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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) earned a spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a tense intercontinental playoff final against Jamaica ended 1‑0 in extra time.The match‑winner came from former Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe, who now plays for Burnley in the English Premier League. He headed the ball home from a corner in the 100th minute, and after a brief VAR check for a possible handball, the goal was confirmed.Tuanzebe reflected on the moment, saying, “We made it very difficult for ourselves, perhaps the occasion got the better of us. To score the winning goal for your country… this is what every player dreams of.” He added, “I am so proud of what I could do for the country, I’m so proud of the country, and now it is time to celebrate.”The DRC dominated the fast‑flowing encounter despite the scarcity of clear‑cut chances, and the victory ensures that ten African teams will line up for the 2026 tournament – the highest representation ever.Having previously defeated Nigeria in the CAF playoff, the DRC entered the intercontinental stage directly into the final due to their higher ranking. Jamaica reached this stage by beating New Caledonia.This will be only the second World Cup appearance for the DRC, the first being in 1974 when the nation competed as Zaire. Jamaica’s sole previous appearance came in 1998 in France.In the upcoming group stage, the DRC will join Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan, opening the tournament against Portugal.The final intercontinental slot remains undecided, with a clash between Iraq and Bolivia scheduled for later on Tuesday.

Italy's 10-man team failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a penalty shootout, marking another disappointing performance for the four-time World Cup winners.The Italian team's over-reliance on defensive tactics, known as Catenaccio, was evident in the match, as they went a goal up and a man down, only to be equalized by Bosnia and Herzegovina with 11 minutes remaining.The Italian press reacted with anger and frustration, with headlines like 'VIA TUTTI!' (Everyone out!) and criticism from coach Rino Gattuso, who expressed pride in his team's performance despite the loss.In contrast, Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrated their historic win, with Edin Dzeko leading a late-night sing-song on social media.The loss has sparked renewed criticism of Italy's approach to the game, with some questioning their ability to adapt and innovate.

The families of British citizens held in the United Arab Emirates over allegations that they shared images of the conflict with Iran have expressed frustration at the British government's failure to help.Several British citizens are among more than 100 foreign nationals who have been detained under draconian Emirate rules that outlaw publishing or sharing material that could 'disturb public security'.UK government ministers have refused to condemn the arrests, amid claims they are too fearful of offending the Emirates because of their economic clout.The campaign group Dubai Watch, which is supporting nine British detainees, said their identities could not be revealed for fear of reprisals. But it has shown the Guardian anonymised correspondence from their increasingly anxious families.A mother whose daughter is being held wrote: 'This experience is exhausting, mentally and emotionally.'She described reading media reports about the continuing conflict in which Iran has retaliated against US and Israelis strikes by firing drones and missiles against its Gulf neighbours, including the UAE.She said: 'I have just read another article, and quite frankly I could do one purely on the inadequacies and sycophantic responses from this [UK] embassy.'She also expressed increasing fears for her daughter's safety as attacks continued. The mother said: 'I spoke to [my daughter] last night and they are no longer allowed to go outside in the courtyard as it's now deemed too dangerous to do so. This is an even bigger worry as they are all just sitting ducks.'Another message from a woman whose husband had been detained under the same law said the case had been 'mishandled'. She added: 'We are scared because nobody is telling us the truth. Can you please help us.'Police in Abu Dhabi said those detained had 'filmed sites and events and disseminated inaccurate information via social media platforms during the ongoing events, an action that could stir public opinion and spread rumours among community members'. In a statement, the officials said these 'violations' amounted to a 'misuse of social media'.Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, confirmed that one of the detainees was a St Albans' constituent. She said their family was frustrated by the lack of consular help.Cooper told the Guardian: 'I'm deeply concerned that my constituent has been held with very little contact with their family, with no clear access to legal counsel, and no confirmation that UK consular officials have been permitted to visit them. The family are distressed and desperate for information about their wellbeing.'Cooper also criticised the UAE's round-up of anyone it has accused of sharing images of the conflict. She said: 'The response from the authorities appears wholly disproportionate given the nature of the allegations.'The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed that five UK nationals were receiving consular assistance in the UAE.David Haigh, a human rights lawyer and founder of Dubai Watch, said: 'There's an awful lot more than five cases. The embassy is overwhelmed.'He added: 'There hasn't been any government intervention because it would offend the UAE and they don't want to do that. Impotent is the best way to describe the response. They're too scared – it's all about the money and investment from the UAE.'

The moon is becoming a focal point for a new era of space exploration and exploitation, with multiple companies and countries racing to harness its resources. Interlune, a Seattle-based company, has raised $18m to fund its efforts to mine the moon for Helium-3, a rare gas that could become vital in quantum computers and nuclear fusion.Helium-3, deposited on the moon's surface over billions of years by the solar wind, is used in medical imaging but is in extremely short supply on Earth. Rob Meyerson, founder of Interlune, believes that extracting this resource could be economically viable due to its high value.Private access to space has become more feasible through companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX, making lunar mining a possibility. Interlune plans to send a multispectral camera to the lunar south pole to assess Helium-3 concentrations and is working towards a future mission called 'Prospect Moon' to gather samples.The lunar mining initiative raises questions about environmental impact and the ethics of extracting resources from the moon. Critics argue that history has shown pioneers rushing into unknown frontiers and causing irreparable damage. There are concerns about preserving the moon's pristine environment and protecting sites of extraordinary scientific importance.Legal aspects of moon mining are also unclear, with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibiting national claims of ownership but making no reference to commercial activities. Despite these challenges, Interlune and other companies are pushing forward, with China also actively exploring the moon's resources, including Helium-3.

The UK is set to host 35 countries, excluding the US, to discuss ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for oil and gas that has been blocked by Iran. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the next phase of discussions, led by the UK and France, will take place on Thursday, with Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, alongside international leaders.The meeting will focus on assessing viable diplomatic and political measures to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers, and resume the movement of vital commodities. British military planners will meet afterwards to discuss how to marshal their capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped.The blockade has resulted in around 1,000 ships being stranded, with only about 130 ships passing through since the war began, compared to the normal daily number. The strait is a critical route, with a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies and a third of global fertilisers passing through before the conflict.The US has not been directly invited to participate in the talks, which will include countries that signed a joint statement last month, such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, as well as Japan, Canada, South Korea, and New Zealand. The Ministry of Defence has sent military planners to US Central Command to explore options for getting tankers through the strait.Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has stated that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to 'enemies of this nation', and US President Donald Trump has posted that there will be no ceasefire with Iran until it relinquishes control of the waterway.

Police in Wuhan reported a sudden "system malfunction" that immobilised several autonomous robotaxis operated by Baidu’s Apollo Go service, leaving passengers stuck on an elevated highway for up to an hour and a half.Local authorities said they received a flood of calls on Tuesday night from riders whose vehicles froze in the middle of the road. A police statement confirmed that “multiple Apollo Go cars stopped in the middle of the road, unable to move,” and preliminary investigations point to a technical failure.Baidu maintains a fleet of more than 500 driverless cars in Wuhan, though the exact number affected was not disclosed. One commuter shared a 90‑minute ordeal on the Chinese platform RedNote, describing how the vehicle stalled at 9 p.m. on an overpass, surrounded by dump trucks, while customer‑service lines remained unanswered.The rider eventually was rescued after the order was cancelled at 10:30 p.m., but criticized Apollo Go’s support team for offering “useless platitudes” instead of concrete solutions. Social‑media users also posted videos captioned “Apollo Go, are you paralysed?” showing futile attempts to contact the company via the in‑car tablet.This is not Baidu’s first controversy. In December, authorities in Zhuzhou halted robotaxi operations after a Baidu‑manufactured autonomous vehicle struck two pedestrians, sending them to intensive care.Despite these setbacks, Baidu’s autonomous‑mobility arm continues to grow. Company filings reveal that Apollo Go delivered 3.4 million driverless rides in the fourth quarter of 2025, a jump of over 200 % compared with the same period in 2024. The firm is also pursuing international expansion, having announced partnership deals with rideshare giants Lyft and Uber to deploy its vehicles on their platforms.When approached for comment, Baidu did not respond, according to Reuters.Additional reporting by Yu‑chen Li

The Guardian’s March reading roundup gathers a diverse set of recommendations from both its writers and its readership, offering a snapshot of the titles that captured their attention over the past month.John Lanchester highlights two recent British novels that resonated with him after completing his own manuscript: Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt, a story of friendship intertwined with business, and The New Life by Tom Crewe, which explores gay life in the 1890s. His European picks include Eurotrash by Christian Kracht, a darkly comic road‑trip tale, Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, a critique of the digital‑nomad lifestyle, and Olga Tokarczuk’s genre‑defying Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. Lanchester also notes his own recent release, Look What You Made Me Do, available from Faber for £20 via the Guardian bookshop.James, a regular Guardian reader, is immersed in Tom’s Crossing by Mark Danielewski. He describes the 1,200‑page modern western as a masterclass in character depth and meticulous detail, urging readers not to be deterred by its length.Patmeena Sabit turns to shorter forms when time is scarce, recommending Hue and Cry by James Alan McPherson for its understated humanity, Fifty‑Two Stories (a new Chekhov collection translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky) for its blend of classics and previously untranslated pieces, and Ada Limón’s poetry collection Bright Dead Things for its poignant beauty. Sabit also promotes her own work, Good People, published by Virago at £16.99.David praises Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Cold War Prophet by Edward Luce, calling it a dense yet illuminating autobiography that traces U.S. and global power dynamics from the 1960s to the early Trump era, and recommending a piecemeal reading approach.Arash finds profound resonance in Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy. He describes the memoir as an emotionally powerful tribute to Roy’s mother, noting its refusal to fall into gendered clichés while championing compassion and resistance against chauvinism.

Oracle, a US technology company with a market value of $420bn, has begun cutting thousands of jobs as it seeks to reassure investors that its bet on AI infrastructure will pay off. The company, which has a workforce of 162,000, has reportedly let go of around 10,000 people so far.The job cuts, which were announced via email, affect various roles including senior engineers, architects, operations leaders, program managers, and technical specialists. Oracle's decision to reduce its workforce comes as it steps up spending on datacentres, key infrastructure for developing and operating AI systems, in an effort to better compete with cloud rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon.Oracle's plans include a $300bn datacentre deal with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. However, investors have grown concerned about the billions of dollars of expenditure attached to its plans, which includes raising $50bn in new debt. In a March filing, Oracle said it expected total costs tied to its 2026 restructuring plan to reach up to $2.1bn, largely owing to redundancies and related expenses.The job cuts are part of a broader trend in the tech industry, with over 70 tech companies cutting around 40,480 jobs so far this year, according to the tech redundancy site Layoffs.fyi. This trend is driven by companies reallocating resources towards artificial intelligence, heightening fears of AI-driven disruptions among workers.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Downing Street staff that Britain’s long‑term national interest now hinges on a more ambitious partnership with the European Union, a stance shaped by the escalating war in the Middle East and the broader volatility of global politics.He announced that the foreign secretary will convene an international meeting later this week to discuss ways to re‑open the Strait of Hormuz and ensure safe navigation once hostilities subside. Following that summit, Starmer said military planners will be brought together to assess how Britain can contribute to securing the vital waterway.Emphasising a strategic pivot, Starmer said the UK’s future is increasingly tied to Europe, especially ahead of an upcoming EU summit that will go beyond merely reviewing last year’s “reset” commitments. He warned that Brexit inflicted deep damage on the British economy and that the opportunities to improve security and alleviate the cost‑of‑living crisis are “too big to ignore”.At the summit, the government aims to secure closer economic and defence cooperation, a partnership built on shared values and mutual security interests. Starmer added that strengthening ties with the EU could also enhance the UK’s relationship with the United States, despite recent criticism from President Donald Trump.When pressed about Trump’s remarks about possibly withdrawing the US from NATO, Starmer replied that he will act according to the British national interest, regardless of external “noise”. He also clarified that, while Labour’s manifesto does not call for re‑joining the EU single market, the government is open to negotiating deeper single‑market links if they serve Britain’s economic goals.The speech drew sharp rebuke from Reform UK, whose deputy leader Richard Tice dismissed the idea of tighter EU ties as “ludicrous” and warned of the bloc’s past reliance on Russian gas. In contrast, Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton hailed the remarks as an “overdue moment of honesty” about Brexit’s costs and urged the UK to scrap “red‑line” policies and consider a customs union as an economic imperative.Green Party MP Siân Berry welcomed the shift, saying Starmer is finally recognising the need to look to European partners for long‑term security rather than relying solely on the United States.