Inside Europe’s rowdy Ryder Cup celebrations as McIlroy leads the party

Rory McIlory was late to the party. He had been out on the course supporting his teammates when his great friend Shane Lowry knocked in the putt that retained the Ryder Cup on the 18th green, and the celebrations had already kicked off.

You knew McIlory had finally arrived when a booming chant of “Rory!” exploded from the horseshoe grandstand around the green. By now it was 6pm, there was only one match left out on the course, and the seats were filled exclusively by European fans as Americans fled the scene.

McIlory high-fived the outstretched hand of US captain Keegan Bradley’s young son on his way through the melee before embracing Lowry with a big bear hug. McIlroy shared a long, emotional clinch with Jose Maria Olazabal, the man who best embodies the spirit of Team Europe, who cares more than anybody about this competition, their link to the past.

Bradley marched across to Lowry and offered a handshake. It was brief, and very few words were exchanged. Bradley’s infamous quote ahead of this Ryder Cup – “We are going to go to Bethpage to kick their f***ing ass!” – was printed on the wall of Team Europe’s locker room as inspiration. Now the US team were quickly shuffling off stage. After three days of golf played in a ferocious New York atmosphere, Europe had driven every last one of them off the course.

The trophy presentation was chaotic. An attempted interview with Luke Donald was drowned out by chants of “Are you watching, Donald Trump?” from the grandstand. Jon Rahm explained to Tyrrell Hatton exactly what was being sung, and Hatton giggled.

Rasmus Hojgaard, the rookie who won no points during this Ryder Cup, was reluctant to take his turn lifting the trophy and hung back, but his teammates pushed him to the front of the platform to have his moment in front of the European fans, who gave him an almighty cheer.

Lowry ran into the crowd and briefly relinquished the trophy to a spectator before it was grabbed back. There were photos with caddies, photos with vice-captains, and then the iconic photo of Rome repeated with the wives, girlfriends and the single Viktor Hovland on his own. He tried to stand on the end of the line, but McIlroy insisted he lie down in the middle of the picture, just as he did two years ago.

Then they were off, over the bridge that links the 18th green to the player facilities, where thousands of fans below serenaded the players passing overhead in a beautifully spontaneous moment of mutual appreciation. The bridge had the names of the US players emblazoned on its side, and McIlroy draped a European flag over one particular name in what looked like a deliberate act of mischief: “DeChambeau” was completely cloaked.

They popped in for a giddy press conference, beers on the go, where Sepp Straka was declared the “undefeated” party king of the team by Hatton. They gathered in the locker room, where the whole team sang their own rendition of “Are you watching, Donald Trump?” Then came champagne showers on the putting green. McIlroy stood still, arms down by his sides, as Lowry uncorked and sprayed a full blast in his face, howling with laughter.

On the bus back to their hotel they blared out music, just as they had in Rome. It was rowdy. “Europe’s on fire, USA is terrified!” had been sung by pockets of fans across the weekend, much to the ire or just confusion of Americans, and the team launched into their own raucous rendition. Then came another fan favourite, to the tune of the Cranberries’ “Zombie”: “He’s in your heeee-ad, in your heeee-ad, Rory! Rory! Rory!” McIlroy hoisted the trophy aloft in his seat as his adoring teammates sang around him. He got in New Yorkers’ heads all weekend and performed extraordinarily in the circumstances.

They sang “We Are the Champions”, too. Only 47 European men have ever won the Ryder Cup on American soil. Here were 12 of them, revelling in a piece of sporting history.

It had taken three days to triumph, but it had been two years in the making, ever since McIlroy confidently declared they were going to New York to win while sitting in the victory press conference in Rome. He called it one of the hardest feats in all of sport, and Europe made it look that way at times on Sunday. But they arrived at Bethpage Black this week with one clear goal, and they achieved it: leaving, slightly drunk, with the Ryder Cup.

Trump teases ‘something special’ on Gaza ahead of Netanyahu talks

Donald Trump said “something special” was going to happen in Gaza even as Benjamin Netanyahu struck a cautious tone about the US president’s ceasefire plan ahead of their high-stakes talks at the White House on Monday.

The US president and the Israeli prime minister are set to meet at the White House on Monday to discuss a US-drafted 21-point proposal aimed at halting the war in Gaza and laying out its post-war governance.

Mr Trump appeared confident on the eve of the meeting, saying, “we will get it done” as his administration worked to close a comprehensive plan to get all the Israeli hostages released.

“We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” Mr Trump wrote on social media. “ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!! President DJT.”

This came as the death toll from Israel’s war on Hamas topped 66,000, Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday.

The rising death toll of Palestinians, mostly women and children, has led to intensifying international pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza, especially amid its ground offensive in the north of the besieged territory.

Mr Netanyahu, however, said that a ceasefire plan had “not been finalised yet”. “But we’re working with President Trump’s team, actually, as we speak, and I hope we can make it a go,” he added in an interview with Fox News.

Mr Trump earlier said the 21-point proposal for an immediate ceasefire between Hamas and Israel would include the release of all Israeli hostages within 48 hours, the disarmament of Hamas, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and a steady withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Hamas said on Sunday that they had not received any new proposal for a ceasefire. It, however, reiterated “readiness to examine any proposals it receives from its mediator brothers in a positive and responsible manner, while upholding the national rights of our people”.

A Hamas official, who was not named, said they had been briefed about the plan but had yet to receive a formal offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

Mr Netanyahu was likely to push for changes in the ceasefire plan, three Israeli officials said on Sunday, according to CNN, even as many of the details had been worked out in advance with the Israeli leader.

He worked on the plan in advance “in close details”, one official said, adding that White House was aware that Mr Netanyahu would not accept all of the outline of the plan.

“The dynamics appear more serious this time,” said a senior Israeli official, “but it still needs to cross the final line.”

Mr Netanyahu met Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in New York on Thursday, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, to discuss the plan.

Mr Trump had unveiled the ceasefire and post-war proposal to Arab states at the UN two days earlier.

Citing a senior US official, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on Sunday that the US and Israel were very close to signing an agreement on the 21-point plan. The official added that Hamas still needed to agree, Mr Ravid said.

On Sunday, the Israeli military said in an X/Twitter post that its warplanes had bombed 140 targets across Gaza over the previous 24 hours.

The Gaza health ministry said in a statement that at least 77 people had been killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours. Emergency workers were unable to respond to dozens of desperate calls from trapped residents, it added.

Gaza’s Civil Emergency Service said late on Saturday that Israel had denied 73 requests, sent via international organisations, to let it rescue injured Palestinians in Gaza City. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Sadiq Khan hits back at Donald Trump ‘misinformation’ after violent crime falls in London

The mayor of London has hit back at politicians “spreading misinformation” about safety in the capital as new data showed the number of violent crimes leading to injury has fallen in every borough over the past year.

Figures from the mayor’s office for policing and crime, which compare the 12 months ending in August with the previous 12 months, showed there were 8,749 fewer crimes that resulted in someone being hurt – a drop of nearly 12 per cent – across the capital over that time.

While all 32 boroughs have seen a reduction, Havering in east London recorded the largest drop, with this type of crime down by 16.3 per cent, followed by Enfield in north London, where it fell by 16.1 per cent.

Greenwich saw the smallest decrease, with 4.3 per cent, followed by Kensington and Chelsea, with a drop of 4.6 per cent.

Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said: “We’ve seen a number of politicians, here and across the globe, talking down London and spreading misinformation about crime and safety in the capital.

“The evidence is clear: our approach to tackling crime, and its complex causes, works. It’s driving down violence right across the capital.”

Earlier this month, US president Donald Trump accused Sir Sadiq of doing a “terrible job”, in their long-running war of words, adding that “crime in London is through the roof”.

Sir Sadiq continued: “Violent crime with injury is down in every single London borough, and that is testament to the incredible work of our brave police officers – who are arresting more than 1,000 additional suspects each month, and solving crimes that involve victims at double the rate they were a year ago.

“This is alongside the prevention work in our communities, led by London’s violence reduction unit, which has delivered over 450,000 positive opportunities and activities to divert young people away from violence and exploitation.

“One death and one crime will always be one too many, and that’s why I’m working with partners, and the government, to build on this progress and enhance our collective efforts to drive down every single crime, wherever it happens in our great capital city, to deliver a safer London for everyone.”

According to the mayor’s office, overall homicides in London are at a 10-year low, with the capital’s rate lower than those of Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Madrid, and all major US cities.

The rate of homicide was down by 17 per cent in the 12-month period to June this year, compared with the 12-month period to May 2016.

Analysis of Office for National Statistics data, recorded in the 12 months to March this year, showed that Londoners are less likely to be a victim of violent crime (26.4 offences per 1,000 population) than people across the rest of England and Wales (31.9 offences per 1,000 population).

Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Rachel Williams said: “Violence with injury is down in every single borough – a clear sign that our approach is making a difference. Homicide is now at its lowest level in a decade, violent crime resulting in injury has fallen, and firearms discharges are less than half what they were seven years ago.

“We’re targeting the most dangerous individuals, disrupting criminal networks, and investing in prevention to protect those most at risk. That’s why fewer people are being hurt, fewer lives are being lost, and London is becoming a safer city.

“We won’t stop until every Londoner feels safe, wherever they live, work, or go to school. We’re committed to listening, learning, and improving, so that our progress is not just sustained but accelerated.”

The Tories rejected the suggestion that London is safer. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Sadiq Khan seems to be the only person who thinks there is no crime problem in London.

“He cherry-picks his numbers and hopes Londoners will forget the reality that knife crime is up 86 per cent on his watch, stop and search collapsed by more than half, and London now accounts for nearly half of all knife-point robberies in England.

“Under this Labour mayor, criminals know the odds are stacked in their favour. Only one in 20 robberies is solved, fewer offenders are being jailed, and more than a thousand police officers have been cut from the Metropolitan Police, with Sir Mark Rowley warning of further losses this year.

“Londoners don’t feel safer because London isn’t safer. Labour are weak on crime, soft on criminals, and too scared to confront the reality on our streets. It’s time for the Labour government and Labour mayor to wake up and get a grip, or get out of the way.”

Oasis summon a euphoric and almost sad last hurrah at Wembley Stadium

“The great wait is over!” declares one of dozens of newspaper headlines flashing up on the screen at Oasis’s final UK reunion show. Out come the brothers, arm in arm: Liam and Noel Gallagher in the flesh. Could it be, thinks the 90,000-strong full house at Wembley Stadium, that they are really embracing one another on that stage? That they have held out on feuding for the 39 dates thus far to get here, immediately opening, appropriately, with the chaotic static of “Hello”?

The world went nostalgia-mad for the Oasis reunion when it was announced just over a year ago. In their Nineties heyday, they were almost certainly the most culturally important British band. In retrospect, it’s increasingly charming to think how the Britpop heroes managed to be both sneery and sentimental, arrogant and sincere. But in the years since their 2009 split, the brother-on-brother soap opera – you either knew they would inevitably get back together or believed what they bitterly swore (that the hate ran too deep) – left a Gallagher reconciliation in doubt. After all, only a sibling would understand the truth of Noel’s infamous quote: “I liked my mum until she gave birth to Liam.”

In the way that Charli XCX’s Brat Summer dominated 2024’s sweaty season, Oasis have fundamentally owned it this year. Male fashion took an immediate hard swerve towards vintage adidas jackets, Fred Perry, bucket hats, and football shirts. You couldn’t go a week without your friends and family announcing a trip overseas to see the band, having failed to get their hands on those coveted UK tickets. Though at Sunday night’s Wembley show, Liam seemed to tease another tour (“see you all next year”, he said during the encore), there is a sense that all that joy ends tonight. The biggest band in the UK plays its biggest stadium and ends their home run: fun for fun’s sake is over in just two hours.

But not before “Morning Glory” – the third song in – when the stadium really roars into action. “Need a little time to wake up”, Liam calls out, pointing at an imaginary watch on his wrist. He looks as cool as ever, exuding a “f*** off” attitude in aviators and that classic parka. “I need all ya in the posh seats as well to turn around and give each other a cuddle,” he orders the crowd before a round of “Cigarettes & Alcohol”. It’s wonderful to see men taking so many grinning selfies together; heartwarming to witness the full families of different generations screaming along to the chorus of “Roll With It”.

For a good while it looks as though Noel is at risk of fading into the background, until it becomes clear that he’s given space to shine slap-bang in the middle of the set. On the unassuming balladic tracks “Talk Tonight” (inspired, actually, by the near-breakup of the band in the mid-Nineties) and “Half the World Away”, as well as on the huge-sounding “Little by Little”, the guitarist leads it all, nonchalant and unreadable in that everyman Noel Gallagher manner, while Liam mooches about. It’s worth mentioning that the legacy band is as tight as ever, the sound crystalline and the songs entirely well aged: classic rock but culturally relevant somehow, still so British.

Any last vestiges of energy are reserved for the encore, as “The Masterplan” sends the beer flying before the three big guns, some of the best-known songs in British music history: “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, ”Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova”. It’s what everyone’s been waiting for, and it is as cathartic, as emotive as we expected.

Most of Liam’s chatter tonight is kept to the occasional “nice one” – the verbal equivalent of a fist-bump – or a brief song dedication. The show is not only commentary-free but it’s completely apolitical: there are no mentions of politicians, or Palestine, not even a classic insult thrown out from Liam. It’s just Oasis doing the hits. And yet throughout the jubilation of a brilliant show promised and delivered, there is a distinct “summer is over” energy, a sad last hurrah vibe.

As this Oasis Summer comes to a close, the cultural mood in the UK has deteriorated into something sour. A couple of Sundays ago, enough people to fill this stadium almost twice over travelled down the road for the biggest far-right protest in decades. Prime minister Keir Starmer has announced a huge step towards mass surveillance with his digital ID cards policy. Reform UK is surging in the polls. “What’s so great about Britain?” a new special socio-political edition of British GQ asked its writers and celebrity interviewees to ponder, seizing on this uncomfortable moment. Who knows, but thankfully we have Oasis. “See you next year”, Liam teases again, before the fireworks erupt.

Raducanu misses three match points as Pegula forces third set in China

Emma Raducanu takes on Jessica Pegula at the China Open as the British No 1 faces her latest test against a top-10 opponent.

Raducanu is bidding to reach the last-16 in Beijing after an opening win over Cristina Bucsa, in what would be a huge boost to the 22-year-old’s ranking.

Raducanu has set her sights on improving her ranking to get a seeded spot at the Australian Open in January but lost out to Barbora Krejcikova in Seoul earlier this month

Raducanu has not beaten a top-10 opponent since March, losing eight matches in a row, but has previously secured a victory over Pegula, the fifth seed and US Open semi-finalist.

That came on the grass in Eastbourne in 2024, but Pegula won their last meeting at the Miami Open earlier this season.

Follow live updates from Raducanu v Pegula in the China Open below:

E.ON Next/Independent EV Index: Prices down 7.7 per cent

Electric car prices are dropping fast, according to the first publication of the E.ON Next/The Independent EV Price Index.

The energy giant and media company have combined to produce the UK’s first-ever electric car price index that measures real-world prices (including available discounts) on every EV on sale in the UK.

The first E.ON Next/The Independent EV Price Index has revealed that over the past twelve months the median price of an EV has fallen by 7.7 per cent, a figure of £3,750.

Month-on-month, there’s been a sizeable drop of £1,228 or 2.7 per cent, thanks to the introduction of the government’s electric car grant and the additional discounts car makers introduced while waiting for the grant to be implemented.

The biggest year-on-year drop has been in the competitive small electric SUV segment – including cars like the Citroen e-C4, Mercedes EQA, Peugeot 2008 and BMW iX1 – where a drop of £5,827 or 13 per cent has been seen. Larger medium-sized electric SUVs – like the Audi Q4 e-Tron, Ford Explorer, Nissan Ariya and Skoda Enyaq – show a similarly-large year-on-year drop of £4,666 or 9.8 per cent.

The data for the E.ON Next/The Independent EV Price Index has been compiled by auto industry market insight and pricing data specialists Insider Car Deals. The prices quoted are median prices sourced from Insider Car Deal’s mystery shopping and market research analysis and are based on real-world discounts offered, including any incentives given as part of finance packages.

As well as analysing prices, the E.ON Next/The Independent EV Price Index has also revealed an increase of 25 per cent in the number of electric cars available in the UK over the past year. At the time of research there were 111 electric vehicle models available in the UK, with that number increasing all the time.

When various trim levels and different battery options are taken into account across all available models, there is a choice of 1,029 different electric car choices for UK car buyers – up 32 per cent year-on-year.

The research has also shown that median PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) monthly payments for electric cars have dropped by £55 a month, or 10.8 per cent compared with a year ago. Again, the biggest drop is in the small electric SUV segment, were median monthly payments are down £76 or 16.6 per cent per month.

The quoted PCP terms are based on discounted transaction prices, manufacturer’s APR and GFV and standardised at four years, 8,000-10,000 miles per year and a 15 per cent customer deposit (plus any manufacturer deposit contribution). Where a manufacturer imposes a maximum term of 42 or 36 months, that shorter term is used instead.

One standout deal uncovered by the E.ON Next/The Independent EV Price Index research was for a Vauxhall Mokka 115kW Ultimate 54kWh, with total discount and finance savings of 36.4 per cent (£13,524). That brings the price down to just £24,580, or a possible £292 a month on Vauxhall’s PCP finance plan.

The research also highlighted the difference in average PCP APR finance rates available on electric cars versus hybrid and internal combustion engine (ICE) models. Buyers of EVs will, on average, benefit from PCP APRs that are 3.1 per cent lower than they are for ICE models and 2.2 per cent for hybrids. The average PCP APR for an electric car currently sits at 3.5 per cent.

At the time of research, nine car makers were offering zero per cent finance – the same number as this time last year, although the brands have changed. The scale of finance deposit contributions on electric vehicles has also been revealed with the highest seen being £7,750.

Moving Jay Slater documentary fails to hold conspiracists to account

The Disappearance of Jay Slater, a documentary very much made in the classic true-crime format, is the moving story of what turned out to be a terrible, tragic death – but one that leaves us with one unresolved question, regarding the programme itself. Namely, why did Channel 4 ever make it, when, as the show demonstrates, the disappearance of Slater has nothing to do with any crime, was so recent as to be still fresh in the mind, and is not a mystery anyway?

The plain facts about Slater are just that, but the producers take their time, build the tension and raise doubts even as they are recounting them, despite knowing now that this is, really, a bit bogus. The 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire was on holiday in Tenerife, his first holiday on his own, albeit he had some friends with him. From old home videos and interviews with his mum, dad, brother and friends, we see just what a sweet boy he was – “inquisitive”, “maybe a little too trusting”, but never seriously involved in crime. The hardest scenes to watch are those of Slater’s funeral, where the emotions are raw and unfiltered. His mother, Debbie, and father, Warren, who help guide us through Slater’s life and last fatal misadventure, are exceptionally brave human beings.

Slater visited some nightclubs, and, being a sociable type, took the offer from two strangers in the early hours of 17 June 2024 to drive with them to their B&B some 30 miles away in Masca, a hamlet up in the high mountains of the national park. He had consumed alcohol, plus some cocaine and MDMA before his death. In the documentary, phone messages, calls, snatches of CCTV footage, social media posts, and witness evidence – all examined by the Spanish and British authorities – detail his whereabouts and his condition with precision. His movements in and out of various nightclubs are timed, and it is obvious that he was intoxicated.

Eventually his body was found, after 29 days missing, at the bottom of a remote ravine in this harsh, rugged environment. The pathologist demonstrates, with the detachment essential to his craft, how Slater’s injuries – deep abrasions and scratches down own side of his body, and a “massive” head wound – are consistent with a steep fall of some 20 to 25 metres. By the time he tumbled to his death he was exhausted, dehydrated and disoriented. There was no third-party involvement and it was instant. His death was an accident. No room for doubt; but plenty of space online for conjecture, surmise and speculation.

Thus, as the documentary reminds us, during the search for Slater and for long afterwards, the armchair sleuths and the conspiracy theorists fastened onto various seeming inconsistencies or uncertainties. Singularly and in concert, they built the most offensive and distressing versions of events that their lurid imaginings and lack of forensic expertise could create. For Debbie, a grieving mother, it was hellish: “I will never ever understand why social media detectives are totally destroying people’s lives,” she says. “It’s been torture, absolute torture – the YouTubers and the TikTokers have made the situation a million times worse.” Some key witnesses refused to take part in the coroner’s court hearing because they were afraid of how they’d be treated, ie bullied and harassed online, a lasting injustice.

Why do the ghouls think they have a right to persecute people? Why is everything approached as if it were a crime, indeed a conspiracy? When the conspiracists started researching Slater and found that he’d been once at the scene of a machete attack, and was found guilty under our “joint enterprise” laws, why did they assume he’d be waving a knife around in Tenerife – when there is zero evidence he had?

What is missing from the documentary is much sense of making the conspiracists accountable. None are confronted. The same goes for the social media companies who allow them free rein to publish nonsense, and worse. Even after the disgrace of the far-right broadcaster Alex Jones, people who refuse to accept the world as it is are still making the lives of others a misery, and endangering their own mental health. It infects politics, like a fever, as we witness with the mass online hysteria prompted by Nigel Farage claiming migrants eat swans.

Why have we ended up here? That is a question this documentary begs but never tries to answer. It’s much more of a challenge than the disappearance of Jay Slater, a nice lad who should be left to rest in eternal peace, but never will be.

More than 100 charities call for home secretary to stop ‘scapegoating’ migrants

More than 100 charities have accused ministers of fuelling division by “scapegoating” migrants rather than tackling the UK’s real problems.

In an open letter to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, the coalition of organisations, including Oxfam, Save the Children, Shelter, Barnardo’s and the Trussell Trust, called on the government to tackle longstanding issues such as poverty, housing shortages and NHS delays.

It claimed that blaming migrants for the problems facing the UK “will do nothing to tackle these structural issues”.

“The government wants to deliver growth and renew Britain. This requires tackling issues such as [the] growing extreme inequality, underfunded councils, lack of investment in quality housing, a crumbling NHS, the climate emergency and polluted waters,” the letter stated.

“Targeting refugees will do nothing to tackle these structural issues or improve people’s lives. It only serves as a dangerous smokescreen to scapegoat the most vulnerable and distract from the very real dangers to our society.”

The charities warned that hostile rhetoric was not only misleading but dangerous. They highlighted repeated demonstrations outside asylum hotels over the summer, where far-right groups have displayed racist banners and clashed with anti-racism campaigners, as well as a rally earlier this month in London organised by Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – which drew crowds of over 100,000.

The charities said such incidents were a stark reminder of how inflammatory language from politicians can filter down into communities.

“Anger and division will never satisfy voters in the long term. They cause tensions in our communities, dividing us and tearing the social fabric of our society,” the letter read.

“We have seen what happens when this is allowed to escalate, such as last year’s racist riots, this year’s disturbing demonstrations outside asylum accommodation sites, and the most recent far-right rally in London promoting racism and hate speech, which record numbers attended.”

Ms Mahmood replaced Yvette Cooper as home secretary earlier this month after the resignation of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner triggered a major cabinet reshuffle. Ms Cooper was moved to the Foreign Office.

As the summer of protests against the use of asylum hotels progressed, Labour continued to lose popularity, according to the polls. Ms Mahmood’s move to the Home Office is seen as Sir Keir Starmer’s attempt to bring this issue under control.