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The Guardian

Labour should be ‘less tribal’, says Keir Starmer after Elphicke defection (ven., 10 mai 2024)
Party leader welcomes MP in Dover speech as he announces plan to replace Rwanda scheme with new border-security unit UK politics live – latest updates The Labour party should be “less tribal” and be open to “reasonably minded people, whichever way they voted in the past”, Keir Starmer has said. He welcomed Labour’s newest MP, Natalie Elphicke, at a speech in Dover and said her defection was proof that the party was building a broad range of support. Continue reading...
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Russia-Ukraine war live: Kyiv sends reinforcements to Kharkiv and evacuates civilians as Russian forces advance (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Head of the town of Vovchansk’s military administration said transport was being organised for those without cars Russian forces have advanced one kilometre (0.62 mile) into Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region near Vovchansk, a high-ranking Ukrainian military source said on Friday. According to Reuters, the source said the Russian military was aiming to advance as much as 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) into the region in an effort to establish a buffer zone. Ukrainian forces were fighting to hold back Moscow’s advance. At approximately 5 am, there was an attempt by the enemy to break through our defensive line under the cover of armoured vehicles. As of now, these attacks have been repulsed; battles of varying intensity continue. Continue reading...
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Israel-Gaza war live: Israeli whistleblowers claim abuse of Palestinians at detention centre (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Three Israeli whistleblowers working at the Sde Teiman desert camp say military responsible for series of abuses On a visit to Washington, German defence minister Boris Pistorius expressed “understanding” for the US threat to limit arms supplies to Israel in the event of a full-blown Rafah offensive but stopped short of setting any new red lines on German weapons. However, he told ZDF public television that Germany must put pressure on Israel “not to go too far” and to “slow down” in its military response to the 7 October attacks. “ Continue reading...
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Great goat giveaway: Italian island inundated with adoption offers (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Mayor of Alicudi appealed for homes for 600 feral goats which will be removed from tiny volcanic island When the mayor of a remote Italian island grappling with an overpopulation of feral goats offered to give the animals away, he anticipated a smattering of interest from farmers on neighbouring isles who were perhaps keen to boost their production of ricotta cheese. But as news of his “adopt a goat” initiative spread beyond Alicudi, he received a flurry of offers from around the world – not just from Europe, but also the US, and even from an animal-lover in Nigeria. Continue reading...
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Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant empire tripled losses to £3.4m last year (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Celebrity chef says businesses are ‘battling to stay afloat’ due to rising rent and food costs but industry still ‘vibrant’ Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant empire tripled losses to £3.4m last year as it spent millions of pounds on opening five new restaurants and the chef said businesses in the industry were “battling to stay afloat”. Sales at the celebrity chef’s dining establishments, which range from his Michelin-starred flagship Restaurant Gordon Ramsay to Street Burger, rose by 21% to £95.6m in the year to 27 August. The group took on 290 more staff after a tough time during the pandemic lockdowns. Continue reading...
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Man linked to viral dress pleads guilty to endangering wife’s life (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Keir Johnston, 38, admits strangling Grace Johnston outside Scottish home on Isle of Colonsay A man who became famous after a dress bought for his wedding “broke the internet” has pleaded guilty to endangering his wife’s life after admitting to strangling her. Keir Johnston, 38, pleaded guilty to the attack at the high court in Glasgow on Thursday and was remanded in custody until a sentence is passed next month. Continue reading...
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UK has moved out of recession, official figures show (Fri, 10 May 2024)
GDP rose by 0.6% in first quarter of 2024 but forecasters expect economy to grow slowly this year Analysis: Boom-boom Britain it ain’t Business live – latest updates The UK is officially out of recession after figures showed the economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of the year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the period from January to the end of March marked a return to growth after a mild recession in the second half of 2023. It was the strongest rate of quarterly growth since the end of 2021, and a better performance than expected by economists, who forecast growth of 0.4% in the first quarter. Continue reading...
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Man, 50, charged with murder of woman, 44, in Leicester (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Raj Sidpara charged after body of ‘bubbly, caring’ Tarnjeet Riaz found at address in east Leicester A 50-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Tarnjeet Riaz, a 44-year-old woman described by her family as a “bubbly, caring and funny character”. Raj Sidpara was charged by Leicestershire police after Riaz’s body was found at an address in Thurnby Lodge, east Leicester, on Monday. Continue reading...
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Whooping cough will kill more babies unless UK vaccination rates rise, says expert (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Government adviser says low take-up of jab among pregnant women is putting young infants at particular risk More babies will die from whooping cough in the UK unless vaccination rates go up to slow the spread of the infection, a leading expert has warned, citing low take-up of jabs among pregnant women as a particular concern. Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, a consultant paediatrician and the chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises the government, said under-vaccination was putting “the most vulnerable – those who are too young to have been vaccinated – at greatest risk”. Continue reading...
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Adder girl! Tunnels aim to encourage British snakes to mix and breed (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Trust builds passes under road bisecting Berkshire commons for increasingly endangered venomous snake How did the adder cross the road? It didn’t – it was too scared. Now, however, road-shy populations of the increasingly endangered snake are being given a helping hand with the construction of Britain’s first adder tunnels. Continue reading...
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Latest GDP figures offer some better news – but boom-boom Britain it ain’t (Fri, 10 May 2024)
While the government will seize on any crumbs of comfort it can find, the bigger picture on growth tells a different story UK has moved out of recession, official figures show Business live – latest updates The first quarterly expansion in a year. Recession receding into the rear-view mirror. A stronger performance in recent months than the Bank of England and the City had thought likely. Faster growth in early 2024 than any other member of the G7 group of leading industrial nations. When you are in as deep a political hole as the current government you seize on any good news, and there was plenty for Jeremy Hunt to choose from in the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. The figures were proof that the economy was returning to “full health for the first time since the pandemic”, the chancellor said. Continue reading...
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Beloved Cardiff pub demolished in 2012 reopens after brick-by-brick rebuild on new site (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Historic alehouse frequented by a Manic Street Preacher and All Black rugby players reconstructed on edge of Welsh capital For more than a century and a half, the Vulcan Hotel served dockers, railway workers, artists, sports stars, gamblers and dreamers and the demolition in 2012 of this beloved, spit-and-sawdust Cardiff pub felt like a bereavement. Twelve years on, the pints are about to flow and the pickled eggs served again after a painstaking project to move the old alehouse brick by brick to a new site and reopen it as a working pub. Continue reading...
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‘Police raids are nothing new’: student protesters from 1960s see history repeating itself (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Anti-Vietnam war activists from Tariq Ali to the Weather Underground on the remarkable parallels with today’s pro-Palestinian uprising – and authorities’ responses Early last week, days before the NYPD raid, Eleanor Stein poked around the edges of the Gaza Solidarity encampment at Columbia University. The area was the hub of the pro-ceasefire, pro-divestment, pro-Palestinian protest movement that has, in recent weeks, spread across the United States (and, more recently, Canada and the UK). It wasn’t her first time witnessing clashes of protesters and counter-protesters on the lawns of the august Ivy League school. In 1968, Stein was one of 700 students arrested at Columbia during protests targeting both the university’s ties to the US military apparatus at the height of the Vietnam war, and the college’s plan to build a segregated gym, at the height of the civil rights movement. “This was really a crisis moment,” Stein, 78, recalls. “Students were taking a moral stand. We were ready to risk our careers, and our lives and our futures, and take a leap into the unknown and say, ‘No. We are not going to budge.’” Top: On the mall in front of Low Memorial Library at Columbia University, a young man with a microphone speaks to a crowd of students, faculty and onlookers during a protest in New York, 1968. Bottom: Students camp on Columbia University’s campus to protest against the university’s ties with Israel in New York, 22 April 2024. Continue reading...
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Piers Morgan’s Baby Reindeer interview with Fiona Harvey reeked of grubby exploitation (Fri, 10 May 2024)
This face-to-face with the real-life ‘Martha’ made for queasy viewing. It’s hard not to feel that the world would be a better place if it hadn’t happened. What horrible turn will this story take next? Has any television programme ever had such a dramatic off-screen arc as Baby Reindeer? Dropped on to Netflix without expectation or warning a month ago, its popularity exploded as people sat gripped through Richard Gadd’s stalking horror show, boggled by the promise that all of this had actually happened. And yet now it’s hard to think of Baby Reindeer without it leaving a distasteful smell. The show’s popularity – and the promise of veracity – led to a small army of internet sleuths effectively stalking the characters’ supposed real-world counterparts. Martha, the woman who tormented Gadd’s character with an onslaught of unwanted interaction, was outed as a Scottish woman named Fiona Harvey. With grim inevitability, Harvey was last night interviewed on Piers Morgan’s YouTube channel. Continue reading...
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‘You have to have a skirt rip moment!’ How to win Eurovision (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Is it all about having a great gimmick – or touching hearts? Ahead of this year’s song contest, Eurovision hitmakers from Bucks Fizz to Käärijä reveal the tricks of the trade, from free saunas and milkmaids to writing your tune in half an hour You’re representing your country in Eurovision. You’ve got a great pop song complete with choreography you’ve spent weeks perfecting. And you’ve got more than 100 million people watching as you take to the stage. It must feel exhilarating, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, right? “It was the most nerve-racking, trouser-cacking two minutes and 58 seconds of my entire life,” says Katrina Leskanich, whose band Katrina and the Waves won Eurovision for the UK in 1997 with Love Shine a Light. “No matter how many gigs you’ve done before, it just brings out the nerves. There’s so much pressure. You’ve got the country, your label, your family, the people watching you on TV.” Continue reading...
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Meet Rob Owen: overweight, millionaire gambler and sport’s unlikeliest coach (Fri, 10 May 2024)
England Squash’s secret weapon for the 2028 Olympics is, in his own words, ‘the fittest fat bloke you’ll ever meet’ Rob Owen’s wife, Alison, sits down in the kitchen and succinctly reflects on 25 years of marriage, oblivious to the TV behind her silently showing endless horse racing replays. “Stressful,” she concludes, before laughing at the acerbity of her summary. A rare hush has briefly descended while the indefatigable Owen has his picture taken in a neighbouring room, where he can faintly be heard amiably discussing which props to include in each shot. Alarmingly forthright when he deems it necessary, Owen is also unceasingly hospitable, mystified by the photographer continually declining the offer of a hot drink in exchange for his troubles. Continue reading...
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Apple Butter Cafe, London W1: ‘Food to make a diabetes doctor sigh anxiously’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants (Fri, 10 May 2024)
When the world isn’t particularly sweet, sometimes we all need a sharp blast of teeth-chattering, sugary goo … Apple Butter Cafe, which recently opened a second branch at the top of London’s Regent Street, is very much a cafe of its time. Today’s young may be eschewing the vices of yesteryear – booze, ciggies, drugs, etc – but their Achilles heel is sugar. Build a cafe that serves short stacks of chunky, fat pancakes smothered in banoffee syrup and topped with mini meringues, shards of tempered chocolate, quenelles of thick cream and microplaned lemon zest, and they will come. Post a video on TikTok of someone blowtorching said pancake stack, so the meringue browns and gives the whole hot mess a baked alaska vibe, however, and your customers will queue from 8am for the chance to make their own content next to the fake plastic trees “growing” inside the cafe. Sugar is the most cheerily pernicious of vices. I come from a long line of bingo-winged, eccles cake-addicted Methodist women who wear smock dresses, so I am condemned by my DNA to seek out plentiful bowls of apple crumble pancakes with spiced fruit. No calories are printed on Apple Butter Cafe’s menu – not on the creme brulee french toast nor the croissant butter pudding with custard and pecan nuts. Both dishes, I suspect, would make a diabetes doctor sigh anxiously. That said, one benefit of Apple Butter Cafe’s new Langham Place branch is that it is a mere hop, skip and jump from Harley Street, though those in the medical profession may well see “hopping” as your destiny after too much vanilla cheesecake or saffron milk cake in a custardy puddle strewn with petals. Continue reading...
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‘I love erotic thrillers, but this so isn’t one’: Damian Hurley on directing his mother, Elizabeth, in a ‘sensual mystery’ (Fri, 10 May 2024)
At 22, Damian Hurley has made his first feature film, in which his very famous mum is snogged and fondled by her female co-star. He talks about being a nepo baby, finally getting to vote, and coping with the deaths of his father and stepfather Orson Welles was 25 when he directed Citizen Kane. What took him so long? He should have pulled his finger out like Damian Hurley, son of the model and actor Elizabeth Hurley, who was just 20 when he called “Action!” on his own debut, Strictly Confidential. It was filmed on Saint Kitts and Nevis, and could double as a tourist-board commercial for those Caribbean islands were it not for the murder and skulduggery, or lines such as: “You’ve been fucking your dead sister’s boyfriend!” In his journey to the director’s chair, Hurley, who has a lucrative modelling career, has faced few obstacles. He was given a camcorder at the age of eight. His early shorts starred his mother and her ex, Hugh Grant, who happens also to be one of his godfathers. (Elton John is another.) And he got the chance to make his first feature after a studio executive called him out of the blue to ask if he had any movie ideas. Hard yards these are not. Continue reading...
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The best and worst to-go packaging – ranked! (Fri, 10 May 2024)
One way to mitigate he eco-guilt of a to-go habit is to choose restaurants that serve food in sustainable containers Getting restaurant meals to-go often comes with a side of guilt: “did I need to supersize? I should have saved the money and cooked at home.” And the final sting, perhaps muttered while hovering over the trash and recycling bins deciding where to toss the empty boxes: “Oh, the waste.” Dietary and budgeting concerns notwithstanding, one way to mitigate the environmental impact (or the eco-guilt) of a takeout habit is to choose restaurants that serve their food in more sustainable containers. Continue reading...
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‘Full of secrets and promises’: Dusty Springfield’s 20 greatest songs – ranked! (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Sixty years after her debut album, we rate the pop singer’s best tracks, from a song recorded in a stairwell to a Pet Shop Boys collaboration It’s closer to a show tune than soul, but Dusty Springfield kept singing Quiet Please live during her wilderness years for a reason. The version from 1979, the year Springfield’s UK tour was cancelled due to poor sales, is particularly freighted: “She may not be the latest rage, but she’s singing and she means it … give her your respect if nothing else.” Continue reading...
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Raging bull-terrier: did Martin Scorsese’s dog really eat Paul Schrader’s thumb? (Fri, 10 May 2024)
According to a Variety interview, yes. But is this part of the director and Taxi Driver writer’s self-mythologising? The American Kennel Club might have the answer Stephen Rodrick’s interview with Paul Schrader in Variety is a thing of great heft. Over the course of the piece, Schrader grapples openly with the looming spectre of death, contacts Kevin Spacey to star in a potential Sinatra biopic and revisits a decade-old feud he has had with his own interviewer. But that isn’t why people will remember it. No, they will remember the interview because, out of nowhere, Martin Scorsese’s dog eats Paul Schrader’s finger. During one of their conversations for the piece, late last year, Schrader turned up for dinner with “a massive, bloody bandage” wrapped around his hand. Rodrick asks what happened, and then pastes in a transcript of the following exchange. Continue reading...
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Our Post Office victory is being twisted by those who don’t want to see its like again | Alan Bates (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Litigation funders didn’t ‘exploit’ subpostmasters, they helped us. Those who attack them have corporate interests at heart Alan Bates is founder of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance You are probably familiar with the case Alan Bates and Others v Post Office Ltd. The high court found that I and 554 other former subpostmasters were right about the Post Office’s faulty Horizon IT system. What you might not know, however, is that this case would not have been possible without something called litigation funding. This is when a third party provides the money for a legal battle in return for a share of the damages or settlement in the case of a victory. The arrangement worked very well for us. In fact, there would have been no justice for subpostmasters without it, given the exorbitant costs of the legal system in England and Wales. But there is now a concerted effort by big business to constrain access to litigation funding. Alan Bates is a former subpostmaster and the founder of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
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What should Labour learn from Sadiq Khan? Take a stand – and don’t back down | John McTernan (Fri, 10 May 2024)
From Ulez to free school meals, London’s mayor introduced bold, principled policies – and won. Keir Starmer, take note John McTernan was political secretary to Tony Blair and is now a political strategist Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner, but I never doubted that Sadiq Khan would win re-election as the city’s mayor – even when rumours of a surprise upset were being breathlessly repeated. Of course, Labour has always had the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But this has meant that the party is all too often fearful in the face of large opinion poll leads, with an electoral strategy defined by the lessons of painful defeats. The time has come to learn from winning, and where better to start than Khan’s win in London. This was, to borrow the words of the former Australian Labor prime minister Paul Keating, the “sweetest victory of all” – a victory for the true believers. What has gained Khan the two largest personal mandates in British electoral history has been his politics. John McTernan was political secretary to Tony Blair and is now a political strategist for BCW Continue reading...
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In France, we’ve been desperate for a real alternative to Macron and Le Pen. Finally, he’s here | Alexander Hurst (Fri, 10 May 2024)
The June European elections are my first as a French citizen – and they’re in time to vote for the rising star of the left, Raphaël Glucksmann Continue reading...
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Digested week: Kim Kardashian’s corset, dated insults – and a fuss at the Garrick (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Club members seem to have an idea of the type of women they’re after; and why retiring ‘tosspot’ and ‘git’ is unacceptable Credit for the success of the TV show Baby Reindeer is largely owed to one woman, Jessica Gunning, who rescues Richard Gadd’s baggy, self-absorbed script with her brilliant performance as Martha, Gadd’s stalker. (When Gunning disappears, mid-series, we are effectively left in a room with a man doing bad standup). For the last week or so, coverage of the show’s success – it’s No 1 on Netflix in the UK and No 4 in the US – has rubbed shoulders with commentary about the ethics of the race to unearth the real people on whom the seven-part drama is based. Continue reading...
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The students protesting in Dublin are on the right side of history – and they know it | Owen Jones (Fri, 10 May 2024)
With their success in persuading their university to divest from Israeli companies, they join a rich tradition of student activists Who tends to get the big foreign policy calls right: student protesters, or their detractors? Answering this question, it turns out, is useful if you don’t want to end up judged poorly by history. Student protesters were vilified when they stood against the Vietnam war, yet now, who would have wanted to be on the side that denigrated them variously as naive, dupes and extremists? How should we look back at the students suspended after walking out of lessons in protest at the impending war in Iraq in 2003? Today we might say they come off looking pretty good, having had far more foresight than the seasoned politicians and ageing media commentators who cheered that particular cataclysm on back then. That legacy loomed large on Wednesday in a courtyard at Trinity College Dublin, filled with students waving Palestinian flags alongside the Irish tricolour, as the triumphant student union president, László Molnárfi, told them their protests would succeed in Ireland, the US and across the world “because our cause is right”. The students were jubilant, because they had won. Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
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Why is Britain’s mental health so incredibly poor? It’s because our society is spiralling backwards | George Monbiot (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Even as neoliberalism destroys our dreams of a better life, politicians tell us ‘there is no alternative’. But there is The news should have stopped us in our tracks. Astonishingly, however, it was scarcely reported here. The latest map of mental wellbeing published by the Global Mind Project reveals that, out of the 71 countries it assessed, the United Kingdom, alongside South Africa, has the highest proportion of people in mental distress – and the second worst overall measure of mental health (we beat only Uzbekistan). Mental wellbeing has plummeted in the UK further than in any comparable nation. How was this not headline news? More importantly, why has it happened? The Global Mind Project blames smartphones and ultra-processed food. They doubtless play a role, but they’re hardly peculiar to the UK. I think part of the reason is the sense that life here is, visibly and obviously, spiralling backwards. George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist. His latest book, The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism (& How It Came to Control Your Life), is out on 16 May Continue reading...
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Eurovision is a joyful, powerful event – but it can’t carry the weight of the war in Gaza | Gaby Hinsliff (Fri, 10 May 2024)
It’s one thing to call for a boycott because of Israel’s entry, another to pile responsibility on the shoulders of pop stars Are you watching Eurovision this weekend? It used to be an innocent enough question. But it’s fast becoming a loaded one, as the silliest, frothiest, most joyfully kitsch event in music collides with a political crisis that it seems woefully ill-equipped to handle. Imagine a raucously drunken hen night, stumbling accidentally across a funeral procession. This is far from the first time the annual song contest has taken place under the shadow of war. But it’s the first time I can remember Britain’s entrant bursting into tears in an interview, confessing to being “holed up in a hotel room trying not to have a breakdown” over the pressure for him to quit, or contestants becoming lightning rods for this degree of anger. Armed police now watch over the arena, while the Swedish host city of Malmö saw thousands joining street protests on Thursday night as tensions rose ahead of a threatened Israeli ground invasion of Rafah. Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
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I understand climate scientists' despair – but stubborn optimism may be our only hope | Christiana Figueres (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Fighting spirit helped us achieve the Paris accords in 2015 – and we need it now the world is on course to overshoot 1.5C • ‘Hopeless and broken’: why the world’s top climate scientists are in despair • Christiana Figueres was the head of the UN climate change convention from 2010 to 2016 “Hopeless and broken”: that is how a top scientist interviewed by the Guardian described feeling as she and hundreds of other climate experts shared harrowing predictions of the future of the planet this week. I resonate with her feelings of despair. Even as the former head of the UN climate change convention that achieved the Paris agreement in 2015, I, like many, can succumb to believing in the worst possible outcome. Just after I assumed the role of UN climate chief in 2010, I said to a room full of reporters that I didn’t believe a global agreement on climate would be possible in my lifetime. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on Britain’s dirty waterways: a failure of industry and regulation | Editorial (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Fresh warnings about polluted rivers from the environment watchdog are shocking but not surprising A steady stream of stories about the shockingly poor state of Britain’s waterways has turned into a flood. In March, news that competitors in the Boat Race had been warned to stay out of the Thames due to sewage pollution travelled round the world. That the water industry is dysfunctional, and for years has enriched shareholders and executives at the expense of customers, is broadly recognised by the public. Anglers, surfers and swimmers have joined with environmentalists and the former pop star Feargal Sharkey to demand improvements. Polling last year suggested more than half of voters would take the government’s handling of sewage into account when deciding how to vote. The latest warnings about the situation from Dame Glenys Stacey, the environment watchdog, are thus not surprising. But her data and analysis still have the power to shock. Under the worst-case assessment from the Office for Environmental Protection, just 21% of England’s rivers and other bodies of water will be in a good ecological state by the target date of 2027 – in contravention of the Environment Act. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on John Swinney’s Scotland: a new start but also more of the same | Editorial (Thu, 09 May 2024)
The new first minister gets it that the public want better government, but he has not got much time to deliver Scotland’s new first minister is an experienced and unflashy politician who can read the public mood. Almost everything that John Swinney has said and done since replacing Humza Yousaf this week shows he grasps the palpable wish – south of the border as well as north – for more effective government that is led by more sensible politicians who do not spend their time playing to the gallery. The question, after 17 years governing Scotland, is whether any SNP leader can now deliver this. Mr Swinney’s election speech on Tuesday and his debut at first minister’s questions at Holyrood on Thursday were each designed to show that he gets it. On Tuesday, after accepting that cross-party parliamentary cooperation would be necessary under the minority government he now leads, he perambulated through the chamber to shake hands with other party leaders. It was a small gesture, of a kind that newly elected leaders sometimes make before things get more serious, but it was a good start nonetheless. Continue reading...
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How savage Tory cuts hollowed out all our public services | Letters (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Readers respond to an article by John Harris on the devastating impact of the austerity years on councils and communities John Harris’s articles are often rooted in his conversations with and observations of parts of the electorate whose voices are rarely heard, and give a unique insight into the impact of national policy decisions on local communities. The examples of destruction and despair from 14 years of Conservative government are well catalogued, but his visit to Thurrock revealed how much the savage cuts to local authority budgets have stripped bare the provision of every local service, from bin collections to essential care for older and vulnerable people (We pay a lot more for a lot less, and people know it. That’s why Sunak’s Tories were thrashed in these elections, 5 May). Continue reading...
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Should Labour be embracing the likes of Natalie Elphicke? | Letters (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Readers respond to the news of the staunch rightwing Tory MP defecting to the Labour party It is clearly moving season for MPs. First Dan Poulter, a former Tory health minister, defected to Labour at the end of April because of the government’s lamentable failings on the NHS. Fair enough. Then there was the breathtaking defection to Labour of Natalie Elphicke, one of the most rightwing Tory MPs who has made a career of high-volume criticism of Labour policies, some of which would have meant a lifetime ban had the criticism come from a serving Labour MP. Elphicke was welcomed in by Keir Starmer (Report, 8 May). On the same day, the Labour whip was restored to Kate Osamor after what was described as “a full investigation” for claiming, on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day in January, that what is happening in Gaza should be remembered as genocide. Continue reading...
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Everton ditch appeal over two-point PSR deduction: football news – live (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Weekend fixtures | Latest tables | Premier League preview And feel free to email Yara with your football thoughts Nottingham Forest: The club’s Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis has stated he is “confident” they will stay in the Premier League and says he has “big dreams” for his club. “It’s a great team, it inspires us and we want to do more and you will see in the years to come that we have big dreams for Forest,” said the 56-year-old Greek in an interview with the BBC. In March, Forest were docked four points for breaches of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules and lost their appeal against the punishment earlier this week. Continue reading...
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Klopp vows to be on best behaviour and avoid being in stands for Anfield finale (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Liverpool coach is one yellow card away from punishment Darwin Núñez told he must play through a troubled spell Jürgen Klopp has said he will try “absolutely everything” when his team visit Aston Villa on Monday to avoid the yellow card that would banish him to the stands for his final home game as Liverpool manager. Klopp has been booked twice this season, against Burnley on 10 February and Luton on 5 November, and a third at Villa Park would bring an automatic touchline ban for his final match at Anfield against Wolves on Sunday week. While avoiding touchline confrontations has never been the Liverpool manager’s forte, he believes going three months since his last booking is a sign of mellowing. And Klopp admits he will be conscious at Villa Park of needing to avoid a sanction that would dampen his Anfield farewell. Continue reading...
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Premier League: 10 things to look out for in this weekend’s football (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Tricky trips for Arsenal and Manchester City, a big day at the bottom and auditions for Euro 2024 If Arsenal miss out on the title, one of the games they will look back on will be the 2-1 defeat to Fulham on New Year’s Eve, the last time they were beaten away from home in the league. However, Fulham have a chance to do Arsenal a favour this weekend. Marco Silva’s team host Manchester City in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday and should not be written off. Fulham are awkward, creative and combative at home. Plenty of reason for Arsenal to be optimistic. Until Erling Haaland completes a first-half hat-trick, that is. Jacob Steinberg Fulham v Manchester City, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST) Bournemouth v Brentford, Saturday 3pm Everton v Sheffield United, Saturday 3pm Newcastle v Brighton, Saturday 3pm Tottenham v Burnley, Saturday 3pm West Ham v Luton Town, Saturday 3pm Continue reading...
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Gateshead fired up for Wembley cup trip after ban from promotion playoffs (Fri, 10 May 2024)
National League side were denied a playoff spot by lease issue but have shot at glory against Solihull Moors in FA Trophy final As a Newcastle United goalkeeper, Rob Elliot was no stranger to the substitutes’ bench. “I spent more time on the sidelines than I wanted,” says Gateshead’s manager. “But it meant I watched a lot of football, I learned the way team structure and tactical shape worked at the highest level.” On Saturday afternoon Elliot will choreograph his team from a new vantage point: the touchline at Wembley, where they face Solihull Moors in the FA Trophy final. Continue reading...
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Sports quiz of the week: Real Madrid, Tom Daley and Women’s FA Cup final (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Have you been following the big stories in football, boxing, diving, snooker, rugby, cricket and motor racing? Continue reading...
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Tom Brady’s Blues: Birmingham’s relegation proves celebrity doesn’t guarantee success (Fri, 10 May 2024)
US stars have flooded English soccer on the backs of the Wrexham phenomenon. But the shimmer of fame cannot overcome ineffective ownership Tom Brady was nowhere to be seen as Birmingham City dropped to the third tier of English football. He was, however, in Los Angeles the following day for Netflix’s The Roast of Tom Brady, a live TV special in which Bill Belichick, Kevin Hart and many others ripped into the seven-time Super Bowl winner. “I see your soccer team got knocked down another tier in the English Football League,” Belichick, Brady’s former coach, said from the dais. “For those not familiar with English football, thanks to the intricacies of their obscure regulations system, I’ll put it in English for you: they suck! Not so easy to run a team, is it Tom?” Continue reading...
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Playing for Emma Hayes’ Chelsea pushed me to be stronger for life after football | Karen Carney (Thu, 09 May 2024)
The outgoing manager deserves another WSL title but her replacement will inherit a lot of quality young players Many will look at Emma Hayes’s 12 years as Chelsea manager and think her lasting legacy is six – potentially seven – Women’s Super League titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups but for me her impact has been felt far beyond west London. By turning Chelsea into the benchmark for others to follow, she has forced up standards throughout the women’s game. People forget that the early years were difficult for Hayes, with Chelsea narrowly avoiding relegation in her first full season, but there was always a clear plan of how to improve. Her spell managing in America at Chicago Red Stars, where I was in the squad, I think was pivotal in her career and shaped what she wanted to do at Chelsea. At the Red Stars we arguably had the most talented group of individuals but we were not the best team and I think she realised it was imperative she recruited the right characters, not just the best players. I think this resulted in a big shift in Hayes’s outlook. Continue reading...
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County cricket: Kent v Worcestershire, Surrey v Warwickshire, and more – live (Fri, 10 May 2024)
All the action from day one of the latest round of matches Email your thoughts to Tanya or get in touch at @tjaldred Agar, paint dabbed on his nose, is looking to do to Worcestershire, what he did to Lancashire last week. Lancashire, meanwhile, are 6-0 against Notts, boosted by the return of Saqib Mahmood – with Nathan Lyon taking a round off this week. Canterbury looks beautiful on the live stream, lime grass and sunshine. Worcestershire and Kent lined up before play on the boundary edge to remember Josh Baker, the talented and much-loved 20 year old Worcestershire spinner who died just over a week ago. Silence, then a minute’s applause. Continue reading...
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‘No alternative’: EU climate chief urges MEPs not to use crisis as political tool (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Exclusive: Wopke Hoekstra says EU must press ahead with cutting greenhouse gases and use policy to bring about economic benefits Europe’s climate chief has warned against politicians trying to use the climate crisis as a wedge issue in the forthcoming EU parliament elections, calling instead for climate policy that will bring wider economic benefits. Wopke Hoekstra, the EU commissioner for climate action, said Europe had no choice but to press ahead with strong measures to cut greenhouse gases, whoever was in power, but added that more attention was needed to help businesses thrive in a low-carbon world. Continue reading...
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Brazil is reeling from catastrophic floods. What went wrong – and what does the future hold? (Fri, 10 May 2024)
In the country’s south, up to half of the annual predicted rain fell in just 10 days – the third such event in a year. Experts say it is time to plan for a new normal Photographs by Daniel Marenco When the torrential rain began to swallow her city block, Cristiane Batista, 34, grabbed her three children, a couple of backpacks and her smartphone and waited at the door, hoping to be picked up by the municipal trucks preparing to evacuate the population of Muçum, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. “I was terrified. The house was about to flood. We had to get out of there,” she says. Continue reading...
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‘The stakes could not be higher’: world is on edge of climate abyss, UN warns (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Top climate figures respond to Guardian survey of scientists who expect temperatures to soar, saying leaders must act radically Climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target The world is on the verge of a climate abyss, the UN has warned, in response to a Guardian survey that found that hundreds of the world’s foremost climate experts expect global heating to soar past the international target of 1.5C. A series of leading climate figures have reacted to the findings, saying the deep despair voiced by the scientists must be a renewed wake-up call for urgent and radical action to stop burning fossil fuels and save millions of lives and livelihoods. Some said the 1.5C target was hanging by a thread, but it was not yet inevitable that it would be passed, if an extraordinary change in the pace of climate action could be achieved. Continue reading...
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What are the most powerful climate actions you can take? The expert view (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Voting tops the list for the world’s leading climate scientists in a year when billions of voters go to the polls Climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target ‘Hopeless and broken’: why the scientists are in despair Many people, faced with the worsening impacts of the climate emergency, want to know what they can do personally to fight global heating. The Guardian asked hundreds of the world’s top climate scientists for their views. Continue reading...
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Farmers’ union lobbied to increase pesticide limit in UK drinking water (Fri, 10 May 2024)
NFU’s director of strategy asked for review of EU-derived protections as part of post-Brexit loosening of rules The National Farmers’ Union lobbied to increase the amount of pesticides allowed in the UK’s drinking water and to allow farmers to spread manure more frequently as part of a post-Brexit loosening of environmental regulations, it can be revealed. Nick von Westenholz, the director of strategy for the lobby group, met Timothy Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, the Earl of Minto, who is the minister of state for regulatory reform, last year and asked him to review EU-derived environmental protections. Continue reading...
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M25 weekend closure: drivers told to follow signs or stay away (Fri, 10 May 2024)
London’s orbital motorway to be shut along a busy stretch while gantry replaced and new bridge built Highways authorities have urged motorists to steer clear of a southwestern section of the M25 from Friday night, when the second planned weekend closure of the London orbital motorway takes place. Tens of thousands of vehicles will be diverted on to local roads when one of the most used stretches of the UK’s busiest motorway is closed in both directions between junctions 9 and 10 to allow for the replacement of a gantry and the construction of a gyratory bridge. The closure will be in place from 9pm Friday until 6am on Monday. Continue reading...
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UK economy escapes recession with fastest growth since 2021, sending FTSE 100 to new high – business live (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Short, shallow recession is over, as UK economy grows faster than forecast in January-March quarter, by 0.6%, fastest quarterly growth in over two years Analysis: Latest GDP figures offer some better news – but boom-boom Britain it ain’t Full story: UK has moved out of recession, official figures show Labour’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has posted that it’s ‘time for change’. Following this morning’s GDP report, Reeves says: From no growth to low growth - is that really the scale of the Conservatives’ ambitions? Food prices are still high, families are paying more on their monthly mortgage bills and working people are worse off. Construction remains the one area of weakness, particularly in the commercial sector. That’s no surprise. Real estate is particularly exposed to the effect of higher interest rates, and the upheaval of the pandemic is still rocking the office and retail sector - with increased home working and online shopping permanently changing demand. That’s not a trend that’s unique to the UK. Continue reading...
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Opening of Ikea’s Oxford Street store put back to spring 2025 (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Company says latest delay at central London site bought for estimated £378m is due to water leaking into basement Ikea has pushed back the opening of its Oxford Street store to spring 2025 – about 18 months later than initially planned – after problems with water leaking into the basement. The site, previously occupied by Topshop, had been scheduled to open this autumn and that date had already been put back by a full year. Continue reading...
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Alan Bates calls for protection of legal funding that helped bring Horizon scandal to court (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Former post office operator critical of efforts of lobbyists who warn against mass lawsuits in UK Opinion: Our Post Office victory is being twisted Alan Bates has warned of a “concerted effort” by big business to constrain access to the kind of funding that allowed the post office operators to bring a landmark case against their former employer. In an article for the Guardian, Bates, who exposed the Horizon scandal that has been described as one of the UK’s “greatest miscarriages of justice”, said ministers should push forward with legislation to protect the litigation funding sector. Continue reading...
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Juice: Wimbledon tennis fans may savour bigger strawberries after wet weather (Fri, 10 May 2024)
British-grown fruit much bigger after unusual winter and spring conditions led to slower ripening Tennis fans may be treated to juicier strawberries at Wimbledon this year after a wet and dark winter slowed the growing times, resulting in bigger and more flavoursome fruits. Growers said the further wet and cold weather this spring, as well as less sunlight, has delayed the British strawberry season by a fortnight this year, with the main harvest expected at the end of May. Continue reading...
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Government triggers crisis measure to ease prison overcrowding (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Exclusive: Operation Safeguard confirmed by Ministry of Justice after damning report on conditions in one of UK’s biggest jails The government has formally triggered a crisis measure to ease prison overcrowding by using police cells to house inmates. The confirmation of Operation Safeguard by the Ministry of Justice follows a decision to consider releasing some prisoners 70 days before their sentences were due to end. Continue reading...
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Adapted NHS bowel cancer test developed for blind and partly sighted people (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Accessible screening tool piloted by NHS England includes braille instructions and a better guide for stool sample Thousands of blind or partly sighted people could find it easier to participate in bowel cancer screening from home owing to a new NHS tool aiding accessibility. The standard test used to screen for bowel cancer requires an at-home stool sample in a tube, which is sent off and examined for any possible cancer signs. Continue reading...
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DWP’s unchecked database leaves tens of thousands of carers at risk of debt (Thu, 09 May 2024)
About 50% of earnings ‘alerts’ for carer’s allowance overpayments not looked at by staff, figures reveal • Will DWP act on carer’s allowance scandal? Tens of thousands of unpaid carers are at risk of debt and criminal prosecution because their cases are lying unchecked on a government “alert” database of people being overpaid benefits, according to new figures. Officials are aware of the mounting number of instances where UK carers are at risk of racking up overpayments that can in some cases lead to crippling debt, but for the past five years have chosen not to investigate all cases.. Continue reading...
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Mass planting of marsh violets key to saving rare UK butterfly, says National Trust (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Trust aims to boost small pearl-bordered fritillary colonies in Shropshire Hills by planting 20,000 violets this year for their caterpillars A mass planting of marsh violets across England’s Shropshire Hills is to take place to try to prevent further decline of the small pearl-bordered fritillary or Boloria selene, a rare UK butterfly. The small pearl-bordered fritillary’s distribution across the UK has plunged 71% since the mid 1970s and the species is now listed as vulnerable, according to the 2022 state of UK butterflies report. Continue reading...
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Trump hush-money trial resumes after graphic testimony by Stormy Daniels (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Relationship between ex-president and adult actor central to case as lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to quash story about affair Trump hush-money trial – live updates The hush-money trial against Donald Trump resumes on Friday at the end of a dramatic week which saw almost two days of testimony from adult film actor Stormy Daniels. The relationship between Trump and Daniels is central to origins of the case because Trump’s then lawyer and personal fixer, Michael Cohen, paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about their alleged sexual encounter during the 2016 election campaign. A guide to Trump’s hush-money trial – so far The key arguments prosecutors will use against Trump How will Trump’s trial work? Continue reading...
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Nearly all Gaza campus protests in the US have been peaceful, study finds (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Analysis of 553 protests in solidarity with Palestinians between 18 April and 3 May found 97% of them did not cause serious damage An independent non-profit that tracks political violence and political protests around the world found that 97% of campus demonstrations over the war in Gaza that have taken place in the US since mid-April have been peaceful. An analysis of 553 US campus demonstrations nationwide between 18 April and 3 May found that fewer than 20 resulted in any serious interpersonal violence or property damage, according to statistics from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (Acled). Continue reading...
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Chad’s military leader Itno declared president as results contested by rival (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Prime minister, Masra, accuses officials of manipulating results that show he won 18.5% of vote to Itno’s 61% Chad’s military leader, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, has been declared the winner of this week’s presidential election, according to provisional results that have been contested by his main rival, the prime minister, Succès Masra. The national agency that manages Chad’s election released results of Monday’s vote weeks earlier than planned. The figures showed Itno won with 61% of the vote, and Masra fell far behind in second, on 18.5%. Gunfire erupted in the capital, N’Djamena, after the announcement, though it was unclear if it was celebratory. Continue reading...
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Biden White House to expand tariffs on Chinese trade (Fri, 10 May 2024)
President likely to add sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells to range of levies set up under Donald Trump Joe Biden is expected as early as next week to announce fresh tariffs on Chinese trade, with levies focused on strategic sectors including electric vehicles, in a review of measures first put into place under Donald Trump. An announcement planned for Tuesday will keep the blanket tax rises introduced by the president’s predecessor but supplement them with targeted levies on industries connected to EVs, including batteries and solar cells, according to reports. Continue reading...
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Michigan woman found living inside rooftop store sign with desk and coffee maker (Fri, 10 May 2024)
The woman told police she had been living inside the grocery store sign for roughly a year, and had been able to get electricity Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: a 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer and coffee maker, police said. “She was homeless,” said Brennon Warren, an officer with the Midland police department. “It’s a story that makes you scratch your head, just somebody living up in a sign.” Continue reading...
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India says Canada has offered no evidence it was involved in death of Sikh separatist (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Comments come after three Indian nationals were charged for their alleged role in assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar India says that Canada has shared no evidence to back up its allegation that the Indian government was involved in the death of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada last year, despite recent arrests in the crime. The spokesperson for India’s external affairs ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, also reiterated India’s longstanding allegation that Canada harbors Indian extremists. Continue reading...
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Rwandans arrive in Australia after perilous journey to claim asylum (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Hunters reportedly find five Rwandan men in mangroves on Saibai Island, a known crocodile habitat As the UK government continues its push to forcibly remove asylum seekers to Rwanda, a group of Rwandan nationals has claimed asylum in Australia after arriving by boat on a remote island. The five men arrived in Australia by an unconventional route, reportedly flying into the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to be granted visas on arrival, before travelling thousands of kilometres east to Indonesia’s Papua province, where they crossed the land border it shares with Papua New Guinea (PNG). Continue reading...
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How the humble coconut is starting to fuel parts of Papua New Guinea (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Coconut biodiesel offers a cheaper alternative to fuel imports and scientists in the Pacific country are looking at how to use it more widely On Karkar island in Papua New Guinea, hundreds of coconut trees stand tall, stretching far into the distance. Decades ago, the fruit was a lucrative export but over the years it has become less prized on international markets. Now, the small island off the north coast of the country, is putting coconuts to another use. Continue reading...
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CEO of world’s biggest ad firm targeted by deepfake scam (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Fraudsters impersonated WPP’s CEO using a fake Whatsapp account, a voice clone and YouTube footage used in a virtual meet The head of the world’s biggest advertising group was the target of an elaborate deepfake scam that involved an artificial intelligence voice clone. The CEO of WPP, Mark Read, detailed the attempted fraud in a recent email to leadership, warning others at the company to look out for calls claiming to be from top executives. Fraudsters created a WhatsApp account with a publicly available image of Read and used it to set up a Microsoft Teams meeting that appeared to be with him and another senior WPP executive, according to the email obtained by the Guardian. During the meeting, the imposters deployed a voice clone of the executive as well as YouTube footage of them. The scammers impersonated Read off-camera using the meeting’s chat window. The scam, which was unsuccessful, targeted an “agency leader”, asking them to set up a new business in an attempt to solicit money and personal details. Continue reading...
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Coldplay and Sting call for release of Toomaj Salehi, Iranian rapper sentenced to death (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Leading cultural figures including Margaret Atwood sign statement in support of rapper who criticised Iranian regime More than 100 figures from the worlds of music, culture and human rights activism – including Coldplay and Sting – have signed a statement calling for the release of the Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi who has been sentenced to death in Iran after protesting in support of women’s rights. The 33-year-old, who was a vocal supporter of the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran was sentenced to death by a court in the city of Isfahan on 24 April, according to his lawyer. Continue reading...
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‘They’re teaching me’: Greg Doran on staging Shakespeare’s unloved Two Gents with students (Fri, 10 May 2024)
The theatre director, now teaching at Oxford after years running the RSC, thinks The Two Gentlemen of Verona is perfect for a young cast to argue over. We go into rehearsals Which is Shakespeare’s least loved play? The Two Gentlemen of Verona would come high on many people’s lists. It is clearly apprentice-work. It has had few significant revivals. And it also raises problematic issues since the treacherous Proteus threatens at one point to rape Silvia who is betrothed to his best friend, Valentine. For these and other reasons it is no one’s favourite play. This could, however, be about to change. Greg Doran – now officially Sir Gregory – is staging a production at the Oxford Playhouse with student actors. After 35 years as an actor and then director with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Doran is this year’s Cameron Mackintosh visiting professor of contemporary theatre at St Catherine’s College. It is a seductive post – whose previous occupants include Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Miller, Deborah Warner and Adjoa Andoh – which involves giving lectures and workshops. But Doran has had the bright idea of using his tenure to direct the one play in the First Folio that has so far eluded him: The Two Gents. After spending time watching him at work, I have a hunch that he may have cracked some of the problems posed by one of Shakespeare’s early works. Continue reading...
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Elbow review – a charged night of insatiable yearning and rollicking laments (Fri, 10 May 2024)
O2 Arena, LondonBeaming, big-hearted and benevolent, Guy Garvey charms with stately songs of heartbreak, unafraid of uneven time signatures and heavy-metal thud Elbow looked for a while to be settling into a mellow, beatific serenity. Their last album, 2021’s Flying Dream 1, was a winningly gentle affair, its delicate tracks seemingly competing between themselves to be the most soothingly romantic. You idly wondered if the band were easing into a benign dotage. This impression was spectacularly misleading. Elbow have always been too itchy and antsy a group to settle for mere prettiness, and their recent album, Audio Vertigo, their fourth to top the UK chart, returned to more challenging musical terrain. No prog rock band worth their salt ever totally abandons their uneven time signatures. Continue reading...
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Kacey Musgraves review – sweet and salty country-pop magic (Fri, 10 May 2024)
O2 Academy, GlasgowThe Texan star transfixes with her crystal clear voice and flawless band, balancing airy verses on the healing beauty of nature with a dash of darkness ‘Looks like you came to party!” teases Kacey Musgraves, radiant in a white dress and matching cowboy boots. With a gentle wave, the Texan country star tells us to take it easy. Tonight’s showcase for her introspective sixth album Deeper Well is all mellow magic – but for every airy verse about the healing beauty of nature, there’s a shadowy kicker. Cardinal, the album’s lead single, is dedicated to the late John Prine. Over an eerily transcendent, 70s-infused guitar melody, she wonders if he’s sending her signs “from the other side”. For a split second, the lights cut out. The gorgeous Heaven Is, inspired by Scottish folk song Ca’ the Yowes, veers from earthly pleasures to mysteries beyond the veil, while The Architect, with its humble strumming and deceptively simple refrain, is split between fate and fatalism: “Could I pray it away, am I shapeable clay? Or is this as good as it gets?” Continue reading...
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The Hunt for Gollum: are Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis making a Lord of the Rings fan film? (Fri, 10 May 2024)
The duo’s newly announced collaboration almost certainly means the franchise is going to cover old ground – which makes you wonder, why bother? There are some news stories that, as soon as you’ve clocked them, lead to a frantic bout of mental calendar checking – because it’s almost impossible to accept that they could be real unless it’s 1 April. “The Hunt for Gollum: Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis to work on new Lord of the Rings film” is most definitely one of these. What on Middle-earth is going on here? We’ve known for some time now that Hollywood is primed and ready to re-plunder JRR Tolkien’s beloved high-fantasy tomes, ever since Warner Bros announced a deal to make multiple new movies based on the books in February last year. The first of these will be the animated venture The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which is set 200 years before the events of The Hobbit – because it is being delivered in an alternative format (and doesn’t retread events we’ve already seen on screen) feels like a reasonably intriguing addition to the canon. There’s also Amazon’s TV show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, an entirely unnecessary prequel to the film trilogy, which I nonetheless devoured like a warg that’s not eaten any fantasy homunculi for at least three weeks. By the end of the first season, I had absolutely no idea who any of these people were (except perhaps Galadriel), but the whole thing was so deliciously Tolkien-y that none of this seemed to matter. Continue reading...
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Punch review – James Graham’s tragic study of a fatal blow (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Nottingham PlayhouseA teenager kills a trainee paramedic with a single strike on a night out in Nottingham in this deftly directed play based on a real story Take note: this is not a play about the eponymous magazine specialising in scathing political satire, although such fare might more readily be expected from playwright James Graham. This is about the ripple effects of a single punch, thrown by a teenager on a night out, with fatal consequences. Fabulously directed by Adam Penford, it is based on a memoir by Jacob Dunne who killed 28-year-old trainee paramedic James Hodgkinson in this way. Its Nottingham staging is relevant: it is where Graham and Jacob (played by David Shields) grew up, the latter on a council estate that slowly sucks him into gang culture. At Nottingham Playhouse until 25 May. Continue reading...
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Twelfth Night review – splashes of fun beside the seaside (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, London Owen Horsley’s frolicking staging has jaunty music and mischief, but this production dances over sadness Tonight belongs to the lovers, but not the ones you might expect. “What are you? What would you?” asks Olivia (Anna Francolini), pointing at Viola (Evelyn Miller), her questions cynical, challenging. Much of the night’s events hinge on the younger woman’s answer. The stage is full of music and mischief, but nothing else reaches the intensity or clarity of Olivia and Viola’s scenes in this light, frolicking production by Owen Horsley. On Basia Bińkowska’s open, ocean-blue set, the cast sprawls across Olivia’s, a seaside bar with its extravagant owner’s name up in lights. The set provides a neutral space for the cast to roll in and out of, but the wider world feels undefined; the band of sailors who offer gentle accompaniment with Sam Kenyon’s jaunty music, and who double as Orsino’s court, feel unmoored within scenes, not given enough individual character to be more than spare parts. At Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, London, until 8 June Continue reading...
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Homegrown goodness: why we should all be eating more broad beans (Thu, 25 Apr 2024)
Tesco is on a mission to get the nation to eat more legumes. Seasonal foodie Gem Morson and clinical nutritionist Nishtha Patel explain why they’re on board Go back in time as far as the iron age, and you’d find our ancestors eating broad beans. For centuries, the legumes were a crucial part of the British diet, until they fell out of fashion. Recently, however, they’ve been cropping up in an increasing number of recipes from some of the country’s most exciting chefs and food influencers. Gem Morson, AKA the Mother Cooker, is on a mission to help us eat more seasonally. “Broad beans are a fantastic ingredient,” she says. “They’re packed with protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals, plus they’re grown in Britain. And because they’re available when they’re in season, they taste so much better, too.” Continue reading...
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The humble chickpea is having a moment – here’s why they’re here to stay (Thu, 25 Apr 2024)
Tinned chickpeas are flying off the shelves at Tesco. Vegan influencer Christina Soteriou and child nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed explain why – and share their tips for recipes and moreish snacks “Chickpeas are flying off the shelves, so our priority is making sure they’re always available when customers want them,” says Ashley Wainaina, Tesco’s canned pulses buyer. “We’ve even changed our stocking system to make it more efficient, so we can keep up with demand.” As the UK’s largest food retailer, Tesco is helping customers make better choices when they shop by highlighting better foods, such as snacks containing under 100 calories or foods that are high in fibre or low in sugar, through its Better Baskets campaign. Chickpeas are loaded with protein and fibre, they’re filling, a third of a tin counts as one of your five a day, and they can be cooked in a plethora of different ways. They’ve been eaten for millennia across the Middle East, India and the Mediterranean, and their popularity has soared here recently, too. Continue reading...
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‘We’re doing it by stealth’: how Tesco is reformulating its much-loved meals to be healthier (Mon, 08 Apr 2024)
We went behind the scenes at Tesco’s test kitchen to find out how the supermarket is making products more affordable, inspiring, relevant and above all – healthier How can we improve the health of our nation? That’s the question troubling everyone from politicians and public health experts, to parents and supermarket bosses. But while information about health and nutrition is more widely available than ever, we’re not getting any healthier. Rates of obesity among children are particularly concerning, with a sharp rise during the pandemic – which has dropped slightly, but is still higher than pre-pandemic levels. Now, just under a quarter of children in England are living with obesity by the time they leave primary school, which experts predict will put immense strain on the NHS in the coming decades. Continue reading...
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From ready-meal lovers to at-home chefs: how Tesco is improving the nation’s nutrition (Mon, 08 Apr 2024)
Whether it’s campaigns that promote hassle-free recipes, or initiatives that encourage shoppers to eat more veg, Tesco is taking action to make healthier diets accessible and affordable to all Our health is so often measured in figures; whether it’s a number on the scales, a score on our blood pressure monitor or our body mass index. With such a focus on personal responsibility, these metrics often only succeed in making people feel bad about themselves. Thankfully, the tide is turning, and more people are realising that an environment which encourages the over-consumption of unhealthy convenience foods is a major contributing factor to poor health. Overcoming this requires more support than the individualistic approach would have us believe. Continue reading...
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Time to prepare the garden for alfresco evenings (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Candles in jars, night-scented plants and a stash of blankets make for magical, unfussy dinners with friends One warm mid-spring weekend is all it takes for me to start conjuring up evenings dining in the garden. Not the usual solitary potter around with a drink in one hand and a pair of secateurs in the other (we are on the cusp of deadheading season, when the best ornamentals will produce another flush if the spent flowers are removed). This is very pleasant, but I’m talking about those longer soirees that unfurl from glorious afternoons into alfresco cosiness. I love entertaining outside. For one, it’s more practical: when I lived in a chaotic shared house in London a decade ago, outdoor parties were always preferred because the clean-up never involved mopping. But it’s also more magical: there’s something about candlelight against a darkening garden that you just can’t get inside. Continue reading...
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You be the judge: should my girlfriend buy expensive sunglasses when she keeps losing cheap ones? (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Monica loses things all the time, sunglasses especially. She thinks it’ll be different with a designer pair but Barry is not convinced. You decide whose argument is shady Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror She says I’m trying to control her, but why invest in a fancy pair if they only last five minutes? It’s annoying to be told what to wear by a man. As a feminist, I reject his suggestions Continue reading...
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From the Met Gala to your Instagram feed: how ugly beauty took over fashion (Fri, 10 May 2024)
In this week’s newsletter: Celebs at this year’s spectacle appeared to reject standardised versions of beauty – mirroring a wider shift to experimentation. So is this the end of fake, filtered perfection? • Don’t get Fashion Statement delivered to your inbox? Sign up to get the full article here When Doja Cat arrived at the Met Gala on Monday night, you’d be forgiven for thinking she had been caught in a downpour. Her dress was soaked and streaks of mascara streamed down her face. The look, which turned out to be the work of makeup artist Pat McGrath, has since gone viral. The American rapper wasn’t the only one to veer away from traditional red carpet beauty that night. Actor Amanda Seyfried dyed her blond hair grey and, rather than the traditional red, her lips were a lurid purple, the colour of verbena. Zendaya, who walked the carpet not once but twice, wore her eyebrows so pencil-thin that they almost disappeared. Continue reading...
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Wide jeans and a hoodie is a super-simple formula that works (Fri, 10 May 2024)
The baggier leg shape is essential, so that the top and bottom halves mirror each other It is useful to have a few tried-and-tested formulas you can rely on for those times when you need an outfit that just works. Think of them like the wardrobe equivalent of your go-to recipes. When you get home from work hungry, you need a few quick and easy dinner ideas in your back pocket so that when you open the fridge you don’t need to think too hard. Same goes for clothes. Don’t get me wrong. I love to open my wardrobe with no preconceived idea of what I am going to wear and put an outfit together on a whim – but no way do I want to do that every day. That would be exhausting. Again, it’s a bit like making dinner. You may be a keen cook who loves to try out new recipes, but that doesn’t mean you want to be rummaging around at the back of the store cupboard for gochujang or date molasses every night. Sometimes your brain needs a break and you want to get dressed, or make dinner, on autopilot. Continue reading...
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Rishi Sunak: nul points – the Stephen Collins cartoon (Fri, 10 May 2024)
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Georgian homes for sale in England for Bridgerton fans – in pictures (Fri, 10 May 2024)
From a penthouse in Bath, where much of the Netflix show was filmed, to a grand pile in London that started life as a farmhouse Continue reading...
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Students in Europe: share your experience of pro-Palestinian university protests (Wed, 01 May 2024)
We would like to hear from students in the UK and other countries in Europe attending universities where demonstrations are taking place Students at UK universities are protesting over the war in Gaza, following a wave of demonstrations on US campuses that have been met with police crackdowns. With students at universities including Sciences Po in Paris staging a number of protests over the war, we would like to hear from students at universities in the UK and other countries in Europe where protests are taking place. We would like to hear from those who are participating as well as those who are not – how do you feel about what is happening at your university? What has your experience of it been? Continue reading...
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Tell us: have you bought a house in the UK with your friend? (Wed, 08 May 2024)
We would like to hear from home owners who purchased their property with one or more friends in the UK While house prices have steadied in the first part of 2024, home ownership remains out of reach for many as the average cost of renting continues to increase. This has prompted some to find different ways to get onto the housing ladder. We would like to hear from home owners who bought their house with one or more friends. Why did you choose to pool your resources? What are the pros and cons of sharing your property with someone who is not a significant other? Tell us all about it below. Continue reading...
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Tell us: are you splurging on luxury goods you can ill afford? (Mon, 29 Apr 2024)
We’d like to hear from people who have been purchasing luxury goods and experiences in recent years, and how they feel about their spending habits We’re interested to hear about people’s spending habits in the area of upmarket or luxury goods, services and experiences, and whether they are generally happy with their spending on non-essentials. We’d like to know whether you have spent money on expensive non-essential items such as designer clothing, high end housewares, luxury holidays, expensive beauty or wellness treatments, or exclusive dining, for instance, in the past year, and if so, whether you have struggled to afford this. Continue reading...
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Tell us: how have you been affected by the CoppaFeel! breast cancer awareness campaign? (Tue, 07 May 2024)
We would like to hear from young women who benefited from the campaign and spotted the early signs of breast cancer The founder of the charity CoppaFeel!, Kris Hallenga, which raises awareness of checking for early signs of breast cancer in young women, has died aged 38. She was 23 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and started the charity to encourage young women to check their breasts. Continue reading...
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‘I am starting to panic about my child’s future’: climate scientists wary of starting families (Fri, 10 May 2024)
A fifth of female climate scientists who responded to Guardian survey said they had opted to have no or fewer children “I had the hormonal urges,” said Prof Camille Parmesan, a leading climate scientist based in France. “Oh my gosh, it was very strong. But it was: ‘Do I really want to bring a child into this world that we’re creating?’ Even 30 years ago, it was very clear the world was going to hell in a handbasket. I’m 62 now and I’m actually really glad I did not have children.” Parmesan is not alone. An exclusive Guardian survey has found that almost a fifth of the female climate experts who responded have chosen to have no children, or fewer children, due to the environmental crises afflicting the world. Continue reading...
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The Belgian town where families take in people with psychiatric conditions (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Photojournalist Ilvy Njiokiktjien was granted rare access to document the lives of boarders and their foster families in Geel, which has a remarkable, centuries-old tradition of altruistic psychiatric care The city of Geel in Belgium has a foster care system for people dealing with mental health issues. These foster families sometimes host their boarders for decades, making them an integral part of the nuclear family. The families see the care they provide as normal, because many know it from their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. This system is within the DNA of Geel. By fostering in this way the families want to normalise the lives of those with mental illness, treating them not as patients with a diagnosis, to be institutionalised, but as individuals deserving of dignity and inclusion. This way of altruistic psychiatric care has been part of Geel since the 13th century. It started when a church was built for Saint Dymphna, who is the patron saint of mental illness. Because of the construction of the church, pilgrims started flocking to the city. About 2,000 boarders were living with local farmers at that time. They helped with daily tasks. This was the beginning of the foster care system and it is still there, now spanning seven centuries. Continue reading...
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Tokuryū, the shadowy criminal groups taking over from yakuza in Japan (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Organised in a deliberately loose fashion, tokuryū pose fresh problems for police, as years of crackdowns see the appeal of a yakuza life fade Watching three masked men smash their way into a luxury watch shop in Tokyo’s upmarket Ginza district in broad daylight, some onlookers assumed they were witnessing a TV drama or movie shoot. But the heist in May 2023 was real. It was carried out by a group of teenagers aged between 16 and 19 who were recruited online, and part of a new crime phenomenon called tokuryū by authorities that is growing as Japan’s yakuza clans decline. Continue reading...
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‘Sugar is brown!’: there’s more to the sweet stuff than its pure white version (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Sugar’s texture and taste can be as individualistic as coffee beans or wine grapes grown in specific regions, but most of us don’t know that One night, I was preparing steak for dinner and mistakenly reached for the wrong white granulated substance. Instead of salting my steak to create a brown crust by searing, I created a brown crust with notes of caramel. Ethan Frisch, co-founder of Burlap & Barrel, an artisanal spice company that works with small producers worldwide, laughed wryly when he heard this story over Zoom. “This is the first time in history anyone could make that mistake. Refined, white-bleached sugar is a very modern development in the centuries-old sugar industry. Sugar is brown! It’s only white when you do a lot of work to remove the brownness.” Continue reading...
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US students blast cancellation of commencements: ‘A slap in the face’ (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Universities across the US are dropping or shrinking graduation ceremonies as pro-Palestinian protests continue. Some students feel they’re being punished Spare a thought for the class of 2024. Some graduating seniors, many of whom did not receive proper high school send-offs due to early Covid lockdowns, once again face muted celebrations. Though the majority of commencement ceremonies across the US are going ahead as planned, a handful of universities have pared down or outright cancelled festivities on the big day. Columbia University administrators announced plans to cancel its university-wide ceremony, citing security concerns, while Emory University will move its commencement off campus. The University of Southern California (USC) cancelled its main ceremony in favor of smaller receptions for different schools. Ditto for California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, in northern California, which has closed its campus entirely and will host smaller celebrations arranged off campus. Some students believe the move is intended to squash dissent by those protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza. Continue reading...
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Judges with machine guns: the part-time drone hunters defending Kyiv (Thu, 09 May 2024)
The ‘Mriya’ unit made up of members of the legal profession patrols the capital region’s skies with antique weapons In a small wood in the Kyiv region Anatoliy Shyshak stared at the night sky. Dusk was falling. The only sounds came from a thrush nightingale and a faraway yapping dog. Shyshak – a sergeant in Ukraine’s territorial army – was listening for something else: an enemy drone. “It sounds like a moped. Not a classy Italian one, but something cheap and horrible,” he said. “They fly between 100 and 300 metres above the ground. You hear a rattling.” For the past year Shyshak’s brigade, the 241st, has scoured the heavens for Russian flying objects. Its task is to shoot them down before they can reach the capital. He and his territorial defence colleagues are based about 100km east of Kyiv, along one of several drone flight paths. “I like my job. We are pretty successful. We stop death here. Our families are in Kyiv so we are protecting our wives and children,” he said. Continue reading...
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Starmer’s Home Office immigration plan does not answer call for safe routes (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Plans for head of border security with access to home secretary will not satisfy all critics of Labour’s immigration policies Keir Starmer’s border plans, announced after a giddy week of political triumphs, attempt to address some of the deep structural problems within the Home Office. Paid for with £75m from the existing budget for the Rwanda scheme, the plans echo recommendations handed to Priti Patel two years ago: employ a single border security head who is given direct access to the home secretary. Continue reading...
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‘Hopeless and broken’: why the world’s top climate scientists are in despair (Wed, 08 May 2024)
Exclusive: Survey of hundreds of experts reveals harrowing picture of future, but they warn climate fight must not be abandoned World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target “Sometimes it is almost impossible not to feel hopeless and broken,” says the climate scientist Ruth Cerezo-Mota. “After all the flooding, fires, and droughts of the last three years worldwide, all related to climate change, and after the fury of Hurricane Otis in Mexico, my country, I really thought governments were ready to listen to the science, to act in the people’s best interest.” Instead, Cerezo-Mota expects the world to heat by ax catastrophic 3C this century, soaring past the internationally agreed 1.5C target and delivering enormous suffering to billions of people. This is her optimistic view, she says. Continue reading...
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Descendants of Holocaust survivors celebrate hidden ‘queer love story’ (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Lola Alexander and Ursula Finke both narrowly escaped deportation to Auschwitz – and after the war were inseparable Ursula Finke weighed less than 5st (31kg) and by her own description was only a “skeleton”, when Lola Alexander tracked her down in bombed-out Berlin in the last days of April 1945. Both had repeatedly, narrowly escaped deportation to Auschwitz, unlike many of their closest Jewish relatives. Lola and Ursula had become “friends”, as their survivors’ testimony from the 1950s put it, while in hiding from the Gestapo at the home of a resistance member. After Lola rescued Ursula, badly injured and chained to a bed in the dank cellar of a Jewish hospital, they would remain together for the rest of Lola’s life. Continue reading...
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How ‘eunuch maker’ livestreamed extreme body modifications and sold body parts (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Marius Gustavson ran website where subscribers could watch castrations and penectomies carried out at his London flat Warning: this story contains graphic descriptions of bodily mutilation that some readers may find upsetting Marius Theodore Gustavson had just performed one of his signature procedures in his basement flat when a stranger turned up to buy a penis. The man known as the “eunuch maker” retrieved a jar from a small fridge behind his living room sofa before handing it to the buyer, who paid in cash before leaving. Continue reading...
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Why genocide is so hard to prove – video (Thu, 09 May 2024)
South Africa's case against Israel over allegations of genocide before the international court of justice has raised a central question of international law: what is genocide and how do you prove it? It is one of three genocide cases being considered by the UN's world court, but since the genocide convention was approved in 1948, only three instances have been legally recognised as genocide. Josh Toussaint-Strauss looks back on these historical cases to find out why the crime is so much harder to prove than other atrocities, and what bearing this has on South Africa's case against Israel and future cases What is the genocide convention and how might it apply to the UK and Israel? ‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid Continue reading...
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‘Disrupt whenever possible’: police clash with protesters blocking bus to Bibby Stockholm – video (Fri, 03 May 2024)
Hundreds of protesters prevented an attempt to collect asylum seekers from a south London hotel and transfer them to the Bibby Stockholm barge. The Guardian witnessed crowds blocking the bus and the road outside the Best Western hotel in Peckham before police were able to move in and break up the protest. The bus eventually left the area after seven hours, with no asylum seekers onboard London protesters block transfer of asylum seekers to Bibby Stockholm Continue reading...
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'Fed up of politics': the view from Blackpool on byelection day – video (Thu, 02 May 2024)
Ahead of the byelection in Blackpool South, the Guardian takes the temperature in the once prosperous northern coastal town, with many voters expressing complete apathy and disdain for the state of politics. The area is going to the polls because the former Tory MP Scott Benton resigned after being found guilty of breaching standards rules in a lobbying scandal. Labour is hopeful of taking back the seat, which Benton won with a majority of 3,690 in 2019 Polls open in England’s local elections with Tories braced for heavy losse Analysis: Will Tories dump Rishi Sunak if election results worse than expected? Continue reading...
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Police raid UCLA pro-Palestinian camp and make arrests – video report (Thu, 02 May 2024)
Flashbangs could be heard as police moved in on an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the UCLA campus. The overnight law enforcement effort came after officers spent hours threatening arrests over loudspeakers if people did not disperse US campus protests – live updates Continue reading...
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Who is Arne Slot, Klopp's expected successor at Liverpool? – video report (Mon, 29 Apr 2024)
Arne Slot caught the eye of Liverpool’s recruitment team with his track record of improving young talent, success on a relatively modest budget, European experience and a style of play that is not a dramatic departure from Jürgen Klopp’s. The Feyenoord coach has earned a reputation for high intensity on the pitch and has led his team to success multiple times. Since joining the Rotterdam club from AZ Alkmaar in 2021, Slot has won the Eredivisie in 2022-23 and the KNVB Cup this season. He also led Feyenoord to the Europa Conference League final in 2022, where they lost to José Mourinho's Roma. Arne Slot: the overachiever and ‘good guy’ who can spark a revolution Continue reading...
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The true cost of El Salvador’s new gold rush – podcast (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Seven years ago, El Salvador banned all mining for metals to protect its water supply. But now the government seems to be making moves to reverse the ban – and environmental activists are in the firing line. By Danielle Mackey Continue reading...
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Rishi Sunak staggers on – but for how long? - podcast (Fri, 10 May 2024)
The prime minister is another MP down after Natalie Elphicke crossed the floor to join Labour. With the Conservatives trailing by 30 points after heavy local election losses, what options does Rishi Sunak now have? Guardian political correspondent Kiran Stacey tells Helen Pidd what these losses mean for the PM, and looks at what calculation Keir Starmer made in taking in a rightwing Tory “None of us sitting in the press gallery were expecting it,” Kiran Stacey, the Guardian’s political correspondent, tells Helen Pidd. On Wednesday, as Rishi Sunak went into the Commons for PMQs, he realised that his party was another MP down. Natalie Elphicke had crossed the floor to join the Labour party, the second MP to do so in 10 days. Continue reading...
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Real Madrid do it again in Champions League: Football Weekly Extra – podcast (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Sid Lowe as Real Madrid again find a way to win when it matters in the Champions League, denying Harry Kane … again Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today: Real Madrid can’t keep getting away with this, can they? Two late, late goals from former Stoke City man Joselu see them through to yet another Champions League final. They probably deserved this one, but what a gut punch it is for Harry Kane. Continue reading...
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How much protein is too much? – podcast (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Sales of cottage cheese are booming thanks to a boost from protein-hungry social media influencers. But do we really need all this extra protein? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Joanne Slavin, a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota, to find out what exactly protein is doing in our bodies, and what happens to it when we consume it in excess Read more from the Guardian about protein Read more about the cottage cheese trend Continue reading...
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Escaping Rafah: on the ground in Gaza’s last refuge – podcast (Thu, 09 May 2024)
We hear from two Palestinians living in tents in the city of Rafah. As the threat of an Israeli invasion hangs over them, they decide whether to stay or leave On Monday morning, the Israeli military dropped leaflets over eastern Rafah. They warned residents that military operations were going to start there, and they needed to go to ‘safe zones’ further north. The information caused chaos, as thousands of people tried to leave. The decision of whether to stay or go is a complicated one. Continue reading...
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Dortmund delight as PSG’s Champions League woes return: Football Weekly – podcast (Wed, 08 May 2024)
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Fadugba and Lars Sivertsen as Dortmund knock PSG out in the Champions League semi-final Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today; despite a disappointing domestic season Dortmund keep showing up in the Champions League – they deserved their win over two legs against PSG. Can they go all the way and what does this mean for Kylian Mbappé’s legacy? Continue reading...
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Stormy Daniels takes the stand in Trump trial – podcast (Wed, 08 May 2024)
It was the moment Donald Trump was dreading. The former president could only sit and watch as the adult film actor Stormy Daniels told her version of events from an alleged sexual encounter they had in 2006. Prosecutors say that Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen shuttled a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, to keep her from talking to anyone about her alleged encounter with Trump. So how bad was Daniels’ testimony for the presumptive GOP candidate? Jonathan Freedland and the political commentator Molly Jong-Fast discuss an extraordinary day in a Manhattan courtroom Archive: Fox News 5 and CBS News Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Fashion Statement newsletter: our free fashion email (Tue, 20 Sep 2022)
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Guardian Documentaries newsletter: our free short film email (Fri, 02 Sep 2016)
Be the first to see our latest thought-provoking films, bringing you bold and original storytelling from around the world Discover the stories behind our latest short films, learn more about our international film-makers, and join us for exclusive documentary events. We’ll also share a selection of our favourite films, from our archives and from further afield, for you to enjoy. Sign up below. Can’t wait for the next newsletter? Start exploring our archive now. Continue reading...
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Guardian Traveller newsletter: Sign up for our free holidays email (Wed, 12 Oct 2022)
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays. From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays. Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Feast newsletter: our free Guardian food email (Tue, 09 Jul 2019)
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner. Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email. Continue reading...
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Floods in Brazil and the Sussexes in Nigeria: photos of the day – Friday (Fri, 10 May 2024)
The Guardian’s picture editors select some of the most powerful photos from around the world Continue reading...
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The 2024 Comedy Pet Photo awards – in pictures (Fri, 10 May 2024)
From a dog with kung-fu moves to a headless horse, the Comedy Pet Photo awards choose the finalists. Winners announced on 6 June Continue reading...
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From Biggie to Nicki: the most spectacular hip-hop jewelry – in pictures (Fri, 10 May 2024)
A new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York celebrates the cultural influence of hip-hop through a selection of eye-popping, custom-made jewelry, worn by stars such as Nas, Slick Rick and Tyler, the Creator. ‘It’s time to celebrate the artists, jewelers, craftsmen, and everyday people who contributed to the storied history of hip-hop jewelry,’ said guest curator Vikki Tobak. Ice Cold: an Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry is on display until 5 January 2025 Continue reading...
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Week in wildlife – in pictures: an eel gets a shock, bees take Manhattan and a possum on the pitch (Fri, 10 May 2024)
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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Victory Day in Russia – in pictures (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Vladimir Putin celebrated Victory Day in Russia, which marks the defeat of Nazi Germany in the second world war, with a display of patriotic pageantry. He praised his forces fighting in Ukraine and criticised the west for fuelling conflicts around the world Continue reading...
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Kraszna-Krausz photography book awards – longlist (Thu, 09 May 2024)
Space exploration, African fashion and Bulgarian communism are among the subjects of photography books longlisted for this year’s Kraszna-Krausz awards. The competition recognises individuals who have made an outstanding original or lasting contribution to literature concerning photography. The winner is announced in June Continue reading...
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