Author: LoveWorld UK

When and where is the draw taking place? On Friday in Doha, Qatar, at 7pm local time (5pm BST). It will be broadcast live on fifa.com, and theguardian.com/sport will have coverage as it unfolds. Which countries have qualified? Twenty-nine of the 32 places have been filled. Hosts Qatar. Africa Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia. Asia Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea. North, Central America and Caribbean Canada, Mexico, USA. Europe Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland. South America Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay. What about the remaining three slots? The final European berth is due to be decided in June with Scotland facing Ukraine…

A group of Tory MPs is lobbying Downing Street to consider commandeering one of the superyachts seized as part of the sanctions regime for use by the royal family. The idea has won favour with some senior figures in No 10, which was widely criticised last year after it commissioned a “national flagship” for state visits by the Queen, reportedly costing £200m. Allowing the royals to use a yacht would be seen as a short-term, cost-saving option. Officials at the Ministry of Defence have started to scope out the legal and practical challenges for the prime minister, who is said to…

A senior minister is under fire after complaining that the cost-of-living crisis was making life ‘tricky’ for his family – while pulling in a six-figure government and MP salary. Policing Minister Kit Malthouse bemoaned the cost of oil to heat his family home in rural Hampshire on the day he and other MPs received a £2,212 pay rise. He conducted a series of media interviews this morning in front of a log fire in which he admitted that energy price rises which kick in today will make life ‘tough’ for millions of Britons. But he defended Chancellor Rishi Sunak over his handling…

More UK businesses are preparing to raise prices than at any time since the 1980s, heaping further pressure on hard-pressed consumers amid recent increases in gas, electricity and petrol prices. The British Chambers of Commerce said its latest quarterly survey found almost two-thirds of firms expected to raise prices over the next three months, the highest since the survey began in 1989. Amid warnings from opposition MPs and business groups that ministers should offer more support to struggling businesses, a record number of manufacturers and services firms said they would be increasing prices. The survey of more than 5,600 firms also…

National Institutes of Health (NIH) documents obtained by a nonprofit watchdog in a federal court suit reveal that the agency deleted CCP virus genetic sequencing information from the Wuhan Institute of Virology at the Chinese lab’s request. The Arlington, Virginia-based Empower Oversight Whistleblowers and Researchers (EO) obtained, as a result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and lawsuit, more than 230 pages of documents dating from 2020 that include emails, memoranda, and other correspondence among and between the lab and multiple NIH officials. The CCP virus, also known as the novel coronavirus, was first detected in China in late 2019, before it spread worldwide. Since the…

Seeking to end a federal government mandate that requires people using public transportation to wear masks, Florida’s attorney general filed a lawsuit on March 29 representing 21 states that want the order halted. The 14-month mask mandate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is “unlawful,” attorney general Ashley Moody and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told reporters at a press conference at the state Capitol. The mask mandate had been set to expire on March 18, but was extended by the Biden administration until at least April 18. “If you look at what’s going on around the country and in…

Travellers hoping for a relaxing spring getaway have slammed British Airways when a ‘technical issue’ caused dozens of flights across Europe to be cancelled or delayed. Customers were met with huge queues at check-in desks and were unable to access any boarding information at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 on Wednesday. Passengers who landed at the London terminal were also met with headaches as they claimed they were made to wait up to two hours to disembark. At least two flights were diverted mid-air from Heathrow to London Gatwick, more than 40 miles away. Knock-on effects from the tech outage were due to stretch…

Princess Cruises confirmed that one of its cruise liners, the Ruby Princess, reported a COVID-19 outbreak before docking in San Francisco. The cruise operator requires passengers and crew members to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, which is caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Princess Cruises also mandates passengers to show a negative COVID-19 test and proof of vaccination to board, according to its website. Those who tested positive were “isolated and quarantined while monitored and cared for by our shipboard medical team,” Princess Cruises said in a statement to news outlets Monday. It did not say how many people tested positive or…

Gareth Southgate has emphasised that Harry Maguire retains his full support but knows he cannot give the beleaguered defender any guarantees over a starting place in his England team at the World Cup later this year. Maguire had hoped the international break would offer him the chance to reset after his torrid period at Manchester United. During the 29-year-old’s last game for United, the Champions League last-16 exit at home to Atlético Madrid, the Old Trafford crowd cheered his withdrawal six minutes from time. However, when Southgate started him in England’s second game of the break – the 3-0 win over Ivory…

UK house prices grew at the fastest annual pace since 2004 in March, continuing the ascent to new record levels – a fifth higher than at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Prices rose by 14.3% in the year to March, the strongest pace of increase since November 2004 when the UK experienced a housing boom that preceded the financial crisis, according to Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society. The price of an average UK home hit £265,312, more than £33,000 higher than March 2021. Price rises were evident across the country, with prices in Wales soaring by 15% over the…