Charlie Alford

Messi: Can he compete in a seventh World Cup?

Post author:Alaa Shamali
Post published:23 June 2026
Post last modified:23 June 2026

A few years ago, the idea of a player taking part in six World Cups seemed closer to fantasy than reality. Throughout its history, the tournament — held every four years — has been known to bring the careers of even the greatest stars to an end before they had considered playing in a sixth edition, let alone a seventh. Yet Lionel Messi remains at the heart of this debate. With Messi having shone so far during his participation in the 2026 World Cup, it begs the question: could the Argentina captain continue playing until the 2030 World Cup? At the…

Palestine Action lawyer faces renewed contempt proceedings

Post author:DANIA AKKAD
Post published:23 June 2026
Post last modified:2 July 2026

Judge rules to refer Rajiv Menon KC once again over his closing speech in trial of pro-Palestine activists A leading British civil rights barrister faces contempt proceedings once again after a judge decided to refer allegations against him for a second time. The original proceedings brought against Rajiv Menon KC were thrown out last month for procedural reasons.But on 22 June, Mr Justice Johnson ruled that Menon’s case met the necessary “threshold conditions” to proceed and that it was in the public interest to do so. He said the case should be referred to a judge who can “deal with the…

This week’s sweltering heat is financed by our banks

Post author:Abi Perrin
Post published:23 June 2026
Post last modified:23 June 2026

As the UK braces itself for the impacts of yet more extreme heat, major banks continue to plough money – nearly $1 trillion in the past year alone – into fossil fuels. This makes a mockery of their pledges to act on the climate crisis, and makes big oil even more profitable whilst communities roast, crops die, infrastructure fails, wars rage and the cost-of-living crisis bites harder. Still banking on climate chaos The UK’s second ever extreme heat warning has been issued this week, with temperatures as high as 40℃ anticipated. Around the time of the first extreme heat warning in…