A staff member at Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and her baby son have been injured in an Israeli military airstrike on a residential area of Gaza City.

On the evening of Tuesday 26 May, a MAP programme officer sustained minor injuries when Israeli forces struck a residential building adjacent to her home. The attack also injured her baby son. Both are now in a stable condition.

On the same evening, simultaneous Israeli military attacks targeted residential apartments and other civilian sites in Gaza City. They reportedly killed six people and injured several others.

Mai Elawawda, MAP’s communications officer in Gaza, said:

These attacks come at a time that should have been marked by Eid celebrations, yet instead they are overshadowed by ongoing attacks during the so-called ‘ceasefire’.

This includes repeated ‘pre-strike warnings’ and forced evacuation orders targeting almost entire residential blocks. They are forcing dozens of families to flee their homes under extreme fear, only for these areas to be left in widespread destruction.

This pattern has continued throughout the past week, once again underscoring a stark reality: the war on Gaza has not ended.

Israeli forces have intensified strikes across multiple areas of Gaza in recent weeks. They reportedly killed 24 Palestinians between 12 and 20 May. This includes attacks on both sides of the so-called “Yellow Line”. This is the demarcation of the deployment line to where Israeli forces withdrew in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.

This shifting boundary has reached an estimated 58% of the territory. This raises serious concerns over de facto annexation and the continued shrinking of safe space for civilians and humanitarian operations.

MAP calls for genuine ceasefire

Despite the “ceasefire” agreement in October 2025, the Israeli military has since killed at least 906 Palestinians in Gaza and injured more than 2,600, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

These ongoing violations have brought the cumulative number of Palestinians Israel has killed since October 2023 to more than 72,700. This includes more than 1,700 healthcare workers and 594 aid workers.

MAP calls for urgent action to ensure the ceasefire is upheld and becomes permanent, and for civilians to be protected in line with international humanitarian law.

Governments, including the UK, must maintain meaningful pressure on Israel to bring a permanent end to its genocide. That should include halting arms transfers and ensuring accountability.

Featured image via Getty Images

By The Canary

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Zarah Sultana has called out leadership hopeful Wes Streeting in his cynical attempt to use the illegal war on Iraq to ‘shoot down’ war criminal Tony Blair. 

Wes Streeting is, of course, right to acknowledge the “terrible cost in Iraq” inflicted by the West. But his support for continued arms sales to Israel as it wages its genocide against Palestinians lays bare his sickening hypocrisy.

It is a sickening hypocrisy that Sultana has easily exposed:

Against the Iraq War, yet was perfectly content to back the UK government arming Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Wes Streeting seems to only care about brown lives when there’s something in it for him.

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*checks notes*

Against the Iraq War, yet was perfectly content to back the UK government arming Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Wes Streeting seems to only care about brown lives when there’s something in it for him.

Absolutely do one. https://t.co/vZpBNfpJuW

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— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) May 27, 2026

Zarah Sultana is absolutely spot on – condemning catastrophic Western violence in Iraq means absolutely nothing when we know Streeting has been supporting and enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza ever since it began.

For too long, Western politicians have thrown empty, virtue-signalling platitudes out in order to gain votes – clearly the intention at the heart of Streeting’s criticism of Blair’s involvement in Iraq. After all, Streeting will very much find himself in a similar position to Blair further down the line, when MPs finally accept that the genocide in Gaza is indeed the ultimate crisis of our time.

It is a crisis entirely man-made and made possible thanks to morally bankrupt politicians like Streeting and other Labour MPs in bed with Zionist Israel.

Retrospective condemnation alongside active participation in Gaza

In his original video, Wes Streeting attempts to win favour with voters by invoking the illegal war in Iraq – a war that people have widely recognised and condemned as such.

In doing so, he also appears to challenge the war-hungry US President:

When American presidents flirt with authoritarian leaders, when they undermine international law, when they embark on military adventurism, it’s really important that Britain is able to act independently and in accordance with our own interests and values.

Streeting then invoked the incestuous relationship between the US and UK when we allied up in the mass-murdering military campaign on Iraq:

If we’re in any doubt about that, just look back to the war in Iraq and what happened then, when loyalty to America replaced good judgment.

We can’t let that happen again and that’s just one of a number of points I’ve made in response to Tony Blair’s essay on the future of Labour today.

If Streeting thought it would get him the numbers to have a decent run at PM, he would be pro-Iraq War. https://t.co/lRga23VfP8

— Sean Biggerstaff (@Seanchuckle) May 27, 2026

What about Gaza, Wes?

Wes Streeting knows that most people will agree with his criticism of war criminal Tony Blair. People have widely condemned the illegal war in Iraq, and the millions who marched against Western violence and disastrous military intervention were only proven right.

But nobody wanted vindication. People wanted leaders to listen at the time – and to act to stop it.

It is a feeling that many pro-Palestine protesters and activists share and have made clear since 7 October 2023. Nevertheless, Mandelson’s buddy Wes Streeting has never intervened or challenged our ongoing complicity in a genocide happening today.

Therefore, he must not be forgiven for the countless lives he has had a hand in mutilating and murdering through ongoing arm sales and military cooperation.

Our memory isn’t as short as Wes’s though, and we remember how he fawned over Blair’s ‘appointment’ to administer post-genocide Gaza.

Speaking to LBC last October, Streeting had quite a bit of praise for Blair and his “great legacy”:

I also think about Tony Blair’s other legacy, great legacy, which is Northern Ireland, and there he showed that he could bring together sworn enemies to broker a lasting peace.

So, if Tony Blair can put those skills to use, if he’s got the confidence of both the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the regional players, as seems to be the case, then great. If he can make that contribution, and that can be another legacy, a positive legacy under his belt, then so much the better.

It’s funny how he’s not praising this ‘legacy’ now that Blair doesn’t appear over the moon with the former health secretary.

It increasingly seems that careerism is all Wes Streeting knows. Hardly anyone will feel surprised by that – but he has at least made it remarkably easy to underline.

Streeting has chosen to oppose a historical war because he believes it might further his career.

Instead, he could speak speak out about Gaza and Lebanon because it's the right thing to do.

Crickets from Streeting on that score https://t.co/zDtoEwEWgQ

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— Just an observer #Fromtherivertothesea (@meatfreemeals1) May 28, 2026

Voters see through him

Wes Streeting may hope to succeed Keir Starmer, but his attempts to recast himself will not erase what many people already recognise: he has done diddly squat to stop the mass-murder of Brown people today in Palestine at the hands of Zionist Israel, armed with British bombs and bullets.

Moreover, he has repeatedly treated allegations of antisemitism with far greater seriousness and emotion than Islamophobia in the NHS. This unsurprisingly has meant – even after mass-purging leftists from Labour – that Streeting only had a 4% favourability rating leaving him in the shadow of the very same leader he now wishes to oust.

Now, in an attempt to woo Brown voters and Westerners who rightly recognise the West’s criminal war of aggression in Iraq, Wes Streeting once again only highlights his refusal to acknowledge the egregious crimes against humanity still happening today in Gaza.

Therefore, voters must not be fooled by Streeting, and like Zarah Sultana says, tell him to:

Absolutely do one.

Featured image via Carl Court/Getty Images

By Maddison Wheeldon

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In the Makerfield by-election, we reported that there are many suspicious and anonymous accounts lining up behind Reform UK and Restore Britain. Now, Talk host Alex Phillips has accused the latter party of benefitting from a “sophisticated Bot operation”:

Who does it ultimately serve when Restore attacks Reform, losing them support?

In the event Reform drop ~5-7% in a General Election, due to Restore, they'd be forced into a coalition with the Tories to stop a socialist coalition

Last year Cyabra ran a report into Lowe's sudden…

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— Alex Phillips (@ThatAlexWoman) May 27, 2026

Phillips also suggested Restore leader Rupert Lowe may be part of a Tory psy-op to prevent Reform UK forming a majority government.

Restore: scum like it bot

Ex-Reform MP Lowe founded Restore Britain earlier this year. As we’ve reported:

Reform UK is a party that exists because the Conservatives weren’t right-wing enough. Restore Britain, meanwhile, is a party that exists because Reform UK weren’t right-wing enough.

In terms of the mainstream media, Restore UK mostly flew under the radar until the Makerfield by-election. As it turned out, the party had built up a substantial following online, and this is translating into actual polling – polling which has gotten Reform rattled:

The Times have just released a new poll for the Makerfield by-election by Survation.

Robert Kenyon is the only candidate who can stop Andy Burnham.

This is a two horse race – nobody else comes close. pic.twitter.com/zZ75PasBdt

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— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) May 23, 2026

Oh, and it could be higher than this too:

So there is panic internally in Reform as I stated earlier being the reason for the Restore attacks and that there had to be internal polling issues

They are admitting to a Restore tally of around 18% and themselves being around 8% behind Labour pic.twitter.com/QX3QKuFK0b

— dave lawrence (@dave43law) May 25, 2026

In her post, Phillips said:

Who does it ultimately serve when Restore attacks Reform, losing them support?

In the event Reform drop ~5-7% in a General Election, due to Restore, they’d be forced into a coalition with the Tories to stop a socialist coalition

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You could ask who it benefited when Reform UK ran in 2024, taking votes away from the Tories and ensuring a greater Labour victory. Phillips doesn’t ask this, of course, because that wouldn’t benefit her argument.

Phillips also noted:

Last year Cyabra ran a report into Lowe’s sudden social media boost.

You don’t become an overnight sensation online with only 8% name recognition

The report revealed a sophisticated Bot operation…

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Who has the money and motive to do such a thing?

Who indeed?

Tory tactics

Phillips continued:

Around the same time Rupert and I had a long phone call. He told me the Tories were desperately courting him. Or seemingly him, them

This was not a secret. Read for yourself. It suggests he will ‘work for’ the Tories

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Phillips also said:

Now, back in 2019, when we were MEPs and Boris called the election, Lowe collaborated on a list with the Tories called ‘Men And Measures’ with Dougie Smith. It was a list promising peerages, knighthoods and positions to Brexit Party candidates to stand down. My colleague Robert Rowland blew the whistle to me

And:

Lowe became the first Brexit Party candidate to step down in Dudley North just before nominations closed and Farage was due to hold a big event there

Phillips provided links to back up these points. She didn’t have hard evidence for the following, though, presenting it as a ‘suspicion’:

I know some Restore fanatics are fooled into thinking Reform is ‘controlled opposition’. I suspect the opposite is true

Questions

Phillips did provide some circumstantial evidence for her accusation, including:

Does Lowe criticise the Tories? Or just attack Reform?

Is Restore standing in Aberdeen South where Tories are putting in loads of resources? Or just Makerfield, where they only target Reform voters?

How come Tories are silent on extreme elements of Restore – the only party to be so?

To be fair, there are possible explanations here. Chief among them is that Restore isn’t trying to win over Tory voters; it’s trying to win Reform voters. At this point, the hard-right has moved on to Farage’s party, and Lowe’s group is more hard-right again. As such, Lowe probably isn’t going to win over the centre-right Britons who’ve stuck with Badenoch’s Tories.

The fact that the Tories aren’t attacking Restore makes sense whether they’re in cahoots with Lowe or not. Much as Lowe is unlikely to steal voters away from the Tories, Badenoch is unlikely to win back voters from him. Also, why would the Tories attack Restore when the party is doing such a good job diminishing their primary rival, Nigel Farage?

At the same time, we absolutely wouldn’t be surprised to discover Lowe is in bed with the Tories. These right-wingers are all in it for themselves, and that will be beyond obvious should Lowe or Farage enter into government.

Featured image via Chris J Ratcliffe (Getty Images) / Alishia Abodunde (Getty Images) / Alishia Abodunde (Getty Images)

By Willem Moore

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In European football, few achievements define a career like winning the Champions League. It is the pinnacle of club success — yet even football’s most expensive names have failed to swoop the trophy. Talent and wealth, it seems, don’t necessarily guarantee the coveted two-eared cup.

Champions league — the gap among the elite

Despite reaching peak valuations of over €140 million, these 10 international stars have never lifted the Champions League trophy. This exposes a simple paradox — even elite talent does not always bring European success.

Players at the apex

Kylian Mbappé, the Real Madrid striker valued at €200 million, has played 98 Champions League matches for Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain but has yet to win it. Barcelona’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal is still chasing his first Champions League title, though at under 18, time is firmly on his side. Raheem Sterling reached a €160 million peak in 2019 but never lifted the trophy.

Several other high-value stars have also missed out. Antoine Griezmann, Harry Kane, Pedri, and Bukayo Saka, all valued around €150 million, have yet to win the Champions League. In the €140 million range, Michael Olise, Florian Wirtz, and Alexander Isak are among the promising talents still chasing a first European title.

The paradox of football

These players illustrate that even the most expensive and celebrated stars are not guaranteed continental success. The Champions League rewards more than individual brilliance; it requires the right mix of timing, team cohesion, tactical mastery, and sometimes luck.

Even wealth at the top level cannot buy what the Champions League ultimately demands: a perfect storm of talent, opportunity, and collective achievement.

Featured image via Stu Forster / Getty Images

By Alaa Shamali

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The cost of the unprovoked US war on Iran is limiting routine training and maintenance at home. The military’s usual practice flights, training exercises, and the upkeep of equipment have all been affected as the American empire strains under the demands of the failing war. CNN reported:

The Navy’s top officer, Adm. Daryl Caudle, told House Armed Services Committee lawmakers earlier this month that his 2026 budget “didn’t bake in [Operation] Epic Fury” and that the Navy faces impacts on “routine operations” as a result.

That includes having to limit training exercises, flight training hours and training for new recruits, he said.

Caudle said recruitment and basic training has been affected:

My record recruiting is going to be thwarted without additional funding to [move] those individuals from boot camp and to pay enlistment and reenlistment bonuses.

CNN said it had seen evidence that one armoured formation had has nearly $300mn cut from its budget as a result of the war:

The Army’s III Armored Corps, a Texas-based headquarters that oversees roughly 70,000 troops and hundreds of tanks, saw a nearly $292 million cut to its training budget in late April, according to an internal document reviewed by CNN.

Iran: US has costs in the tens of billions

CNN reported that US military medical staff had suffered cuts to “dozens of courses” while funding was entirely “eliminated” some training.

And, sources said in April 2026 that the cost of the war in Iran could be up to $50bn:

when accounting for the costs of rebuilding US military installations and replacing destroyed assets.

US-Israel attacked Iran first on 28 February without provocation. Iran was offering unprecedented concessions in negotiations at the time. The Pentagon has since stated there was no imminent threat from Iran. And the UN’s atomic watchdog, the IAEA, has said there is no evidence Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.

The US has achieved none of its original war aims. Iran predictably closed the Straits of Hormuz, a vital oil channel, once attacked – creating a global energy crisis. Iran has said the war will continue until “the enemy’s inevitable and permanent humiliation, disgrace, regret, and surrender”. Trump came to power on an anti-war ‘America First’ ticket. He now faces worldwide humiliation.

Meanwhile, peace talks are currently underway. Donald Trump recently demanded many Muslim countries recognise Israel as a condition of any deal. Trump’s demands have been bizarre at times – and quite out of step with the reality that the war is failing.

Featured image via Getty/Chip Somedevilla

By Joe Glenton

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We’ll be honest with you, readers, if we were in a situation where a lawyer was issuing statements for us, this isn’t what we’d want to hear.

“If my client had been charged, she’d be in prison right now” is a worrying distance short of a vote of confidence in your client’s innocence.

But the statement Aamer Anwar put out for Nicola Sturgeon last night – her FOURTH in 48 hours, despite saying on Monday morning that she’d be making no further comment on the Peter Murrell case – had rather more wrong with it than even that.

Firstly, like the third statement, released earlier the same day, it was a shockingly false description of how the legal system works.

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The short version of that is: the police can’t just arrest people on a whim – they need to have some evidence first, before they can question you under caution. If you then clam up for seven hours and give them absolutely nothing (or in Nicola Sturgeon-speak, “co-operate fully”) then there’ll be a lower chance of any charge being successful, especially if, as a purely hypothetical general example, your potential co-accused is protecting you as part of a plea deal.

It might also be speculated that if – again as a purely hypothetical general example – the head of the organisation responsible for deciding whether you should be charged is someone you appointed and who used to be answerable to you as a minister in your government, that might also reduce the chances of charges being laid against you.

So in such circumstances, which might give rise to considerable public suspicion – whether warranted or not – having your own lawyer say “If my client had been charged she’d have been found guilty and banged up” is perhaps not the most helpful of protestations.

It’s particularly curious because Aamer Anwar ought to be an extremely loyal servant to Sturgeon. He’s been an SNP member at least since she became leader in 2015, to the extent that he was nominated as a candidate for that year’s general election.

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He’s also a long-time independence activist, speaking at the Believe In Scotland march and rally in Edinburgh two months ago.

?

His friendship with the top echelons of the SNP has served him well.

Anwar describes himself as a “human rights campaigner” and a “political activist”.

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(He’s currently representing Fahir Amaaz and Muhammed Amaad, two Muslim men accused of violently assaulting police officers at Manchester Airport in 2024 in a case which may go to a third trial.)

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But despite that he’s never registered as a lobbyist under the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016, which activist lawyers are required to do.

(Something which has been noted in the Scottish Parliament.)

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Readers may feel – we have no opinion ourselves – that a self-confessed political activist lawyer who refuses to register as one, and who is doubly unlikely to be seen as a neutral disinterested professional on matters relating to the SNP leadership due to his close connections to both the party in general and its senior figures personally, is a slightly reckless choice if you wish your pronouncements about your innocence to be taken seriously.

Then again, more than one prominent figure in the Scottish legal system has privately expressed to Wings the opinion that Anwar’s most recent two statements on Sturgeon’s behalf have been so wildly unhelpful to her that he might be suspected of being a double agent.

Anwar lists one of no fewer than 12 specialist services as “Reputation Management”.

On the evidence of this week so far, it might be an idea to narrow his focus a bit. Personally, we just can’t wait for Statement 5.

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Five Premier League clubs will compete in the Champions League, three in the Europa League, and one in the Conference League. Below is a breakdown of English clubs in Europe for 2026/27:

• Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool (Champions League)
• Bournemouth, Sunderland, Crystal Palace (Europa League)
• Brighton (Conference League)

England’s recent club performances have earned the Premier League an extra Champions League place, allowing five teams to qualify directly instead of the usual four — reshaping domestic priorities and increasing fixture congestion.

Bournemouth secured its first-ever European campaign by finishing sixth, and Sunderland claimed a final-day European place by beating Chelsea. Crystal Palace will also enter the Europa League after their Conference League success.

All three will enter the Europa League league phase, with the draw scheduled for 28 August 2026. Europa League fixtures follow a similar autumn-to-winter rhythm to the Champions League but adhere to UEFA’s competition calendar.

Palace’s Conference League win secured European qualification and influenced England’s allocation and distribution of places. This ensured Palace’s European presence and nudged other qualification routes via domestic cups and league positions. Additionally, the Conference League schedule adds another layer to the European calendar, impacting midweek Premier League planning for participating clubs.

What this means for the Premier League

The immediate consequence is fixture congestion as clubs in Europe will face more midweek matches, more travel, and a greater need for rotation. However, the financial upside of extra Champions League places is substantial. This increases broadcast and matchday revenue and strengthens clubs’ positions in the transfer market.

Tactically, managers will be forced to prioritise and rotate intelligently. Early European results can set the tone for a season. This affects league momentum and injury risk. For fans, the season promises more high‑profile nights and a deeper test of squad construction across the English game.

Key dates

• The Champions League draw: 27 August 2026.
• The Europa League draw: 28 August 2026
• The Champions League matchday one: 8 — 9 September 2026
• The Champions League final 5 June 2027 (Madrid)

The 2026/27 European season raises the stakes on and off the pitch, with clubs needing the right signings to compete at the highest level across five Champions League places, three Europa League entrants, and one Conference League spot.

The calendar from September through to the finals of these competitions at the end of May 2027 and the Champions League final June 5th 2027 will reward depth, planning and early momentum. In addition, the late August draws will map out a season where every midweek result matters.

The key for the new teams going to Europe is to add the right profile of players to be able to compete against the best teams and the best coaches. Furthermore, having nine teams from the Premier League across three competitions is something that further affirms the claim that the English Premier League is the strongest league in the world.

Featured image via Burak Kara / Getty Images

By Faz Ali

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Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is preparing to write a new chapter in World Cup history when he leads Portugal in the 2026 World Cup, at an age of 41 years and 126 days when the tournament kicks off, becoming the fourth oldest player to participate in the history of the World Cup, according to historical figures adopted in the FIFA report.

Despite Ronaldo’s approach to the historic peak, the record is still held by Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary, who made history during the 2018 World Cup in Russia as the oldest player to participate in the World Cup at the age of 45 years and 161 days, after he played in the match between Egypt and Saudi Arabia and succeeded in saving a penalty kick.

According to the historical list of the oldest players in the World Cup, El-Hadary tops the list by a comfortable margin, followed by Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón, who participated in the 2014 World Cup at the age of 43 years and 3 days, and then Cameroonian legend Roger Milla, who played in the 1994 edition at the age of 42 years and 39 days.

Ronaldo making history

If Ronaldo officially participates in the 2026 World Cup, he will surpass prominent historical names such as Northern Irish goalkeeper Pat Jennings, who participated at the age of 41 in the 1986 World Cup, in addition to Englishman Peter Shilton, who participated at the age of 40 years and 292 days in the 1990 World Cup, and Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff, who participated at the age of 40 years and 133 days in the 1982 World Cup, to advance directly to fourth place in the historical list.

The Portuguese captain, born on February 5, 1985, continues to defy time, having already become the first player to score in five different editions of the World Cup, while the world awaits the possibility of his appearance in a sixth World Cup, an unprecedented achievement in the history of the game that could be shared by the Argentine captain, Lionel Messi.

Thus, the 2026 World Cup could become a new historical milestone in Ronaldo’s career, not only in terms of goal-scoring numbers, but also as one of the most consistent and competitive players across different generations of football.

Featured image via Getty/Charles McQuillan

By Alaa Shamali

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The morning cup of coffee has an impact that most consumers are unaware of. A real impact, in terms of carbon and water. New forms of stimulants are also appearing on the shelves and at the checkout in the UK, from caffeine pouches to concentrated shots, and they raise a legitimate question. The figures associated with a cup of coffee are higher than marketing tends to suggest. So how does coffee actually compare to small-format alternatives, per serving, by the kettle?

The hidden weight of your morning brew

Most of coffee’s environmental cost is paid before the beans leave the farm. On the farm, not in the cup. Between 75% and 91% of the total carbon footprint of a cup is generated at the cultivation and on-farm processing stage, led by fertiliser use, land use change and wet-processing emissions, according to Terrascope and CDP.

Deforestation in the coffee-producing regions of Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia accounts for around two million hectares cleared for coffee plantations between 2001 and 2015. Whilst this area is smaller than that devoted to cattle farming, it nevertheless represents a valuable resource for the communities living in coffee-growing regions. As for water consumption, the figures per cup are higher than most consumers imagine.

A growing alternative scene

Small-format stimulants have become noticeably more mainstream over the last few years. Caffeine pouches, concentrated ready-to-drink shots and cold brew on dose are now stocked alongside conventional variety UK retailers. WH Smith recently secured a national listing for one such brand, according to The Grocer. Use is climbing.

The category is still small in absolute terms, amounting to tens of millions of pounds rather than billions. Scale will come later. What matters is what the format does to the footprint per dose when a portion of demand shifts away from brewed cups.

What life-cycle analyses actually show

Available figures point in a consistent direction. One caveat applies: there is no published life-cycle study that makes a head-to-head dose-level comparison between brewed coffee and caffeine pouches, so the differences below are directional rather than exact.

Carbon and water per cup

The headline numbers are useful as a baseline:

• Black coffee: about 0.258 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per cup
• Coffee with milk: about 0.844 kilograms per cup, with dairy carrying most of the difference
• Tea: about 34 litres of virtual water per cup
• Coffee: about 140 litres of virtual water per cup

Same direction, every measure. Most of coffee’s load sits in the bean itself and the dairy that goes with it, not in the brewing.

Mass per dose

Small-format stimulants carry less mass per dose, with a single pouch containing a fraction of a gram of active material against the seven grams of roasted bean that go into a brewed cup. That gap drives lower transport energy, less packaging per serving and a smaller land and water footprint for the same caffeine delivered.

None of this makes one format good and the other bad. The unit of analysis is what matters. Per kilogram of beans is one question. Per dose of caffeine, quite another. Consumer choices live at the dose level.

Coffee isn’t the villain – but it is resource-heavy

A morning cup of coffee is one of the better small pleasures in modern life, and there is no need to frame it as something to apologise for. The figures describe a resource-intensive product, not failing morals. Coffee is, after all, a tropical crop grown by people other than those who drink it.

Pressure is mounting from the other side too. Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall are projected to shrink the land suitable for coffee growing by 48% to 97% in key regions by 2050.

Taken together, the numbers suggest that complementation can be good, rather than replacement. Someone who keeps the home morning ritual and reaches for a pouch during a long commute is not abandoning coffee but spreading the load. That is a different decision to giving up the cup altogether, and one most readers can make without changing much else about their day.

What the choice means at scale

Around 98 million cups of coffee are drunk across the UK each day, according to the British Coffee Association. A figure that large means small individual choices compound into national-scale outcomes. Change one cup in twenty into a lower-footprint format and the country shifts roughly five million cups a day onto a lighter ledger.

This is not an argument directed at any particular brand or product. The important thing is to understand the true cost per dose across a population. Format matters. The data is now reliable enough for consumers, retailers and policymakers to do these calculations themselves. The result is more interesting than what the marketing suggests. It is worth doing the maths.

By Nathan Spears

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Hat-tricks are among the most celebrated feats in football, and since its inception in 1930, the World Cup has produced some truly remarkable examples. The tournament has seen a range of record-breaking hat-tricks, from fastest to youngest and oldest scorers.

Young legends and veterans

The earliest hat-trick in a World Cup match, in terms of game time, was scored by Austria’s Erich Probst in 1954, who netted three goals in 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia.

Meanwhile, the fastest hat-trick in terms of time between goals can be attributed to Hungary’s László Kiss. During the 1982 World Cup, hosted by Spain, Kiss scored three goals against El Salvador in 7 minutes and 42 seconds.

Some hat-tricks stand out not for speed, but for the age of the players. Brazilian Pelé holds the record as the youngest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, netting three goals against France in the 1958 semi-final when he was just 17 years-old.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo became one of the oldest players to achieve a World Cup hat-trick when he scored three goals in a thrilling 3–3 draw against Spain during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The hat-tricks that fell short

While hat-tricks often propel teams to victory, World Cup history shows that individual brilliance does not always secure a win.

• In 1938, Poland’s Ernst Wilimowski scored four goals against Brazil, yet Poland lost 6–5.
• In 1954, Switzerland’s hat-trick advantage could not prevent a 7–5 loss to Austria.
• During the 1986 World Cup, the Soviet Union suffered a 4–3 defeat to Belgium despite a hat-trick from one of their forwards.
• Most recently, in the 2022 World Cup final, Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick for France against Argentina, but France ultimately lost the title on penalties after a 3–3 draw.

These examples illustrate that even star performances don’t necessarily translate into team success.

Why hat-tricks matter

World Cup hat-tricks are a testament to skill, composure, and timing. Whether breaking age records, setting speed records, or thrilling fans with late goals, these moments endure in football history. From Pelé’s youthful brilliance to Mbappé’s 2022 heroics, they remind us why the World Cup remains the ultimate stage for unforgettable performances.

Featured image via FIFA

By Alaa Shamali

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