Four countries to boycott Eurovision 2026 as Israel cleared to compete
Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands will boycott next year’s Eurovision after Israel was given the all-clear to compete in the 2026 song contest despite calls by several participating broadcasters for its exclusion over the war in Gaza. In response, the Irish broadcaster RTÉ said it would not participate in the 2026 contest or broadcast the competition. Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, welcomed the decision on his country’s participation, saying Israel “deserves to be represented on every stage around the world”. ORF, the Austrian host broadcaster, had also said it wanted Israel to compete. SWR said before the meeting that Israel was entitled to compete in the contest.
Source:The Guardian
December 05, 2025 15:22 UTC
US skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle kicks off Olympic push with Beaver Creek downhill podium
He’s been consistent in the event and hasn’t finished outside of the top seven in a World Cup downhill race since 2023. This was his fifth World Cup downhill win. He’s the first American to be on a World Cup downhill podium in Beaver Creek since Steven Nyman finished third in 2014. The last American racer to win a World Cup downhill at Beaver Creek was Bode Miller in 2011. Earlier in the day, organizers announced the super-G race would be moved to Friday with the weather forecast not looking favorable for Saturday.
Source:The Guardian
December 05, 2025 14:58 UTC
‘One of the most breathtaking cathedrals in the world’: readers’ favourite churches in Europe
Yes, all of that, but something more, something that finally made me understand what people get out of churches. Robert StroudProfile Readers' tips: send a tip for a chance to win a £200 voucher for a Coolstays break Show Guardian Travel readers' tips Every week we ask our readers for recommendations from their travels. To enter the latest competition visit the readers' tips homepage - Was this helpful? Photograph: Joern Sackermann/AlamyIn the Ruhr, south of Essen, is the town of Neviges in which stands one of the most breathtaking and individual cathedrals in the world. AmyOrkney shrine built by Italian prisoners of warView image in fullscreen The Italian Chapel was built from Nissen huts in the mid-1940s.
Source:The Guardian
December 05, 2025 14:36 UTC
Mejbri banned for spitting at Leeds fans, Merino may keep place as Arsenal striker – football live
An FA statement said: “An independent Regulatory Commission has sanctioned Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri for misconduct during their Premier League match against Leeds on 18 October. “The Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for its decisions will be published in due course.” Share20m ago 15.28 GMT World Cup draw news. Just a couple of hours until the start of the World Cup draw. Photograph: Julio César Aguilar/AFP/Getty Images Share6h ago 09.48 GMT The Village People are playing at the World Cup draw today. Share6h ago 09.19 GMT It’s 188 days until World Cup 2026 but precisely zero days until the World Cup draw!
Source:The Guardian
December 05, 2025 12:32 UTC
Noise around Donald Trump an unwanted distraction to World Cup draw of dreams
Quick Guide Wenger backs France as 'super-favourite' for 2026 World Cup Show Arsène Wenger has described France as the “super-favourite” for next summer’s World Cup based on their enviable attacking options and major tournament knowhow. Would he allow Trump to get in on the celebrations in the unlikely event of a US World Cup win? Uzbekistan, Jordan, Cape Verde and Curaçao (in that order of seeding) will play at their first World Cup. It can sound corny when players and managers talk about fulfilling childhood dreams at the World Cup. View image in fullscreen The official balls for the World Cup draw are seen on stage at the Kennedy Center.
Source:The Guardian
December 04, 2025 21:30 UTC
Record numbers becoming billionaires through inheritance, UBS report finds
Of these, 91 people this year became billionaires through inheritance, collectively receiving $298bn (£223bn) in the 12 months to April, the bank said. That was up more than a third against last year and the highest since UBS started its research in 2015. Meanwhile, 196 “self-made” entrepreneurs became billionaires this year, with a collective wealth of $386.5bn, UBS said. The UK ranked seventh, with $164bn in wealth expected to be passed down over the next 15 years. Various European governments have faced calls to introduce a wealth tax on the international elite this year.
Source:The Guardian
December 04, 2025 21:02 UTC
We tested Europe’s luxurious new ‘business-class’ sleeper bus between Amsterdam and Zurich
Last month Swiss startup Twiliner launched a fleet of futuristic sleeper buses, and I’ve come to Amsterdam to try them out. Even when running on normal diesel, which sometimes the buses have to, a Twiliner bus is as sustainable as a sleeper train per passenger kilometre, it says. The blip on this journey is boarding at Amsterdam’s outdoor bus station in Sloterdijk, a five-minute train ride from Amsterdam Centraal station. View image in fullscreen The bus reaches Zurich from Amsterdam in 12 hours 15 minutes. Twiliner tickets between Amsterdam and Zurich cost from 150 Swiss francs (£141).
Source:The Guardian
December 04, 2025 17:30 UTC
Airbus cuts plane delivery target amid A320 fuselage problem
Airbus has cut its plane delivery target for this year after it identified a problem with the fuselage panels on its bestselling A320 family of aircraft that has forced it to inspect hundreds of jets. Despite the lower delivery number, Airbus said it was sticking to its previous financial forecast, as it targets a full-year adjusted operating profit of about €7bn (£6.1bn). When Airbus issued its weekend recall to more than 350 operators, about 3,000 jets in the A320 family were in the air. The setback came just weeks after the A320 became the most-delivered plane model in history, when it overtook Boeing’s 737. Airbus is due to report its November delivery figures on Friday.
Source:The Guardian
December 04, 2025 16:59 UTC
Revealed: Myanmar junta ‘crony’ given key role behind Fifa peace prize
In an interview in 2013 with the South Morning China Post, Zaw Zaw was reported as saying that his only crime was “in this poor country, I have become rich”. An inscription on the Fifa club World Cup trophy read “inspired by FIFA president Gianni Infantino”. “These developments certainly suggest that this peace prize award process is being reverse-engineered to ensure the favoured result of President Infantino,” he said. “The only year Fifa makes money is in a men’s World Cup year,” McGeehan said. “So every men’s World Cup year, you need to squeeze as much money as possible out of your host.
Source:The Guardian
December 04, 2025 15:30 UTC
Hardline migration policies are fuelling people smuggling, report finds
Hardline migration policies adopted by governments across the globe have been a boon for people smugglers, fuelling demand and allowing them to raise their prices, according to a report. More than 50,000 of them said they had used smugglers, with many of them linking their decision to the absence of accessible opportunities for legal migration. 14:07 How Europe’s immigration crackdown is fuelling smuggling gangs – videoDespite widespread assertions that smugglers are luring people into irregular migration, just 6% of the migrants surveyed said smugglers had influenced their decision. The data made it clear that smugglers were not the cause of irregular migration, said Forin. In Europe, campaigners have long warned that policymakers are pushing people towards smugglers by restricting legal migration pathways such as family reunification.
Source:The Guardian
December 04, 2025 15:18 UTC
EU looks at legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China
The EU is considering legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China to insulate Europe from future hostile acts, the industry commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, says. Underlining the threats posed by over dependency on China, Séjourné said if industry did not respond, the commission reserved the right to introduce legislation. “We would force European companies legally to diversify their sources of supply. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. after newsletter promotionOf that, “17,000 to 18,000” tonnes come from China, 1,000 are produced in the EU with the remainder from other countries.
Source:The Guardian
December 04, 2025 00:55 UTC
Germany to host Women’s Euro 2029 after pledging to smash ticket sales record
Germany will host the 2029 Women’s European Championship after receiving the vast majority of the votes from Uefa’s executive committee. The decision came in the first round of voting, with 15 of the 17 votes going to Germany. Germany are record eight-time European champions and the 2029 tournament will come five years after the nation hosted the men’s competition. Photograph: Sven Beyrich/SPP/Shutterstock“We are proud and delighted to be hosting Uefa Women’s Euro 2029,” the DFB president, Bernd Neuendorf, said. Following the wonderful Women’s Euro 2025 in Switzerland, we want to set new standards.
Source:The Guardian
December 03, 2025 23:26 UTC
‘The biggest decision yet’: Jared Kaplan on allowing AI to train itself
View image in fullscreen The decision to ‘let go’ of the reins on AI is likely to come between 2027 and 2030, Kaplan says. A Harvard Business Review study in September said AI “workslop” – substandard AI enabled-work that humans have to fix – was reducing productivity. In September, Anthropic revealed its cutting-edge AI, Claude Sonnet 4.5, a model for computer coding that can build AI agents and autonomously use computers. Kaplan said allowing AIs to train the next AIs was “an extremely high-stakes decision to make”. View image in fullscreen Some of the biggest gains have been in using AIs to write computer code.
Source:The Guardian
December 03, 2025 02:08 UTC
Production of French-German fighter jet threatened by rivalries, chief executive says
The leaders of France and Germany have a “strong willingness” to build a new fighter jet together despite bitter internal rivalries, according to the chief executive of engine manufacturer Safran. A row over who should lead between French aerospace company Dassault and the German unit of Airbus has threatened to break apart the countries’ efforts to make a next-generation fighter jet. However, many analysts and industry leaders – including Airbus’s chief executive – have openly mused about whether separate European projects should duplicate efforts to build the planes. The chief executive’s comments came during a visit to lobby UK government ministers and express willingness to invest in Britain. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter.
Source:The Guardian
December 02, 2025 21:31 UTC
‘It’s going much too fast’: the inside story of the race to create the ultimate AI
To hear it is to feel in your skull the brute force involved in the the development of AI technology. Even a relatively modest Google AI factory planned in Essex is expected to emit the equivalent carbon footprint of 500 short-haul flights a week. Silicon Valley has always run on youth, and if experience is needed more can be found in the highest ranks of the AI companies. When he joined OpenAI, AGI was “a very abstract, mythical concept – almost like a rallying cry for me”, he said. But Trump shows no signs of binding the AI companies’ with red tape and is piling pressure on the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, to follow suit.
Source:The Guardian
December 02, 2025 17:32 UTC