EU trade commissioner Olof Gill says the EU ‘continues to engage with the US intensively at technical and political level’

The European Commission declined to elaborate on the call between commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy about their controversial anti-corruption law, but welcomed the “new approach” to the reform announced last night.

The pair spoke on Wednesday, with the commission readout saying von der Leyen said the bloc was “very concerned” about the passed law (yesterday’s blog).

“I cannot give you the exact details of what, when, how and what time [was discussed].

What matters is the message that was indeed passed, a message where we expressed our concern, our worries, about the steps that had been taken in the meantime.

Show begins 27th season covering Trump’s lawsuit against Paramount and cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show, depicting Trump in bed with Satan

South Park has kicked off its 27th season with a blistering episode taking aim at Donald Trump and its newly minted parent company, Paramount, just one day after signing a $1.5bn deal with the network.

The premiere episode, “Sermon on the Mount,” sees Trump in bed with series regular Satan and covers topics including Trump’s lawsuit against Paramount, the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, wokeness, Trump’s attacks on Canada and more.

Peer Beeban Kidron says it is not ‘nanny state’ to stop firms investing billions on making their platforms addictive from targeting under-18s

The UK government has been urged to “detoxify” the “dopamine loops” of addictive social media platforms by a leading online safety campaigner, as tech companies prepare to implement significant child protection measures.

Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer, urged the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, to use the Online Safety Act to bring forward new codes of conduct on disinformation and tech features that can lead to children becoming addicted to online content.

(Columbia)
The soul-searching of last year’s Chromakopia is expelled – for the most part – by half an hour of early 80s rhythms and slick one-liners with the IDGAF attitude of his early years

Tyler, the Creator’s ninth album received a very contemporary grand unveiling. Rush-released two days after its existence was announced, it had been trailed by the appearance of cryptic art installations at the rapper’s live shows – he’s still theoretically touring his last album, 2024’s Chromakopia – and at One World Trade Center in New York, and by a flurry of online gossip: one US website was forced to retract and apologise for publishing a tracklisting, complete with guest appearance by Kendrick Lamar, that turned out to be fake.

Despite all this, Tyler Okonma seemed keen to deflate the kind of anticipation that arises when your last three albums have all been critically lauded, platinum-selling chart-toppers full of big ideas. “Y’all better get them expectations and hopes down,” he posted on X, “this ain’t no concept nothing.” He then published an essay that read suspiciously like an explanation of the album’s concept, bemoaning the intrusion of cameraphones and social media on our ability to live in the moment: “Our human spirit got killed because of the fear of being a meme.”

Longstanding relationship between media mogul and US president is being tested amid Trump’s lawsuit over a WSJ story about his ties to Epstein

Rupert Murdoch had made up his mind. “We want to make Trump a nonperson,” he assured one of his former executives in a 2021 email, two days after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Over seven decades, Murdoch has sought to charm, challenge and change prime ministers and presidents as he built one of the world’s most powerful media empires. In this particular endeavor, however, he failed.

United have lacked bite in the centre of the pitch for years and Ruben Amorim must prioritise this area to revive the side

The way we discuss football has changed a lot in recent times, tactics and data to the fore. Nevertheless, there remain some simple, simplifying truths that, when delivered by someone with elite-level experience, must be taken seriously. So, when Graeme Souness reminds us that “the team that gets to the ball first wins”, we should pay just as much attention as when hearing about hybrid pressing, on-ball value and chance-creating actions.

The players most obliged to reach that ball first are, like Souness, central midfielders. And, though there are operative off-pitch factors, the longstanding absence of players able to do that is a significant reason why Manchester United have been so poor for so long.