Sam McPhail

2017 manifesto ‘The triple lock has worked,’ Theresa May’s election manifesto read in 2017. ‘It is now time to set pensions on an even course. So we will keep our promise to maintain the triple lock until 2020, and when it expires we will introduce a new double lock, meaning that pensions will rise in line with the earnings that pay for them, or in line with inflation – whichever is highest.’ Although the Conservatives went into the general election campaign set for a landslide, their lead over Labour bled away and they ended up eight seats short of a majority. They abandoned plans to reform the triple lock as part of their confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP, keeping them in office and, just barely, in power.

We’ve had three announcements this week that paint a worrying picture for the job prospects of young people. First, the job search website Adzuna published figures showing that the number of graduate vacancies fell to 8,383 in June, down 46 per cent on the year and down 84 per cent from their 2017 peak. Second, a Lancaster University survey of 1,000 business leaders showed that a third of firms had reduced the number of entry-level jobs. Third, this morning’s ONS update showed that the proportion of Neets – that is, 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training – remained stagnant at 13 per cent. It’s pretty grim reading all round.

The story of Cambridge professor Jason Arday’s academic scandal seems to have no end. First there were allegations of plagiarism, then accusations of dodgy data-gathering, not to mention other self-contradicting exaggerations about his academic achievements. Liverpool John Moores University says it conducted an investigation into the allegations against Arday and cleared him; however, it's clear that dozens of passages in his work are verbatim copies of text by Brunel University’s Paula Zwozdiak-Myers. But in British academia, Arday is just the tip of the iceberg. The media organisation Retraction Watch keeps an eye on which papers are corrected or retracted, often due to unrepeatable results, investigations by universities or journals, data fabrication, or outright plagiarism.

To be on the cusp of their nation’s greatest triumph and see it collapse in ten minutes was too much for many of the Egyptian side that lost 3-2 to Argentina on Tuesday. ‘It is clear that this tournament has been fixed,’ said winger Mostafa Ziko, whose goal was chalked off by the video assistant referee. The Egyptian FA wants the referees banned from the remainder of the tournament. Manager Hossam Hassan suggested it was a Fifa conspiracy ‘to keep the world champion in the competition… Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.’ Are they right? The main point of contention was the disallowed Ziko goal that would have put Egypt 2-0 up in the 59th minute.

England fans have been scarred by the Azteca stadium in the past. High on the Mexican plateau, the giant concrete fortress was where Maradona scored with the ‘Hand of God’ and dumped England out of the 1986 World Cup. For Mexico, the Azteca is equally significant. Every pundit seems to know this, saying that Mexico has only lost twice there since 1966, so England might as well pack their bags already. But how impressive are Mexico at the Azteca, and how might it affect the England players? The giant concrete fortress was where Maradona scored with the ‘Hand of God’ It is true that Mexico have only lost twice at the Azteca in competitive games, and they have also had 17 draws, giving them an extremely high win rate of almost 80 per cent.

The World Cup’s new ball is the most technologically advanced ever, Fifa tells us. It has a 500Hz motion sensor chip, which lets VAR and analysts figure out precise positioning, speed and even the spin on the ball, for some weird reason. But former England goalkeeper Joe Hart says the Trionda ball is making life harder for goalkeepers trying to save shots. ‘It’s that kind of shoulder height,’ he continued: As soon as [players] are not using the curling technique, as soon as that ball is not spinning, the goalkeepers are struggling. Hart obviously has lots of experience in the area and was particularly known for his ability to deal with shots around the head and shoulders, but is he right?

The Met Office has extended the heat warning as the heatwave continues into its fourth day – and yesterday saw a new record temperature for June, with a high of 35.7C recorded in Surrey. With a hot summer ahead, and more to come in the years ahead, surely air conditioning is an easy solution to keeping cool? Apparently not, according to sustainability professor Lucelia Rodrigues, who told Channel 4 News that we can’t ‘air-condition our way out of the heatwave’. Her main reasons are the effects on the climate (because ‘we also often use fossil fuels to pump the air conditioning’) and the possible heating effect on the surrounding environment, which could make it perhaps ‘some ten, twelve degrees higher than when you don't have air conditioning.

The World Cup starts tomorrow, and fans and news outlets are complaining that tickets are far too expensive. The England Supporters Travel Club says that following England all the way to the final would cost supporters more than $7,000 (£5,000) in tickets alone. Prices have more than doubled since the last World Cup and the cheapest standard ticket for the final is $4,185 (£3,000). But how much of this is down to Fifa’s greed? This year's World Cup is jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico across 16 cities. The United States is holding 78 of the matches, while Canada and Mexico have 13 each. When bidding for the tournament, the host nations used existing events as pricing benchmarks: boxing matches, ice hockey tournaments and the Super Bowl.

Five years ago, the Brazilian midfielder Joelinton was one of the Premier League’s worst players. But yesterday he was Newcastle’s best in their 2-1 win over Liverpool in the League Cup final. Spurred on by the clamour of the final, his gladiatorial style overpowered Liverpool’s meek midfield. He celebrated every tackle like a goal, buoying teammates and fans alike. After a third crucial tackle, the commentators purred in unison: ‘That’s his hat-trick.’ Now he’s been called up to the Brazilian national side. His redemption is without end. Perhaps the circumstances of Joelinton’s arrival at Newcastle in the summer of 2019 were unfair. Manager Steve Bruce originally bought the Brazilian as a striker for a club record-breaking £40 million.

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain could be knocked out of the Champions League tomorrow night. So thank God for the tournament’s new format, or so say the pundits. Yes, there’s the glee that most football fans feel when two of Europe’s petro state-owned superclubs are struggling. But the pundits also see Man City’s scrambling as a vindication of the Champions League’s face-lift. Finally, an end to the ‘bore fest we've had for years’, says pundit Jamie Carragher. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype and even easier to forget the great tournaments of the past few seasons.