30+ min ago (828+ words) Thousands of service personnel have been reunited with their families in time for Christmas as the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales and its support ships returned to their home bases. The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier and the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless sailed into Portsmouth Naval Base where the crews were met by cheering families and friends. The arrival, which is the biggest naval homecoming in 20 years, was brought forward because of heavy winds forecast for Monday. Frigate HMS Richmond, which was also part of the carrier strike group (CSG), is also returning to Plymouth during the weekend and HNoMS Roald Amundsen also headed back to its home port in Norway. Fast jet and helicopter crews are also being reunited with their families at RAF Marham, RNAS Culdrose and RNAS Yeovilton. The naval ships are returning from a 40,000 nautical…...

35+ min ago (398+ words) William Saliba has not made the Arsenal squad to face Chelsea this afternoon. The French centre-back is out with a "knock" that he suffered in training, the club announced ahead of kick-off. FOLLOW CHELSEA VS ARSENAL LIVE! It means that summer signings Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie form a new-look central defensive partnership in the absence of Mikel Arteta's two first-choice names, Gabriel, who is ruled out longer term, and Saliba. Elsewhere, Viktor Gyokeres could make his return to action off the bench, but this game has come too soon for former Chelsea man Kai Havertz. Havertz has been out of action since the first game of the season, when he injured his knee. Gyokeres has missed the last four games for Arsenal after straining his hamstring in a win at Burnley earlier this month. The pair underwent scans earlier…...

59+ min ago (395+ words) Moises Caicedo will be suspended for three games after he was shown a red card in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Arsenal. The Blues earned a well-deserved point against the league leaders at Stamford Bridge thanks to Trevoh Chalobah's opener, which got cancelled out by Mikel Merino's header. The home side held on for a share of the spoils, despite being down to 10 men after Caicedo was given his marching orders for a dangerous challenge on Merino. The Ecuadorian went in studs-up on the Spaniard, with the pair both ending up on the turf in pain following the collision. Caicedo was initially shown a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor, but VAR John Brooks advised that the official take a look at the pitchside monitor for another look. The decision was upgraded to a straight red, which elongates Caicedo's suspension to three…...

1+ hour, 19+ min ago (319+ words) A group of runners completed a 600km ultramarathon relay across the entire London Underground network yesterday. The astonishing feat was undertaken by 150 young people who set out from St Paul's in central London at 6am on Saturday morning. The 150 participants completed the challenge within the 18-hour time limit, with one impressive team completing the mammoth run in just over 12 hours. The run was organised by The Arc Project, an "ultra endurance" running community that encourages young people interested in the sport to take on challenges to improve their abilities. The challenge represents the community's core belief that "everyone can do extraordinary things" if they possess "the right level of self-belief and mental resilience." The ultramarathon is one of the four "extremely difficult" challenges the group sets out for its members each year. After all members of the community completed the ultramarathon, the…...

1+ hour, 32+ min ago (489+ words) Oliver Glasner has said Ismaila Sarr may not play again before leaving for the Africa Cup on Nations after suffering an ankle injury during Crystal Palace's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United. Sarr was withdrawn in the 38th minute following a heavy challenge from Diogo Dalot and was replaced by Eddie Nketiah. The 27-year-old will hope to represent Senegal at next month's tournament, but his involvement has now been thrown into some doubt. "We all have to assess him further but the ankle is quite swollen, so I think he will miss a few games," Glasner said. "Maybe we won't see him again before the Afcon." Palace lost their pace in transition after Sarr's withdrawal and United surged back to complete an impressive second-half comeback. The Eagles had no response to United as they tired in the second half, with Glasner's substitutions struggling…...

1+ hour, 50+ min ago (427+ words) Sir Sadiq Khan will be in line for a gold-plated pension under Labour plans to recognise his "vital public service. The Mayor of London is expected to be granted access to a guaranteed, inflation-linked retirement scheme as part of government proposals to extend the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) to more than 16,000 elected councillors. The move, reported by The Sunday Telegraph, would cover 10 regional mayors, including Sir Sadiq. The proposals, announced by Communities Secretary Steve Reed in September, are now out for consultation. Sir Sadiq, currently in his third term at City Hall, is enrolled in a less generous pension scheme. On his "170,282 salary, City Hall pays "20,400 in employer contributions for 2025/26, while he contributes "19,400 personally. One year of contributions under the existing system would provide an inflation-linked retirement income of about "2,500. Under the proposed LGPS expansion, the same year would…...

2+ hour, 8+ min ago (383+ words) Mikel Merino deemed Moises Caicedo's challenge on him as "horrible" after the Chelsea midfielder was sent off during the Blues' 1-1 draw with Arsenal. It was a fiery encounter at Stamford Bridge, with cards aplenty, and while Chelsea were the ones to go down to 10 men, it will be Arsenal that face a fine after receiving six cautions throughout the match. But it was one moment of madness from Caicedo, who steamed into a tackle on Merino with a straight leg and his studs raised, with the replay showing referee Anthony Taylor that he ought to upgrade the initial yellow card he had brandished. The Ecuadorian was given his marching orders, and Enzo Maresca's side were a man light before the interval. Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Merino reflected on the incident. "I felt my ankle go all the way but…...

2+ hour, 19+ min ago (744+ words) Chelsea opted not to turn to fit-again substitute Cole Palmer, replaced Estevao Willian at half-time, and suffered a red card to their most important player in the first half " and despite all that, they had enough to deny Premier League leaders Arsenal victory at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea may well come to look back on Sunday's 1-1 draw as a hugely valuable point gained in this league campaign as they restricted Mikel Arteta's men to few chances and precious little control despite Moises Caicedo's 38th-minute straight red card, upgraded from an original yellow, for a studs-up foul on Mikel Merino. It was the Spaniard who netted Arsenal's eventual leveller shortly after Trevoh Chalobah had given Chelsea the lead. Neither side could muster a winner, though, as Chelsea held firm and earned (in every sense of the word) the point they came away…...

2+ hour, 32+ min ago (124+ words) Manchester United came from behind to beat Crystal Palace, whose poor form after Conference League games continued on Sunday afternoon. Crystal Palace vs Manchester United LIVE: Premier League latest score, match stream and goal updates Crystal Palace 1-1 Man Utd: Zirkzee equalises with fine finish - LIVE Arsenal XI vs Chelsea: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news, injury latest today Arsenal XI vs Chelsea: Predicted lineup and confirmed team news What time is Qatar Grand Prix 2025 today? Grid order, weather forecast and how to watch F1 race live What time is Qatar Grand Prix 2025? Grid order and how to watch today Chelsea XI vs Arsenal: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news, injury latest today Chelsea XI vs Arsenal: Predicted lineup and confirmed team news...

2+ hour, 39+ min ago (681+ words) Women over 50 in the UK say close female friendships bring them more joy than romantic relationships, according to new research that highlights the lifelong value of these bonds. More than a quarter of women aged 50 to 90 (26 per cent) say their friendships with other women make them happier than love or romance, while almost a quarter (23 per cent) would turn to a close friend first for emotional support ahead of a partner or family member. Fifteen per cent say they have more regrets about friendship break-ups than romantic ones. The findings come from a survey commissioned by Wooga, creators of the mystery-solving mobile game June's Journey, which explored the role of female friendship in happiness, resilience and identity. The research, carried out by OnePoll in October 2025, surveyed 1,000 women aged 50 to 90 across the UK. The study found that the average close female…...