped into speculation about this family tragedy, the carcass of which has been picked over by pundits, amateurs and experts for years now?

Over 10 long weeks, the baroque details of the trial of Erin Patterson were made immediately available to a ravenous public – including sightings of Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein, three of Australia’s most celebrated nonfiction writers, in the public seats of courtroom four in Morwell, Victoria. Were there several works of Australian literary nonfiction about Erin Patterson in the offing? A week after the guilty verdict was handed down, Text Publishing announced that the trio would collaborate on a book: The Mushroom Tapes.

Climate disasters displaced 250 million people in past 10 years, UN report finds

Floods, storms and droughts have uprooted people across the globe as rising temperatures intensify conflict and hunger

Climate-related disasters forcibly displaced 250 million people globally over the past decade, the equivalent of 70,000 people every day, according to a report by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Floods, storms, drought and extreme heat are among the weather conditions driving conflict and displacement, alongside slow-onset disasters such as desertification, rising sea levels and ecosystem destruction, which are threatening food and water security.

Slim pickings: what explains the unusual apple shortage in this Blue Mountains orchard?

Growers are reporting a difficult apple season, which is having a knock-on effect for local tourism

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At this time of year, Pine Crest Orchard in the Blue Mountains town of Bilpin would usually have about 1,000 visitors a day picking their own fruit from trees laden with apples.

But this season, the trees are mostly bare – and no one really knows why.

European football: Inter beat Lazio and leapfrog Roma to go top of Serie A

• Martínez and Bonny score in 2-0 home victory

• Real Madrid held to goalless draw by Rayo Vallecano

Inter moved to the top of Serie A with a 2-0 home win against Lazio on Sunday, sealed by goals from Lautaro Martínez early in the first half and Ange-Yoan Bonny after the interval. The result lifted Inter to the summit, level on 24 points with second-placed Roma. Behind them are Milan and Napoli both with 22 points, while Bologna are fifth with 21.

It took three minutes for Martínez to give Inter the lead: receiving the ball inside the box, the captain angled it with the outside of his foot into the far corner. Inter doubled their lead and sent the home crowd into a frenzy in the 62nd minute. Federico Dimarco’s low ball across the face of goal found Bonny free at the back post, leaving him with a simple tap-in.

Some UPS and FedEx planes are grounded. What does that mean for holiday shipping?

UPS and FedEx's fleets of MD-11 planes are grounded, which can each carry thousands of packages. Logistics experts say some cargo could shift to passenger planes, trains and trucks.

Trespasses review – an intoxicating, rousing and heartbreaking love story

This adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s masterly novel, set in 70s Belfast, sees a Catholic teacher drawn into a dangerous affair with a Protestant barrister. It really hits a nerve

We could be happy together, if only we weren’t here and it wasn’t now: the tragedy of sweethearts caught up in conflict, their love overcome by others’ hate, is an old and powerful story. Trespasses, an adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s novel, written by Ailbhe Keogan, hits that nerve.

A small town outside Belfast, 1975: rancour, suspicion and grief shadow every moment in the thwarted life of Cushla (Lola Petticrew), a Catholic primary-school teacher in her mid-20s who is giving up her spare time to work shifts in her brother’s pub. The priests at the school are hollering bigots, telling the children that every Protestant is an evil enemy, despite one of the kids being the son of a Catholic father and Protestant mother. Cushla takes an interest in the boy, who tends to arrive at school without a coat, and his elder brother, who shows signs of secretly sharing Cushla’s love of reading. She gives them lifts back to their house on a flag-strewn Protestant estate, at the risk of her car being pelted with bricks, and redoubles her support for the family when the dad has his legs and skull broken by vengeful neighbours.

Lewis Hamilton laments ‘nightmare’ first season driving for Ferrari

• Briton forced to retire on lap 37 of São Paulo GP

• Hamilton yet to make podium with Scuderia

Lewis Hamilton has branded his first season at Ferrari as a “nightmare” after he endured another trying weekend, forced to retire from the São Paulo Grand Prix in a year when he has been frustrated and disappointed as he attempts to adapt to his new team.

“It’s a nightmare,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been living it for a while. The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and then the nightmare of the results that we’ve had. We are just really having to fight through those hardships at the moment.

More than 2,000 flights canceled on Sunday as Duffy warns of further reduction

The FAA ordered airlines to cut thousands of flights ahead of this weekend as the agency deals with air traffic controller shortages during the government shutdown.

Moore says "we're not going to sit on our hands" on redistricting

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, announced last week the creation of a commission to look at mid-decade redistricting.

Cleveland Guardians pitchers indicted for scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown

According to the indictment, Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz took bribes as part of a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown during MLB games.

Dave Portnoy says there's been a "definitive shift" toward antisemitism

In a "CBS Sunday Morning" interview with Tony Dokoupil to air Nov. 16, the president of Barstool Sports talks about an increase in anti-Jewish expression: "This is not normal."

The BBC is facing a coordinated, politically motivated attack. With these resignations, it has given in | Jane Martinson

The corporation should have stood up to the Telegraph, Trump and the Tories. Now, its enemies know how little it takes for it to fold

The resignation of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, over accusations of bias comes as a shock and leaves a gulf at the top of the corporation when it needs leadership most. Davie stressed that the decision was his alone – neither the board, nor even many of those who led the coordinated attack among rightwing press and politicians expected it.

Now the resignations of both Davie and the CEO of BBC News, Deborah Turness, have shown that baying for blood gets results.

Jane Martinson is professor of financial journalism at City St George’s and a member of the board of the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian Media Group. She writes in a personal capacity

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

11/8: Saturday Morning

Flight cuts make travel delays worse amid the shutdown; we explore embryo testing that predicts height and IQ.

Dave Portnoy says there's been a "definitive shift" toward antisemitism

In an interview airing on "CBS Sunday Morning" Nov. 16, Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy says that he's experiencing daily antisemitism. "People are coming up with real hate," he tells Tony Dokoupil.

Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Nov. 9, 2025

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, Virginia Gov.-elect Virginia Spanberger and New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill join Margaret Brennan.

US sports betting crisis grows as MLB’s Clase and Ortiz indicted over alleged rigged pitches

• Pair could face 65 years in prison if found guilty

• NBA also caught up in its own gambling scandal

The betting crisis in US sports has spread further after Cleveland Guardians players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted over an alleged scheme to rig pitches during games.

Bettors on baseball can gamble on whether individual pitches will be balls or strikes. Prosecutors allege claim that Ortiz was paid $5,000 for throwing an intentional ball during a game on 15 June. His teammate Clase, a three-time All-Star, is alleged to have been given $5,000 for facilitating the rigged pitch, alongside gamblers in the players’ home country of the Dominican Republic. Prosecutors claim the pair did so again in a game on 27 June, receiving $7,000 each.

Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner for 17 years, dies at 84

Paul Tagliabue, who helped bring labor peace and riches to the NFL during his 17 years as commissioner but was criticized for not taking stronger action on concussions, died on Sunday at 84 years old.

Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner for 17 years, dies at 84

During his tenure from 1989 to 2006, Paul Tagliabue oversaw the expansion of the NFL to 32 teams.

Kingdom review – David Attenborough never fails to make nature awe-inspiring

Attenborough’s latest extravaganza is packed with such high drama it’s like Game of Thrones … if Cersei was a hyena. If only it hadn’t been bumped down the schedules because of Strictly

As I watch a leopard hunt in Kingdom, the BBC’s latest David Attenborough-narrated documentary, I find myself thinking about a YouGov survey from a few years ago that found that half of Britons wouldn’t take a free trip to the moon, with 11% turning it down because “there isn’t enough to see and do”. As well as it providing a fantastic insight into the great British public’s psyche (would outer space be better if it had Alton Towers?), I can’t help but wonder if it also explains the pressure that TV commissioners feel under to find new ways to interest the pesky human race in sights that would previously have been greeted with wonder.

Back in 2017, Blue Planet II was the most-watched programme of the year, with 14.1 million viewers tuning in to see dolphins surf on prime time. Today, the six-part Kingdom has been bumped to the teatime slot, and finding out which Strictly celeb’s rumba has been voted the most mediocre is deemed more important to the schedule.

BBC director resigns after criticism of the broadcaster's editing of a Trump speech

The BBC said that director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness have resigned after criticism of the broadcaster's editing of a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy: why should I be afraid of Donald Trump?

Exclusive: Ukraine’s leader dismisses reports his last Washington meeting was volatile, and praises King Charles for helping build ties with US president

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is not “afraid” of Donald Trump unlike other western leaders and dismissed reports that their last meeting in Washington was volatile, adding that he had good relations with the US president.

He also said in an exclusive interview with the Guardian that King Charles had helped build relations with Trump and described the British monarch as “very supportive” of Ukraine.

The Guardian view on the assault of Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum: when a president is groped, no woman can feel safe | Editorial

A shocking incident should become an opportunity to address broader problems of misogyny

What does the experience of women at the top tell us about the rest? Those most vulnerable to sexual harassment, assault and abuse are, unsurprisingly, those who have less power or are treated with less respect: undocumented migrants; women in precarious employment; women with disabilities; LGBTQ women; young women and girls.

Paradoxically, that helps to explain why the assault of Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, has drawn such outrage domestically and internationally. A drunken man tried to kiss her neck and grabbed her chest as she spoke to citizens in the capital’s streets. It is the proof, captured on camera, that no woman is safe. You can be the most powerful person in the land and a man will still feel entitled to grope you, in front of the world, because you are a woman. When you object, some will complain that you are taking it too seriously, or that it is all made up. As Ms Sheinbaum herself remarked: “If they do this to the president, then what will happen to all the young women in our country?”

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Trump admin order to 'immediately undo' full SNAP benefits leaves states scrambling

The Trump administration late Saturday directed states that they must "immediately undo" any actions they have made to provide full benefits to low-income families via SNAP.

The Guardian view on Scottish land reform: vast estates remain feudal in scale | Editorial

Half of the country’s privately owned countryside is held by just 421 owners. New legislation suggests democrats still fear powerful interests

No other European country has such a narrow base of proprietorship as Scotland. Half of all privately owned rural land is held by 421 people or entities. The roots of such disparities lie in the past. The 18th- and 19th-century Highland clearances emptied the glens and readied them for private takeover. On the continent, and eventually in England, the great estates were broken up by inheritance and land taxes. By comparison, Scotland is still feudal in scale.

The passing of a land reform bill, its supporters say, will change that. But doubts remain. Its proponents say the legislation could allow the Scottish government to intervene in private land sales and require large estates to be broken up. At its heart is the so-called transfer test. This would see Scottish ministers notified before any land sale over 1,000 hectares. However, they lack an explicit veto. If they wanted a more democratic constraint, they could have adopted the Scottish Land Commission’s 2019 proposal for a public interest test – forcing big buyers to openly justify their purchases.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Rebecca Hendin on King Charles leading the UK’s Remembrance Sunday service – cartoon

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Carlos Alcaraz up and running at ATP Finals with win over Alex de Minaur

• Top seed beats Australian 7-6 (5), 6-2

• Alcaraz has never won ATP Finals

Carlos Alcaraz opened the ATP’s season-ending championships, and the battle for the year-end No 1 ranking, in ideal fashion as he confidently navigated a turbulent opening set before easing to a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win against the seventh seed, Alex de Minaur, in Turin.

Alcaraz, the top seed, is attempting to win the ATP Finals for the first time and hold off Jannik Sinner to finish the season as the top-ranked player. Despite ceding significant ground to the Italian in recent weeks by losing to Cameron Norrie in his opening match at the Paris Masters, which Sinner won, Alcaraz still holds a clear advantage this week since the Italian is defending his title from last year. The Spaniard must win all three of his round-robin group stage matches or reach the final in order to secure the top ranking.

Tom Gauld on writing a masterpiece – cartoon

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The nut secret: 14 easy, delicious ways to eat more of these life-changing superfoods

A handful of nuts a day can help manage obesity and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some kinds of cancer. Yet most of us don’t get enough. Here’s a no-fuss guide to getting your 30g a day

How often do you eat nuts? The planetary health diet, introduced in 2019 and updated last month, recommends that everyone eat a portion every day (unless you have an allergy). Alongside eating more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, and fewer animal products and sugary foods, this could help prevent 40,000 early deaths a day across the world, as well as slash food-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Yet according to Prof Sarah Berry, the chief scientist at Zoe, many don’t eat any nuts at all. In the UK, the average consumption is 6g a day. Romanian researchers found higher levels of nut consumption in Canada, some African countries and some regions of Europe and the Middle East, and lower levels in South America. But overall, they said: “Consumers may not have a comprehensive understanding of the multiple benefits that nuts might bring.”

Bad Bridgets podcast about crime among Irish women in US inspires film

Margot Robbie’s company to make movie based on Northern Ireland academics’ stories of poverty and prison

It started as a trawl of dusty archives for an academic project about female Irish emigrants in Canada and the US by two history professors, a worthy but perhaps niche topic for research.

The subjects, after all, were human flotsam from Ireland’s diaspora whose existence was often barely recorded, let alone remembered.

Aaron Rai edges out Tommy Fleetwood in playoff to take title in Abu Dhabi

• Rai wins on first playoff hole with eight-foot birdie

• Rory McIlroy third after record final round of 62

Aaron Rai held his nerve to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday, beating Tommy Fleetwood on the first playoff hole after a dramatic final day.

The 30-year-old sunk a birdie from just over eight feet to seal victory, emulating his only previous Rolex Series win. That came at the 2020 Scottish Open, and was also a playoff victory over Fleetwood.

Remembrance Sunday and a Pride parade: photos of the weekend

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

She left her desk job and walked 3,541 miles from Mexico to Canada: ‘Give yourself permission’

Jessica Guo hiked 30 miles a day, becoming the first woman to continuously hike two historic US trails in a calendar year

Jessica Guo had only slept for two-and-a-half hours on an overnight bus when she arrived at the Mexico-US border near Lordsburg, New Mexico, in April. Out of the window she saw a flat, shadeless landscape. First-day jitters had Guo questioning what she was doing there.

The former consultant had left corporate America to attempt something no woman had completed: a single, continuous hike of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) and the Great Divide Trail (GDT) in one calendar year.

Can Nigel Farage emulate success enjoyed by Italy’s far-right Giorgia Meloni?

Reform’s leader may hope to tread a similar path to Italy’s prime minister, but she is an experienced parliamentarian open to collaboration and compromise

One of the more striking images from June’s G7 summit showed a small group of world leaders engaged in an impromptu and informal evening chat at the venue’s restaurant. In the foreground of that photo was a familiar blond head: Giorgia Meloni.

During her three years as the Italian prime minister, Meloni has moved beyond her hard-right populism, not to mention her fascism-adjacent origins, to earn at least the respect of other leaders – Keir Starmer among them – for her pragmatism and flexibility. Among those watching this transformation from the sidelines will be the man hoping to be Starmer’s replacement: Nigel Farage.

How to make the perfect beer cheese soup – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …

No wait! This richly flavoured cornerstone of the US midwest is a treat on a cold day – here’s how to perfect it

Beer and cheese, two ingredients that don’t immediately scream soup to much of the world, are the cornerstones of one such midwestern speciality, particularly beloved in Wisconsin, with its prominent dairy and brewing industries. Beer soups are also found from Alsace to Russia (and, indeed, Wisconsin has a significant northern European heritage population). The cheese, however, appears to be an inspired American addition (though, seeing as Germany boasts both beer and cheese soups, I’m prepared to stand corrected), playing off the bittersweetness of the beer to produce a richly flavoured dish that’s perfectly suited to harsh midwestern winters. That said, it’s a treat on a cold day wherever you are.

(Note: this is not to be confused with German obatzda, while a thicker version is a popular hot dip in Kentucky, in particular.)

Palestinian man dismissed from Gaza border assistance role to sue EU

Exclusive: Mohammed Baraka’s case alleges discrimination on basis of nationality after EU counterparts were transferred

A Palestinian man who was dismissed from his job in Gaza after the war broke out is suing the European Union for allegedly breaching Belgian law.

Mohammed Baraka, who worked at the EU border assistance mission (EUBam) at Rafah after its inception in 2006 as an unarmed civilian third-party presence, has filed his case in a Belgian court.

Water levels below 3% in dam reservoirs for Iran’s second city, say reports

Storage dwindles in Mashhad, home to 4 million people, as country struggles with drought

Water levels at the dam reservoirs supplying Iran’s north-eastern city of Mashhad have plunged below 3%, according to reports, as the country suffers from severe water shortages.

“The water storage in Mashhad’s dams has now fallen to less than 3%,” Hossein Esmaeilian, the chief executive of the water company in Iran’s second largest city by population, told the ISNA news agency.

Suspect in Calif. family's murder asked online psychic: "Will I get caught?"

The bodies of Dr. Henry Han, his wife Jennie, and their 5-year-old daughter Emily were found in the garage of their Santa Barbara, California, home, wrapped in plastic and duct tape. The prosecutor says they were shot while they slept.

‘Too far? I don’t think we’ve gone far enough!’ The founder of Peta on gruesome stunts and her bloody fight for animal rights

After 45 years as chief fake blood thrower, Ingrid Newkirk is still waging war on everything from leather to cashmere. Is she still relevant?

Ingrid Newkirk was 54 when she thought she was going to die in a plane crash. It was late summer and the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) was flying from Minneapolis in the US to the company HQ in Norfolk, Virginia when her plane encountered strong wind shear. The pilot attempted an emergency landing, but failed; back up they went.

On the third attempt, with “a teaspoon of fuel” in the tank, he finally got the plane down safely. During those moments, Newkirk, now 76, scribbled a will on a napkin. She has tweaked it over the years, but it still reads like a horror movie prop list: her liver is to be sent to France to be made into foie gras, her skin to Hermès to create a handbag and her lips to whichever US president is in power, to shame them for granting a “patronising” pardon to a turkey each Thanksgiving. As wills go, it’s straight out of the Peta playbook: an audacious stunt of the kind that has made them the world’s most well-known, successful and in some quarters reviled animal rights organisation. “I know I’ll never be made a dame,” Newkirk says, laughing. “I’m too controversial.”

Could urban farming feed the world?

From back gardens to hi-tech hydroponics, the future of food doesn’t have to be rural

In 1982, artist Agnes Denes planted 2.2 acres of wheat on waste ground in New York’s Battery Park, near the recently completed World Trade Center. The towers soared over a golden field, as if dropped into Andrew Wyeth’s bucolic painting Christina’s World. Denes’s Wheatfield: A Confrontation was a challenge to what she called a “powerful paradox”: the absurdity of hunger in a wealthy world.

The global population in 1982 was 4.6 billion. By 2050, it will be more than double that, and the prospect of feeding everyone looks uncertain. Food insecurity already affects 2.3 billion people. Covid-19 and extreme weather have revealed the fragility of the food system. Denes was called a prophet for drawing attention to ecological breakdown decades before widespread public awareness. But perhaps she was prophetic, too, in foreseeing how we would feed ourselves. By 2050, more than two-thirds of us will live in cities. Could urban farming feed 10 billion?