Finance ministers gathering for the IMF annual meeting know the need for multilateral cooperation to deal with many crises. There is little chance of thatNot much has gone right for the global economy this year, and plenty has gone wrong. Two big regional wars are destabilising prices and supply chains everywhere. Businesses and consumers are feeling the effects of a serious energy shock. Rising inflation has made it a lot more expensive for governments to finance their debts. China and the US are at loggerheads over trade.Yet, so far, the impact has been modest. It is something of a miracle that the finance ministers and central bank governors gathered for this year’s annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Bangkok are not having to deal with a full-blown crisis. This is not like the autumn of 2008, when the meetings took place during the worst of the global banking meltdown.Larry Elliott is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 05:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Solidarity with Palestine’s suffering is punished but MEPs allow a witch-hunt of European MuslimsFor three painful years, Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, in retaliation for the Hamas terror attacks on 7 October 2023, has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, wounded thousands more and reduced most of the territory to rubble. It has changed views of Israel across the world, increased support for Palestine and raised questions about US power.Europe’s failure to hold Israel’s government to account has cost it global credibility and influence. But I fear something even more consequential than that: Gaza is changing Europe itself.Shada Islam is a Brussels-based commentator on EU affairs. She runs New Horizons project, a strategy, analysis and advisory companyDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 04:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

I was in my early 20s when the classic series debuted and I recognised so much. I can’t wait to see how the reboot takes on a new – equally messy – stage of lifeHBO’s Girls is coming back, Lena Dunham and her fellow cast members announced this week, and the internet is already abuzz. Women of a certain age, myself included – approaching, turning or having turned 40 – are genuinely thrilled, if also slightly trepidatious. When you’ve loved, loathed and most importantly grown with characters in the way many of us did with Girls, you feel protective of a show’s legacy. But with Dunham, I’m confident it is in good hands.Girls means a lot to me, in part because it was the topic of my first ever column for this newspaper: in 2012, shortly after the show premiered, it was already generating a bananas amount of internet discourse and I was on work experience. I was in my early 20s and not long off the dole. I didn’t share the privilege of Dunham’s characters, which is perhaps why I so enjoyed how she skewered it. (I never understood the criticism that the show was about spoilt rich girls. So many people missed the satire.) Yet there were aspects of it that I related to, as I wrote at the time:Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 07:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Henderson back on Merseyside, Farke threatens more misery for Carrick and Forest are a threat to ArsenalPremier League top scorers | Follow us on TikTokA lively reception awaits the former Liverpool midfielders Jordan Henderson and Xabi Alonso at Everton and, in the case of the former, any jeers can be considered an unintentional tribute. They will speak of what the 36-year-old is able to produce now as much as what, and where, he delivered in the past. With two goals and an assist against Bournemouth last Saturday, Henderson became the oldest player to contribute directly to three goals in a Premier League game, and demonstrated his role at Chelsea is not simply to elevate standards off the pitch. His midfield partnership with Moisés Caicedo gave Alonso’s team balance and enabled the front three of Morgan Rogers, João Pedro and Cole Palmer to flourish. Their confrontation against an Everton defence that had impressed this season, only to litter the draw at Hull with costly mistakes, will provide a stern test of the hosts’ unbeaten start and may well be dictated by the veteran behind them. Andy HunterEverton v Chelsea, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)Brentford v Liverpool, Saturday 3pmFulham v Hull, Saturday 3pm Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 23:01 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Defender says sorry after talks with Michael CarrickAny disciplinary action will not be made public by clubLisandro Martínez has apologised for claiming that Jason Wilcox, Manchester United’s director of football, failed to strengthen sufficiently in the summer window after discussions with the manager, Michael Carrick, and club hierarchy on Thursday.While any disciplinary action taken against him will not be made public by the club, it is thought that Martínez has been fined. Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 19:10 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

An impossible dream realised: the Vitality Stadium staging European football, where the Europa League is becoming an oasis for Bournemouth. No wins yet in the Premier League, but beating Sturm Graz following up winning away at Real Sociedad should calm the domestic pressures mounting on Marco Rose. A pair of Brazilians secured club history, with Evanilson’s first-half header followed by Rayan’s later drive, a clincher coming just as the Austrian visitors were pushing hard for an equaliser. Álvaro Rodríguez’s stoppage-time penalty extended the celebrations.Flag day at the Vitality. Elvis Presley’s high baritone and Andy Williams’ tenor on the public address system marked a different type of occasion. Bournemouth have come a significant distance. “Minus 17 to European dreams” read a banner in the Steve Fletcher stand, marking the journey from the foot of the Football League to becoming a model, continental club. Milan visit next week, an occasion to further broaden the smile of Bill Foley, Bournemouth’s financier present in the posh seats. “A long time coming,” said Bournemouth’s long-serving captain, Adam Smith. “The fans were up for it, the players were up for it.” Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 21:46 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Three minutes into stoppage time Noah Sadiki hurdled a set of advertising hoardings, sprinted across a running track and hurled himself towards the ecstatic Sunderland fans.Just as those supporters’ long-awaited party in Portugal had looked in peril of falling a little flat, the Democratic Republic of the Congo midfielder capitalised on excellent work from Enzo Le Fée and Granit Xhaka to half-volley an eye-catching first goal for Régis Le Bris’s side. Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 19:14 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN