21+ min ago (359+ words) Paquet" critical of lack of support during spot-fixing case "It's ridiculous to have your life affected for two years' West Ham's Lucas Paquet" has accused the football authorities of a lack of support in an extraordinary outburst after he was sent off against Liverpool. The Brazil midfielder was shown two yellow cards for dissent in quick succession by the referee Darren England during his side's 2-0 defeat at the London Stadium. Paquet" had an FA investigation into spot-fixing allegations hanging over him for two years after he was accused of getting booked deliberately for betting purposes. He was cleared of the charges in July, but the case cost him a likely move to Manchester City two summers ago. He wrote on X: "I understand that now I have to come across as the villain; it's hard to live with everything that's been…...

23+ min ago (508+ words) Theatre Royal Stratford East, LondonAfrobeat-tinged music, an AI love interest, Elon Musk as a panto villain, and a cast who are clearly having a ball mean there is something for everyone in this flashy festive showElon Musk as a pantomime villain? That's a sight with which we're all familiar. But panto villain as Elon Musk? Maybe that's a first for Vikki Stone and Tonderai Munyevu's Christmas show, which doesn't stint on satirical sideswipes " nor, I am happy to report, on boisterous festive fun. Musk makes his appearance spooking our three heroes when they hijack a rocket at SpaceX to rescue Gary the Goose from interstellar (for some reason) captivity. Formerly owned by the good fairy WTF, he has been birdnapped by her frenemy BFF " and if those two are giving strong Glinda and Elphaba vibes, well, I don't think it's…...

24+ min ago (764+ words) Dr Robin Lovell-Badge and Prof Emma Robinson respond to an editorial on using new technologies to reduce the reliance on animal experiments I write in response to your editorial on animals in research (The Guardian view on animal testing: we can stop sacrificing millions of lives for our own health, 23 November). I am supportive of many aspects of the strategy to aid the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods to replace the use of animals. However, much of this is geared towards regulatory testing, where the goals are more readily achievable, rather than for discovery science.All scientists working with animals in the UK have signed up to the 3Rs: replacement (developing alternatives), reduction and refinement. But we are definitely not ready to abandon research with animals, and for some disciplines we may never get to this. Advances in the…...

25+ min ago (345+ words) Rev Dr Michael Fox responds to an article by Nesrine Malik on the home secretary using her "story" to silence criticism of her policiesNesrine Malik"s analysis of Shabana Mahmood"s immigration policies may apply more widely than to second-generation immigrant politicians (Shabana Mahmood is an avatar of open Britain " that"s what makes her fable about immigration so seductive, 24 November).Twenty years ago, while making a documentary on politics for the Open University, I interviewed a group of 15-year-olds at a school in'Moss Side, Manchester. The school had selected a mixed group of children, half identifying as white British, half as second-generation immigrant. Continue reading... Shabana Mahmood and my surprise at teenagers" views on immigration Rev Dr Michael Fox responds to an article by Nesrine Malik on the home secretary using her "story" to silence criticism of her policies…...

25+ min ago (197+ words) Too often savings in construction cost and time are at the expense of design and materials, and high finance and support costs, writes Martin Cook In my 2007 book The Design Quality Manual: Improving Building Performance, I included results from all these reviews, starting with the Audit Commission's 2003 report PFI in Schools. The design flaws were serious, including poor functionality, short-life materials, and non-compliance with building and safety regulations. PFI contracts tend to be led by building contractors rather than architects. So was the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. There may be savings in construction cost and time. However, too often these are achieved at the expense of design and materials, and high finance and support costs. As PFI buildings approach the end of their 25- to 30-year concessions, there are also widespread concerns that some will be abandoned by their contractors and…...

25+ min ago (214+ words) Separate rooms | Downsizing homes | Nigel Farage | Hong Kong fires | Idle Working Men's Club All five "homes for downsizers" (Fantasy house hunt: Homes for downsizers, 28 November) are larger and more expensive than the one I've happily inhabited for many years. And I have to ask: from what palace might one be downsizing to a three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment in St'John's Wood, London?Anne CowperBishopston, Swansea Samuel Johnson was wrong. Patriotism isn't the last refuge of a scoundrel. It is the penultimate refuge; hiding behind the term "banter" is the last refuge of the scoundrel (Three more ex-pupils at school with Nigel Farage reject "banter' claims, 25 November). Prof Stephen FarrallSheffield Hong Kong authorities wasted no time in arresting those they hold responsible for last week's fatal fire in tower blocks. Here, eight years on, still'no arrests over Grenfell.John KendallPresteigne, Powys If we're…...

35+ min ago (638+ words) Use of 8m pounds of antibiotics and antifungals a year leads to superbugs and damages human health, lawsuit claims A new legal petition filed by a dozen public health and farm worker groups demands the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stop allowing farms to spray antibiotics on food crops in the US because they are probably causing superbugs to flourish and sickening farm workers. The agricultural industry sprays about 8m pounds of antibiotic and antifungal pesticides on US food crops annually, many of which are banned in other countries. The overuse of antibiotics, which are essential to treating human disease, as pesticides on fruits and vegetables threatens public health because it can lead to superbug bacteria that are antibiotic-resistant. Similarly, overuse of antifungal pesticides can lead to fungal infections that are less treatable with medical currently available drugs, the groups say. "Each year…...

35+ min ago (914+ words) John McAuliff won against a Republican by focusing on something affecting all his constituents: the cost of energy John McAuliff, a 33-year-old small business owner and former civil servant, was one of the more unlikely Democrats to win election to Virginia's legislature this month, after a campaign in which he could, at times, come off a bit like a Republican. What he talked most about was a specific grievance in line with the focus on affordability many Democrats are taking these days, but with a unique twist: the deleterious effects of datacenters and their impact on electricity bills. "Most of the year I spent knocking on the doors of folks we didn't think were Democrats " either independents or Republicans, and once in a while, a Democrat. And so they would start to shut the door in my face," McAuliff said....

35+ min ago (652+ words) MPs warn axing FCDO's migration and conflict directorate amid staff cuts risks undermining peace work and expertise The Foreign Office has been warned that a plan to axe its dedicated unit on emerging conflicts and refugee crises is a "real error" that "undermines UK security" as the department grapples with swingeing cuts. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) migration and conflict directorate, which employs about 100 civil servants, is being abolished at the end of this year and its work subsumed by the rest of the department. The directorate provides advice and technical support to governments and civil society groups in trouble spots, including Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen and the Philippines. It is slated to close despite Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, writing last week that the FCDO was "stepping up efforts" to support peace-building. The move is part…...

41+ min ago (549+ words) Norris only fourth in Qatar, making Abu Dhabi decisive McLaren failure to pit on safety car costs their drivers Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix to ensure he remains squarely in the world championship fight which, with title leader Lando Norris in fourth and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in second, will now be a three-way fight to the finish at the season finale next week in Abu Dhabi, with just 16 points separating all three drivers. Piastri had held his lead from pole into turn one but as expected Verstappen, on the clean side of the grid and in Piastri's slipstream, jumped Norris through the first corner, to take second. The leaders promptly settled into running with the two-second gap between them as they looked to run in clean air through the high-speed corners that dominate in Qatar until…...