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The Guardian

Ministers clawing back £251m from carers hit by DWP’s allowance failures (sam., 18 mai 2024)
‘Strikingly large’ sum being recouped from people who fell foul of system that did not flag overpayments Ministers are clawing back more than £250m from unpaid carers over benefit infringements that occurred largely as a result of government failures, it can be revealed. More than 134,000 people who care for loved ones are being forced to repay often huge carer’s allowance overpayments. The debts are incurred in many cases through no fault of their own, and leave carers saddled with enormous debts, and some with criminal convictions. Continue reading...
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Alcohol abuse costing £27bn a year in England (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Exclusive: Experts call for higher taxes and tougher regulation as research shows cost to NHS, other public services and economy The cost of alcohol abuse is laid bare in a new study that shows £27bn a year being spent in England on the health and social harms of drinking. The research that found the extra burden on the NHS, social services, the criminal justice system and the labour market cost at least 37% more than in 2003, when comparable research by the Cabinet Office estimated the costs at between £18.5bn and £20bn. Continue reading...
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Supplies arrive in Gaza via new pier but land routes essential, says US aid chief (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Samantha Power says barely 100 trucks of aid a day enter Gaza, far less than 600 needed to address threat of famine Humanitarian assistance has begun to arrive in Gaza along a US-made pier, but the US aid chief said the new sea corridor could not be a substitute for land crossings, and warned that deliveries of food and fuel entering Gaza had slowed to “dangerously low levels”. The White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, confirmed on Friday that truckloads of humanitarian aid, including food from the United Arab Emirates, sent by ship from Cyprus, had been unloaded on the Gaza coast and handed over to the control of the UN. Continue reading...
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Jeremy Hunt accused of exaggerating Tories’ economic record (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Chancellor also criticised for ‘dodgy dossier’ on Labour plans as he aims to make low tax a key election issue Jeremy Hunt has been accused of exaggerating the Conservatives’ economic record and presenting a “dodgy dossier” on Labour’s spending plans, as he moved to put low tax at the heart of his party’s offering at the next election. The chancellor gave a speech in central London on Friday, pitching the Conservatives as having helped the UK recover from economic troubles more quickly than expected. He also signalled a further cut to national insurance in the autumn, having already reduced the tax from 12p in the pound to 8p. Continue reading...
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Devon businesses fear loss of tourism as cases of parasitic disease double (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Authorities confirm 46 cases and warn of weeks-long disruption as firms in Brixham hit by cancellations before school half-term Cases of an illness caused by a microscopic parasite in a Devon harbour town could continue for a further two weeks, experts said, with businesses predicting thousands of pounds of losses as school half-term approaches. The comments came as the UK Health Security Agency confirmed that cases of cryptosporidium infection in the Brixham area had more than doubled from 22 to 46, with more than 100 others reporting symptoms of the disease. Continue reading...
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Baby Reindeer: MP asks Netflix to prove ‘convicted stalker’ allegation (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Firm asked to back up claims about Fiona Harvey after executive’s appearance before select committee An MP has asked Netflix to provide evidence that the woman who inspired the character Martha Scott in Baby Reindeer is a “convicted stalker”, claiming that a record of her conviction has not yet been found. Netflix’s director of public policy, Benjamin King, told the culture media and sport committee on 8 May that the show was “the true story of the horrific abuse that the writer and protagonist, Richard Gadd, suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker”. Continue reading...
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Video shows Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs assaulting singer Cassie in 2016 (Sat, 18 May 2024)
Hotel surveillance cameras at InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles captured incident Combs had vehemently denied A newly released video shows Sean “Diddy” Combs manhandling and kicking singer Cassie Ventura – his former girlfriend – in plain view of hotel surveillance cameras in 2016, before the rapper, music producer and businessman rapidly settled a lawsuit that she brought against him this past November, according to footage exclusively obtained by CNN. The video in question illustrates in the most graphic nature possible one of the beatings alleged and described in Ventura’s lawsuit, which Combs had vehemently denied. Continue reading...
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David DePape, who bludgeoned Nancy Pelosi’s husband, sentenced to 30 years (Fri, 17 May 2024)
DePape, a rightwing conspiracy theorist, broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home in 2022 and hit Paul Pelosi with a hammer David DePape, a rightwing conspiracy theorist who broke into Nancy Pelosi’s northern California home in 2022 and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. A federal jury convicted him of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official in November 2023, just over a year after the attack in the former House speaker’s San Francisco home. Continue reading...
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‘Sexual predator’ teacher found guilty of grooming schoolboys (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Rebecca Joynes, 30, convicted of engaging in sexual activity with minors while in a position of trust A teacher has been found guilty of having sex with two schoolboys. Rebecca Joynes, 30, groomed the teenagers from the age of 15, Manchester crown court heard, and was on bail for sexual activity with the first child, boy A, when she began having sex with the second, boy B, by whom she went on to become pregnant. Neither teenager must be identified. Continue reading...
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Met officer found guilty of assaulting female bus passenger (Fri, 17 May 2024)
PC Perry Lathwood handcuffed Jocelyn Agyemang last year over false suspicion of fare evasion in Croydon A Metropolitan police officer who manhandled a woman as she was arrested in front of her son on the false suspicion of fare evasion has been found guilty of assault. PC Perry Lathwood was found guilty of assault by beating after a one-day trial at the City of London magistrates court last week. Continue reading...
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French post office releases scratch-and-sniff baguette stamp (Fri, 17 May 2024)
‘Bakery scent’ added via microcapsules to postage stamp celebrating ‘jewel of French culture’ The French Post Office has released a scratch-and-sniff postage stamp to celebrate the baguette, once described by President Emmanuel Macron as “250 grams of magic and perfection”. The stamp, which costs €1.96, depicts a baguette decorated with a red, white and blue ribbon. It has a print run of 594,000 copies. Continue reading...
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The quiet Japanese island paradise on the frontline of growing Taiwan-China tensions (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Yonaguni is a tourist hotspot – but its location just 100km from Taiwan means residents must wrestle with the creeping militarisation of their home In the minds of many Japanese people, Yonaguni is a sleepy paradise of crystal-clear sea and pristine beaches, where miniature horses graze on clifftops and empty roads dissect fields of sugar cane; where tourists dive with hammerhead sharks and marvel at the Ayamihabiru – the world’s largest Atlas moth. But this tiny island, located far closer to Taipei than Tokyo, now finds itself at the centre of regional tensions triggered by a new round of Chinese aggression towards Taiwan. Continue reading...
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‘We will fight until Kanaky is free’: how New Caledonia caught fire (Sat, 18 May 2024)
The frustration that erupted into deadly violence in the French territory last week has been building for years In the middle of the main road in Rivière-Salée, north of Nouméa, sits a burnt-out car. After days of rioting, young men with masked faces wave a Kanak flag as vehicles pass. All around is desolation. Shops with gutted fronts, burnt buildings, debris on the pavements and roads. Gangs of young people roam the area. The violence that erupted last week is the worst in New Caledonia since unrest involving independence activists gripped the French Pacific territory in the 1980s. Continue reading...
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Spinning out of control? Cyclists say MPs are peddling fears over road safety (Fri, 17 May 2024)
After an 81-year-old’s fatal collision with a cyclist in London’s Regent’s Park, calls have risen for stronger sanctions It is a bright early spring morning in central London, and inside Regent’s Park the birds are chirping as the sun rises sleepily over the lawns and lake. On the road which encircles the park, however, the mood is anything but lazy. Scores of cyclists are riding on the 4.5km Outer Circle – some of them clearly commuters, others on racing bikes and dressed in Lycra or the colours of a cycling club. In one five-minute period before 8am, travelling anticlockwise alone, more than 150 riders pass, some in clumps of up to 15. Continue reading...
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UK’s garden centres hope sunshine and Chelsea flower show will help them rebound from the rain (Sat, 18 May 2024)
A cold, damp spring depressed plant sales in the UK, but help is at hand from the ‘Glastonbury festival of the gardening world’ The sixth-wettest April on record has not been kind to Britain’s gardens or its 1,600 garden centres. So far this year, with most of the key selling season over, garden centre sales are up just 2% on last year and down 11% on 2022, after the sodden spring depressed sales of shrubs, trees, bedding plants and seeds. Continue reading...
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From If to Billie Eilish: a complete guide to this week’s entertainment (Sat, 18 May 2024)
John Krasinski and Ryan Reynolds go family-friendly in their new imaginary-friends comedy, while the singer swaps introspection for lust on her long-awaited new album If Out now In what has to be one of the more enviable showbiz lives, John Krasinski has played Jim in The Office, married Emily Blunt, and written and directed acclaimed horror franchise A Quiet Place. Now he turns his hand to family entertainment, writing and directing this part-animated fantasy about imaginary friends made visible with a little help from Ryan Reynolds and Steve Carell. Continue reading...
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‘The genie is out of the bottle’: Robert Fico shooting highlights far wider crisis in Slovakia (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Attack on prime minister lifts lid on divided politics of ‘one of the most polarised countries in Europe’ On Friday morning, Father Tomáš stood solemnly in the small Catholic church nestled near a park along the banks of the Danube River in Bratislava. He had seen an increase in visitors since Wednesday’s shock shooting of Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, which has prompted soul-searching among the country’s deeply divided society. The priest, who did not wish to give his full name, planned to hold his weekly Sunday service to pray “for peace in Slovakia, so that we find mutual respect and understanding”. Continue reading...
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The Cannes red carpet so far: from Naomi Campbell in 90s Chanel to Anya Taylor-Joy in Dior – in pictures (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Jane Fonda in an animal print coat, Lily Gladstone in Gucci and Chris Hemsworth in an old Hollywood jacket – there was a lot to enjoy on the Croisette this week Continue reading...
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The Surfer review – beach bum Nic Cage surfs a high tide of toxic masculinity (Sat, 18 May 2024)
An office drone must suffer the machismo of an Australian coastal town in this barmy, low-budget thriller about a would-be wave-chaser Here is a gloriously demented B-movie thriller about a middle-aged man who wants to ride a big wave and the grinning local bullies who regard the beach as home soil. “Don’t live here, don’t surf here,” they shout at any luckless tourist who dares to visit picturesque Lunar Bay on Australia’s south-western coast, where the land is heavy with heat and colour. Tempers are fraying; it’s a hundred degrees in the shade. The picture crash-lands at the Cannes film festival like a wild-eyed, brawling drunk. The middle-aged man is unnamed, so let’s call him Nic Cage. Lorcan Finnegan’s film, after all, is as much about Cage – his image, his career history, his acting pyrotechnics – as it is about surfing or the illusory concept of home. The Surfer sets the star up as a man on the edge – a sad-sack office drone who desperately wants to belong – and then shoves him unceremoniously clear over the cliff-edge. Before long, our hero is living out of his car in the parking lot near the dunes, drinking from puddles, foraging for food from bins, and scheming all the while to make his way down to the shore. Continue reading...
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Tyson Fury: ‘There’s a lot to be said for a normal job. Me? I can’t go anywhere. I’m tortured’ (Fri, 17 May 2024)
The heavyweight on why he’s happier picking up dog mess than facing life in the limelight before his fight against Oleksandr Usyk Tyson Fury can be boorish and crass. He can make you squirm and shudder with his outbursts and prejudices. The giant WBC world heavyweight champion can also seem petty and ridiculous when insulting his opponents. But there is a telling difference between the cartoon version of the Gypsy King and the reflective man who talks with stark candour about his life away from the hubbub of fight week. In the early hours of Sunday morning in Riyadh, around 1am local time, Fury will fight Oleksandr Usyk, the IBF, WBA and WBO king. The winner will become boxing’s first undisputed world heavyweight champion this century and everything will seem wild and outlandish compared to Fury’s contemplative mood now. Continue reading...
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Three Kilometres to the End of the World review – brutal self-denial in deepest Romania (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Cannes film festival A drama of despair plays out in a remote village, as a debt-ridden father is mortified to discover his son is gay Here is a self-laceratingly painful tale of repression and denial in a remote Romanian village in the Danube delta, directed by Emanuel Parvu. It’s in the gimlet-eyed observational and satirical style of the new Romanian cinema, a kind of movie-making that in extended dialogue scenes seeks out the bland bureaucratic language of the police and church authorities; their evasive mannerisms, their reactionary worldviews and lifelong habits of indicating opinions in quiet voices and in code, things they don’t want to be held responsible for, and for things they want to keep enclosed in silence. The drama concerns a careworn guy, Dragoi (Bogdan Dumitrache), who owes money to a local tough guy and is badly behind with the debt. Then he discovers that his 17-year-old son Adi (Ciprian Chiujdea), the apple of his eye – whom he is planning to send to military school next year, and whom he fondly imagines to be dating a local girl – has been badly beaten up by the money-lender’s sons. With icy rage, Dragoi takes this to be the man’s unforgivably violent way of demanding his money. Continue reading...
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Oh, Canada review – Paul Schrader looks north as Richard Gere’s draft dodger reveals all (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Cannes film festivalA dying director who fled from the US to Canada agrees to make a confessional film in Schrader’s fragmented and anticlimactic story Muddled, anticlimactic and often diffidently performed, this oddly passionless new movie from Paul Schrader is a disappointment. It is based on the novel Foregone by Russell Banks (Schrader also adapted Banks’s novel Affliction in 1997) and reunites Schrader with Richard Gere, his star from American Gigolo. Though initially intriguing, it really fails to deliver the emotional revelation or self-knowledge that it appears to be leading up to. There are moments of intensity and promise; with a director of Schrader’s shrewdness and creative alertness, how could there not be? But the movie appears to circle endlessly around its own emotions and ideas without closing in. The title is partly a reference to the national anthem of that nation, which is a place of freedom and opportunity which may have an almost Rosebud-type significance for the chief character, an avowed draft-resister refugee from the US in the late 60s, who becomes an acclaimed documentary film-maker in his chosen country. Maybe Vietnam was his real reason for fleeing and maybe it wasn’t. This central point is one of many things in this fragmented film which is unsatisfyingly evoked. Continue reading...
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Into Britain’s angry pulpit steps Rev Vennells, who ran the Post Office – to explain why it sent honest people to jail | Marina Hyde (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Her inquiry appearance has been long awaited. So far, no official has been held accountable for the ruining of so many lives Strange to think the northern lights have been glimpsed in public more frequently over the past few years than the former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells. I didn’t see the northern lights last week, but I will see Vennells close up next week, when – at very, very long last – she presents herself before the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal. Polite notice: if your attention has drifted slightly after the fireworks sparked by ITV’s sensational drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office earlier this year, next week is the time to return with laser-like focus to this story. Post Office is once again box office – and remember, NOT ONE PERSON has yet been held accountable for what happened. Alan Bates has just rejected his second “derisory” offer of government compensation. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
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Beware the Biden factor, Keir Starmer: you can govern well and still risk losing the country | Jonathan Freedland (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Politics is about achieving things and telling a compelling story. But neither the president – nor Starmer – can match Trump’s gift for narrative The smile was the giveaway. Asked whether he was “just a copycat” of Tony Blair at the launch of his Blair-style pledge card on Thursday, Keir Starmer positively glowed. He was delighted with the comparison, which the entire exercise was surely designed to encourage. Blair “won three elections in a row”, Starmer said, beaming. Of course, he’s thrilled to be likened to a serial winner. And yet the more apt parallel is also a cautionary one. It’s not with Starmer’s long-ago predecessor, but with his would-be counterpart across the Atlantic: Joe Biden. It’s natural that the sight of a Labour leader, a lawyer from north London, on course for Downing Street after a long era of Tory rule, would have people digging out the Oasis CDs and turning back the clock to 1997: Labour election victories are a rare enough commodity to prompt strong memories. But, as many veterans of that period are quick to point out, the circumstances of 2024 are very different. The UK economy was humming then and it’s parlous now. Optimism filled the air then, while too few believe genuine change is even possible now. And politics tended to be about material matters then, tax and public services, rather than dominated by polarising cultural wars as it is now. Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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Martin Rowson on climate change, and the price of olive oil – cartoon (Fri, 17 May 2024)
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Digested week: When is the summer of dumpy women who can’t wear skirts? | Lucy Mangan (Fri, 17 May 2024)
I thought this would finally be the year – but no. Oh well, I can’t find my way from my house anyway Nice weather is here! The sun is out and the papers and the internet are filling with their annual offers of help. This is my year, at last – I can feel it! The Summer Style Dilemmas Solved are finally going to work for me! I peruse them eagerly, as I have done for the last 30 years and more, hope undimmed in my increasingly mottled and scraggy breast. But no – no, my hopes are quickly dashed. One again, this year, it seems that my Summer Style Dilemmas can only be solved by losing half my body weight and/or going back in time and making sure one of my parents mates with a gazelle instead. Continue reading...
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Robert Fico’s allies warn of political war – they will use it to justify the dismantling of our democracy | Monika Kompaníková (Fri, 17 May 2024)
In Slovakia, we know what ‘restoring order’ means. After the PM’s shooting, it will be an excuse to suppress any opposition Monika Kompaníková is a Slovakian writer and editor Shortly after the shooting of Robert Fico, I received a phone call from my sister. She was extremely upset – not just about the shocking attack, but also about an incident on the bus on the way home from work in the moments after the news had broken. Two elderly fellow passengers reacted to the attempted assassination by blaming liberals and progressives in general, and in particular Michal Šimečka, an opposition politician and former vice-president of the European parliament. One passenger called for the death penalty to be reinstated and order to be restored. At that point, the circumstances of the shooting were entirely unclear, information was partial, and it was too early to condemn or point the finger at anyone. My sister, who considers herself a liberal, spoke up to argue against the other passengers. Continue reading...
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I love being a pharmacist, but the UK’s drug shortage makes me want to give up – and Brexit makes it worse | Mike Hewitson (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Telling patients I can’t get their life-saving medication is awful. The government must act to prevent a real tragedy Mike Hewitson owns a pharmacy in west Dorset For the past 16 years, I have run a small community pharmacy in rural west Dorset. My business is older than me – the little yellow-brick building I own is about to turn 235. Right now, I am really concerned about it getting through the next 12 months. In my years as a pharmacist, I have never seen things as bad as they are at the moment. We are going through a period of rampant drug shortages in England, caused by global shortages, the NHS’s insistence on paying unsustainably low prices for medicines and Brexit, among other things, and people are on the brink. Long gone are the days when customers could place a prescription order safe in the knowledge their life-saving medication would arrive the next day. Mike Hewitson owns a pharmacy in west Dorset and is a member of the Community Pharmacy England network. As told to Poppy Noor Continue reading...
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Think before you click – and three other ways to reduce your digital carbon footprint | Koren Helbig (Fri, 17 May 2024)
The invisible downside to our online lives is the data stored at giant energy-guzzling datacentres It’s been called “the largest coal-powered machine on Earth” – and most of us use it countless times a day. The internet and its associated digital industry are estimated to produce about the same emissions annually as aviation. But we barely think about pollution while snapping 16 duplicate photos of our pets, which are immediately uploaded to the cloud. Continue reading...
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British MPs are attacking abortion rights. We can’t follow the same path as the US | Hilary Freeman (Fri, 17 May 2024)
My own traumatic experience shows why we must push back against those who try to chip away at our freedom of choice As the criminal justice bill stumbles through parliament this week – beset by delays and controversies, and picking up amendments as it goes – another woman, Sophie Harvey, is on trial for an alleged illegal abortion, after taking pills to end her pregnancy when she was past the 24-week legal threshold. She was just 19 at the time. She faces a sentence of up to life in prison. Anyone who cares about women’s rights should be alarmed not just by this trial, but by two new amendments to the bill put forward, targeting abortion in England and Wales. The first, from Caroline Ansell, a Conservative MP, aims to reduce the abortion limit to 22 weeks. The other, tabled by Liam Fox, another Conservative, would stop women’s choice over whether to abort a pregnancy where Down’s syndrome looks likely, up to birth. Currently, she can choose to do so for the entirety of her pregnancy, under ground E of the Abortion Act, which allows for termination if there is “substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped”. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on antimicrobial resistance: we must prioritise this global health threat | Editorial (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Patients are already dying as wonder drugs lose their effectiveness. International action is urgently needed As apocalyptic horror stories go, it’s up there with the scariest. Yet it’s not fiction writers but top scientists who are warning of how the world could look once superbugs develop resistance to the remaining drugs against them in our hospital pharmacies. Patients will die who can currently be cured; routine surgery will become dangerous or impossible. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – it happens not only with bacteria but also viruses, fungi and parasites – is one of the top global public health threats facing humanity, says the World Health Organization (WHO). It kills 1.3 million people and contributes to 5 million deaths every year, predicted to be 10 million by 2050. In addition to the appalling human toll, it will increase the strain on and costs of health services. But is it high enough up the agenda? Covid-19 knocked it off, and the climate crisis gets more attention. AMR does not so often get top billing. This week efforts have been made to change that, with talks at the UN triggering wider coverage chronicling the sorry plight we are in. From the pharmaceutical industry to the WHO to NHS England, the same tune is being played: we are not doing enough to avert disaster. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on footballing greats: their words reach beyond beautiful game | Editorial (Fri, 17 May 2024)
The departure this weekend of Chelsea’s Emma Hayes from the WSL and Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp will be felt outside sport The departure this weekend of two of England’s most influential and successful football managers will be felt beyond sport. There’s no doubt that the loss of Chelsea’s Emma Hayes from the Women’s Super League and Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp from the Premier League offers important lessons for the game on why leadership matters. Their personalities and tactical nous demonstrated why managers can help clubs do better than their players’ skills alone suggest. Both managers also gave football a human face. Hayes was appointed by Chelsea in August 2012. Her team won 15 trophies, averaging more than one a year. She could sign off with a 16th on Saturday, with this season’s title race between Chelsea and Manchester City going down to the final match. She became synonymous with the English game at home and abroad and displayed her acute analytical sense of the game as a TV pundit. Continue reading...
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Maternity services are failing mothers and babies, and it’s not just down to austerity | Letters (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Medical professionals and women who had bad experiences themselves respond to the findings of the birth trauma report The maternity trauma report is deja vu all over again (Women having ‘harrowing’ births as hospitals hide failures, says MPs’ report, 13 May). I cannot read about it because it makes me want to scream. I was around for the Shrewsbury and Telford hospital trust report a couple of years ago. All those dead babies, all those mothers and parents talking about not being listened to or respected. All that handwringing from service providers, all those promises from politicians. The recommendations were set up to prevent the experiences we heard about this week (‘I was left lying on the ground in pain’: shocking stories from UK birth trauma inquiry, 13 May). For instance, continuity of midwifery care through the maternal pathway prevents so much of the stuff we read about now. Continue reading...
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Jewish criticism of Israel’s actions must not be dismissed | Letters (Fri, 17 May 2024)
We can only address the politics of Israel/Palestine by recognising the suffering of both Jewish and Palestinian people, writes Lynne Segal. Plus a letter from Ron Mendel It is indeed a tragic time for Jewish people, as Dave Rich argues (The 7 October Hamas attack opened a space – and antisemitism filled it. British Jews are living with the consequences, 16 May). He rightly insists on the extreme dangers of historic and continuing antisemitism, today rising and falling with the extremities of conflict in Israel/Palestine. Yet he fails to address the specific grief of thousands of Jews, observant and secular, who have like me worked for decades for peace, and an end to occupation and land grabs in Israel/Palestine. Rich’s article was published the day after Nakba day: commemorating the catastrophe of 700,000 Palestinians forcibly dispossessed of their homes and sent into exile to enable the establishment of Israel in 1948. Jewish criticisms of Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians have always existed, but they tend to be immediately dismissed to allow only one narrative to be heard. Continue reading...
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Scottie Scheffler shakes off ‘shock and fear’ of arrest to stay in US PGA hunt (Fri, 17 May 2024)
The world No 1 was arrested and charged after extraordinary early-morning scenes but he did not let that affect this game “I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell. That was the start of my warmup.” If ever a quote summed up the jaw-dropping nature of Friday at the 106th US PGA Championship, this was it. Continue reading...
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Guardiola’s obsessive will to win takes Manchester City to verge of history (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Arsenal have been impressive challengers but a unique fourth English title in a row is there for the taking at the Etihad The Manchester City fanbase like it to be known that they’re “not really here”. But as the club stand on the verge of history, it is a line from Pep Guardiola which offers the clarity, the explanation; a sense of wonder, too. “We are there,” City’s manager has said repeatedly over the course of this season and those that have gone before. His team are pushing yet again to secure the Premier League title and he has often posited that the very act of being there and competing, the sheer consistency, is the real measure of them, the thing that must be celebrated. Continue reading...
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Emma Hayes takes emotion out of Chelsea farewell with title up for grabs (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Manager determined to depart on a high while Manchester City aim to spoil leaving party on what could be a dramatic final day Emma Hayes is not having to work hard to keep emotions in check as she prepares for her final game as Chelsea manager – Saturday’s mouthwatering match-up with Manchester United at Old Trafford – because she is used to doing it. The last drive into work, the last coaching session, the final away trip with the team, watching her family mourn the end of her working relationship with Chelsea as much as she does – there is time to take in the poignancy of these moments properly later. Continue reading...
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Armstrong double sinks West Brom and sends Southampton to Wembley (Fri, 17 May 2024)
From the rubble to the Ritz? The stirring pre-match reception ­Southampton’s supporters gave their players left a wreckage of flares, smoke bombs, empties and cans but as fans exited a supercharged St Mary’s they departed with a trip to ­Wembley to plan. Russell Martin’s side were given a heroes’ welcome and now they are one game from returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking, a date with Leeds to prepare for a week on Sunday. Will Smallbone settled any lingering nerves, opening the scoring early in the second half, before Adam Armstrong struck twice late on, firing in with a precise strike before sealing victory from the penalty spot. Continue reading...
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Sophie Ecclestone shines as England beat Pakistan to seal T20 series (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Sophie Ecclestone became England’s leading T20 wicket-taker as her side secured a 65-run victory in Northampton Right then. Maia Bouchier is taking guard. Waheeda Akhtar has the ball in her hand. We’re ready to go…. Really intersting chat on Sky right now focussing on the difference between the two sides’ power hitting. Continue reading...
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Risk v reward: equation that turned Bath into Premiership dark horses (Fri, 17 May 2024)
The attacking turbo-thrust at the Rec has helped set in motion the final-day drama of Saturday’s fight for playoff places For multiple reasons this has been a Premiership season like no other. Just 10 competing clubs, a prolonged midterm hiatus and only 11 points separating the top seven teams before the final weekend of the regular league campaign. Tight at the top with plenty of thrills and spills on the field is a collective win‑win for players, fans, television executives and sponsors. Should the run-in follow a similar pattern and the feelgood vibe endure, it will be even better news for the English game. There is just one potential snag. As the stakes rise it is easy for ambition to become constricted and for conservatism to take over, lest one mistake undermine a coach’s entire grand design. Sport’s most tantalising equation – risk v reward – suddenly looms larger. Continue reading...
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Lewis Hamilton has mixed first day in front of Ferrari faithful at Imola (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Hamilton at Imola for first time since agreeing 2025 Ferrari move Max Verstappen angry after Hamilton blocked him in practice Lewis Hamilton, for so long the thorn in Ferrari’s side, takes to the track this weekend in Italy as a potential hero in waiting. The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola will be Hamilton’s first race in front of the Ferrari faithful since he signed for the Scuderia in February and, while he is still driving a Mercedes, for the tifosi Hamilton embodies visions of a return to glory in scarlet. Hamilton shocked Formula One and ­Mercedes when he announced he had done a deal to join Ferrari in 2025, the team he has battled with since his career began. The ­Scuderia last won the drivers’ ­championship in 2007, when Kimi Räikkönen pipped ­Hamilton to the title in the British driver’s debut season. A year later Hamilton denied Ferrari’s Felipe Massa the crown in a nail-biting finale in Brazil. Continue reading...
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Ben Stokes lights up Blackpool on Durham return: county cricket – as it happened (Fri, 17 May 2024)
England’s Test captain thrilled Stanley Park on his county comeback but Keaton Jennings helped Lancashire hold firm I don’t want to sound like an obsessive, but I’ve just watched Stokes doing up his shoelaces through my binoculars. Do all cricket boots have velcro straps and laces, or just if you’re superman? And here he comes: on to bowl at the South End. Hello Mike Daniels in the Grace Road scorebox! “Cloudy morning at Grace Road. One stand full of school children which livens the place up. Continue reading...
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Economic damage from climate change six times worse than thought – report (Fri, 17 May 2024)
A 1C increase in global temperature leads to a 12% decline in world gross domestic product, researchers have found The economic damage wrought by climate change is six times worse than previously thought, with global heating set to shrink wealth at a rate consistent with the level of financial losses of a continuing permanent war, research has found. A 1C increase in global temperature leads to a 12% decline in world gross domestic product (GDP), the researchers found, a far higher estimate than that of previous analyses. The world has already warmed by more than 1C (1.8F) since pre-industrial times and many climate scientists predict a 3C (5.4F) rise will occur by the end of this century due to the ongoing burning of fossil fuels, a scenario that the new working paper, yet to be peer-reviewed, states will come with an enormous economic cost. Continue reading...
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Honduran city’s air pollution is almost 50 times higher than WHO guidelines (Fri, 17 May 2024)
San Pedro Sula is rated ‘dangerous’ as effects of forest fires, El Niño and the climate crisis cause a spike in respiratory illnesses The air quality in San Pedro Sula, the second-largest city in Honduras, as been classified as the most polluted on the American continent due to forest fires and weather conditions aggravated by El Niño and the climate crisis. IQAir, a Swiss air-quality organisation that draws data from more than 30,000 monitoring stations around the world, said on Thursday that air quality in the city of about 1 million people has reached “dangerous” levels. Continue reading...
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Cop29 at a crossroads in Azerbaijan with focus on climate finance (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Fossil-fuel dependent country hopes to provide bridge between wealthy global north and poor south at November gathering Oil is inescapable in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The smell of it greets the visitor on arrival and from the shores of the Caspian Sea on which the city is built the tankers are eternally visible. Flares from refineries near the centre light up the night sky, and you do not have to travel far to see fields of “nodding donkeys”, small piston pump oil wells about 6 metres (20ft) tall, that look almost festive in their bright red and green livery. It will be an interesting setting for the gathering of the 29th UN climate conference of the parties, which will take place at the Olympic Stadium in November. Continue reading...
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Union urges Labour not to ban new North Sea licences without plan for jobs (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Unite launches bid to persuade Keir Starmer to invest more in north-east Scotland The UK’s oil and gas workers risk becoming “the coal miners of our generation,” Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, has warned, urging Labour not to ban new North Sea licences without a clear plan to safeguard jobs. Unite is launching a billboard campaign in six Scottish constituencies aimed at persuading Keir Starmer to commit more investment to north-east Scotland, the centre of the offshore oil and gas industry. Continue reading...
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Man jailed for life after Gaza ‘revenge’ murder in Hartlepool (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Ahmed Alid, 45, stabbed Terence Carney, 70, and tried to kill another man in attacks described as terrorism A terrorist who murdered a pensioner in Hartlepool town centre as “revenge” for “the people of Gaza” has been jailed for 45 years. Ahmed Alid, 45, an asylum seeker from Morocco, stabbed 70-year-old Terence Carney, a complete stranger he encountered on the street, on 15 October. Continue reading...
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David Lammy says his family links to slavery will inform political approach (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Shadow foreign secretary sets out vision for a more strategic, less elitist approach to UK diplomacy The shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, says his family history as descendants of enslaved people will inform his work in government, as he seeks to deepen the UK’s relations with the global south and the Commonwealth. “I will take the responsibility of being the first foreign secretary descended from the slave trade incredibly seriously,” he said in a speech setting out how Labour would reform the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), a Whitehall department that has a reputation for institutional conservatism. Continue reading...
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ACE’s ‘political statements’ warning to artists came after government talks (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Exclusive: FoI request reveals Arts Council updated guidance after discussing Gaza conflict with DCMS Arts Council England (ACE) issued a warning that “political statements” could break funding agreements after discussions with the government about artists speaking out over the Israel-Gaza war, newly released documents suggest. A freedom of information request made by the actors’ union Equity has revealed that the conflict was discussed in a meeting between ACE and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in December. Continue reading...
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Peer faces year’s ban from Lords bars for bullying two people while drunk (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Kulveer Ranger resigns Tory whip after committee also recommends suspension from House of Lords for three weeks UK politics live – latest updates A peer is set to be suspended from House of Lords bars for 12 months after he was found to have bullied and harassed two people while drunk. Kulveer Ranger has resigned the government whip after the House of Lords conduct committee also recommended that he be suspended from the house for three weeks. Continue reading...
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Air Up: scent-flavoured water bottle becomes latest playground craze (Fri, 17 May 2024)
School must-have is setting pressured parents back £30 but could help keep kids off sugary drinks From loom bands to fidget spinners, playground crazes are usually cheap and cheerful, but the latest must-have is an expensive drinks bottle that comes with scent pods that trick your brain into thinking water is cola or fruit juice. The growing popularity of Air Up, with the cheapest bottles starting at about £30, is a dilemma for parents. Continue reading...
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Ex-Post Office boss did not believe there had been miscarriages of justice, inquiry hears (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Finance chief gives evidence on Paula Vennells and says company looked like ‘corporate bullies’ in how it dealt with branch operators The former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells did not believe there had been miscarriages of justice, the Horizon inquiry has heard, as the current finance boss said the company looked like “corporate bullies” in the way it dealt with branch operators. Alisdair Cameron, the Post Office chief financial officer who joined the board in 2015, told the inquiry on Friday that Vennells had been “clear in her conviction” that nothing had gone wrong with Horizon. Continue reading...
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Plaid Cymru ends cooperation deal with Labour-led Welsh government (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Party leader cites concerns about first minister Vaughan Gething’s actions over donation and pandemic message leak UK politics live – latest updates The first minister, Vaughan Gething, is facing fresh turmoil after Plaid Cymru ended its cooperation agreement with the Labour-led government in Wales. Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Plaid leader, said he was deeply concerned that Gething had refused to hand back a £200,000 donation for his successful leadership campaign from a company whose owner was convicted of environmental crimes. Continue reading...
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Kate Garraway: persecution of carers has ‘horrible echo’ of Post Office scandal (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Presenter, who cared for late husband, said she was approached by people in street pleading for intervention The TV presenter Kate Garraway has said the UK government’s prosecution of unpaid carers for thousands of pounds in benefit payments has a “horrible echo” of the Post Office scandal. In an emotional intervention on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Garraway said many people had pleaded with her to “please do something” to help those being pursued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Continue reading...
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Ticket touts who ‘fleeced’ Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga fans jailed (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Firm run by the ‘Ticket Queen’ sold tickets worth more than £6.5m on sites including Viagogo and StubHub Ticket touts who conspired to “fleece” fans of artists including Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher and Lady Gaga have been jailed for operating a “fraudulent trading” scheme worth more than £6.5m. Judge Batiste sentenced four touts, who fraudulently bought and sold hundreds of tickets through a business called TQ Tickets, to up to four years in prison each on Friday. Continue reading...
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British Museum says 626 items lost or stolen have been found (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Museum chair George Osborne hails ‘remarkable result’ as recovery effort continues with leads on another 100 The British Museum has located another 268 items that went missing or were stolen from its storerooms, bringing the total number recovered to 626. About 2,000 items were found last year to be missing or lost, some of which had been sold on eBay. Continue reading...
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The FBI investigated David Copperfield for two years. The claim that he was ‘exonerated’ was widely embraced. Was he? (Fri, 17 May 2024)
A woman alleged that the magician sexually assaulted her on his private island in 2007. His lawyers said he was falsely accused Lacey Carroll headed straight to Harborview medical center after touching down in Seattle following a three-day stay on David Copperfield’s private island in the Bahamas. It was August 2007 and – according to police records – she had gone to get medical treatment for sexual assault. The 20-year-old later alleged to Seattle police and in court filings that she had embarked on the long journey to Musha Cay – the islands in the Bahamas that Copperfield reportedly bought for $50m in 2006 – because she had been offered a chance to do promotional work and some modeling there along with a team of others. Instead, she claimed, she found herself alone with Copperfield and a few members of his staff. Copperfield, she alleged, raped and assaulted her multiple times. Continue reading...
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French police kill armed man who set synagogue on fire in Rouen (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Mayor calls for show of solidarity against attack after synagogue damaged in blaze amid rising antisemitism in France French police shoot dead armed man who set fire to Rouen synagogue – latest updates French police shot dead a man armed with a knife and an iron bar who set fire to a synagogue in the Normandy city of Rouen on Friday. The interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, travelling to visit the fire-damaged synagogue, said France was “deeply affected” by what he called an antisemitic act. He said the government was “extremely determined to continue to fully protect Jewish people in France, wherever they are, and Jews should practice their religion without fear”. Continue reading...
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Ukraine war briefing: Russia’s Kharkiv offensive may only be the ‘first wave’, Zelenskiy warns (Sat, 18 May 2024)
Ukrainian president admits his army lacks enough troops and has only 25% of the air defences it needs as Russia advances in the north-east. What we know on day 815 Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has warned that Russia’s offensive in the north-eastern Kharkiv region this month may only be the “first wave” of several and Russian troops could aim for the city of Kharkiv. “We have to be sober and understand that they are going deeper into our territory. Not vice versa,” Zelenskiy said on Friday in an interview with AFP. Russian forces “want to attack” the city, one of Ukraine’s largest, although they realise it would be “very difficult”, he added. Zelenskiy said the situation in the region, where Russia has seized several border villages, was “controlled” but “not stabilised” after Ukraine sent reinforcements. The president said Russian troops had penetrated 5-10km along the north-eastern border before being stopped by Ukrainian forces. Russia hit Kharkiv with more strikes on Friday that killed at least three people and injured 28, the city’s mayor, Igor Terekhov said. The Kharkiv regional governor, Oleg Synegubov, said Russian forces were trying to surround Vovchansk, an almost deserted town near the border. Russian strikes in Vovchansk killed one man. Moscow expanded the area of active combat by almost 70km by launching its offensive in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has said. Syrskyi said Russia launched the offensive to force Ukraine to throw additional reserve brigades into fighting. He added that he expected fighting to intensify as troops are also preparing to defend in northern region of Sumy. Vladimir Putin said Russian forces advancing in the Kharkiv region were creating a “buffer zone” to protect Russian border regions, but said capturing the city of Kharkiv was not part of Moscow’s current plan. The Russian president, who made the comments at a news conference during a state visit to China, said the recent thrust into the Kharkiv region was a response to Ukrainian shelling of Russian border regions such as Belgorod. A Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and injured another in the Belgorod region, the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Friday. Russia’s defence ministry later reported that air defence units had intercepted and destroyed 14 multiple-launch rockets originating in Ukraine. A massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea early on Friday caused power cutoffs in the city of Sevastopol and set a refinery ablaze in southern Russia. Zelenskiy has admitted Ukraine’s army needs more troops to boost the forces’ morale. “We need to staff the reserves … A large number of [brigades] are empty,” the president said. Many Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting for more than two years without the possibility to be discharged. The army is struggling to recruit, while fighters are growing exhausted and angry at the lack of rotation. “We need to do this so that the guys have a normal rotation. Then their morale will be improved,” Zelenskiy said. Ukraine only has a quarter of the air defences it needs, Zelenskiy has said, and called for more than a hundred aircraft to counter Russian air power. “So that Russia does not have air superiority, our fleet should have 120 to 130 modern aircraft … to defend the sky against 300 [Russian] aircraft,” he said. Putin is seeking to weaponise the threat of mass migration to divide and weaken Europe, the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, said on Friday. “What our adversaries know is migration is our vulnerability,” she said. “The aim is to make life really impossible in Ukraine so that there would be migration pressure to Europe, and this is what they are doing.” Kallas conceded that some countries in Europe did not see the threat of a Ukrainian defeat in the same way. “They don’t see and they don’t believe that if Ukraine falls Europe is in danger, the whole of Europe, maybe some countries, but not the whole of Europe.” Continue reading...
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Four US daycare workers charged with spiking children’s food with melatonin (Fri, 17 May 2024)
New Hampshire employees of day care arrested after six-month investigation and each face 10 charges of endangering children Four New Hampshire daycare employees allegedly spiked children’s food with the sleep supplement melatonin and were arrested on Thursday. The arrests stem from a November 2023 investigation at a daycare in Manchester, New Hampshire, about 30 minutes outside the state capital of Concord. Continue reading...
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Three Spanish tourists and an Afghan shot dead in Afghanistan attack (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Four suspects arrested at the scene of attack in Bamiyan, with four more foreigners and three Afghans reported wounded Three Spanish tourists and an Afghan civilian have been killed in a shooting attack in Bamiyan province, central Afghanistan. The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, wrote on social messaging platform X that he was “shocked by the news of the murder of Spanish tourists in Afghanistan”. Continue reading...
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Mayoral candidate and five others killed in shooting at campaign rally in Mexico (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Young girl was among six people killed in gunfire in an area of Chiapas where shootings have become common and widespread A mayoral candidate and five other people have been killed when gunmen opened fire at a campaign rally in the violence-racked southern Mexico state of Chiapas. State prosecutors said a young girl was among the six people killed in the gunfire late on Thursday, along with the mayoral candidate Lucero López Maza. Two others were injured, they said. Continue reading...
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Trump aides plot deportation effort inspired by UK Rwanda plan – report (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Wall Street Journal notes that British example may not be a good one, as ‘plan hasn’t gone into effect yet ‘amid legal challenges’ Aides to Donald Trump working to transform US immigration policy should he return to power are pursuing goals including “the largest mass deportation in US history” while “part-inspired” by the UK government’s deal to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Conservative UK government reached an agreement with the African country in 2022. Since then, however, the Rwanda policy has proved politically controversial, legally vulnerable, highly inefficient and vastly expensive. Continue reading...
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Putin seeking to weaponise threat of mass migration, warns Estonian PM (Fri, 17 May 2024)
‘Adversaries know migration is our vulnerability,’ says Kaja Kallas, spelling out negative consequences to Europe of Ukrainian defeat Vladimir Putin is seeking to weaponise the threat of mass migration to divide and weaken Europe as supporters of Ukraine struggle to maintain unity to defeat Russia, Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister, says. “What our adversaries know is migration is our vulnerability,” she said. “The aim is to make life really impossible in Ukraine so that there would be migration pressure to Europe, and this is what they are doing.” Continue reading...
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Vatican tightens rules on supernatural phenomena in crackdown on hoaxes (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Updated guidelines strip bishops of power to recognise ‘supernatural’ nature of purportedly divine events Apparitions of the Virgin Mary and weeping statues have been part of Catholicism for centuries, but the age of social media has prompted the Vatican to issue a crackdown against potential scams and hoaxes. New rules issued on Friday say that only a pope, rather than local bishops, can declare apparitions and revelations to be “supernatural”. The document, Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena, updates previous guidance issued in 1978 that is now considered “inadequate”. Continue reading...
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Francis Ford Coppola: US politics is at ‘the point where we might lose our republic’ (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Speaking at Cannes, the director says Megalopolis, his reworking of ancient Rome’s Catiline conspiracy, has become ever more prescient Megalopolis review – Coppola’s passion project is megabloated and megaboring The US, whose founders tried to emulate the laws and governmental structures of the Roman republic, is headed for a similarly self-inflicted collapse, director Francis Ford Coppola has said at the premiere of his first film in more than a decade. “What’s happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy, is exactly how Rome lost their republic thousands of years ago,” Coppola told a press conference at the Cannes film festival on Friday. “Our politics has taken us to the point where we might lose our republic.” Continue reading...
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‘Times have changed’: is the writing on the wall for the British seaside postcard? (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Popularity of traditional holiday memento hit by smartphones, ‘rude rock’ and rising price of stamps A trip to the British seaside may not always have been something to write home about, but these days you might struggle even if you wanted to. At the Little Gems gift shop in Blackpool town centre, all the usual seaside wares are on display – beach towels, plastic buckets and spades, sticks of rock – but one item is notably missing. Continue reading...
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Bangers and ballet: London’s Ministry of Sound embraces contemporary dance (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Big-name ballet dancers and rising choreographers have found a new home in the superclub where the after-party goes on until 5am “It’s the easiest rider we’ve ever done,” says the Ministry of Sound’s Mahit Anam. “Normally it’s five bottles of Patrón, four bottles of vodka … ” And this time? Water, bananas and protein bars. It’s not your usual green room at the south London superclub, because this is not your usual show: the dancefloor is about to be taken over by professionals. Ballet Nights – a monthly production usually held in a Canary Wharf theatre and featuring the country’s top ballet stars and rising choreographers – is moving into clubland. So now amid the speaker stacks and DJ decks you’ll see Royal Ballet dancer Joshua Junker and work from Olivier award-winning choreographer James Cousins. It’s a whole different kind of podium dancing. “Everything’s got too formulaic, too samey, and that’s why we want to do this stuff,” says Anam. “Pushing boundaries is something we should always be doing.” Ballet Nights was hatched by former Scottish Ballet soloist and choreographer Jamiel Devernay-Laurence in 2023. The idea was to give audiences an up-close view of big-name ballet dancers like Steven McRae and Matthew Ball as well as nurturing a stable of young artists. But he was itching to expand, and eager to attract younger audiences, people who are the same age as the dancers who perform. Devernay-Laurence had met with all sorts of venues – theatres, concert halls – and it was always a “let’s talk again in the future” situation. But when he walked into Ministry of Sound: “They had open arms, they were so excited. We walked out the same day with an agreement and a date.” Ballet Nights is at Ministry of Sound, London, on 31 May Continue reading...
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Kinds of Kindness review – sex, death and Emma Stone in Lanthimos’s disturbing triptych (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Cannes film festival Yorgos Lanthimos reinforces how the universe keeps on doing the same awful things with a multistranded yarn starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Jesse Plemons Perhaps it’s just the one kind of unkindness: the same recurring kind of selfishness, delusion and despair. Yorgos Lanthimos’s unnerving and amusing new film arrives in Cannes less than a year after the release of his Oscar-winning Alasdair Gray adaptation Poor Things. It is a macabre, absurdist triptych: three stories or three narrative variations on a theme, set in and around modern-day New Orleans. An office worker finally revolts against the intimate tyranny exerted over him by his overbearing boss. A police officer is disturbed when his marine-biologist wife returns home after months of being stranded on a desert island, and suspects she has been replaced by a double. Two cult members search for a young woman believed to have the power to raise the dead. Continue reading...
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The Guide #139: From Megalopolis to Furiosa, here’s what Cannes 2024 is buzzing for (Fri, 17 May 2024)
In this week’s newsletter: Even if Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited passion project is the turkey some critics say it is, the French film festival remains the most exciting date in cinema • Don’t get the Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up to get the full article here The Cannes film festival is raging away on the Riviera, and, for me, the fomo is strong. I went to Cannes a handful of times in what now seems like ancient pre-Covid history, and always had a blast. Admittedly, much of its appeal comes from the slightly elitist thrill of getting to see a hotly anticipated film – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood or Parasite – long before the rest of the world. But it’s all the weird ephemera around those premieres that I really miss: the gaudy super yachts parked alongside the Palais des Festivals with man from Del Monte-attired businessmen doing deals on the front deck; the giant billboards that would usually be advertising McDonald’s or H&M instead trumpeting the latest arthouse effort from Jacques Audiard; and, of course, the Marché du Film, the festival’s evil twin, locked away in the basement of the Palais, where distributors try to drum up interest in the likes of Killer Sofa, Tsunambee or Santa Stole Our Dog. Continue reading...
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‘Her stories are life itself’: Yiyun Li on the genius of Alice Munro (Fri, 17 May 2024)
The Chinese American author of The Book of Goose pays tribute to the late writer, reflecting on the rich rewards of revisiting her stories over many years A life in quotes: Alice Munro Five of the best Alice Munro short stories Two days after Alice Munro died, I went to an event in New York, and found myself among strangers. A woman asked me if I’d heard that the great “Janet Munro” had died. Janet? The confusion was cleared up, and a man told me about Munro’s life story, with a detailed description of the photo used for her obituary in the New York Times. Another woman told me that, unlike most writers, Munro did not write novels, only stories. “Isn’t that interesting?” Next came the inevitable question, which people often ask of someone who writes novels and stories: “Which is easier for you?” Easy? That’s an adjective that I’ve never associated with literature. Continue reading...
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‘We were all going through traumas under one roof’: the drag queen adoption drama inspired by real life (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Daf James’s life was upended when he and his husband adopted three kids – and he knew he had to write about it. As Lost Boys & Fairies hits the screen, the writer and cast talk about queer lives, Welshness and what makes a family click Lost Boys & Fairies is not a true story. But like most drama and fiction, it draws heavily on the real-life experiences of the people who made it. Daf James, the Welsh playwright and screenwriter behind the story, also adopted three children with his husband when those children were aged between two and five. As in the show, he went to activity days to meet children who needed carers, got interrogated by social workers and had plenty of sleepless nights. So when we see his protagonist Gabriel getting hit in the head with a football by a seven-year-old in a Cardiff park, are we watching fiction here or reality? “Everything I write is personally inspired,” Daf tells me, over Zoom from his attic bedroom, just minutes after we have both put our children to bed. “But I’ve learned how to adapt my lived experience into fiction. Andy is a fictitious character; the father is a fictitious character; the children are fictitious characters.” Andy, the saint-like husband of Gabriel, is played by Hawkeye star and Northern Irish actor Fra Fee, who tells me that his role in Lost Boys & Fairies was “genuinely the honour of my life”. It’s a statement that, like the show itself, hits a note of radical sentimentality. “I’ve never played a gay man on screen before,” Fee goes on, “which sounds a bit mad as a gay man myself. So to get the opportunity to do something that felt so positive was such a gift.” Continue reading...
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Vintage fashion to upcycling: five great reasons to visit the Westfield Good Festival (Thu, 09 May 2024)
From denim workshops to lessons on mending household items, Westfield’s Europe-wide festival gives visitors the chance to transform their wardrobes and reduce waste As consumers, we’ve all come to appreciate that individual changes to our behaviours can have a collective impact on efforts to protect the planet and reduce environmental damage. The Westfield Good Festival, which is taking place at Westfield shopping centres across Europe this month, aims to help consumers make these kind of changes to their behaviour. The event, in collaboration with brands and with organisations working in the community, will showcase activities and initiatives to inspire people to embrace the circular economy and get creative with repairing and repurposing. “Brands and consumers can share insights, best practice and motivate one another towards adopting eco-friendlier shopping habits,” says Katie Wyle, UK head of shopping centre management for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW). Continue reading...
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Is your online business ready for a physical space? Six ways to tell (Thu, 01 Jun 2023)
Westfield’s new competition could land you a trading spot in one of Europe’s best shopping destinations. But are you ready to rise to the challenge? For many businesses, launching exclusively online is a safe option, enabling them to start building with lower overheads, fewer commitments and a chance to test the water. But there often comes a time when a more visible, physical presence is required. The Westfield Grand Prix is giving sustainable businesses that very opportunity – the chance to win a free retail space in one of the two London Westfield centres for up to 12 months. Winners will also receive a contribution to pay for design and fit-out, together with personalised guidance and financial support from design and retail experts, as well as in-centre advertising created by the retail media agency Westfield Rise. Most entrepreneurs would jump at the chance to sell their wares in one of the world’s most iconic malls. But before taking the leap, your readiness should be considered. How do you know when your business is ready? Continue reading...
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How to make a memorable business pitch: entrepreneurs reveal seven top tips (Thu, 01 Jun 2023)
From knowing your figures to speaking from the heart, three business owners share their secrets for winning investors with a knockout presentation Motivational speakers and life coaches love to tell us that if we can dream it, we can do it. But coming up with an initial idea for a product, service or business is only the start of the journey; try as you might, simply manifesting the cash to fund your startup just isn’t going to cut it. What budding tycoons actually need to move them up to the next level is investors. Whether the money might come from a personal contact, venture capitalist, or angel investor, a stand-out marketing deck and killer pitch are required. It’s a tried and tested route that most businesses will have to engage in to achieve their potential. Continue reading...
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‘You have to fail, to learn’: three entrepreneurs on the value of a business pitch gone wrong (Thu, 01 Jun 2023)
While the initial knock-back may sting, the insights you gain from an unsuccessful presentation can propel you to success It’s a big moment for any entrepreneur. The pitch can make all the difference when it comes to securing investment, getting stocked, gaining customers – or being selected as the winner of the Westfield Grand Prix, where the prize is a free retail space in one of the two London Westfield Centres for up to 12 months, along with a contribution to pay for design and fit-out. When it comes to opportunities that could be a gamechanger, a lot is riding on one brief moment that makes up a pitch. But what happens if it goes wrong? Ask any entrepreneur about their failed pitches, and they’ll have plenty of examples. But most have something else in common too: the firm view that those failed pitches helped them move on to better things. Continue reading...
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Oma, London SE1: ‘Very difficult to resist’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Who’d have thought that a nerdish but relaxed space age taverna would turn out to be one of the openings of the year? Oma in Borough Market is Greek, but not as you may know it. If you don’t know your “wildfarmed laffa” from your spanakopita gratin with malawach, or your giouvetsi beef-fat pangrattato from your mussel saganaki with tsalafouti, then this will be, literally, all Greek to you. At Oma, the server’s “Do you want any help with the menu?” is greeted with an emphatic “Yes!” How is the laffa wild, but also farmed, and why is it in the bread section? I’ll tell you how: the flour for the laffa is farmed, but without pesticides, and it’s then turned into a salty, pillowy, buttery flatbread to swoosh through Oma’s showstopping bowls of hummus, babaghanoush and labneh. Yes, I did just call hummus showstopping there, but that’s what happens when David Carter of Smokestak and Manteca and Ecuadorian chef Jorge Paredes, formerly of Sabor in Mayfair, spend 18 months tinkering with the recipe before serving their hummus masabacha-style – that is, much smoother and runnier than you may be used to. Crunchy chickpeas swim in this silky custard, which is topped with a spicy, bright green coriander zhoug. Continue reading...
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I’m happily remarried, but am haunted by my ex’s long-ago betrayal | Ask Annalisa Barbieri (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Your first husband robbed you of a lot, and you have some mourning to do. But there seems to be a part of you that thinks you don’t deserve happiness • Every week Annalisa Barbieri addresses a family-related problem sent in by a reader I met my ex in our last year of high school. After a year of university we married when we were only 18. The first 10 years were rocky, with many family crises that put stress on our relationship, and at one point I left my husband. We reunited within a few months and changed our attitudes and goals. From then on I vowed to accept and find the good. We were married for 25 years, through his many infidelities and my anxieties. We didn’t have any children because he didn’t want to be a father. Finally, there was a mistress he wouldn’t set aside, and after three years I gave him an ultimatum, as gently as I could. He chose her, and divorced me. Some of the most painful words I have ever heard were: “You are a wonderful wife, beautiful and brilliant, but I don’t want you. And you deserve better than this.” I remarried 13 years later and for 23 years have been wife to a fine man. But he is emotionally distant, while I am emotionally overflowing. I relive my first husband’s betrayal in my dreams nearly every night. In my nightmares, I am frightened when he appears and feel under his control. I wake up full of fear. Continue reading...
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Will fashion’s flamboyant powerhouse Isabella Blow finally get her dues? (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Beneath the famous hats was a prime mover in a British golden age, as a biopic is about to show The legendary fashion editor Isabella Blow is remembered by her hats. A jewel-encrusted lobster which snaked back from her brow like a crustacean mohican. A miniature Chinese garden, complete with tiny eaved pagodas and lilliputian cherry trees with quivering blossoms. Her trademark was so distinctive that Princess Margaret once greeted her at a party with the words: “Good evening, Hat.” At her funeral in 2007, an 18th-century black galleon headpiece with delicate lace sails cascading from its lofty prow, created for her by her favourite milliner Philip Treacy, crowned her coffin on a bed of white roses. But The Queen of Fashion, a newly announced biopic directed by Alex Marx with the Oscar-nominated actor Andrea Riseborough cast in the title role, is set to highlight Blow’s more serious role as a central figure in a golden age of British fashion, a kingmaker who launched the career of Alexander McQueen, and a powerhouse who helped put 1990s London at the centre of the creative world. Continue reading...
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Cocktail of the week: the Mandrake’s Hibiscus – recipe | The good mixer (Fri, 17 May 2024)
An Aperol spritz/cosmo hybrid that’s equal parts refreshing and bubbly A glorious combination of classic ingredients that is equal parts refreshing and bubbly – think a fruity yet refined Aperol spritz/cosmopolitan hybrid with a sparkling edge. Enjoy with friends on a sunny afternoon and embrace those fragrant citrus flavours. Jouzas Jonauskas, head of food and beverage, Waeska Bar, The Mandrake, London W1 Continue reading...
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Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for blueberry and halva loaf | The sweet spot (Fri, 17 May 2024)
In this blueberry-studded cake, halva melts into the batter during baking to give it a velvety crumb and a hint of sesame My local Turkish grocers have about half an aisle devoted to halva. There are tubs and tubs of the stuff, in all manner of flavours from almond and vanilla to pistachio and chocolate, and I like to pick up a different type each time I go. I use halva in bakes and, of course, I eat it neat, too. In today’s loaf, I’ve used a vanilla one that, as the cake bakes, melts into the batter, bringing a velvety texture to the sponge and a toasty, sesame flavour. The pops of blueberries brighten everything up and make this a perfect pick-me-up. Discover this recipe and many more from your favourite cooks in the new Guardian Feast app, with smart features to make everyday cooking easier and more fun Continue reading...
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Can mindfulness really make you happy, lower your blood pressure and improve your sleep? Experts reveal all (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Mindfulness is said to help everything from anxiety to overeating. But how does it work? Experts separate fact from fiction FALSE “Mindfulness is the opposite of ‘emptying the mind’; it is fully immersing the mind in precisely what you are doing,” says neuroscientist TJ Power. “If you were eating a banana mindfully, 100% of your awareness would be focused on the taste and experience.” Continue reading...
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Chelsea Women fans: share your views on Emma Hayes’ departure (Thu, 16 May 2024)
We would like to hear from Chelsea Women fans about how they feel about the Emma Hayes era coming to an end After 11 years as Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes is to step down at the end of the season. We would like to hear from Chelsea Women fans about how they feel about Emma Hayes’ tenure coming to an end. What did her time with the club mean to you? Continue reading...
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Carers in the UK: have you been threatened with prosecution for benefit fraud? (Mon, 08 Apr 2024)
We’d like to hear from carers in the UK who have been investigated for alleged benefit fraud by the DWP Tens of thousands of unpaid carers looking after disabled, frail or ill relatives are being forced to repay huge sums to the government and threatened with criminal prosecution after unwittingly breaching earnings rules by just a few pounds a week. People who claim the £81.90-a-week carer’s allowance for looking after loved ones while working part-time are being forced by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to pay back money that has been erroneously overpaid to them, in some cases running to more than £20,000, or risk going to prison. Continue reading...
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Tell us: do you have a portrait of King Charles in your workplace? (Wed, 15 May 2024)
We would like to hear from people who have seen a portrait of the king in a public building and how they feel about it Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, is offering portraits of the king to all Church of England churches, as well as job centres, coastguards, universities and other public institutions, having previously offered them to local authorities, court buildings, schools, police forces and fire and rescue services. Do you have a portrait of the king in your workplace and how do you feel about it? Or have you seen a portrait of the king in a public building and how do you feel about it? Continue reading...
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Tell us: have you recently become more engaged with the natural world? (Wed, 15 May 2024)
From birdwatching to gardening, we would like to hear from people who have a renewed interest in nature, Have you recently become intrigued by nature? We would like to hear from people who have recently become more engaged with the natural world, from birdwatching to gardening. Whether it was because of an amazing documentary or a new bird-identifying app, tell us what piqued your interest below. Continue reading...
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A kangaroo, a possum and a bushrat walk into a burrow: research finds wombat homes are the supermarkets of the forest (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Scientist discovers a cast of recurring characters using burrows in the aftermath of bushfire, after sifting through more than 700,000 images First came a picture of an inquisitive red-necked wallaby, then an image of a bare-nosed wombat, followed by a couple of shots of the wombat’s burrow with nothing else in the frame. By the time research scientist Grant Linley had looked through a further 746,670 images, he had seen 48 different species visiting the 28 wombat burrows that he had trained his cameras on. Continue reading...
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Biden and Trump are betting on debates to help magnify the other’s weaknesses (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Trump will look to again cast Biden as greatly diminished while Biden will aim to remind voters why they rejected Trump in 2020 US politics live – latest updates Sign up for The Stakes, our US elections newsletter It’s game on for a pair of presidential debates between two unpopular candidates most Americans wish weren’t running for the nation’s highest office. In a ratatat social media exchange on Wednesday, Joe Biden and Donald Trump agreed to participate in two debates on 27 June, hosted by CNN, and on 10 September, hosted by ABC. Continue reading...
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The artist behind the short-lived portal linking New York and Dublin: ‘People got carried away’ (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Benediktas Gylys admits he was surprised by the rowdy behavior that came from the exhibit connecting people in the two cities The artist behind the controversial “Portal” art exhibit that visually linked New York and Dublin in real time, but was then closed due to rowdy and extreme behavior by the public using it, has admitted he was surprised by the reaction. Benediktas Gylys also vowed to continue with his project, which has the aim of connecting people and communities all over the world and is hoped to reopen soon. Continue reading...
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‘I’m the new Oppenheimer!’: my soul-destroying day at Palantir’s first-ever AI warfare conference (Fri, 17 May 2024)
America’s military-industrial complex took center stage at AI Expo for National Competitiveness, where a fire-breathing panel set the tone On 7 and 8 May in Washington DC, the city’s biggest convention hall welcomed America’s military-industrial complex, its top technology companies and its most outspoken justifiers of war crimes. Of course, that’s not how they would describe it. It was the inaugural “AI Expo for National Competitiveness”, hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project – better known as the “techno-economic” thinktank created by the former Google CEO and current billionaire Eric Schmidt. The conference’s lead sponsor was Palantir, a software company co-founded by Peter Thiel that’s best known for inspiring 2019 protests against its work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) at the height of Trump’s family separation policy. Currently, Palantir is supplying some of its AI products to the Israel Defense Forces. Continue reading...
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Norman Finkelstein on Gaza, ‘from the river to the sea’ and political messaging: ‘We need to bring unity to this struggle’ (Fri, 17 May 2024)
New York University professor Nikhil Singh interviews the political scientist and longtime critic of Israel after his speech at Columbia University How do the messages and slogans adopted by social movements matter? In the 1960s, one of the simplest and most powerful slogans of the African American civil rights movement was: “Freedom now!” With that slogan, the movement indicated that Black demands exceeded a narrow reading of legal rights and protections. At the same time, it tapped into one of the most powerful keywords in the American political lexicon in a way that was immediately legible to a large, popular audience. The occasion for the conversation below was a speech that the political scientist Norman Finkelstein gave at the Columbia University encampment protesting Israel’s war in Gaza. Finkelstein challenged students to think of the kind of messaging that might broaden their audience and build their movement. He questioned the slogan “Palestine will be free, from the river to sea” as mostly ineffective for these purposes, due to how it inflames fears among Israel’s supporters and gives fuel to arguments that pro-Palestinian protests on US university campuses are antisemitic and even “genocidal”. Continue reading...
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‘He was not radical’: Slovakia tries to make sense of Fico shooting (Thu, 16 May 2024)
Friends in town of Levice say 71-year-old showed no signs of planning attack, while Slovakian president says climate of hate is collective work Mile L’udovit, like other residents of the unassuming grey apartment block on the outskirts of the sleepy central Slovakian town of Levice, considered Juraj Cintula a reliable neighbour and friend. Having lived side by side with him for more than 40 years, L’udovit could never have imagined the 71-year-old former security guard and amateur poet would be suspected of perpetrating the worst political attack in Slovakian modern history – shooting the prime minister multiple times at point-blank range. Continue reading...
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Experience: my fiance died on our wedding day – and then I discovered his secret life (Fri, 17 May 2024)
It was like I was trapped in a movie – with a hideous plot twist I met Eric on a dating app in early 2018 when I was living in New York. He was handsome, talkative and interesting. I was falling for him – but there was something he needed to know. In 2015, I’d been in love with a guy called Mike. On my 30th birthday, my parents threw me a party at their house. Everyone was having a great time until I heard my brother scream Mike’s name. As I ran towards the noise, I saw Mike on the ground by my parents’ pool. He’d slipped into the water and wasn’t breathing. I frantically tried to do CPR on him, but he remained unconscious. At the hospital, I was told that Mike wouldn’t ever wake up. No one knows how he got hurt. He broke some bones in his back, and had a brain injury, but we don’t know how that happened. Continue reading...
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‘My mum had to tell me I had HIV’: the former blood transfusion poster boy campaigning for infected victims (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Andy Evans was injecting his own clotting protein at three, and was 13 when he found it had given him HIV. Now he campaigns for fellow survivors – and the truth about the contamination scandal The children of the contaminated blood scandal | Today in Focus Andy Evans was 13 when his mum took him for an unexpected drive in the countryside. “I thought: this is weird. Why are we here? We don’t do this,” he remembered. “We sat for a couple of minutes and then she turned to me with tears in her eyes. And she said: ‘Do you know what HIV is?’ And I said: ‘Well, I’ve heard of it … Isn’t it that disease that kills you?’ And she said: ‘Yep, that’s right. It’s been in the factor VIII and you’ve got it.’” Factor VIII was the concentrated blood clotting protein he had been receiving for his haemophilia since being diagnosed as a baby. Touted as a wonder drug to stop internal bleeding, it was so easy to mix with water and inject with a syringe that Evans was able to administer it himself at home before his fourth birthday. Continue reading...
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How the world could have looked: the most spectacular buildings that were never made (Thu, 16 May 2024)
A mega egg in Paris, a hovering hotel in Machu Picchu, an hourglass tower in New York, a pleasure island in Baghdad … we reveal the architectural visions that were just too costly – or too weird Did you know that, if things had gone differently, the Pompidou Centre could have been an egg? In the 1969 competition for the Paris art centre – ultimately won by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, with their inside-out symphony of pipework – a radical French architect called André Bruyère submitted a proposal for a gigantic ovoid tower. His bulbous building would have risen 100 metres above the city’s streets, clad in shimmering scales of alabaster, glass and concrete, its walls swelling out in a curvaceous riposte to the tyranny of the straight line. “Time,” Bruyère declared, “instead of being linear, like the straight streets and vertical skyscrapers, will become oval, in tune with the egg.” His hallowed Oeuf would be held aloft on three chunky legs, while a monorail would pierce the facade and circle through the structure along a sinuous floating ribbon. The atrium was to take the form of an enclosed globe, like a yolk. Continue reading...
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‘At the start you get molested and by 45 you’re too old to work’ – the secret misery of women working in TV (Thu, 16 May 2024)
One female director hides that she has a child; younger women face a 39% gender pay gap; and harassment is widespread. Insiders say it’s a wonder the television industry has any women left at all ‘When is the good time to be a woman in TV?” asks Michelle Reynolds, a former TV producer and director. “In the start you get molested and infantilised, in the middle if you have babies they won’t let you work flexibly, then when you get past 45 you’re too bloody old.” Now is not the best time for women in TV. According to recent research by the Creative Diversity Network, whose Diamond report collects data from the UK’s big broadcasters, the gender gap is widening. The number of women in senior roles fell 5% between 2019 and 2022. One in three directors are women, yet they get only a quarter of director credits. Contributions from female writers fell from 43% to 32% between 2016 and 2022. Behind these figures, women are less likely to be employed on peak-time shows, which are generally more prestigious and have larger audiences, than men. Continue reading...
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David Copperfield ‘was in my nightmares’: the women alleging sexual misconduct - video (Thu, 16 May 2024)
A Guardian US investigation is reporting allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour by illusionist David Copperfield. Testimonies from two women, both of whom are portrayed by actors, describe their alleged experiences and the impact it had on their lives. Copperfield denies all of the allegations and has never been charged with criminal wrongdoing Continue reading...
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Four kids left: The Thai school swallowed by the sea – video (Wed, 15 May 2024)
Ban Khun Samut Chin, a coastal village in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, has been slowly swallowed by the sea over the past few decades. This has led to the relocation of the school and many homes, resulting in a dwindling population. Currently, there are only four students attending the school, often leaving just one in each classroom. The village has experienced severe coastal erosion, causing 1.1-2km (0.5-1.2 miles) of shoreline to disappear since the mid-1950s Continue reading...
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British surgeon in Gaza speaks out as Israel offensive deepens in Rafah – video (Tue, 14 May 2024)
British surgeon Dr Omar El-Taji has been in Gaza for more than a week with medical nonprofit Fajr Scientific, working in one of Gaza’s largest remaining hospitals as Israel’s invasion of Rafah deepens. The European hospital, which was founded by Unrwa with a grant from the EU, has limited resources and fewer local staff to deal with high numbers of patients being admitted with devastating injuries. ‘These people have gone through this for six to seven months now, they cannot go through this any more,’ says El-Taji, who is currently living at the hospital after the medical team’s safe house was evacuated. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has so far rejected US pressure to hold off on a full-scale attack, claiming Rafah is the last stronghold of Hamas and that Israel can only achieve its war aims by killing militants and leaders in the city Israeli tanks reach residential areas as IDF pushes further into Rafah Continue reading...
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Clashes at Georgian parliament as 'foreign agents bill' passes – video (Tue, 14 May 2024)
Georgian protesters opposed to a 'foreign influence' bill picketed the Georgian parliament amid a major police presence during the third, and final reading of the bill. Police attempted to disperse demonstrators and people were seen being detained. The 84-30 vote has cleared the way for the bill to become law. The draft now goes to the president, Salome Zourabichvili, who has said she will veto it, but her decision can be overridden by another vote in parliament, which is controlled by the ruling party and its allies. Government critics and western countries have criticised the new bill as authoritarian and Russian-inspired Georgia parliament approves ‘foreign agent’ bill amid ongoing protests Why are Georgians protesting against a ‘foreign agents’ bill? Continue reading...
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Why genocide is so hard to prove – video (Thu, 09 May 2024)
South Africa's case against Israel over allegations of genocide before the international court of justice has raised a central question of international law: what is genocide and how do you prove it? It is one of three genocide cases being considered by the UN's world court, but since the genocide convention was approved in 1948, only three instances have been legally recognised as genocide. Josh Toussaint-Strauss looks back on these historical cases to find out why the crime is so much harder to prove than other atrocities, and what bearing this has on South Africa's case against Israel and future cases What is the genocide convention and how might it apply to the UK and Israel? ‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid Continue reading...
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‘Cringeworthy’: what people in Dover think of Labour and Keir Starmer – video (Fri, 10 May 2024)
Keir Starmer appeared in Dover and Deal alongside the Labour party’s newest MP, the former Tory Natalie Elphicke, to announce the scrapping of the Rwanda deportation scheme if Labour is elected. The Guardian spoke to people in Dover to get their reaction Continue reading...
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‘Disrupt whenever possible’: police clash with protesters blocking bus to Bibby Stockholm – video (Fri, 03 May 2024)
Hundreds of protesters prevented an attempt to collect asylum seekers from a south London hotel and transfer them to the Bibby Stockholm barge. The Guardian witnessed crowds blocking the bus and the road outside the Best Western hotel in Peckham before police were able to move in and break up the protest. The bus eventually left the area after seven hours, with no asylum seekers onboard London protesters block transfer of asylum seekers to Bibby Stockholm Continue reading...
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'Fed up of politics': the view from Blackpool on byelection day – video (Thu, 02 May 2024)
Ahead of the byelection in Blackpool South, the Guardian takes the temperature in the once prosperous northern coastal town, with many voters expressing complete apathy and disdain for the state of politics. The area is going to the polls because the former Tory MP Scott Benton resigned after being found guilty of breaching standards rules in a lobbying scandal. Labour is hopeful of taking back the seat, which Benton won with a majority of 3,690 in 2019 Polls open in England’s local elections with Tories braced for heavy losse Analysis: Will Tories dump Rishi Sunak if election results worse than expected? Continue reading...
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Marina Hyde on Russell Brand’s baptism; plus ‘deepfake’ cheerleaders: the woman wrongly accused over a viral video – podcast (Sat, 18 May 2024)
Marina Hyde: ‘So Russell Brand was baptised in the Thames, and all his sins were washed away. Cheaper than a lawyer, I suppose’; plus Jenny Kleeman meets Raffaella Spone, the woman accused of creating and circulating a damaging ‘deepfake’ video of teenage cheerleaders. The problem? Nothing was fake after all. Continue reading...
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‘Super cute please like’: the unstoppable rise of Shein – podcast (Fri, 17 May 2024)
It is taking fast fashion to ever faster and ever cheaper extremes, and making billions from it. Why is the whole world shopping at Shein? By Nicole Lipman Continue reading...
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The children of the contaminated blood scandal – podcast (Fri, 17 May 2024)
It is the NHS’s worst treatment disaster – with 30,000 patients infected. Two survivors, Ade Goodyear and Andy Evans, explain why it took so long for it to be brought to light Ade Goodyear was 15 when he was told he had contracted HIV. Like about 30,000 other NHS patients – including more than 300 children – who were given blood transfusions or commercial blood products before 2019, he was infected by contaminated blood. Some patients got HIV and hepatitis C from blood transfusions after childbirth or other medical procedures. Ade was infected with HIV at the medical centre of his school. Pupils at his Treloar’s college, which had a specialist haemophilia unit, were among those given injections of a blood plasma product called factor VIII concentrate. Concerns had been raised a decade before by the World Health Organization because it was a commercial product that mixed plasma from tens of thousands of often high-risk donors. If one had an infection such as HIV, it could contaminate the whole batch. Continue reading...
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The Premier League’s race for Europe and Celtic’s title – Football Weekly Extra podcast (Thu, 16 May 2024)
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nedum Onuoha and John Brewin as Manchester United and Chelsea get important wins in their hunt for European football next season 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: the race for fifth/sixth and Europa League football next season is still alive – Chelsea could still catch Spurs and only Manchester United winning the FA Cup would earn Newcastle a spot. Continue reading...
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AI, algorithms and apps: can dating be boiled down to a science? – podcast (Thu, 16 May 2024)
Last week the founder of the dating app Bumble forecasted a near future dating landscape where AI ‘dating concierges’ filter out prospective partners for us. But does AI, or even science, really understand what makes two people compatible? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Amie Gordon, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, to find out what we know about why two people go the distance, and why she and her colleague associate professor of sociology Elizabeth Bruch, are designing their own dating app to learn more. Clips: Bloomberg Read more about Amie’s app here Continue reading...
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What keeps the world’s top climate scientists up at night? – podcast (Thu, 16 May 2024)
Hundreds of climate experts expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C (4.5F) above preindustrial levels by 2100. Damian Carrington reports When the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, decided to survey the world’s top climate scientists, he had no idea how many of them would want to participate. “I was astonished by the flood of responses that came back,” he tells Hannah Moore. Continue reading...
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Donald Trump comes face to face with former fixer Michael Cohen – podcast (Wed, 15 May 2024)
This week, it was Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen’s turn to take the stand in the hush-money trial in New York. Cohen walked the jury through the steps he says he took to make any potential story that would damage Trump’s image go away, in advance of the 2016 election. The defence is trying to chip away at Cohen’s credibility, to sow seeds of doubt among the jury listening to his testimony. So how did he do? Jonathan Freedland asks former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori what he makes of the prosecution’s star witness so far Archive: Fox News 5, CBS News, CNN, Sky Australia 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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The week around the world in 20 pictures (Fri, 17 May 2024)
War in Gaza, the Russian offensive in Kharkiv, protests in Georgia, the Northern lights and the Cannes Film Festival: 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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Billie Eilish, dogs and lift-off: photos of the day – Friday (Fri, 17 May 2024)
The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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Thai high: the rise of a newfound cannabis culture – a photo essay (Fri, 17 May 2024)
Photographer Dougie Wallace has been looking at the impact of the decriminalisation of cannabis in Thailand, from Khaosan Road to the beach resorts, such as Krabi and Phuket, that attract tourists The decriminalisation of cannabis in Thailand in June 2022 has led to an explosion in marijuana shops across the country – especially in its tourist areas. It is sold at trendy dispensaries in Bangkok, at beachside bars across resort islands and even on river cruises. On bustling streets, green leaf logos glow in neon above shop fronts, and small stalls, set up with rows of glass jars, dot the pavement. Tourists and street advertiser in Patong, Phuket Continue reading...
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Flats for sale with outside space in Great Britain – in pictures (Fri, 17 May 2024)
From balconies with countryside and harbour views, to those with far-reaching cityscapes Continue reading...
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Gold, garages and gardens: celebrating the female photographers of Photo London (Fri, 17 May 2024)
The annual showcase of the best in photography features an unprecedented number of women working across all genres – from impressive up and comers to establishment names such as Nan Goldin and Sarah Moon • Photo London is at Somerset House, London, to 19 May Continue reading...
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Week in wildlife – in pictures: amorous frogs, battling stallions and an overaffectionate jaguar (Fri, 17 May 2024)
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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