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George Cottrell was routinely introduced as Nigel Farage’s chief of staff before the 2024 election despite denials that he had any official role, according to a Reform candidate who stood aside for the party leader.Others who have been closely involved in the party have also claimed Cottrell arranged for the Land Rovers that ferried Reform’s newly elected MPs to parliament, and that he covered the cost of a fundraising lunch with potential donors before the national vote.Questions about the role of Cottrell, a convicted fraudster, and the extent to which he has provided undeclared support for Farage have been building…

The Congolese government has announced that the death toll in the country’s latest Ebola outbreak has reached 600. New suspected cases of Ebola had been reported in parts of Congo that were previously unaffected, the government said. The latest report, published late Wednesday, said two new cases were suspected in Kisangani in the Tshopo province, where cases had not been previously recorded. “The total number of confirmed cases across the country has now reached 1,759.” According to the report, one of the two suspected cases was linked to the Nia-Nia health zone in Ituri province, where the first cases were…

Anna Maxwell Martin is chilling as Raskova in Star CityApple TV What does the state of sci-fi TV in the first half of 2026 tell us? To be honest, things could be better. Only one series has been an unalloyed pleasure. This may seem an odd way to describe Star City, a grim alternate-history thriller about the Soviet space programme, in which its characters duck KGB interrogators and endure near-fatal space accidents. More anon. There were brilliant moments in other series, too – they just came with a little more baggage. Typifying this was Fallout, which, as the New Year…

Newcastle have signed midfielder Sean Steur from Ajax in a transfer worth £23m.The 18-year-old has joined on a five-year deal with Newcastle set to pay £20m plus £3m in bonuses. Steur is the club’s third signing this summer, following £42m winger Bazoumana Toure from Hoffenheim and £18m goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen from Reims after the departures of Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon for a combined £169m, with midfielder Bruno Guimaraes wanting to join Arsenal. Who is Sean Steur?Steur began his career with RKAV Volendam before joining Ajax’s academy in 2016 and making his senior debut during the 2024/25 campaign before enjoying…

Giant screens showing the message “JUST&T MARRIED!” (T&T for Taylor and Travis) are seen outside Madison Square Garden, the reported venue for the wedding celebrations of pop singer Taylor Swift and pro-athlete Travis Kelce, in New York City on July 3, 2026. US pop queen Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce, whose lavish wedding has drawn hundreds of celebrities to New York, have officially married, a representative for the singer said July 3. “Taylor and Travis did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen. Instead, her brother Austin Swift served as Taylor’s Man of Honor and Jason Kelce was Travis’s Best…

Another month, another heatwave. The climate crisis means things are heating up year on year, and while we can hide in air-conditioned shops and offices, our homes can get uncomfortably – sometimes dangerously – hot.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.We also have to go outside – or worse, pack ourselves like sweaty sardines on sweltering public transport. On those occasions, a portable fan can make all the difference between manageable discomfort and indulging in an inadvisable quantity of ice-cream. Their recent popularity has led to manufacturers churning…

Ninety-six games in the books, just eight more matches to come. FIFA World Cup 2026 has lived up to its billing as the biggest of all time, and may yet end up in the conversation as the best tournament, too.We’re down to the final eight nations with hopes of winning the trophy – four of them for the first time – while the other four are aiming to write a new glorious chapter in their football history.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBut now the last 16 and the first rest day of the competition are out of the…

She is concerned, however, that it will be difficult for voters to coalesce around any new candidate in just three months.”The thing I’m the most worried about is we run somebody and he or she loses, and then we spend the next four years pointing fingers at whose fault that was,” she said.In primary contests across the country this year, Democrats regularly opted for outsider congressional candidates offering a vivid vision for what the party should stand for and promising to fight for their beliefs in the face of Republican resistance.Platner was one of the earliest and most prominent examples…

Character.AI’s plan to become more than just an LLM-powered chatbot platform is going beyond interactive books, comics, and audio dramas. Today, the company announced the debut of c.ai Series — short-form, episodic videos designed to be watched and interacted with — on your phone.Unlike traditional microdrama services that feature cheaply produced, live-action shows starring human performers, c.ai Series are animated and almost entirely made with generative AI. The company’s interest in getting into the microdrama space isn’t surprising considering that it’s projected to become a $26 billion industry in the next few years. And even though some young people have…

One of the big headaches facing a prospective Burnham government is the welfare budget. A major review of Personal Independence Payments (Pip) in England and Wales published on Thursday found the disability benefit to be “not fit for purpose” and in need of fundamental change.Opposition parties, most notably the Conservatives, have called for the welfare budget to be cut in order to fund defence spending.Sir Keir attempted to push through welfare reforms to cut £5bn a year from budget, but was forced into a major U-turn following a backbench revolt, which was led by Haigh among others.She told the BBC…