The Voice Reveal

Volodymyr Zelenskiy tells Guardian that permission needs to go further; Putin labels as ‘foreign agents’ wives who want their husbands back. What we know on day 829 Air raids were declared in Russia’s Belgorod city on Saturday morning. It comes after the White House approved strikes using US-supplied weaponry into border areas of Russia used for attacks on Ukraine. Belgorod lies north of Kharkiv , which has been under intensified Russian attack. In an interview with the Guardian , Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said he still needs to be able to use “powerful” long-range weapons that could hit targets inside deep Russian territory – which the White House has refused to approve. Shelling killed five people and wounded others in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Friday, the Russia-installed local regime said. Independent verification was not possible and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia exchanged 75 prisoners of war e...

US president says it is ‘reckless’ and ‘irresponsible’ for Republicans to malign integrity of America’s justice system Donald Trump conviction – live updates Joe Biden warned on Friday that it was reckless and “dangerous” for anyone to claim Donald Trump’s criminal conviction was the result of a rigged trial, as the former president hit out at the verdict against him and Republicans maligned the integrity of America’s justice system. Donald Trump hit out furiously on Friday morning at the new status of “felon” conferred on him by a New York jury, whose guilty verdict made him the first former US president ever to become a convicted criminal. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/BPGNX3Q via IFTTT

DNA test, which takes seconds to collect, can detect men at high risk and spare others unnecessary treatment Scientists have developed a spit test that could “turn the tide” on prostate cancer worldwide by spotting the disease earlier, detecting where men are at high risk and sparing others unnecessary treatment. The number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer worldwide is projected to double to 2.9 million a year by 2040, with annual deaths predicted to rise by 85%. It is already the most common form of male cancer in more than 100 countries. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/NO5oH0p via IFTTT

D:Ream members regret association with Tony Blair and do not want song played at July general election The pop group that sing Things Can Only Get Better – which became an anthem for Labour at the 1997 general election victory – will deny any request from Keir Starmer to use the track at this year’s election. D:Ream’s founding members Peter Cunnah and Alan Mackenzie said they were dismayed to hear their song play through a loudspeaker as the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, called a 4 July general election on a wet afternoon in Downing Street. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vnS2I8o via IFTTT

A look back at the biggest revelations of the former president’s New York criminal trial Trump found guilty – live updates Full report: Trump found guilty on all 34 counts Jurors in Donald Trump’s criminal trial found the former president guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. The jury of seven men and five women living in Manhattan, over the course of two days this week, weighed whether the former president’s alleged efforts to conceal an affair with the adult film star Stormy Daniels, which he feared would damage his 2016 bid for the White House, were illicit. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/yFTVGAE via IFTTT

Police Scotland heavily criticised in report on 2015 incident near Stirling where Lamara Bell lay injured in car for three days A young woman endured “almost incomprehensible” suffering as she lay seriously injured next to her deceased boyfriend in their crashed car for three days after the incident was first reported to the police, a fatal accident inquiry has found. The “organisational failure” of Police Scotland “had fatal consequences for Lamara Bell”, according to Sheriff James Williamson. “Her suffering over a period of three days, terribly injured but conscious, is almost incomprehensible.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/cSwtm3e via IFTTT

Visits to high streets, shopping centres and retail parks fell by 3.6% in May, continuing downward trend Retailers have called on the government to rethink business rates and planning laws to revive high streets and shopping centres after visitor numbers fell again in May. Shoppers at stores on high streets, shopping centres and retail parks decreased by 3.6% in May, maintaining a trend that began last summer as a mini-boom in high street visits after the pandemic lockdowns petered out. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/6eGlQ7Z via IFTTT

Ann and Bernard McDonagh from Port Talbot ‘cynically and brazenly’ defrauded restaurants, says judge A couple have been jailed for carrying out a string of “ dine and dash ” offences, racking up large bills for food and drink before leaving without paying. A judge at Swansea crown court said Ann McDonagh, 39, and Bernard McDonagh, 41, had “cynically and brazenly” defrauded restaurants and a takeaway in south Wales. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/IZidPGf via IFTTT

Players and staff were told before flying to Fiji for their final regular-season match. from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/1jAexW7 via IFTTT

New Caledonia needs a new referendum on independence, not more politics from Paris How New Caledonia caught fire – podcast The unrest that has gripped Kanaky-New Caledonia is the direct result of Emmanuel Macron’s partisan and stubborn political manoeuvring to derail the process towards self-determination in my homeland. The deadly riots that erupted two weeks ago in the capital, Noumea, were sparked by an electoral reform bill voted through in the French National Assembly, in Paris. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/mYckB5P via IFTTT

Strap in for three hours of annoyingly vague celeb analyses of the London musical hotspot’s cultural significance – featuring no punks and almost no history. It’s downright cringeworthy Close your eyes and think of Camden, the rowdy, gaudy north London neighbourhood known for its old-school boozers, perpetual congregation of punks and surplus of tourist-trap tat. Now, which musical artists can you hear amid the hubbub? Cheeky-chappy two-toners Madness , whose Dublin Castle residency made them synonymous with the area? Grotbag indie revivalists the Libertines , who staged notoriously raucous early gigs in their Camden basement flat? How about robotically slick, fiercely business-minded dance-pop doyenne Dua Lipa? Presumably not the latter – but with her first foray into TV, Lipa is hoping to remedy that. Camden, a four-part documentary series about the area’s outsized musical influence, is co-produced by the pop star and enlists some big names (Noel Gallagher, Chuck D, Boy George) to ...

South Korea has warned residents to be alert after media reports that more than 90 balloons carrying various objects have been detected South Korea has warned residents living near the border with North Korea to be on alert, after media reports that balloons had been detected carrying various objects including what appeared to be rubbish and excrement. Photographs published in South Korean media showed an inflated white balloon with a plastic bag tethered to it and in another image, what appeared to be a collapsed balloon with trash strewn around it. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Jw4pOuT via IFTTT

Nato secretary general says alliance members should allow deep strikes, which White House says it doesn’t ‘encourage or enable’. What we know on day 826 Ukraine should be allowed to use its allies’ weapons to “neutralise” Russian military bases used to fire missiles into Ukraine , France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Tuesday. But he added: “We should not allow them to touch other targets in Russia , and obviously civilian capacities.” Macron commented during a state visit to Germany, whose chancellor, Olaf Scholz, appeared to back Ukraine on the matter as well – saying he agreed with the French president as long as the Ukrainians respected the conditions of the weapons’ suppliers. The chancellor has however refused to supply Germany’s Taurus cruise missiles – sought by the Ukrainians and capable of powerful strikes on Russian positions inside Ukraine and deep into Russia. The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, told the Economist that alliance members should let Uk...

Gardens could be part of the solution to the climate and biodiversity crisis. But what are we doing? Disappearing them beneath plastic and paving In my 20s I lived in Manchester, on the sixth floor of a block of council flats just off the A57, or Mancunian (Mancy) Way. A short walk from Manchester Piccadilly station and the city centre, it was grey, noisy and built up. I loved every piece of it – my first stab at adulthood, at living on my own. I painted my bedroom silver and slept on a mattress on the floor, and I grew sweetcorn, tomatoes and courgettes in pots on the balcony. (I was 24 – of course I grew sweetcorn on the balcony.) I worked and played in the bars and clubs of Manchester’s gay village, and I would walk home in the early hours, keys poking through my clenched fist to protect me from would-be attackers, and I would see hedgehogs. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/y82Iufs via IFTTT

Biggest drop since November 2021 as ‘unseasonable’ weather pushes retailers to continue promotions Shop price inflation has eased to the lowest level since November 2021 after retailers cut the price of big purchases such as furniture and TVs as households keep a tight rein on spending amid cost of living pressures and poor weather. Prices rose at an annual rate of 0.6% in May, down from 0.8% in April – the slowest pace since November 2021 – according to the latest monitor from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and the market research firm NielsenIQ. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ybDp5kx via IFTTT

UN says authorities working to clear debris after Friday’s disaster, while local media report one couple rescued from the rubble Unstable terrain, remote locations and damaged roads are hampering relief efforts in Papua New Guinea, where more than 670 people were feared killed in a landslide last week , the United Nations said on Monday. Emergency crews, led by Papua New Guinea’s defence personnel, were on the ground in the country’s north, but heavy equipment required for the rescue had yet to reach the remote village, as the main road remained cut off and the only access was via helicopter. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/dnGu0UW via IFTTT

Participant with the lowest resting heart rate wins contest aimed at reminding workers to stop and take a breather In downtown Seoul, in front of the iconic Gyeongbokgung palace, dozens of people of all ages sit on wet yoga mats, staring into space. Some are dressed in doctors’ and dentists’ uniforms, while others wear the attire of office workers and students. Welcome to the international “space-out competition”. The rules are simple: do absolutely nothing. Falling asleep, however, leads to disqualification. Organisers monitor the participants’ heart rates; the contestant with the most stable heart rate wins. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Tc8Bezq via IFTTT

Cancer Research UK notes particular rise in diagnoses among older people and says majority of cases are preventable Rates of melanoma skin cancer have reached an all-time high in the UK, according to analysis that highlights a substantial rise in the number of cases over the past decade, particularly among older people. New diagnoses increased by almost a third from 21 to 28 in every 100,000 people between 2007-09 and 2017-19, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK) figures, with a 57% rise among the over-80s and a 7% rise in those aged 25 to 49. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/xwHUZyD via IFTTT

First global study of its kind exposes ‘staggering scale’ of crime, with one in nine men in the US admitting to the offence More than 300 million children across the globe are victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse each year, research suggests. In what is believed to be the first global estimate of the scale of the crisis, researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that 12.6% of the world’s children have been victims of nonconsensual talking, sharing and exposure to sexual images and video in the past year, equivalent to about 302 million young people. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/9PXqMwC via IFTTT

Counter rallies in Kaufbeuren show split between supporters of AfD and locals who acknowledge the Bavarian town’s Nazi past Soaring church spires, the 1,000-year-old town centre unblemished by second world war bombing or graffiti, snow-capped Alps in the middle distance – Kaufbeuren, in Bavaria, can count many blessings. Unemployment is in the low single digits, the Luftwaffe backed away from plans to move its training school for Eurofighter and Tornado jet technicians elsewhere and crime is at a historic low. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/d5FGjeJ via IFTTT

Remembering people who have sacrificed to save others is essential to our dignity as human beings. from Christianity.com https://ift.tt/4V903yF

Demonstrators also called for resignation of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and for fresh elections Scuffles between Israeli police and protesters have erupted in Tel Aviv after thousands gathered to demonstrate against the government and demand that it bring back the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. Meanwhile, a small US military vessel and what appeared to be a strip of docking area washed up on a beach near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on Saturday, not far from the US-built pier on which the Israeli military said humanitarian aid is moving into the Palestinian territory. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/SRQINDz via IFTTT

All three judges gave the fight to Catterall, two by scores of 117-111 and the other by 116-113. from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/LZF4wR5 via IFTTT

Two were arrested on Thursday after Swat team raided rapper’s rented mansion in suburban Fort Lauderdale Rapper and singer Sean Kingston and his mother committed more than a million dollars in fraud in recent months, stealing money, jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade and furniture, documents released Friday allege. Kingston , 34, and his 61-year-old mother, Janice Turner, have been charged with conducting an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, identity theft and related crimes, according to arrest warrants released by the Broward county, Florida, sheriff’s office. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/4wgiOYx via IFTTT

Independent candidate pledges to pardon Snowden and drop Assange charges, and says Trump ‘caved’ over pandemic response Robert Kennedy Jr, a longshot independent candidate for US president, has sought to woo Libertarian party voters by casting rivals Donald Trump and Joe Biden as enemies of individual freedom. Kennedy, 70, brought Libertarians to their feet by promising to pardon government whistleblower Edward Snowden, currently exiled in Russia, and drop espionage charges against Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder battling US attempts to extradite him from Britain. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/PC46w8I via IFTTT

Surya McEwen, who could be risking death or arrest to help Palestinians under bombardment, says ‘I could not not go’ Get our morning and afternoon news emails , free app or daily news podcast “My core worry is dying, being killed,” Surya McEwen says. The Australian care worker is calling from a hotel room in Istanbul, where he is waiting with doctors, nurses, lawyers and activists to set sail on the Gaza “freedom flotilla” , which hopes to deliver aid to Palestinians under Israeli bombardment. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vsb80XS via IFTTT

Commons education committee chair says online world poses serious dangers and parents face uphill struggle MPs have urged the next government to consider a total ban on smartphones for under 16-year-olds and a statutory ban on mobile phone use in schools as part of a crackdown on screen time for children. Members of the House of Commons education committee made the recommendations in a report into the impact of screen time on education and wellbeing, which also called on ministers to raise the threshold for opening a social media account to 16. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/9WuYwEz via IFTTT

‘Extremely cruel’ attacks kill at least seven in Kharkiv; Blinken told to get rid of ban on Ukrainians firing US weapons into Russia. What we know on day 821 Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/pMlrwAd via IFTTT

Duke of York’s theatre, London The Spider-Man star and his spikily charismatic Juliet, giving a heroic performance after all the abuse she faced, are perfectly cast in Jamie Lloyd’s turbo-stylised production It is not often that a celluloid superhero transforms into a tragic hero before our eyes. Tom Holland navigates the transition from Marvel’s Spider-Man to Shakespeare’s Romeo smoothly, his wan, sinewy lover instantly at home on stage (in spite of the distracting audience whoop when he gets there). Francesca Amewudah-Rivers brings her own spiky charisma as Juliet, all the more heroic given the backdrop of social media racial abuse she has received. Holland and Amewudah-Rivers are perfectly cast, wired with an awkwardly cool teen energy, she a mix of innocence and streetwise steel, he jittering with sweaty-palmed earnestness. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/rbQUjBJ via IFTTT

Australians are among 20 passengers from flight SQ321 being treated in ICU at Samitivej Srinakarin hospital in Bangkok Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails , free app or daily news podcast Three Australians remain in intensive care in a Bangkok hospital after their Singapore Airlines flight violently dropped when flying through severe turbulence earlier this week. The three Australians are among 20 passengers from the flight who are being treated in intensive care at the Samitivej Srinakarin hospital in Bangkok, after flight SQ321 from London to Singapore on Tuesday hit turbulence, leaving a 73-year-old British man dead and prompting an emergency diversion to the Thai capital. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/RhPtHlZ via IFTTT

China sending Russia lethal aid, says British defence secretary; Zelenskiy stresses need for defence against glide bombs. What we know on day 820 France has carried out its first test firing of an updated nuclear-capable missile , the ASMPA-R, designed to be launched by a Rafale fighter jet, according to the French defence minister, Sebastien Lecornu. It came a day after Russia said it began nuclear drills in its southern military district, which stretches from Russia into occupied Ukrainian territory. The announcement of Russian drills is partly directed at France after its president, Emmanuel Macron, said he would not rule out sending in troops on Ukraine’s side. Lecornu said the missile was fired without a warhead by a plane in an exercise “above national territory … at the end of a flight representing a nuclear air raid”. He congratulated “all the forces, [defence] ministry teams and industrial partners involved” in a “long-planned” operation. France plans to spend about 13% o...

Images of the prime minister outside No 10 Downing St dominate the UK front pages, as he announces a general election for 4 July Explainer: why has the UK PM called a general election Analysis: Keir Starmer expected to make it to No 10 Rishi Sunak’s decision to call a surprise general election for 4 July dominates newspaper front pages on Thursday, with the image of the rain soaked prime minister making his announcement outside No 10 proving to be a wellspring for headline writers. The Guardian characterises the move as “ Sunak’s big gamble ”, and notes that his words were met with alarm by senior Tories who are concerned that the party – trailing 20 percentage points behind Labour in the polls – could face electoral wipeout. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/uA9qDRx via IFTTT

Charity says tech problems and poor customer service mean millions in Great Britain missing out on promised benefits The number of gas and electricity smart meters that are not working properly is likely to be higher than government figures suggest – possibly 20% to 30% of the total – according to research from Citizens Advice. The charity said millions of households were missing out on the promised benefits from smart meters due to “problems with technology” and poor supplier customer service. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/wo0nql9 via IFTTT

‘Purchase scams’ often pegged to big events, warns UK Finance’s annual fraud report The clamour to secure tickets for Taylor Swift’s sold-out UK shows is expected to fuel a summer fraud bonanza as figures showed a “staggering” £1.2bn was stolen from unwitting consumers in 2023. Swift’s Eras tour, which arrives in the UK in June, and the Olympic Games , are contenders for biggest ticketing scam of the year. The warning, from industry group UK Finance, came as its annual fraud report revealed that the number of people succumbing to a “purchase scam” in 2023 soared. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ONgywSa via IFTTT

If you live in New Caledonia, or have family and friends there, we would like to hear about the situation on the ground New Caledonia has been convulsed by unrest for a week, sparked by French plans to impose new rules that would give tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents voting rights . The French territory off north-east Australia, with a population of about 270,000, has long been riven by pro-independence tensions, but this is the worst violence in decades. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/L7PqxNO via IFTTT

Report from group set up by Catherine says business can improve early years and benefit all of society Business investment in early childhood could unlock £45.5bn in value a year for the UK economy, according to a report by a taskforce created by the Princess of Wales. In the report, CEOs from eight leading companies urged “businesses of all sizes across the UK, to join us and help build a healthy, happy society for everyone”. The Co-operative Group creating a specific early childhood fund as part of its unique apprenticeship levy share scheme, and committing to raise £5m over the next five years, creating more than 600 apprenticeships. Deloitte focusing its ongoing investment in Teach First to include the early years sector for the first time, supporting 366 early years professionals in 2024. NatWest Group extending its lending target for the childcare sector to £100m, launching an early years accreditation scheme to its staff and producing a financial toolkit for childcare provi...

Ability to preserve tissue in a special gel solution for at least a week will help doctors identify most effective drug treatments Scientists say they have a made a potentially “gamechanging” breakthrough in breast cancer research after discovering how to preserve breast tissue outside the body for at least a week. The study, which was funded by the Prevent Breast Cancer charity, found tissue could be preserved in a special gel solution, which will help scientists identify the most effective drug treatments for patients. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3ncUOmY via IFTTT

All five systems tested were found to be ‘highly vulnerable’ to attempts to elicit harmful responses Guardrails to prevent artificial intelligence models behind chatbots from issuing illegal, toxic or explicit responses can be bypassed with simple techniques, UK government researchers have found. The UK’s AI Safety Institute (AISI) said systems it had tested were “highly vulnerable” to jailbreaks, a term for text prompts designed to elicit a response that a model is supposedly trained to avoid issuing. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/KZfE42l via IFTTT

Usyk beat Fury via split decision in Riyadh, becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000 from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/WpqUsRM via IFTTT

Semi-final: Hull KR 6-38 Wigan Jake Wardle and Abbas Miski both score twice Wigan produced a magnificent display to book their first trip to Wembley in seven years after dismantling Hull KR to reach next month’s Challenge Cup final. The Warriors will return to rugby league’s showpiece event for a record-extending 34th occasion, and are now one win away from a 21st cup triumph after a 38-6 triumph in Doncaster. They were out of sight by half-time after a near-perfect 40 minutes saw them coast into a 24-0 lead. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1oOZv2j via IFTTT

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 hi...

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... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lkJM0ew via IFTTT

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... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/QWvdAlq via IFTTT

Commitments range from cutting NHS waiting times to delivering economic stability – and are united by a lack of detail UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer has unveiled six commitments which, he said, would constitute the first steps taken by a Labour government. The Labour leader was reluctant to use the word “pledge”, but the six statements inevitably drew comparisons with Tony Blair’s 1997 pledge card. Unlike Labour’s promises going into that election, however, the steps Starmer outlined were generally vague and their success is likely to prove difficult to measure. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/NhILnlB via IFTTT

The veteran politician shot and wounded on Wednesday, is a fan of Viktor Orbán and has embraced ever more extreme positions to retain power Robert Fico ‘in life-threatening condition’ – latest updates Slovakia prime minister Robert Fico shot and injured Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, who was shot and wounded on Wednesday , is a burly and brash political veteran known for his attacks on the media, NGOs and prosecutors. Having enjoyed three previous stints as prime minister, Fico, 59, is well known to voters and observers – and critics, who accuse him of seeking to emulate Viktor Orbán, his friend in neighbouring Hungary, by trying to undermine checks and balances and cement his power while also taking a friendlier stance toward Russia. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/e2jpLCz via IFTTT

Ukrainians pull back to new positions in parts of Kharkiv region; Putin to visit China. What we know on day 812 The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday on his first visit to Ukraine since a major US aid package was passed last month. Blinken, who arrived by train from Poland in an unannounced visit, met with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “Some of it has already arrived and more of it will be arriving,” said Blinken of the US aid. “And that’s going to make a real difference against the ongoing Russian aggression on the battlefield .” Zelenskiy described the US aid as crucial, and thanked Blinken, but also said Ukraine desperately needed two more air defence systems to protect the city of Kharkiv, which has been hit repeatedly by Russian strikes in recent weeks. Blinken joined band 19.99 on stage at Barman Dictat , picking up a red guitar to play Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World . “Your soldiers, your citizens – particularly in the no...

Annie decking Canning was the most satisfying moment of the series. But disaster quickly struck again with a gunshot fired at Grace and Stevie. This could be the end for one of them Has another of our police protagonists taken a fatal bullet? Here’s all the intel on the penultimate episode, Where I Want To Be … Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/dkQg5Db via IFTTT

In this gloriously high-stakes game of pass the parcel, 20 contestants try to win £250,000 by passing around a briefcase full of cash at a Caribbean hotel The Traitors on a beach, anyone? Ever since the BBC’s Claudia Winkleman-in-a-castle contest became a runaway hit, rival broadcasters have been tripping over their hooded cloaks to commission their own version. We’ve had The Traitors in a stratified high-rise (Channel 4’s Rise & Fall), The Traitors go Greek island-hopping (ITVX’s Loaded in Paradise), The Traitors in the Big Brother house (Netflix’s The Trust: A Game of Greed) and The Traitors v James Bond (Prime’s 007: Road to a Million). Now ITV1 has thrown its fingerless gloves in the ring with The Fortune Hotel, pitched as “a hybrid of The Traitors, The White Lotus and Deal Or No Deal”. Sounds like a horrific Frankenstein format, but somehow it works. Of the new wave of post-Traitors copycat programming, this comes the closest yet. It’s a fiendishly addictive affair that migh...

Socialist party PSC looks like the clear winner in Sunday’s vote, although it will fall some way short of achieving a majority Separatist parties are in danger of losing their decade-long hold of power in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region, with the pro-union Socialist party poised to win the most votes in Sunday’s election, according to a near-complete count of the ballots. The four pro-independence parties, led by the Together party of former regional president Carles Puigdemont, were set to get a total of 61 seats, short of the key figure of 68 seats needed for a majority in the chamber. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/rYi3Iy5 via IFTTT

Aurora borealis fills an overnight sky, with rare sightings all over Europe from Whitley Bay to Vienna How can I see the northern lights in the UK tonight? Northern lights dazzle over UK, Europe and across the hemisphere Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/aleOViL via IFTTT

Price claims WBA, IBO and Ring Magazine welterweight titles The 29-year-old beats Jessica McCaskill on points in Cardiff Lauren Price claimed the WBA, IBO and Ring Magazine welterweight world titles with a comprehensive victory over Jessica McCaskill in Cardiff. The fight was called off two seconds into the ninth round, with McCaskill unable to continue because of a swollen eye. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/PoiHtd0 via IFTTT

VAR has continued to be a hot topic in the Premier League throughout the season, leading to the PGMOL coming under increasing pressure while Uefa’s officials have also been criticised for their handling from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/1oUm8lJ via IFTTT

Villages come under heavy fire, prompting evacuations; Ukrainians hit more Russian-controlled oil refineries. What we know on day 808 Russian forces launched an armoured ground attack on Friday near Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv in the north-east, Dan Sabbagh and Andrew Roth report . There were also reports of fighting in the border villages of Strilecha, Pylna and Borysivka farther west , and that Russian forces had advanced by about 1km around the border town of Vovchansk. Volodomyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, said from Kyiv: “Russia launched a new wave of counteroffensive actions in this area. Ukraine met them there with our troops, brigades and artillery ... Now there is a fierce battle under way.” Ukraine’s military said it had deployed more troops and Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were using artillery and drones against the Russian advance. Residents of Vovchansk were evacuated on Friday, Reuters reported from the area. “We are leaving because we are dying from the ‘...

★★★★☆ / ★★★★★ Baltic, Gateshead Two exhibitions – one by a Marxist, lesbian, feminist active in the 80s and the other by a modern working-class artist – reveal the intersectionality of the female experience across space and time The fact that Franki Raffles is so little known is a travesty. The Jewish, Marxist, lesbian, feminist photographer worked for just over a decade, until she died in 1994, aged 39, while giving birth to twin daughters. In that time she trained her lens, with brilliant fervour, on women, portraying them as gritty, resilient agents of change. Raffles’ life, her work, and her death all speak to the sheer scale of sacrifices women make and the labour they endure in trying to hold a fractured society together. A new exhibition devoted to Raffles at the Baltic, Gateshead is the largest institutional survey of her work to date. The curators – Emma Dean and Baltic’s director, Sarah Munro – combed through more than 40,000 negatives and contact sheets in Raffles’ archi...

He finished with a four under par 67, putting him in second place, tied with American Collin Morikawa and Sweden’s Alex Noren. from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/XVxAuRd via IFTTT

Coconut biodiesel offers a cheaper alternative to fuel imports and scientists in the Pacific country are looking at how to use it more widely On Karkar island in Papua New Guinea, hundreds of coconut trees stand tall, stretching far into the distance. Decades ago, the fruit was a lucrative export but over the years it has become less prized on international markets. Now, the small island off the north coast of the country, is putting coconuts to another use. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/FDxBZcX via IFTTT

Accessible screening tool piloted by NHS England includes braille instructions and a better guide for stool sample Thousands of blind or partly sighted people could find it easier to participate in bowel cancer screening from home owing to a new NHS tool aiding accessibility. The standard test used to screen for bowel cancer requires an at-home stool sample in a tube, which is sent off and examined for any possible cancer signs. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/6CavNGK via IFTTT

Force says Right Care Right Person scheme has saved 34,000 officer hours but concerns lead to calls for it to be paused The Metropolitan police have said their refusal to routinely go to mental health calls means officers can spend more time at crime scenes, but charities say the policy could endanger lives. Six months ago the Met introduced a scheme called Right Care Right Person , aiming to cut the time officers spent dealing with mental health calls, which it said was diverting the force from fighting crime. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/OobMgQD via IFTTT

Treasury committee says ‘debanking’ and use of personal guarantees for loans is putting small businesses at risk Unfair banking practices and “damaging” financial regulators are harming small businesses and putting innovation and growth at risk, parliament’s Treasury committee has warned. A report from the committee’s inquiry into access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) said a lack of supportive policies were compounding problems for firms that had survived a “torrid” five years, which included the global pandemic and energy crisis. “Confidence amongst SMEs in accessing finance has fallen and acceptance rates for business credit has lowered significantly,” the report said. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/TuDqCKp via IFTTT

United slumped to an embarrassing loss at Crystal Palace. from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/FkLwjSq via IFTTT

Lower mortgage rates prompt property firm to change its outlook from 3% drop to a 2.5% increase A decline in mortgage rates has prompted a forecaster to reverse its predictions of a fall in UK house prices in 2024, instead suggesting the average cost of a property could rise by £61,500 over the next five years. The property company Savills had forecast in November that it expected the average price of a home to fall by 3% this year because recent rises in the Bank of England base rate had heightened the affordability pressures on would-be buyers. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/t9vqlfk via IFTTT

Governments in Westminster and Edinburgh urged to engage with Petroineos to save Scotland’s sole remaining oil refinery The UK and Scottish governments have been asked to arrange urgent talks to protect the future of Scotland’s only remaining oil refinery at Grangemouth. Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour’s economy spokesperson, has written to PetroChina, part of the joint venture that owns the site, seeking to discuss the future of the complex where oil refining is due to cease next year. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/NuvO5wZ via IFTTT

Singer says her country needs the opportunity to remind Europe of Russia’s invasion Ukraine’s former Eurovision winner Jamala has said her country “cannot afford” to boycott the song contest because it needs the opportunity to remind Europe of Russia’s invasion. There have been calls for artists to refuse to participate over Israel’s inclusion in the music competition while the war in Gaza continues. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/0tYp6hN via IFTTT

Men’s players report physical and mental strain of fixture list Research shows concerns about safety when travelling to games The Professional Cricketers Association has called for a cut in domestic cricket, warning that fixture congestion is compromising performance and could even result in “disaster” on the roads as exhausted players bounce from match to match. Figures released by the union after a country-wide study at the start of the current season show that 81% of men’s players have concerns about the physical strain of the schedule and the heightened risk of injury, while 62% expressed similar worries about the impact on mental health. Two-thirds of PCA members believe there is too much domestic cricket, with the union calling the schedule “unfit for purpose”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/xrMquUJ via IFTTT

A roundup of scary dealings with those masters of suspense, obfuscation and in Scottish Power’s case – sheer invention Periodically, I electrify readers with a drama about energy bills. Before you switch off, let me assure you that utilities companies are masters of suspense. Read on if you dare: Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/OcN7SkC via IFTTT

Running as a ‘pseudo-independent’ in a region in which Labour faced its own hurdles was not enough to keep Tory mayor in office After a nail-biting finale, Andy Street has become the most high-profile victim of tanking Tory support in May’s elections. With the Conservatives shedding seats across the country on Friday, all eyes were on the West Midlands on Saturday to see if he could cling on by sheer will of personality – or “Brand Andy” as he calls it. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/DicINwk via IFTTT

Rob Ford was part of the BBC team analysing the local election results as they poured in over the past 48 hours. Here he tells how a dramatic set of results for the government unfolded The nervous wait for the first result was longer than usual, as counting centres wrestled with multiple ballots for councils, mayors and police and crime commissioners. It was well past midnight on Friday morning when the first ward flashed up, coming as always from Sunderland, which prides itself on its rapid vote counting. A big Tory to Labour swing in Sunderland’s Copt Hill. As we moved into the small hours of the morning, the flow of data rose from a trickle to a torrent, and an overall picture began to form. Voters clearly wanted the Conservatives out. Who they wanted instead was less clear. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/XnyITzM via IFTTT

The former Liverpool and England captain took his first steps into management when he replaced Graeme Murty at Ibrox. from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/9nevL7t via IFTTT

China’s president arrives as EU anti-subsidy investigations and tensions over espionage, Ukraine and Taiwan continue China’s president, Xi Jinping, is to visit Europe next week for the first time in five years, in a tour that will take in the unlikely trifecta of France, Hungary and Serbia. The visit comes as China pushes to avoid a trade war with the EU, while attitudes towards Beijing in the bloc are hardening after multiple spying scandals and China’s ongoing support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/YtHpdTh via IFTTT

What we find in Acts eight is that there is a contrast between false power and the true, Jesus-centered power that is rooted in humility and love. from Christianity.com https://ift.tt/kXSalPh

A 13-year-old child and two women were struck by debris from downed drones; Lithuania rejects Russian claims of sabotage. What we know on day 801 See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/pABbKET via IFTTT

Hungerford, Berkshire: Behind all the top hats and ales, Hocktide is more than just a re-enactment of local folklore The knobbly pollarded street trees along Hungerford’s broad rural high street are maypoled with ribbons. It’s quietish, as usual. But at intervals, a small crowd in top hats, carrying oranges, baskets and beribboned poles of yellow and blue flowers, emerges from each house and enters another in turn. The pebbledashed frontage of two cottages conceals the two halves of a medieval cruck house, its pre-chimney beams smoke-blackened: a house that’s witnessed this ceremony each of its 575 years. Each neighbour retains grazing rights on the town’s common, due to the historical tenacity of the people here. This colourful spring pageant – coinciding with the first swift over the rooftops – is Tutti Day, the near-culmination of a fortnight’s Hocktide ceremonies, a celebration and a reaffirmation of the townspeople’s common rights. Continue reading... from The Guardian https...

A new $47m vessel is preparing for its maiden voyage in coastal waters, but there are fears the Kangei Maru could one day mean a return to hunting in the Southern Ocean The dish of the day has the appearance and consistency of steak. But the item on the menu at Nisshin Maru in Shimonoseki isn’t brisket or rib-eye – it is a prime cut of the restaurant’s speciality: whale meat . Every few minutes, chefs in the open kitchen produce another plate of cetacean delicacies – raw sashimi marbled with fat, slices of “bacon”, roast minke whale cut into bite-size pieces and served with a selection of dipping sauces. On a warm weeknight, every table is full. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/EPYcoCB via IFTTT

Bite Back, a Jamie Oliver campaign group, found the 10 biggest producers reel in young shoppers with attention-grabbing colours and cartoons Food companies are using bright colours and cartoon characters in an “unethical” effort to manipulate children into wanting the sweets and crisps they make, a report has claimed. Bite Back, a campaign group that is part of the chef Jamie Oliver’s empire, asked nutrition experts to analyse 262 sweet food products sold in the UK with packaging likely to appeal to children made by the 10 biggest food companies. 78% of products were deemed unhealthy because of their fat, salt or sugar content. 67% of those featuring a character were unhealthy. 80% of products used bright colours as well as fun patterns and lettering to attract children’s attention. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/CeZboOU via IFTTT