Law passes despite fears it will ‘normalise Islamophobia’ and fact it could be struck down by constitutional court

Lawmakers in Austria have voted overwhelmingly to ban headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14, despite concerns the legislation will deepen societal divisions and marginalise Muslims. The law could also be struck down by the country’s constitutional court.

The ban was proposed earlier this year by Austria’s conservative-led government, which took office in March after a far-right party came first in the elections but failed to form a government.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

Going into Wednesday night’s match against Manchester City, Xabi Alonso’s future as head coach of Real Madrid seemed as up in the air as a Spanish omelette being flipped by celebrity chef Keith Floyd in his pomp. Just 14 games into his reign, the only unsightly blot on the 44-year-old’s copybook had been an unacceptable 5-2 hammering at the hands of Atlético. But, since the start of November, Madrid have only won three in nine, with arguably their most unpalatable results coming in the form of draws with supposed La Liga cannon fodder, including Elche and Girona, culminating in Sunday’s embarrassing home defeat at the hands of Celta Vigo . In Bigger Cup, they still look set fair to secure an all-important top eight spot despite their reverse at the hands of City , a defeat which was greeted by shrill whistles of disapproval from hard-to-please fans who had actually just seen their knack-ravaged team play reasonably well.

An official report says the bill for switching to clean energy will rise sharply – and puts forward a slower, ‘falling behind” alternative

The cost of hitting net zero targets has been laid bare by the UK’s energy system operator, showing a surge in spending over the coming years.

But investing in clean generation projects, distribution networks and replacing fossil fuel cars and boilers could be many billions of pounds cheaper if the UK was less ambitious, according to Thursday’s report. The downside would be that the benefits, which include far lower energy costs, would be delayed.

Mark Rutte says ‘we are already in harm’s way’

Nato’s Rutte largely sticks to usual pleasantries, but says the clear political signal from Germany and other European partners is that “Europe is ready to take on more responsibility,” and “a signal that burden sharing is not just a slogan.”

In his opening remarks, Merz says that Nato plays “a key role in a time of great geopolitical upheaval,” as he recalls his numerous meetings with Rutte in recent months.

Analysis marking 10 years since Paris climate agreement underscores effectiveness of strong government policies

The once-rigid link between economic growth and carbon emissions is breaking across the vast majority of the world, according to a study released ahead of Friday’s 10th anniversary of the Paris climate agreement.

The analysis, which underscores the effectiveness of strong government climate policies, shows this “decoupling” trend has accelerated since 2015 and is becoming particularly pronounced among major emitters in the global south.

Compensation due to thousands of women and girls fitted with coils without their knowledge or consent

Victims of Denmark’s IUD scandal, in which thousands of Greenlandic women and girls were forcibly fitted with contraceptive coils without their knowledge or consent, have claimed victory in their legal fight with the Danish government after it was confirmed they will be eligible for compensation.

The Danish parliament, Folketinget, and the government reached an agreement on Wednesday that entitles about 4,500 Greenlandic women to claim 300,000 DKK (£35,000) each from a reconciliation fund.

Opera may be conspicuous by its absence, but the brilliance of Berlin Philharmonic’s Schoenberg and the exceptional South Korean Yunchan Lim gave us plenty to sink our teeth into this year

The survey of the new releases that my colleagues and I have enjoyed most in 2025 differs in one significant respect from the lists of previous years. This year’s top ten contains no operas. There has been a profound change in record companies’ policies of how and what they record. The glitzy, studio-based opera recordings of the last century now seem impossible to contemplate, and even releasing audio-only recordings taken directly from live opera-house performances often seems less viable than issuing DVDs of the same productions.

Some specialist labels devoted to specific areas of the operatic repertoire continue sterling work: operas feature prominently in Bru Zane ’s mission on behalf of neglected French composers, while Opera Rara continues to crusade for forgotten, mostly 19th century, mostly Italian, scores which this year included the original 1857 version of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra. Other companies continue to find treasures in Europe’s apparently inexhaustible baroque archives, while, on its own label, the London Symphony Orchestra has continued to release Simon Rattle’s Janáček series taken from his concert performances with the orchestra at the Barbican, the latest release being Jenůfa . If full-length operas are notably scarce in the schedules of the major companies, two exceptions this year were Decca’s release of the Oslo-sourced Flying Dutchman , with Lise Davidsen and Gerald Finley, and Deutsche Grammophon’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk , part of Andris Nelson’s Boston-based Shostakovich series, both of which proved less than overwhelming.

Slew of allegations of sexual harassment hits party already battered by corruption claims and political setbacks

• Europe live – latest updates

Spain’s ruling socialist party, which has been battered by a barrage of corruption allegations and political setbacks , is scrambling to reassert its feminist credentials after being accused of failing to act on sexual misconduct by senior men in the party.

Pedro Sánchez appointed 11 women and six men to his cabinet when he became prime minister in 2018, saying his Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) was “unmistakably committed to equality” and to reflecting recent changes in Spanish society.

• Operating profit up after £7m loss a year earlier

• United’s revenue down from £143.1m to £140.3m

Manchester United’s operating profit rose to £13m in the financial year’s first quarter compared with an equivalent £7m loss 12 months earlier, with the chief executive, Omar Berrada, stating this was down to “the difficult decisions made in the past year” by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Since Ratcliffe became the largest minority owner in February 2024, his budgetary adjustments have included making about 450 redundancies, which will take the head count to about 800. The Ineos chair has also ended Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial role, saving about £2m a-year, and cut free lunches for United employees.