The Voice Reveal

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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 ...

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

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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

Joshua was floored four times as the magnificent Dubois launched a relentless assault. from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/qD86zaF via IFTTT

Argentina 29-28 South Africa: The defeat means the Springboks must win their last match to lift the trophy from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/A5RK2Wu via IFTTT