Keyword – Food
Trefwoorden – Food, Autumn food and drink, Fruit, Eggs, Stanley Tucci, Vegetables, Meat, Dessert
Title – The start of autumn is the perfect time to turn to retro comfort food | Food | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/felicity-cloake
Link – The start of autumn is the perfect time to turn to retro comfort food | Food | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-10T13:17:27.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/sep/09/the-start-of-the-new-season-is-the-perfect-time-to-turn-to-retro-comfort-food-with-a-twist

L ast weekend, my family congregated at a restaurant in Edinburgh to celebrate my parents’ diamond wedding anniversary. Good though the meal was, the farewell lunch my mum prepared the next day sparked more in the way of fond reminiscence. With her retro feast of chicken kiev, oven chips and peas, we could almost have been back around our kitchen table 30 years ago (in those days, though, my mum would never have allowed the younger generation to add ketchup).

It’s also the kind of meal that feels apt for the change of season, for the first weeks back at school or work, when everyone’s finding their feet and wants something easy and familiar. Thomasina Miers’ fish fingers and mushy peas fit the bill, too, as does Rowley Leigh’s fish pie and Tim Hayward’s nan’s corned beef, with yet more chips and peas . If all that’s too much of a good thing, my own corned beef hash might appeal instead? For a more specifically Scottish take on that combination, I love Colman Andrews’ idea of adding black pudding to classic mince and tatties (Rachel Roddy’s hearty cheese and chip omelette , meanwhile, would have been brilliant if we’d actually had any chips left over – time may move on, but teenagers don’t change).

In the same vein, Angela Hartnett’s take on sausage and beans has a bit more of an Italian feel than the kind we used to eat from a tin, and Rachel’s rich sausage ragu looks a cut above our own 1990s spag bol; also on the Italian theme, Stanley Tucci’s father’s eggs in tomato sauce (pictured top). But he and Rachel may wish to look away at the mention of Chris Russell’s 1960s-style spaghetti with fried eggs ; perhaps a little less authentic, but no less delicious.

Although Chinese restaurants were an occasional treat, I’m not sure we ever ate fried rice at home, but Allegra McEvedy’s versatile recipe feels cut from the same simple, satisfying cloth. As does Kay Plunkett-Hogge’s pad krapow moo and Meera Sodha’s buttery mustard greens with corn roti . Likewise, though it didn’t feature in my childhood, Jacob Kenedy’s grandmother’s recipe for sauerkraut and pork bake sounds intriguing enough to become part of my adult repertoire.

We had rhubarb crumble for pudding on that Sunday, but on a weekday, you might prefer a quick and easy bowl of sliced bananas and cold custard. That said, if you have more time on your hands, Ruby Tandoh has a rather fancy baked version , or you could even – whisper it – opt for a dish of butterscotch Angel Delight. Sadly, it seems we don’t have a recipe for a homemade version of the latter (though Claire Ptak’s butterscotch cream looks like a rather decadent substitute) – once I’ve unpacked from my trip, it might well prove a new project for a new term. Watch this space.

My week in food

Takes the biscuit | Iced shortbread sandwiches, or empire biscuits, are rarely seen outside Scotland, despite the fact that these cousins of the linzer cookie were known throughout the UK as German biscuits until the outbreak of the first world war (and continue to carry that name in Northern Ireland, or so I’m told). If they’ve been renamed once, it seems reasonable to suggest that they might be so again … In any case, I had such an enjoyable example from the Boardwalk Beach Club at Silverknowes, in Edinburgh, that I’m determined to have a go myself .

Plum job | My icebox is full of plums, and one of the benefits of living alone is that I am quite sure no one has eaten them; in fact, I love them so much that I am miserly about their consumption. The čačanska najbolja and golden transparent gages I bought from the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale in Kent are too good not to eat from the hand, but the Welsh denbigh cooking variety proved delicious in an oat and plum knickerbocker recipe from Jeremy Lee’s new book, Kitchening . I’m also so tempted by the pork and plum meatballs in Ed Smith’s latest Rocket & Squash newsletter that I might seek out more punnets before they disappear for another year.

Slop for dinner | I’m not alone in finding the uncanny images proliferating in food advertising less than appetising. But I was, perhaps naively, startled to discover that AI has made its way on to our plates, too. According to a piece in the New Yorker (£), some pretty high-end restaurants are using it for inspiration, to generate “images and ideas foreign to classically trained chefs by pulling ingredient pairings and plating ideas from across the world”. Given that posters and flyers are already starting to look the same, I find this a bleak prospect for our palates.

More retro delights | I was recently given 15 issues of the Fanny and Johnnie Cradock Cookery Programme , “from concept to the last sprig of garnish”. Originally published in weekly parts during the early 1970s, it was found by a friend in a Suffolk charity shop. As anyone familiar with Fanny’s work might guess, the food styling is what caught her eye (sauteed pigeon breasts accessorised by wings in full feather, anyone?), but a cursory glance reveals greater treasure within, from W Somerset Maugham’s cook’s recipe for avocado ice-cream to a striking egg dish entitled L’oeuf monstrueux, or How to Show Off Very Easily. I’m looking forward to cooking my way through it, albeit selectively. In the meantime, I’m reminded of Cradock’s book Coping With Christmas, recently reissued and for which I wrote a foreword. If you happen to be in the mood for an utterly OTT celebration this year, I note that it is currently on offer online at a rather insulting 40% off .

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Keyword – US news
Trefwoorden – Donald Trump, Trump tariffs, Canada, Mark Carney, Americas, US news, Tariffs, World news, US politics
Title – Canada helped save the bald eagle from near extinction in the US – does the White House know? | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/leyland-cecco
Link – Canada helped save the bald eagle from near extinction in the US – does the White House know? | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-10T13:00:36.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/10/bald-eagle-us-canada-trade-war

In late August, the White House posted a real photograph on social media of a bald eagle standing atop the limp neck of a Canada goose.

The raptor presses the goose’s face into the grey winter slush. With its stark white head and brilliant yellow talons, the eagle looks victorious and defiant.

As trade talks failed and tensions between Canada and the US rose, the image, viewed millions of times, apparently proved irresistible to the social media handlers at the White House for sending a clear message: the United States could not be challenged by Canada.

But experts say the bald eagle, long prized by Americans as a symbol even before becoming the country’s national bird in 2024, came perilously close to disappearing from much of the country – and that it was neighbouring Canada that played a critical role in its recovery, even going as far as to fly juvenile eagles south by plane to return them to US skies.

As many as half a million bald eagles once thrived before the European settlement of North America, near large bodies of open water, where they feasted on the abundant fish and nested in towering trees.

The eagle’s hulking, majestic presence left an imprint on the founders of the modern United States, who placed the bird on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782. (The use of the word “bald” doesn’t not mean hairless. Instead, it comes derives from the Middle English word “balde” or “balled” which means marked by a white blaze.)

But crisis struck, as rapidly expanding settlements put eagles on a collision course with humans. “Bald eagles were seen by some as competitors for fish resources and a threat to their livestock and wild game by others,” said David Bird, a professor emeritus of wildlife biology at McGill University in Montreal. “None of those things turned out to be true in the end.”

Officials initially offered 50 cents for a pair of eagle feet, later raising the bounty to $2 by 1949. More than 100,000 bald eagles were killed under the bounty program until it was discontinued in 1953.

Meanwhile, a synthetic chemical compound was having an unexpected effect on wildlife. DDT, first produced on a large scale to combat malaria and then widely applied after the second world war to fight pests, was accumulating in the fatty tissues of animals – particularly in predators at the top of the food chain. In birds of prey, the result was devastating: eggshells became so thin and brittle that many eggs broke before they could hatch. The effects inspired Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring , the 1962 book that helped catalyse the modern environmental movement.

“If we are going to live so intimately with these chemicals eating and drinking them, taking them into the very marrow of our bones – we had better know something about their nature and their power,” she wrote. The pesticide was eventually banned in 1972.

Bird said the “the double whammy” of bounties and reproductive collapse put immense pressure on bald eagles. In 1963, only 417 breeding pairs remained in the lower 48 states.

Desperate biologists and officials turned to Canada. While DDT had ravaged much of the population in the US, the pesticide had been used less extensively north of the border.

A 1983 media report profiled Operation Eaglet , a complex logistical effort that required cars, float planes and biologists in order to help repopulate the US. The CBC reporter called the effort a “courtesy of Canadian goodwill”. In one instance, the team collected eight baby eagles from northern Manitoba, where experts believed roughly 3,000 birds remained, and sent one each to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with the remaining six bound for Massachusetts, where they would make “a tremendous difference”, as project leader Jack Swedberg told the CBC, because “currently we don’t have any”.

The mission relied on a technique called “hacking”, in which eaglets were raised in controlled environments, out of sight of people, in order to prevent imprinting on humans and associating their caregivers with food. Over the years, 88 eagles were brought to Pennsylvania from the province of Saskatchewan. The state now has 300 breeding pairs.

Even the location of the photograph used by the White House reflects the unlikely recovery of the population. The image was captured by Derek Stoll in New York state, which by the 1970s had just a single breeding pair .

“You’re not allowed to import bald eagles. So there was a population in Canada, but we are not allowed to bring bald eagles into the United States,” Darryl McGrath, the Albany-based author of Flight Paths, said during a 2016 lecture . “So we couldn’t get the eagle chicks for this hacking project – we couldn’t get them from Canada, even though Canada was very willing to help us out.” Instead, New York relied on other states, including Alaska, until laws concerning the transport of endangered species were amended.

Other eagles were sourced for the US from the coastal provinces of British Columbia and Nova Scotia, including 36 from Cape Breton sent to repopulate New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Bird says that the people trading memes about the eagle and the goose may not know the shared history of a key conservation success story. But he points out that even if Canada geese look like easy prey for an eagle – and they can be – they are also “formidable” birds with powerful club-like wings.

And he notes that another beloved Canadian bird – which adorns Canada’s one-dollar coin – should similarly not be underestimated.

In 2020 an eagle was found floating lifelessly in a Maine lake . A necropsy confirmed what experts suspected – the eagle threatened a common loon and its chick.

“It stabbed the eagle through the heart with its beak,” said Bird, adding that given the current political climate, the symbolism was “hard to ignore”.

Keyword – Life and style
Trefwoorden – Life and style
Title – Tell us: what’s the most surprising experience gift you’ve been given? | Life and style | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/guardian-community-team
Link – Tell us: what’s the most surprising experience gift you’ve been given? | Life and style | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-10T12:19:25.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/sep/10/tell-us-most-surprising-experience-gift

People are buying more experiences as gifts for friends and family.

Whether it’s afternoon tea, skydiving or pottery classes, people are coming up with more unusual ways to treat their loved ones.

We would love to hear from people on the most surprising experience gifts they’ve been given. What did the experience involve and did you enjoy it? Did you prefer it to a traditional gift?

If you’re having trouble using the form click here . Read terms of service here and privacy policy here .

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – Daphne Caruana Galizia, Malta, Journalist safety, Council of Europe, Media, Europe, Human rights, House of Lords, Press freedom
Title – Malta warned of corruption crisis after ‘utter disbelief’ over Daphne Caruana Galizia verdict | Daphne Caruana Galizia | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/juliette-garside
Link – Malta warned of corruption crisis after ‘utter disbelief’ over Daphne Caruana Galizia verdict | Daphne Caruana Galizia | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-10T12:17:52.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/10/malta-corruption-crisis-daphne-caruana-galizia-verdict

Malta is vulnerable to “repeated instances of high-level corruption” unless it strengthens the rule of law and protections for journalists, the Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti said at the opening of an inquiry into judicial failures following the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia .

Chakrabarti, a member of the House of Lords and former director of the human rights group Liberty, has been named special rapporteur for a Council of Europe investigation into the fallout from the assassination of the anti-corruption journalist, who died in a car bombing in October 2017.

Malta is in turmoil after the acquittal of a wealthy and politically influential businessman , Yorgen Fenech, of any involvement in Caruana Galizia’s murder.

Fenech denies paying a middleman €150,000 to have her killed.

At the inquiry’s first hearing, on Wednesday, Chakrabarti said the verdict had “staggered many throughout Maltese society and beyond.

“It’s now almost nine years since the assassination that struck at the very heart of Maltese public life but a mastermind has not yet been held accountable,” she added.

The first witnesses on Wednesday were the journalist’s eldest son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, and her sister Corinne Vella, who questioned the verdict, which dismissed both charges against Fenech by an 8-1 majority.

Matthew Caruana Galizia told members of the council’s committee on legal affairs and human rights: “The Maltese public have seen all of the evidence against the accused, and the vast majority were convinced of his complicity in the murder. And this is why there is this atmosphere of utter disbelief at how the jury could have reached such a decision.”

Malta’s state prosecutor is understood to be preparing an appeal, with the aim of securing a retrial.

The Council of Europe , founded in 1949 after the second world war, created the European convention on human rights. It is led by an assembly drawn from members of the parliaments of its 46 member states.

During the hearing, representatives expressed shock and concern about the verdict, calling for the European parliament and the European Commission to intervene. Iulian Bulai, a Romanian centre-right politician, suggested the EU could withhold funds from Malta. The procedure, known as the rule of law conditionality mechanism, was first used in 2022, against Hungary.

“If there is such huge problem in matter of rule of law and a function of the Maltese institutions, the EU should apply a similar procedure on increasing pressure for reform,” said Bulai. He said the procedure had “functioned in other cases … So why shouldn’t it function in Malta’s case?”

Malta, the EU’s smallest member state, with a population of 600,000, is a net recipient of EU money. Analysis suggests that since joining the block 22 years ago, the island has received €2.4bn more in subsidies than it has paid in.

Chakrabarti said she would look at why Malta had failed to implement many of the recommendations from a public inquiry held after the murder.

“The targeted assassination of a journalist in the middle of investigating high-level corruption sent a chill down the spine of everyone who cares about democratic values,” she said. “Many claim that the legal and policy changes needed to protect journalists to combat corruption and ensure the independent functioning of justice have not been carried out.

“I’m extremely concerned by the apparent absence of reforms in critical areas which make Malta vulnerable to repeated instances of high-level corruption and limit the press freedom which should hold it in check.”

The public inquiry found although there had been no evidence that the Maltese state had a direct role in the murder, the state bore responsibility for creating a climate of impunity.

It recommended Italian-style anti-mafia laws, and making the hindrance of police investigations and abuse of office a crime for public officials. These measures have yet to be implemented.

Chakrabarti compared the Caruana Galizia case to miscarriages of justice in the UK, where officials had been involved in coverups, citing the mismanagement of Grenfell Tower, the Post Office scandal and the Hillsborough football stadium disaster. She said her inquiry, titled Justice delayed: the unfinished implementation of the Daphne Caruana Galizia case , was likely to conclude in a year.

Vella said fear that serious crimes could go unpunished had increased since the verdict. “Before the verdict was given, we lived in a country where a journalist was killed, but there was a chance of ending impunity. That disappeared as soon as the verdict was out.”

She said journalists who had continued to investigate corruption allegations involving former members of Malta’s government “felt uneasy walking to their own cars following that verdict”.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Champions League, Football, Sport, Napoli, Arsenal, European club football
Title – Napoli v Arsenal: Champions League – live | Champions League | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/scottmurray
Link – Napoli v Arsenal: Champions League – live | Champions League | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-09T18:02:11.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/sep/09/napoli-v-arsenal-champions-league-live-updates

Arsenal make four changes to their starting XI following the 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Typically, having just posted a large picture of Kai Havertz, he’s one of four players stood down, along with Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christos Tzolis and the increasingly influential Riccardo Calafiori. Piero Hincapié, Eberechi Eze, Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyökeres – the latter making his first start of the season – are in.

Napoli have a few faces familiar to Premier League fans in their starting XI. Billy Gilmour, formerly of Chelsea, Norwich and Brighton; Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne; and erstwhile Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund. Scott McTominay, also once of Old Trafford, is out, having recently had successful surgery to treat an irregular heartbeat.

The teams

Napoli: Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Olivera, Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne, Politano, Hojlund, Alisson Santos. Subs: Contini, Milinkovic-Savic, Favasuli, Badiashile, Neres, Lucca, Vergara, Beukema, Spinazzola.

Arsenal: Raya, White, Konsa, Gabriel, Hincapie, Merino, Rice, Saka, Odegaard, Eze, Gyokeres. Subs: Arrizabalaga, Meslier, Tzolis, Madueke, Havertz, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Guimaraes, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman, Salmon.

Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

Worry not, people. While this …

… meant this happened …

… Arsenal are in the house. As proof, here’s Kai Havertz arriving at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Not 100 percent sure the Louis Vuitton bag pairs well with the Adidas clobber. The lanyard definitely clashes.

Preamble

Arsenal came so close last time round. But now they’ve got that Premier League monkey off their back, perhaps this season will finally be their moment to fill that conspicuous big-eared gap on their roll of honour. Because having slaked their domestic thirst, they’ve spent the first few games of this campaign with supreme confidence, swanning around like they own the place, which at the moment they kind of do. Spirits are at an all-time high …

… and that’s before taking into consideration that near miss last season. Because while Arsenal’s 2025-26 Champions League tilt ended in despair, the bare facts are nevertheless something to take pride in: a 100-percent record in the league phase, unbeaten in regular time over the whole piece with a W11 D4 record, and the best defensive record (just seven goals conceded, nine clean sheets) of everyone. And having gone toe to toe with PSG, the best team in Europe, there’s little left to fear. Apart from perhaps another penalty shootout, that is, but that’s a bridge to cross sometime in the future.

Napoli by contrast have won just two of their last ten games in the Champions League, and failed to get past the league phase last year. They’ve lost their last three Champions League matches against English teams, and three of their four previous fixtures against Arsenal. And while the Gunners have started their domestic campaign thrillingly, Gli Azzurri have begun Serie A miserably, following up a home defeat to Como by frittering away a two-goal lead against Inter and coming away with nothing.

So all signs point to an opening victory for last year’s runners-up. And yet Mikel Arteta won’t be taking anything for granted, partly because that’s just not how he rolls, but mainly because he’s already tasted defeat in Naples as a player, getting himself sent off in the process . Oh Mikel! Kick-off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona is at 8pm BST, 9pm local. It’s on!

Keyword – Science
Trefwoorden – Science, Palaeontology, Drugs, Indonesia, World news, Asia Pacific, Research, Higher education
Title – Indonesian foragers may have sucked on mind-altering nuts 25,000 years ago, research finds | Science | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/iansample
Link – Indonesian foragers may have sucked on mind-altering nuts 25,000 years ago, research finds | Science | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-09T18:00:02.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/09/indonesian-foragers-mind-altering-nuts-research-finds

What may be the earliest known evidence for human drug taking has been traced to ancient Indonesian foragers who sucked on mind-altering nuts as long as 25,000 years ago.

Analysis of two exceptionally rare skeletons from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi revealed dramatic tooth wear and traces of a psychoactive substance in the individuals’ remaining teeth, suggesting they routinely sucked on hard, abrasive betel nuts.

Although little known in western societies, betel nuts are the world’s fourth most widely used psychoactive substance after alcohol, caffeine and nicotine, with an estimated tenth of the global population chewing the seeds.

“We’ve found evidence for how this very common drug use habit, which is found throughout a lot of the Asia-Pacific region today, might have evolved,” said Prof Adam Brumm at Griffith University’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution in Brisbane.

The work began when the team examined skeletal remains of two pre-agricultural foragers unearthed at two different sites on the island. One was dated to about 7,000 years old, the other more ancient at 16,000 to 25,000 to years old.

Writing in Science Advances , the researchers describe how both adults had deep, rounded grooves in their teeth. Some went so deep they would have exposed the dental pulp. “I was thinking, what the hell were these people doing? It’s like someone had a drill head shaped like a gobstopper and wore away the inner part of the tooth,” said Brumm.

Betel nuts are actually the seeds of the Areca catechu palm, but are misnamed because they are often wrapped in betel vine leaves for chewing. Today, the nuts are typically chewed after being mixed with slaked lime made by grinding burnt shells to form a “quid”.

Brumm suspected the bizarre tooth wear was caused by the foragers holding hard, round and abrasive objects in their mouth, but what sort of object? “Imagine you kept a stone in your mouth and you moved it from one part of your mouth to another, and if you did that day after day, hour after hour. Eventually it would wear down your extremely hard dental tissue to form these grooves,” he said.

The team wondered whether the grooves were the result of foragers sucking on betel nuts before people realised that mixing the nuts with slaked lime helped release more of the psychoactive drug and intensify the “high”.

To test the hunch, the scientists soaked betel nuts in artificial saliva and found that it soon contained enough of the psychoactive compound arecoline to induce a high, albeit a milder one than when the nut is chewed. Analysis of the foragers’ teeth found traces of arecoline in the tissues.

“I’ve sucked on a nut as an experiment and it’s a really bitter, astringent taste. It makes your mouth go numb and I think that’s what they were interested in,” Brumm said.

“This might have been a traditional remedy for toothache, but if they did it for too long, sucking on the nut wore down their teeth so badly that it actually created much worse dental pain in the long term. These individuals were seemingly caught in a self-perpetuating cycle where they were continually sucking on the nuts to treat the tooth pain caused by this nut-sucking habit.”

While humans probably began using mind-altering plants as soon as they encountered them, the oldest traditions of psychoactive drug use are thought to have arisen about 13,000 years ago with fermented drinks such as barley beer.

Dr Elisa Guerra-Doce, an associate professor in European prehistory at the University of Valladolid in Spain, said the study provided “direct evidence of the antiquity of human drug use”.

“These findings not only represent the earliest known evidence to date of the use of psychoactive plants anywhere in the world, but also demonstrate that the consumption of Areca nuts is a millennia-old tradition dating back to prehistoric times,” she added.

Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – US Open Tennis 2026, Tennis, Coco Gauff, US Open tennis, Sport, US sports
Title – US Open 2026: Rybakina beats Zheng to take world No 1 spot, Andreeva v Gauff coming up – live | US Open Tennis 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/niall-mcveigh,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/katymurrells
Link – US Open 2026: Rybakina beats Zheng to take world No 1 spot, Andreeva v Gauff coming up – live | US Open Tennis 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-09T17:59:12.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/sep/09/us-open-tennis-2026-quarter-finals-rybakina-zheng-andreeva-gauff-blockx-khachanov-live

Elena Rybakina beats Zheng Qinwen to become world No 1

Rybakina blasts through the first two points, but there is a twitch at 30-0 as she misfires into the net. A huge serve out wide proves unreturnable, though. Rybakina has two match points – and she claims victory, and the world No 1 ranking, when Zheng nets!

Final score: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 Rybakina.

Rybakina breaks! Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-5 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

Having dug herself out of that hole, Zheng hits a wild effort out of court – and then a double fault as she is forced to be aggressive on second serve. It’s a real shame if Zheng goes out like that, but Rybakina will have new balls to serve this out.

Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-4 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

Now it’s Zheng’s turn to wobble, Rybakina’s vicious returns claiming the first two points – and she has three break points when Zheng nets. But Zheng saves all three, the last with a forehand winner down the line! Deuce …

Third set: *Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-4 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

If Zheng can break here, she would get the opportunity to serve out in the next game – and she earns a break point with a looping, two-handed backhand winner down the line! Zheng gets a look at a similar shot with Rybakina up at the net – but it lands inches long. From deuce, Rybakina powers through and we’re level again.

Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 4-3 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

An easier hold for Zheng here, the first serve firing with more accuracy. She holds to 15 when Rybakina can’t keep a cross-court effort in bounds.

Third set: *Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 3-3 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

Rybakina rattles through another quick hold to keep the pressure on Zheng; the No 2 seed is getting through her service games in this set at an average of two minutes.

Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 3-2 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

At 30-all, Zheng goes all-in with a ripping forehand that clips the baseline, but Rybakina hits back with a one-two punch, and Zheng offers up a break point as an overcooked shot drifts long. Rybakina gets her chance but misses the outside line with a floaty forehand. Zheng carves out the hold with a bit of serve-and-volley; she’s under more pressure on serve but is holding on.

Third set: *Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 2-2 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

Rybakina is back to her calm, controlled default mode and rolls through this service hold with little fuss.

There are six women left in the US Open draw, and they are ranked world Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … and 121. But Zheng is, of course, much better than her injury-affected ranking suggests. Rybakina will become the new world No 1 if she wins this match but if she loses, and Gauff beats Andreeva, she’ll be in the strange position of hoping Zheng goes all the way in New York, in order to keep Sabalenka, Pegula or Gauff from taking top spot.

Third set: Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 2-1 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

Rybakina punishes a slightly mishit Zheng backhand with a ruthless winner down the line, but Zheng finds enough first-serve power to hold from 30-all.

Third set: *Zheng 6-3, 1-6, 1-1 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

An untimely double-fault at 30-0 up is the only blemish on Rybakina’s serve, as she holds with an ace.

Thanks, Katy. After Tuesday’s high drama, we’ve got another deciding set on our hands. Zheng needs to get a game on the board, and she does so by holding to 15.

Rybakina wins the second set 6-1

So Rybakina is serving for the set … she’s under pressure at 30-all … but is still able to swing freely as she crushes a cross-court forehand winner … and the set is secured with a serve out wide! Rybakina has responded to going a set down, and this match, as all four of yesterday’s quarter-finals did, is going. The. Distance. And Niall is here to guide you through the decider …

Rybakina breaks: Zheng 6-3, 1-5 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

So Rybakina holds on to her break – and is pushing and probing for a double break at 15-30 on Zheng’s serve. The pair trade a few moon balls before Rybakina injects more power and elicits the error. 15-40. Zheng finds a big first serve when it matters to fend off the first break point – before Rybakina strikes on the second, dealing with a net cord well to drill an unreturned forehand deep to Zheng’s left!

Second set: Zheng* 6-3, 1-4 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

Perhaps I am jumping the gun, because Zheng has a break-back point at 30-40 after Rybakina misses five first serves in a row … but Zheng doesn’t take it. Rybakina is back in a serving groove as she takes a short, sharp point at deuce and then crunches down a serve that Zheng can only frame towards the stands.

Second set: Zheng 6-3, 1-3 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

Alas, we won’t see another comeback from 5-0 down, because Zheng holds to love. Not getting too ahead of ourselves, but these two have already played two three-setters against each other this year, with Rybakina triumphing in both, on the clay in Madrid and the hard courts in Doha. But those were when Zheng was earlier in her return from elbow surgery. The former world No 4 has far more momentum on her side this time … but how much energy does she have left having played seven matches already as a qualifier?

Second set: Zheng* 6-3, 0-3 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

After their almost flawness numbers for the first half of the opening set, both players’ first-serve percentages has dropped below 50%. But Rybakina still finds a way to 40-15 in this game, before coughing up a third double fault and then balancing that out with an ace. Rybakina consolidates the break to lead 3-0 … but Zheng is probably enjoying this, hoping it’ll become 5-0 so she can do what she does best.

Rybakina breaks: Zheng 6-3, 0-2 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

I wonder if the fact that the world No 1 ranking is on the line today added to Rybakina’s agitation in that first set. As I said, it’s so unusual for her to show so much frustration on court. Zheng looks comfortable in this game at 40-15, but Rybakina comes back at her for deuce. Zheng is yet to be broken, but she’s having to work harder and harder for the holds, and it seems only a matter of time before Rybakina does secure a breakthrough. And it comes with a flat forehand bullet down the line … followed by another forehand winner, as Rybakina rips away the short ball! Game on.

Second set: Zheng* 6-3, 0-1 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

Zheng is in slightly unfamiliar territory here, having been the frontrunner throughout so far, rather than having to pull off any escape acts from 5-0 down . But Rybakina is serving first in the second set, and she doesn’t mess around, whizzing through to love and pinging away two aces in the process.

Zheng grabs an energy drink, munches on a banana, before taking her leave and walking off court. Rybakina, meanwhile, having lost her first set this tournament, is having a heated discussion with her coach. She doesn’t seem to agree with what he’s telling her to do. But she wasn’t far off in that set; she had five break points in that final game after all.

Zheng wins the first set 6-3!

… Rybakina, whose face hardly ever betrays any emotion on court, is now chuntering to herself and her coaching team … but it rouses her into action, as she saves another set point with a clean winner! But soon enough Zheng has set point No 4 … and the game is secured after 14 minutes (!!) – and with it the set – as Rybakina can’t get Zheng’s stinging serve down the T back into play! That game definitely matched yesterday’s drama.

The break means Zheng is serving for the first set … but her first serve deserts her. At 0-30 down she slides a timely second-serve ace out wide, but Rybakina pulls off the pass for two break-back points at 15-40. The first is fought off with an ace … and the second with a backhand bullet down the line! That was clutch hitting from Zheng. Deuce. Advantage Zheng, a first set point. Deuce, advantage Rybakina, a third BP. Deuce, advantage Rybakina, a fourth BP. My computer clearly can’t handle the pressure because it briefly freezes. When it starts behaving again, it’s BP No 5 … which Rybakina doesn’t take either …

Zheng breaks: Zheng* 5-3 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

Rybakina has won every point when she’s landed her first serve (Zheng has won all but one), and that record continues on the opening point, before Rybakina’s rhythm stutters, party because of a missed drive volley, and soon it’s 30-all. Zheng then zooms forward to the short ball, having worked so hard to wrest control in the rally after a serve that put her on the back foot, and it’s the first break point of this quarter-final at 30-40! Zheng inexplicably misses a backhand return off a second serve … but quickly puts aside that setback to create another break point … and this one she takes when Rybakina snatches at a forehand! Rybakina, so peerless on serve during this tournament, has been broken!

First set: Zheng 4-3 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

15-0, 30-0, 40-0, game. A second successive hold to love for Zheng, as the servers’ supremacy continues. Over on Court 12, Britain’s Andy Lapthorne has lost 6-2, 6-1 in the quad wheelchair singles after a tough first-round draw against the top seed and winner of all three grand slams so far this year, Niels Vink.

First set: Zheng* 3-3 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

The early proof in this match – if we needed it after Zheng’s wins over Keys and Swiatek in the previous two rounds – is that the 23-year-old is most definitely back in the mix, after her elbow surgery last year. So that’s great news for the women’s game – which is already so stacked at the top. And with Sabalenka, Rybakina, Pegula, Gauff and Andreeva remaining in the running for the title in New York, the world’s top five are still standing, in contrast to the men, with only Zverev and Shelton left from the top 10. Rybakina holds to 15 to level once more.

First set: Zheng 3-2 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

Zheng, now in the sun, puts Rybakina firmly in the shade as she zooms to 40-0. Make that game. Five games and no break points so far. Both are locked in on serve and, the way this opening set is going, it could well come down to just the one break – or a tie-break. Though they’ll be going some to match the drama of all of yesterday’s breakers.

First set: Zheng* 2-2 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

Rybakina won 90% of her first-serve points in her 6-1, 6-4 demolition of Osaka and she’s yet to drop a point on serve in this quarter-final, gliding to 30-0. A netted forehand in response to Zheng’s return, however, ends the Russian-born Kazakhstani’s perfect record … and perhaps that’s on her mind on the next point, because she throws in her first double fault. Zheng can’t capitalise on the 30-all opportunity, conceding the rally cheaply when she blinks on her backhand, and another errant strike beyond the baseline allows Rybakina to hold.

First set: Zheng 2-1 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

Rybakina possesses the superior serve – it’s arguably the best in the business – but Zheng can match Rybakina’s easy power from the back of the court, which she does to get to 40-15. With Zheng’s half of the court entirely in the shade and Rybakina’s in the sun, it’s hard to follow the course of the ball on television, but no such problems for Zheng on court, as she asserts her authority from deuce for another hold.

First set: Zheng* 1-1 Rybakina (*denotes next server)

Zheng shaded the support in the opening game; the Chinese player is so popular wherever she goes. So the crowd is a little quieter as Rybakina races through her first service game to love. Both these players are used to the big stage and they’ve settled in quickly here.

First set: Zheng 1-0 Rybakina* (*denotes next server)

There are no signs of any early stage fright from Zheng – who’s appearing in her third consecutive US Open quarter-final (surprisingly it’s a first for Rybakina) – as she zips to 30-0 on serve. She’s then smart to Rybakina’s short, angled backhand on the third point … as she sprints forward and dispatches a backhand winner down the line. And she claims an assured opening hold to love when Rybakina rams a forehand just long.

Rybakina made quite a statement in the last 16 too , when she was virtually flawless against Naomi Osaka, and she has the double motivation today of wanting to break new ground by reaching the US Open semi-finals and securing the world No 1 ranking. Beat Zheng and Rybakina is guaranteed to knock Aryna Sabalenka off the summit and claim the top spot for the first time in her career.

Rybakina has won four of her five meetings with Zheng, including two three-set victories this year . But Zheng was earlier in her comeback from elbow surgery then, the 2024 Olympic champion is a totally different proposition now, carrying the momentum of seven successive match wins in New York having come through qualifying – and the belief she can turn around any deficit after coming from 5-0 down in sets against both Madison Keys in the third round and Iga Swiatek in the last 16.

Here come Zheng and Rybakina , Zheng stepping on to court wearing headphones, not that there’s much noise to drown out yet at 11.35am New York time. Both already look extremely focused with their game faces on.

Already today: Britain’s Gregory Slade and Andy Lapthorne are under way in the wheelchair quad singles first round, with Slade an early break down, 2-0, against Argentina’s Gonzalo Lazarte and Lapthorne on serve at 2-2 against the top seed Niels Vink. Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid play later, as do several Brits in the men’s doubles: Henry Patten with Finland’s Harri Heliovaara (the Wimbledon champs), Joe Salisbury with the American Rajeev Ram, and Neal Skupski with another American, Christian Harrison. And Skupski (last year’s runner-up) and Harrison get to close the schedule on Arthur Ashe tonight.

Plus yesterday’s other reports:

And Andrew Lawrence’s view from Flushing Meadows too:

Here’s Tumaini’s take on the match, which he probably wrote with matchsticks propping up his eyelids:

As for Shelton, the greatest win of his career leaves him with a semi-final against his friend/Big Foe. If he can recharge for Friday – and it’s a big if – he has the weapons to outgun Tiafoe, with an American finalist guaranteed. Come Sunday, perhaps we’ll even stop talking about Andy Roddick in 2003 and that Great American Drought for the men.

So where does Alcaraz’s dethroning leave him? Given it was his first tournament in four and a half months, and he was able to play without any pain in his right wrist, he’s still viewing it as a successful fortnight that he can build on. “As I said before the tournament, my expectation was to go there, compete, play in these kind of matches for me being healthy,” he said after his defeat. “It was close. So I’m not going to be disappointed about don’t getting the win at the end. I’m just happy, proud about myself, about how I fought. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.” And that’s good news for tennis – because it just hasn’t been the same without him this summer.

Today’s order of play – Arthur Ashe

11.30am New York/4.30pm BST

Women’s singles quarter-final Zheng Qinwen (Chn) v Elena Rybakina (Kaz, 2)

Women’s singles quarter-final Mirra Andreeva (5) v Coco Gauff (US, 4)

Men’s singles quarter-final Karen Khachanov v Alexander Blockx (Bel, 28)

7.30pm New York/12.30am BST

Men’s singles quarter-final Alexander Zverev (Ger, 1) v Botic van de Zandschulp (Ned)

Men’s doubles quarter-final Simone Bolelli (It, 4) and Andrea Vavassori (It, 4) v Christian Harrison (US, 5) and Neal Skupski (GB, 5)

Preamble

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the US Open day 11 – which begins less than eight hours after Ben Shelton struck his final ace to take out Carlos Alcaraz on day 10. Are you ready for some more tennis? Of course you are!

This may be the city that never sleeps but the 3.33am finish – the latest in the tournament’s history and the fourth time this fortnight that play stretched beyond 2am – once again raises questions about the demands tennis places on its athletes. But organisers could not have foreseen the day’s extraordinary drama, with all four quarter-finals on Arthur Ashe going the distance, lasting a combined total of nearly 14 hours, and three being decided in a final-set tie-break. From Aryna Sabalenka’s high-quality win over the Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, to the two American derbies as Frances Tiafoe came back from two sets down against Alex Michelsen and Jessica Pegula pulled off a recovery of her own against Emma Navarro, to that climax as Alcaraz’s title defence came to an end, the spectacle never let up. I can’t remember another day of tennis quite like it.

And now here we go again, with another compelling cast list and plenty of sub plots. Elena Rybakina faces Zheng Qinwen knowing she must never, ever take a 5-0 lead over the Olympic champion if she wants to secure the quarter-final win that will wrest the world No 1 ranking from Sabalenka; Coco Gauff takes on Mirra Andreeva in the battle of the former prodigies turned grand slam champions (if you can call Andreeva a former prodigy at the age of 19); Alexander Blockx , the new kid on the, erm, block, plays the resurgent Russian Karen Khachanov – though there are concerns about Blockx’s fitness after a painful rib injury in the last 16; and Alexander Zverev will be working the night session once more, with Botic van de Zandschulp , but the French Open champ does have the comfort of knowing that for the second time in three slams he won’t have to come up against an Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner-shaped wall if he’s to win the title.

Play gets under way: at 11.30am New York time/4.30pm BST. So you’ve just about got time to prepare 23 coffees and then let’s do this!

Keyword – Politics
Trefwoorden – Foreign policy, West Bank, Judaism, Politics, Religion, UK news, World news, Israel, Palestine
Title – Senior UK rabbis come out in support of sanctions on Israeli settlements | Foreign policy | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/aamna-mohdin
Link – Senior UK rabbis come out in support of sanctions on Israeli settlements | Foreign policy | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-09T17:57:14.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/09/senior-uk-rabbis-come-out-in-support-of-sanctions-on-israeli-settlements

Prominent British rabbis have backed Ed Miliband’s sanctions on Israeli settlements, warning that the time for inaction on settler violence must come to an end.

The intervention comes after the UK’s chief rabbi, the spiritual leader of mainstream Orthodox Jews in the UK, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, described UK sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as a “dark day for British Jews” and warned they could embolden people who “use hatred as a weapon against Jews”.

The sanctions were also condemned by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and The Jewish Leadership council.

But other senior rabbis, many from the progressive wing of the community, have since come forward to stress the diversity of views within the British Jewish community, with some backing Miliband’s sanctions, while others warned that concern about the measures should not become an excuse for ignoring settler violence and expansion, and others calling for the government to go further.

Jonathan Wittenberg, a senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism , said he was in the Palestinian village of Umm al Khair while Miliband was delivering his speech, and had seen the results of settler violence “with my own eyes”.

“What is taking place today in the West Bank is a Chillul HaShem, a violation of God’s name of the worst order. We cannot stay silent. This is terrible for Palestinian people who want to get on with their lives in peace. It is terrible for Israel,” he said.

Wittenberg added: “We must speak out. We must do so out of deep concern for what is human and just, and for the sake of Israel and Judaism. We cannot turn away.”

While he acknowledged that the British Jewish community does not have to agree with everything the British government chooses to do, he said: “The time is for action.”

Rabbi Alexandra Wright from The Liberal Jewish Synagogue in London, and vice-chair of the British Friends of Rabbis for Human Rights, said while not everyone in the community will support the sanctions, action was needed as “the occupation and escalating violence are harming Palestinians and Israelis”.

She said: “The sanctions are the UK’s commitment to a two-state solution. The Anglo-Jewish community is committed to a Jewish state that is founded, not on oppression and violence, but, in the words of Israel’s declaration of independence, ‘on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel’.”

Wright, who had also recently visited the Palestinian village Umm al-Khair, which has faced relentless attacks by Israeli settlers, called on the Jewish community to “not hold back any progression towards a two-state solution”.

Jeremy Gordon, the rabbi of New London Synagogue, who came out in favour of Miliband’s sanctions, said: “It is wrong to argue for silence, inaction or ‘the use of carrots’ – appeasement – before the settler movement and those who support it. The playbook of these settlers is predicated on the notion that they will be appeased or ignored, and that well-meaning Jews the world over overlook their illegal and criminal actions.”

Lev Taylor, rabbi of Kingston Liberal Synagogue in London, described the sanctions as a sign “the government is moving in the right direction”. He added: “Some of my Israeli members have been campaigning for sanctions exactly like this … The Judaism in which I believe repudiates this brutal occupation.”

He pointed to the statements from Israeli member of the Knesset Gilad Kariv, who said: “The blame for the European countries’ announcement of sanctions falls squarely on the shoulders of Netanyahu, Smotrich, Katz, and Sa’ar.”

There is also some consternation within the Orthodox community at the suggestion that British Jews are uniformly opposed to the sanctions.

Miliband, the foreign secretary announced sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Tuesday, with the government taking the position that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory was unlawful.

The measures were coordinated with France, Canada and nine other countries that were also introducing sanctions on Israel over the increasing expansion of settlements, which the UK government says is threatening the future of a Palestinian state.

Jonathan Boyd, executive director for Institute for Jewish Policy Research, explained there are no robust survey data on whether British Jews support sanctions on Israeli settlements specifically. “However, the available evidence shows that views on Israeli government policy and the conflict are quite diverse, varying by age, denomination and political outlook.

“At the same time, they also show that most British Jews feel a strong emotional attachment to Israel and have become increasingly concerned about antisemitism in Britain since October 7.”

Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy, co-leaders of Progressive Judaism, which represents about one-third of Jews affiliated to synagogues and estimates the same proportion of non-affiliated Jews share its values, described sanctions as a “clumsy tool” that could have unintended consequences. They warned that “measures directed at Israeli settlements are not the same as an attack on Jews. We should take care not to collapse the distinction between them.”

They called on those against sanctions to offer more than statements condemning violence, adding, “inaction is not neutral. It too is a political and moral choice.”

Wittenberg, Baginsky and Levy all asserted their opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and welcomed Miliband’s stance against it.

Tuesday’s sanctions announcement prompted a swift backlash from Israel, which ordered the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem and banned 12 British MPs and activists from entering Israel.

Washington’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, threatened that the US could take retaliatory action over trade, but the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the US would “obviously” not follow the UK government’s actions but did not want to see the West Bank destabilised.

The UK foreign secretary said he regretted what the Israeli government had announced but was “proud of what we did yesterday and it was the right thing to do”.

Miliband accepted the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem would be “damaging” but said the government had “weighed up the costs and benefits in advance of this”.

Keyword – UK news
Trefwoorden – Immigration and asylum, Migration, Refugees, Charities, Far right, UK news, Portsmouth, Voluntary sector
Title – Police working to protect RNLI in Dorset amid opposition to small boat rescues | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/stevenmorris
Link – Police working to protect RNLI in Dorset amid opposition to small boat rescues | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-09T17:56:13.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/09/their-boat-was-sinking-rnli-vows-to-keep-rescuing-asylum-seekers-despite-attacks

Three police forces on the south coast of England are working to protect lifeboat volunteers, staff and buildings from rightwing activists who blame the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for helping asylum seekers to land on the British coast.

Dozens of Dorset officers were posted outside the charity’s headquarters in Poole on Wednesday evening as about 50 people gathered to protest against the RNLI’s involvement in the small boats crisis.

Hampshire police were patrolling RNLI sites amid fears that people and assets may be targeted, while the Sussex force was investigating “offensive and threatening” remarks made on social media.

The RNLI has vowed to continue to rescue asylum seekers in the Channel despite attacks from rightwing activists after its involvement in a rescue on Sunday in which a dinghy carrying asylum seekers was brought into Portsmouth.

RNLI bosses said workers had been subjected to online and physical abuse and there had been “baseless” rumours that the charity had housed asylum seekers or moved them to secret locations after helping them to shore.

The charity emphasised that responding to small boats was only a tiny percentage of its work and updated its webpage explaining its work in the Channel , which includes powerful testimonies from volunteers involved in the operations.

The protest outside the RNLI’s headquarters was attended by groups including the Poole Patriots and Hampshire Resistance.

Leaders handed out rape alarms to women, claiming they were at risk from men brought into the UK by the RNLI, and called for people to stop donating to the charity.

Mandy Ward, a member of Hampshire Resistance, claimed the RNLI was being compromised by its work with small boats in the Channel. “They are acting as a taxi service to people who are not in distress at all.”

Marianne said she had donated to the RNLI for decades but had cancelled her subscription. “It breaks my heart to do that but I’m disgusted that the government is using the RNLI like this. It’s not what the RNLI is there to do.”

Steve, a former soldier, said: “I’m urging people to stop funding them. It’s a shame – we need the lifeboats but we must stop this invasion.”

Images of some RNLI crew members who were apparently involved in the operation on Sunday have been published on social media with the accusation that they were complicit in an “invasion” of the UK.

Sussex police said: “We are aware of offensive and threatening commentary towards RNLI volunteers circulating on social media. We are proactively supporting our partners in the RNLI regarding the safety of their staff and volunteers. Investigations are ongoing to establish if there are any criminal offences in the social media content.”

An RNLI staff member in Poole, who asked not to be named, said security had been stepped up. “I think it’s fair to say that lots of people who work and volunteer for the RNLI are feeling nervous at the moment. Most people who work here believe in what the RNLI stands for and it’s upsetting to see our work attacked by a few people.”

A second said: “There’s also been lots of support and promises of donations from people who want to make the point that they think we are doing the right thing.”

Peter Sparkes, the RNLI chief executive, said that for more than 200 years the RNLI had rescued people without judgment, fear or favour. “Yet [staff and volunteers] and their families are being threatened by those who would hide behind a balaclava or a keyboard. Their action, in contrast, is wholly unacceptable in a civilised society.”

Sparkes said rumours that the RNLI housed asylum seekers on its premises, or that there were RNLI missions to move migrants to secret locations were “completely baseless and untrue”.

The charity said RNLI lifeboats launched 9,058 times in 2025 but only 109 of those were to small boats in the Channel, representing 1.2% of its rescue work.

It said almost 95% of those who crossed the Channel in small boats last year were picked up by the UK Border Force.

One of the testimonies on the RNLI’s small boats webpage came from Dan, a volunteer helm at Walmer lifeboat station in Kent. He said: “One thing I would like people to understand is that these people genuinely need our help.”

Speaking about one rescue in the Channel, he said: “We launched to an overcrowded, unseaworthy small boat that was taking on water. One family was so scared. They were screaming. Their boat was sinking in front of their eyes. It was a horrible, horrible situation.

“We managed to rescue that family. We stopped them from drowning. There was a little girl on the boat. She looked me straight in the eye and said: ‘I love you, thank you.’ As a father, that went straight to my heart. That rescue cemented in my head that what we are doing as an organisation is exactly the right thing.”

Paula, a volunteer lifeboat crew member at Dover, described another Channel rescue: “When I arrived on scene, it was a shock. There were people in the water, some disappearing under the water.

“There was this man holding on to the edge of the boat. He had no strength left. I leant over, lay on my front and I grabbed his arms, and he had no strength to hold me. I looked into his face and his eyes were wide, his face was grey. He was so scared.

“I just knew that if I let him go, he wouldn’t be there. I also knew that there was absolutely no way I was going to let him go. I held on to him and I called for help from my colleagues, and together we pulled him to safety.”

The charity said it responded to small boats in the Channel when HM Coastguard reported that people might be in danger at sea.

It continued: “International maritime law outlines that any vessel that becomes aware of people in distress at sea, must take all reasonable measures to assist. All small boats crossing the Channel are classed as being in distress.

“The RNLI is one of several declared search and rescue capability providers and, under long-established procedures, RNLI volunteer crews respond to anyone at risk of drowning, regardless of who they are or how they came to be in difficulty.

“The men, women and children who find themselves in distress and sinking in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes are no exception. Our crews will go to their aid today when tasked, just like generations of lifeboat crews have done before them, in wartime and peace.

The charity rejected the accusation that it was a “taxi service” for asylum seekers. “We are not. HM Coastguard coordinates maritime search and rescue operations around the UK. Our lifeboat crews are tasked to assist people who are in difficulty, both in the Channel and around the coast of the UK.

“RNLI crews launch to the rescue, doing everything they can to save lives, without any thought to where the people they rescue are travelling from, nor their migrant status.”

The febrile atmosphere on the south coast was illustrated when rightwing activists arrived at a hotel in Portsmouth on Tuesday believing that asylum seekers were being housed there, only to find they were a cricket team from Pakistan.