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Turkey 0-0 Wales

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1923

2008

Almost £1bn in funding will go to delivering London-style buses across England as part of a massive Budget boost, the government has promised.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has given more details on its plans for 2025 after announcing the funding last month.

It has promised to deliver what it calls "London-style" services to every corner of the country, and said funding would be allocated based on levels of deprivation and population, instead of making areas compete for investment as it has in previous years.

The DfT says Leicester, the Isle of Wight, Torbay, Southend, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are set to receive "unprecedented" levels of funding.

In urban areas, some of the biggest allocations are being given to combined authorities representing South Yorkshire and the Liverpool City Region.

In total, there will be £712m for local authorities to improve services, alongside a further £243m for bus operators.

About 3.4 million people in England travel regularly by bus, making it the most commonly used mode of public transport.

Local authorities in all English regions will be able to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial routes, the DfT says.

It added the money will allow more urban areas to maintain high levels of service. Meanwhile, rural communities and small towns will be able to offer more services.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme the funding would "vastly improve" the reliability and frequency of services, particularly in rural areas.

French singer-songwriter Charles Dumont, who composed Edith Piaf's Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, has died at the age of 95.

Dumont was 27 years old when he wrote the song in 1956. But it was not until 1960 that he was persuaded to approach the star, who enthusiastically accepted it.

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (I regret nothing) - which expresses a wish to make peace with the past and start anew - became one of Piaf's signature songs.

It topped the charts in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada. The song is also well known throughout the English-speaking world - it was notably quoted in 1993 by Britain's then-Chancellor Norman Lamont.

When asked at a news conference whether he regretted optimistic statements he had made as the economy was struggling, Lamont replied: "Je ne regrette rien", sparking laughter among reporters but controversy later.

In a 2018 interview, Dumont told AFP news agency that he initially did not dare approach Piaf with the song because she "had already fired me three times and I didn't want to see her again".

But the song's lyricist, Michel Vaucaire, convinced him to try four years later. Dumont added that Piaf showed extreme reluctance when the pair turned up at her flat, but she allowed Dumont to play the song on her piano.

"From then on we were inseparable," he said. Dumont would eventually compose more than 30 songs for Piaf before her death in 1963.

Edith Piaf became an international star after spending most of her early life on the streets of Paris.

She is famous for singing ballads - including La Vie en Rose, Milord and La Foule.

Dumont also wrote for stars such as Jacques Brel, Juliette Gréco and Barbra Streisand. He went on to have a successful solo career from the 1970s.

Jacques Brel is grate

Charles Aznavour

Retiring superstar Rafael Nadal says he will not be distracted by emotion as he aims to help Spain win the Davis Cup in the final tournament of his illustrious career.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, will retire from tennis after representing his nation at the men's team event in Malaga.

Spain play the Netherlands in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, but it remains unclear if 38-year-old Nadal will be fit enough to play a significant part.

The former world number one has played only seven tournaments this year after battling various injuries over the past couple of seasons.

"I'm not here for retiring. I'm here to help the team win," said Nadal, who announced last month he was planning to quit here.

"It’s a team competition and the most important thing is to all stay focused on what we have to do - that is play tennis and do it very well.

"The emotions are going to be for the end."

Article Two of the Constitution of United States states that for a person to serve as president, the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years of age, and have been a United States resident for at least 14 years. The Twenty-second Amendment forbids any person from being elected president more than twice.

'Will to attack lifts Scotland from Euros gloom'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c2l921pezllo

New ice warnings for UK as snow causes travel disruption

10 years ago KentSpur's time on JA606 was nearing it's end.

Google has said it would harm consumers and businesses if it is forced to sell Chrome, the world's most popular web browser.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) will propose the measure to a judge on Wednesday, Bloomberg has reported, external.

Judge Amit Mehta ruled Google operates an online search monopoly in August, and has been considering what remedies or penalties to impose.

The DOJ has not commented on the report - but Google has made clear it is a proposal it opposes.

"The DOJ continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case," said Google executive Lee-Anne Mulholland in a statement.

Google will also reportedly be asked to establish new measures around its artificial intelligence, Android operating system and use of data.

"The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed,” Ms Mulholland added.

Chrome is the most used browser worldwide - with web traffic tracker Similarweb placing its global market share at 64.61% in October.

Meanwhile Google search corners an almost 90% share of the global search engine market as of October, according to Statcounter, external.

Wales make four changes from Saturday's 0-0 draw with Turkey in Kayseri

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said damage to two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea looks like an act of sabotage and a "hybrid action", without knowing who is to blame.

A 1,170km (730-mile) telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany was severed in the early hours of Monday, while a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden's Gotland Island stopped working on Sunday.

The incidents came at a time of heightened tension with Russia and Pistorius said "nobody believes that these cables were cut accidentally".

The Swedish and Lithuanian defence ministers said they were "deeply concerned" that the cable connecting their two countries had been cut.

"Situations like these must be assessed with the growing threat posed by Russia in our neighbourhood as a backdrop," ministers Pal Jonson and Laurynas Kasciunas said in a statement, external, with a call for sanctions to be used in response to acts of sabotage.

Germany and Finland also expressed grave concern on Monday in response to the severing of the C-Lion1 communications cable, warning that Europe's security was threatened by Russia's war, "but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors".

A series of incidents involving Baltic pipelines have heightened fears of sabotage since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has demanded Google sells Chrome, the world's most popular web browser.

It is one of a series of remedies proposed by the DOJ in a court filing late on Wednesday aimed at stopping the tech giant from maintaining its monopoly in online search.

Government lawyers also recommended that District Judge Amit Mehta force the firm to stop entering into contracts with companies - including Apple and Samsung - that make its search engine the default on many smartphones and browsers.

The proposed remedies stem from a landmark anti-competition ruling in August, in which Judge Mehta found Google illegally crushed its competition in online search.

The Department of Justice was joined in the filing by a group of US states that argued the changes will help to open up a monopolised market.

"Restoring competition to the markets for general search and search text advertising as they exist today will require reactivating the competitive process that Google has long stifled," the government lawyers wrote.

In response, Google said that with its proposals, the DOJ "chose to push a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America’s global technology leadership."

"[The] DOJ’s wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court’s decision," said Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Google.

"It would break a range of Google products — even beyond Search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."

Google is expected to counter with its own proposed remedies by 20 December.

Judge Mehta is set to issue a decision by the summer of 2025.

The long-delayed ship at the centre of Scotland's ferries saga has been handed over by the Ferguson shipyard, exactly seven years after it was launched.

MV Glen Sannox, destined for CalMac's Arran route, is the first new large vessel for the west coast ferry fleet in nearly a decade.

The ferry operator will now conduct several weeks of crew familiarisation trials before the ship carries its first passengers in January.

Glen Sannox was originally due for delivery in 2018 but has faced major challenges in design and construction, sparking the longest-running political controversy of the devolution era.

Costs have risen from an initial contract price of £97m to more than £400m, including £45m of government loans that were never fully recovered.

The handover comes seven years to the day since the ship was famously launched by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon with painted-on windows and plywood funnels.

Tributes have been paid to Lord John Prescott, a major figure in Labour politics and the former deputy prime minister, following his death at the age of 86.

Known for his blunt, no-nonsense style, Lord Prescott was Sir Tony Blair's loyal deputy for 10 years after Labour's 1997 general election landslide.

Sir Tony said he was "devastated" by the death of his friend, telling the BBC there was "no one quite like him in British politics".

His successor Gordon Brown called Lord Prescott a "working class hero", while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed a "true giant" of the Labour movement.

The King praised his "decades of public service" and recalled "with great fondness his unique and indomitable character, as well as his infectious sense of humour".

In a statement announcing his death, Lord Prescott’s wife and two sons said he had been in a care home recently living with Alzheimer’s.

They said he died "surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery".

Sir Tony said the pair would talk via videocall in recent times, and Lord Prescott was "still as lively and punchy as ever".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the former prime minister said Lord Prescott reached parts of the electorate that he could not, and was "loyal, committed and an enormous help" as his deputy.

However, he said their relationship was not just political and they developed a "genuine admiration, respect and affection for each other".

Brown described him as a "colossus" and "a titan of the Labour movement".

Lord Prescott played an invaluable role as peacemaker between Brown and Sir Tony, often being described as their "marriage counsellor".

Paying tribute in the House of Commons, Sir Keir said Lord Prescott was "a man who fought for working-class ambition because he lived it", adding: "He truly was a one off."

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner - who shares a working class and trade union background with Lord Prescott - said he was "not only a Labour legend but an inspiration to me".

She said he had been "a huge support", offering the advice to "be authentically yourself and keep thinking about the people you’re there to represent".

Lord Mandelson, a key architect of New Labour, hailed him as an "all time great" of the party.

The former cabinet minister, who at times clashed with Lord Prescott in government, said he was "the anchor of New Labour" and "the glue that kept us together".

He told the BBC Lord Prescott was a "fighter for working people" and wanted them "to have all the opportunities that he’d had", which made him "an essential part of New Labour".

John Prescott obituary:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7221mz2gldo

Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991 – 12 October 2006) was a British-born Italian website designer who documented Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions, and catalogued both on a website he designed before his death from leukaemia. Acutis was noted for his cheerfulness, computer skills, and devotion to the Eucharist, which became a core theme of his life.

He was beatified by Pope Francis on 10 October 2020. After a second miracle attributed to the intercession of Acutis was confirmed in May 2024, Pope Francis granted approval in July 2024 to continue forward with the canonization process. His canonization is scheduled for 27 April 2025.