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Irishwoman Kearns lauded for pulling off illegal double Gaelic ‘solo’ AFLW boss says league to look at changing rules after 2026 finals The AFL will look at rule changes in its women’s competition to make it easier for Irish players to add their own flair, in a nod to the almost 50 former Gaelic footballers in the AFLW. One of the main differences between the sister sports, apart from the shape of the ball and field, is the bounce explicitly required for players in Australian rules running more than 15 metres. Continue reading...

The foreign secretary added that the UK will not shift its position on reparations Good morning. Wednesdays are normally the most exciting day of the week at Westminster, because it’s PMQs, but today (unless we get some mega surprise) all the action is taking place somewhere else. In part, that’s because Andy Burnham is still at the Commonwealth summit in Antigua. But mostly because anyone in SW1 with even a passing interest in politics will be far more interested in the outcome of the US midterm elections. You can catch up with all the drama on our US politics live blog. While the US results are undoubtedly fascinating, quite how relevant they are to the UK is a bit harder to discern. Donald Trump is still president for the next two years, and none of the chaos he has caused for Britain and other European allies is going to go away; conceivably, he could end up even more disruptive. Trump was first elected president in 2016 only months after the UK voted for Brexit and there will be progressives in Britain hoping the US results show that what Ed Davey is this morning calling the “politics of hate, division and economic harm” might be on their way out this side of the pond too. Maybe? But it is probably too soon to get carried away. Our US coverage is all here. In so far as there is any interesting UK reaction, I will post it here. People have been honestly a bit bruised by the past, what happened in the past, the sense that we just really just wanted to sweep this issue under the carpet and not confront it. My sense is there’s a bit of a sigh of relief that, OK … at least there’s a sense of we’ve got a shared interest now in moving the Commonwealth on. No … For us, that’s never been what it’s about. And that’s why it’s been important that … I did have this conversation with our partners in advance. I said, ‘Look, we are going to say we are willing to say that we’re open to an apology, but we’re not going to shift our position on reparations.’ It’s not for…

This insider’s history of the CIA explores the last 50 years of US foreign policy with granular detail and mordant humour The 250th year of the American experiment seems to invite a reckoning. For a young country, the United States is overblessed – or burdened – with myths about its foundation and how the nation has conducted itself at home and abroad. William T Vollmann’s 3,000-page novel A Table for Fortune is an epic attempt, 15 years in the making, to engage with the US’s past and present at an institutional and a personal level. The four simultaneously published volumes offer both a family story and an insider’s history of the CIA, in order to show the consequences of the quest for liberty and the belief in American exceptionalism. Vollmann’s previous novels have explored the ideological basis of American society, most notably those of the Seven Dreams series, published from 1990 to 2015, which depict the generally disastrous encounters between American settlers and Indigenous peoples. A Table for Fortune continues this project by investigating the last 50 years of US foreign policy, at the heart of which is 9/11, with the book “tracing the roots of that crime in one direction and its poisoned harvest in another”. Though the CIA has been fertile ground for many great American novelists – Don DeLillo, Norman Mailer – Vollmann is perhaps the first to represent the culture and daily activities of the agency in granular detail. His great gambit is to frame this as a dark workplace comedy of minor resentments, sexual tension and office banter. These sections are narrated by the institutional voice of the CIA itself in a relentlessly sardonic tone rife with acronyms, codenames and jargon rendered in multiple fonts. The mordant humour of the narrator, who regards all forms of death and suffering as “fun”, has a seductive quality that allows Vollmann to educate the reader about a broad sweep of geopolitical subjects ranging from the Angolan civil war to the…

Such a punitive measure will leave people at risk of exploitation and severe poverty, says Mark Joselin of the Refugee Council Cabinet ministers are right to be worried about the potential impact of the new asylum bill (Mahmood infuriates fellow ministers by failing to reveal impact of UK migration shake-up, 30 October). The proposed refugee tax unfairly punishes refugees by threatening to slap most with a £10,000 tax once they are granted refugee status, a clear breach of the UN refugee convention. It is aimed at those who arrived with nothing and were not allowed to work while their claims were being assessed, and it ignores the reality that refugees already contribute through the tax system. Continue reading...

West Ham recover from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Cardiff Leaders Middlesbrough beaten 2-0 at Wrexham Scott Parker’s return to West Ham had had looked like beginning in painful fashion but instead featured a stunning comeback from 3-0 down. The east London club’s new head coach had watched Cardiff’s Jack Moylan help himself to a first-half hat-trick, before a rousing response after the break ended with Max Kilman levelling the scores at 3-3 eight minutes from time. Elsewhere in the Championship, leaders Middlesbrough went down 2-0 at Wrexham. Parker had been confirmed as West Ham’s head coach earlier on Wednesday, taking over from Nuno Espírito Santo, who was sacked on Tuesday. The club’s former midfielder was appointed on a two-and-a-half year contract. Continue reading...

The winner of the 2026 Baillie Gifford prize is a riveting work of ancient history that feels startlingly present • ‘Blockbuster’ history of Alexander the Great wins £50,000 Baillie Gifford prize In 336BC, Alexander was not great. He was a wiry 20-year-old “no one had thought much about” who found himself king of Macedon after the assassination of his father, Philip. He seemed uniquely unfit for the position. Desperate to prove his worth, Alexander led an army into the Persian empire to confront Darius III, a man who ruled more than 50 million people. Darius was so confident of victory that he brought his family along for the show. Alexander was outnumbered, and apparently out of his depth. He had suffered a fever that left him “shaking and helpless”, and dissent rattled through his ranks. A vast military force was bearing down on him, with Darius at the helm. “He did not know it yet,” Edmund Richardson writes, “but Alexander was about to become a legend.” Continue reading...

Some of Brian McDermott’s players will arrive home a week after their early exit from the tournament By No Helmets Required England players would have been well advised to ignore the advert outside their North Bay hotel in Wollongong over the weekend: “Everything that truly matters is possible,” it read. Not quite everything, it turns out. While England women packed their cases and headed out of Australia the morning after their World Cup campaign was ended by slick Samoa, England men are still stuck outside a party they’ve been told to leave. Having watched their fate sealed during the Tonga v Samoa game on Sunday, England have moved to Sydney but some players will not arrive home until Friday, a week after their World Cup ended. It could have been worse. They have been staying overlooking Wollongong’s wonderful beaches, where the distinctly salty smell of seaweed drifts in with the mist off the bay. The surfers among the squad could take a hundred steps from their bedroom and be in the water, and the players whose families are in town have been able to start their end-of-season holidays early. When Wigan teammates Junior Nsemba and Zach Eckersley reminisce about their trip to the World Cup, they may well talk about spending the afternoon riding e-scooters up and down Cliff Road or strolling along North Beach rather than playing against Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea. With the beaches, cafes and stunning lilac jacaranda trees on every street, there are worse places for dreams to end. But most England players and staff are just desperate to get home. Continue reading...

She has played King Lear, all three witches in Macbeth and an ape turned variety performer in Kafka’s Monkey. As she prepares for a new show, she discusses the soaring highs and deep lows of her extraordinary life Kathryn Hunter pulls off her black beanie and sits down. She hates having to keep still: “It’s torture.” On aeroplanes, she is always in the aisle, bobbing up and down. She has an inner restlessness, an energy looking for the right outlet – one that even eight hours of rehearsing hasn’t quieted. With the beanie, a body warmer and a cup of builders’ tea, the acclaimed actor looks as if she is on a break at a construction site. She is working on a stage adaptation of Eurotrash, Christian Kracht’s novel about a mother, played by Hunter, who is accompanied on the final trip of her life by her son, played by Ben Whishaw. As the pair come to terms with their dark past – and Europe’s – they must confront what Hunter describes as a “hinterland of silence”. In this case, it stems from the family’s Nazi ties, but Hunter believes “people will relate to it … in that every family has silences”. Working on the play has got her thinking about her own mother – and about the actor Marcello Magni, the co-founder of Complicité theatre and the love of Hunter’s life, who died in 2022 at 63. Continue reading...

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Metro went behind the scenes to see how the high-speed trains will travel into London’s new mega rail hub currently under construction. London is being transformed underground as part of the HS2 works, with giant tunnels built to connect the sprawling Old Oak Common railway station to the line before its final leg to Euston. One of the recently completed excavations is the breakthrough between Old Oak Common and the 1,181 ft (360m) tunnels from the crossover box, creating an 8.8-mile connection to the West Ruislip tunnel, with the final blocks pushed out Jenga-style last month. Metro toured the London-bound tunnel near Old Oak Common with Rail Minister Lord Hendy, located a stone’s throw away from the upcoming hub. Going into the freshly excavated HS2 tunnel in London was a dizzying experience (Picture: Metro) Two London double-decker buses could easily fit through the tunnel (Picture: Justin Griffiths-Williams) It will combine the high-speed, Elizabeth line, Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express services under one giant roof. After entering through the unassuming-looking shaft on Victoria Road in North Acton, the first gigantic tunnel box opens up. At around 98 feet underground, the first thing to greet visitors is not a digger as you’d expect, but the figure of St Barbara perched on the wall inside a small wooden house. St Barbara, the protector of tunnelling workers (Picture: Justin Griffiths-Williams) She is the patron saint of tunnelling and has to oversee all work, a remnant from the times tunnelling was a highly dangerous job. One HS2 worker told Metro that unless a blessing ceremony is held before works, tunnellers will refuse to start. While the saint stems from Christian tradition, workers from all backgrounds ‘demand a ceremony happens before any tunnelling,’ he said. Latest London news Busy…

EasyJet is expanding its travel horizons this winter (Picture: Getty Images) It might be the final countdown to 2027, but there’s still time to squeeze in a last-minute getaway. Whether it’s a festive Christmas market or some winter sun, easyJet has pulled through with seven new routes from five UK airports. During a bleak time for travel, with route cuts and rising jet fuel prices, it’s refreshing to see airlines doing their best amid the chaos. So, if you are keen for a holiday over the next few weeks, or even early next year, here are all the new flight routes from the budget airline. Liverpool to Reykjavík, Iceland easyJet and Liverpool John Lennon Airport just celebrated the launch of its first flight to Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital. Yesterday’s inaugural flight marks the start of easyJet’s twice-weekly service, operating every Monday and Friday throughout the winter. Fares start at around £25. Christmas in Iceland, anyone? (Picture: Shutterstock / Patpong Sirikul) Following the route launch, which was actually announced in June, Kevin Doyle, easyJet’s UK Country Manager, said: ‘We’re really pleased to be celebrating the launch of our first flight from Liverpool to Reykjavik today, offering our customers in the North West even more choice for their winter holidays.’ Paul Winfield, Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s Aviation Director, added that it’s ‘fantastic to see’ passengers from ‘across the region have the opportunity to fly direct to Iceland.’ For Reykjavík first-timers, it’s all about geothermal lagoons and Northern Lights, which in December and January provide the longest hours of darkness, giving you maximum time to spot them. The world’s northernmost capital is also home to the iconic Hallgrímskirkja Church, known for its distinctively curved spire and side wings and the futuristic-looking Harpa concert hall. Manchester to Nuremberg, Germany Nuremberg is the ultimate destination for Christmas market lovers. The German city’s…

After Apple raised iPhone prices earlier this year, a new rumor claims it plans to launch the base iPhone 18 with a higher price, too. A Weibo post from leaker Digital Chat Station, spotted by 9to5Mac, says the base iPhone 18 is getting a couple upgrades with the price hike, including a larger battery and […]

When you walk through a gallery, admiring the paintings on the walls, what you are seeing are finished products. They are the result of countless hours of learning and practice and trial and error, but none of that is on display.

Apple refreshed both the iPad mini and iPad Air this year, but the choice is now less straightforward and there is just a $50 price difference between them, so which should you choose? The eighth-generation ‌iPad Air‌ arrived in March with the M4 chip, 12GB of unified memory, Apple's N1 wireless chip, and the C1X modem on cellular models. It remains available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. Following Apple's June price increases, the two size options now start at $749 and $949, respectively. In October, Apple announced the eighth-generation ‌iPad mini‌, introducing a larger 8.5-inch display with OLED technology, a thinner and lighter design, the A20 chip, an optional nano-texture finish, a landscape front camera, and more. The changes give Apple's smallest tablet several advantages over the ‌iPad Air‌, even as the Air retains a larger screen and support for Apple's Magic Keyboard. Both devices offer Touch ID in the top button, Apple Pencil Pro and ‌Apple Pencil‌ (USB-C) support, ‌Apple Pencil‌ hover, landscape 12MP Center Stage front cameras with ƒ/2.0 apertures, Apple's N1 wireless chip, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread networking technology, and USB-C ports with transfer speeds of up to 10Gb/s. The new ‌iPad mini‌ also features 12GB of unified memory, matching the Air. Advertised battery life is the same, with up to 10 hours of web browsing over Wi-Fi or watching video, or up to nine hours of web browsing over cellular. Despite the ‌iPad mini‌'s move to ‌OLED‌, neither model offers ProMotion. Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPads is best for you. ‌iPad mini‌ (eighth generation, 2026) ‌iPad Air‌ (eighth generation, 2026) 8.5-inch display 11-inch or 13-inch display 2316-by-1512 resolution 11-inch: 2360-by-1640 resolution 13-inch: 2732-by-2048 resolution 326 ppi 264 ppi Super Retina XDR ‌OLED‌ display with 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio Liquid Retina display with LED backlighting and IPS technology 600 nits maximum…

WhatsApp users can already create events in a 1:1 conversation and group chats. Now they can also create events that they can share with people who don't have a WhatsApp account. "Create an event, add a cover photo, share the link, and they can see details and RSVP without downloading the app," said WhatsApp in a blog post. The company also said your phone number won't be shown to event guests you don't know, and guests without a WhatsApp account will only see the event address after they RSVP. WhatsApp has also announced Events Home, a one-stop hub for creating and sending...

Bazzite means to bring a SteamOS-like gaming experience to desktop PCs. Version 45 upgrades to Fedora 45 with newer graphics drivers, KDE Plasma 6.8, and GNOME 51. It also expands handheld compatibility, adds network optimizations, and introduces an anti-cheat compatibility checker. Read Entire Article

Amazon is adding a new feature to Alexa for Shopping that allows customers to purchase items by texting the AI shopping assistant. Users can describe the products they're looking to buy and/or provide a photograph of the item, and Alexa for Shopping will search for matching results in Amazon listings, text back with recommendations, and […]

iOS 27.2 arrived last week, and among its changes for Apple Photos, the update adds an invisible watermarking feature when you use certain editing tools. Here’s how it works. more…

Airbnb plans to roll out an AI agent in the first half of 2027 that will help users plan and book travel, the company said in its Q3 2026 earnings shareholder letter released today. "Today's AI agents are good at simple, routine tasks, like making a restaurant reservation or scheduling an appointment," Airbnb said. "But […]

“You Can See Everything,” Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s smash-hit documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, has yet to open in major international territories. But the crescendoing anticipation for a nearly three-hour film that came out of nowhere suggests that it could also rock numerous other box offices in the coming weeks. In the […]

Microplastics have been found in our bodies and the food we eat—and even in remote environments around the world, including seawater and ice in the Arctic. Despite their prevalence, little is known about how they move through the atmosphere. New CIRES-led research, which demonstrates a new method for sampling microplastics in the atmosphere using an uncrewed aerial system (UAS), aims to change that. The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

For the first two laps, the student-athlete on the Syracuse University cross country team ran with flawless form. Then, down the stretch, their times began to slip as fatigue set in.

Apple's massive wave of product launches will finally end next week, with its all-new HomeView smart home hub and the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K set to be released on Friday, November 13 and no other major hardware releases expected for the remainder of the year. Since late August, Apple has announced more than 25 new devices and accessories in one of its busiest stretches ever. Related Roundups: Apple TV, Apple HomeView Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now), HomeView (Buy Now) Related Forums: Apple TV and Home Theater, HomePod, HomeView, CarPlay – Home & Auto Tech This article, "Apple Releasing Yet Another Two New Products Next Week" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums