“Starmer’s gift to Burnham”, external, is what The i Paper calls the £4.7bn pound black hole in the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP).

An ally of Andy Burnham is quoted in the Guardian likening the situation to an “unexploded bomb, external” – but sources say the Makerfield MP will not try to renegotiate the plan if he enters No 10.

“Indefensible, external” is the Daily Mail headline, with the paper accusing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of having “passed the buck” to Burnham.

The Times claims Burnham may now have to raise taxes or cut spending, external in his hypothetical first budget. The paper quotes the former head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Johnson, who says it’s “striking” the money has not been found.

In the Daily Express, external, the campaign group, Migration Watch UK, suggests the money could be available “at the stroke of a pen” if £5bn worth of immigration grants were axed.

The Metro, external leads on what it calls the “collateral damage” from the defence plan after the prime minister said road projects would have to be delayed or scrapped. The paper’s headline alludes to the famous World War One recruitment campaign. “Britain needs you…”, it says, “to queue”.

The Daily Mirror reports that the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, earned £270,000 for doing just 12 hours work as a brand ambassador for a gold bullion dealer, external. “Same gold Farage” is the paper’s headline, as it points out the figure is nearly eight times the average salary in his constituency of Clacton. A spokesperson for Farage said his work for Direct Bullion “has previously been declared”.

Pictures of Serena Williams on her Wimbledon comeback make the front and back pages. The Daily Telegraph, external shows her waving to the centre court crowd. “Serena falls at first hurdle” declares the Times, external, while the Guardian, external says there was “no fairytale”.

And the Daily Star reports that Britain’s oldest curry house, Veeraswamy on Regent Street in London, is working on a plan to stay open despite fears it could be closed forever. “Curry on, external” is the message from the Star’s editorial, urging all those involved to “keep korma for now”.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The ultratraditionalist Society of St. Pius X is planning to defy Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his consent. The move incurs an automatic excommunication for the bishops involved, and amounts to a “schismatic act” — or a willful rupture of unity in the Catholic Church.

The ceremony marks the first major crisis for Leo, who has prioritized church unity and healing tensions with traditionalists that worsened during the Pope Francis pontificate.

A group founded in dissent

The society, known by its acronym SSPX, was founded in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Among other things, the 1960s church meetings revolutionized the Catholic Church’s relations with other Christians, Jews and people of other faiths, and allowed Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular rather than Latin.

In 1975, the SSPX founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, was suspended and the society was suppressed by the Vatican.

In 1988, Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal consent. The Vatican promptly excommunicated Lefebvre and the four other bishops, and the group today still has no legal status in the church.

Despite that original schismatic act, the group has continued to grow and today poses a threat to the Holy See since it represents a parallel, ultra-Catholic, pre-Vatican II church. The SSPX counts two bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians training in five seminaries, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates and 250 religious sisters representing 50 nationalities, according to SSPX statistics.

An automatic excommunication for a schismatic act

Under the church’s in-house canon law, consecrating a bishop without papal consent incurs an automatic excommunication for both the people administering the consecration and the bishops receiving it.

The Vatican doesn’t have to declare the excommunications or issue a decree: It happens automatically. But some experts believe the Holy See will want to respond publicly in some form since the SSPX is making such a public show of the consecrations.

Excommunication is the harshest penalty under canon law. It is considered “medicinal” in nature, meant to teach those who incur it that “what you did was wrong and you must repent for what you have done,” said the Rev. Robert Gahl of the Catholic University of America.

“The medicine may be bitter tasting, meaning that there’s a harsh feature of it because it’s a penalty, but it’s meant to bring about a change in the one who receives it,” he said.

The excommunication, however, doesn’t affect the validity of the consecration itself: SSPX bishops, like their priests, are validly but illicitly ordained.

Leo could extend the excommunications to others attending the event, including rank and file Catholics, but few expect he will.

Pope Francis makes SSPX concessions amid crackdown

Despite his general distrust of traditionalists and a broader crackdown on the old Latin Mass, Pope Francis actually went out of his way to offer concessions to the SSPX.

In 2015, he decreed that Catholics could validly go to confession with SSPX priests, essentially recognizing as legitimate the absolutions granted to Catholics who confessed their sins to SSPX priests.

Francis had made the concession as a one-year gesture during his Jubilee of Mercy, but he then extended it indefinitely. He also made a provision to allow SSPX priests to celebrate marriages legitimately.

Experts say Leo could revoke some of the concessions that Francis granted the SSPX as part of the Holy See’s response to the new consecrations.

Pope Benedict XVI tries to reconcile

First as cardinal and then as pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI worked to heal the SSPX schism and bring the group back under Rome’s wing.

He made two major concessions as part of his outreach. In 2007, he relaxed restrictions on celebrating the traditional Latin Mass throughout the Catholic Church. And in 2009, he removed the excommunications of the four SSPX bishops.

The gesture, however, became an acute embarrassment for him and sparked a crisis with Jewish leaders because one of the four, Bishop Richard Williamson, was a known Holocaust-denier.

And in a television interview that aired on Swiss television just before the pope’s decree was made public, Williamson said he didn’t believe Jews were killed in gas chambers during World War II.

But a Holocaust-denying bishop causes embarrassment

Benedict later acknowledged a simple internet search would have turned up Williamson’s views.

Williamson later ran afoul of the SSPX, which expelled him in 2012 for insubordination. He had ignored a deadline to “declare his submission” to its authority and had called for the society’s superior to resign, the group said at the time.

Williamson, who was ordained a priest by Lefebvre in 1976 and had taught in the society’s seminaries in Europe, the U.S. and Argentina, died in 2025.

Relations with other traditionalists

Despite his concessions to the SSPX, Francis enraged many Catholic traditionalists by reversing Benedict’s relaxation on celebrating the old Latin Mass for the broader Catholic Church. Francis cracked down on its spread, arguing it had become a source of division in the church.

While the SSPX is one fringe group out of communion with Rome, plenty of other traditionalists are in full communion with the Holy See.

Leo, as part of his effort at promoting unity, allowed a prominent American cardinal to celebrate an old Latin Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica last year.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

An adorable newborn boy wearing only a diaper was pulled from earthquake rubble in Venezuela as authorities continue to look for survivors following the natural disaster.

Heartwarming footage revealed the moment 18–day–old Juan David and his mother, Dayana Patino, were saved from the destruction caused by the double earthquake that rocked the South American country. 

Rescue workers could be seen swaddling the baby and placing the mother on a stretcher in the footage of their rescue. 

Patino was cleaning her apartment on the eighth floor of a building in the northern region of La Guaira when the earthquakes hit, according to the BBC. Their building was completely destroyed. 

Patino said her newborn baby gave her the ‘motivation to be awake and alert.’

‘As long as he was alive, I was going to be alive,’ she told BBC while recovering at a clinic in Caracas.

The mother also revealed how she would touch her son’s nose while underneath the rubble ‘for proof that he was still breathing.’

The shirtless dad was seen outside the wreckage and later holding his baby son after he was pulled out

Dayana Patino and her baby boy, Juan David, being tended to at a clinic in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. They were trapped underneath the rubble when earthquakes hit on Wednesday

Juan David only sustained minor injuries, while Patino suffered injuries to both of her legs, according to the outlet.

Patino said the moment she became trapped felt like she was ‘flying.’

After that, she explained: ‘I felt like I was sinking in water and dirt, and then I fell into the pit where I remained.’

She held onto her son when disaster struck. She now realizes that she doesn’t know how she ‘didn’t let go’ during the ordeal.

‘I don’t know how I kept so calm because my left leg was trapped under concrete,’ Patino told the outlet.

She said she could not move and added that her temple was ‘pressed against a rock.’

Though Patino immediately started screaming for help, she soon realized that it was futile and decided to not waste her energy.

She was only able to see see a ‘pinprick of light that looked like the moon’ amid all the destruction.

As of Monday, at least 1,719 people were confirmed to have died as a result of the earthquakes in northern Venezuela

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However, that figure is expected to keep rising as more bodies are recovered from the wreckage and subsequently identified by authorities

The final death toll from the disaster could be more than 10,000, according to a projection shared by the US Geological Survey

Patino was finally rescued when she heard her brother calling her name and she yelled out from underneath the wreckage.

‘I screamed “Here I am” with all my might, and he said “I found you, and I promise you that I won’t leave until I get you out,”‘ Patino said.

Patino’s husband, Gerson Trujillo, explained he had just arrived home when the earthquakes struck and feared for his family’s life.

Gerson, who can be seen in the footage of the heroic rescue, said his wife and son being rescued was a ‘miracle.’

‘It was indescribable,’ he told the BBC. ‘I thought they were dead. And when I saw my son I felt like I was born again.’

‘I couldn’t believe it, he added. ‘I felt the life come back to me.

The footage showed Gerson, shirtless and tearing up as he held his newly–saved baby boy.

Authorities said that at least 5,034 people were injured were injured from the earthquakes. Approximately 15,900 have been displaced or affected by the disaster

Roughly 680,000 children are estimated to need help as a result of the disaster

The World Health Organization has warned that outbreaks of illnesses are possible in the area after the earthquake due to a shortage of health workers and preexisting low vaccinations

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Venezuelan authorities had confirmed 1,719 deaths due to the earthquakes as of Monday, according to the United Nations.

The first earthquake was a magnitude 7.2, followed by a magnitude 7.5 about one minute later. 

The death toll is expected to keep rising, as bodies are still being found and accounted for.

In total, the final figure could be more than 10,000, according to a projection shared by the US Geological Survey cited by The New York Times.

At least 5,034 people were injured, while nearly 15,900 were displaced or affected by the disaster.

The World Health Organization has warned that outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, yellow fever, dengue, malaria and other illnesses are possible.

That is both because of the destruction caused by the earthquake, leading to the deaths of health care workers, as well as the preexisting low vaccination coverage.

About 680,000 children are estimated to need help because of the devastating earthquakes in northern Venezuela.

Mario Rea was issued an Osman warning following detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland passed intelligence to Strathclyde Police.

An ex-boxing promoter who was a trusted lieutenant in a gangland killer’s crime mob was locked up for six years last week. Mario Rea, 47, was a sidekick on the streets for Robert “Birdman” O’Hara, 48, while he was behind bars for the murder of a rival.

Rea admitted playing a key role in O’Hara’s drugs empire while the gangster directed operations from behind bars.

He used dirty cash to bankroll the lavish lifestyles of O’Hara’s partner and daughter of luxury flats, fast cars as well as designer clothes and watches.

He had earlier pled guilty to two charges of being involved in serious organised crime as well as another under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The High Court in Glasgow heard the gang was snared after a large-scale police probe in 2021.

No stranger to the criminal underbelly Rea’s gangland connections previously saw him targeted by IRA hitmen.

In 2012, just weeks after major drugs and money laundering charges against Rea and his twin brother Carlo were dropped due to insufficient evidence.

But detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland passed intelligence to Strathclyde Police that the self-styled property mogul had become the target of a murder plot.

Rea was issued a formal “threat to life” notice, known as an Osman warning, after an alleged Real IRA-linked gang had dispatched an assassin from Northern Ireland to Scotland.

It was claimed the gang, linked to jailed tobacco smuggler Aidan Grew, believed Rea had duped them over a tobacco deal.

MI5 officers believe Grew is a senior member of the Real IRA, who carried out the 1998 Omagh bombing which killed 29 people.

PSNI insider said: “The gang believe Rea duped them over a tobacco deal. The threat was taken very seriously.”

Another source in Northern Ireland said: “A hitman from Crossmaglen in County Armagh was sent to look at his house in Bothwell. They were either going to shoot him or throw a grenade in.”

At the time, sources claimed a suspected hitman had travelled from Crossmaglen in County Armagh to carry out reconnaissance on Rea’s home in Bothwell, South Lanarkshire.

It was alleged the plan was either to shoot him or launch a grenade attack on the property.

The intelligence emerged amid wider fears for Rea’s safety after he was also reported to have narrowly escaped an attempted attack by rivals linked to Glasgow’s Lyons crime clan.

The Rea twins were blamed for battering crime clan member Eddie Lyons Jr at a party in Coatbridge.

He was trailed by two hitmen before screeching away in a 4×4 to escape the thugs.

The death threats emerged after Mario, his twin Carlo and their associates faced a major probe by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.

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Mario, Carlo Rea and several associates had faced allegations of drug trafficking and money laundering after being arrested in 2008.

However, prosecutors abandoned the case before trial, citing insufficient evidence.

Away from the criminal investigation, Mario Rea was also handed a seven-year ban from serving as a company director after failing to account for more than £1.3 million that passed through the accounts of a property development company he ran with his brother.

Investigators had also examined the brothers’ extensive property interests across Lanarkshire and their links to several ambitious housing developments.

More than a decade later, Rea returned to court — this time admitting his role in one of Scotland’s highest-profile organised crime investigations.

Last week, Lord Arthurson sentenced him to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two charges of involvement in serious organised crime and an offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The prosecution said Operation Gadget exposed how O’Hara continued to direct an “industrial scale” drugs empire from prison using illicit mobile phones.

O’Hara was serving a life sentence at the time having been convicted in 2005 for the murder of Paul McDowall in Glasgow‘s Possilpark.

Rea was found to have played a central role on the outside, helping manage criminal finances, arranging luxury homes for O’Hara’s family and handling almost £80,000 in criminal money through his bank account.

The court heard Rea also exchanged messages relating to drug deals and was linked to wider trafficking involving more than £2 million worth of cocaine, heroin and cannabis uncovered during a separate investigation.

Passing sentence, Lord Arthurson accepted Rea claimed he felt unable to leave the crime group but said he had nevertheless willingly assisted an organised crime network.

He told Rea: “You acted for an organised crime group assisting the principal… you facilitated the lifestyles of family members of him.”

The judge added that Rea had been involved in drug trafficking on an “industrial scale”.

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Tesco Finest and Lidl Deluxe ham products have been urgently recalled over the possible presence of listeria monocytogenes bacteria

Major supermarkets Tesco and Lidl have pulled products from their shelves due to the potential presence of listeria monocytogenes.

Both retailers have issued recalls for items from their premium own-brand ranges.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has recalled ham products from Tesco Finest and Lidl’s Deluxe range over the possible health risk.

Ham products made by the Brady Family brand are also included in the announcement.

All products included in the recall:

• Brady Family Wood Smokes Real Irish Ham 6 Slices – pack size 80g – batch code 235417.
• Brady Family Hand Crumbed Real Irish Ham 6 Slices – pack size 80g – batch code 235880 and 235765.
• Lidl’s Deluxe Triple Oak Smoked Carved Irish Ham 5 slices – pack size 130g – batch code 235461.
• Deluxe Honey Roast Carved Irish Ham 5 Slices – pack size 130g – batch code 235473.
• Tesco Finest Crumbed Shaved Ham 16 slices – pack size 120g – batch code 235412.

The use-by date on all of these products is July 16.

Notices will be displayed at point of sale.

Shoppers have been urged not to consume the affected items and to dispose of them immediately.

Listeria monocytogenes can cause mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

Cold meats can be especially susceptible to listeria bacteria contamination. Other high-risk foods include smoked and cured fish, shellfish and soft mould-ripened cheeses such as camembert and brie.

According to the NHS website, the majority of those infected with the bacteria experience no symptoms at all, or only mild signs such as a high temperature, vomiting, aches and pains, chills or diarrhoea.

Those most vulnerable include pregnant women, newborn babies and patients with compromised immune systems.

The risk also rises with age.

Parents are urged to dial 999 or head to A&E if their children develop more serious symptoms, including a severe headache and stiff neck, discomfort when looking at bright lights, seizures, sudden confusion or drowsiness, and a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it.

Most infections from the bacteria can be managed at home with rest and plenty of fluids.

The Killeagh hitmakers recently announced a series of outdoor concerts for next year including Belsonic

Kingfishr member Eoin Fitzgibbon has announced he is taking a step back from touring.

Eoin, also known as Fitz, alongside Eddie Keogh and Eoghan McGrath make up the chart-topping band which have taken Ireland – and further abroad – by storm in recent years.

The Killeagh hitmakers have been busy lately playing summer gigs, and recently announced a series of outdoor concerts in Ireland for next year.

The trio will top the bill at Belfast’s Belsonic festival, before playing gargantuan outdoor headline gigs in Dublin and Limerick. The three shows will see Kingfishr play to a combined audience of 90,000+ people.

But on Monday night, Fitz took fans by surprise when he announced he is taking a break from touring for now, RSVP Live reports.

The musician reassured fans that the reason why “is far from anything serious”.

Taking to social media, he wrote: “Hi everyone, Fitz here with a quick update. I am going to be taking a short break from touring.

“I am all good and it is far from anything serious, but a step back is required all the same.

“The last year or so has been nothing short of incredible. The venues, the occasions, the memories, we may be some of the luckiest people on the planet to get to do what we do and I am grateful to each and every one of you for making it possible.”

Fitz continued: “Unfortunately with all of that comes a lot of pressure and that has caught up with me.

“I need a little time to recover from it.

“Kingfishr is the thing I am most proud of in life so far and the second I’m up for it I’ll be back again but for now the boys will continue without me.

“Take care of each other, I’ll see you all very soon. Fitz.”

The Kingfishr star was immediately inundated with well wishes from fans.

One person commented: “Stay well Fitz! We’ll all be here when you’re ready!”

And another fan added: “You’ll be very missed, and equally waited for until you’re feeling better”.

Earlier this month, Kingfishr announced three major outdoor concerts in Ireland for summer 2027.

The Limerick group are to play Belsonic in Belfast on 11 June, Marlay Park in Dublin on 19 June and Thomond Park in their native county on 10 July.

The three concerts will see the band play to a combined audience of more than 90,000 people, according to promoters.

It is not yet known if Fitz will be back on stage for these shows.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

The show will be returning next year, with contestants once again taking on the iconic Gladiators in various challenges to be crowned champion.

And it is rumoured that there will be a new face joining the team of athletes, replacing an outgoing star.

New Gladiator rumoured to be joining BBC show ‘revealed’

Bodybuilder and fitness instructor Ahmad Rabus, 37, has been cast on the BBC show, according to The Sun.

A source told the publisher: “Gladiators bosses loved Ahmad’s energy and positivity, they think he will be a great addition to the team.

“There are also rumours that there could be a few other newbies joining the gang.”

It is not confirmed what the fitness instructor’s Gladiator name will be.

He will replace Jamie Bigg, who was known as Giant, who will not return for a new series.

Bigg said he was told not to return to the BBC show after plans to make his relationship with his partner, a creator on adult content site OnlyFans, public.

He posted on Instagram that he would be stepping down due to a “choice” that did not align with his values, and that his departure was not a decision he made.

In a statement to the Press Association, he said: “I made it clear that I was planning to go public with my relationship, including the fact my partner works as an OnlyFans creator, and shortly after that I was told I wouldn’t be continuing on Gladiators.

“It wasn’t something I expected, especially given the commitment I’ve shown to the role.

“I’ve always taken being in the public eye seriously, and I believe being a role model is about honesty as well as professionalism.

“For me, that means not hiding parts of who I am or the people I care about.

“My partner is an incredible person, and I have huge respect for everything she does – I’m proud to stand by her.

“I’m grateful to the BBC and everyone involved in the show for the opportunity and the experiences I’ve had.

“Now, my focus is on the future.

“I’m excited for what’s next and ready to move into a new chapter, both personally and professionally.”

A Gladiators spokesperson said: “After three formidable series, Giant is leaving Gladiators.

“We’d like to thank him for everything he has contributed to the show and wish him well for the future.”

The BBC declined to comment on the rumours of his replacement.

Gladiators to return for new series in 2027

Gladiators will return to screens in 2027 after the BBC confirmed the show would be back for a fourth series.

It will be filmed once again at Sheffield Arena, with presenters Bradley and Barney Walsh returning.

Bradley and son Barney Walsh present the reboot of the iconic series (Image: BBC / Graeme Hunter / © Hungry Bear Media Ltd)

A new celebrity special will also be recorded as part of the upcoming series, with four celebrities set to take on the Gladiators.

Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment at the BBC, said: “Since Gladiators burst back onto screens in 2024, it’s been amazing to see families across the UK rally behind the contenders and champion our phenomenal Gladiators as the true stars of Saturday nights.

“With a brand-new series confirmed and another celebrity special on the way, audiences can look forward to even more colossal clashes, even more edge-of-your-seat excitement, and plenty of opportunities to raise those foam fingers high once again.”

Iconic games like Duel, Hang Tough, and The Eliminator will return, alongside last year’s popular additions Everest, Destruction, and Suspension Bridge.

A new event will also be introduced, with details to be revealed soon.

The show has continued to be a ratings hit, drawing an average of 4.6 million viewers across 28 days on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, and remains especially popular with younger audiences.

Who is your favourite Gladiator? Let us know in the comments.

Lionel Messi may have had his record-breaking World Cup moment but at this rate Kylian Mbappe will be rendering that legendary feat short-lived.

If Messi is the current king on the throne, then France’s captain fantastic, the focal point of their frightening attack, is the heir apparent after leapfrogging Miroslav Klose in the all-time goalscoring charts and onto the heels of the Argentina great with his double in a dominant 3-0 victory over Sweden on Tuesday night.

Didier Deschamps, back on the touchline following the tragic death of his mother last week, was beaming again as his team cruised into the last 16, with Mbappe embracing him in a heartwarming moment after his terrific first. 

Bradley Barcola replaced Desire Doue on the left-hand side of Deschamps’ starting frontline and he repaid his grieving coach with the second goal of the day. Michael Olise also registered two assists, taking his tally at the tournament to five, in the smoothest of displays. And as Sweden continued to fade after a spirited start, Mbappe moved to within one goal of Messi while capping a routine win for his mighty nation.

No team in history had scored three goals or more in five straight World Cup games but France achieved that in New Jersey. At this stage it seems inconceivable that they won’t be back here on July 19 for the final, where Messi and Argentina look likely to await in a rematch of that epic encounter in Qatar four years ago.

As he continues to stalk the great Leo in the goal standings, Mbappe will be licking his lips at the prospect of snatching the famous trophy back from him too.

Swedes fade fast 

It took France nearly 20 minutes to find their rhythm amid scorching temperatures at MetLife Stadium. Graham Potter said his team needed to have the game of their lives here and they were the ones who started like men possessed, pressing with speed and intensity in the middle of the park. The physicality of Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres also caused club teammate William Saliba and his defensive partner Dayot Upamecano some difficulty.

Yet they soon retreated into their shell as the fearsome French trio of Mbappe, Olise and Ousmane Dembele – without a doubt the most intimidating arsenal at this summer’s tournament – began to find gaps in the final third.

Mbappe was denied an opener by the tightest of offside calls when he raced through unmarked and converted past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom not long before the first-half hydration break. Adrien Rabiot was denied by the boot of the Swedish goalkeeper shortly after. 

Then, within four astonishing minutes, both Mbappe and Olise struck the woodwork, the latter almost producing one of the goals of the World Cup so far with a remarkable bicycle kick that was kept out by the post. 

Les Bleus were knocking on the door and Potter’s men, who at one moment appeared to have a flat eight-man backline, could do little but sit deep and defend their own box. The inevitable France opener was quickly becoming a matter of when rather than if, and in the 45th minute it was their main man who delivered it.

With Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, Mbappe is thriving in a devastating France attack

Sweden needed to produce the game of their lives but they faded rapidly after a spirited start

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After being released in the box by Dembele, Mbappe found himself one-on-one with a fellow attacker in Gyokeres, though they are miles apart in terms of speed. His feet were far too quick for Sweden’s stocky center-forward, with a bewildering stepover and two delicate touches freeing him up to curl the ball home from the edge of the six-yard box.

And when Barcola latched onto Olise’s pass and added a two-goal cushion shortly after the break, Sweden’s miserable fate was all but sealed long before Mbappe made it 3-0.

An attack like no other 

While Messi is pretty much carrying Argentina in their bid for a second straight World Cup, Mbappe is simply the brightest jewel in a glistening French diamond. 

Deschamps has an embarrassment of riches going forward, with Olise as delightful to watch here as Les Bleus’ record-seeking talisman.

The silky Bayern Munich star produced two exquisite passes that made the difference; the first for Barcola to double their advantage, the second for Mbappe to put them out of sight. 

Plus, it was his neat interplay with Dembele, who also can’t be forgotten, which preceded the latter teeing up his PSG teammate for the opener.

Olise was as delightful to watch as Mbappe in a comfortable victory for France in New Jersey

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Deschamps had the luxury of starting Doue and Rayan Cherki on the bench here, two players who would walk into plenty of managers’ lineups in the US, Canada and Mexico this summer. 

Messi’s magic may be enough to send Argentina to the final, but will their defense really be able to live with an lethal French attack that seems to be at its deadliest right now.

History not at the forefront of Mbappe’s mind 

The Real Madrid Galactico, often lambasted for a so-called attitude problem, became the World Cup’s second greatest goalscorer of all time with his opening strike, yet his first thought was to head straight to Deschamps, who missed last week’s win over Norway due to the tragedy in his personal life.

His captain’s latest breathtaking finish will have helped lift his spirits after a devastating week. And seven minutes into the restart France gave their manager something to smile about once more when Barcola doubled the lead.

Sweden, playing a lot like a team who sneaked into the World Cup via the Nations League backdoor, gave the ball away cheaply near the halfway line and Aurelien Tchouameni picked it up before finding Olise, who played a delightful pass to unleash the Paris St-Germain forward inside the area. He made no mistake from close range to leave Sweden with a mountain to climb.

Didier Deschamps had a smile on his face again after the tragic death of his mother last week

Then, with the result already a foregone conclusion, Mbappe collected another outstanding Olise pass into the box with 15 minutes to play and rifled the ball home to net his 18th World Cup goal in as many matches and seal the victory.

When he and Olise, who was equally mesmerizing, were replaced in the final five minutes MetLife’s French contingent rose to its feet in awe and adulation. The pair were phenomenal and it is tough to see how they, along with Dembele and the interchanging Barcola and Doue, fail to propel France to the final with Paraguay and likely Morocco to come next.

Even Spain and Portugal, their potential semifinal opponents, will be quaking in their boots.

Following a heartbreaking week on a personal level, France’s free-flowing frontmen are providing the perfect tonic for Deschamps.

An inevitable final? 

Messi etched his name into the history books even further last week by becoming the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer. While that record surely won’t last beyond the next in 2030, or potentially even this year’s tournament, the current edition looks perfectly poised to conclude with a battle between the king and his heir later this month.

Just like they were in Qatar, France and Argentina are comfortably the strongest two nations this time around and will take some stopping.

In the illustrious history of the World Cup there has never been an immediate rematch. How fitting if the competition’s two leading scorers collide in the first.

The prison officer initially denied claims of the relationship

A prison officer who had a relationship with a murderer has been jailed. Rebecca Green, 29, was working at HMP Whitemoor in March when she entered into a relationship with John Otugade in October 2022.

Otugade is serving a 25-year sentence for murder. In spring 2023, Green was called into a meeting when suspicions were raised about her conduct.

Green initially denied the claims, but Otugade was moved to HMP Belmarsh while investigations took place. Officers searched Green’s car and seized her mobile phone. This contained messages that suggested she was in a relationship with the prisoner.

Otugade also had a number added to his approved contacts list inside the prison and it had the name ‘partner’. The number was later found to be a match to Green’s phone.

Green, of Market Rasen Way, Holbeach, Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to wilful misconduct in a public office.

On June 24, she was sentenced to one year and four months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court. Detective Constable Tom Adams, who investigated, said: “As a prison officer, you have a responsibility to keep prisoners and your colleagues safe.

“This was a serious breach of Green’s responsibilities, and she failed to consider the potential impact on the security and safety of the staff and prisoners and how her actions undermined the work of the prison. This sentence shows how seriously the police and courts take such breaches.”