'Our commitment continues to stand'

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [The Independent]( July 21, 2023 [View online](   [Morning Headlines]( 1 /[Biden turns up heat on UK over asylum for Afghan hero pilot]( [The White House]( has said it will make sure [Afghan veterans]( who supported the US are taken care of – while the British government [continues to stall in the case of an Afghan pilot](who has been threatened with deportation to Rwanda. The pilot, who risked his life on combat missions in support of coalition forces, has been left in limbo and has been threatened with removal after he arrived in Britain on a small boat because of the lack of safe legal routes. After the UK rejected his first application to remain, Washington is now considering his case after his US supervisor made a personal recommendation and described him as a “true patriot to his nation”. President Joe Biden’s spokesperson was asked about the speed at which [Afghans]( were being brought to the US, especially from third countries, in light of The Independent’s campaign on behalf of Afghan veterans. Karine Jean-Pierre replied: “Our commitment continues to stand. To make sure that we take care of the folks who helped us during the longest war in this country that we have, we have seen that we have supported and the work continues.”   2 /[Sunak warns of ‘tough’ by-election battles as Tories try to escape ‘long Boris’]( Government and Labour frontbenchers braced for possible reshuffles within days 3 /[MI6 chief calls for Russians to spy for UK to help end war in Ukraine]( Sir Richard Moore called on Russians to ‘join hands with us’, promising their secrets would be safe with MI6 4 /[NHS could save £635m through ‘green social prescribing’, study suggests]( Analysis found the mental and physical health benefits of being in nature would outweigh the investment costs 5 /[Row between rail unions as RMT accused of ruining deal]( Exclusive: TSSA chief questions ‘strategic thinking’ of sister union continuing walk-outs THE BIG QUESTION [Why will this Women’s World Cup be unlike anything we’ve seen before?]( As the squads have been adjusting to Australia and New Zealand over the last few weeks, many coaches and staff members have been doing what the rest of the public does, bouncing around news stories about the different teams to see how they are doing. It is the point at which an international tournament takes on that enticingly self-contained quality. All eyes still go to the USA, especially with this being Megan Rapinoe’s last World Cup, and the squad looking to see her off with a historic third successive victory. As the defending champions themselves look around the field, though, they aren’t seeing what they used to. There is the usual confidence, of course, but also some caution. The gap between them and the rest of the teams isn’t as big. Rapinoe’s retirement may well close out a wider era, since the dominant factor in women’s football over the last decade has been how the USA have enjoyed much longer-term development than the rest of the game. That has been seen as especially influential as regards physical conditioning, but the general feeling is that the European game and Australia have caught up. 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