Yahoo News The 8 things you might have missed this weekend
A split in Theresa May's cabinet over Brexit has deepened, Germany has seen a surge for a far-right party in its elections and Donald Trump has fuelled a row over protests at NFL games.
Meanwhile, Alvaro Morata is doing well to fill Diego Costa's boots at Chelsea and the ban on poppies being worn during England and other home nations matches is to be scrapped.
If you've been away from a screen or newspaper all weekend or want a summary, here's a quick recap of the main events.
1. Boris Johnson described as 'simple minded'
Philip Hammond's allies have accused Boris Johnson of being "simple minded" and warned that the Brexit transition period may need to be extended until after the next election.
Mr Johnson has made clear that a Brexit "implementation period" must last no longer than two years, meaning that the UK will effectively leave the EU by 2021.
However the Chancellor and other ministers including Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, have argued that the UK will need at least an extra year so that businesses can adjust.
The deepening Cabinet split comes after Mrs May thought she had brokered a truce between Mr Hammond and Mr Johnson with a keynote speech in Florence on Friday.
Mr Hammond's supporters were left infuriated at the weekend after allies of Mr Johnson claimed that they had thwarted the Chancellor's push for a longer transition.
2. Merkel's victory clouded by rise of far-right AfD
Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a fourth term in Germany's election on Sunday, but her victory was clouded by the hard-right AfD party winning its first seats in parliament.
Merkel, who after 12 years in power held a double-digit lead for most of the campaign, scored around 33 percent of the vote with her conservative Christian Union (CDU/CSU) bloc, according to exit polls.
Its nearest rivals, the Social Democrats and their candidate Martin Schulz, came in a distant second, with a post-war record low 20-21 percent.
But in a bombshell for the German establishment, the anti-Islam, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) captured around 13 percent, making it the country's third biggest political force.
Spontaneous protests sprung up in several German cities.
3. Trump says NFL anthem protests have 'nothing to do with race'
Donald Trump insisted on Sunday that a wave of protests held by National Football League players during the US anthem before games had "nothing to do with race".
The president escalated his feud with American football after players staged their biggest anti-racism protest yet at London's Wembley Stadium.
The protest, which was followed by more demonstrations in America, came hours after Mr Trump called for a boycott of the NFL as he vented his fury on Twitter throughout the day.
More than 150 players could be seen kneeling or sitting in the 14 games that took place on Sunday, easily the largest such demonstration since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first began protesting in 2016.
4. Meghan Markle joins Prince Harry in first public appearance
Meghan Markle, the American actress, has made her first public appearance with Prince Harry, as she attended the Invictus Games opening ceremony.
Sitting separately from the Prince, her boyfriend of more than a year, the actress clapped and cheered as he delivered the opening address for the Games in her home town of Toronto, Canada.
She appeared thrilled as he was praised on stage for setting up the Invictus Games, for wounded military veterans, and cheered enthusiastically as he enjoyed his big moment on stage.
Beginning his speech in French, she smothered a giggle as he faltered comically over the phrase: "Merci beaucoup pour votre hospitalité."
5. Labour proposes debt cap that would see credit card companies forced to write off billions
Credit card companies would be forced to write off billions of pounds in long-term customer debts if Labour got into power under a policy to be unveiled at the party's conference.
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, will propose capping the amount of money lenders can charge in interest so that no one has to pay back more than double what they borrowed.
He will say the policy will help three million credit card holders who are “trapped by their debt”.
But with £14 billion owed by those classed as being in “persistent debt”, the policy raises questions over whether the cost of the policy would end up being passed onto other borrowers.
6. Morata is hat-trick hero in Chelsea's thrashing of Stoke
Chelsea continued to show there is life after Diego Costa with another Premier League victory at Stoke, with Alvaro Morata scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0 win.
Morata, the club-record signing bought to replace Costa, was on the scoresheet again early on before Pedro extended the lead on the half-hour mark.
Both goals came from defensive mistakes by Stoke, whose manager Mark Hughes had demanded a response from his players following the disappointing midweek defeat at Bristol City in the Carabao Cup. He did not get it, with Morata rounding off the win in the final quarter-hour.
The game was just over a minute old when Cesar Azpilicueta's long ball forward dissected Stoke's makeshift back line and allowed the lethal Morata to take a touch and finish calmly past Jack Butland.
Antonio Conte challenges Chelsea's hat-trick hero Alvaro Morata to join world's elite strikers.
7. Poppies ban to be scrapped
The ban on poppies being worn during England and other home nations matches is to be scrapped in a major victory for the British game.
A climbdown by Fifa will allow all four countries to commemorate Armistice Day during international week in November without being punished for doing so, including at a planned Wembley friendly between England and Germany.
The Football Association and its Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts were fined over their remembrance activities last year, despite having previously been permitted to mark the occasion.
Following a backlash against Fifa’s change of stance – which the Prime Minister branded “utterly outrageous” – and a set of appeals which threatened to go all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the world governing body has finally agreed to allow countries to commemorate “a significant national or international event”.
8. Test matches in England could be cut from five to four days
The traditional five-day Test, which has been a feature of the English summer for nearly 70 years, will end in 2020 if the England & Wales Cricket Board successfully argues for the introduction of four-day matches.
The ECB is leading the push for Test matches to be reduced to four days after the 2019 Ashes summer, believing it is the best way to breathe new life into the game’s oldest format and is confident it has the support of broadcasters and host grounds.
A four-day Test would start in England half an hour earlier at 10.30am to give teams more time to bowl the increased number of overs in a day and with all venues now having floodlights, play would be extended where possible.
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