US president says oil majors primed to invest in rebuilding infrastructure following Maduro ouster

Released two days before his death, Bowie’s last album Blackstar was a redemptive masterstroke. But his career was stuffed with failures – and this documentary refuses to gloss over the most painful parts

South Korea’s military report projectile launch, which follows Kim Jong-un calling for doubling of output of tactical guided weapons North Korea has fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast, according to South Korea’s military leaders. The South Korean joint chiefs of staff said: “The North has launched an unidentified ballistic missile toward the East Sea,” referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. Continue reading...

Guided bombs used to target tunnels at site near to city of Palmyra in raid intended to ‘eliminate dangerous terrorists’ British and French aircraft have carried out a joint strike on an underground facility in Syria that had been occupied by Islamic State, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. Guided bombs were used to target access tunnels down to the site, which is located in the mountainous region near the ancient city of Palmyra in the centre of the country, on Saturday evening. Continue reading...

Over-by-over updates from the Sydney Cricket Ground Play starts at 10.30am local time, 11.30pm GMT Get The Spin | The Ashes top 100 | Email Tim “Great pre-amble,” says Tom van der Gucht, sportingly. “It got me thinking whether Labuschagne or Weatherald could do a Pope and Crawley and do just enough to retain their place.” (At the risk of splitting haiirs, I thought Pope had lost his place?) “Cricket is a strangely moral sport whereby you earn your chance, become the next cab off the rank, deserve another shot etc... Bazball has been weirdly anti-Bazball by eschewing county form, yet still hanging onto hunches and giving Pope/Crawley shot after shot based on their feasts and ignoring their famine. Weirdly, Crawley has probably pencilled himself in for the rest of the year based on the paucity of scores from other batsmen. I bet Malan is fuming – never really fitting in or backed in any England regime whilst Crawley seems destined to be picked for the ODI team too. “One of the pleasures and unique idiosyncracies of the sport I suppose, like looking at how many incredible Aussie batters never got the chance in the test team due to its strength and consistency: Bevan, Hodge, Law, Love... Even Glenn Maxwell... How the hell has he not been backed as a game changer in Tests? Continue reading...

Dennis Kelly’s brilliant drama about a teacher in prison is moving, gripping and almost painfully vulnerable – plus the main character decimates everyone at a middle-class dinner party. What more could you want?

Though he also discussed plans to ‘run’ Venezuela, the US president could not resist upending his moment of glory

According to Nasa, a supermoon occurs when the moon, due to its proximity to Earth, appears up to 15% larger and 30% brighter than a regular full moon

* Teenager beats Dutchman 7-1 in one-sided final * Littler clicks into gear after losing opening set The winning moment seemed to drain all the strength from his body. He leaned against the drinks table and let it take all his weight, clasped his face in his hands, cried a little. As if only just feeling the shape and hue of the unspeakable thing he had just done. As if some great act of violence had just left his hands. Perhaps it had. And before the double world champion, before the social media phenomenon, before the commercial giant, before the global icon, there was Luke Littler the darts obsessive. A kid steeped and stewed in the heritage of the game, fully aware of the landmarks he is now chasing, the tapestry of greatness into which he is now indelibly woven. Continue reading...

Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, about whether or not Donald Trump is likely to end his military campaign in the region – or if this is just the beginning

In 2025 it felt as thought the world itself had dementia. But though incurable, it’s a disease that can be treated

* Alexandra Palace hosts the final, 8.15pm GMT start * Follow us on Bluesky | And get in touch: email Rob I was just afraid of losing. Afraid of what people might think of me. What if I lose this game? What are my parents going to think of me? And that’s when it started. Dartitis, with me, was just being afraid to fail. And that was because I wasn’t confident in myself, not in darts, not in my personal life. This piece, on Gian van Veen’s struggle with dartitis among other things, is well worth a read. As somebody who has had a form of writer’s block for almost a decade, I have immense admiration for Van Veen’s ability to overcome something even more debilitating. Continue reading...

Arsenal’s revenge mission this week has been a dish best served cold. After Unai Emery’s Aston Villa felt the force of the Premier League leaders in a 4-1 thrashing, this time it was Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth who were vanquished despite being presented with the opening goal by Gabriel Magalhães. The Brazilian promptly equalised before Declan Rice capped his return from injury with two goals as Arsenal moved six points clear at the top, even if they had to survive a nervous last 16 minutes after substitute Eli Junior Kroupi pulled one back. Continue reading...

The stage and screen actor on turning gaffes into gifts, the impact of Eowyn, and the stew scene that Lord of the Rings fans won’t stop asking about

As Andrew Ngeh and Kathleen Oliver paddleboarded together in a secluded bay in Vanuatu, the chemistry between them was undeniable

Hope, fear and unease ripple through Britain’s Venezuelan community after US forces seized Nicolás Maduro

Latin America correspondent Tom Phillips on the historic US strikes against Venezuela and the hopes and fears of the country's impoverished people

As Maduro faces trial in New York on alleged involvement in narco-terrorism, how will Venezuelans judge their president?

Zia Yusuf announces plans for mandatory sentences with no parole, as party targets grooming gangs Child rapists would be jailed for life if Reform UK wins the next election, its head of policy has said. Under plans announced by Zia Yusuf on Saturday, the party would introduce mandatory whole-life orders for offenders convicted of the crime, making them ineligible for parole, as part of a crackdown on grooming gangs. Continue reading...

Trump is no longer bending the rules – he is demolishing them, with consequences far beyond Caracas

⚽ Premier League updates from the 5.30pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Barry Elsewhere in the Premier League: Wolves have finally won their first match of the season, scoring three without reply against sorry West Ham at Molineux. In news to make those of us who remember his Leeds United debut as a 16-year-old feel truly ancient, James Milner celebrated his 40th birthday by helping Brighton to a 2-0 win over Burnley, while Aston Villa got back to winning ways by beating Nottingham Forest 3-1 at Villa Park in today’s early kick-off. Wolves remain 12 points adrift of safety at the bottom of the table but today’s results mean life is looking a lot less bleak for Rob Edwards’ side now than it did first thing this morning. View the Premier League table Continue reading...

Exclusive: Survey finds growing number ‘neglecting responsibilities’ or ‘damaging relationships’ as a result * ‘I’d try to hide it as best I could’: a UK man on his struggle with porn addiction More than half of therapists who work with men with addiction have noticed a rise in out of control porn use over the past year, according to new data. Experts are urgently calling for a national strategy on pornography as a total of 53% of therapists surveyed by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) said they had seen a rise in people seeking help for problematic pornography use that was interfering with their life or driving them to seek out more extreme content. Continue reading...

Some suspected the attacks on Venezuela were coming, but the shock was still real and no one knows what will happen next

These once obscure fizzy ferments are now widely available in our supermarkets – but which are a sparkling success and which leave you feeling a bit flat?

Damage to cables means tens of thousands will be without electricity until Thursday amid freezing temperatures Tens of thousands of homes in Berlin will be without electricity until Thursday as authorities struggle to repair power cables seriously damaged in a suspected arson attack, officials have said. Some households may also be without heating as the outage has affected local systems at a time when the German capital is blanketed in snow and temperatures are hovering around freezing. Continue reading...