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‘Your boys took a hell of a beating’ – England and Norway’s football rivalry
England and Norway will meet in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup in Miami on Saturday, reviving a rivalry defined less by football than by one legendary piece of radio commentary. The fixture recalls Norway’s shock 2-1 win over England in a 1981 World Cup qualifier in Oslo, after which NRK commentator Bjorge Lillelien…
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‘He saw signs saying No Blacks – but he never got bitter’: Sterling Betancourt, the man who brought steelpan music to the UK
Sterling Betancourt, the Trinidadian musician credited with bringing steelpan music to the UK, has died aged 96, prompting reflections from his widow, Beatrice, on his resilience and generosity. Betancourt arrived in Britain in 1951 as one of 11 members of the Trinidad All-Steel Percussion Orchestra (Taspo), performing at the Festival of Britain outside London’s Royal…
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Millionaire trader-turned-campaigner Gary Stevenson’s wealth tax plan is ‘absolute populist claptrap’ and will ruin Britain, say experts
A new Channel 4 documentary, “How to Get Filthy Rich with Gary Stevenson”, has become the focus of a row over the millionaire trader-turned-campaigner’s proposal for a wealth tax, which critics in the programme brand “absolute populist claptrap” and “disastrous”. The debate matters because Stevenson is rumoured to have been approached by Andy Burnham’s team…
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The £100k-a-year BMW driving IT expert whose wife and two children were murdered at their £1.3million luxury home – as police hunt suspect who has fled the UK
A woman and her two children have been found murdered at a £1.3 million luxury home in Great Denham, near Bedford, and police are hunting the property’s owner, who has fled the UK. Officers forced entry to the four-bedroom, four-bathroom detached house on Monday after concerns were raised that the family had not been seen…
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Port of Dover faces ‘utter chaos’ under struggling EU entry system, MPs warn
MPs have warned that the Port of Dover faces “utter chaos and miles of tailbacks” as a result of the EU’s entry/exit system (EES), unless the technology is fixed or the checks suspended within a week. The chair of the home affairs select committee, Karen Bradley, has urged the UK government to apply “maximum pressure”…
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Fans comment on how “impressed” England players look to receive performance from Ed Sheeran
England fans have been reacting with mock horror online after Ed Sheeran gave the national team a private performance of “Castle On The Hill” at their World Cup training camp, following a 3-2 win over Mexico. Although the players applauded, supporters commenting on England’s “Extra Time” podcast poked fun at the singer, jokingly branding his…
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Two brothers admit to stealing more than £71,000 worth of Pokémon TCG cards after failing to escape the police and hide the loot
Two brothers from Warrington, Cheshire, have admitted stealing more than £71,000 worth of Pokémon Trading Card Game cards and other collectibles during a series of break-ins at collectibles stores. The case highlights how the surging value of rare Pokémon cards has made them an increasingly attractive target for criminals, at a time of heightened demand…
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56ft ‘Welcome to Wales’ dragon carved into the roadside disappears after being covered in grass due to ‘lack of maintenance’
A 56ft-long white dragon carved into the roadside on the A494 near Shotwick, on the Wales-England border, has vanished after being covered by grass and shrubs. Installed in 2009 as part of a £61 million ‘Welcome to Wales’ gateway scheme, the £20,000 sculpture was meant to be a permanent feature greeting drivers entering the country,…
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Meet Sweden’s top scorer who hopes to play for Scotland
Robbie Ure, a 22-year-old striker born and raised in Glasgow, has become the leading scorer in Sweden’s top division after netting all four of his side’s goals at the weekend, driving unfashionable IK Sirius to a nine-point lead in the Allsvenskan. The former Rangers forward, who has been capped by Scotland up to Under-19 level,…
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Report to National Crime Agency of £5m Farage gift is ‘deeply serious’
Labour has condemned as “astonishing and deeply serious” the disclosure that a £5m gift to Nigel Farage from a cryptocurrency billionaire was reported to the National Crime Agency (NCA) by bankers who feared it might involve laundered money. The revelation intensifies pressure on the Reform UK leader over his financial affairs, coming just a day…