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The Guardian

Uncovered: the £200m theme park, the businessman – and the missing millions (mer., 26 juin 2019)
A Guardian/ITV News undercover investigation raises concerns about Gavin Woodhouse, who is behind project endorsed by Bear Grylls Gavin Woodhouse: entrepreneur says he is ‘a man who delivers’ ‘I’m devastated’: Gavin Woodhouse care home investor speaks out How Gavin Woodhouse raised millions for a string of stalled projects A new £200m outdoor adventure park, which is being launched with the support of the celebrity adventurer Bear Grylls, is being fronted by a financier who has raised millions of pounds from private investors and whose businesses have a multimillion-pound “black hole”. Related: How Gavin Woodhouse raised millions for a string of stalled projects Continue reading...
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Social care funding crisis ‘putting tens of thousands at risk’ (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Older and disabled people face being denied basic support, survey shows The government’s failure to get to grips with the escalating financial crisis in social care has put tens of thousands of older and disabled people at risk of being denied basic support such as help with washing and dressing, care chiefs have warned. Without urgent guarantees over funding levels there was a serious risk that local authorities would be forced to start decommissioning care services in the autumn, they said. “This situation has a very real and damaging effect on the day-to-day lives of people who need and provide care,” said the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services in its annual survey. Continue reading...
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Europe heatwave: cities take steps to limit effects of record temperatures (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Germany imposes speed limits on highways while schools in France remain closed European cities are taking exceptional steps to limit the impact of a historic early summer heatwave as temperatures across the continent approached monthly and, in some places, all-time records. Authorities have warned that temperatures could pass 40C and reach 45C in parts of the continent by Saturday as a plume of hot air moves north from the Sahara, sucked northwards by a stalled storm over the Atlantic and high pressure in central Europe. Continue reading...
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Chris Williamson back in Labour party after antisemitism remarks (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
MP had been suspended for suggesting party had been ‘too apologetic’ on issue MP Chris Williamson has been readmitted to the Labour party after he was suspended for suggesting the party had been “too apologetic” about antisemitism. The Guardian understands the Derby North MP is now likely to face a deselection battle in his constituency. Continue reading...
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'Trump is responsible': Democratic candidates blame US policy after tragic photo emerges (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Candidates speak out about image of a Salvadoran father and his daughter, who were found dead at the US-Mexico border Shocking photo of drowned father and daughter highlights migrants’ border peril The Democratic presidential candidates rushed to condemn the “inhumane” situation on the US border with Mexico – with some directly blaming Donald Trump – after a picture of a Salvadoran father and his toddler daughter found dead in the Rio Grande shocked the nation. The photograph, which emerged on Tuesday night, showed Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez, 26, and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria laying facedown near Matamoros, Mexico, on the bank of the river that marks the US border – reopening a fierce debate about the scale of the crisis. Continue reading...
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‘Woefully low’: Cressida Dick calls for action on crime-solving rates (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Met commissioner calls for better use of data to fight fall in detection rates The Metropolitan police commissioner has hit out at “woefully low” rates for solving crimes, with courts “emptying” despite some offences rising. Cressida Dick used a keynote lecture to call for better use of data and public consent to avoid charges of a “police state”. Continue reading...
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Yvette Cooper or Hilary Benn should lead unity government to halt Brexit – Ed Davey (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Lib Dem leadership contender suggests his party could back ‘extreme option’ to stop no deal Today’s political developments - live updates The Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Ed Davey has suggested his party could back Yvette Cooper or Hilary Benn as head of a government of national unity, to be installed instead of a general election if the government lost a no-confidence vote. The Lib Dem contender admitted he had not spoken to Cooper or Benn about the plan and said the unity government’s sole purpose would be to oversee a second referendum and then dissolve parliament and hold a general election. Continue reading...
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Anti-Islamic extremist permanently excluded from entering UK (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Austrian Martin Sellner barred on security grounds, according to Home Office letter posted online A prominent anti-Islamic extremist whose organisation is being investigated in Austria over links to the Christchurch shooting suspect has apparently been permanently excluded from entering the UK. Martin Sellner, the Austrian leader of Generation Identity, was being excluded on security grounds and posed a serious threat to the UK’s interests of preventing social harm and countering extremism, according to a Home Office letter which has been posted online. Continue reading...
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Medical experts criticise BBC for use of phrase 'heartbeat bill' (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Exclusive: Group excoriates ‘dangerously emotive’ language in reporting of proposed US abortion bill An international alliance of medical experts has accused the BBC of using “medically inaccurate” and biased “dangerously emotive” language after the corporation refused to stop describing US legislation seeking to ban access in some states to legal abortions after six weeks as a “heartbeat bill”. The phrase helps “weaponise” descriptions of abortions, claim a group of family planning specialists that includes Marie Stopes International, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. Continue reading...
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More than 9m play Candy Crush for three hours or more a day (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Executive of maker King tells MPs he does not believe there is addiction problem A top executive at the maker of the multibillion dollar Candy Crush Saga game has revealed that more than 9 million players a day spend from between three to six hours or more playing the puzzle game. Alex Dale, a senior executive at its maker, King, also told a Commons select committee investigatingimmersive and addictive technologies that last year one player spent $2,600 (£2,050) in a single day on the gold bar currency that can be used to propel players faster through the game. Continue reading...
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Caledonian Sleeper suffers setbacks with Highlands train delay (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Luxury trains will not appear until after summer season, says operator Serco The troubled Caledonian Sleeper has suffered a fresh setback, with new trains on its Highlands service now unlikely to appear until after the summer holiday season. The flagship overnight train, billed as a hotel on wheels, has been plagued by problems on the lowland route between London, Edinburgh and Glasgow since the introduction of a new £150m fleet. Continue reading...
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Ebola is back – can it be contained? - podcast (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The current outbreak of the deadly virus in the DRC has been called the most complex public health emergency in history. Peter Beaumont describes his recent visit to the DRC and Sarah Boseley discusses how the 2014 outbreak was eventually contained. Plus: Helen Pidd on what has been achieved with the ‘northern powerhouse’ The latest outbreak of Ebola, with more than 2,200 cases and more than 1,500 confirmed deaths in just over a year, is the second largest in history, despite the recent availability of an effective experimental vaccine. Political, security and cultural complications – not least a refusal to believe that Ebola exists – have thwarted efforts to overcome the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s deadly outbreak. Senior global development reporter Peter Beaumont tells Anushka Asthana about his recent trip to North Kivu, which is at the heart of the recent outbreak. He discusses why some health officials are calling it the most complicated public health emergency in history. Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley, who reported on the 2014 outbreak, looks at how that was contained – and why the situation is potentially far more frightening this time round. Continue reading...
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Can anything stop Boris Johnson? - podcast (Tue, 25 Jun 2019)
The Tory leadership hopeful has spent the past three days avoiding questions on why the police were called to his home after an altercation with his partner. But will questions about Johnson’s previous behaviour and character damage his chances of becoming prime minister? Hours after Boris Johnson confirmed his place in the final runoff for the Conservative party leadership, police were called to the flat he shares with his partner, Carrie Symonds, after neighbours heard a loud altercation involving screaming, shouting and banging. The police later issued a statement saying they had attended and spoken to all occupants of the address, who were all safe and well. “There were no offences or concerns apparent to the officers and there was no cause for police action.” Continue reading...
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What has changed since the Stonewall rebellion? – podcast (Mon, 24 Jun 2019)
The Stonewall rebellion in 1969 started a revolution in LGBT rights in the US. Ed Pilkington revisits the story 50 years on with those who were there. Plus: Lucy Siegle on the rise of fast fashion On the evening of 27 June 1969, gay men and their trans and lesbian peers gathered as usual at a bar called the Stonewall Inn. What followed would change the course of LGBT rights in the US and the wider world. A police raid on the bar in the early hours of the following day descended into violence as supporters came out on to the streets and stayed there defiantly. The Guardian’s Ed Pilkington has tracked down some of those who took part in the rebellion and joins Anushka Asthana to discuss what happened and the growing recognition of LGBT rights in the decades that followed. Continue reading...
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Carrie Underwood: 'I'd put on a happy face, then go home and fall apart' (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
As she prepares to take Glastonbury by storm, the country star opens a bottle of red wine and talks about the personal tragedy that coloured her new songs Saturday night on the banks of the Ohio River, and the most American of scenes is unfolding. At the Ball Park, the Cincinnati Reds are playing the Texas Rangers, while at the US Bank Arena next door Carrie Underwood is making the latest stop on her global tour. Fans spill together through the muggy streets, a mingling of scarlet baseball jerseys and tan cowboy boots. This is Underwood’s first tour since 2016, a huge two-hour, 60-date monolith of a show in support of last year’s album Cry Pretty. Reaching UK arenas on Friday, it features a hydraulic stage, multiple costume changes and fearsome pyrotechnics, and it will carry her from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Detroit, Michigan, via the Glastonbury festival this weekend. Continue reading...
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Don’t charge your phone overnight: the expert guide to using electricity safely (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Can you change a lightbulb if you don’t know whether it’s on or not? And what’s the best way to remove toast stuck in the toaster? The parents of an 11-year-old boy in Staffordshire were shocked to find that his tablet, after being left to charge on a bed sheet overnight, had burned a hole through to the mattress. The local fire service has warned that devices should not be charged on potentially flammable surfaces. So where is it safe to charge them? Here, experts answer that and other electrical safety questions. Where is it safe to charge a phone? Continue reading...
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‘The river is treacherous’: the migrant tragedy one photo can't capture (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The father and his toddler daughter pictured face down in the river were two of dozens who drowned this year while crossing the border to seek asylum Shocking photo of drowned father and daughter highlights migrants’ border peril Under a hot sun beating down on the US border, a family of five can be seen mid-river, struggling against a cruel current of greenish-grey water threatening to sweep them off their feet. It appears to be a couple and their three children, risking their lives in the treacherous Rio Grande that divides Mexico from Texas. The father clutches a black backpack in his hand, the family’s only luggage. On his back he’s carrying a small boy wearing a rainbow-striped T-shirt. A little girl is on the woman’s back, small arms clasped tightly around her mother’s neck. Continue reading...
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Everyone has their own vision of hell and mine is Glastonbury | Adrian Chiles (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
I love the music, but I want a good view of the acts – and there’s no way I’m going to share a toilet There are only three reactions to the mention of the word Glastonbury: “I can’t wait to get there”, “I’d love to be going”, or “I can’t think of anything worse.” It is the most Marmite of things. I’m very much in the “I can’t think of anything worse” camp. Music is a massive part of my life and I would love to see most of the acts on this year, but you couldn’t pay me to show my face. I have searched deep into my past for the origins of this. The furthest I have gone back so far is a camping trip in the late 1970s. My dad took me and my brother to a campsite on the banks of the River Wye, somewhere near Hereford. I was about 11 and my brother was eight. My brother was, and is, more competent than me in most ways. As we set about pitching our tent, I got in a muddle and started flapping about something or other. My dad, I’m afraid, lost his temper and said: “Ade, you’re about as much use as a bucket of shit.” Sadly, I walked away and went and sat by the river. It was hurtful, to be sure, but I had to admit he had a point. Continue reading...
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Emily Atack: 'I was getting sexy girl-next-door roles. Then my body became more womanly' (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
After finding fame on The Inbetweeners, the actor tried to rebrand herself but found that she was typecast. Then I’m A Celebrity... came to the rescue and her body positive outlook saw her crowned as Britain’s collective big sister Last summer, Emily Atack was, as she puts it, “heartbroken, depressed, frustrated, bored”. Her relationship had ended, and her last few films – Patrick, a live action Disney family comedy, and Lies We Tell, a crime thriller starring Harvey Keitel – had flopped. She was also broke. “I needed a new path, and guidance,” Atack says as she gazes out over the Thames from the balcony of a London hotel and sips a coffee. “Money and career aside, I didn’t know who I was or where I belonged any more.” Continue reading...
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No Scorpios, no meat-eaters: the rise of extreme flatshare ads (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
It’s a landlords’ market these days, which means Generation Rent has to abide by some frankly bizarre stipulations The two-bedroom flat in Turnpike Lane, north London, seemed run-of-the-mill. Laura Evelyn, an actor looking for a new place to stay, didn’t like the decor particularly – the fake leather sofa and glass dining table weren’t to her taste – but her would-be landlord was friendly enough. But as she was leaving the viewing, the owner handed her a sheet of paper. When Evelyn read it, she was flabbergasted. It contained a list of 31 rules that Evelyn, aged 35, would be expected to abide by if she moved in. Showers couldn’t last longer than 15 minutes. She was allowed two visitors a month, who must be approved two weeks in advance. After eating, she must wash up, and immediately return to her room. And if she left dishes in the sink, she’d be charged £15 a pop. Continue reading...
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The Rio Ferdinand suitcase: should you have a picture of your partner on your luggage? (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
When she went to Mykonos for her hen do, Kate Wright had her fiance’s face printed on her suitcase and a soft toy. Is this advisable? Name: The Rio Ferdinand suitcase. Age: New. Continue reading...
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From Boris Johnson to Bernie Sanders: why politicians seem most weird when they’re trying to be normal (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The admission that the Tory leadership contender relaxes by creating model buses is bizarre, but it’s far from being the only example of a public figure getting it totally wrong It’s weird when politicians pretend they are normal people. Boris Johnson’s deranged, seemingly free-associated answer to the question “What do you do to relax?” – making and painting model buses out of wooden wine boxes, of course! – is obviously a case in point. But he is by no means the only offender. These questions are a minefield. All that politicians want is to maximise their potential voter base by appearing relatable. That’s why Gordon Brown inexplicably declared his love for Arctic Monkeys in 2006. It’s why Theresa May decided trespassing in wheat was the most unconscionable thing she had ever done. It’s why Hillary Clinton invoked Pokémon Go in talking about jobs creation. Continue reading...
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Boris Johnson’s full English Brexit could rip the union apart | Martin Kettle (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The Tory frontrunner’s ‘do-or-die’ approach is alienating Scotland and Northern Ireland – and courting disaster It is time to wake up, but there is barely a moment to smell the coffee. If Boris Johnson becomes prime minister, Britain will be sleepwalking towards the break-up of the United Kingdom. The minority who want this to happen are rubbing their hands at the prospect. The separate minority who say they don’t care if it happens seem beyond reasoned debate at present. But the majority who don’t want it to happen aren’t being much more attentive either. Unless this changes, they could be in for a shock more lasting than Brexit. Related: Boris Johnson is self-destructing. How much of Britain will he drag down too? | Nesrine Malik Continue reading...
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Martin Rowson on Boris Johnson and his model buses – cartoon (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
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You ken me? Hunt desperate to show he's more than just a doll | John Crace (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
A media makeover is turning him from Ken Doll into Action Man. Or at least is attempting to ... Since Team Boris managed to rig the vote to get him into the final two, Jeremy Hunt has been on a media blitz to persuade Conservatives there is more to him than being Barbie’s eye-candy Ken. He has been spotted drinking Irn-Bru and eating fish and chips. He’s worn a hi-vis jacket. He’s eaten pizza and drunk a milkshake. He’s told people he’s a big fan of cheese. How well hard can a man get? He’s even gone for laughs by saying he’d rather fight one Boris-sized duck than 100 duck-sized Borises. Not so much a Ken as a full-on Action Man. Only without the personality. But too much excitement can play havoc with a man’s mind and for his appearance on Jeremy Vine’s Radio 2 show, Hunt was firmly back in smouldering, buttoned-up Ken mode. The man whose eyes have launched a thousand ships and whose lips have sunk them. Vine got stuck in immediately, challenging him to counter Johnson’s ‘do or die’ October Brexit deadline. Continue reading...
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The two-child benefits limit is a sign of society’s growing inhumanity | Frances Ryan (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
An unforgiveable policy has been normalised by dismissing the families it punishes as ‘scroungers’ Last week a Middlesbrough Conservative councillor apologised after describing benefit claimants as “pond life” who should be “washed and sterilised”. David Smith said: “There are so many genuine cases. But there is a large portion who are claimants that take the absolute piss. Yet they continue to breed. Rabbits, the lot of them.” I thought of Smith as I read through a new report by the Child Poverty Action Group into the impact of the two-child benefit limit – the government policy that, from April 2017, cut at least £53 a week in support from some of the country’s poorest families upon the birth of their third child. Poverty is not so much a mistaken result of the two-child limit, it is the intended consequence Continue reading...
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After 40 years of climate activism, I feel a surge of hope | Angie Zelter (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
I was arrested at an Extinction Rebellion protest and found guilty of an offence. But I don’t regret it for a second I am now 68 years of age but when I was 21, in my final year at university, I became aware of major problems then facing the world – war, poverty, acid rain, ozone depletion, desertification, deforestation, species loss, civil and military uses and abuses of nuclear power, pollution, population growth, consumerism and the climate crisis. I was determined to devote my life to helping solve these problems. After spending three years in Cameroon, learning about deforestation for timber and cash crops such as palm oil, and the exploitation of the rich resources of Africa to the detriment of locals and enrichment of corporations and western societies, I returned home to the nuclear weapons crisis of the cold war. I joined the Greenham Common protests, founded the Snowball civil disobedience campaign and then later the anti-nuclear weapons group Trident Ploughshares. I also became involved in work on the climate crisis. I learned that everything is connected and that it all has an impact on the climate, on biodiversity and on the sustainability of life on Earth. I discovered more about how our reliance on fossil fuels was causing the greenhouse effect and soon joined with climate scientists and local environmentalists to start a group in Norwich that tried to educate the public. Continue reading...
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Boris Johnson is poised for a no-deal Brexit. Will MPs be able to stop him? | Katy Balls (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The Tory leadership candidate’s ‘do or die’ pledge has alarmed many colleagues. This battle could go down to the wire What can MPs do to stop a no-deal Brexit? With Boris Johnson insisting that as prime minister he would take the UK out of the EU by the end of October “do or die”, it’s a question that will be asked frequently in the coming months. Related: Boris Johnson could ignore efforts to block no deal, says Raab Continue reading...
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Pakistan chasing 238 to beat New Zealand – Cricket World Cup 2019 – live! (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Cricket World Cup updates from the match at Edgbaston Root warns England against emotion | The Spin podcast And feel free to email Adam or tweet @collinsadam 6.47pm BST 41st over: Pakistan 189-3 (Babar 79, Sohail 45) Target 238 Sohail is playing another matchwinning hand here, steering Boult expertly to third man for four, just as he did the South African attack time and again on Sunday. Santner has to break this partnership up in the next over or this game is surely over. “Thanks for the top WC coverage.” Thanks for being part of it, Paul McAdam. “On the Kiwi playlist theme, the late Darcy Clay deserves a mention. Left behind just half a dozen songs, but this noisy pop belter was one of them.” Noisy pop belter? Yes, please. I’m making quite the playlist for later tonight. 6.42pm BST 40th over: Pakistan 183-3 (Babar 78, Sohail 40) Target 238 You don’t see Guptill misfield very often, but that’s what he has done at short cover off Babar. It hurts Santner’s belated return, which doesn’t have the same bite as the earlier spell. Pakistan need 55 from the final ten. I can’t see where the twist is coming from. Continue reading...
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Donald Trump warns Megan Rapinoe not to 'disrespect' US flag at World Cup (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Player says she will not visit White House if US win World Cup Other American teams and players have refused trip in past On Monday, Megan Rapinoe scored two goals to send the US through to the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup. On Wednesday, the President of the United States warned her not to “disrespect” her country. Rapinoe, who has won the World Cup and Olympics with the USWNT, is outspoken on social issues and was the first white professional athlete to kneel for the national anthem in protest of social injustice in the United States, before US Soccer passed a rule requiring team members to stand for the anthem. In a video that has circulated on social media since Tuesday – but appears to have been filmed before the World Cup started – she said that she would not visit the White House if the team wins the tournament. Continue reading...
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Joe Root warns England must take emotion out of 'tasty' India match (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Australia defeat means India game could be must-win for hosts Adil Rashid says he is ‘definitely’ fit for Sunday’s game Joe Root has warned England must take the emotion out of their blockbuster World Cup meeting with India at Edgbaston on Sunday. What is shaping up to be a possible must-win game for Eoin Morgan’s side will be staged at the ground that has been an English stronghold of late, given a run of nine victories across all formats in Birmingham stretching back to 2014. Continue reading...
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Six years on, David Moyes’ contract at Manchester United finally nears its end (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
It sums up recent Old Trafford troubles and the perilous nature of management that Moyes was so swiftly moved on In the parallel universe of where Manchester United imagined they would be six years ago David Moyes is planning a little party this weekend, inviting a few close friends around to mark the successful completion of his first Old Trafford contract. The manager has long known he would be staying at United for many years more than that – he basically gave himself the right to draw up his own terms in his annus mirabilis season of 2015-16, when he signed Jamie Vardy, won the league and the FA Cup and succeeded in persuading David Gill to return in place of floundering chief executive Ed Woodward. But with last season’s European success against Manchester City still fresh in the memory he thinks it would be appropriate to remind everyone that he was initially offered only a six-year deal. Related: Manchester United agree deal to sign Wan-Bissaka for initial £45m fee Continue reading...
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The Fiver | The Scottish Challenge Cup and general weirdness (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! While few thought the draw for the first round of this season’s Milk Cup conducted in the Colindale branch of Morrisons supermarket could be topped in terms of general weirdness, one particular Scottish competition was quick to say: “Hold ma pint o’heavy!” And so it came to pass on Wednesday morning that the draw for the Scottish Challenge Cup took place in a bakery in Lanarkshire, where it was conducted by former Scottish international Billy Dodds, SPFL blazer Neil Doncaster and a moustachioed, elderly gentlemen in a lab-coat who was recently knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to inventing the foil-wrapped Tunnock’s teacake. Continue reading...
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Handballs, Toon troubles and multiple Adama Traorés – Football Weekly Extra (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Philippe Auclair and Chris Paouros discuss the Women’s World Cup last 16, Rafa Benítez’s Newcastle departure, Frank Lampard’s talks with Chelsea, Copa América and Afcon Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. In part one, we round up all the last-16 matches at the Women’s World Cup. We look at the Netherlands and USA, who were fortunate to progress against Japan and Spain respectively, while Italy were comfortable against China. As is customary, there is plenty of VAR discussion to be had. We subsequently turn our attention to the quarter-finals, with the news that England may be without key players for their game against Norway. Continue reading...
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Boycott’s not-out attitude switches ends between Test cricket and Brexit | Marina Hyde (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The famously immovable opening batsman now shows a much more carefree approach to the prospect of no-deal My God, I wish Geoff Boycott had approached playing cricket like he approaches no-deal Brexit. The longtime cricketer turned longtime commentator was on Good Morning Britain this week, when he was asked about his Brexit strategy, rather in the same way you might get Jeremy Hunt on the show and seek his opinion as to whether he can even bear the poignancy of not being able to watch Jimmy Anderson in World Cup conditions like these. Having immediately attempted to flirt with Susanna Reid with the same gossamer touch you’d expect of a man convicted of a brutal assault on a former partner, Boycott moved into other arenas of incompetence. Continue reading...
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Talking Horses: Graham Bradley back in the game as an owner in Ireland (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The controversial former jockey, who was banned for five years at one stage, now owns a horse that could run on Friday Graham Bradley is back in the game, the authorities in Ireland having decided to allow him to register as a racehorse owner. Indeed, he has already made a quiet re-entry, Marchons Ensemble having run in his name when second in a Limerick maiden recently. The colt is entered in a race at The Curragh’s Derby meeting on Friday. This is news because few figures in the history of racing, in Britain or Ireland, have attracted so much sustained controversy as Bradley. Without wishing to go over it all again, let us simply remember that he was warned off for five years after it was found he had passed information for reward. Continue reading...
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Could this be Glastonbury's greenest year yet? - video explainer (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
With its sea of discarded tents and litter-strewn fields, Glastonbury has become almost as infamous for the mountain of rubbish left in its wake as it is renowned for its music. But this year, organisers are hitting back by banning plastic bottles in a bid to stem the tide of waste. Festivalgoers are being urged to limit their impact on the environment in other ways, too. Glastonbury festival bans plastic bottles Co-op to trial 100% compostable wrappers at Glastonbury Glastonbury festival 2019: full lineup and stage times announced The Guardian is Glastonbury festival's media partner Continue reading...
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Creature comforts: has the US's emotional support animal epidemic gone too far? – video (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Emotional support animals, or ESAs, have exploded across the US in recent years, with rising numbers of pet owners getting their animals certified online. Unlike in the UK, ESAs have legal status in the US on a tier below traditional service animals, but the backlash has begun – with critics complaining the system is being abused by regular pet owners who want to take their animals into unsuitable public spaces. The Guardian's Richard Sprenger – animal lover but pet sceptic – meets ESA owners and their animals across North America. Continue reading...
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London's toxic school runs: how polluted is the air children breathe? - video (Wed, 19 Jun 2019)
Most UK cities have had illegally polluted air for nearly a decade, and the effect of air pollution is particularly bad on children. Ahead of Clean Air Day, we conducted an experiment to assess the air quality on a school run in central London, using new state-of-the art monitors that can measure air pollution in real time Continue reading...
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How your period is making other people rich – video (Thu, 20 Jun 2019)
Menstrual cycles have historically been a personal topic. But with the rise of period-tracking apps, intimate knowledge of women's bodies has become big business, with marketers using the data women and girls put into their phones to exploit their hormones in an attempt to sell them things they did not realise they wanted Continue reading...
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Owen Jones challenges mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey over views on women – video (Fri, 10 May 2019)
Owen Jones meets the Conservative candidate for London mayor and asks him if he regrets comments on women, Muslims and Hindus which were condemned at the time. The pair also discuss his mayoral campaign, knife crime, cuts to police budgets and Islamophobia in his party Continue reading...
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The highs and lows of impersonating Boris Johnson – video (Mon, 15 Apr 2019)
Drew Galdron has been impersonating the Conservative politician for 11 years. His recent focus has been on campaigning against Brexit, but with Johnson tipped as a Tory leadership contender, is his life about to get even busier?  Watch more of Fake BoJo here  Continue reading...
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Funeral poverty: one woman's battle to pay for her son's burial – video (Wed, 10 Apr 2019)
One suddenly bereaved mother, already in debt, has to find thousands of pounds to pay for her son's funeral. The funeral business is an unregulated industry, with providers criticised for taking advantage of vulnerable, grieving families, who can then feel obliged to pay large sums of money for an appropriate goodbye.  Across the UK the average funeral cost stands at £4,271, having risen 122% since 2004. The Guardian’s Richard Sprenger reports With thanks to Down to Earth, Quaker Social Action Continue reading...
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Why can’t I sleep? My mission to understand insomnia – video (Thu, 11 Apr 2019)
Millions of people in the UK have trouble sleeping, and Guardian reporter Leah Green is one of them. Like many insomniacs, she has tried all the home remedies, sleep hygiene techniques and gadgets designed to cure her sleep problems. She finds out why it is so difficult to conquer insomnia, and why good treatment is so hard to come by For more information about treating insomnia: NHS advice Digital access to CBT-I treatment - Sleepio  Continue reading...
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Brexit breakdown: 14 days that shook politics | Anywhere but Westminster - video (Wed, 05 Jun 2019)
Starting with the unexpected scramble for the European parliament and ending with the byelection buildup in Peterborough, John Harris and John Domokos go on a mammoth road trip into the new reality: politics changed forever by the internet, and voters who want direct control Continue reading...
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'When Franco was alive, it was safer': inside Spain's far-right battleground – video (Thu, 30 May 2019)
Vox became the first far-right party to win more than a single seat in Spain's parliament since the Franco era when it won 24 in the general election. Last week, it fought its first mayoral campaign in El Ejido, a town in Andalucía with a population of 90,000 people, 30% of whom are migrants. Many of them work in the 150 square miles of greenhouses that surround the town. We follow the campaign and talk to Spaniards and migrants to find out why this socialist stronghold of 40 years is turning to the right Continue reading...
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Tory party gripped by 'collective madness' over no-deal Brexit, says former minister - live news (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including the latest from the Tory leadership contest and Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs Afternoon summary 6.47pm BST Hello everyone. The Tory hustings are starting shortly. Both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will be answering questions by members of the public live from 7pm for sixty minutes. 6.11pm BST It’s a disgrace that Chris Williamson is let off with a warning. It shows the extent to which a party which had a proud record on racism has been poisoned under Jeremy Corbyn. The only question is when decent Labour MPs will finally say enough is enough and do something about it. https://t.co/m6vgRyaZqd The broad range of people and organisations supporting the lobby shows the feeling across the country that urgent action is needed, starting with an ambitious environment bill and policies that put us on track for net zero emissions by 2045. The time to act is now. We have to keep innovating in order to keep moving. When we see, in the Brexit issue, a complete breakdown in trust between politicians and people, surely it should inspire all of us, no matter our political allegiance, to find new ways to bring politicians and people together to resolve deep seated division. Citizens’ assemblies are becoming an established way for mature democracies to engage with complex and contested issues on an inclusive, informed and respectful basis. That is what we want for Scotland. Continue reading...
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Prince William: I’d be absolutely fine if my children were gay (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
But he voices concern about persecution they may face if they came out as gay or lesbian The Duke of Cambridge has said he worries about the pressures his children may face if in future they came out as gay or lesbian. Prince William said he would be “absolutely fine” if they did, but had concerns about the persecution they may face, admitting he had discussed the subject with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge. Continue reading...
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Met police pay out £700,000 to detained anti-fascist protesters (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Exclusive: undercover officers spied on activists demonstrating against Tommy Robinson Scotland Yard has been forced to pay a total of more than £700,000 in compensation to 153 anti-fascist campaigners who were arrested by police during a demonstration and detained for up to 14 hours. The campaigners had been detained while protesting against another demonstration led by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Continue reading...
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London Bridge victims' relatives ask judge to criticise police and MI5 (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Families say failures may have led to chances being missed to prevent terrorist attack The families of those killed in the London Bridge terrorist attack have asked a judge to find that “unreasonable failures” by MI5 and police may have led to chances to stop the atrocity being missed. Eight people were killed in the attack in June 2017 after three terrorists first ran over pedestrians in a van then went on a stabbing rampage. Continue reading...
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William Hill latest bookmaker to declare bets void at short-notice (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
• Hills’s decision follows similar moves by BetBright and 188BET • Bookmaker to stop taking bets from customers in Switzerland William Hill, one of the most famous names in betting, has become the latest bookmaker to declare a significant number of ante-post bets void at short notice, in a further reminder to punters of the extent to which bookies’ Terms & Conditions (T&Cs) allow them to cancel bets many weeks or even months after acceptance. William Hill’s decision to follow BetBright and 188BET in voiding ante-post bets follows a sudden move to stop taking bets from customers based in Switzerland. The firm emailed their Swiss clients on Tuesday saying that the decision had been taken “for regulatory reasons” and “at very short notice”, and that all unsettled bets on accounts would be declared void from midday on 28 June. Continue reading...
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Schools to teach pupils about perils of fake news and catfishing (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Education secretary says guidance will help guard children against online harms Guidance on teaching online safety in schools to make children more resilient to catfishing, fake news and other online harms has been announced by the education secretary. The guidelines will combine teaching on relationships, citizenship and computing to help students understand the technology behind targeted advertising, false profiles and other digital issues. Continue reading...
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Lucy McHugh murder trial told ‘she looked like she was asleep’ (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Dog walker discovered 13-year-old schoolgirl’s body in woodland in Southampton A dog walker who discovered the schoolgirl Lucy McHugh’s body after she had been stabbed to death said she looked like she was asleep, a jury has been told. Russell Morrell was taking his terrier for a morning walk when he stumbled upon the body of 13-year-old Lucy in a secluded area of woodland. Continue reading...
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Scotland to aid poorest families with extra £10 a week for each child (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Scottish Child Payment may lift 30,000 out of relative poverty by 2024, says SNP The Scottish government is to boost the incomes of the country’s poorest families by offering them £10 a week for every child in addition to child benefit payments. Aileen Campbell, the communities secretary, said the new benefit, the Scottish Child Payment, would “tackle child poverty head on” by mitigating many of the worst effects of the UK government’s cuts in social security payments. Continue reading...
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Suzanne Moore of the Guardian wins Orwell prize for journalism (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Articles on Brexit and #MeToo aftermath make columnist joint winner with Steve Bloomfield of Prospect The Guardian columnist Suzanne Moore has won the Orwell prize for journalism for her “stubborn and brave commentary” on the aftermath of Brexit, #metoo and the politics of remembrance. Moore won the prize for articles on attitudes to Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in the wake of the #MeToo movement; why she was wrong to refuse to wear a poppy for remembrance; and why she did not take part in the march for a People’s Vote. Continue reading...
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Jurors watch video of ‘frenzied’ fatal stabbing of train passenger (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Lee Pomeroy, 51, was stabbed 18 times in 25 seconds by Darren Pencille, 36, court hears Jurors have watched video of a “quick and frenzied” fatal attack on a train passenger. Lee Pomeroy, a 51-year-old IT consultant, was stabbed 18 times in 25 seconds by Darren Pencille, 36, the Old Bailey has heard. Continue reading...
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Hong Kong protesters hold noisy rally outside police headquarters (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
About a thousand people wearing masks and hats build barricades and obscure cameras with umbrellas About a thousand people have held a noisy rally outside the police headquarters in downtown Hong Kong after a peaceful demonstration calling for the release of protesters arrested earlier this month. The protesters, mostly dressed in black and many covering their faces with masks and wearing hard hats, occupied the streets around the police headquarters in Wan Chai after 10pm and chanted loudly “Shame on you” and “Release the righteous fighters” to the beating of drums. Continue reading...
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Growing evidence suggests Parkinson's disease starts in gut (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Research shows key proteins in disease can spread from gastrointestinal tract to brain Evidence that Parkinson’s disease may start off in the gut is mounting, according to new research showing proteins thought to play a key role in the disease can spread from the gastrointestinal tract to the brain. The human body naturally forms a protein called alpha-synuclein which is found, among other places, in the brain in the endings of nerve cells. However, misfolded forms of this protein that clump together are linked to damage to nerve cells, a deterioration of the dopamine system and the development of problems with movement and speech – hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease. Continue reading...
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Police say abducted Norwegian woman probably murdered (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Investigator says kidnapping possibly staged to disguise killing of Anne-Elisabeth Hagen, wife of wealthy investor The wife of a wealthy Norwegian businessman who disappeared nearly eight months ago was probably killed and the murder made to look like a kidnapping, police have said. Anne-Elisabeth Hagen, whose husband, Tom Hagen, is a real estate investor and energy magnate, went missing from their home in Lørenskog, near Oslo, on 31 October. Continue reading...
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Gambian pageant winner accuses ex-president Yahya Jammeh of rape (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Two other unnamed women also accuse Jammeh of rape and sexual assault as investigation claims systematic abuse A Gambian pageant winner has accused the country’s former president of rape as an investigation claims Yahya Jammeh systematically sexually abused young women. Jammeh, who reluctantly stepped down in 2017 after 22 years of rule, presented himself as a deeply religious figure and an advocate of girls’ rights and declared his small west African nation an Islamic republic. Continue reading...
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Sri Lanka planning executions after 43-year moratorium (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Capital punishment to return as president signs death warrant for four drug offenders Sri Lanka’s president has ordered the execution of four drug offenders, potentially ending a 43-year moratorium on capital punishment. Maithripala Sirisena, the president, said on Wednesday that he had signed the death warrants, which had the dates of the executions, and sent the documents to prison authorities. Continue reading...
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Far-right suspect confesses to killing German politician (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Stephan Ernst cites pro-refugee stance as motive for shooting CDU’s Walter Lübcke A far-right extremist has confessed to murdering a pro-refugee German politician who was found dead outside his house on 2 June having been shot in the head. Stephan Ernst, a 45-year-old German man with a string of convictions for violent anti-migrant crime, was arrested two weeks after the murder of Walter Lübcke, 65. Police had matched Ernst’s DNA with evidence recovered from the scene of the crime. Continue reading...
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Trump sexual assault allegation should be investigated, say Republican duo – live (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Senators Mitt Romney and Joni Ernst say ‘very serious allegation’ from E Jean Carroll should be ‘fully evaluated’ – follow the latest live Sign up for the US briefing and get a new perspective 6.32pm BST Buzzfeed News is reporting that the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General found atrocious conditions in migrant detention facilities including “standing room only” living space, and little access to hot showers or food. From Buzzfeed: When Department of Homeland Security inspectors visited several border facilities in the Rio Grande Valley earlier this month, they found adults and minors with no access to showers, many adults only fed bologna sandwiches, and detainees banging on cell windows — desperately pressing notes to the windows of their cells that detailed their time in custody. The inspectors compiled a draft report, obtained by BuzzFeed News, that described the conditions as dangerous and prolonged. Some adults were held in standing-room conditions for a week. There was little access to hot showers or hot food for families and children in some facilities. Some kids were being held in closed cells. There was severe overcrowding. 6.20pm BST Trump, speaking to reporters Wednesday, seemed to suggest that he believes the late Senator John McCain is in hell, and that this idea brings him some joy. “We needed 60 votes. And we had 51 votes. And sometimes, you know, we had a little hard time with a couple of them, right,” Trump said, which could be alluding to any of a few Senators who sometimes bucked Trump on bills, including former Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker.” Trump suggests he’s “very happy” the late Sen. John McCain is gone - even to “far less green pastures” https://t.co/8ZZ126Jkoo Related: 'Out of sight': Trump confirms USS John McCain was hidden from his view Continue reading...
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Kim Kardashian West’s Kimono shapewear touches nerve in Japan (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Twitter users accuse reality star of cultural appropriation with new underwear line The American television star Kim Kardashian West has caused controversy in Japan by naming her new line of shapewear Kimono, prompting some to accuse her of disrespecting the traditional outfit. The reality TV star and trainee lawyer unveiled her new Kimono line on Instagram, describing it as a collection of skin tone-colored shapewear and stating she had been working for a year on underwear that she claims offers “solutions for women that actually work”. Continue reading...
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Austrian far-right leader searched on suspicion of forming terrorist group with Christchurch shooter (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Investigation widens to include Martin Sellner’s fiancee Brittany Pettibone following her contact with Australian far-right figure Blair Cottrell The Austrian identitarian leader, Martin Sellner, has been subjected to further searches by Austrian police in connection with the Christchurch shooter, according to Austrian media reports and videos on Sellner’s own YouTube channel. The investigation has also reportedly widened to include Sellner’s US-based fiancee, Brittany Pettibone, and her own alleged connections with Australian far-right figure Blair Cottrell. Continue reading...
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Denmark's youngest prime minister to lead new leftist government (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democratic party forms minority government Denmark’s new centre-left government will increase public spending and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70% before 2030, the country’s youngest ever prime minister is to announce. Social Democrats leader, Mette Frederiksen, 41, said late on Tuesday night that after three weeks of negotiations, she had reached agreement with three leftist parties to form the one-party minority government, a common arrangement in Denmark. Continue reading...
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Kurier review – Polish war hero fights through gritty spy thriller (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
A Polish agent follows a perilous route from London to Warsaw in this taut and arresting piece of storytelling Given Poland’s nationalist turn under Andrzej Duda, you have to wonder about which audience this doughty but slightly self-pitying second world war spy thriller is meant to serve. Philippe Tłokiński stars as Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, emissary of the Polish government in exile in London struggling to make his way back across Europe to a Warsaw resistance caught between a Nazi rock and a Soviet hard place. The film has a taste for defiant proclamations – “Giving up for the first time in our history will surely break the spirit of this nation!” – that you imagine will put a spring in the step of the new breed of Polish EU-shin-kickers. Having said that, Władysław Pasikowski – a crowdpleasing film-maker with a string of domestic hits – relays Poland’s darkest hour with enough nuance and peril to stop Kurier from being outright jingoism. His fluid direction ensures Nowak-Jeziorański’s infiltration – via a parachute drop from Brindisi, with a couple of SS-dodging set pieces en route – never shirks taut genre requirements. But the realpolitik hoops he must jump through en route are equally arresting. Nowak-Jeziorański’s journey, in order not to jeopardise British-Soviet relations, has to remain so clandestine that the resistance leader, Bór-Komorowski, initially refuses to see him. Once he is through the door, he has to persuade the rebels to disobey their historical instincts and buddy up with a Soviet war machine already sizing the country up. Continue reading...
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Still flying: Monty Python to mark 50th anniversary with record bid (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Cast of seminal comedy TV show reveal details of events to celebrate its inception They return – it would appear – to a time where no one is the messiah but there is no shortage of naughty boys. Fifty years after the first broadcast of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the men who revolutionised comedy have revealed details of events to mark their anniversary in what they dubbed “an increasingly Pythonesque world”. Continue reading...
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Eyes Without a Face star Édith Scob dies aged 81 (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
French actor was famed for role as the masked protagonist in the cult classic before resurgence in films such as Holy Motors Édith Scob, the French actor best known for her first starring role in the creepy 1960 Georges Franju horror film Eyes Without a Face, has died aged 81. Her agent confirmed the news to AFP, saying she had died on Wednesday in Paris. No cause of death was disclosed. Scob’s role in Eyes Without a Face is one of the great breakout performances in French cinema. Playing the daughter of a surgeon who undergoes extensive skin grafts after her face is disfigured, she spends much of the film swathed in bandages or wearing a mask, only her eyes visible. Scob’s ethereal, expressive qualities made a stunning impact and the film has remained a cult favourite. Continue reading...
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Photograph review – restrained Mumbai romance never comes into focus (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The Lunchbox director Ritesh Batra returns with an enigmatic meditation on chance meetings and things unsaid Ritesh Batra stole the hearts of moviegoers the world over with his gentle romance The Lunchbox in 2013, and after some uncertain English-language movies he has returned to India with this odd, enigmatic high-concept love story set in Mumbai. Photograph has some beautifully shot moments, and Batra sometimes captures the city with something approaching the rapture with which Wong Kar-wai captures Hong Kong. Yet it is weirdly opaque and internalised, and doesn’t ever really come to life. This is a romance in which the lovers do no more than briefly touch hands. They rarely even smile at each other, and their voices are hardly ever raised higher than a murmur. Photograph is elliptical, so much so that I almost suspect some scenes have been lost in the edit. The plot turns on a photograph that we never see. The lovers meet under extraordinary circumstances that they do not discuss, and their relationship develops by way of dishonesty and imposture with regard to a third party, which never appears to trouble them. Batra has his male character go on a gallant quest to seek out a defunct brand of cola somewhere in the city to give to his loved one because she adored drinking it as a child. Yet we never see him give it to her, never see her drinking it, never see her eyes lighting up at the memory or lighting up at the thought of what this man has done – nothing like that. Continue reading...
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Luke Goss of Bros in the bath – Neil MacKenzie Matthews' best photograph (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
‘He had no problem getting completely naked. The makeup artist had to strategically apply the bubbles’ People think of the Bros brothers as very serious and into themselves, but I’ve known them from the start and they’ve always been up for a bit of a laugh. This picture of Luke was taken for Cosmopolitan towards the end of the 1990s. The magazine had done a famous portrait of Burt Reynolds on a bearskin rug in 1972 and I wanted this shoot with Luke to resurrect the idea of the male pin-up. It was something I’d already had experience of because I’d done a couple of calendars called the Blues Boys in the mid-80s – it was a company run by women who were sick of all the male-orientated pin-up calendars that were on the walls of garages. I initially shot Luke smoking a cigar, with just a towel hiding the crown jewels, and that shot was what ended up going in the magazine. But I wanted to try out something more jokey too, so I hired a roll-top bath and got Luke in it. We tried filling it with water but the plug didn’t work properly. The studio was on the top floor of a block in Islington and the water dripped through into the office below – they came up to complain only to find a naked pop star in a bath. Continue reading...
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Paul McCartney on Linda’s best photos: ‘Seeing the joy between me and John really helped me’ (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Linda Eastman was the award-winning photographer who captured a generation of rock stars before marrying a Beatle. He discusses how her work changed his life ‘I always used to joke that I ruined Linda’s career,” says Paul McCartney, sitting on a sofa in his office in Soho, London, with a selection of his late wife’s photographs spread on the table before him. “She became known as ‘Paul’s wife’, instead of the focus being on her photography. But, as time went on, people started to realise that she was the real thing. So, yeah, she eventually did get the correct reputation, but at first it was just blown out of the water by the headline-grabbing marriage.” Continue reading...
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Think outside the compost box: 10 small steps that make a big environmental impact (Fri, 14 Jun 2019)
It sometimes feels like the positive changes we make are a drop in the (polluted) ocean, but it’s some of those smaller, everyday acts that can make the biggest difference to the planet ... Say no to newnessEven if you go out of your way to source the most ethical, eco-friendly products possible, the mantra of “make do and mend” is usually better than “buy, buy, buy”. Take your trusty pair of jeans, for example: the environmental impact of the mainstream denim industry is huge, with every pair producing the CO2 equivalent of driving a car for 50 miles. This means keep wearing your old faithfuls until they’re fashionably threadbare, get into vintage and charity shop shopping and, if you must go new, do it mindfully: walking to the shops beats buying – and returning – online impulse purchases. Think outside the compost boxDid you know you can compost hair caught in your hairbrush, that weird dust from behind your fridge (it’s mostly organic matter) and burnt out matches? Also: popcorn, old spices, and used paper towels (which are forbidden from entering your paper recycling). You can even compost paper and Post-it notes – the glue is non-toxic so it naturally biodegrades over time. Conversely, food waste that crops up in the wrong recycling bin can cause the entire load to be rejected, so make sure it’s kept where it belongs. Continue reading...
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Quiz: how environmentally friendly are you really? (Fri, 14 Jun 2019)
Are you a card-carrying ecowarrior, a devil-may-care drain on resources – or just killing time at work? From your eco-intelligence to your energy use, let’s find out how you score How many appliances do you have on standby, or charging, right now? Honestly, I have no idea. Just my wifi. *Quickly yanks plug from wall* TV, laptop, phone: three or thereabouts. What’s your loo-flushing philosophy? I didn’t know I had to have a loo-flushing philosophy. “I love the rush of a big clean flush.” “If it’s brown, flush it down. If it’s yellow, let it mellow.” It’s chilly on the sofa. What are you going to do? Put a jumper on. Turn the central heating up to tropical. That’s what I call climate change. Nudge the thermostat up just a little bit How many baths do you have a year? Be honest. 365. Deep, hot, climate change denial baths. What of it? None. I prefer a nice long shower anyway. 12 – once a month or so. But I only shower quickly and I share the bathwater so it’s not that bad, right? You’ve had a major Kondo blitz at home. What are you going to do with everything you’ve cleared out? Divide it into piles for the bin and recycling. Joyfully set fire to it. Gumtree a few choice items, make a big charity shop donation, recycle the rest, and pledge not to buy anything that doesn’t spark joy ever again. How did you get to work today? I cycled. Or ran. Or walked (walking from your bed to the kitchen table totally counts, if you work from home). I drove. I used public transport. What’s for lunch? A lunchbox of leftovers, reworked from last night. A tuna and avocado sandwich, wrapped in plastic. Obvs. Something from the office canteen, eaten on a proper plate. How do you take your coffee? Mine’s an espresso. I’d love a filter, please. I’ll have instant, thanks. What green kit have you got in your bag today? I haven’t got a bag full of greenhouse gases, so let’s call it a win. A reusable tote bag and a refillable water bottle. Oh, just a bamboo cup, lunchbox, knife and spork, and my favourite metal straw. Plus the above, obviously. And only mild back pain from lugging this lot around. What’s your least environmentally friendly habit? I can’t think of one. When I’m not fracking or campaigning for Trump, I like to ride my jetski at top speed, tossing my cigarette butts into the ocean behind me. Does throwing banana peel into the countryside count? 8 and above. You’re a clean, green eco machine. Wow, it takes some significant lifestyle changes to reach this level of eco ambassador – bravo! Your commitment to the cause has rewards that go far beyond your winning quiz score: being environmentally friendly is scientifically proven to make you healthier and happier (6), as well as protecting the planet. But as Kermit once said, it’s not easy being green. 0 and above. You’re part of the problem (sorry not sorry!). Definite room for improvement here. But the good news is, completing this quiz has made you 100% more aware of the green habits that could minimise your carbon footprint. Continue your eco-awakening by cutting down on single-use plastics, installing a smart meter and recycling mindfully. Oh, and go easy on that jetski of yours. 5 and above. You’re a work in progress. You’re already doing your bit, but hopefully we’ve inspired you to be a bit more eco-conscious. Who knew that about your daily cup of coffee? Now you’re more mindful about everything from flushing the loo to the amount of energy you use at home, you’ll gradually find yourself making greener choices. We all want to make big changes to help our planet, but sometimes to make big changes, we have to start small. Smart meters can’t solve the climate crisis on their own but with the smarter, more energy efficient grid they help to create, they’re a start. To find out more about installing a smart meter in your home, search “I want a smart meter” or call 0300 131 8000*. Continue reading...
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Can my choices really make a difference to the environment? (Thu, 20 Jun 2019)
Do our actions have a real impact on the future of the planet, or are our environmental efforts just a drop in the ocean? Anna Turns considers how our lifestyle choices contribute to the bigger picture This summer, my family and I will take the ferry to France instead of flying off to warmer climes. We eat much less meat nowadays and we’re saving to buy an electric car. But in the midst of a worldwide climate crisis, can my choices really make a difference? The short answer is: of course. The view that the choices we make as consumers don’t affect our planet’s health is increasingly considered both untrue and irresponsible; take the plastic bag charge or the rollout of smart meters, for example. Both rely on seemingly small adjustments to everyday life that, when enacted en masse, lead to something greater: the plastic bag charge has greatly reduced plastic waste, whereas smart meters help to make the energy grid more responsive. Both signal a seachange in how we’re engaging with the climate crisis. Continue reading...
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1,500 kettles and a windfarm five times bigger than Hull: UK energy, in numbers (Fri, 21 Jun 2019)
Fossil fuels have taken a huge toll on the environment and our future depends on a rapid shift to renewables. Can the UK’s energy system be decarbonised by 2050? Here’s what we know This June, the UK government committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – making it the first major economy and G7 member to do so. But what does that mean? And how are they planning on getting there? The integration of renewable energy sources is key, for starters, and a lot needs to happen to the way we produce, supply and store energy. From the stats on our increasing reliance on the “right” energy sources, and a look at how we’re changing our lifestyles for the better, to what might stand in our way, these are our energy facts and figures as they stand. Continue reading...
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IVF study finds success rate a third lower in men over 51 than under 35 (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Expert who led study of 5,000 IVF cycles at London clinic busts myth that male fertility lasts for ever IVF success rates decline significantly in older men, according to scientists who call for greater awareness of the male biological clock. The analysis of nearly 5,000 IVF cycles performed at a London fertility clinic found that success rates were about one third lower in men aged over 51 compared with men under 35. Continue reading...
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Body foundation to cover your veins? Why Kim Kardashian's new product has caused a ruckus (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The debate over whether makeup empowers or oppresses can’t hide the fact that female imperfection is increasingly unacceptable As with most things Kim Kardashian does, the reality star’s latest beauty product – an already sold-out Skin Perfecting Body Foundation – has sparked an online back-and-forth about whether makeup for arms, legs and other parts of the body is feminist or not. Many say body makeup is inherently anti-feminist; others argue that it is the critique of a woman’s choice to wear body makeup that is anti-feminist. We live in an age where it seems that women can label anything as a feminist act. To me, however, the message the product sends is quite clear: that we would probably be more comfortable in the skin we’re in if you couldn’t see it has pores. As the years-old debate about whether face makeup is empowering or oppressive rages on, men for the most part continue without it. Most of us are in agreement that, however you slice it, beauty standards are rigid and beauty regimes are still driven by external pressures rather than enjoyment. There is a difference between tolerating this and seeking its active expansion and entrenchment. Continue reading...
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Boots to open concept store in London with YouTube studio (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Outlet in Covent Garden that has beauty hall and free water tap is part of revamp of chain Boots is opening a concept store featuring a beauty hall with its own YouTube studio as part of one of the biggest makeovers in the retailer’s 170-year history. The health and beauty chain’s new outlet, which will open on Thursday in Covent Garden, central London, is the first of a string of revamped shops to be rolled out by Sebastian James, the Boots managing director. Continue reading...
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How a Love Island contestant’s fake bump exposed the truth about maternity-wear modelling (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Arabella Chi has been identified on the online retailer Asos wearing a range of maternity clothes – and a prosthetic pregnancy stomach There are two items that I would have modelled fantastically well when I was pregnant: buckets and lingerie. The former because almost every single time I so much as thought about getting on the 253 bus, I immediately threw up; the latter because I was so sweaty, flatulent and tired, I was reluctant to dress in anything tighter or heavier than a pair of cotton briefs. This week, Asos shoppers have been surprised to spot a photo of a Love Island contestant, Arabella Chi, modelling maternity clothing while wearing a fake bump. Suddenly social media is awash with people realising that, wait, pregnancy doesn’t always look like resting a beach ball against your ribs? That maternity-wear models sporting strappy heels and a thin layer of polyester might not actually be pregnant? Those women, with their defined jaws and matchbox wrists? Colour me shocked. Continue reading...
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20 of the best food tours around the world (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Feast your eyes on these foodie walking tours, which reveal the flavours – and culture – of cities from Lisbon to Lima, Havana to Hanoi Continue reading...
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Hang on to your hat! How headgear is taking over from trainers in menswear (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
From floral crowns to woollen doughnuts, hats are sweeping the catwalks and sales are up on the high street. Here’s the heads up on the trend A headpiece made of fresh flowers, a panama worn with flares and aviators, a dinky knitted circular crown. According to fashion week, the new point of interest in menswear for 2020 is all happening up top.. Despite the burst of interest in caps and bucket hats recently, the concept of a more decorative designer hat hasn’t looked this likely to take off in years. But the message from the latest round of menswear shows, which wrapped at the weekend in Paris, is that the hat is likely to become a major style statement. Continue reading...
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Send us a tip on a great UK seaside cafe or restaurant to win a £200 hotel voucher (Tue, 25 Jun 2019)
Share your favourite places to eat and drink anywhere on the UK shoreline Wonderful seafood, a brilliant location, great value, an unusual building … there are many ingredients that make up a superb beach or seafront cafe or restaurant. Oyster shacks, smokeries, fresh crab stalls and traditional fish and chip restaurants could all be among your favourites. Michelin stars aren’t a necessary constituent of superb places to eat, but let’s not rule them out! Whether it’s a remote rural cafe above a secret inlet or a busy quality restaurant on a popular beach in or near a town, please feel free to share your experience. Continue reading...
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Could you be suffering from mid-year burnout? (Tue, 25 Jun 2019)
We’ve just passed the halfway mark of 2019 and we want to know: do you feel more tired or run down than you have in the past? We’d like to speak to those who believe themselves to be more burned out at this point of the year than has previously been the case. You might have noticed the increased sunshine and warmer temperatures having less of a positive impact on your health or mindset than they have in past summers. Or you might have taken ages to get over an illness from early in the year. Or you might be running yourself ragged with too many work and social commitments. Continue reading...
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Tell us about the one lifestyle change that worked for you (Mon, 24 Jun 2019)
As part of a series exploring how one change can make a profound personal impact, we want to hear from you What is the most impactful lifestyle change that you have made that has improved your health and wellbeing? Over the past few months, writers have been describing their experiences of the one change that worked for them, as part of a weekly series. We have heard stories of overcoming addiction, rediscovering faith, ending an engagement, exercising less, going out more. Now, it is over to you. If you have a story you would like to share – this could be something dramatic like giving up drinking, becoming a vegan or taking up a new exercise regime, or it could be something much more subtle which led to a big change – we want to hear from you. Continue reading...
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From first period to menopause: share physical experiences of life as a woman (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Be it a first orgasm, experiences with contraception and menopause or something else, we would like to hear your stories The experience of life in a woman’s body can be challenging, embarrassing, funny and even joyful. Is there a physical experience you’ve had as a woman that has had a significant effect on your life – good or bad – and that you consider to be underreported? We’d love to hear your stories, positive or not, affecting, angry or humorous, from your first period to the menopause and beyond. Continue reading...
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'People think we’re from another planet': meet Karachi's female cyclists (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Teams of women and girls are among numerous cycle groups increasingly to be seen on the streets of the frenetic Pakistan megacity Early on Sunday morning in Karachi, a group of girls are riding loops around an empty stretch of road outside the colonial-era Custom House. At 6am they left the narrow alleys of the old neighbourhood of Lyari, branded a war zone by national and international media after a lengthy and brutal gang conflict. Two hours later they are still happily pedalling away, in ballet slippers and with headscarves tucked under helmets. “I used to cycle alone,” says Gullu Badar, 15. “It’s nice to cycle here because there’s no danger, no cars. It feels good that there are other girls cycling with me too.” Continue reading...
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How apartheid killed Johannesburg's cycling culture (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Racial segregation meant cycling lost status in South Africa earlier and more intensely than in the rest of the western world Cycling Cities: the Johannesburg Experience is published by the Foundation for the History of Technology “The writer counted, in the space of only four minutes, 93 native cyclists riding past the Astra theatre,” wrote a journalist for the Star newspaper in July 1940. Standing almost 80 years later on the same corner of Louis Botha Avenue at the same time and day of the week – 6.30pm on a Monday – it is hard to imagine. The theatre is long gone and not a single cyclist is to be seen on the car-choked thoroughfare. What happened to Johannesburg’s once vibrant commuter cycling culture? The dominance of the automobile marginalised the bicycle in many cities around the world through the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s but that process was accelerated in South Africa by apartheid. When policies of spatial segregation forcibly moved black people to faraway townships at the periphery of the city, the distance between work and home increased dramatically and cycling collapsed as an everyday practice. Continue reading...
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How has Brexit vote affected the UK economy? June verdict (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Each month we look at key indicators to see what effect the Brexit process has had on growth, prosperity and trade Rising risk of no-deal Brexit slows UK growth as pound slides Continue reading...
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Seth Meyers to Trump: 'That's not a defense, that's a confession' (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Late-night hosts discussed the latest sexual assault allegation against Trump and the crisis of children at the US-Mexico border Late-night hosts discussed recent issues of the Trump administration, including a new allegation of sexual assault against Trump and the crisis at the border. Continue reading...
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Lift 'unfair' ban on ivory trade, southern African leaders urge summit (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Angola and Namibia call for embargo suspension to allow sale of hugely valuable stockpiles Southern African leaders have renewed calls for a lifting of the ban on the ivory trade as debate over the “unfair” embargo escalates. At a wildlife economic summit in Zimbabwe, leaders of the five countries that make up the Kavango-Zambezi conservation area – Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Angola and Namibia – raised the issue ahead of the August conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in Geneva, Switzerland. Continue reading...
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Can you guess the world city from the cycle lane icon? (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Some cities use images of bikes and riders, with or without helmets. Some use riderless bikes – and others just get the geometry all wrong. Can you tell what city it is from its cycle lane icon? Which city is this? London Paris New York Which city is this? San Francisco Manchester Vancouver Which city is this? Amsterdam Sydney Edinburgh Which city is this? Stockholm Milan Washington DC Which city is this? Tokyo Jakarta Singapore Which city is this? Bahrain New Orleans Copenhagen Which city is this? Lille Seattle London Which city is this? Perth Prague Pittsburgh 8 and above. Excellent 7 and above. Very good 6 and above. Pretty good 5 and above. Not bad 4 and above. Not bad 3 and above. Hmm 2 and above. Oops 0 and above. Oops 1 and above. Oops Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to join the discussion, catch up on our best stories or sign up for our weekly newsletter Continue reading...
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Heatwave Europe and Glastonbury damp: Wednesday's top photos (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
The Guardian’s picture editors select photo highlights from around the world Continue reading...
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Glastonbury festival: first arrivals – in pictures (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Glastonbury’s gates have opened, ready to welcome about 200,000 people to the UK’s biggest music and performing arts festival Continue reading...
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Faces of war: Kurdistan’s armed struggle against Islamic State (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Since March 2015, the photographer and author Joey Lawrence has had unprecedented access to Kurdish guerrilla organisations fighting Isis, embedding himself into the Iraq and Syrian civil war. His powerful portraits of the fighters give a different perspective to the conflict We came from fire, and we will return to fire The war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has flooded our daily news with troubling statistics of massacres and mass migrations, yet there are faces and human stories at the heart of the conflict. Joey L wrote: “From Iraq, one crosses the Tigris River into war-torn Syria, and is catapulted into a worldview crafted by the guerrilla.” Continue reading...
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Apocalypse now: images of a world in turmoil (Wed, 26 Jun 2019)
Agence MYOP are taking over an abandoned school in Arles to exhibit images showing the major social, ecological and humanitarian crises we face MYOP is at Rencontres d’Arles, France, 1-7 July Continue reading...
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Johnson and Hunt on the Tory campaign trail - in pictures (Tue, 25 Jun 2019)
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt are campaigning to party members prior to a final ballot, the result of which will be announced during the week of 22 July Tory leadership - latest Continue reading...
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‘I think therefore I cycle’: 50 years of Dutch anti-car posters – in pictures (Tue, 25 Jun 2019)
We rounded up half a century of protest posters and stickers from campaigns which helped Amsterdam become the ‘cycle capital of the world’ Bike City Amsterdam by Fred Feddes and Marjolein de Lange is published by Bas Lubberhuizen Continue reading...
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