Hosting 2026 World Cup to cost US cities upwards of $250m after ‘worst deal in history’

The 11 United States’ World Cup host cities are facing a collective shortfall of at least $250m, due to a highly restrictive deal from Fifa that may yet see the federal government – as well as local and private funding – have to pick up the costs.

Some cities are so desperate that they are being forced into pitches for sponsorship to “local dry cleaners and mechanics”, in the words of various sources. Fifa’s own commercial contracts mean cities can’t even do deals with local convenience store chains, as their sale of food is considered to cut across primary partners, such as McDonald’s, all as the global governing body is set to retain virtually all of the $11-14bn revenue the 2026 World Cup is expected to generate.

This has created increasing frustration in the host cities, who feel they aren’t “getting any help from anyone”, as sources openly ask whether “Donald Trump is aware he has become the figurehead” for what is described as “the worst deal in Fifa World Cup history”.

Fifa sources would counter that they are working with cities day to day in a programme never done before, as they work out the nuances unique to each city as the tournament gets closer, including in terms of financial help.

The shortfall may nevertheless mean cutting back on key tournament elements like FanFests being open every day, due to the costs. While Fifa would counter that all revenue from FanFests goes directly back to host cities, numerous insiders are even criticising Fifa as this being typical of a World Cup that seems less concerned with host legacy than ever before, as illustrated by the fact there was minimal mention of development in Friday’s draw – with virtually no presence by the host national football federations.

The idea is now frequently being described by sources as a poorly designed programme that no one would be likely to repeat – particularly for the Women’s World Cup in 2031, which the US is also due to co-host. Such a process also raises questions over whether the 2035 Women’s World Cup in the UK will face similar issues, and whether the host cities have been given any assurances.

Fifa insiders would insist this is built on what they see as the success of the 2025 Club World Cup.

The situation nevertheless largely arises from the governing body’s own new approach of getting rid of the old “Local Organising Committee” and moving virtually all logistics in-house. This brought the creation of the new “Host City Supporter” programme, which Fifa alone designed and set the rules for. It involved the host cities – Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, to go with two in Canada and three in Mexico – signing up to contracts where they bore most of the costs, with limited access to tournament revenue, but on the understanding this could be made up by the new programme.

The aim was that every city would make around $25-30m from this, through a total of 10 Host City deals per city, but most cities are currently nowhere close to either target due to how restrictive Fifa’s own sponsorships are.

The governing body have created three tiers, the first being primary partners – such as long-time sponsors Coca-Cola – the second being specific 2026 tournament sponsors, like Bank of America, and the last being local sponsors.

The category limitations have ensured that host cities can’t do a deal with any institution that cuts across Fifa’s own deals.

Since companies like Bank of America have signed mega-contracts to be associated with the World Cup, it means they would object to any other financial institution enjoying similar benefits. As one example, Philadelphia explored a $5m deal with local convenience store chain, Wawa, but the company’s sale of food was considered a breach of Fifa’s exclusivity agreement with McDonald’s.

This locks off the cities to almost any sponsor of high value, since Fifa generally have a deal or plans for a deal in such industries, forcing cities to go more parochial.

This has created huge headaches for the cities, as they have agreed to take on the burden of costs like security, transport and even the classic elements like fan festivals. That could end up costing in the range of $100-250m, with cities already finding that costs have gone up as tournament requirements have become clear.

While it is expected that the federal government will eventually grant the cities a collective $625m in funding, that is still being lobbied for, and an average of $56.8m won’t come close to meeting costs.

The Independent understands that only two cities – Houston and Atlanta – have so far performed well in the programme, with very few others so far announcing “Host City Supporter” deals.

That could mean the federal government having to pick up even more of the shortfall, while also forcing cities to lean on local and private interests, with the additional prospect of indirectly pushing up other supporter costs.

There is a widespread belief Fifa could have done more to remedy this, given this is expected to be a record-breaking World Cup in terms of revenue. The expansion to 48 teams was already anticipated to bring in $11b, up from $7b in Qatar, but some sources now feel that might go as high as $14b.

There is also frustration since cities felt it was indicated to them that Fifa’s primary partners and tournament sponsors would be investing in host cities, but this has so far not come to fruition.

It is felt Fifa could have created a national package sharing at least some revenue with the cities.

As one source puts it, “Fifa weren’t willing to subsidise, so they created this other programme, and then strangled it once it was out there”.

Several figures familiar with the logistics around tournaments believe this is the biggest weakness of doing away with local organising committees.

Such bodies were usually led by senior figures with considerable experience of both the host countries and Fifa, who were constantly looking at how a World Cup could benefit both in the short term and long term. Many have naturally cited the example of Alan Rothenberg for USA 94, who would deal with Fifa every day, but also ensure cities were collectively represented. Many hosts now feel they have no unified presence.

The Trump administration has delegated the day-to-day responsibility of heading the government’s World Cup preparations to Andrew Giuliani, the son of disgraced ex-New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Giuliani was appointed as the head of the White House Task Force for the Fifa World Cup 2026 this past May, two months after Mr Trump signed an executive order establishing the task force to “support preparations through a coordinated Government effort.”

The only member of the task force who appears to have any experience with football matters is Carlos Cordeiro, the Infantino adviser who in 2020 was forced to resign as head of the US Soccer Federation after the USSF argued in a court filing that the federation was justified in paying the four-time Women’s World Cup winning US women’s national team far less than the comparatively-unsuccessful men’s team because the job of a men’s team player “requires a higher level of skill based on speed and strength.”

Mr Giuliani and the White House declined to respond directly to queries from The Independent on whether Mr Trump was aware of the host cities’ sponsorship difficulties and the budget shortfall that could result — and whether he plans to take steps to address the problem.

Instead, a White House spokesperson replied with a statement attributed to Mr Giuliani focusing entirely on funding for security preparations.

“To ensure that the largest World Cup in human history will also be the safest, President Trump secured $625 million dollars in the One Big Beautiful Bill for host cities to strengthen safety and security, along with an additional $250 million for the next two years to prevent unauthorized drones during tournaments and fan fests,” he said.

Nnena Kalu wins the Turner Prize 2025 in ‘seismic’ moment for award

Nnena Kalu has won the 2025 Turner Prize for her colourful cocoon-like sculptures made of VHS cassette tape and found fabric.

The 59-year-old artist, who is autistic with limited verbal communication, is the first learning-disabled artist to be nominated for the prestigious award.

She received the nod for the inclusion of Drawing 21 in the group exhibition Conservation at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, as well as her works Hanging Sculpture 1-10.

Kalu’s suspended sculptures are created by winding vibrant recycled materials, such as cloth, paper, and card, around lengths of flexible ducting tape. This creates “a sense of joyous uplift”, wrote The Independent’s art critic Mark Hudson in a review of the Turner Prize shortlisted artists this year.

The artist beat out her fellow nominees, including Mohammed Sami, whose large-scale paintings meditating on war and Iraq had made him the favourite to win.

Magician Steven Frayne, formerly known as Dynamo, presented the prize to Kalu at a ceremony held in Bradford on Tuesday evening (9 December). She will receive £25,000.

Chaired by the director of Tate Britain Alex Farquharson, the jury commended Kalu’s bold and compelling work, praising her lively translation of expressive gesture into sculpture and drawing. They also noted her finesse of scale, composition and colour.

Born in Glasgow to Nigerian parents, Kalu moved to London at a young age. She still lives in the city in supported care, according to a recent interview in The Guardian.

Kalu works closely with her longtime studio manager and artistic facilitator, Charlotte Hollinshead, who leads the team that has been helping to support and nurture her creative endeavours since 1999.

“The nomination is phenomenal,” Ms Hollinshead told The Guardian in May. “It’s seismic. Someone said to me the other day, ‘It’s like someone’s just thrown a bomb into the Turner prize’ – and it is like that. A good bomb.”

Alongside her sculptural work, Kalu also creates large-scale abstract drawings made with similar vigorous and rhythmic lines.

Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is Britain’s best-known art prize. It is awarded annually to an artist born or working in the UK for work completed over the previous year.

This year, Kalu beat out Baghdad-born painter Sami, Korean-Canadian artist Zadie Xa, and photographer Rene Matić, who at 28 is the second-youngest artist ever to be shortlisted for the Turner. The other nominees will receive £10,000 each.

Sami was the favourite to win after receiving the nod for his exhibition After the Storm: Mohammed Sami at Blenheim Palace. It comprised 14 paintings that respond to Winston Churchill’s birthplace and contain “hints and references to conflict in Iraq”.

The work of Korean-Canadian artist Xa falls into a mystical trend in contemporary art. “Merging land and seascape in hallucinatory compositions rooted in the shamanic traditions of her Korean heritage,” wrote Mark Hudson.

Matić was the only photographer to be shortlisted for the prize. Their photographs of political demonstrations and queer subculture were influenced by their experience growing up queer and mixed-race in Peterborough.

In a video that accompanies their art, Matić – who has English, Irish and Saint Lucian heritage – describes Blackness and whiteness as being “at war” within their body.

On the Turner Prize 2025 jury, alongside Farquharson were independent curator Andrew Bonacina, director of Liverpool Biennial Sam Lackey, associate curator of modern and contemporary projects at the National Gallery Priyesh Mistry, and Habda Rashid, who is the senior curator of modern and contemporary art at Fitzwilliam Museum.

Kalu joins a revered list of winners including sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor (1991), artist Damien Hirst (1995), filmmaker Sir Steve McQueen (1999), and Scottish artist Jasleen Kaur, whose doily-clad car helped to clinch her win last year.

A group show of the 2025 shortlisted artists’ work is running at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford until 22 February 2026.

Trump ramps up tourist checks with plans for mandatory social media inspections

Football fans heading for the 2026 World Cup, as well as other British travellers planning visits to the US, will soon have to provide details of their social media activity going back five years.

The demand is included in a new document from the Department of Homeland Security setting out how it plans to comply with President Trump’s demand that foreign visitors should be “vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible”.

At present the application form for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta) invites prospective visitors to reveal their social media accounts, but this is not mandatory.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials may inspect phone belonging to arriving travellers. According to reports, some tourists have been turned away for making unfavourable comments about Donald Trump and vice-president J D Vance.

Soon an applicant’s social media activity could be screened in advance, with officials deciding whether or not to issue an Esta to the traveller.

In the document, to be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday 10 December, US Customs and Border Protection says: “CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an Esta application.

“The data element will require Esta applicants to provide their social media from the last five years.”

Officials are seeking comments from organisations and individuals on the plan.

A leading travel industry figure has deplored the demand. Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “These barriers will hit UK travel to the USA hard. History shows us that when a destination becomes harder to reach, British holidaymakers simply go elsewhere.

“Right now, US bookings are up 20 per cent across our membership, driven by events like the football World Cup, but new obstacles could quickly reverse that trend.”

Other proposals in the document include a plan to end applications via the Esta website – requiring all applicants to use the app instead.

The document says: “CBP believes that moving to a mobile-only approach for Esta submissions will both enhance security and improve efficiency.

“Poor-quality image uploads to the Esta website have resulted in applicants bypassing the facial comparison screening.

“CBP believes that travelers are aware of this vulnerability and have begun to exploit it by purposely uploading poor quality images to avoid detection.

“Additionally, CBP continues to struggle with fraudulent third-party websites. Third-party fraudulent websites charge travelers exorbitant fees to process an application, where many of these applications may never be processed by CBP, resulting in a traveler being unable to board a US-bound plane.”

In addition, the authorities propose a new system to confirm that short-term visitors have left the country – should their departure not be reported through the normal channels such as airline data.

The plan is: “CBP will use geolocation services to confirm that the traveler reporting their departure is outside the United States, as well as, run ‘liveness detection’ software to determine that the selfie photo is a live photo.”

Read more: Will Great British Railways actually make any difference to my journey?

Liverpool prove that Arne Slot is the true winner in the Mo Salah saga

A penalty to win it at San Siro. Perhaps Mohamed Salah, wherever he was watching it, reflected that he could have been taking it. Instead, with the Egyptian in exile, it was Dominik Szoboszlai, who first took his spot on the right wing and now his role as the spot-kick specialist, who dispatched it brilliantly.

And this was a brilliant win for Arne Slot, a brilliant night for Liverpool. Salah missed it and missed the chance to secure a famous victory. Because what started out as the calm after the storm, a quietly ordered performance, became something more. Liverpool have beaten Arsenal and Real Madrid, but the context made this their best result of the season.

Generous as the awarding of the penalty was, it produced an endorsement of a beleaguered manager. Internazionale, Champions League finalists last season, unbeaten in 18 group-stage games at San Siro, were defeated by the depleted. Slot showed he could win in Milan without Salah; without a host of others, too. His name echoed from the top tiers of one of Europe’s great grounds, chanted by the Liverpool supporters. In a week when Slot has been tested, he emerged triumphant and even popular.

“The fans sing for me, that means a lot,” he added. And while he said it was not about him, Salah ensured it was. Slot drew a response from his players. Each performed in a manner to suggest that he, unlike Salah, still has a relationship with the head coach. There was a collective commitment, players putting the team first. No one was thrown under the bus, though some seemed willing to throw themselves in front of shots. Liverpool looked less like a club in crisis than a team with a point to prove.

And Slot showed his flexibility. This was an old-school European performance. It had the air of an away game overseen by Rafa Benitez or Gerard Houllier, not Slot.

If he has had plenty of other things to occupy him in the last few days, the Dutchman found time to construct a different game plan. He showed he can change. Lacking Salah or anyone remotely resembling a winger, he opted for a diamond of four central midfielders. There was a pragmatism to the rethink; even using Alexis Mac Allister at the tip of the diamond got Szoboszlai’s running power on the right. In a new formation, Curtis Jones was the outstanding player on the pitch.

Liverpool showed they could defend. They have conceded 38 goals this season but shut out Serie A’s top scorers. Apart from a terrific save from Alisson on the stroke of half time, repelling Lautaro Martinez’s header, the goalkeeper was rarely tested. His colleagues saw to that. “I would like to highlight one who has been highlighted in a negative way, and that is Ibou Konate,” said Slot. “He played an outstanding game against two very good strikers,” said Slot. Liverpool had concentration, determination, organisation, qualities they have not always combined this season. “The players showed great mentality,” said Slot.

There was something symbolic that it was Szoboszlai, Liverpool’s player of the season, who gave them their reward. “It is special what he is doing physically and also football-wise,” said Slot. He stood up in a difficult moment.” Szoboszlai had never taken a spot-kick in a game for Liverpool before but he fired this into the roof of the net.

The gentlest of tugs had scarcely been the wisest, Alessandro Bastoni grabbing Florian Wirtz’s shirt. Referee Felix Zwayer viewed the damning still on a monitor. “We lost the game on a big incident,” rued Inter manager Cristian Chivu. Slot concurred, to some extent. “If that was a penalty, we could have got 10 this season,” he said. But he feels unlucky over the course of the campaign. If VAR cost Liverpool a goal on the night, it afforded them one.

Briefly, Liverpool thought they had a first-half lead. Konate had what seemed a redemptive goal ruled out, with the ball coming to him via Hugo Ekitike’s arm; it took an interminably long VAR review to disallow it. It stemmed from Szoboszlai’s corner but, to borrow from Slot’s language, Liverpool were to end with a positive set-piece balance when the Hungarian converted from 12 yards.

In a game of patience, they had other chances. Yann Sommer was the busier goalkeeper, denying Jones and Ryan Gravenberch in the space of a few seconds in the opening 20 minutes. When the substitute Conor Bradley threatened, Sommer made a near-post save. Liverpool finished stronger, and their other replacement made a difference. Slot had little in reserve. “We had only 13 outfield players available with Premier League or Champions League experience,” he added.

Like Bradley, Wirtz began on the bench. This was not a cue for a Salah-esque strop from the £100m man. He instead came on for Alexander Isak, who started alongside Ekitike for just the second time; typically, the Frenchman looked fitter and sharper. If Isak had completed the 90 minutes, maybe he would have been on spot-kick duties. Instead, Szoboszlai stepped up.

He took his chance but this was a missed opportunity for Inter. They lacked urgency, misplaced too many passes, incurred a second straight Champions League defeat. While Liverpool had suffered from injuries before the game, Inter during it. They lost Hakan Calhanoglu after 10 minutes and Francesco Acerbi on the half-hour. Yet Inter still could have done more to expose Liverpool’s vulnerabilities.

Instead, Slot was to emerge far stronger. A team that had lost nine games in a run of 12 are now unbeaten in four. That began with Salah being dropped. Slot made a major decision then, a second when leaving Salah at home because of his explosive comments at Leeds. On both counts, he looks right.

Simon Cowell is a man out of time in his sad, bleak Netflix show

Simon Cowell arrives on a jet ski, his face gone berserk. His cheeks are plumped, his teeth blinding. His new Netflix show, he tells us, is his last chance. “If I can’t get it right,” he says, “I’ll have to accept that I’ve lost whatever I had before.” It was oh so simple in his heyday. You could just grab a handful of boys off a street corner, wax them down and Topman their wardrobes, ship them to a recording studio in Sweden, and get a top five hit. Yes, often they ended up cursed to the Butlins circuit once the attention died down, or got jobs as fork-lift drivers or OnlyFans models or Celebrity Big Brother contestants. But god it was easy. When did it all go sideways?

Simon Cowell: The Next Act, which launches on Netflix today, follows the pop mogul as he attempts to put together a new boyband. But don’t let the fly-on-the-wall, talking-head docuseries sheen fool you – this is your standard X Factor riff. It’s awash in producer-orchestrated drama and the storytelling tropes that made that show appointment viewing on Saturday nights 10 or 15 years ago, but which now seem hoary and geriatric, like something vaguely offensive once said by Louis Walsh. He even surrounds himself with low-wattage versions of Nicole Scherzinger or Cheryl: there’s the Little Mix songwriter Kamille, and another songwriter who looks a bit like Jason Schwartzman with a ponytail. He’s even dragged Pete Waterman out of the cupboard he’s been locked in for the last few decades.

Different, though, is the sense of race-against-the-clock fatalism that Cowell now exhibits. I do believe him when he says he thinks it might all be over. The X Factor stopped making real superstars years before its “resting” in 2019. Britain’s Got Talent and its American equivalent do still exist, but in that liminal, vaguely nefarious way that somehow kept the lights on at WH Smith for years. And gone is the lucrative pop entrepreneurialism that made Cowell’s name (before shaping the careers of talent show acts including One Direction and Leona Lewis, he foisted the likes of Robson & Jerome and Westlife on an unsuspecting public). He is a man out of time, Botoxed to oblivion, and suddenly aware that everything everywhere must come to an end.

But Simon Cowell: The Next Act only has the pretence of straight-talking. It reminded me often of Netflix’s recent Victoria Beckham docuseries, which skirted around anything remotely interesting or dicey in favour of brand polishing and faux honesty. The opening scenes of the series find Cowell and his team sent into crisis mode after only 160 people apply to audition for his new boyband – a sharp downturn from the time thousands of randoms would descend on Britain’s convention centres for the chance of being judged by Sharon Osbourne. Cowell embarks on a sad Gen-Z press blitz as a result. He joins TikTok, takes part in promotional interviews with a raft of influencers, sits down with Diary of a CEO’s Steven Bartlett. It’d make more sense for him to utilise some of his connections – maybe get Zayn Malik or Jade Thirlwall on the blower. Then again, all those bridges seemed to have been burnt years ago.

Initially, the show leans into its slightly humiliating energy, a man of the Noughties reduced to debasing himself for the attention of teenage pip-squeaks. But it quickly skirts off this: the boys do eventually materialise, with fluffy haircuts and moldable warbles, and Cowell returns to his position as benevolent king-maker. The “is he past-it” stuff was a mere plot point, a quick injection of suspense just like in the old days. Even One Direction’s Liam Payne meeting a horrible end at the age of 31 – which occurs in the middle of filming – isn’t dramatic enough to stop the Cowell train from thundering on.

Payne’s death does, however, change the temperature of the show. It happens in episode three, the screen fading to black dramatically, in that reality TV shorthand that suggests “something bad is about to happen”. Cowell pauses production. He takes six days off. Upon his return, he questions whether he should carry on with the project. His decision to keep going comes off like a punchline to a very dark joke. “I can’t take this opportunity away from them,” he says. Cowell’s pledged to try to make these boys stars – he can’t possibly pull it back now, can he? What a horrible thing to do to them, he reckons.

To try and mitigate further disaster, he hosts a moodily lit get-together with the 30 or so boys in for a chance of getting into Cowell’s eventual band, as well as their parents. He insists they ask him any question and share any lingering worries they might have, and he’ll answer honestly. The questions we see aren’t particularly probing. One aspiring musician asks Cowell if the boyband really stands a chance of success. “It’s 50/50,” Cowell says. One parent asks Cowell what he’d say to his own son if he were in a similar position to theirs. Cowell’s answer is illuminating. He starts to say that, first of all, he’d consider if he thought his son could hack it. “Honestly, do I really, really believe my son can deal with what comes when you become well known?” he asks. “Your life changes. There is no privacy.” A shift then occurs. Cowell, practically mid-sentence, begins to talk about their sons instead of his own. “They’re gonna be looked after. I’ve always prided myself that I do care about the people I work with – genuinely care – and if we’re gonna go forward with the boys, it will be with my absolute belief and support. If you have concerns about anything, call me.”

The difference here, that Cowell very skillfully deflects, is that Cowell’s son wouldn’t be in a position like their sons. Historically, the grisly paradox of the bands that Cowell shepherded to success – as well as those brought to fame by his contemporaries like Louis Walsh or Simon Fuller – was that many of them were working-class strivers with few other chances for a professional leg-up. Many came from the north of England, had distinct accents, or were born into broken homes. Few had pre-existing industry connections, or practical guidance that matched their ambition.

There’s no real understanding in these moments of what Cowell is asking of these starry-eyed teenagers and their parents. What he’s asking them to, if they really felt it best, pass up. “He must have just felt so much pressure,” an 18-year-old boyband hopeful named Hendrick tells his dad, in the wake of Payne’s death. His father offers a gentle response: “Once you’re in the limelight, and you’ve got all those people watching you all the time, it might get you down from time to time. You just don’t know, do you?” It’s a simplified interpretation of what happened to Payne – as well as a very paternal bit of fence-sitting that pays lip service to horror, but not so much that he looks as if he’s meddling in his son’s decision-making. Because, ultimately, Simon Cowell: The Next Act is a platform, an opportunity, a chance at something extraordinary. And that, perhaps, is the most illuminating thing about all of this. It’s irrelevant whether Cowell is a has-been or not, because there will always be a pipeline of dreamers without money or resources, who will weigh up the risks of talent-show fame and decide to bite. Liam Payne be damned. Because, ultimately, what other option is there?

‘Simon Cowell: The Next Act’ is streaming on Netflix

From bean tech to bespoke brews, discover the ultimate coffee machine

There aren’t many Christmas gifts that are guaranteed to be used every day, unless you opt for a toothbrush. Which to be honest, isn’t the most exciting present to rip open on Christmas morning. Unlike a brand new, stylish and sleek coffee machine.

De’Longhi’s stellar Rivelia system will steal the show in any kitchen it calls home. Its bean-to-cup system gives you at-home coffee that’s as delicious as the one made by your favourite barista, and also offers a more sustainable option, that feels as good as it tastes. So whether you’re looking for your first machine, or want to upgrade your existing coffee set-up, here’s why this market-leading crema-de-la-crop needs to be top of your 2025 Christmas list…

Bean-to-cup machines are the most sustainable way to enjoy coffee, with no single-use coffee pods, minimal packaging and biodegradable grounds that you can throw straight into your compost bin. Bean-to-cup also serves up the fullest flavour, whatever coffee you’re in the mood for. And if that preference tends to change, the Rivelia’s interchangeable bean hoppers mean you can flip between your I-need-to-wake-up-in-the-next-two-minutes espresso and leisurely afternoon decaf with ease.

The Rivelia comes equipped with Bean Adapt technology as well as a how-to guide, to make it super simple to get the best out of your beans. The guide helps you find the right grind, extraction temperature and aroma intensity for the specific blend and roast, all of which means that you get to enjoy the most perfect, personally crafted coffee. You can even name each bag of beans entered for future caffeine (or non-caffeine) hits.

With four user profiles, the Rivelia can get to know everyone in your household and their coffee preferences, even better than Dan from the local coffee shop. And he knows them well. Nothing is set in stone though: you can always tweak your order when needed. Is it the kind of day that demands an extra shot? Throw one in. Going large and savouring a long coffee in the garden this morning? Not a problem, the Rivelia lets you customise away.

Did you get the nativity tickets? Where are the Christmas lights? Have you pre-ordered the turkey? If your pre-Christmas to-do list is already sixteen pages long and you can’t cope with another question, the De’Longhi Rivelia can take one decision off your plate. Pre-programmed choices include a classic flat white, on-trend cortado, and trusty Americano among many others (16 in total). Hot water and milk-only options are available and when the sun finally comes out again, the Rivelia can do its magic on iced coffee choices too. Simply hit the button, and breathe.

The Rivelia’s LatteCrema carafe creates hot milk and milk foam to give the sort of silky-smooth finish you normally associate with a ten minute queue and a six quid bill. Now, you can get the same barista-style experience at home, whilst lolling in your kitchen in your slippers. Want an alternative milk option? Not a problem; the Rivelia is compatible with oat, soy and coconut milk too.

How clever is this? If you tend to start your day with a flat white but crave the pep of an espresso by mid-morning, your Rivelia will learn that. Soon it will know your personal preferences and update its screen to show the drink that you’re likely to fancy, at the time that you fancy it. It’s almost as if you have your own barista hanging out in your kitchen (without the awkwardness when you turn up bleary-eyed in your dressing gown).

It’s not just flavour and sustainability it excels at: the Rivelia’s sleek look means that it’s a design win for any stylish home too. And it’s easy to keep it looking and working at its best. The De’Longhi Rivelia rinses automatically and is easy to wash by hand (bonus: some parts will go in the dishwasher), with the brewing unit simple to remove and rinse too. All you need to do is descale it regularly (frequency depends on water hardness in your area), plus you can register your machine for a two-year guarantee, for even more peace of mind.

To find out more about the Rivelia and buy your machine, visit Delonghi

Megaquake warning issued along 800-miles of Japan coastline

Japan’s weather agency has issued its highest-level warning that a megaquake could follow Monday’s 7.5-magnitude tremor.

Authorities urged anyone living near the Pacific coast to remain vigilant throughout the coming week and to prepare evacuation plans in case they need to flee their homes.

The warning covers approximately 800 miles (1,300 kilometres), stretching from Japan’s northeastern coast from Chiba, just east of Tokyo, to Hokkaido.

Monday night’s earthquake injured at least 51 people, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Eleven of them are from Hokkaido, 36 are in Aomori, and four are in Iwate prefecture. Seven were considered severe.

Monday night’s earthquake also triggered widespread tsunami warnings, with waves of up to 70cm reported in several coastal communities.

All alerts were later lifted, and nuclear power plants across northeastern Japan said urgent inspections showed they were not adversely impacted.

The quake struck at around 11.15pm in the Pacific Ocean, roughly 50 miles off the coast of Aomori.

Tuesday’s notice was the first time this top-tier alert has been issued since the warning system was launched in 2022.

Trump suffers yet another election defeat after Miami elects first Democratic mayor in nearly 30 years

President Donald Trump has suffered another election blow, this time in his own backyard of Florida after Miami elected Democrat Eileen Higgins to be its new mayor, ending a three decade losing streak for her party.

Higgins will become the first woman to lead Miami, a Hispanic-majority city that was swayed by her attacks on the president’s crackdown on undocumented migrants and mass deportation push.

Trump spent Tuesday in Pennsylvania on the first leg of an “Affordability Tour” intended to reassure Americans about the state of the economy, in which he called cost of living concerns a “hoax”, blustered about the success of his first 10 months back in the White House, engaged in vicious anti-immigrant rhetoric and joked about his administration’s deadly strikes on alleged drug boats off Central America.

“I can’t say ‘affordability hoax’ because I agree, the prices were too high,” the president told his Mount Pocono crowd. “But they use the word ‘affordability’ and that’s their only word… our prices are coming down.”

Trump subsequently took to Truth Social to attack The New York Times for reporting negatively about his health, suggesting the newspaper’s coverage was “seditious, perhaps even treasonous.”