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World Cup 2026 power rankings: France still kings but who has climbed 26 places?

From Algeria to Uzbekistan, we assess the standing of the 48 nations after the group stage of the tournament

It took a little over an hour for Kylian Mbappé to find his groove. Irked by a poor refereeing decision, he scored twice in France’s opener against Senegal. Ably supported by a stunning cast, Mbappé will already have his sights on winning the competition. Michael Olise has shown his class throughout, while Ousmane Dembélé dazzled with a hat-trick against Norway. We’ll see if anyone can stop Didier Deschamps’ team.

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 08:30:04 GMT
Labour has abandoned the missions that brought it to power. Here's how Burnham could revive them. | Mariana Mazzucato

With a new prime minister incoming, Labour faces a fundamental question about its economic vision

As Keir Starmer stands down as prime minister and attention turns toward Andy Burnham, the current moment should not be reduced to a story of personalities. The question that matters is strategy, and the Labour party has three years left to get this right.

When Labour won its landslide in July 2024, it did so on the promise of a new kind of governance: five national missions to tackle the UK’s deepest structural challenges, from clean energy to child poverty, inspired by my book, Mission Economy. That was the right answer to a real question: what is the economy for, and why should it matter to people’s daily lives? Mission-oriented government is not just a political slogan, but a proven approach to solving society’s biggest challenges, generating good jobs and resilient growth in the process.

Mariana Mazzucato is professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London, where she is founding director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose. She is the author of The Common Good: a new compass

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:00:02 GMT
Bad Bunny review – dynamic Latin superstar hosts thrilling party

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
The Puerto Rican superstar kicks off in a white suit fronting a salsa band in full flow, then switches up with a swaggering, chaotic rave in a replica island home

Midway through the largest British concert ever staged by a Latin-American artist, a giant cartoon toad appears on the big screens and admonishes those in the crowd who can’t speak Spanish: “You’re missing the message,” it warns. The giant cartoon frog has a point. Bad Bunny is given to lengthy between-song chat, delivered in his native tongue, which apparently cover everything from the recent earthquake in Venezuela to what seem to be subtly pointed remarks about the importance of people and places: his current world tour declines to take in the United States on the grounds that it might attract the attention of ICE, a not-unreasonable assumption given the tantrum thrown by Donald Trump over the singer’s headline appearance at the Superbowl half-time show (a tantrum, it’s worth noting, that helped propel Bad Bunny’s albums into the British Top 10 for the first time).

Equally, the cartoon toad needn’t have worried. For one thing, there are so many representatives of the diaspora in the crowd that his Spanish monologues are noticeably more warmly and loudly received than his solitary announcement in English. And, for another, if his show proves anything, it’s that you really don’t need to understand the lyrics to grasp why Bad Bunny has become one of the biggest stars in the world. It’s split into two distinct sections. The first presents Bad Bunny as a traditionalist, fronting a live band and, at one point, a platoon of salsa dancers: his take on the genre nevertheless takes in a lengthy – and surprising proggy – synthesiser solo at the start of Baile Inolvidable and an equally lengthy solo on a 10-stringed Spanish guitar that devolves into a cover of Hey Jude.

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 10:59:35 GMT
This is how we do it: ‘I expected to be a little old spinster, but kinky sex broadened my horizons’

Graham and Josephine were friends for years, but after their spouses died they discovered a mutual attraction – and a fondness for adventurous sex

How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

Our sexual preferences cover everything from vanilla to being tied up and spanked

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 10:00:06 GMT
Will the Mamdani effect make 2028 the year of the leftwing president?

The mayor hopes to ‘write a new chapter in the party’s history’ – and recent democratic socialist wins prove he might be able to do it

In the back yard of a Brooklyn bar, beneath strung-up lightbulbs and swaths of fabric that swooped like great sails, an ecstatic crowd greeted Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, and his victorious ally, Brad Lander. These Democrats also had a withering verdict on their own party establishment.

“To me, centrists can go fuck themselves,” said Léa Zimmerman, 34. “They’re fucking useless, they don’t stand for anything, and if they do stand on something, it’s pathetic. I’m done with pathetic, performative people.”

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:00:00 GMT
David Sedaris on his Duolingo obsession: ‘“Today is the last day,” I told myself – but I was powerless to stop’

I decided to combine my need to top the leader table with my daily step count – which is how I found myself walking 10 miles a day while reading out sentences in Japanese, German, Spanish and French

Hugh and I were driving from Washington, DC, to the Sea Section, our house on the coast of North Carolina, when I noticed a dot with legs traversing the hem of my untucked shirt. “There’s a tick on me!” I said.

He looked down at my lap. “Well, throw it outside. It’s nothing to get hysterical about.”

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:00:01 GMT
Donald Trump threatens to annihilate Iran after crossfire over Hormuz – Middle East crisis live

Iran attacked Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes, and threatened a ‘complete halt’ to talks

Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have both spoken out about the recent Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait.

The Jordanian foreign ministry said that the “brutal Iranian attacks” on the Gulf nations were “a threat to their security and stability, and the safety of their territories”.

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:31:31 GMT
Lucy Powell appears to endorse Ed Miliband as Andy Burnham’s chancellor

Labour deputy leader says she thinks energy secretary would be good in Treasury but ‘tittle-tattle’ over cabinet posts is ‘unedifying’

Ed Miliband would make a “good” chancellor to Andy Burnham, Labour’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, has said, ahead of the likely next prime minister’s first major speech on the economy since he returned to Westminster.

Powell, who served as Miliband’s chief of staff in opposition and is close to the former party leader, appeared to endorse him to run the Treasury – although some in Burnham’s camp acknowledge such a move could be politically risky.

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 11:41:54 GMT
Temperature records tumble across Europe as heatwave moves east

More than 191m people in Europe face temperatures over 35C, with extreme heat warnings from Germany to Hungary

Poland, Czechia and Slovakia are braced for record temperatures of over 40C as a heatwave linked to hundreds of deaths in western Europe spreads east.

More than 191 million people in Europe faced temperatures of at least 35C on Sunday, with extreme heat warnings in Germany, Czechia, Poland and Hungary.

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 11:24:05 GMT
World Cup 2026: England to face DRC, Clarke quits Scotland, South Korea president blasts team – live

⚽ All the latest news from as we reach the knockouts
Player guide | Power rankings | Golden Boot | Mail us

England reaction from our writers in New York/New Jersey.

Bellingham can be dismissed a little by some as a player of moments. Is that bad? Moments win games. Bellingham is 22 and still finding his final form. He promises to do these things, walks and talks like he might do them. But then he also does them, which seems important. With England paddling here, he had the will and the craft to take out the spoons and rattle something off on his knee just when they needed it most.

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Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:47:33 GMT

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