14+ min ago (281+ words) Arne Slot made arguably one of the boldest decisions of his Liverpool tenure to date by dropping Mohamed Salah for Sunday's Premier League game against West Ham. The under-fire Reds; manager came out fighting in his press conference on Thursday which followed the humiliating 4-1 defeat in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven at Anfied. Overall the the reigning champions of England have lost nine of their last 12 matches in all competitions and look a shadow of the team that romped to the title last term. Having spent close to "500million on reinforcements in the summer, Slot was expected to preside over another campaign of domestic dominance but the reality has played out differently. Salah's form in particular has nosedived over the course of a dramatic slump but Slot maintains there was nothing untoward in dropping the Egypt international from his starting…...

18+ min ago (610+ words) Tens of thousands of people were left with either no running water or low pressure after a water shortage gripped a town. South East Water apologised for the situation which has affected some 24,000 people living in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. It said that supply had been interrupted due to a water treatment plant having to shut down, leaving drinking water stocks running low. A bottled water station set up at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre quickly ran out this morning as concerned locals raced for supplies. It was forced to temporarily close to replenish stocks. Another centre set up at Sovereign Way has since closed due to the winter festival due to take place in the town, with a replacement being currently being looked for. Around 1,700 priority customers who are unable to collect water in person will have bottles delivered to their…...

19+ min ago (868+ words) In a year stuffed with wild political news where all the attention was gobbled up by Labour and Reform, Your Party has flown under the radar a bit. I don't think that's fair. All four months of the party's existence have been packed with backstabbing and twists that would make an EastEnders writer jealous. The drama " most notably the tension between co-founders Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana " culminated this weekend in Your Party's first ever conference, held at the ACC in Liverpool. There's no denying it was quite an impressive event " it is not easy to pull together an event in major venue with professional branding and a turnout of hundreds so soon after founding. But equally impressive was the ability of supporters to split into venom-spitting factions, bitterly opposing each other on seemingly minor matters of policy. Here's what…...

37+ min ago (434+ words) Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the first goal of the game for Crystal Palace against Manchester United on Sunday and it came in unusual circumstances. Leny Yoro gave away a penalty at Selhurst Park as the Red Devils defender clumsily brought down Mateta in the box. The Frenchman stepped up to take the spot-kick himself and found the bottom corner, but it was an odd finish which looked like it bobbled into the net at first glance. In the past, that would have seen the goal ruled out for a double-touch, but things have changed. These days, an accidental double-touch leads to a retaken penalty, so Mateta stepped up to face Senne Lammens again. The second time round, he went to the other corner but the result was the same, with the Eagles striker finding the back of the net. In June…...

39+ min ago (452+ words) Firefighters were showered with chunks of concrete and building debris as they battled a volcano-like fire at a chemical recycling plant. The inferno erupted in Sydney, Australia on Saturday night local time and was described as a "once in a career type of experience" by fire crews. A fireball burst 500ft (150m) into the air and spewed blocks of material into the sky. One storage tank shot away like a projectile and landed 200 metres away, just short of a railway line. Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said: "I have never seen anything like that, to that degree. "I"ve had firefighters today tell me they"ve been in the job for almost forty years and had never seen an explosion fire so big, so it was very significant." More than 200 firefighters rushed to Kurrajong Street as the fire took hold…...

41+ min ago (451+ words) Manchester United centre-back Leny Yoro had a first half to forget against Crystal Palace, committing a clumsy foul inside the box to help give the hosts the lead at Selhurst Park. Ruben Amorim's side found themselves under intense scrutiny entering the contest on the back of the side's dismal 1-0 defeat at home to ten-man Everton last time out. But it was Palace that started the better of the two teams in Sunday's lunchtime kick-off, attacking in waves to pile the pressure on their visitors in the opening 45 minutes in the capital. Jean-Philippe Mateta wasted a golden opportunity to put the home team in front midway through the first half, holding off Yoro before pulling his shot wide of Senne Lammens' goal by a distance. However, Mateta was given the chance to redeem himself after Yoro clattered into the back of…...

1+ hour, 5+ min ago (587+ words) Lando Norris missed out on becoming Formula 1 world champion in Qatar on Sunday with the title now set to be decided in Abu Dhabi next week. The British McLaren driver knew he'd clinch his first career title in Qatar with a race to spare if he ended up 26 points, or more, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and 25 points in front of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. But a dramatic race in Qatar saw Verstappen finish first with Piastri second and Norris in fourth, behind third-placed Carlos Sainz. It means a Formula 1 world champion will not be crowned until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has concluded on December 7, with Norris looking to become the first Brit to land the title since Lewis Hamilton and end Verstappen's run of four in a row from 2021 and 2024. Max Verstappen started the race in third but…...

1+ hour, 15+ min ago (220+ words) A runaway reindeer wreaked festive chaos after it dashed away from a local Christmas parade. Southport Offshore Rescue Trust was called out at 4.43pm last night, after the festive fugitive had been missing for several hours last seen headingnorth to the sand dunes of Formby Beach, Liverpool. A resident who saw it told Sefton Bubble: "We thought it was a stag at first, but then a National Trust ranger asked if we'd seen a real reindeer! "We pointed them in the direction it went " literally trotting north up the beach. "Then the police arrived. They're really worried about it getting onto the road.' Merseyside Police were tracking the reindeer across the dunes, but eventually lost sight of the animal as darkness fell. The Southport Offshore Rescue Trust used thermal binoculars to locate the pesky reindeer on the sand of Formby Beach....

1+ hour, 15+ min ago (220+ words) A runaway reindeer wreaked festive chaos after it dashed away from a local Christmas parade. Southport Offshore Rescue Trust was called out at 4.43pm last night, after the festive fugitive had been missing for several hours last seen headingnorth to the sand dunes of Formby Beach, Liverpool. A resident who saw it told Sefton Bubble: "We thought it was a stag at first, but then a National Trust ranger asked if we'd seen a real reindeer! "We pointed them in the direction it went " literally trotting north up the beach. "Then the police arrived. They're really worried about it getting onto the road.' Merseyside Police were tracking the reindeer across the dunes, but eventually lost sight of the animal as darkness fell. The Southport Offshore Rescue Trust used thermal binoculars to locate the pesky reindeer on the sand of Formby Beach....

1+ hour, 24+ min ago (605+ words) David Beckham sounds cautiously optimistic about the progress at Manchester United under Ruben Amorim, saying things are going int he right direction'slowly. The Red Devils beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon, with second half goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount. It came after a woeful defeat at home to Everton on Monday night and a slow start to the game against the Eagles. Jean-Phillipe Mateta put Palace ahead from the penalty spot and the home side held a deserved lead at half-time before the visitors improved and the Eagles faded. Manchester United legend Beckham has backed Amorim, although is not exactly getting over-excited about the progress under the Portuguese. "I think there's signs of the manager turning things around,' Beckham told Sky Sports. "He's tweaked a few things and we are coming into a few better…...