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The Guardian

Tory health reforms left UK open to Covid calamity, says top doctor’s report (sam., 07 sept. 2024)
Britain’s pandemic response was among the worst and the NHS had been ‘seriously weakened’, says leading surgeon • Three reports lay bare scale of NHS malaise, but will Reeves fund a remedy? Britain was hit far harder by the Covid-19 pandemic than other developed countries because the NHS had been “seriously weakened” by disastrous government policies over the preceding decade, a wide-ranging report will conclude this week. An assessment of the NHS by the world-renowned surgeon Prof Ara Darzi, commissioned in July by the health secretary, Wes Streeting, will find that the health service reduced its “routine healthcare activity by a far greater percentage than other health systems” in many key areas during the Covid crisis. Continue reading...
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Boris Johnson faces ‘serious questions’ over new business with uranium entrepreneur (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Former prime minister also under fire for hiring ex-aide Charlotte Owen as VP despite her lack of energy sector experience Boris Johnson failed to disclose that he met a uranium lobbyist while prime minister before entering into a new business with a controversial Iranian-Canadian uranium entrepreneur, the Observer can reveal. Johnson’s new company Better Earth Limited also employs Charlotte Owen, a junior aide with just a few years work experience whom he elevated to the House of Lords last year at the age of 29, sparking intense controversy. Continue reading...
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Venezuela opposition leader Edmundo González reportedly leaves country for Spain (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
Venezuelan vice-president Delcy Rodriguez and Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares release statements saying the opponent of Nicolas Maduro had left Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has left the South American country after seeking asylum in Spain, according to the Spanish foreign minister. “Edmundo González, at his own request, flew to Spain on a Spanish air force plane,” José Manuel Albares said in a statement online, adding that the “government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans”. Continue reading...
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Rice and Grealish start new England era with Nations League victory in Ireland (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Perhaps, Lee Carsley was simply consumed by his focus on the opening minutes of his first game in interim charge of England. Because when the manager emerged to take his seat before kick-off and, yes, before the anthems, he turned right instead of left and sat down on the Republic of Ireland bench. Old habits die hard for the former Ireland midfielder and he looked nonplussed when the error was pointed out and he was ushered towards his correct place. Yet if that felt like a bad omen, nobody connected to England ought to have worried. Continue reading...
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UK music industry presses government to solve post-Brexit limits on touring (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
As documents reveal EU ‘not prepared’ to change, Keir Starmer is reminded of Labour’s manifesto pledge Industry insiders have urged the UK government to find a solution to post-Brexit restrictions on live music touring, after EU documents suggested Brussels was “not prepared” to change regulations. In Labour’s manifesto, Keir Starmer pledged to improve trade and investment relations with the EU to “help our touring artists” . Since Brexit, musicians touring the EU have faced barriers introduced in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). They can work up to 90 out of every 180 days, which causes problems for longer tours, musicians who work in multiple bands or orchestras, and crew required on site before and after performances. Continue reading...
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More than a million British workers not having a single day of paid time off, says TUC (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
Employees have lost out on holiday pay worth £2bn, according to new trade union research Workers across Britain have lost out on holiday pay worth £2bn, with more than a million people going without a single day of paid time off, according to new research. With unions gathering in Brighton this weekend for the first TUC conference under a Labour administration for 15 years, the body revealed new research showing the extent to which workers are being denied holiday pay. Workers are entitled to 28 days paid leave for a typical five-day week. Continue reading...
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Body found in search for wife of Scotland rugby star Scott Hastings (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Jenny Hastings had been missing since she failed to return from swim at Wardie Bay in Edinburgh on Tuesday A body has been found in the search for the wife of Scott Hastings, the former Scotland rugby player, who went missing after swimming in an estuary in Edinburgh, police have said. Jenny Hastings has been missing since Tuesday after failing to return from Wardie Bay after going for a swim in the Firth of Forth, according to her family. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
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Kentucky authorities say multiple people injured in ‘active shooter situation’ (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
The shooting occurred along Interstate 75 in a rural area south of Lexington, near the city of London authorities said Kentucky police reported an “active shooter situation” on Saturday evening near Interstate 75 in London, Kentucky, south of Lexington, where “numerous persons” had been shot in traffic. In a video statement, London mayor Randall Weddle said seven people were hurt, but not all of those were wounded by gunfire. Some of the victims were injured in a vehicle accident, he said. “There are no deceased at this time. No one was killed from this, thankfully, but we ask that you continue to pray,” Weddle said. The sheriff’s office also announced that a “person of interest” has been identified in connection with the shooting, saying he should be considered armed and dangerous and people should not approach him. Continue reading...
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Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door wins Golden Lion at Venice film festival (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Spanish director’s first English-language movie starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore tackles euthanasia Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language movie, The Room Next Door, which tackles the hefty themes of euthanasia and the climate crisis, won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice film festival on Saturday. Starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, the film received an 18-minute standing ovation when it premiered at Venice earlier in the week – one of the longest in recent memory. Continue reading...
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Post Office campaigner Alan Bates marries partner on Richard Branson’s private island (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
Bates and Suzanne Sercombe invited to Necker Island after publicly soliciting a holiday from Virgin tycoon The Post Office campaigner Alan Bates has married his partner, Suzanne Sercombe, on Richard Branson’s Necker Island in a ceremony officiated by the Virgin tycoon. The wedding took place last month on the entrepreneur’s private island in the British Virgin Islands, the Sunday Times reported. Continue reading...
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Three reports lay bare scale of NHS malaise. But will Rachel Reeves fund a transformation? | James Tapper and Toby Helm (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Analyses by Lord Darzi, the NHS Confederation and hospital chiefs detail a spectrum of ills in the service. But will their recommendations fuel appropriate remedies? • Tory health reforms left UK open to Covid calamity, says top doctor’s report The diagnosis has been swift. Lord Darzi has taken just nine weeks to deliver his report on the state of the NHS. The treatment is likely to take far longer and be more painful. Wes Streeting’s first major act as health secretary was to appoint the eminent surgeon, nicknamed Robo Doc for his use of robots in operations, to reveal “hard truths” about the NHS in England. What Darzi concludes is expected by many to form the foundation of Labour’s plans for treating a population that is getting older and sicker – without bankrupting the nation. Continue reading...
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Friedrich Merz looks likely to be Germany’s next leader but how will he defuse the AfD? (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
The CDU chief has had a smooth lead but he must act to halt the march of far-right voters before the general election • Everyone is terrified of a far-right return in Germany. Here’s why it won’t happen Friedrich Merz, Germany’s mercurial conservative opposition chief and a passionate hobby pilot, should be flying high these days as the country’s hotly tipped next leader. One year before the next general election, his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has enjoyed a comfortable lead for months with about 32% support, nearly double the score of its nearest competitors, as the fractious government led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz plumbs new depths of disfavour. Continue reading...
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‘The boomerang is returning’: life in Russia’s town with Ukrainian roots where Kyiv is now in charge (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Humorists are using the plight of this small corner of Kursk region to make a point about Russian hypocrisy – but the invasion is no joke for either side One morning recently, historian Yevhen Murza and comedian Feliks Redka, both from the city of Sumy in eastern Ukraine, hitched a lift into Ukrainian-occupied Russia. Their mission on arrival in Sudzha, the town that has been at the centre of Ukraine’s dramatic push into Russia’s Kursk region, was an unusual one: to record the latest episode of their long-running podcast series, dedicated to popularising Ukrainian history. The deal was agreed via Instagram with a fan of their podcast who is serving in the Ukrainian army. In exchange for a drone that Redka had bought with proceeds from a recent standup tour, the soldier agreed that he and his friends would give the pair a ride to Sudzha and back. Continue reading...
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How Australians became the world’s biggest gamblers (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
The prevalence of slot machines – known as pokies – in pubs and clubs across the country and betting on sport has created a culture of wagering It is a quiet night in Fairfield, in Sydney’s western suburbs. Inside a small brick building, a dozen Gamblers Anonymous members help themselves to coffee, tea and miniature meat pies. The meeting is taking place in a suburb that has one of the city’s lowest median incomes, and highest levels of gambling losses. A fifth of the state of New South Wales’s 25 most profitable gaming clubs are here, according to government data. One of these clubs, Fairfield Returned and Services League (RSL), is just a two-minute walk away. It is a building totally at odds with the modest apartment blocks and shabby train station nearby. A pedestrian walkway inside is lined with palms and ferns, it has an elaborate fountain, a grand lobby. It seems incongruous, that is, until you realise that its surroundings are its blood supply. Inside the club, just out of view of the street, are hundreds of gaming machines. Fairfield RSL and Clubs Australia did not respond to requests for comment. Continue reading...
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Elizabeth Strout: ‘All ordinary people are extraordinary’ (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The Pulitzer prize winner on uniting Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton in her new novel, her unfathomable dreams, and how she went from ‘blabbermouth’ to writer Pulitzer prize winner Elizabeth Strout, 68, has wooed readers and critics alike with a string of bestselling novels set in Maine, where she grew up and now mostly lives. Her latest, Tell Me Everything, unites two recurring protagonists from recent books – self-effacing author Lucy Barton and abrasive nonagenarian Olive Kitteridge – with sometime lawyer Bob Burgess, who first appeared in her 2013 novel The Burgess Boys, and is now set to be hauled out of semi-retirement by a murder case. As a New England winter finally yields to spring, pathos and dry humour gild tender reflections on loneliness and connection, and the redemptive power of storytelling. What made you want to bring all three characters together?I never ever intend to keep writing about the same people, but it gradually came to me that they are all living nearby. I wanted to get Olive and Lucy together – that was a propelling force. I just thought it would be so much fun, and of course Olive can’t stand her at first. The working title was The Book of Bob because Bob has always intrigued me. He’s such a decent person and doesn’t know that about himself, and I wanted him to come out of semi-retirement and do something big and meaningful. Continue reading...
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‘Worrying lack of moderation’: how eating disorder posts proliferate on X (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Users say harmful content from accounts they do not follow appears even after requests to block it Debbie was scrolling through X in April when some unwelcome posts appeared on her feed. One showed a photo of someone who was visibly underweight asking whether they were thin enough. In another, a user wanted to compare how few calories they were eating each day. Debbie, who did not want to give her last name, is 37 years old and was first diagnosed with bulimia when she was 16. She did not ­follow either of the accounts behind the posts, which belonged to a group with more than 150,000 members on the social media site. Continue reading...
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Venice 2024: Almodóvar’s first major festival win is richly deserved – and epically overdue (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
At 74, Spain’s finest director has won the Golden Lion – incredibly, his first major victory at a film festival – for his debut English language feature. Better late than never, even if The Room Next Door isn’t quite his finest work Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door is a tender, heartfelt drama about a driven former war correspondent who’s in search of the perfect final scene. She wants an ending that she can script and control, and a handpicked loving audience to applaud her when she goes. As played by Tilda Swinton, the heroine doesn’t have it entirely her own way. But the film itself has fared rather better. It bowed out in a blaze of glory and scooped the crowning Golden Lion award in the dying seconds of this year’s Venice film festival. Continue reading...
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We Live in Time review – Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh charm in heartfelt weepie (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Toronto film festival: there are two excellent performances at the centre of a time-hopping romance that tackles well-trodden ground with maturity There was a warm late summer surprise to be had with last month’s surprisingly thoughtful and tender adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s supermarket bestseller It Ends With Us. It was a proud and powerful resurrection of the sort of glossy melodrama that had grown terribly unfashionable, mostly demoted to the small screen and almost always the subject of easy derision. Its shock commercial success (nearing $300m globally) will undoubtedly lead to more but already, premiering weeks later at the Toronto film festival, we have another heart-over-head weepie in We Live in Time, a smart and sensitive crowd-pleaser that should prove similarly irresistible to an impassioned yet underserved audience. There’s also a touch of the golden era Working Title romcom here, before that formula became harder to love and easier to parody. It’s a tale of attractive, sweary Londoners flirting and falling in love but here they’re also grappling with some knottier, less cosy issues. It’s no spoiler, given both the trailer and the film’s time-jumping structure flitting back and forth, that it’s also about late-stage cancer, a development that has become something of a red flag given the rote nature of many disease-of-the-week dramas. But Irish stage and screen director John Crowley, who found his biggest success with 2015’s Brooklyn, has found a way to breathe life into a film about death, not aiming for wheel reinvention exactly but confidently relying on the power of big, honest emotions and two A-game stars who can easily sell them. Continue reading...
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The moment I knew: he helped me try on a motorbike helmet – and I cried because he showed such tenderness (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
May B Wild was only looking for a ‘Sunday lover’. But in a bike accessories shop she was unexpectedly moved by Chris’s gesture of care Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email My love life has not been straightforward to say the least. I’ve been married – and also divorced. By 2016, I had pretty well given up on men and was happy to live alone with my dog. I was working full-time in Brisbane and busy six days a week. But Sundays were lonely and I decided to get a Sunday lover. I created a profile on a dating site and offered a challenge to potential suitors: “I dare you to excite my synapses.” I was hoping to meet a very intelligent man this time. Continue reading...
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The Last Showgirl review – Pamela Anderson’s big comeback is a big disappointment (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Toronto film festival: an empty-headed attempt to give the star her version of The Wrestler is a regrettable misfire The desire to see Pamela Anderson receive her flowers after being mistreated and denigrated by numerous parties – from the media to men in the industry to most recently Hulu – is strong enough to initially outweigh other concerns over her big-screen comeback. Even framing it as such feels like an understatement, the star having never received anything like the dramatic lead she’s been given in Vegas-set character drama The Last Showgirl. It’s a genuinely huge moment for Anderson after regaining control of her narrative with a well-received turn in Chicago on Broadway and a likable Netflix documentary which allowed her to right some wrongs. But while goodwill might have propelled her here, to a ritzy Toronto film festival premiere, it can only take her so far. The film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola’s daughter Gia, is wholly unworthy of any hype that might have preceded it, a forgettable, empty trifle at just 85 minutes, failing to give us enough of anything and certainly, sadly, failing to prove Anderson’s mettle as a dramatic actor. It would, inarguably, be a challenge for even the most equipped of performers to make much of TV writer Kate Gersten’s vapid script but it’s truly insurmountable for her. It’s an awkward misjudgment of a performance, the star retreating to the same shticky sitcom excess she used in her short-lived comedy series Stacked, relying on manic overemphasis regardless of the occasion. She just can’t make any of it work and Coppola almost seems aware of this, overstuffing her film with ponderous, dialogue-free scenes of the character looking wistfully off into the distance. Well-shot but dramatically inert, these moments are indicative of the film at large, seeking meaning out of nothingness. The Last Showgirl is screening at the Toronto film festival and is seeking distribution Continue reading...
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‘If journalism is going up in smoke, I might as well get high off the fumes’: confessions of a chatbot helper (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Journalists and other writers are employed to improve the quality of chatbot replies. The irony of working for an industry that may well make their craft redundant is not lost on them For several hours a week, I write for a technology company worth billions of dollars. Alongside me are published novelists, rising academics and several other freelance journalists. The workload is flexible, the pay better than we are used to, and the assignments never run out. But what we write will never be read by anyone outside the company. That’s because we aren’t even writing for people. We are writing for an AI. Continue reading...
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USA prove too strong for Great Britain in men’s wheelchair basketball final (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
USA 73-69 Great Britain Steve Serio stars as champions make it three in a row There was to be no dream finish for Great Britain, just a series of what ifs and maybes, as perennial champions the USA kept completed the threepeat in men’s wheelchair basketball. After achieving their greatest success in the event since 1996 by reaching the final, victory proved a step too far for captain Phil Pratt and his team, who flickered in moments but left themselves too much to do even as they attempted their customary fourth-quarter charge. Continue reading...
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France win blind football gold in shootout to delight home crowd (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
France beat Argentina 3-2 on penalties after 1-1 draw Frédéric Villeroux scores the decisive spot-kick Was La Marseillaise rousing? Yes it was. Did the sky blush obediently behind the Stade Tour Eiffel on cue? Yes it did. Was an elegant young woman in a jumpsuit and heels clutching a cuddly Paralympic Phrges outside a 7eme restaurant? Yes she was. Did the afternoon rain stop? Yes. Was the stadium full? Yes. Did the many tricolours fly and the fans sing? Yes. Did the Eiffel Tower light up like a golden goddess bestowing beatitudes, behind the stadium and into the night? Mais bien sûr. Was the blind football final between France and Argentina a fitting finale to a triumphant Paralympic Games? Oui, Oui, Oui! That France won 3-2 in a penalty shootout was the icing on top of whatever the most perfect éclair is in the most exclusive Parisian pâtisserie. All the tension of a normal penalty shootout only with the added jeopardy that the players can’t see (although the goalkeeper can) and possibly the most beautiful footballing backdrop in the world. Continue reading...
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Hannah Cockroft races away from field to claim ninth Paralympic gold (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Cockroft wins T34 800m by more than seven seconds Cyclist Graham sprints to victory in men’s C1-3 road race Hannah Cockroft stormed to the ninth gold of her Paralympics career with a huge victory in the women’s T34 800m. Despite finishing 11 seconds outside her personal best, the 32-year-old’s time of 1min 55.44sec was 7.68sec clear of fellow ParalympicsGB athlete Kare Adenegan. Eva Houston of the USA took the bronze. Cockroft led from the start to add to her 100m gold from last Sunday. “It’s like being back in London, I love it,” she said, as she reflected on a run that has resulted in at least two golds at every Paralympics from 2012 onwards (she won three in Rio). “This is how many people love Para sport. This is what we want to see. It doesn’t end here, we have world and European championships year on year, it’s not a four-year gap for us.” Continue reading...
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Hewett denied second Paralympics tennis gold as Oda wins dramatic final (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Japanese rival wins 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, avenging doubles loss Hewett unable to convert match point at 5-3 in third set Alfie Hewett will have to make do with just the single golden slam, for now at least, after he was edged out in a thrilling men’s wheelchair tennis singles final 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 by Tokito Oda. In what is developing into an abiding rivalry at the top of the men’s wheelchair game, the Japanese teenager repeated his success over Hewett in the final of the French Open two years ago. A combination of power and brave shot-making ultimately won out for Oda, just 18 years of age, after Hewett – who sustained a groin injury in the first set – had earned match point at 5-3 in the third. Continue reading...
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Henshaw and Wiggs lead GB’s show of paddle power at Paris Paralympics (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Charlotte Henshaw leads British one-two in VL3 sprint Emma Wiggs wins fourth Paralympic medal in VL2 sprint It has been a long wait for the canoeists, paddling into action in Paris when most other sports have moved on to their sightseeing and Sazerac eras. But all the kicking their heels was worth it for the British team, who finished the penultimate day of the Games with two golds and two silvers at the Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne. An end-of-term feel percolated, spectators queueing for photographs alongside both a giant Phryge – the Games mascot – and a torch with the sudden realisation that all this will soon be gone. Later a waving Phryge travelled down the flat waters on a barge, accompanied by a five-piece band, to huge cheers. Continue reading...
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Paris Paralympics 2024: medal table (Wed, 28 Aug 2024)
Find out who is leading the way at the Paralympics, and drill down to see which events each country has won medals for As is traditional, the table prioritises the number of gold medals won. On this basis in 2021, China led the Paralympics field with 96 golds, with Great Britain second on 41 and the United States third with 37. If countries have the same number of gold medals, the order is then dictated by which has the most silvers, and finally bronze if the numbers are still identical. Continue reading...
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Aryna Sabalenka holds off Jessica Pegula fightback to win US Open (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
Belarussian keeps composure to beat American 7-5, 7-5 World No 2 has won two grand slam titles this year As Aryna Sabalenka has cemented herself at the top of her sport over the past two seasons, in so many of the biggest grand slam matches her greatest opponent has been herself. Even when she has come in radiating with confidence, her game in full bloom, her head so often gets in the way. Recovering from so many painful collapses has required resilience beyond measure. Nowhere have these struggles been more evident than in New York, a city that perfectly suits her electrifying game and outsized personality but where the positives from her two semi-finals and a final in the past three years had been blunted by brutal losses. Continue reading...
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Lee Carsley lets England players make all right noises in smooth audition | Jacob Steinberg (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Anthem storm before serene Nations League victory over the Republic of Ireland was silly but avoidable At precisely 4.59pm in Dublin, an act of great treachery took place. Nobody will forget where they were on the day when Lee Carsley from Birmingham stood and decided not to sing a song moments before leading England to an easy 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in their 2024 Nations League opener. Has a victory ever tasted so bitter? Has the imagination of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s passing, the audacity of Jack Grealish’s dribbling and the general sense of an England team treating the ball like an old friend ever felt so irrelevant when placed next to the Shame of Carsley? Continue reading...
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Josh Hull rises to the challenge to give England first payout on investment | Barney Ronay (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The fast bowler’s selection is a two-year project and began to bear fruit in the final Test against Sri Lanka Welcome to Hull. The question for England’s newest Test debutant leading in to this series-ender was: are you ready for this? Are you ready for the step up? Can you, Josh Hull, take the white heat of the purest form? Brace yourself. We’re flying into the sun here. In the event it may have helped that what both teams dished up either side of lunch on day two was something closer to a beer match, or one of those YouTube compilations that explain why people in Australia think the county championship is basically something along the lines of cheese rolling or hay bale tossing. Continue reading...
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Wallabies humiliated in heavy defeat as Argentina pile on record-breaking score (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
Australia suffer 67-27 loss as Los Pumas run in nine tries in Santa Fe Visitors lead by 17 points before conceding most points in rugby Test The Wallabies have fallen to a humiliating Rugby Championship defeat against Argentina, giving up the most points in their history in a shock 67-27 loss in Santa Fe. Despite leading 20-3 early, a second half implosion saw Australia leak 64 points to Los Pumas and sink to a defeat that, while not quite rivalling their 53–8 to South Africa in Johannesburg in 2009, will nonetheless leave new coach Joe Schmidt fuming. Rueing the loss of key front-rowers Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou in the second half, Schmidt admitted his side “fell off a cliff” as the Argentinians ran in nine hot tries, showing the slick play that shocked New Zealand in the TRC’s opening round. A heavy reckoning must now follow as a shattered Wallabies squad tries to pick up the pieces before the Bledisloe Cup series against New Zealand starts on 21 September. Continue reading...
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RFU looked at abandoning Twickenham and hosting England in Birmingham (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Midlands site offered ‘better access for whole country’ RFU wants Twickenham to stage more lucrative events The Rugby Football Union considered building a new stadium in Birmingham and relocating, before opting to stay at Twickenham and selling the naming rights to the home of English rugby. As revealed by the Guardian, the RFU also looked into buying a 50% share of Wembley and its chief executive, Bill Sweeney, said that moving to a greenfield site in the Midlands “which might have had better access for the whole of the country” had been under review. Continue reading...
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Eidevall scorns ‘relic’ Women’s Champions League format as Arsenal march on (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Arsenal 1-0 Rosenborg; Maanum 19 Hosts give strong display to reach qualifying round two Jonas Eidevall said he was glad that no English team will have to go through the Champions League mini-tournament qualifying format again, calling it a “relic of the past” and criticising the 72-hour turnaround between the fixtures, with the format of next year’s competition changing. Eidevall’s Arsenal beat Rangers 6-0 on Wednesday night in a mini-tournament semi-final, and then Rosenborg 1-0 in the final, to progress to round two of Champions League qualifying. Continue reading...
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Todd Boehly wants Chelsea resolution as Clearlake relationship breaks down (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Billionaire believes club’s structure is untenable Talks over buying each other out have not taken place Todd Boehly has lost faith in his working relationship with Clearlake Capital, the US private equity firm that owns a majority shareholding in Chelsea, and wants to find a resolution that would prevent civil war breaking out at Stamford Bridge. As claims that the club’s owners do not see eye to eye gain momentum, it is understood that Boehly is confident that investors are ready to provide him with sufficient capital to complete a full takeover. There have been strong denials that the American billionaire is hoping to sell his 38.5% stake, which is split equally between him, Hansjörg Wyss and Mark Walter. Continue reading...
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Kate Cross takes six wickets then sees England home in first ODI against Ireland (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
1st ODI: England (211-6) bt Ireland (210) by 4 wkts Cross takes six for 30 then scores unbeaten 38 All the talk prior to England’s first tour of Ireland since 1995 had been about the visitors’ surplus of debutants, and indeed, England’s cap presentations swallowed 20 minutes before the start of play in the first ODI on Saturday: Hollie Armitage, Hannah Baker, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Paige Scholfield and Mady Villiers all playing in their maiden ODI. But in the end, it was an old hand who stole the show – the 32-year-old Kate Cross, who already had 91 caps to her name, finished with career-best figures of six for 30 and was unbeaten on 38 with the bat, as she led her team to a four-wicket win. Continue reading...
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There’s no need to cut poorer pensioners’ income. Smarter winter fuel solutions are at hand | Steve Webb (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Payments could be restricted to those living in lower council tax bands, as money expert Martin Lewis has suggested • Winter fuel payments cut ‘one of the worst decisions I have ever seen’ says ex pensions minister The new government’s honeymoon period with the voters ended at 3.33pm on Monday 29 July. This was when the chancellor stood up to announce to MPs that all but the poorest pensioners would lose their winter fuel payments. The politics of this announcement were pretty grim. It is one thing coming up with a package of cuts where everyone feels some of the pain but we are “all in this together”. It is quite another to make one group of voters feel singled out by the government. And the problem was made worse a few weeks later when Ofgem announced a 10% increase in energy bills for this winter. Continue reading...
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Elon Musk is intrigued by the idea women can’t think freely because of ‘low T’ | Arwa Mahdawi (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Every time it seems he can’t possibly sink any lower, the billionaire CEO grabs a shovel and starts digging Every time I think Elon Musk can’t possibly sink any lower, he grabs a shovel and starts digging. In recent months, Apartheid Clyde (as he is nicknamed) has been doing his best to get Donald Trump elected by any means possible. As well as throwing money and an endorsement Trump’s way, Musk has posted multiple false election claims and reposted a fake version of Kamala Harris’s first campaign video that has been doctored to make her say she is the “ultimate diversity hire”. Continue reading...
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Chris Riddell on David Cameron musing in his shepherd’s hut while Grenfell Tower burns – cartoon (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
In 2014, the former prime minister proudly announced that his government had stopped ‘needless health and safety inspections’ • You can order your own copy of this cartoon Continue reading...
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Labour’s first job is not to spend, but to fix the UK’s financial plumbing | Phillip Inman (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The UK urgently needs investment. But no one seems to know whether the institutions that deliver it are working as they should Every time an upmarket home is bought in the UK, the new residents seem obliged to rip out the kitchen and install two bathrooms where there was only one. It is almost a cast-iron rule that walking across the threshold means paying builders to rearrange what was there before, almost for the sake of it. Continue reading...
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Undemocratic and secretive: the BMA no longer speaks for doctors trying to protect children | Jacky Davis (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The union is risking its reputation by opposing the Cass report on gender identity services • Dr Jacky Davis is a consultant radiologist and a member of the BMA council • BMA stance on Cass review of transgender care has ‘damaged its reputation’ The British Medical Association is both a trade union and a professional organisation. Professional activities such as its successful campaigns around seatbelt legislation and smoking have added weight to its standing as a union. It is not noted for drama and histrionics. So there was significant surprise when its governing body, the BMA council, recently voted to reject the recommendations of the Cass review, an independent review commissioned to look at NHS gender identity services in England, which was accepted in full by the last government and its successor. Continue reading...
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Blame modern decisions, not just ancient history, for economic inequality | Torsten Bell (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Black Americans whose ancestors were enslaved were still suffering a century later because they lived in states where Jim Crow laws were enforced Persistence studies are all the rage in economics – using clever maths to show that events in the distant past drive political or economic outcomes today. One well-known example argued that Britain’s superior growth to France as late as 1800 was shaped by… the collapse of the western Roman empire a millennium before. Here, the collapse saw the population de-urbanise, while in France they remained in Roman-era towns that lasted. So when Britain’s cities re-emerged they were in places better suited to growth in the run-up to the Industrial Revolution. Interesting stuff. But persistence studies also breed something dangerous: determinism. If ancient history is so influential, what hope do we have to shape our destiny? Which is why I love a new paper by Lukas Althoff and Hugo Reichardt, examining the lasting economic impact of slavery. Their findings look like the normal persistence story: black Americans whose ancestors were enslaved before the civil war have had significantly worse economic outcomes ever since, compared with black Americans whose forefathers were free – even in 2023, descendants of enslaved people had incomes $11,620 lower than other black Americans. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...
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When dogs recall toys, and horses plan ahead, are animals so different from us? | Martha Gill (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
We’re warned not to assign human qualities to other species, but evidence of their complex abilities is mounting The details differ, but really it’s the same story, turning up every few weeks, for around a decade now. The revelation – and it’s always presented with a dramatic flourish – is this: animals are much more like us than we thought. Last week, it was that dogs could remember the names of their old toys – even when they hadn’t seen them for two years. Language acquisition, that “uniquely human” thing, was being encroached on, the researchers said: dogs could store words in their memory. Last month, it was that horses could strategise and plan ahead, overturning the assumption that they “simply respond to stimuli in the moment”. And in April, it was that there’s a “realistic possibility of consciousness” in reptiles, fish and even insects – according to a declaration signed by some 40 scientists. One of the studies backing the claims recorded bumblebees playing with wooden balls. The behaviour had no obvious connection to mating or survival, the authors thought. It was for fun. Continue reading...
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Telegram chief’s arrest sends a clear message: tech titans are not above the law (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The detainment of the murky messaging service’s founder in France shows online moguls can no longer act with impunity On 24 August, a Russian tech billionaire’s private jet landed at Le Bourget airport, north-east of Paris, to find that officers of the French judicial police were waiting for him. He was duly arrested and whisked away for interrogation. Four days later he was indicted on 12 charges, including alleged complicity in the distribution of child exploitation material and drug trafficking, barred from leaving France and placed under “judicial supervision”, which requires him to check in with the gendarmes twice a week until further notice. The mogul in question, Pavel Durov, is a tech entrepreneur who collects nationalities the way others collect air miles. In fact it turns out that one of his citizenships is French, generously provided in 2021 by France’s president, Emmanuel Macron. Durov is also, it seems, a fitness fanatic with a punishing daily regime. “After eight hours of tracked sleep,” the Financial Times reports, “he starts the day ‘without exception’ with 200 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and an ice bath. He does not drink, smoke, eat sugar or meat, and saves time for meditation.” When not engaged in these demanding activities, he has also found time to father more than 100 kids as a sperm donor and to rival Elon Musk as a free-speech extremist. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on the Paris Paralympics: a return to the spirit of London 2012 | Editorial (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
A vibrant, well-attended Games showcased the best of parasport. But the challenges outside the sporting arena remain the same The size of the crowds, the brio of the marketing and the enhanced profile of star athletes made London 2012 a breakthrough moment in Paralympic history. Since then, it has been a slightly rockier ride. Poor ticket sales and financial problems overshadowed the lead-up to Rio in 2016. Tokyo, delayed to 2021, was a behind‑closed-doors affair, blighted by Covid. A lot, therefore, was riding on Paris 2024. And in multiple ways, Paris has brilliantly delivered. As the Games come to a close this weekend, the aggregate attendance could surpass 2.5 million – not far from the record set in London. The crowds have been passionate, and whenever a French athlete was in the running for a medal, fiercely partisan. Just as during the hugely successful Olympics, the French capital has provided a sumptuous, charismatic backdrop to thrilling sporting competition throughout the city. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on the regulatory state: Labour must put people before profit (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
Grenfell showed what can happen when human needs are disregarded. Tougher laws governing business are one answer The conclusions of the Grenfell inquiry point in more than one direction. The path to justice lies through the courts, with police considering charges for crimes including corporate manslaughter. Warnings that trials could be years off, despite findings of dishonesty, have led to questions about public inquiries’ status as the gold standard of official investigations. Finding out the truth is important. But justice delayed is justice denied, and survivors are frustrated. The disaster and its aftermath have taken over their lives. Public as well as private bodies were strongly criticised by the inquiry. Misconduct in public office is one of the charges being considered. But the overarching failure to regulate the construction industry, which led to combustible plastic panels being attached to high‑rise buildings, is not something for which anyone can be convicted. Deregulation, specifically lax laws about materials and fire safety, caused the deaths of 72 people. David Cameron and Eric Pickles were particularly culpable in pushing this policy. But while this can be viewed as criminal in a moral sense, it is not in a legal one. 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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The NCT pushes for ‘natural birth’ too strongly, but we have much to thank it for | Letters (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
Michelle Gibson says there is no room for a stubborn, idealistic response when intervention is the only way to save the day, while Janet Mansfield recalls how the organisation fought for women Yet another piece on how birth has been hijacked by one or other of the cults that surround how women should live their lives (‘Women feel like failures if they haven’t had a “normal” birth’: how the NCT has shaped childbirth in the UK, 27 August). A good and trouble-free pregnancy is no indication that birth will follow the same pattern. When it comes to squeezing a fully-formed human being through a narrow tunnel, things can go wrong very quickly. When that happens, we need professionals around who ensure that mother and baby are as OK as possible in the circumstances. There is no room for a stubborn, idealistic response when intervention is the only way to save the day. Birth is messy and painful, and it is cruel to make women believe that they have failed if they need help to deal with this. Continue reading...
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Paloma Faith’s swipe at dating apps is justified – but we won’t give them up | Letters (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
Readers respond to an article by the singer, songwriter, actress and single mum on the perils of online dating I concur wholeheartedly with Paloma Faith’s article on the horrors of online dating, although her experiences seem to be particularly grotesque (As a single mum, my free time is sacred – it fills me with rage to waste it on bad dates, 31 August). If it is any consolation, the landscape is identical as a man. I have been using dating apps for a long time. If you can survive the cliches (kitchen disco, anyone?) you must navigate the lexicon of terms that people use. I too have been puzzled by the “ethically non-monogamous” – I’m glad I’m not alone. It seems people have little time or inclination to cultivate a real relationship after meeting – preferring to keep swiping for that elusive person who ticks all the boxes instantly. Either that, or I am just one of the dull people that Paloma alludes to. Continue reading...
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‘Oh my God, what is that?’: how the maelstrom under Greenland’s glaciers could slow future sea level rise (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
A pioneering mission into a mysterious and violent world may reveal ‘speed bumps’ on the way to global coastal inundation There are stadium-sized blocks of ice crashing from the soaring face of the Kangerlussuup glacier in western Greenland. Fierce underwater currents of meltwater are shooting out from its base and visibility below the surface is virtually zero thanks to a torrent of suspended mud and sand. It’s little wonder scientists have never explored this maelstrom. Yet today, they are sending in a multimillion-dollar remotely operated submarine, potentially to its death. As the scientists onboard the Celtic Explorer research ship repeatedly say: “It’s a high risk, high reward mission.” Continue reading...
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‘Citizen scientists’ to check UK rivers for sewage and pollution (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Big River Watch scheme asks general public to help monitor state of rivers after years of deregulation Rivers will be checked for sewage and other pollution by the general public this month in an attempt to assess the health of British waterways. Cuts to the UK regulators and a change in the law to allow water company self-monitoring of pollution in England mean there is little independent monitoring of the state of rivers in the UK. Continue reading...
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What's at stake in the US election? The climate for the next million years | Bill McKibben (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
Donald Trump gets everything wrong about the climate crisis. The results of the vote in November could reverberate for a million years Here is the biggest thing happening on our planet as we head into the autumn of 2024: the Earth is continuing to heat dramatically. Scientists have said that there’s a better than 90% chance that this year will top 2023 as the warmest ever recorded. And paleoclimatologists were pretty sure last year was the hottest in the last 125,000 years. The result is an almost-cliched run of disasters: open Twitter/X anytime for pictures of floods pushing cars through streets somewhere. It is starting to make life on this planet very difficult, and in some places impossible. And it’s on target to get far, far worse. Continue reading...
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Hottest summer on record could lead to warmest year ever measured (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
This year will more than likely end up the warmest humanity has measured, reports European climate service Summer 2024 sweltered to Earth’s hottest on record, making it even more likely that this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured, the European climate service Copernicus reported on Friday. And if this sounds familiar, that’s because the records the globe shattered were set just last year as human-caused climate change, with a temporary boost from an El Niño, keeps dialing up temperatures and extreme weather, scientists said. Continue reading...
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Rats, mould, damp: UK’s biggest student homes provider faces legal action over poor accommodation (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
A tenants’ rights group is fighting for justice for residents of university halls who claim health affected by conditions Students across the country are demanding rent refunds from the UK’s biggest university hall owner, claiming they have endured infestations of rats, mice and bed bugs, and had their health affected by mould and damp. Flat Justice, a not-for-profit tenants’ rights group, has shared details with the Observer of group legal actions it is leading against Unite Students on behalf of hundreds of students who have lived in the company’s halls in Liverpool, London, Coventry and Birmingham. Continue reading...
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Grenfell building firm criticised by inquiry handed contracts worth millions after fire (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Rydon, lead contractor on the tower’s refurbishment, won deals from councils and the NHS despite pressure to ban it from bids The building firm found to have borne “considerable responsibility” for the Grenfell fire with its “casual attitude to fire safety” was handed contracts worth tens of millions of pounds by councils, colleges and NHS trusts after the tragedy. Property group Rydon was the lead contractor overseeing the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower between 2014 and 2016, including the installation of combustible cladding. The inquiry found that the firm should have been aware of “the risks of using combustible materials in the external walls of high-rise buildings”. Continue reading...
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Antony Blinken to visit UK for talks on Ukraine and Middle East (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
US secretary of state will be most senior US official to have travelled to London since Labour’s election victory The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will head to London next week to discuss the Middle East and Ukraine, the state department announced on Saturday, in advance of a US visit by prime minister Keir Starmer. Blinken’s visit to London on Monday and Tuesday will be the most senior by a US official since the Labour party won the general election in July, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. Continue reading...
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Former Welsh first minister Vaughan Gething to stand down at next election (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
MS for Cardiff South and Penarth, who stood down after 140 days as first minister, will not seek re-election in 2026 Vaughan Gething, the Labour former first minister of Wales who stood down after a series of scandals, has announced he will not seek re-election for the Senedd. Gething, the MS for Cardiff South and Penarth, said it had been “an immense honour” to serve his constituents, and in the Welsh government, as he made the announcement. Continue reading...
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Winter fuel payments cut ‘one of the worst decisions I have ever seen’ says ex pensions minister (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Crossbench peer will table ‘fatal’ Lords motion, as Starmer faces damaging rebellion in Commons vote • Steve Webb: There’s no need to cut poorer pensioners’ income. Smarter winter fuel solutions are at hand The respected former pensions minister Ros Altmann has tabled a “fatal” parliamentary motion to kill off the government’s controversial plan to limit winter fuel payments, describing it as “one of the worst decisions I have ever seen”. The move by Baroness Altmann, a crossbench peer and leading expert on issues affecting elderly people, comes amid growing pressure on the prime minister, Keir Starmer, from across the ­political spectrum, to drop or modify the plan ahead of a series of key votes this week. Continue reading...
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Labour bid to ‘smash the gangs’ could add to death risk for Channel migrants (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Government ‘hoping’ it will not have to create safe and legal route or change asylum law, says Home Office source Deaths in the English Channel are expected to rise to “devastating” new highs over the coming months, with charities and experts warning that Labour’s action against smugglers could trigger increasingly dangerous methods to launch boats. A record of 43 people have died attempting to cross the Channel this year, 35 of them at sea, with six children and a pregnant woman among 12 people who drowned in a disaster on Tuesday. Continue reading...
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Thousands of protesters turn out for anti-racism rally in Glasgow (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
‘Phenomenal show’ of solidarity in city’s George Square overshadows smaller anti-immigration demonstration Anti-racism campaigners have welcomed a “phenomenal show” of solidarity after an anti-immigration rally initially promoted by Tommy Robinson was overshadowed by protesters in Glasgow’s George Square. The opposing rallies were separated by lines of police and metal barriers, with a Stand Up to Racism Scotland event, in coalition with trade unions and leading refugee rights organisations, taking over most of the square as speakers addressed a swelling crowd of several thousand. Continue reading...
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Keir Starmer optimistic for ‘deep’ reset of relations with Ireland (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Starmer to hold talks with Irish counterpart on first official visit of a British PM to country for five years Keir Starmer has said he believes there can be a “deep” reset of relations with Ireland after arriving in Dublin for his first official visit, with Northern Ireland, Brexit and joint international interests on the agenda. It is the first official visit of a British prime minister since Boris Johnson visited in 2019 to try to salvage a Brexit deal after years of strained relations. Continue reading...
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Heavy rain to hit parts of UK over weekend as flooding risks remain (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Met Office says band of ‘heavy and thundery rain’ to sweep north through southern and central England and Wales Heavy rain is due to sweep across large parts of the UK this weekend, with many at risk of flooding. A new band of “heavy and thundery rain” will arrive on the south coast on Saturday and move northwards overnight, affecting central and southern England and Wales, the Met Office said. Continue reading...
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Police find body in search for missing British tourist in Mallorca (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Officials believe victims were swept away in flash flood amid heavy storms, after body of British woman was also found on island on Wednesday Police searching for a British man believed to have been swept away by heavy flooding in Mallorca have found a body. It comes after the body of a British woman was found on the Spanish tourist island on Wednesday. Continue reading...
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Ayşenur Eygi’s family demand independent inquiry into West Bank death (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Family of Turkish-American woman shot dead during protest against settlements says Israeli investigation ‘not adequate’ The family of a Turkish-American woman shot dead while demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank have demanded an independent investigation into her death. Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was “shot in the head” while participating in a demonstration in Beita in the West Bank on Friday, the UN rights office said. Continue reading...
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CIA boss says west should not be intimidated by Russia’s nuclear threats (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Bill Burns calls Vladimir Putin a ‘bully’ whose ‘sabre-rattling’ should not always be taken literally Western leaders should not be intimidated by Kremlin threats of nuclear escalation, the head of the CIA said on Saturday, amid a debate over whether Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles should be used inside Russia. Bill Burns, on a visit to London alongside the head of MI6, said the US had brushed off a previous Russian nuclear scare in autumn 2022, demonstrating that threats from Moscow should not always be taken literally. Continue reading...
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Judge rules Missouri ballot measure to protect abortion rights is invalid (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Ruling, which may be reviewed by appellate court, could strike reproductive rights measure off November ballot A Missouri judge has ruled that a ballot measure asking voters whether abortion rights should be enshrined in the state constitution is invalid, potentially jeopardizing an election scheduled for November. In a ruling issued on Friday, Cole county circuit judge Christopher Limbaugh said that the reproductive rights petition – also known as amendment 3 – led by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom did not comply with state law. Continue reading...
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Thousands of leftwing protesters show anger as Michel Barnier made PM (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Demonstrators accuse Emmanuel Macron of perpetrating ‘denial of democracy’ by choosing conservative politician Thousands of angry leftwing protesters took to French streets on Saturday two days after Emmanuel Macron appointed a conservative prime minister. Demonstrators accused the president of a “denial of democracy” after his decision to name the former EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, 73, as leader of the government. Continue reading...
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West Bank residents tell of teargas then shots before US woman’s death (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Palestinians say they have no faith in Israel Defense Forces inquiry into killing as US officials insist Gaza ceasefire is near US officials have insisted that a ceasefire in Gaza is close even as fighting rages unabated in the blockaded Palestinian territory and violence spirals in the occupied West Bank, where witnesses told the Observer an American-Turkish dual national was killed by Israeli forces on Friday. William Burns, who is also the US’s chief negotiator in the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, echoed secretary of state Antony Blinken during a speech in London on Saturday in which he said that “90% of the text had been agreed but the last 10% is always the hardest”. Continue reading...
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Beauty queen row exposes xenophobia towards immigrants in South Africa (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Saga over contestant’s nationality reflects hatred of other Africans fuelled by poverty among black population When Chidimma Adetshina entered Miss South Africa, she dreamed of being crowned and going on to represent – at the Miss Universe contest in November – the country she had lived in since birth. What she didn’t expect was a furious backlash that would end up with her winning the right to represent Nigeria instead. A saga over the 23-year-old law student’s nationality has exposed a deep vein of xenophobia in South Africa against immigrants from other African countries that has festered since the end of apartheid, feeding off endemic unemployment, poverty and inequality, and periodically exploding into violence. Continue reading...
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US ‘hero voters’ key to Harris win, say top ex-aides who plotted Labour UK victory (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Two former senior advisers to Keir Starmer say their UK election strategy could benefit Democratic campaign • Lessons of Labour UK win could help Harris defeat Trump Keir Starmer’s former pollster, Deborah Mattinson, is to meet Kamala Harris’s campaign team in Washington this week to share details of how Labour pulled off its stunning election win by targeting key groups of “squeezed working-class voters who wanted change”. The visit comes ahead of a separate trip by Starmer to Washington on Friday to meet US president Joe Biden, his second since becoming prime minister. It will also be his first since Biden stepped down and Harris became the Democratic nominee. Continue reading...
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‘I’m a new racist’: Michigan judge suspended after insulting gay and Black people on recordings (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Court worker secretly recorded calls in which Kathleen Ryan made homophobic slur and called Black people lazy A suburban Detroit judge is no longer handling cases after a court official turned over recordings of her making anti-gay insults and referring to Black people as lazy. Oakland county probate judge Kathleen Ryan was removed from her docket on 27 August for unspecified misconduct. Now the court’s administrator has stepped forward to say he blew the whistle on her, secretly recording their phone calls. Continue reading...
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Russian documentary accused of falsely showing invading soldiers as victims (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Anastasia Trofimova’s film Russians at War criticised for ‘distorted picture of reality’ in Ukraine after Venice premiere A new documentary portraying the lives of Russian soldiers near the Ukrainian frontlines has faced fierce criticism for attempting to whitewash Moscow’s war crimes. Russians at War, directed by the Russian-Canadian film-maker Anastasia Trofimova, chronicles seven months spent embedded with a Russian army battalion in eastern Ukraine, presenting itself as a unique window into the daily lives of Russian soldiers. Continue reading...
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Michigan couple arrested after groom allegedly kills groomsman hours after wedding (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
James Shirah, 22, allegedly ran over groomsman with SUV, mortally wounding him, following argument on 30 August A newly married couple from Michigan were arrested only hours after their wedding because the groom allegedly used a car to intentionally run over and kill one of his groomsmen, according to local police. The groom, 22-year-old James Shirah of Flint, allegedly ran over his groomsman with an SUV, mortally wounding him, following an argument on 30 August, the Flint police department said on Facebook. Continue reading...
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BBC promises ‘innovative’ return for Casualty in Christmas special (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Broadcaster says episode will ‘celebrate gift of giving’ after news revealed in a cryptic teaser trailer for medical drama Casualty is to return to TV screens for an “innovative” Christmas special, the BBC has revealed. The news was announced in a cryptic teaser trailer, which followed Saturday’s season finale on BBC One. The BBC says the Christmas special will “celebrate the gift of giving” and be told in an “innovative, format-breaking way”. A teaser image for the trailer showed a hospital ward covered in snow, with a fluorescent jacket on the ground. Continue reading...
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Sérgio Mendes, the musician who left Brazil to bring the sounds of his country to the world (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The man who made bossa nova an international sensation has died at 83, after a 60-year, 35-album career that straddled musical genres Bringing Brazilian music to the world and the world to Brazilian music: for decades, this was Sérgio Mendes’s mission and passion. The artist died on Friday at the age of 83, after a 60-year career that produced more than 35 albums. Continue reading...
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Etienne Charles: Creole Orchestra review – jazz trumpeter’s big band dream come true (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
(Culture Shock) The Trinidad-born musician and his 22-piece ensemble excel in all styles, from Benny Goodman and Eartha Kitt to Charles’s own Carib-flavoured compositions “Wow! A big band record – a dream come true,” writes Trinidad-born trumpet player Etienne Charles in the cover notes to his 10th album. A gifted player and composer, Charles has been waiting for a stab at his grand opus for the past decade, since singer René Marie asked him to arrange big band parts for her. Since then he has become a celebrated arranger, collaborating with the New York Philharmonic and the Charleston Jazz Orchestra among others. His command of his 22-piece Creole Orchestra proves impeccable and absolute, dovetailing elaborate woodwind and brass parts with finely wrought solos. There’s a nod to big bands past on Benny Goodman’s Stompin’ at the Savoy and Jimmy Forrest’s Night Train, but the standouts are Charles’s own. A torrent of horns and percussion opens the album on Old School, while the jaunty Douens, named after creatures of Trinidadian folklore, is one of several Carib flavours. Joe Henderson’s A Shade of Jade allows saxophonist Michael Thomas to parade his hard bop chops, while Poison refashions Bell Biv DeVoe’s 1990 R&B hit. Marie shines with feline charm on Eartha Kitt’s I Wanna Be Evil and her own sultry Take My Breath Away. A brilliant recasting of tradition – “sometimes it takes a village,” says Charles. Continue reading...
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The week in audio: Matt Chorley; Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division and New Order; In The Studio: Laurie Anderson – review (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
5 Live’s new politics show gets off to a solid start; the never-boring story of New Order is retold. Plus, Laurie Anderson on knob-twiddling Matt Chorley (BBC Radio 5 Live) | BBC Sounds Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division and New Order | Cup & Muzzle In the Studio: Laurie Anderson (BBC World Service) | BBC Sounds Matt Chorley, late of Times Radio, has a new daily show on 5 Live, in Nihal Arthanayake’s old afternoon slot. The programme, which broadcasts live from a studio close to Westminster, was announced a while ago; timed, you assume, to coincide with a UK general election. But Rishi Sunak decided to jump earlier than expected, the election’s done and dusted, and so Chorley is left to burst through the door, all political guns blazing, into a rather quieter parliamentary saloon than expected. Continue reading...
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On my radar: Raymond Antrobus’s cultural highlights (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The poet on the power of abstract art, Shakespeare in British Sign Language and the ‘articulated rage’ of James Baldwin The British poet and educator Raymond Antrobus was born in east London in 1986. He gained an MA in spoken word education from Goldsmiths, University of London and published his first poetry pamphlet in 2012. His 2018 book The Perseverance won both the Ted Hughes award and the Rathbones Folio prize. He has also published two children’s picture books, Can Bears Ski? and Terrible Horses. Antrobus lives in Margate with his wife, Tabitha, a photographer and art conservator, and their son. His new poetry collection Signs, Music, exploring masculinity, race, deafness and fatherhood, is published by Picador on 12 September. Continue reading...
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Frederic Leighton’s only known painting of moon over water to go on show after being lost for a century (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Painter’s Bay of Cadiz, Moonlight, bought by Leighton House Museum in June, will star in November exhibition He was the most distinguished artist of the late 19th century – a grandee who entertained Queen Victoria at his home in Holland Park and was president of the Royal Academy for nearly two decades. Frederic Leighton was feted for his portraits of women, especially his stunning Flaming June, currently the centrepiece of an exhibition at the Royal Academy. But he actually preferred painting landscapes and very occasional seascapes, one of which, Bay of Cadiz, Moonlight, he adored. Continue reading...
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Foodies’ favourite: the Italian tipple beloved by in-the-know chefs and bar staff (Fri, 09 Aug 2024)
With its complex flavour and long Italian history, it’s no wonder the food world loves Fernet-Branca A shot of Fernet-Branca is the bartender’s handshake, or so I was told when I was given my first taste of the intensely aromatic Italian amaro at the Griffin in Shoreditch, east London. But maybe it should be called the chef’s handshake too, given its cult status in the foodie world. This pub, so often frequented by chefs and kitchen workers, has its own gleaming Fernet-Branca tap – a testament to both its place in hospitality culture and its popularity among the pub’s culinary clientele. So what does it taste like? It’s complicated. Let’s begin with the fresh herbal notes of peppermint, gentian and angelica, the bitterness of cinchona, and then move into hot spice and floral flourishes – saffron, rhubarb, iris, chamomile and myrrh. A decadent melange of exotic ingredients, every sip of Fernet-Branca is a taste of Italian heritage and culinary prestige. It’s a bitter drink, from Italy’s long history of traditional liqueur tonics made in monasteries by monks as digestifs from as far back as the 13th century. Continue reading...
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Good friends, chic threads: how to enjoy an Italian aperitivo at home with these authentic cocktail recipes (Fri, 09 Aug 2024)
Awaken your senses with a pre-dinner ritual that has enraptured Italians for centuries. Here are five mouth-watering drinks to enjoy this summer What word conjures up Italian summer evenings better than aperitivo? What started as a pre-dinner drink to “open the appetite” (aprire in Italian means “to open”) has become one of the most important social rituals in Italy. From about 7pm to 9pm, as offices begin to empty, Italian bars fill up with people still in their trendy work attire, elegant pant suits for the ladies, clean lines accessorised with smart loafers for the gents – a stark contrast to Britain’s uber relaxed pub attire. The modern motives for aperitivo are many: celebrating birthdays or promotions with loved ones or colleagues, to see and be seen in a glamorous setting, but mostly just meeting up with your pals for an after-work catchup over a negroni or two. Whoever it’s with, the social aspect of aperitivo is vital. Oh, and food. Most bars in Italy will serve abundant free food (can you imagine that in Britain?), which has given rise to the Italian concept of apericena (a combination of the words aperitivo and cena, the Italian word for dinner), where you fill up on lots of snacks and skip dinner altogether. Continue reading...
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Salute! Three of the best bars to enjoy Italian cocktails in the UK (Fri, 09 Aug 2024)
From Edinburgh to London, embrace the sophistication of an aperitivo at these stylish watering holes To those in the know, the British cocktail scene is growing up. Just like a child moving into adulthood, it’s evolving from the overly sweet, simple cocktails of the early 2000s into an older, wiser drinks scene with a tinge of bitterness. Negronis are in vogue and drink aficionados have trained their taste buds to enjoy neon-bright spritzes instead of slushie-like daiquiris on a summer evening. Bitter, herbal amaros such as Fernet-Branca and Carpano bitter, and rich vermouths such as Antica Formula are slowly replacing sugary syrups as cocktail palates develop and mature. Italy has long led the way in grownup cocktails, and there are a handful of UK bars where you can embrace the sophistication of the Italian cocktail. Continue reading...
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How to tap into ‘barcore’ – the new style trend causing a stir (Fri, 09 Aug 2024)
Chef-based fashion has been bubbling up in restaurant kitchens for some time – and now there’s inspiration to be found in the world of bars too From Scandi-style speakeasies to decadent dive bars, the UK’s bar scene is currently enjoying a renaissance. “The UK is always ahead when it comes to pushing the bar scene forward,” says Adam Taylor, who leads the team at Project Halcyon Distillery in Manchester, a subterranean, hard-to-find bolthole that has the feel of an illicit warehouse bar, and boasts its own onsite lab and distillery. “Since Covid, there’s been a massive cultural shift in the bar world,” says Taylor. “A huge gap has opened up between the cost conscious two-for-one cocktail bar and the expensive cocktail bar, where people come for experiences. There really isn’t much in between.” Continue reading...
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Blind Date: ‘I showed too much disdain when he mentioned his friends working in the City’ (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Emi, 26, a trainee human rights lawyer, meets Hari, 26, a sports analyst What were you hoping for? Someone to walk London’s Capital Ring with. Failing that, a free dinner. Continue reading...
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We love: Fashion fixes for the week ahead – in pictures (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
Tilda Swinton turns fashion designer, Mabel supports Grenfell and rugby style makes a comeback Continue reading...
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Seeing double: the new season’s most useful suit jacket (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
As trends go, the double-breasted jacket is one of the easiest to try. Get ahead this autumn with our tips on how to wear it If you’re looking to add a bit of swag and stature, a double breasted blazer is just the thing. Worn as a full suit, a double-breasted look adds gravitas and feels instantly pulled together. But its usefulness doesn’t stop there. Keep the look feeling modern by following the lead from the runways, where the DBJ was styled not as part of a suit, but thrown over the top of a casual dressed-down outfit. It was spotted on the catwalk at Amiri in a heavy tweed worn with metallic trousers and a printed shirt, while at Dries van Noten it came oversized in a light lilac. Wales Bonner’s camel version sported matt gold buttons and was worn with jeans – see also Gant’s preppy styling over a hoodie with denim and trainers (7, below). It’s a hit with celebrities, too. Twisters star Glen Powell chose a green double-breasted suit for the LA premiere. Naturally, DB himself (Mr Beckham) is a fan of the style, opting for a brown check version for a recent photocall with King Charles (also a loyal advocate of the cut). Continue reading...
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Gareth Malone: ‘You need a rock solid sense of purpose’ (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The choirmaster, 48, on teenagers, meeting Arthur Miller, and his most embarrassing moment I’m happy to make people cry. I’m comfortable with my TV shows being in that end-of-ET emotional space. Find your thing. Going into any non-traditional career, you need a rock solid sense of purpose. It has to be the only thing you can do. Continue reading...
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Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for white cabbage, peanut butter and gochujang noodles | The new vegan (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
You don’t need to be a straight A student to cook these easy instant noodles I wrote this recipe for all the students heading back to university this week, but it’s too nice to withhold from everyone else, especially because it’s the sort of thing I like to eat on any day of the working week. It’s cheap, quick and delicious, and you need no skills to make it. The first eight ingredients are stirred together; the ninth, spring onions, just need a quick chop and a fry with the 11th ingredient, cabbage, which could be done while ingredient number 10, the noodles, are on the boil. A final flourish with some chopped peanuts and you’re ready for dinner. Continue reading...
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Tim Lovejoy and Helen Chamberlain look back at Soccer AM: ‘We fought like siblings. She couldn’t stand me and I couldn’t stand her’ (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The longtime co-presenters on changing the game, their unique bond, and dispelling Christmas party rumours Tim Lovejoy and Helen Chamberlain are the former hosts of irreverent football and pop culture show Soccer AM. Chamberlain – a Pontins Bluecoat turned Nickelodeon presenter – began on the show in 1995. A year later, she was joined by Lovejoy, a former producer for The Big Breakfast who has fronted Sunday Brunch since 2012. Tim and Helen’s podcast, Soccer A-Z, is available from 4 September. Continue reading...
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Tell us about your favourite Paris Paralympics moment so far (Tue, 03 Sep 2024)
We would like to hear what you’ve loved about watching the Paralympics take place in Paris The 17th Paralympic games are underway in Paris. We would like to hear what your favourite moment of the games has been so far – whether it’s a particular performance from the opening ceremony, or a memorable highlight. Tell us all about it below. Continue reading...
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Tell us: are you estranged from your parents? Have your children cut off contact with you? (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
We are looking to speak to people who have decided to cut off contact with their parents, or people who have been cut off by their children Some data suggests that as many as one in four people are estranged from at least one family member. We are looking to speak to people who have decided to cut off contact with their parents, or people who have been cut off by their children, for a piece about family rifts. How long have you been estranged for? How do you feel about it? Continue reading...
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People in the UK: how have you been affected by authorised push payment scams? (Thu, 05 Sep 2024)
We would like to hear from people who have been affected by scams, specifically authorised push payment scams The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is to slash the planned maximum amount that banks will have to refund to fraud victims – from £415,000 to about £85,000 – in what consumer groups have called ‘outrageous’. Fraud in the UK payments industry has soared in recent years, with a sharp rise in authorised push payment (APP) scams, which often involve email accounts being hacked to trick people into sending money to bank accounts operated by criminals. Continue reading...
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Parents and teachers: share your experience with children and mobile phones (Tue, 03 Sep 2024)
We would like to hear about when children are first given mobile phones and how often they use them With children returning to school, many parents find themselves debating whether to give them their first phone. Pressure to do so can come from their own children,their friends at school or other families. Whether you are a parent or teacher, we want to hear your experience with children and mobile phone usage. What age did you give your child their first phone and why? Was it a smartphone or dumb phone (one that cannot connect to the internet)? Continue reading...
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Everyone is terrified of a far-right return in Germany. Here’s why it won’t happen (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The deep historical, political and cultural split between east and west acts as a brake on the rise of the AfD nationwide The media are alive with crumbling firewalls (Brandmauer) in Germany. State elections in Thuringia have delivered the first win for the extreme right since 1945 in the region where the Nazis first entered regional power in 1929, and on the date Adolf Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. “The East will do it!” The Alternative für Deutschland’s (AfD) campaign mixed the usual right-populist themes with the suggestion that the East is where the real Germany resists the liberal horrors of multiculturalism and windpower. Continue reading...
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How Australian conservationists’ tunnel vision lets turtles swim to freedom (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Creating a fox-proof haven for endangered eastern quolls required a high, encircling fence. But what about the other wildlife? Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Eastern long-necked turtles are known for their “ridiculously cute grin”, says Nick Dexter, and a much less charming ability to release a pungent stink to ward off predators. But what they’re not good at, unsurprisingly, is climbing fences. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
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Tensions simmer – but don’t boil over – as Columbia students return to campus (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Smaller pro-Palestinian protests continue in new semester amid ramped-up security, but chaos of spring has faded Columbia University students returned to campus this week under the specter of the mass protests that disrupted campus life last semester. But while actions against the Gaza war continue, the first days of class saw little of the last school year’s chaos. On Wednesday, a group of about 30 students gathered for a sit-in protest outside a class Hillary Clinton teaches at the School of International and Public Affairs building, chanting “intifada revolution” and “Zionists not welcome here”. Continue reading...
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‘He wanted a better life’: the man who fell from a plane in search of a new start – and the brother who retraced his journey 20 years later (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
In 2001, a badly broken body was found in a London car park. Police said the man had tried to enter the UK by hiding in a plane’s landing gear. Two decades after the Guardian first told his tragic story, there was an unexpected twist Twenty-three years ago this summer, on a bright early June morning in south-west London, a staff member on her way to work at the Richmond branch of Homebase came across the body of a man who had died in the most brutal and traumatic manner. His body was lying on the tarmac just inside the DIY superstore’s car park, a tangle of broken limbs in black jeans and a black T-shirt. His skull had smashed and his brain matter was splattered distressingly across a parked car. Continue reading...
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An ‘earthquake’ at Volkswagen – and a crisis for Germany? (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The company is seen as crucial not just to local but national wellbeing – and never before have its workers been threatened in their own homeland like this ‘Earthquake at Volkswagen” ran the stark headline in the Wolfsburger Nachrichten, the newspaper serving the north German city that is synonymous with the carmaker. The news that the crisis-stricken company was weighing up the closure of factories in Germany for the first time in its history, and prematurely dissolving its 30-year-old employment protection agreement as part of an attempt to save around €10bn (£8.4bn), had barely filtered through to the workers emerging from Gate 17 at VW’s main factory in Wolfsburg on Monday, where a lone reporter had been dispatched to capture reaction at shift’s end. Continue reading...
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Trump rebrands his ramblings as ‘I do the weave’ – but is he just losing it? (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Ex-president tries to fend off criticisms of mental acuity that plagued Biden as he waffles about sharks and batteries For those baffled by Donald Trump’s forays into meandering discourses about electrocution, bacons sales or cannibal killers at his recent political rallies, the former US president had an explanation. Trump assured supporters in Pennsylvania on Saturday that what might look like incoherent ramblings as he frequently departed from his scripted speech were instead indicators of his brilliance that impressed other great minds. Continue reading...
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The Guardian University Guide 2025 – the rankings (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Find a course at one of the top universities in the country. Our league tables rank them all subject by subject, as well as by student satisfaction, staff numbers, spending and career prospects Continue reading...
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‘Parliament was the most overpoweringly male place I had ever worked’: Diane Abbott on becoming an MP, dating Jeremy Corbyn and media intrusion – exclusive extract (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The MP opens up about three pivotal moments in her life in politics • Read an interview with Diane Abbott here When I stepped into parliament for the first time as an MP on 17 June 1987, it was a little like the first day at school. While I may have sounded coherent, I was still in a bit of a daze from the night I’d been elected. Of course that didn’t mean I had not thought carefully about what I was going to wear. For such an important occasion I wanted a unique outfit, so I commissioned a skirt suit made to measure from a satin material. The jacket was of fabric that the dressmaker herself had designed, blue with a swirly pattern that was reminiscent of African textiles. The skirt and the lapels of the jacket were black, and I finished off the look with a gold-coloured neckpiece and large gold earrings, with my hair styled in shoulder-length braids. Bernie Grant – the new MP for Tottenham – wore a spectacular agbada, a long, flowing traditional west African robe; we made an eye-catching pair. Our MP friends, including Jeremy Corbyn, made a point of coming up to us, perhaps innocently trying to be friendly, but I always had a slight suspicion that they wanted to be in the iconic, history-making photographs. Continue reading...
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Reeves can loosen Britain’s purse strings: she just needs to think outside the Treasury box | Philip Inman (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The chancellor claims she needs to shave pennies from all departments, but there are better options for dealing with the £22bn funding hole Pressure is building on Rachel Reeves to prevent some of the UK’s poorest pensioners being hit by restrictions on the winter fuel allowance. A plan to scrap the subsidy for all but those who claim pension credit, saving the exchequer £1.4bn, is under attack from opposition parties, trade unions and many inside Labour’s ranks. So far, the chancellor has resisted calls to reinstate the allowance of up to £300 a year – or even to make more of an effort to ensure only the richest pensioners lose the payment, implying that she needs all the savings to help close a £22bn gap. Continue reading...
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‘I wouldn’t dream of telling a stranger I hated their laugh’: how does it feel when your social media followers cross a line? (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Sometimes being the subject of a ‘parasocial’ relationship can be positive. But then come the messages about my body, health or life choices … and it all gets a bit weird A close friend of mine once cried so dramatically when I told her she would never marry the lead singer of her favourite metal band that you’d have thought she’d just been jilted. Granted, we were 13 and she was in the depths of hormonal angst, but her reaction was genuine nonetheless. Somewhere in her journey to becoming a devoted fan of the band’s music, she’d developed a personal connection with the frontman and become convinced they were meant for each other. Their music was so important to her that she assumed there must be more to it. How could she feel this strongly and not be destined to know him personally? The realisation that millions of other people also felt he was singing directly to them, and that the direction of adoration all went one way, was incredibly painful for her, and somewhat hilarious for me. This is, I think, a good example of a parasocial relationship – a term coined by social scientists in 1956 to describe the way some people reacted to the new level of access TV and film gave them to their favourite performers. These new visual media offered “an illusion of intimacy”, allowing the audience to be more than just spectators – they felt as if they knew these celebrities. A bond was created, one that has mushroomed since. Back then, access was still tightly controlled. However strong your lust for Elvis, there was a line that couldn’t be crossed. The information you might glean about the snake-hipped singer was meted out in gushing magazine interviews, presided over by cautious managers. Continue reading...
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Grenfell: System Failure – Scenes from the Inquiry (part 2) – podcast (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
Listen to part 1 Scenes from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry by Richard Norton-Taylor and Nicolas Kent On 14 June 2017, a fire broke out in Grenfell Tower in London. 72 people died. It was the worst residential fire in the UK since the second world war. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry was created to examine the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire. Two reports were published as a result of this inquiry: phase 1 on 30 October 2019; and the second, and final, report last Wednesday. This verbatim play, which was recorded in front of a live audience, is taken from excerpts of spoken evidence, given under oath, to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Phase 2, between October 2019 and July 2022. This play was created so that some of the lessons leading up to that night, and the vital work of the Inquiry, could be more widely understood by the public. This is the second part in a two-part series, if you haven’t yet listened to part 1, you may want to before starting this episode. Continue reading...
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Grenfell: System Failure – Scenes from the Inquiry (part 1) – podcast (Sun, 08 Sep 2024)
Listen to part 2 Scenes from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry by Richard Norton-Taylor and Nicolas Kent On 14 June 2017, a fire broke out in Grenfell Tower in London. 72 people died. It was the worst residential fire in the UK since the second world war. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry was created to examine the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire. Two reports were published as a result of this inquiry: phase 1 on 30 October 2019; and the second, and final, report last Wednesday. This verbatim play, which was recorded in front of a live audience, is taken from excerpts of spoken evidence, given under oath, to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Phase 2, between October 2019 and July 2022. This play was created so that some of the lessons leading up to that night, and the vital work of the Inquiry, could be more widely understood by the public. Continue reading...
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Best of Weekend…part 1 – podcast (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
Weekend is taking a little break. So for the next two weeks, we’re picking some of our favourite pieces from the last few months just in case you missed them… Actor Julia Fox unpacks abuse, fame, and dating Kanye; should you blame yourself for your bad habits? And what happened when one man’s boat sank in the dead of night and he had to save his seven-year-old son. Continue reading...
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Debate camp, role play and rival advice: Trump and Harris prepare for showdown – podcast (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will meet face to face on the debate stage next Tuesday. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Paul Begala – who helped Al Gore to prepare for his 2000 debate against George W Bush – about what the 2024 candidates will be doing to prepare. What can they do to increase their chances of coming out on top, and will this debate be as election-defining as the last? Archive: CSPAN, ABC, MSNBC, CNN Continue reading...
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From the archive – ‘A merry-go-round of buck-passing’: inside the four-year Grenfell inquiry – podcast (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some notable pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2022: Five years after the fire that killed 72, the inquiry is nearing a close. Over 300 days of evidence, what have we learned about the failings that led to disaster? By Robert Booth Continue reading...
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Grenfell: the lies and greed exposed – podcast (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
After seven long years, the inquiry into a fire in a London tower block that left 72 people dead has concluded. But is justice for the victims – and survivors – any closer? It’s more than seven years since Grenfell Tower burned. Now, finally, a public inquiry has finished sifting through thousands of documents, evidence from hundreds of public hearings and more than 1,600 witness statements. And its conclusions could not be more clear: every one of the 72 deaths was avoidable. The Guardian’s social affairs correspondent, Rob Booth, has reported on the tragedy from the beginning, speaking to victims and experts about what happened on that terrible night and what has happened since. He tells Helen Pidd about the shocking revelations of the inquiry and why the companies and individuals who have been named and shamed have yet to be held accountable. Continue reading...
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Villa ticket prices and Leicester’s great PSR escape – Football Weekly Extra (Thu, 05 Sep 2024)
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen and Mark Langdon to discuss Aston Villa’s Champions League ticket prices, Leicester City avoiding a points deduction and the international break 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: Aston Villa have announced the ticket prices for their home Champions League games and fans are justifiably angry – the club claim they have to do it to comply with PSR; the panel disagree. Continue reading...
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Greta Thunberg arrested during Gaza war protest in Copenhagen – video (Wed, 04 Sep 2024)
Footage shows Danish police apprehending the activist Greta Thunberg at a Gaza war protest. Six demonstrators were detained at the scene, at the University of Copenhagen, after about 20 people blocked the entrance to a building and three entered, a police spokesperson told Reuters Greta Thunberg arrested at Gaza war protest in Copenhagen Continue reading...
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Who is the Russian billionaire founder of Telegram? – video explainer (Thu, 29 Aug 2024)
On Saturday 24 April, the billionaire founder of the Telegram social media and messaging app, Pavel Durov, was arrested by French authorities as he disembarked from his private jet in Paris on his way from Azerbaijan. Officials said the arrest was part of an inquiry into criminal activity on the platform and a lack of cooperation with law enforcement. Durov has since been formally charged.  In a statement on Sunday, Telegram said it abided by European Union laws and that its moderation was 'within industry standards and constantly improving'. 'Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,' it said. 'It is absurd to claim that a platform, or its owner, are responsible for abuse of that platform.' Durov, known as the 'Russian Mark Zuckerberg' for having founded a similar platform to Zuckerberg’s Facebook in Russia called VKontakte, is a self-styled champion of free speech and has cultivated a reputation for being unwilling to work with authorities to censor and more closely control what happens on his platform. His arrest has raised important questions about the extent to which tech executives are responsible for how users employ their social media networks. Chris Stokel-Walker, a technology journalist, explains the implications of Durov's arrest for the tech sector Telegram CEO charged in France for ‘allowing criminal activity’ on messaging app What the Telegram founder’s arrest means for the regulation of social media firms Continue reading...
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My Paralympic dream: the amputee from Gaza cycling for Palestine – video (Wed, 28 Aug 2024)
The Gaza Sunbirds are a team of paracyclists from Gaza, set up in 2020 by cyclist Alaa al-Dali after he was shot in the leg by an Israeli sniper during the Great March of Return in 2018. The Sunbirds' journey has taken them from the war-ravaged Palestinian territory to Belgium, Italy and Kazakhstan in pursuit of their dream: to represent Palestine at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. The Gaza war has resulted in thousands of amputations, including those carried out on an estimated 1,000-plus children, all of whom have immediate and life-long needs. For more information about the Gaza Sunbirds and to donate to the work they do, please visit: https://gazasunbirds.org/ This video uses material from an upcoming feature documentary about the Sunbirds. 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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In fine feather: a museum collection of birds’ eggs and nests – in pictures (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The preservation of egg shells and nests for study and display has been going on for more than 350 years, and London’s Natural History Museum has one of the most comprehensive collections. Douglas Russell , an NHM senior curator and author of the forthcoming book Interesting Bird Nests and Eggs , explains: “While I sometimes chose familiar species, like the blue tit, I often highlighted lesser-known examples, such as a buff-spotted woodpecker nest built in a termite mound, collected in Cameroon in the early 1900s .” Perhaps the most surprising, he says, is a house sparrow nest built in the exhaust of a RAF helicopter at the beginning of the second Gulf war. “Nests are wonderful time capsules of the habitat the birds were living in at that moment.” Interesting Bird Nests and Eggs is published by the Natural History Museum ( £12.99) Continue reading...
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‘I wanted hairstyles that would complement the extravagant surf vibe’: Fede Kortez’s best phone shot (Sat, 07 Sep 2024)
The photographer co-opted hair artist Afro Ele to find the perfect rip curl Last year, visual artist Fede Kortez travelled to the west of Ghana to direct a documentary on surfers. His base was Busua Beach, well known for attracting the worldwide surfing community to its swells. Kortez took a day out of the documentary schedule for the shoot, the idea for which he had been ruminating on for more than a year. “I wanted to take some boys with their boards and style them up with vibrant hairstyles and cool accessories, with the beach in the background,” he says. Continue reading...
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The week around the world in 20 pictures (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
The evacuation of Pokrovsk, Israeli raids in the West Bank, the Paralympic Games in Paris and the West Indian Day parade in Brooklyn: the last seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists • Warning: this gallery contains images that some readers may find distressing Continue reading...
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Memorial lights and water buffalo on the road: photos of the day – Friday (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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Week in wildlife in pictures: migrating flamingos, bear cubs and a wild hare (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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Chess players, from orbiting cosmonauts to the Wu-Tang Clan – in pictures (Fri, 06 Sep 2024)
An incredible collection of photographs documenting the intersection of chess and culture is published by FUEL, in the year FIDE (the International Chess Federation) celebrates its 100th anniversary. Artists, actors, musicians and more all show their love of the most cerebral of games in Chess Players, published in association with World Chess and FIDE. Continue reading...
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