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Showing posts from September, 2024

Billy Searle pulls the strings as Leicester prove too strong for Saracens

Leicester 36-28 Saracens Tigers close gap on top four The temperature was zero at kick-off but when the pluses and minuses were totted up, Leicester were comfortably in credit and Saracens were out in the cold. A clinical and cohesive performance by Geoff Parling’s side has them looking upwards, contemplating the playoffs, while the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, must reflect on his team’s inconsistency. As the regular season reaches halfway this was a highly significant mid-table encounter: Leicester in fifth, and sixth-placed Saracens still have ground to make up on the top four, but the home side narrowed the gap with an accomplished win. There were plenty of illustrious names on the teamsheet but it was Billy Searle, the Leicester fly-half, whose headline-grabbing performance won him player of the match. At 29, Searle has already played for five different professional clubs in England and three in France. On this sparkling form you wonder why any of them let him ...
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UK shop prices fall at fastest rate since 2021 despite rising fresh food inflation

Overall shop price deflation was 0.6% in September compared with 0.3% in August, says trade body Prices in UK shops are falling at the fastest rate since 2021 despite an increase in fresh food inflation as wet weather hit UK production while the cost of olive oil and sugary snacks continues to be affected by the climate crisis. Overall shop price deflation was 0.6% in September compared with 0.3% in August, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/wJu6EUt via IFTTT
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Impact of Hezbollah assassinations may take months to emerge

Targeting of group’s leaders has failed to win Israel significant strategic advantage in past, let alone deal fatal blow Middle East crisis – latest news updates In 1992, Israeli media celebrated an assassination. The man killed then was Abbas al-Musawi, the secretary general of Hezbollah, whose convoy was struck by Israeli helicopters. Then, as now, Israeli analysts speculated that Musawi’s death might possibly portend the end of Hezbollah, which had been founded 10 years before after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ZvgGzoC via IFTTT
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Number of UK estate agents going bust rises almost a third in one year

Higher interest rates puts further pressure on property market, with overall transactions at lowest level in a decade The number of UK estate agents declaring insolvency has jumped by almost a third with nearly 300 businesses going bust in the last year. The figures underline the gloom around Britain’s property market, with the fewest home sales recorded for more than a decade hitting estate agent income. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/KHpl9Qh via IFTTT
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UK business confidence dips to lowest level since general election

Research concludes Labour warnings of tough budget may have sapped optimism about the economy UK business confidence has dropped to its lowest level since the general election, as firms grow more pessimistic about the economic outlook. Amid fears that the Labour government’s warnings of a tough budget in October have hurt the economy, the latest Lloyds Bank Business Barometer has found that business optimism weakened this month to its lowest level since June. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/63QRUvl via IFTTT
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Heated eyeballs, inflatable body armour and ‘simultaneous pleasure and torment’: is this the future of relaxation?

Lifestyle editor Alyx Gorman road-tests a new wave of personal massage devices. But do experts think they live up to their hype? Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email “Please close your eyes, relax and enjoy,” I am instructed in a robotic American accent just before the loud mechanical whirrings commence. Next to me in bed, not for the first time, my husband complains it sounds awful. I feel bad for him, but not too bad. I am too busy closing my eyes, relaxing and enjoying “air pressure plus heat” rolling and pulsating over my orbital bones. For the next 15 minutes I am subjected to simultaneous sensations of pleasure and torment: industrial fan sounds right against my ears, waves of heat and pressure right across my eyes. I melt into my pillow as the goggles hit my sore spot, pinching my left brow right where it wrinkles due to mild astigmatism. For the past few weeks, I have been doing this every night before sleep. But I am beginning to worry that my new toy, a Renpho ey...
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Jofra Archer back up to speed for England before decisive Australia ODI

The bowler produced his fastest spell in five years, helping send the one-day series to its finale in Bristol at 2-2 After England’s barnstorming series-leveller against Australia at Lord’s, it is time for the two teams to invoke the spirit of the Pet Shop Boys – or the Village People, for those of a certain vintage – and go west. The only problem for Sunday’s tantalising decider in Bristol is an afternoon forecast that is more Wet Wet Wet. At the Metro Bank One-Day Cup final officials invoked common sense for its reserve day on Monday and scheduled a 20-over match before the expected rain. The regulations may prove more rigid for an international match, however, raising the prospect of a 2-2 draw between these two countries for the second summer in a row. It’s not the Ashes, but it would still be a bit of an anticlimax. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/brzgIXT via IFTTT
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Japan’s humble onigiri takes over lunchtimes around the world

For decades nori-wrapped rice dish was mainly a snack eaten at home or in a bento, but now it has come into its own It is barely 10am and the queue outside Onigiri Bongo already stretches around the block. Some of the 30 or so early-bird diners sit on stools, sipping green tea and poring over laminated menus. Further back it is standing-room only. “It’s always like this,” says Yumiko Ukon, who has run this modest rice ball shop and restaurant in the Otsuka neighbourhood of Tokyo for almost half a century. “But we never run out of rice,” she adds, seated in her office near a wall clock in the shape of a rice ball with a bite taken out. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/iCyWtaY via IFTTT
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Trump vows to seek criminal charges against Google if re-elected president

Ex-president complains search results unfairly favor Kamala Harris and display negative stories about him Donald Trump threatened on Friday to direct the justice department to pursue criminal charges against Google if he is elected president, claiming the company was unfairly displaying negative news articles about him but not his 2024 election opponent Kamala Harris. The complaint – the latest threat on the campaign trail from Trump to wield the power of the presidency in response to enemies real or perceived – came in an abrupt post on Truth Social. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3IpZ1n4 via IFTTT
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Hurricane Helene: dozens dead as storm pummels south-eastern US

Residents in several states suffer power outages and heavy flooding as officials warn of ‘very dangerous environment’ Hurricane Helene – live updates Helene left a dizzying path of destruction as it raged across the south-east United States on Friday, killing at least 40 people across four states, causing dangerous flooding and leaving millions without power. The storm – which registered maximum sustained winds of 140mph – crashed ashore late on Thursday in north-western Florida as a potent category 4 hurricane. It weakened to a tropical storm and then to a depression as it moved across Georgia as well as the Carolinas on Friday afternoon, when residents whose communities experienced Helene’s peak effects more directly were only just beginning to fathom the recovery process ahead. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/L1GtZ7C via IFTTT
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Never Let Me Go review – fresh life found in Kazuo Ishiguro’s school dystopia

Rose theatre, Kingston Nell Barlow is heartbreaking as the doomed heroine of the alt-reality boarding-school tale, expertly adapted by Suzanne Heathcote Any dramatic adaptation of a well-known story has an inherent problem with tension. How can a script hold those who already know the outcome? On the first night of this stage version of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go – the Nobel prize-winning author watching warmly from the stalls – you could sense the apprehensive fascination of first-timers. Why are teenager Kathy H and friends at a rural boarding school where the students are encouraged to be as healthy as possible while paradoxically knowing that most graduates die in hospital in their 20s? What are the meanings – in this alt-reality version of late 20th-century Britain – of the euphemisms “carer”, “possible” and “completion”? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Khox4rs via IFTTT
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Mona’s Ladies Lounge wins appeal in bid to continue barring men from entry

Tasmania’s supreme court handed down its decision in the discrimination case on Friday, sending it back to the tribunal Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) has won an appeal in the state’s supreme court, in a bid to continue barring men from entering an installation known as the Ladies Lounge. The installation was closed in April after Tasmania’s civil and administrative tribunal ordered the museum to start admitting men to the female-only space , upholding a Sydney’s man’s complaint that the museum had discriminated against him on the basis of gender . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/yUnea1z via IFTTT
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Ukraine war briefing: Trump to meet Zelenskyy, and refuses to say if Ukraine should cede territory to Russia

Former president to meet Ukrainian president at Trump Tower on Friday amid fierce criticism of his campaign’s plans to end Russia’s invasion. What we know on day 947 See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage In an apparent U-turn late on Thursday, Donald Trump told reporters that he would meet Zelenskyy at Trump Tower in New York on Friday morning. The move comes after Kamala Harris described the Trump campaign’s policy on ending Russia’s war as “proposals of surrender” . “These proposals are the same as those of Putin, and let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace,” she said. “Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.” Trump rejected Harris’ criticisms and insisted that he only wants to stop the “horror show that’s gone on”. When asked if Ukraine should give up territory, Trump was non-committal, saying: “ Let’s get some peace … We need peace. We need to stop the death and destruction.” His running mate, JD Vance, had earlier suggested...
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I loved pygmy hippos long before the world fell for Moo Deng | Natasha May

They’ve been my favourite since doing work experience at Sydney’s Taronga zoo. I hope the viral moment sweeping the globe turns into an enduring devotion like mine Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Anyone who knows me well knows I love pygmy hippos. Up until a few weeks ago, it was somewhat of a novelty answer when the question of my favourite animal came up. That is, until the rest of the world woke up to the unique cuteness of the luminescent blubber, the tiny cylindrical ears poking out perpendicular to the head, the great orb-like black eyes and the pink underbelly, since videos of Moo Deng went viral . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/u7aGQJ0 via IFTTT
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He’s 130, with three eyes and two girlfriends: meet New Zealand’s beloved tuatara Henry

The unique reptile endemic to New Zealand is the sole survivor of an ancient species that once walked the earth with dinosaurs About 130 years ago – as New Zealand women celebrated their world-first right to vote, athletes competed in the first international Olympic Games, and the first motion pictures were flickering into view – a tiny mottled green reptile with a spiny back was hatching on a small New Zealand island. The baby tuatara – a unique and rare reptile endemic to New Zealand – emerged from his burrow into the forest floor, where he miraculously evaded birds, rats and cannibalistic adult tuatara to reach his full adult size – nearly one kilo in weight and half a metre in length – by the time he was 35. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/XaUErJf via IFTTT
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A path towards freedom: the new route to Europe for desperate Chinese migrants

Revealed: a small but growing number of Chinese people are travelling to the Balkans with the hope of getting into the EU In a sleepy Bosnian town, barely five miles from the border with the European Union, a crumbling old water tower is falling into ruin. Inside, piles of rubbish, used cigarette butts and a portable wood-fired stove offer glimpses into the daily life of the people who briefly called the building home. Glued on to the walls is another clue: on pieces of A4 paper, the same message is printed out, again and again: “If you would like to travel to Europe (Italy, Germany, France, etc) we can help you. Please add this number on WhatsApp”. The message is printed in the languages of often desperate people: Somali, Nepali, Turkish, the list goes on. The last translation on the list indicates a newcomer to this unlucky club. It is written in Chinese. Bihać water tower was once used to replenish steam trains travelling across the former Yugoslavia. Now it provides shelter to a ...
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Coriolanus review – David Oyelowo keeps you waiting and Es Devlin’s design is to die for

Olivier theatre, London The drama is underpowered until the end but what Lyndsey Turner’s production lacks in feeling it makes up in style Placard-holding protesters bomb an elegant stage with museum-grade artefacts displayed on plinths. They could be anti-war marchers weaving around city monuments, an underclass demonstrating against government austerity, or a rioting mob stirred up by rabble-rousing populists. Under the direction of Lyndsey Turner, this evocation of Rome, divided by wealth, heritage and war, bears immediate resonances with the present, with its gulf between the angry masses and the city’s impervious elite class. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/GcknfYb via IFTTT
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Low-lying Pacific islands pin hopes on UN meeting as sea rise threatens survival

UN general assembly to hold special session this week as experts say rises already locked in by climate change mean disappearance of many atolls The Pacific country of Kiribati might be surrounded by water, but on land its population is running dry. The ocean around them is steadily encroaching, contaminating underground wells and leeching salt into the soil. “Our waters have been infected,” climate activist and law student Christine Tekanene says. “Those who are affected, they now can’t survive with the water that changed after sea level rise.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/aQ21u9b via IFTTT
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The murder trial that captivated New Zealand

Philip Polkinghorne found not guilty of killing his wife in a case that has attracted huge interest amid claims of drug use and infidelity A successful eye surgeon accused of having a habit for methamphetamine and sex-workers. His wife, found dead at their home in an affluent Auckland suburb. For eight weeks, the trial captivated New Zealand. On Monday, the jury found 71-year-old ophthalmologist Philip Polkinghorne not guilty, bringing an end to a case that gripped the country, filling newspapers and TV bulletins for months. Lifeline Aotearoa can be reached in New Zealand on 0800 543 354 . In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org , or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie . In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found...
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Silk Roads review – mesmerising show turns world history upside down

British Museum, London Following China’s epic ancient trade routes through fabulous oases, desert palaces and burial mounds will radically change the way you feel about borders Not many exhibitions turn the history of the world upside down. The British Museum’s mesmerising Silk Roads does, by showing how Asia, Europe and north Africa shared their cultures more than a millennium ago. Far from developing in isolation, let alone in a “clash of civilisations”, east and west were once mutually connected by epic trade routes known as the Silk Roads that carried China’s precious discovery, silk, across the then-known world. If that sounds dry, the British Museum turns it into a fairytale of magic and beauty, as you follow the merchants’ routes to fabulous oases, desert palaces, synagogues, mosques and burial mounds. You reach the first oasis by clay camel, to be precise a two-humped Bactrian camel of painted ceramic, nearly a metre tall, rearing its head in a bellow you can almost hear. Th...
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People must understand: we in Malawi are paying for the climate crisis with our lives | Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda

From flooding to drought, extreme weather is devastating our communities. It is time for the world’s heaviest emitters to help mitigate the impacts of climatic breakdown on the countries most affected Millions of people in my country, Malawi, face unprecedented existential crises driven by climate breakdown. The frequency of extreme weather events and the massive impact they have on communities have left government officials like me with a huge dilemma of how to act fast enough to save lives. In the past three years, we have gone from facing the worst flooding in recent times to the most severe drought in a decade. The impact has been devastating to communities across the country. When Cyclone Freddy hit us in March 2023 , it killed more than 600 people . The cyclone injured many more, tore families apart, destroyed livelihoods, and the long-term effects from diseases were even worse. A little over a year later, we were in the middle of a raging drought , which the president, Lazarus...
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Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy arrives in US on crucial visit to rally support for Kyiv

Ukrainian president to present ‘victory plan’ to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and attend UN general assembly sessions. What we know on day 943 Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the US on Sunday for a crucial visit to present Kyiv’s plan to end two-and-a-half years of war with Russia . The Ukrainian president will present his proposals – which he calls a “victory plan” – to President Joe Biden, as well as presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and will also attend sessions at the UN general assembly. The visit comes after a summer of intense fighting, with Moscow advancing fast in eastern Ukraine and Kyiv holding on to swathes of Russia’s Kursk region. It also comes as Kyiv has for weeks pressed the west to allow it to use delivered long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia – so far to no avail. The Ukrainian president urged his partners to help achieve “a shared victory for a truly just peace”, in a post on X with his nightly video address. “Th...
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Met police chief hails race action plan as ‘a step in the right direction’

Mark Rowley launches initiative that includes reset of stop and search, but acknowledges ‘there is still a lot to do’ Scotland Yard has launched its latest steps to try to rebuild trust with London’s black community, which the Met police commissioner acknowledged had been let down for many years. Mark Rowley said “there remains a long way to go and there is a lot more work to do”, but that the force’s race action plan was a step in the right direction. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5FNShUZ via IFTTT
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Argentina stun South Africa to keep Rugby Championship hopes alive

Argentina shock world champions South Africa in 29-28 win Los Pumas closing in on unlikely first Rugby Championship title Flyhalf Tomas Albornoz kicked a penalty 11 minutes from the end to hand Argentina a thrilling 29-28 victory over South Africa and keep their hopes of winning the Rugby Championship alive in a blisteringly hot Santiago del Estero on Saturday. The world champion Springboks, who had the chance to win the game with a late penalty from flyhalf Manie Libbok that was missed, lead the table with 19 points from second-placed Argentina on 14 points ahead of a final meeting between the sides in Nelspruit next Saturday where the title will be decided. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/QUH4Apy via IFTTT
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Jasper, garnet, sometimes sapphires: pocketfuls of treasure at Gemstone Beach

At Orepuki, on the remote south coast of New Zealand’s South Island, a bed of riches colour the shoreline, bringing gem hunters from near and far Jack Geerlings crouches down at the shoreline to sift through a bed of stones. He picks up a small rough rock and turns it over in his hands. “This one is too coarse,” he says and flicks it back to the pile. Geerlings is after something a little more interesting. Slowly, he walks along the vast sweep of beach, his gaze rarely lifting from the ground. “The sunlight helps to reveal the stones,” he says, bending to pick up and inspect rocks one by one. A little further on, he turns over a small red-brown stone, the colour and texture of a chestnut. “This one could be jasper,” he says, with more enthusiasm. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/htbTw7L via IFTTT
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Labour’s tax red lines have left Reeves with ‘one hand tied’ for budget, says IFS

Ruling out of rises to four main taxes could lead chancellor to make ‘economically damaging’ decisions, says thinktank Rachel Reeves has “one hand tied behind her back” as she considers how to balance the books next month in her first budget, a leading economic thinktank has said, after she ruled out increases to the four main taxes that account for 75% of all revenues. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said Labour had promised not to raise income tax , national insurance, VAT or corporation tax before the budget, heightening speculation that Reeves will seek to increase revenues from rises in capital gains tax, inheritance tax and stamp duty on property sales. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/RsoqCxL via IFTTT
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South Carolina executes first man in 13 years despite new evidence of innocence

Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah, 46, killed by lethal injection days after state’s key witness recanted his testimony South Carolina executed a man on death row on Friday, days after the key witness for the prosecution came forward to say he lied at trial and the state was putting to death an innocent man. Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah , 46, was killed by lethal injection , pronounced dead at 6.55pm, according to the Associated Press, which was one of several media witnesses to the execution. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/D1pMjyK via IFTTT
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‘The hardship is still there’: Sri Lanka prepares to vote as hopes of revolution falter

Saturday’s election will be the first since a people’s movement toppled the president. But other problems have proved harder to shift Just over two years ago, a mood of both crisis and optimism gripped Sri Lanka. Across the Indian Ocean island, the population of 23 million people was enduring hunger, medical shortages and unemployment as part of the worst economic disaster in its history. Yet there was also a ripple of hope. A youth-led movement known as the aragalaya (struggle) had successfully toppled the authoritarian president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his powerful family dynasty, who were accused of bankrupting the country through corrupt deals and policies. Protesters overran Rajapaksa’s presidential mansion, lying on his bed, swimming in his pool and working out in his gym. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/4yArKvp via IFTTT
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Waiting for Godot review – Beckett’s classic tragicomedy is more comedic than tragic

Theatre Royal Haymarket, London James Macdonald’s production sacrifices tension for slapstick but ultimately delivers pathos Samuel Beckett’s 1953 tragicomedy about two woe-begotten men waiting by a willow tree for a mysterious figure to appear tips a delicate balance between the absurd and desolate, the funny and dreadful. In James Macdonald’s production, the drama between Estragon (Lucian Msamati) and Vladimir (Ben Whishaw), who are yoked together in unspoken bondage as they wait for Godot, seems greater parts comedy than tragedy. At Theatre Royal Haymarket until 14 December Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/WOdtHNI via IFTTT
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UK urged to promote speaking of Irish and Ulster Scots in Northern Ireland

Council of Europe also calls for more support for Cornish, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Manx Gaelic The UK is being urged by Europe’s leading human rights organisation to push ahead with strategies to promote the use of Irish and Ulster Scots languages in Northern Ireland despite continued tensions over the issue. The Council of Europe experts also want to see the strengthening of teaching of all minority languages in the UK including Cornish, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Manx Gaelic in the Isle of Man. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vSTiuz7 via IFTTT
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US House fails to pass federal funding bill as shutdown deadline nears

Contentious package championed by Mike Johnson voted down 202-220 with potential stoppage looming 1 October A government funding package championed by Republican House speaker Mike Johnson failed to pass on Wednesday, with less than two weeks left to prevent a shutdown starting 1 October. The final vote was 202 to 220, with 14 House Republicans and all but three House Democrats opposing the bill. Two Republican members voted “present”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/clwAGFI via IFTTT
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Create ‘universal library card’ to democratise the arts, says UK thinktank

Fabian Society also wants a ‘culture pass’ for children to help break the ‘class ceiling’ in the sector Everyone in Britain should be issued with a “universal library card” and children should spend 10% of their school time on arts activities, according to a new report. The Fabian Society’s Arts For Us All calls for Keir Starmer’s government to remove the “class ceiling” by democratising access to the arts in schools and ensure culture is a prominent feature of its “ decade of economic renewal ”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/9IqcPLY via IFTTT
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‘Utter disillusionment’: Kashmir sees first election since 2014 as chance to reject Modi

Unusually high turnout expected in what is also first vote since Indian PM stripped region of statehood five years ago For the first time in almost 40 years, Bashir Ahmad Thokar, a 75-year-old apple farmer, cannot wait to cast his vote. In the Himalayan valleys and mountains of the Indian region of Kashmir, elections have long been deemed a tainted affair, marred by rigging, boycotts and violence. But as Kashmiris go to the polls on Wednesday to vote for their first regional assembly in a decade, this time there has been a palpable buzz. “This is the first time since 1987 that the people of Kashmir are excited about the elections,” says Thokar. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/w0Cb4Fp via IFTTT
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Who will Japan’s next PM be? A policy wonk, ultra-conservative or surfer making the climate fight ‘sexy’

Polls show Shigeru Ishiba, Shinji Koizumi and Sanae Takaichi are best placed to replace PM Fumio Kishida later this month With just 10 days to go before Japan ’s governing party elects a new leader – who will automatically become prime minister – the contest is still too close to call. Among the frontrunners are Shigeru Ishiba, a model aircraft enthusiast and security policy wonk about to embark on his “final battle”, and Shinjiro Koizumi, the youthful, photogenic son of a former prime minister who once insisted the fight against climate change could be “sexy” and “fun”. The race has been complicated by a new poll in which ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) supporters named Sanae Takaichi, the ultra-conservative economic security minister, as their preferred choice. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/EnYy1IC via IFTTT
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Ex-NatWest CEO who left after Nigel Farage row to advise law firm

Alison Rose appointed as diversity and inclusion adviser at leading firm Mishcon de Reya Alison Rose, the former chief executive of NatWest, has taken a job as an adviser to one of the UK’s top law firms as she tries to return to the City after a career-damaging row with Nigel Farage last year. Rose is joining Mishcon de Reya as a diversity and inclusion adviser, a role that will involve mentoring some of the firm’s partners. She will also work closely with the equity, diversity and inclusion committee at the firm, which is known for having represented Diana, Princess of Wales during her divorce. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/h6BsSPu via IFTTT
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Israel and Gaza: Into the Abyss review – an indelibly traumatic viewing experience

Would a fully honest portrayal of what has happened in Gaza this year be unbroadcastable? This film is full of unforgettably harrowing moments – but still, so much more should have been said Making a documentary about Gaza for British television must be a daunting task. It was ever thus – any contentious assertion will be met with unusually fierce criticism – but now film-makers have to contend not only with the sheer size of the current crisis, but the fact that it has already played out in real time via social media, in a way that previous flashpoints have not. It may well be that a fully honest portrayal of what has happened in Gaza in the past year would be deemed unbroadcastable, but if you fall short, informed viewers will know. Into the Abyss, a new feature-length documentary by Robin Barnwell, suffers from the same fundamental problem as the BBC’s The Darkest Days, shown in April. It does a fine job of conveying the scale of the horror and terror inflicted on Israel on 7 Octo...
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Miles Hammond hits classy fifty as Gloucestershire cruise to first Blast title

Final: Gloucs, 129-2, beat Somerset, 124, by eight wickets David Payne’s 3-27 helps dismantle holders Somerset When Ollie Price smashed a six down the ground, it was done. Gloucestershire, the least fancied side heading into finals day, had their hands on a first T20 Blast Trophy – announcing themselves champions in emphatic style. Throughout the day, they produced a tour de force of T20 cricket. Cameron Bancroft and Miles Hammond batted superbly to reduce Somerset’s bowlers to cannon fodder. But the foundations were laid by Gloucestershire’s bowlers. Twice, they restricted their opponents to sub-par totals. On both occasions, the chases felt mere formalities. It shouldn’t have been this easy: having waited nine years for fresh silverware, Gloucestershire added to their cabinet without breaking a sweat. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/dv0lTmb via IFTTT
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‘We can’t even buy our own land’: the Tongan women pushing for change

Women are only permitted to lease land in the Pacific country as advocacy groups call for reform to the system Ofa Ki Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki was attending a workshop on gender issues in Tonga many years ago when she came to a striking realisation: “If my father dies everything in our house, from the land to belongings, will automatically transfer to my brother.” The 49-year-old went straight to her dad and said “if you die, I will inherit nothing. He looked at me with nothing to say, and I told him that it was really unfair.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/YcP8twl via IFTTT
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Joe Biden dismisses Russian threats during meeting with Keir Starmer

US and UK leaders’ talks dominated by row with Russia over use of Storm Shadow missiles Joe Biden dismissed sabre-rattling threats made by Vladimir Putin as the US president met with the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, at the White House on Friday. Biden said he did not accept that Ukraine using western-made Storm Shadow missiles to bomb targets in Russia would amount to Nato going to war with Moscow. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/j4sASuf via IFTTT
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Myanmar journalists facing ‘terror campaign’ in deadliest year for media since coup

In 2024 four journalists have been killed, with others jailed, as they report on human rights abuses by the military junta The year 2024 is already the deadliest since the coup for media operating in Myanmar, with three deaths recorded last month alone as the junta is accused of imposing a “terror campaign” on the press. Htet Myat Thu, 28, and Win Htut Oo, 26, both freelance journalists, were shot dead during a raid on their home by the military junta on 21 August in the southern Mon state. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/4aZLlnP via IFTTT
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Portrait of Winston Churchill stolen from Canada hotel discovered in Italy

Suspect has been arrested and charged while ‘Roaring Lion’ photograph is to return to lobby of Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in coming weeks An art theft that gripped Canadians has been solved: a famed portrait of a scowling Winston Churchill that was stolen from an Ottawa hotel has been found in Italy and the thief nabbed, police have said. The “Roaring Lion” picture of the late British prime minister had been given to the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa by the late Armenian-born Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ZAMCSt0 via IFTTT
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Alberto Fujimori, authoritarian former president of Peru, dies aged 86

Ex-leader was jailed in 2009 for corruption and human rights abuses but granted a humanitarian pardon last year Alberto Fujimori, Peru’s former strongman leader throughout the 1990s and the country’s most divisive leader, has died aged 86, just 10 months after he was granted a pardon and freed from jail. The ex-president died at the home of his daughter and political heiress Keiko Fujimori in the Peruvian capital Lima on Wednesday evening. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/rITpQkA via IFTTT
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English Heritage asks public for help to recover London’s ‘lost’ plaques

War damage, demolition and refurbishment blamed for disappearing roundels now themselves part of history The very first commemorative blue plaque was awarded in 1867, in honour of the poet Lord Byron at his house and birthplace in Holles Street, near Cavendish Square in London. But the plaque – the first in a long, prestigious tradition of recognising some of the most influential figures in history – was lost when the house was demolished in 1889. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/JIBtPSQ via IFTTT
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Reeves announces £8bn UK investment by Amazon’s cloud computing arm

Chancellor says move will create as many as 14,000 jobs at firm’s datacentres and in a range of other industries Amazon’s cloud computing arm will invest £8bn in the UK to build datacentres that support customers in London and the west of England, Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday. The chancellor said the investment, which it was estimated would create as many as 14,000 jobs at Amazon and in local businesses, was part of the government’s “long-term mission to boost growth, unlock investment and make every part of Britain better off”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32d7FeJ via IFTTT
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Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers review – a riveting rollercoaster ride from Arles to the stars

Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers, National Gallery, London This daring, dazzling exhibition gives us a thrilling sense of the artist’s transfiguring genius, showing how he remade the world around him with beauty, hope and searing colour Neither The Poet nor The Lover , whose portraits open the this heart-stopping Van Gogh exhibition, were quite what they seem. The Lover’s eyes gazes dreamily from a face of blue-green tints, wearing a red cap flaming against an emerald sky, in which a gold moon and star twinkle. In reality, he was an army officer called Paul-Eugène Milliet, whose affairs were less ethereal than the painting suggests. “He has all the Arles women he wants,” wrote Van Gogh enviously. The Poet’s face, meanwhile, is anxious and gaunt, its ugliness badly hidden by a thin beard, as the night around him bursts into starshine. He was a Belgian painter called Eugène Boch whose work Van Gogh thought so-so. But beggars can’t be choosers. They were among the few friends Van Gogh had in...
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UK debt must be steered off unsustainable course, warns Lords committee

Peers said they were raising a ‘big red flag’ and tough choices will be needed The pressing risk of the national debt becoming unsustainable will force Britain into the unenviable choice of paying higher taxes or the state doing less, a House of Lords committee has warned. A report by peers said tough decisions and a new set of rules for the public finances were needed in order to put debt – currently just under 100% of annual national income – on a decisive downward path. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/qpo2iIH via IFTTT
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Oasis and Ticketmaster urged to refund fans after ‘dynamic pricing’ debacle

Which? asks both to ‘do the right thing’ by refunding difference between face value of tickets and final inflated price Oasis and Ticketmaster should refund fans who ended up paying hundreds of pounds more than the face value of tickets after so-called “dynamic pricing” was used to inflate prices, the consumer group Which? has said. Which? called on the band and the ticketing company to “do the right thing” and refund the difference between the face value of the tickets and the heavily inflated price many ended up having to pay. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/phSoyuk via IFTTT
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A family affair: can Asia break free from the power of its political dynasties?

Anger is rising at Indonesia’s new administration – while Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Laos and Brunei are all led by the children of former leaders In early August, against a backdrop of deadly student-led protests, Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned her position, bringing to a close a political dynasty that stretched back to the country’s founding. This week, students took to the streets on the other side of Asia, to protest against amended election laws that have helped foster the establishment of a new dynasty. In a few weeks Prabowo Subianto will be sworn in as Indonesia’s president – and with him his vice-president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 36-year-old son of current leader Joko Widodo. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/RBFG3QS via IFTTT
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Aryna Sabalenka holds off Jessica Pegula fightback to win US Open

Belarussian keeps composure to beat American 7-5, 7-5 World No 2 has won two grand slam titles this year As Aryna Sabalenka has cemented herself at the top of her sport over the past two seasons, in so many of the biggest grand slam matches her greatest opponent has been herself. Even when she has come in radiating with confidence, her game in full bloom, her head so often gets in the way. Recovering from so many painful collapses has required resilience beyond measure. Nowhere have these struggles been more evident than in New York, a city that perfectly suits her electrifying game and outsized personality but where the positives from her two semi-finals and a final in the past three years had been blunted by brutal losses. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ElePH0z via IFTTT
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‘Weather magic’ and wind lore: the push to preserve ancient knowledge in Vanuatu

‘Talking dictionaries’ among the tools used by researchers to document languages and record Indigenous environmental knowledge Joe Natuman watches for falling leaves and new shoots on trees as a sign it’s time to garden. Then, when a southern wind begins to blow in his small village in Vanuatu’s Tafea province, he is the first to plant yams. Soon, others will follow his lead. Like his forefathers, Natuman is a tupunus, meaning he was born into a lineage that is trained to develop an understanding of how natural forces impact agriculture and wellbeing. As a tupunus, Natuman is respected for his knowledge and ability to identify and use hundreds of plant species and special inherited stones to practise “ weather magic ”. He also senses winds and uses weather to help his community. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/gLR23KX via IFTTT
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‘I couldn’t say no’: anger grows over topless medical exams in Japan schools

Parents and campaigners have called on education and health authorities to end the practice of requiring children to strip off for school health checks “My chest was completely exposed and I felt embarrassed,” writes a Japanese girl after undergoing an annual health checkup at her middle school. Another says: “Before the exam our teacher told us we would have to lift up our tops and bra … I didn’t want to do it but I couldn’t say no.” The testimony from two 13-year-olds, seen by the Guardian, is typical of the discomfort – and in some cases trauma – felt by children attending schools in Japan that can require boys and girls as young as five – and as old as 18 – to strip to the waist during health examinations. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/QsM2PJD via IFTTT
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Cigarette-style warning labels should be on everyday food, say campaigners

Health charities call for taxes on salty products and bans on junk food sponsorship of sport to help cut deaths from heart disease Hard-hitting cigarette-style warning labels should be put on everyday foodstuffs, new taxes imposed on salty products and junk food sponsorship of sport banned to cut rising deaths from heart disease, health campaigners have said. These “bold” measures should be imposed as part of a determined drive to reduce the number of people dying prematurely from heart attacks and strokes, they said. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5lzAhuI via IFTTT
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‘A 100-year vision’: Skiddaw’s barren peak to spring to life in ambitious rewilding

More than 1,200 hectares of Cumbrian forest will be transformed into England’s highest nature reserve Skiddaw has long stood proud in the northern Lake District, a distinctive, treeless peak that is England’s sixth highest mountain. But now the fell’s barren heights will spring back to life after its purchase for rewilding by Cumbria Wildlife Trust . More than 1,200 hectares of Skiddaw Forest, once a royal hunting ground, will become England’s highest nature reserve and the UK’s biggest project to restore Atlantic rainforest, after the site came up for sale for £6.25m. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lEK9prI via IFTTT
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Hamas leaders charged by US over deadly 7 October attacks on Israel

Yahya Sinwar and at least five others accused by US justice department of planning and orchestrating the deadly attacks in which 1,200 people were killed See all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war The United States has announced criminal charges against Hamas’ top leaders over their roles in planning, supporting and perpetrating the 7 October attack in southern Israel. The charges against Yahya Sinwar, the militant group’s chief , and at least five others accuse them of orchestrating the attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vlqkL9X via IFTTT
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‘A myopic policy’: India’s backing of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina leaves it in a bind

New Delhi was seen as former PM’s greatest ally. Now it must reckon with a new government that wants accountability for her regime’s actions It was earlier this month, as protests swept Bangladesh and bodies lay on the streets, that prime minister Sheikh Hasina hastily boarded a helicopter. She was unaccompanied by any political aides and did not tell any of her senior ministers she was leaving. In a matter of hours, she touched down in neighbouring India, where she has been ever since. The protests that led to Hasina’s downfall had quickly escalated from student demonstrations on campuses to a nationwide mass revolution, with hundreds of thousands calling for her removal and the return of democracy. Hasina’s government responded with an onslaught of violence and bullets, leaving hundreds dead and thousands injured. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/AzpytGr via IFTTT
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Tiger mauls animal handler at Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast

Queensland ambulance service says woman suffered ‘arm injuries’ before being taken to hospital Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A tiger handler has been mauled by a big cat in her charge at a Gold Coast theme park, with emergency services saying she is in hospital with injuries to her arm. A Queensland ambulance service (QAS) spokesperson said paramedics transported a woman from Dreamworld to the Gold Coast University hospital with “multiple lacerations to the arm” after “an incident involving a tiger” at about 9am Monday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ak8Awnz via IFTTT
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How China’s internet police went from targeting bloggers to their followers

In recent months, followers of influential liberal bloggers have been interviewed by police as China widens its net of online surveillance Late last year, Duan*, a university student in China, used a virtual private network to jump over China’s great firewall of internet censorship and download social media platform Discord. Overnight he entered a community in which thousands of members with diverse views debated political ideas and staged mock elections. People could join the chat to discuss ideas such as democracy, anarchism and communism. “After all, it’s hard for us to do politics in reality, so we have to do it in a group chat,” Yang Minghao, a popular vlogger, said in a video on YouTube. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/h0PB8wD via IFTTT
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