England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have discovered their 2026 World Cup qualifying opponents following Friday's draw in Zurich.

England, under new head coach Thomas Tuchel, will face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.

Wales will meet familiar foes Belgium, plus North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein.

Scotland will play Greece, Belarus and the loser of the Portugal v Denmark Nations League quarter-final.

Northern Ireland are up against Slovakia, Luxembourg and the winner of the Germany v Italy Nations League game.

The games will be played across five international breaks between March and November 2025.

The top team from each of the 12 groups qualifies automatically for the World Cup, which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico - with the second-placed teams going into the play-offs. A total of 16 European teams will qualify.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have been drawn in four-team groups and will not start their games until September.

The Scots face Greece, who are coincidentally also in their World Cup qualifying group, in a two-legged Nations League promotion-relegation play-off in March.

The wife of former England rugby star Tom Voyce has said "absolutely devastated and heartbroken doesn't even describe how we feel", following his death.

A body found in an area in Northumberland flooded during Storm Darragh has been confirmed as that of the missing 43-year-old.

The former England international was reported missing on Sunday and police believe he tried to cross Abberwick Ford, near the village of Bolton, in a vehicle which was then pulled along by the current.

Anna Voyce paid tribute to her husband and said: "My main focus now is our son Oscar having done what he asked, 'find Daddy'."

Northumbria Police confirmed on Thursday its Marine Unit had discovered a body near Abberwick Mill, following a large-scale search.

"Tom would be blown away by the amount of people that were out there helping," Mrs Voyce said.

"We have all been overwhelmed by the support of friends, many travelling from far afield to help with the search.

"We are just so lucky to live in such a special community that pulled together to find Tom."

Voyce - a wing who took flight with Wasps

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cd75eyne9wqo

An ancient relic said to have been worn by Jesus Christ at his crucifixion has returned to the Notre-Dame Cathedral, five years after it was saved from a fire that devastated the church.

The Crown of Thorns - comprised of a circle of rushes encased in a crystal and gold tube - was brought back to the cathedral in a ceremony overseen by the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich.

The crown was acquired by King Louis IX of France in Constantinople in 1239 for 135,000 livres - nearly half France's annual expenditure at the time.

Initially kept at the Sainte-Chapelle, it was moved to Notre-Dame's treasury in 1806 - until a massive fire in 2019 ripped through the 850-year-old building.

Firefighters and police officers formed a human chain to rescue the relic and other historic artefacts in the cathedral.

The fire destroyed its wooden interiors and its spire.

The crown, which has been kept at the Louvre Museum at one point while the famed cathedral underwent extensive renovation, has been placed in a newly built reliquary to replace the one from 1806.

The ceremony marking its return was led by a procession attended by members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher - a Catholic order of knighthood.

The Crown of Thorns will be displayed for the public from 10 January, French media reports.

The cathedral reopened its doors to the public on 8 December, after extensive restorations works involving an estimated 2,000 craftspeople costing a reported €700m (£582m).

Its reopening ceremony was attended by world leaders. In a speech at the event, French President Emmanuel Macron said of the restoration: "We must treasure this lesson of fragility, humility and will".

🙏

Philippians 4:13

New International Version

13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 2024, considered several prominent individuals before selecting Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate on August 6. Harris and Walz were certified as the official nominees that evening by Democratic National Committee secretary Jason Rae. Walz was the first sitting governor selected as the Democratic vice presidential nominee since Charles W. Bryan of Nebraska in 1924 and if elected, would have been the third vice president from Minnesota after Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. Walz is also the first sitting governor to appear on the Democratic ticket since Bill Clinton in 1992. After formally accepting their nomination during the 2024 Democratic National Convention, the Harris–Walz ticket went on to lose to the Trump–Vance ticket in the general election, and Walz returned to the governorship following the campaign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMvKDRCBQBM

ABC News has agreed to pay $15m (£12m) to US President-elect Donald Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit after its star anchor falsely said he had been found "liable for rape".

George Stephanopoulos made the defamatory statements repeatedly during an interview on 10 March this year when he challenged a congresswoman about her support for Trump.

A jury in a civil case last year determined Trump was liable for "sexual abuse", which has a specific definition under New York law.

As part of Saturday's settlement, ABC will also publish a statement expressing its "regret" for the statements by Stephanopoulos.

The network also agreed to pay $1m towards Trump's legal fees.

In 2023, a New York civil court found Trump sexually abused E Jean Carroll in a dressing room at a department store in 1996.

Judge Lewis Kaplan said the jury's conclusion was that Ms Carroll had failed to prove that Trump raped her "within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section of the New York Penal Law".

Kaplan noted that the definition of rape was "far narrower" than how rape is defined in common modern parlance, in some dictionaries and in criminal statutes elsewhere.

Wolves have sacked manager Gary O'Neil in the wake of Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Ipswich Town.

The departure of the 41-year-old and his backroom staff comes just three days after Shi said the club were "united" behind O'Neil following Monday's 2-1 defeat at West Ham.

Saturday's defeat was their 11th in the Premier League this season - they have had only two wins - and leaves the Black Country club 19th, four points from safety.

Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said: "We're very grateful to Gary for all of his effort, dedication and hard work during his time at the club, and we wish him and his team the best of luck for the future."

O'Neil replaced Julen Lopetegui just four days before the start of the 2023-24 season, with Wolves going on to finish 14th.

Why did time run out for O'Neil at Wolves?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c04lgw9p6n1o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANaGQpt_ibI

The sale of Royal Mail's parent company to a Czech billionaire has been approved by the government.

The £3.6bn takeover by Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group has been given the go-ahead after agreeing "legally binding" undertakings.

The government will retain a so-called "golden share" that will require it to approve any major changes to Royal Mail's ownership, HQ location and tax residency.

EP Group will also have to maintain the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service Obligation (USO), which currently means it has to deliver letters six days per week, Monday to Saturday, and parcels Monday to Friday.

The company has committed to maintaining the USO for as long as it owns Royal Mail. Earlier this year, Mr Kretinsky told the BBC he would honour the service - in whatever form it takes - "for as long as I am alive".

The USO is currently under review, with Royal Mail suggesting to regulator Ofcom that reducing second class deliveries to every other weekday would save up to £300m a year and give the business "a fighting chance".

Announcing the agreement, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said it was evidence of the government's commitment to "working towards ensuring a financially stable Royal Mail with protected links between communities other providers can't reach".

Mr Kretinsky said the talks with the government had "resulted in unprecedented commitments and undertakings that demonstrate the high regard EP Group has for Royal Mail".

"EP Group is a long term and committed investor with a mission to make Royal Mail a successful modern postal operator with high quality service and products for its customers," he added.

The takeover of Royal Mail's parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), is expected to be completed early next year.

Cricket commentator Isa Guha has apologised for calling Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah the "most valuable primate" during the third Test against Australia.

She made the remark while commentating for Fox Sports in Brisbane on Sunday after Bumrah got India off to a stunning start with two quick wickets.

Her comment sparked a social media backlash which noted the word's history as a racial slur.

On Monday, Guha apologised on air: "Yesterday in commentary I used a word that can be interpreted in a number of different ways... I'd like to apologise for any offence caused."

Guha, who is also a BBC commentator and former England cricketer, had been speaking live on air with colleagues Brett Lee and Allan Border when the controversy happened.

"Bumrah, today: five overs, 2-4. So, that's the tone, and that's what you want from the ex-skipper," Lee said.

Guha responded: "Well, he's the MVP, isn't he? [The] most valuable primate, Jasprit Bumrah. He is the one that's going to do all the talking for India, and why so much focus was on him in the build-up to this Test match, and whether he would be fit."

In her apology on Monday, she said: "I set myself really high standards when it comes to empathy and respect for others and if you listen to the full transcript, I only meant the highest praise for one of India's greatest players and someone that I admire greatly as well," she said.

She said she had been "trying to frame the enormity of his achievements and I have chosen the wrong word and for that I am deeply sorry".

"As someone who is also of South Asian heritage, I hope people would recognise there was no other intention or malice there," she said.

Austria striker Guido Burgstaller had his skull fractured when he was attacked in the centre of the country's capital city, his club Rapid Vienna have said.

Rapid said the 35-year-old is expected to be out of action for several months after suffering the "serious head injury" at the weekend.

They say the former Cardiff City forward was attacked by an "unknown man" and fractured his skull as he fell following a "brutal blow".

The 35-year-old, capped 26 times by Austria, was examined at the scene before being taken to hospital, where he will remain for the next few days.

In a statement, Rapid said they "trust in the responsible authorities that the as-yet-unknown perpetrator will be brought to justice quickly".

Burgstaller joined Cardiff from Rapid in 2014, becoming Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's second signing for the Welsh club.

He made just three appearances for the Bluebirds before joining German club Nurnberg.

Burgstaller also played in Germany for Schalke and St Pauli before returning to Rapid in 2022.

He was one of three Austria players dropped by manager Ralf Rangnick in 2023 after they were filmed singing homophobic chants following a 3-0 win against city rivals Austria Vienna.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbkwDIsDy7o

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has lost a vote of confidence in parliament, paving the way for early elections on 23 February.

Scholz called Monday's vote and had expected to lose it, but calculated that triggering an early election was his best chance of reviving his party's political fortunes.

It comes around two months after the collapse of Scholz's three-party coalition government, which left the embattled chancellor leading a minority administration.

Ahead of Monday's vote, Scholz said it would now be up to voters to "determine the political course of our country", teeing up what is likely to be a fiercely fought election campaign.

However, losing Monday's no-confidence vote was the outcome Scholz wanted.

Since his argumentative three-party governing coalition collapsed in November, he had been reliant on support from the opposition conservatives to pass any new laws, effectively rendering his administration a lame-duck government.

Given Germany's stalled economy and the global crises facing the West, staggering on until the scheduled election date of September 2025 risked being seen as irresponsible by the electorate.

Campaigner Sir Alan Bates has said he wants the "real baddies" involved in the Post Office scandal to be held to account.

1man

Twelve people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning at a ski resort in Georgia, police have said.

Seven foreigners in Fiji were sent to hospital for suspected poisoning after drinking pina coladas at a five-star resort's bar, local authorities said.

Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett is amplifying harmful health misinformation

The world's biggest iceberg is on the move again after being trapped in a vortex for most of the year.

Prince Andrew will not be at Sandringham with the rest of the Royal Family for Christmas this year

329k day