The prophet and the mysterious death of Charmain Speirs

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2 hours ago

April 12, 2026

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A BBC Disclosure investigation has uncovered significant questions about what happened at the hotel where Charmain died.

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Essex v Somerset, Notts v Glamorgan and more: county cricket, day three – live | County Championship

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1 hour ago

April 12, 2026

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Key events

Mike Bennett is still our honorary Hove correspondent: “Hello once again from the very sunny but slightly breezy County Ground down here. It feels like today is going to be the best batting conditions of the match – the ball was still carrying appreciatively during the closing hour last night and Rob Yates and Kai Smith were both looking pretty solid.

“The forecast for tomorrow has been upgraded from showers to glorious sunshine so you’d think Warks will be looking to bat for at least the first two sessions and/or another 150 runs to be safe. Early wickets today definitely required if Sussex are to have any tilt at the win, so another good chance for Robinson and Crocombe to impress the England setup.”

Weather watch

Rain at Canterbury and Old Trafford (although there is now bright sunshine here) but elsewhere, we’re up and running.

The Met office advice, wear a coat: “a mix of sunshine and blustery showers, the showers locally heavy with hail and thunder. Remaining windy, particularly in the northwest with coastal gales. Feeling rather cool overall.”

Arrive at Old Trafford just in time to see three balls before the rain swirls down.

The second new ball is due this morning at The Oval, where Rishi Patel’s century has been vital in Leicetershire’s stout resistence.

“It was a good challenge today and I enjoyed it. Jake Weatherald’s intent at the top of the order is incredible and that took a lot of pressure off me.

“We had a really good partnership and everything begins to get a bit easier once that happens. Surrey have a good bowling attack, with a lot of good balls in them, so we had to be patient too but it is a lovely pitch to bat on and at a big ground like this it is nice to do well.”

Unbeaten on 133: Rishi Patel Photograph: John Mallett/ProSports/Shutterstock

Leicestershire gave Surrey a shock at the Oval, defying, not collapsing in the face of 520. Rishi Patel’s 133 not out, his first century in Division One, was a Midlands masterpiece, careful and distinguished, while Jake Weatherald whizz-banged at the other end for 96. Lewis Hill, dropped on five, finished 60 not out as Surrey’s attack toiled away.

Northants squashed Kent under a mighty Doctor Martens, amassing 684 for two, thanks to career-bests 261 from Luke Procter and 153 from Calvin Harrison. The second ball of the morning was four wides, and so it went on, the attack flayed to all four corners of the wind. Nathan McSweeney reached his hundred with a six and Northants’ top four all had hundreds for the first time in history. Kent then subsided to 119 for six, including Zak Crawley for 26.

Ollie Robinson and Jack Carson inched Sussex towards 200 at Hove after they were in deep trouble at 130 for eight. Fynn Hudson-Prentice then ruined the start of Warwickshire’s second innings with three wickets in nine balls, but Rob Yates added an unbeaten, and vital, 75 in a low-scoring game.

Stand-in captain Craig Overton used flair and fortitude to put Somerset in a dominant position at Chelmsford with his highest first-class score of 141. He and Will Smeed (39), who made his first-class debut as an injury substitute three years after retiring from first-class cricket (before having played a game) added 118. Paul Walter and Matt Critchley then both hit half-centuries to move Essex towards parity.

Glamorgan felt the might of the county champions at Trent Bridge, where Fergus O’Neill and Brett Hutton rattled through their remaining six wickets in just over an hour, to leave them naked for 113. Ben Duckett was run out for one, charging down the pitch for a hasty single, but Joe Clarke and Ben Slater batted Nottinghamshire to safety and beyond, a lead of 450 at stumps.

At Chester le Street, Ben McKinney was finally out for 244, the seventh highest score by a Durham player. There was a century too for David Bedingham before the declaration came at 605 for five. Kemar Roach and Ben Raine grabbed three wickets each as Gloucestershire struggled to 168 for eight.

The covers were on and off at Old Trafford, where Derbyshire’s Brooke Guest reached his fifty in sudden sunshine, five overs left in the day, a handful of hardy supporters still buttoned into their seats. Lancashire took only took two wickets all day, and dropped a few catches, but Mitch Stanley thrilled with an aggressive spell after lunch, removing Matthew Montgomery for 46. Captain Harry Came finally fell for 83, bowled by Jimmy Anderson, whose ire had been raised the ball before by four wanton overthrows.

Middlesex’s last four batters hauled them towards 200 at Lord’s. Jake Libby (79) and the 19-year-old Dan Lategan, with a sparky 65, then made batting look easy, before Worcestershire collapsed, losing six for 19 before stumps. Ryan Higgins took four for 53.

Hampshire finished on top of a rainy day at Headingley where Yorkshire lost six for 40, as Kyle Abbott (four for 49) charged through them after lunch.

DIVISION ONE

Chelmsford: Essex 149 and 131-3 v Somerset 348

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 279 and 284-9 v Glamorgan 113

The Oval: Surrey 520 v Leicestershire 350-3

Hove: Sussex 204 v Warwickshire 267 and 154-5

Headingley: Yorkshire 177 v Hampshire 251 and 93-2

DIVISION TWO

Bristol: Gloucestershire 168-8 v Durham 605-5dec

Canterbury: Kent 119-6 v Northamptonshire 684-2dec

Old Trafford: Lancashire 351 v Derbyshire 235-3

Lord’s: Middlesex 183 v Worcestershire 191 and 200-7

Preamble

here

Good morning! Rain is skitting about Manchester this morning – the good news is the grass looks very lush, not so promising for events at Old Trafford. Lots of interest around the grounds today, and things may get polished off at Chelmsford, Trent Bridge, Hove, Durham and Canterbury, where Kent are in a particular pickle.

Play starts at 11am, grab a brew and join us.

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Arsenal angst, De Zerbi targets Spurs revival, Union Berlin appoint first female head coach – matchday live | Football

Published

3 hours ago

April 12, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

Key events

Barry runs: The London Landmarks Half Marathon gets under way in a couple of minutes. We’ll try and keep an eye on Barry’s progress and let you know how he gets on.

Union Berlin appoint first female coach in Europe’s top five leagues

Union Berlin have made Marie-Louise Eta the first woman to manage a men’s side in one of Europe’s top five leagues, as she was appointed interim head coach until the end of the season.

Eta replaces Steffen Baumgart who, along with his coaching staff, was dismissed after a 3-1 defeat at FC Heidenheim on Saturday. That left Union in the lower part of the Bundesliga table, sitting in 11th place with 32 points.

Eta made history in November 2023 when she became the first female assistant coach in the German top flight with Union. She later became the first woman to lead a Bundesliga team from the touchline during a 1-0 win over Darmstadt in January 2024, while then-manager Nenad Bjelica served a suspension.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta after her appointment.

“I am delighted the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations. I am convinced that we will secure the crucial points.”

Guardian sport’s very own Barry Glendenning is running the London Landmarks Half-Marathon this morning to raise money for the Great Ormond Street hospital children’s charity. He’s already more than quadrupled his original target of £13,100 but would be grateful for any more donations in the final moments before the race because, well, it’s a brilliant cause and here at Guardian Towers we think he needs every bit of motivation he can get. If you can, donate here.

Go well, Barry. Illustration: Gary Neill

This is a good read from Tom Garry on the curiously-timed women’s international break. With the WSL season reaching its climax and the weather improving for fans, an 11-day window for up to three international fixtures seems to take the wind out of the domestic league’s sails.

Jamie Jackson

More from Jamie Jackson/Manchester City here – as Pep Guardiola was asked about Rayan Cherki’s controversial mid-match shirt-swap with an opponent.

Rayan Cherki impressed when Manchester City beat Liverpool 4-0 to reach the FA Cup semi-final but when replaced late on the Frenchman momentarily wore the shirt of Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike, who is a friend. With Cherki also having also showboated on occasion during games, Guardiola was asked his opinion of the 22-year-old.

“I think he’s a little bit of a free soul,” said Guardiola. “You have to understand, every player is completely different. He’s one of the most unbelievably talented players I’ve seen. Just in the future, hopefully he can stay [here] for longer, because he has the attributes to be one of the top players. One of his attributes is difficult to find – in difficult moments, with a lot of pressure, he plays like he is in a friendly game.

“So in the future, what will be his behaviour: to stay humble enough, to stay and work for the team?”

I know criticism of Arteta for supposed negativity is widespread, but I think this comment hits the nail on the head.

Yesterday may have been Arsenal’s first league defeat since January but they’ve now lost three of their past four in all competitions.

Arsenal’s angst has happened because they’ve decided to try to avoid defeat instead of going for the win, I really don’t understand Arteta’s mindset, you’re at home so attack, you’ll never score if you’re playing too slow or ponderous. Maybe after the Champions League this week he’ll have a change of tactics at the Etihad, because if he doesn’t they’ll get beaten easily and the title will be out of their hands and into City’s.

Jamie Jackson

Our reporter Jamie Jackson has been speaking to Manchester City’s goalkeeper:

Ahead of Manchester City’s trip to Chelsea, Gianluigi Donnarumma is aware of the challenge that may await at Stamford Bridge. “It’s always going to be a complicated game,” he said. “It will be a difficult because going there to play is never easy. We hope to get a great result because it’s very important for us for the title race.”

Arsenal’s defeat by Bournemouth dented the Gunners’ title quest, with City able to move within three points with a game in hand by beating them at home next Sunday if they win today at Stamford Bridge. “The destiny [of the title] is no longer in our hands, but we will try to hang on until the end and put pressure on them. These two games for us are important,” said the Italian.

On working under Pep Guardiola, Donnnarumma added: “I think until you live it, you will never understand. Until you experience him, you can’t understand the importance he has and the effect he has on a team. Sometimes you are shocked, you are enchanted, sometimes to hear him speak, to prepare a game tactically. I am very lucky in my career to be coached by him.”

Jumping for joy: Gianluigi Donnarumma of Manchester City. Photograph: Dave Thompson/AP

Arsenal: There’s only one place to start when it comes to reacting to yesterday’s action and that’s at the Emirates. After a lacklustre start it looked like the Gunners would find a way to win when Viktor Gyökeres levelled from the penalty spot, after Junior Kroupi’s early strike, but Arsenal remained flat and lacking in ideas. It was a fine goal from Alex Scott that settled the game (how many suitors will the English midfielder have this summer, by the way?) with Arteta describing it as “a big punch to the face” and a “painful day”.

“There’s no grey areas,” he said. “We need to be very, very, very strong and determined to approach it in a different way than we’ve done today, especially when the game wasn’t going our way. There’s a lot, a lot, a lot on our plate to look at ourselves.”

Preamble

Morning all and welcome to Sunday’s matchday live – and what a Sunday it could be in the Premier League, with potential consequences for the relegation fight, the battle for Champions League qualification and the title race. Oh, and whatever Crystal Palace v Newcastle means. After Arsenal’s catastrophe at home to Bournemouth, can Manchester City capitalise with a win at Chelsea? Can Nottingham Forest and Tottenham respond to West Ham’s thumping win on Friday night? And do Aston Villa have anything left in the tank to revive their top five ambitions?

As always, we’ll be bringing you all the reaction from Saturday and buildup to today’s fixtures. Feel free to drop us an email with your thoughts on the weekend so far, or predictions of what’s to come.

Let’s get straight into it, shall we? I’ll begin by plugging this Paul MacInnes piece from the Emirates yesterday, where many of Arsenal’s flaws were exposed.

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