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Steve Witkoff arrives in Moscow for further talks with Russia about Ukraine peace plan – Europe live (ven., 25 avril 2025)
US peace envoy to meet Vladimir Putin to discuss Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine ahead of US president’s 100 days in office next week Associated Press has further details of the confirmed killing of a senior Russian military official by a car bomb in the city of Balashikha, which lies just to the east of the outskirts of Russia’s capital. It reports Russia’s top criminal investigation agency confirmed the killing of Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik. The deputy head of the main operational department in the general staff of the Russian armed forces, he was killed by an explosive device placed in his car. Continue reading...
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Reeves hints at priority as she says ‘trading relationship with Europe arguably more important’ than US – UK politics live (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Chancellor said she understood the focus on possible deal with US, but added the EU remained ‘our nearest neighbours and trading partners’ A successful result for Reform UK in next week’s local elections will bring down the proportion of women in local government, an academic study suggests. Researchers at the University of Essex says that Reform has been worse than any of the other main parties at selecting women to be council candidates and that this could result in local government becoming more male than it already is. Reform have lower levels of female candidates (less than a quarter) than the Conservatives (not quite 30%). The Greens and Labour are at over 40% overall and LibDems, Others/Indys and local parties hitting the 30-33% mark. The introduction of widespread Reform candidates, and particularly if they win, has widened the gender gap. Liberal Democrat HOLD Thatcham North East (West Berkshire) council by-election result: SNP HOLD Glenrothes Central and Thornton (Fife) council by-election result: SNP: 47.6% (-1.1) Labour HOLD St John’s (Suffolk) council by-election result: LAB: 28.0% (-19.7) Reform GAIN from Independent Marine (Arun) council by-election result: REF: 26.0% (+26.0) Continue reading...
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Xi announces plan for Chinese economy to counter impact of US trade war (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Beijing will ‘strengthen bottom-line thinking’ as reports say it could drop tariffs on some US products Business live – latest updates Xi Jinping has announced a plan to counter China’s continuing economic problems and the impact of the US trade war, as reports swirl that it could drop tariffs on some US products, including semiconductors. Friday’s meeting of the politburo was convened to discuss China’s economic situation, which since the pandemic has faced difficulties fuelled by a housing sector crisis, youth unemployment, and Donald Trump’s tariffs on all Chinese exports. Continue reading...
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Historians dispute Bayeux tapestry penis tally after lengthy debate (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Two Bayeux scholars at loggerheads over whether dangling shape depicts dagger or the embroidery’s 94th phallus In a historical spat that could be subtitled “1066 with knobs on”, two medieval experts are engaged in a battle over how many male genitalia are embroidered into the Bayeux tapestry. The Oxford professor George Garnett drew worldwide interest six years ago when he announced he had totted up 93 penises stitched into the embroidered account of the Norman conquest of England. Continue reading...
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Post Office paid £600m to continue using bug-ridden Horizon IT system (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Tony Blair was warned about possible problems with the original Fujitsu deal before it was signed in 1999 The Post Office has paid more than £600m of public money to continue using the bug-ridden Horizon IT system despite deciding it needed to be replaced more than a decade ago. It has emerged that the government was warned about potential problems with the original £548m deal the Post Office struck with the Japanese company Fujitsu before it was signed in 1999. Continue reading...
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Apple ‘aims to source all US iPhones from India’, reducing reliance on China (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Report suggests tech firm – swept up in Donald Trump’s trade war – will make change as soon as 2026 Apple is reportedly planning to switch assembly of all iPhones for the US market to India as the company seeks to reduce its reliance on a Chinese manufacturing base amid Donald Trump’s trade war. The $3tn (£2.3tn) technology company aims to make the shift as soon as next year, the Financial Times reported. Continue reading...
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Pakistan and India exchange fire as UN calls for ‘maximum restraint’ (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Countries trade blows across line of control in disputed Kashmir as tensions rise after deadly shooting Troops from Pakistan and India exchanged fire overnight across the line of control in disputed Kashmir, officials have said, after the UN urged the nuclear-armed rivals to show “maximum restraint” after Tuesday’s massacre of Indian tourists by Islamic militants. Relations have plunged to their lowest level in years, with India accusing Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen carried out the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century. Continue reading...
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Forestry Commission investigates felling of ancient Enfield oak (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Minister says incident ‘opened up a nerve in the country’ as new questions raised over ownership of land it stood on The Forestry Commission has started an investigation into the controversial felling of an ancient oak near a Toby Carvery car park in north London amid new questions about ownership of the land on which it stood. The investigation was announced by the junior environment minister Sue Hayman, who said the felling of the 500-year-old tree in Enfield earlier this month was “horrifying”. Continue reading...
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Vatican readies for Pope Francis’s funeral as world leaders head to Rome (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Tens of thousands of mourners have queued for hours to pay respects to pontiff before coffin is sealed on Friday Pope Francis obituary Europe live – latest updates Almost 130,000 people from all over the world have viewed Pope Francis’s body as the Vatican makes the final preparations for his funeral on Saturday, an event that will be attended by 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs. St Peter’s Basilica closed at 2.30am on Friday and reopened three hours later to accommodate the last of the huge crowds of mourners who had waited patiently to pay their respects to Francis, who died at the age of 88 on Monday after a stroke. The coffin will be sealed at 8pm in a ceremony attended by senior cardinals. Continue reading...
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Bill Maher calls Larry David’s satire of his Trump dinner ‘kind of insulting to 6 million dead Jews’ (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
‘Nobody has been harder … about Donald Trump than me,’ Maher says after fellow comedian compared his meal with US president to meeting Hitler Bill Maher has responded to Larry David’s satirical essay in the New York Times that compared Maher’s glowing account of having dinner with Donald Trump to dining with Adolf Hitler. Maher, a vocal critic of Trump in the past, had dinner with the US president and a group of his high-profile supporters, including their mutual friend Kid Rock, on 31 March. On an episode of his talkshow Real Time on 11 April, Maher described Trump as “gracious” and “much more self-aware than he lets on”, saying: “Everything I’ve ever not liked about him was – I swear to God – absent, at least on this night with this guy.” Continue reading...
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‘I had rose-tinted spectacles’: UK city dwellers on relocating during the pandemic (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
As London once again becomes the most searched-for location on Rightmove, which is better, rural or city life? London has once again become the most searched-for location on the property website Rightmove, with more than half of the people living there (58%) looking to stay rather than leave. This comes five years after the start of the Covid pandemic, which prompted many people to seek an escape from city life in favour of more outdoor space to accommodate working remotely. This trend has since reversed with more employers asking workers to return to office working. Continue reading...
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Santa Maria Maggiore: why Pope Francis decided ‘this is my place’ to be buried (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
The pontiff shunned fanfare by picking a small niche in the basilica he visited more than 100 times during his papacy As a priest, and then cardinal, Jorge Mario Bergoglio would always call into Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, during his regular visits to the Italian capital. The fourth-century basilica with its distinctive bell tower is perched on one of Rome’s seven ancient hills in Esquilino, a neighbourhood that lies between the Colosseum and Termini train station which during the Roman empire served as a burial ground for slaves. Continue reading...
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‘It shapes the whole experience’: what happens when you build a city from wood? (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Transforming a former industrial area in Sweden will bring psychological benefits for future residents and reduce construction’s climate impact Although activity is high, it is surprisingly quiet inside the construction site of a high school extension in Sickla, a former industrial area in south Stockholm that is set to become part of the “largest mass timber project in the world” according to the Swedish urban property developer Atrium Ljungberg. Just a few months remain until students enter the premises, but there is no sound of drilling or pounding against concrete walls. The scent of wood is unmistakable, and signs of the material can be spotted everywhere – from glulam (glued laminated timber) columns and beams in the building’s frame to cross-laminated timber (CLT) slabs in the floors, ceilings and staircases. CLT, made by gluing together layers of planed wood into panels, offers strength and rigidity comparable to concrete but is significantly lighter and quicker to build with. Continue reading...
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Flintoff review – so traumatised he can’t even speak to his ex-Top Gear pals (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
The story of the former cricket prodigy and car crash survivor Freddie Flintoff is fascinating … but this documentary shows he has such extreme PTSD that he keeps slamming the shutters down Freddie Flintoff is numb. As the 98-minute Disney+ documentary Flintoff begins, we find its subject sitting in a hospital room. He can’t feel his lip, the one that was torn from his face in a nightmarish car accident on the Top Gear track in 2022. But more than that, he is mentally checked out. As one doctor after another tells him that he is recovering well and looking good, he stares at the ground dejectedly. He just wants everyone to stop sugarcoating everything and tell him the truth, he says. What he wants to hear is that he looks like “a fucking mess”. Flintoff was designed as the big unveiling of the new, post-accident Freddie Flintoff. His days as a cricketing prodigy are over and so, it seems, are his days as a permanent light entertainment fixture. He is older, slower and more reflective. He is also plagued, night after night, by looping footage of the accident that ended Top Gear. Ostensibly this is where we’ll get to watch his comeback. Continue reading...
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Experience: I went blind after doing 13 cartwheels in a row (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
An orange blur obscured my vision. By morning it was even worse It was a cool May afternoon in 2002. I was 19 and had driven to Westport beach in Washington with a few friends to enjoy a day by the ocean. As a child, I’d been a keen gymnast, always doing backflips and energetic routines. As I got older, I still had a habit of doing cartwheels whenever I found an open space. That day on the beach, on the soft, flat sand, I couldn’t resist. Continue reading...
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‘I hate it’: Manchester commuters back ban out-loud music on public transport (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Lib Dem move to ban practice is broadly welcomed, though some feel the party should focus on more important things “Dread” might not be the first word Mancunians reach for to describe their daily commute, but for Ross Kenyon, 45, reluctantly waiting at a tram stop on a cloudy morning in central Manchester, it’s the feeling clawing at his body. Why? He hates the tram. So much so, he refuses to take it to work, preferring a half-hour walk to his office instead. He says the the buses are even worse. He avoids them completely. Continue reading...
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‘If Jesus and Buddha had our work schedule, they’d have fallen out too’: boyband Five on bullying, Britney and their blockbuster return (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
After being fast-tracked to stardom, the bad boys of Y2K pop butted heads and burned out. They explain how they faced their demons for an arena-sized reunion – and why Simon Cowell was ‘a proper winker’ In September 1998, amid a rocketing pop career that would end up with every one of their 11 singles reaching the UK Top 10, British boyband Five went missing. They were due to visit the US, where the lascivious When the Lights Go Out had got huge, but Five – Ritchie Neville (curtains), Scott Robinson (spiky hair), Abz Love (hats), Sean Conlon (baby-faced), and Jason “J” Brown (eyebrow ring) – had other ideas. “We decided we wanted a couple of days off,” says Scott, now without spikes and sporting a thick salt-and-pepper beard. “So we booked our own flights back to the UK.” Rather than visit family like everyone else, J returned to the band’s shared house in Surrey. “There were fans camping outside, literally in tents on the little lawn,” he says, shaking his shaved head, now minus the eyebrow ring. “We needed to decompress – we were losing our minds. But all I had was people shouting through the letterbox at me for three days.” Whenever he wanted food he had to crawl from the living room to the kitchen on his stomach. “Then they started turning against me: ‘We know you’re in there! We bought your album! You owe us!’” Continue reading...
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‘I miss those days terribly’: readers share their defining video store memories (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
With the arrival of a new video store in Brooklyn, we asked you to tell us about your most memorable anecdotes After a film had been in the cinema but before a film was on general sale (also called ‘Home Release’) there would be a window of perhaps a few months where the retail price of a single VHS tape would be about £100 [$133]. In a world of digital media that now feels mad, but it was obviously profitable for the rental shops to buy tapes at that price. Continue reading...
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From batik-making in Ghana to homestays in Kyrgyzstan: your top ethical trips (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
​Readers share their ​favourite experiences that benefit local people, including community cottages in Northern Ireland, an anti-mafia tour of Palermo​ and an eco project in Ecuador Global Mamas, in the port town of Elmina, creates financial prosperity for local women through the production of handcrafted goods using traditional techniques. We joined them at a batik workshop, where Mavis Thompson showed us how to dip our chosen designs into melted wax, and stamp a length of cream cotton. After dyeing the fabric using natural pigments, we plunged it into boiling water to remove the wax. As the cotton had to be sun-dried between each stage, we sat on low stools and watched the other Global Mamas produce larger, more complex designs. Our vibrantly coloured tablecloths are a reminder of a happy afternoon with Mavis and the mamas. Helen Jackson Continue reading...
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Bad Friend by Tiffany Watt Smith review – refreshingly frank portraits of female friendship (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
A social and personal history that refuses to gloss over the rage, envy and hurt that form part of every close bond Falling out with a friend can feel oddly shameful. Romantic relationships are meant to have passionate highs and lows, but by the time you reach adulthood, you expect your friendships to have reached some kind of equilibrium. I have this image in my head of myself as an affectionate, devoted friend – but sometimes I examine my true feelings towards the women who are closest to me and feel shocked by my own pettiness. It is embarrassing to be a grownup but still capable of such intense flashes of rage, and envy. When my friendships become distant or strained, I wonder why I still struggle to do this basic thing. Bad Friend represents a kind of love letter to female friendship, but doesn’t gloss over how difficult it can be. Tiffany Watt Smith is a historian, and this book is a deeply researched study of 20th-century women’s relationships, but the reason for writing it is intensely personal. In the prologue, she says that she fell out with her best friend, Sofia, in her early 30s, and has been battling with the feeling that she is incapable of close friendship ever since. In one passage, she describes hiding a sparkly “BFF” (best friends forever) T-shirt from her five-year-old daughter, because she felt so conflicted about having no BFF of her own. But the idea that underpins this book is that we expect too much of female friendship, and that leaves every woman feeling inadequate. Continue reading...
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I want to start dating casually. How do I turn off the illogical, hopelessly romantic part of my brain? | Leading questions (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Are you responding to reality or possibility, asks advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Knowing the difference might help your better judgment win out Read more Leading questions How do I start dating casually when I know I’m going to catch feelings even if I don’t want to? My last relationship ended about a year ago and I’ve been taking time for myself and healing and all that good stuff but I now feel as though I’m ready to get back out there. I haven’t dated casually before and I’d like to try it out, but even if I know it’s a bad idea, there’s going to be a significant part of myself that might fall in love with whoever I spend time with. How do I turn off that completely illogical, hopeless romantic part of my brain? Continue reading...
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We obsess over the angry young men going Reform. But what of the anxious young women going Green? | Gaby Hinsliff (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Desire for a politics that cares about global and local injustice is sharpening the political gender divide Sometimes a political backlash doesn’t take the shape you expect. Though there are times when it goes off like a firework, as young men’s TikTok-fuelled surge of enthusiasm for Nigel Farage did last summer, sometimes it’s more of a long, slow burn. The most underexplored form of revolt against mainstream politics right now is the second kind, involving not angry young men lurching rightwards but anxious young women turning, if anything, more sharply left. Almost a quarter of women aged 18 to 24 voted Green last July, roughly double the number of young men who voted Reform, though predictably it’s the latter who have since got all the attention. While the big parties chased avidly after so-called Waitrose women, well-heeled home counties matrons considering defecting from the Tories, they had little to say to their daughters. So it was the Greens who ended up cornering the market in a certain kind of frustrated gen Z voter: typically a middle-class student or graduate in her early 20s, whose conscience is pricked every time she opens Instagram by heartrending images of orphans in Gaza or refugees drowning in the Channel, and who can’t understand why nobody seems to care. She’s angry about the rampant misogyny of some boys she knew at school, Donald Trump, greedy landlords and a burning planet, and the Greens’ more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger social media posts attacking Keir Starmer for choosing welfare cuts over wealth taxes strike a chord. Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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Youth centres may seem tame fare for politicians. But I've seen firsthand how they cut crime | Simon Jenkins (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
By steering Britain’s young people down a positive path, these centres answer a chronic need. Why doesn’t the government protect them? At next week’s local elections, few will be voting on how their council is run. They will be passing judgment on Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and other national figures. Local democracy no longer thrives in Britain. An opinion poll would be cheaper. Cut to the humble youth club. I supported a private charity in my old borough of Camden, north London, that was struggling to turn young people, mostly in their teens, away from a life of crime. The local council-run youth club had been forced to close. Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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Péter Erdő is a strong candidate to be the next pope – and that’s reason to be fearful | Alex Faludy (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
The archbishop is traditionalists’ preferred candidate for a reason: his papacy would wind back the progress made under Pope Francis Who might be the next pope? The question is famously difficult to answer. But we can be reasonably confident that if the successful contender comes from the traditionalist camp – as opposed to the reformists – then he is likely to be Hungary’s most senior bishop, Péter Erdő. If you follow Hungarian politics then you will know of Erdő – a highly cultured man, respected for his broad learning well beyond his specialism in church law. His expertise has made him a valued consultant to Vatican bodies, while his sermons and interviews abound with historical and literary references. Yet he’s also a remote figure, lacking the common touch that defined Francis’s papacy; ascetic-looking, he’s rarely pictured smiling. Alex Faludy is a British-Hungarian freelance journalist based in Budapest, specialising in religious affairs Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
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Atomfall might have been an apocalyptic classic if it wasn’t for all the walking | Dominik Diamond (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
The Lake District after the 1957 Windscale nuclear disaster is a great setting for a game – and gorgeously rendered. That doesn’t mean I want to endlessly keep traversing it ‘Fast travel”. The greatest two words in gaming. Greater even than “infinite lives”, Clive Sinclair or “moustachioed plumber”. It is to go from one location in a game where you are doing something important to another location in the blink of a loading screen, cutting out the repetitive kerfuffle in between. (Trivia break: Repetitive Kerfuffle might have been the working title for Tetris!) We’ve had it since the 80s. Dragon Quest had a Return spell and the original Zelda had the recorder to take you to different dungeons, and even they were preceded six years earlier by a certain big fat yellow mouth who had dots for supper and ghosts for dessert. Because that guy could go out of one side of the screen and appear on the other instantly. That’s fast travel isn’t it? My advocacy for this is however tempered by the depression I feel that PacMan may have thought going off the right hand side would mean an escape from his corridor hell, only to return, Sisyphus-like, back where he started. Continue reading...
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In Brazil, the right creates precarious workers, and precarious workers prefer the right – but the cycle can be broken | Rodrigo Nunes (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Rodrigo Nunes, a senior lecturer in political theory, explains how delivery drivers are taking to the street to demand better pay and conditions, while worker-owned delivery app services are thriving On 1 April, Brazilian couriers organised a day of action in which thousands of workers engaged in pickets and protests in at least 60 cities, with places such as São Paulo reporting a sharp drop in deliveries. While companies are yet to respond to the demands for better pay and conditions, the mobilisation was a clear step-up for a process of national organisation that began in 2020. Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people working for delivery apps in Brazil rose by 979.8%, with the number of delivery and passenger drivers in the sector now around 1.4 million. This boom coincides with the period in which the country finally felt the effects of the post-2008 recession. Economic decline, corruption and the impeachment of the then president, Dilma Rousseff, ended 13 years of successful left-leaning governments by the Workers’ party (PT). In the years that followed, a series of austerity measures and labour reforms were put in place, the political spectrum moved steadily to the right and the far-right libertarian politician Jair Bolsonaro was elected president in 2018. Continue reading...
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Want to beat authoritarianism? Look to Latin America | Greg Grandin (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
The region has grappled with dictatorships, coups and inequality. But its democratic spirit remains vital – and offers a lesson for the US Inspiration on how to beat back authoritarianism is in short supply, but those searching for hope in these dark times might consider Latin America. It’s not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about democracy, associated as it is with coups, death squads, dictatorships, inequality, drug violence and now a country, El Salvador, offering itself up to Donald Trump as an offshore prison colony for deportees. Continue reading...
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Ben Jennings on negotiations to end the war in Ukraine – cartoon (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Discover and buy more of Ben’s cartoons here Order your own print of this cartoon from the Guardian Print Shop Continue reading...
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Drax needs a better policeman (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Public confidence in the UK biomass industry is low – robust checks are needed to ensure every wood pellet its power plant burns is sustainable MPs question value of billions in subsidies granted to Drax power plant Even government ministers sounded embarrassed in February when they threw yet more subsidies at Drax, recipient of £6.5bn to date, to keep its wood-burning power plant open until 2031. Few people think the biomass industry can survive in the long term unless as-yet-untested carbon capture technology can be installed. But the bizarre business of importing wood pellets from the US and Canada for incineration in North Yorkshire was given an extension because the UK’s power system, now more reliant on wind and solar generation, also needs firm “dispatchable” power that can be turned on and off in a hurry. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on the coming papal conclave: Catholics at a crossroads | Editorial (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Pope Francis’s progressive legacy rests in the hands of cardinal electors who will be juggling competing agendas In keeping with the humble style of his papacy, Pope Francis did his best to dial down the pomp and ceremony that would mark his passing. In St Peter’s Basilica, where he now lies in state, Francis’s body rests in an unelaborate coffin and has not been placed on the traditional elevated bier. The tomb in which he will be buried is to be underground and unadorned, carrying only the plain inscription “Franciscus”, again on his instructions. The final grace notes of a remarkable papacy will add to the pathos of Saturday’s funeral, which hundreds of thousands of mourners are expected to attend. The Argentinian pope’s plain, direct style endeared him to millions of non-Catholics as well as to the faithful. But the ecclesiastical politics of what happens next, in a divided church, will be anything but straightforward. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on Conservatives in crisis: a shrinking party without purpose | Editorial (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Speculation about deals with Reform is symptomatic of the Tories’ reluctance to understand why they lost and how far they are from regaining public trust The Conservative party is braced for a beating in local elections next week and the conversation has already turned to potential pacts with Reform UK. It is an old topic given fresh impetus by the revelation that Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, discussed the prospects of a “coalition” to “unite the right” at a meeting of Tory activists last month. Whether that means a formal deal or some looser alignment, there is an obvious electoral rationale for the proposition. But its public endorsement is still taboo in a party that sees itself as the natural ruling authority in Britain, only occasionally and temporarily forced to sojourn in opposition. Continue reading...
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British Jews deeply divided over Israel’s response to 7 October attacks | Letter (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Ben Rich responds to the Board of Deputies’ decision to start disciplinary action against members who signed an open letter on the war in Gaza Whether the Board of Deputies upholds the complaints against its 36 members who signed a letter to the Financial Times will not change the fact that the UK’s Jewish community is deeply divided by Israel’s response to Hamas’s appalling 7 October attacks (Dozens of members of UK Jewish body facing disciplinary action over criticism of Israel, 23 April). In Judaism, there is a concept of disagreement for the “sake of heaven”. Yeshiva students study in pairs, each taking a different side of an argument to divine the truth of any particular text. Any attempt to deny a voice to one or other side is not only pointless (it will not miraculously unite the community) but deeply un-Jewish. We don’t need to pick a side to applaud those who have chosen to express a counterview as a means to understand a better way forward for both Israelis and Palestinians. Ben Rich Former adviser to the Board of Deputies of British Jews; CEO, Reform Judaism, 2011-13 Continue reading...
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Lowering the voting age will benefit democracy | Letters (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
It makes no sense to deny the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds, writes Robin Prior, while Liz Moorse advocates for a statutory citizenship curriculum. Plus a letter from Chris Rennard Simon Jenkins disagrees with the government’s proposal to reduce the voting age to 16 (Votes for 16-year-olds? Sorry, but I’m not convinced, theguardian.com, 17 April). But the voting age of 18 is an arbitrary threshold. Quite a recent one too – until 1969 the minimum voting age in Britain was 21. Other countries have minimum voting ages from 16 to 21. In Vatican City, voting for a new pope is restricted to cardinals under the age of 80. The usual argument for denying the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds hinges on their supposed lack of certain capacities such as political awareness or powers of reasoning. But if we accept this, perhaps we should also put a ceiling on voting age too, as they do in the Vatican. After all, for every 16-year-old too clueless to understand what they are doing in a voting booth, there must be several geriatrics (and several more not so geriatric) who are just as incompetent. Continue reading...
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Slot on Liverpool’s final title push, FA Cup and WCL semis, plus team news: football – live (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Premier League and FA Cup semis: 10 things to look for Fixtures | Latest tables | And you can also email Dominic If you’re planning an idle non-football related trip to Liverpool this weekend this weekend, I’d probably advise against it. No doubt the city will be absolutely packed with fans ready to bask in the warm glow of the club’s 20th league title – and second in the Premier League era. That previous title was in the 2019/20 Covid season, so this will be a proper chance to celebrate drawing level with Manchester United. Slot said he hoped Liverpool’s fans would bring their usual level of noise and support … I think it might be a little louder than normal, Arne. Continue reading...
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Premier League and FA Cup semis: 10 things to look out for this weekend (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Chelsea to give youth a chance, Ipswich look to prolong the inevitable and Jamie Vardy begins his swansong Tyrique George has caught the eye since breaking into Chelsea’s first team. A homegrown talent, the 19-year-old winger has done well in his Conference League outings and is in contention for his first start in the league when Enzo Maresca’s side host Everton in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off. Fast, direct and sharp on the ball, George has quickly become a favourite with supporters and he lifted some of the pressure off Maresca after coming off the bench to score an excellent equaliser in Chelsea’s comeback win at Fulham last weekend. Thrown on as a striker, George made it 1-1 with a fine shot from the edge of the area. It was the latest in a series of positive contributions from the teenager. His enthusiasm could make a difference against Everton. Jacob Steinberg Chelsea v Everton, Premier League, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST) Brighton v West Ham, Premier League, Saturday 3pm Newcastle v Ipswich, Premier League, Saturday 3pm Southampton v Fulham, Premier League, Saturday 3pm Continue reading...
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Six-way title tilts and angry Bulls: non-league football stories you may have missed (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Astonishing final-game deciders, postponed playoffs and the unluckiest team in the country with 100 points Six years after Bury were expelled from the league, last weekend they smashed a North West Counties league record by attracting a crowd of 8,719 to Gigg Lane as they sealed the first promotion since they were reborn by thrashing Burscough 4-0, a 15th successive victory. A measure of this achievement: the previous record crowd, the 6,023 who watched FC United of Manchester lose 1-0 to Great Harwood Town, was set in April 2006 (the 5,834 that saw Bury draw 2-2 with Ramsbottom United on Boxing Day sits at No 3 on the list); only one team in non-league football, Southend in the division above the division above the division above the division above them, have had more people at a game this season; Bury’s average attendance in the ninth tier of English football, 3,315, is bigger than that of five teams in League Two and one in League One, as well as seven in the Portuguese top flight; that record attendance was 2.7 times larger than the total attendance at the other 11 games played in their division on the final day. A couple of other familiar names with big fanbases also hope to end the season with a celebration: Scunthorpe United, with the fourth-biggest average attendance in non-league football, are two points behind Kidderminster Harriers and Brackley Town in the hunt for a single automatic promotion spot in National League North (though Brackley are at home to rock-bottom Farsley Celtic, who are on a run even sillier than Bury’s having lost their past 17 league games), and Torquay, fifth in the attendance table, are in the National League South wild shake-up. Continue reading...
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NFL draft: Jags trade up for Travis Hunter as QB-needy teams pass on Shedeur Sanders (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
As it happened: Cam Ward picked No 1 overall by Titans Jacksonville trade with Browns for No 2 selection New York Giants pick Abdul Carter at No 3 overall The first pick of the 2025 NFL draft went much as expected as the Tennessee Titans selected the talented Miami quarterback Cam Ward No 1 overall. It was at No 2 – and who wasn’t picked later – where things got a little more interesting on Thursday night in Green Bay. Jacksonville, who had been sitting at No 5, traded up to take the Cleveland Browns’ spot at No 2, where the Jaguars selected Travis Hunter. Hunter is one of the most fascinating players to enter the NFL in years: a superbly talented athlete who can play both offense, at wide receiver, and defense, at cornerback. In return, the Browns received four picks, including the Jags’ second- and fourth-rounders this year and their 2026 first-rounder. Jacksonville also received a fourth-rounder and a sixth-rounder in return from the Browns. Continue reading...
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County cricket day one: Surrey v Somerset, Notts v Sussex, and more – live (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Updates from all the latest Championship matches Josh Hull interview | Email Tanya or comment BTL Early drama here at The Oval, where Sean Dickson has retired hurt after being rapped on the hand by Gus Atkinson. Lammonby joins Vaughan. Mornin’ Tanya! Hello there, Tim Maitland! ”It’s far too soon to dismiss the title pretensions of last season’s 1st versus last season’s 3rd at The Oval, at least mathematically, but given that between them they’ve managed five draws and a loss between them in 2025 they are both in dire need of something this week aren’t they? ”The only reason they’re not out of it is that no-one’s managed more than one win in their three starts. ”It really has been a strange start to the season hasn’t it? Especially when you consider that the weather wasn’t getting in the way.” Continue reading...
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Mansfield forward Lucas Akins jailed for 14 months after causing death of cyclist (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Leeds crown court heard how Adrian Daniel, 33, died 10 days after he was hit by Akins, who was driving his seven-year-old daughter to a piano lesson in 2022 The Mansfield Town forward Lucas Akins has been jailed for 14 months after causing the death of a cyclist he hit as he pulled out from a junction. Leeds crown court heard how Adrian Daniel, 33, died 10 days after he was hit by Akins, who was driving his seven-year-old daughter to a piano lesson in a Mercedes G-Wagon, near Huddersfield in March 2022. Continue reading...
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Eilish McColgan calls for passport ID to combat ‘faceless’ social media bullies (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
‘Having a verified account would make a big difference’ Athlete makes London Marathon debut on Sunday Eilish McColgan has revealed that she has even been body-shamed by school teachers, as she called for social media companies to use formal identification to prevent the abuse she faces every day. But McColgan, who will make her London Marathon debut on Sunday, has vowed to defy the bullies by staying on social media even though she was accused of “looking like a skeleton” and having anorexia when her mum, Liz, reposted a video of her training last month. Continue reading...
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Mark Selby fumes at ‘pathetic’ display in World Snooker Championship upset (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Ben Woollaston stuns four-time champion 10-8 Luca Brecel also recovers to beat Ryan Day 10-7 An angry Mark Selby was sensationally knocked out 10-8 by his friend Ben Woollaston on Thursday night as the shocks continued at the Crucible. The four-time world champion, the second favourite going into the tournament, follows the defending champion, Kyren Wilson, and the 2010 winner, Neil Robertson, in going out of the World Snooker Championship in the first round. Continue reading...
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Lifesize herd of puppet animals begins climate action journey from Africa to Arctic Circle (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
The Herds project from the team behind Little Amal will travel 20,000km taking its message on environmental crisis across the world Hundreds of life-size animal puppets have begun a 20,000km (12,400 mile) journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle as part of an ambitious project created by the team behind Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian girl that travelled across the world. The public art initiative called The Herds, which has already visited Kinshasa and Lagos, will travel to 20 cities over four months to raise awareness of the climate crisis. Continue reading...
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Weather tracker: thunderstorms lash Italy in aftermath of Storm Hans (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Authorities warn of mudslides during intense rainfall, as Kenya is hit by deadly flash flooding Europe live – latest updates After Storm Hans battered northern Italy in the runup to Easter, severe weather continued to lash much of the country this week. Since Tuesday, the conditions have triggered potent showers and thunderstormsand yellow and orange weather warnings have been issued. With winds generally remaining light this week, the greatest concerns surround the risks from intense rainfall, as slow-moving heavy showers can deliver a prolonged downpour to a fairly localised area. The authorities have warned people to avoid high-risk areas such as roads with steep embankments amid a threat of flash flooding and mudslides. Continue reading...
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Trump signs executive order boosting deep-sea mining industry (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Order seeks to jumpstart mining of US waters as part of push to offset China’s control of minerals industry Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at boosting the deep-sea mining industry, the latest attempt to boost US production of nickel, copper and other critical minerals used widely across the economy. The broad order avoids a direct confrontation with the UN-backed The order, which Trump signed in private, seeks to jumpstart the mining of both US and international waters as part of a push to offset China’s sweeping control of the critical minerals industry. Continue reading...
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MPs question value of billions in subsidies granted to Drax power plant (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Spending watchdog warns £6.5bn in funding may not offer value for public money amid sustainability concerns Nils Pratley: Drax needs a better policeman A UK government spending watchdog has questioned the value of the multibillion pound subsidies granted to the Drax power plant in North Yorkshire – and said plans to hand over billions more may not represent value for money. The government has provided about £22bn of public money to businesses and households that burn biomass pellets as fuel over the past three years, including £6.5bn for the owner of the Drax plant. Continue reading...
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Retail sales rise unexpectedly in Great Britain as sunshine lures shoppers (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Overall 1.6% rise in sales across first quarter, compared with last quarter of 2024, is strongest rate since July 2021 Business live – latest updates Sunny weather fuelled an unexpected increase in retail sales in Great Britain last month, as shoppers flocked to clothing, outdoor and DIY stores. Retail sales volumes rose 0.4% in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), defying a forecast of a 0.4% fall by City economists and marking the third straight month of sales growth. Continue reading...
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Supported housing in England on brink of financial crisis, charities warn (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Exclusive: More than 150 organisations warn funding cuts could force closures, putting thousands of vulnerable people at risk More than 150 organisations, including Age UK and Refuge, have warned the supported housing sector is on the precipice of a financial crisis that could plunge tens of thousands of vulnerable people into homelessness. In a letter to the government being delivered on Friday, public bodies, charities and housing associations called for urgent action to save the sector, which provides homes for 500,000 people across England with complex needs. Continue reading...
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Cyclists who kill pedestrians could be jailed for life under new law in England and Wales (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Reckless cycling is currently prosecuted under legislation from the 1860s, with a maximum two-year jail sentence Cyclists who kill pedestrians by dangerous cycling could face life imprisonment in England and Wales under new amendments to the crime and policing bill. The offence of causing death by dangerous cycling would be brought into line with driving laws under amendments tabled on Thursday, the Department for Transport said. Continue reading...
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North Yorkshire’s film-star stately home set to earn its keep by hosting paying guests (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Wealthy fans of Brideshead Revisited or Bridgerton may soon be able to stay at newly refurbished Castle Howard Laurence Olivier’s elderly Lord Marchmain in Brideshead Revisited died in it and a pair of hot young newlywed aristocrats in Bridgerton made out in it. Now someone with deep pockets may be able to occupy that same 18th-century canopy bed at Castle Howard. In the morning they might take breakfast in a room with Canaletto paintings on the wall and Meissen plates on which to butter their toast. Continue reading...
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Scope plans major job cuts, hitting disabled employees hardest (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Charity set to reduce its workforce by more than a fifth this year amid mounting financial pressures Scope expects to cut more than a fifth of its staff this year amid mounting financial pressures, with about a third of those affected to be disabled employees. The disability charity announced a consultation last week over plans to place 124 of its 326 corporate roles at risk of redundancy, a move likely to result in about 70 job losses in the summer. Continue reading...
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UK spending watchdog censures water firms and regulators over sewage failings (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
NAO finds regulatory gaps have enabled overspending on infrastructure building while not improving sewage works Water companies have been getting away with failures to improve sewage works and overspending because of regulatory problems, a damning report by the government’s spending watchdog has found. Firms have overspent on infrastructure building, the National Audit Office (NAO) found, with some of these costs being added to consumers’ bills. The Guardian this week reported Ofwat and the independent water commission are investigating water firms for spending up to 10 times as much on their sewage works and piping as comparable countries. Continue reading...
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Britain will accelerate push to net zero, Starmer tells energy summit (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Speech made clear prime minister sees renewable energy as core to UK’s future prosperity and national security Britain will go “all out” for a low-carbon future and accelerate the push to net zero instead of slowing down as some have demanded, the prime minister said on Thursday. In his strongest declaration yet of support for the net zero agenda, Sir Keir Starmer told a conference in London of more than 60 countries that tackling the climate crisis and bolstering energy security were “in the DNA of my government”. Continue reading...
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Ofcom accused of prioritising interests of tech firms over child safety online (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Watchdog’s new codes of practice are not strong enough, says children’s commissioner for England The communications watchdog has been accused of backing big tech over the safety of under-18s after the children’s commissioner for England criticised new measures for tackling online harms. Rachel de Souza said she warned Ofcom last year that its proposals for protecting children under the Online Safety Act were too weak. New codes of practice issued by the watchdog on Thursday have ignored her concerns, she said. Requiring social media platforms to deploy “highly effective” age checks to identify under-18s. Ensuring algorithms filter out harmful material. Making all sites and apps have procedures for taking down dangerous content quickly. Ensuring children must have a “straightforward” way to report content. Continue reading...
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Tory mayor joins calls for deal with Reform UK at next general election (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley mayor says there will ‘have to be a coming together’ of the two rightwing parties Ben Houchen, a Conservative mayor, has joined calls for his party to make some kind of deal with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK before the next election. The Tees Valley mayor, who is the Tories’ most powerful elected politician, said he wanted to see a coming together of the two rightwing parties. Continue reading...
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Charities attack Farage claims of ‘mental illness problems’ overdiagnosis (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Reform leader accused of ‘wildly inaccurate’ remarks as he complains about UK creating ‘class of victims’ Nigel Farage says the UK is “massively overdiagnosing those with mental illness problems” and creating a “class of victims”. In comments, which have drawn criticism from campaigners and charities, the leader of Reform UK said it was too easy to get a mental health diagnosis from a GP. Continue reading...
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Swiss leader says Trump administration foresees ‘privileged’ talks with 15 countries on US tariffs – US politics live (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Karin Keller-Sutter, Swiss president, says Switzerland is among 15 countries with which US plans to hold negotiations to reach deals over tariffs Social security, the sacred cow of the US welfare system dating back to Franklin Roosevelt’s 1930s New Deal, faces significant threat as it reels under the stress of Elon Musk’s aggressive incursions, its former head has said. Martin O’Malley, former commissioner of the social security administration (SSA) under Joe Biden, said such a breakdown could result in disruption to benefit payments on which more than 70 million Americans depend, sending shock waves across the economic and social landscape and posing a political challenge to Donald Trump, who has repeatedly vowed that social security will be left untouched in his radical remake of US government. Continue reading...
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New details on killing of paramedics in Gaza appear to contradict IDF’s account (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Haaretz report comes as supreme court gives Israeli PM more time to respond to affidavit from fired Shin Bet chief New developments have come to light in the killing of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip last month, with evidence reportedly contradicting the Israel Defense Forces’ claim that soldiers did not fire indiscriminately at the medical workers. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Wednesday that its analysis of the IDF’s own materials collected as part of an internal investigation into the incident contradicted the army’s claim that soldiers did not shoot indiscriminately at Palestinian ambulances and a fire engine in the early hours of 23 March. Continue reading...
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Pete Hegseth reportedly had unsecured office internet line to connect to Signal (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Defense chief had line set up to bypass official security protocols and use Signal app on personal computer, AP says Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, had an unsecured internet connection set up in his Pentagon office so that he could bypass government security protocols and use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told the Associated Press. ABC News also reported that Hegseth had what is known as a “dirty line” – what IT professionals call a commercial internet line that is used to connect to websites blocked by the Pentagon’s unclassified and classified lines. Defense department computers connect to the internet through two different systems: SiprNet – or secure internet protocol router network, which is the Pentagon’s network for classified information – and NiprNet – the non-classified internet protocol router network, which handles unclassified information. Continue reading...
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Canadian ex-PM seeks to help Liberals match his 1993 landslide victory (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Jean Chrétien, 91, appears keen to wield his influence to fight for a Liberal victory, drumming up support for Carney In the frenzy of a Canadian general election campaign, few things drain party activists more than the relentless travel, as they crisscross the country’s vast geography to drum up support in far-flung electoral districts. But ahead of what has been described as the most consequential general election in a lifetime, the 91-year-old former prime minister Jean Chrétien has campaigned for the Liberals in 30 electoral districts across the country as the party seeks to match – or even eclipse – his 1993 landslide victory. Continue reading...
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French PM calls for crackdown on knife crime after fatal high school stabbing (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Boy, 15, arrested after at least one child killed and three injured at Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides school in Nantes The French prime minister, François Bayrou, has called for a crackdown on teenage knife crime after a high-school student stabbed four other children at his school, killing at least one and injuring the others before being arrested. The 15-year-old reportedly attacked fellow students with a knife during lunch break on Thursday at the private Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides secondary school in the city of Nantes on the Atlantic coast. The attack took place at around 12.30pm (11.30am BST), before teachers overpowered the boy. One female student was killed. At least one other student is in a critical condition in hospital. Continue reading...
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Andy Warhol artwork may have been thrown out in Dutch town hall revamp (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Maashorst council says print of Queen Beatrix from 1985 series Reigning Queens probably taken with the rubbish In the hands of Andy Warhol, trash often became a work of art. So perhaps the pop culture icon would not be too upset to know that in the hands of one Dutch municipality, one of his artworks went the other way and was thrown out with the rubbish. Maashorst town hall on Thursday confessed that a rare silkscreen print by Warhol, who died in 1987, was among 46 valuable artworks that were “most likely” taken away with the bins during extensive renovation work last year. Continue reading...
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Elon Musk’s xAI accused of pollution over Memphis supercomputer (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Hearing scheduled for Friday as residents receive anonymous leaflets that downplay pollution dangers Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is stirring controversy in Memphis, Tennessee. That’s where he’s building a massive supercomputer to power his company xAI. Community residents and environmental activists say that since the supercomputer was fired up last summer it has become one of the biggest air polluters in the county. But some local officials have championed the billionaire, saying he’s investing in Memphis. The first public hearing with the health department is scheduled for Friday, where county officials will hear from all sides of the debate. In the run-up to the hearing, secretive fliers claiming xAI has low emissions were sent to residents of historically Black neighborhoods; at the same time, environmental groups have been amassing data about how much pollution the AI company is likely generating. Continue reading...
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Trump targets Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue with memorandum (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
President directs attorney general to investigate supposed foreign contributions, an unsubstantiated rightwing claim The Republican president is taking aim at a Democratic fundraising platform, issuing a presidential memorandum to crack down on supposed foreign contributions to elections, an unsubstantiated claim from the right.. Donald Trump announced the memo on Thursday, directing the attorney general to investigate, and report to the president, “concerning allegations regarding the use of online fundraising platforms to make ‘straw’ or ‘dummy’ contributions and to make foreign contributions to US political candidates and committees, all of which break the law”. Continue reading...
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California’s economy surpasses Japan’s as it becomes fourth largest in world (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
State’s nominal GDP reaches $4.1tn, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn, ranking it behind the US, China and Germany California’s economy has surpassed Japan’s, making the Golden state the fourth largest economy in the world, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday. The state’s nominal GDP reached $4.1tn, according to data from the International Monetary Fund and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn nominal GDP. California now ranks behind the US at $29.18tn, China at $18.74tn and Germany at $4.65tn. Continue reading...
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Jewish senators accuse Trump of exploiting antisemitism to target universities (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Democrats including Schumer say Trump is using antisemitism as cover to defund schools Five Jewish Democratic senators have sent a strongly worded letter to Donald Trump condemning his administration’s “assault on universities” and questioning whether actions taken against higher education institutions are truly aimed at combating antisemitism. The letter – signed by Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader, and senators Jacky Rosen, Richard Blumenthal, Adam Schiff and Brian Schatz – accuses the administration of using “a real crisis as a pretext to attack people and institutions who do not agree with you”. Continue reading...
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Add to playlist: Kashus Culpepper’s ‘southern sounds’ and the week’s best new tracks (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Welcome to our new series highlighting the best emerging artists – first up, a former firefighter and US Navy recruit who counts Samuel L Jackson as a fan From Alabama Recommended if you like Luke Combs, Tony Joe White, Charles Bradley Up next Supporting Leon Bridges in the US Kashus Culpepper’s story has something of the Hollywood movie about it. A former firefighter who went on to enlist in the US Navy, he only picked up a guitar five years ago to entertain his fellow troops when they were locked down in barracks during the pandemic. On his return to the US, he began working for a cement company while posting clips of covers and his own songs to social media: one attracted the attention of Samuel L Jackson, who reposted it to his 9 million followers. Within a few months, Culpepper had both a record deal and a co-sign from another navy veteran, country star Zach Bryan. By the end of last year, Culpepper was performing at Nashville’s legendary Grand Ole Opry. Continue reading...
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TV tonight: human remains are found in tense cold case drama Black Snow (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
An upsetting moment as the search for missing Zoe continues. Plus: Cornish folklore in cosy crime series Beyond Paradise. Here’s what to watch this evening 9pm, BBC TwoThe Queensland-set cold case drama continues. Zoe Jacobs (Jana McKinnon) vanished on her 21st birthday back in 2003, and we have come to know her hopes, fears and love of ecstasy and pop-punk via extended flashbacks. So it’s all the more upsetting that unkempt detective James Cormack (Travis Fimmel) and Zoe’s old bestie turned beat cop Samara Kahlil (Megan Smart) have just recovered submerged human remains near the local dam. Graeme Virtue Continue reading...
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A Complete Unknown to Havoc: the seven best films to watch on TV this week (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Timothée Chalamet is the perfect embodiment of the young Bob Dylan, and Tom Hardy unleashes his wild side in a shamelessly violent thriller about dirty cops James Mangold directed the excellent Johnny Cash drama Walk the Line, and his latest music biopic – which tracks the groundbreaking early phase of Bob Dylan’s career – has the same rewarding fidelity to time and place. It also features a lead performance that is so much more than an impersonation: Timothée Chalamet is perfectly cast as the single-minded young folk singer, who arrives in New York in 1961 to follow in the footsteps of his hero Woody Guthrie. Dylan wows lovable banjo star Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) with his songs and political stance, but his selfish attitude alienates Monica Barbaro’s equally talented Joan Baez … and most of the folk establishment. Wednesday 30 April, Disney+ Continue reading...
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The Four Seasons to Flintoff: the seven best shows to stream this week (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Tina Fey’s new cringe comedy tackles three couples whose lives unravel on a doomed holiday. Plus: an intimate documentary about the extraordinary life of the cricketer Three apparently stable couples, all deep into middle age and preoccupied with statins and second homes, go on an annual holiday together. It’s expected to be a gentle affair but Nick (Steve Carell) is about to drop a bombshell: he’s bored and frustrated and he’s leaving Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver). Tina Fey’s comedy, adapted from a 1981 film starring Alan Alda who cameos here, is a mixture of deepest cringe – an unsuspecting Anne has organised a vow renewal party and invited everyone they know to witness their collapsing marriage – and melancholy revelations about fading dreams. Before long, the other two relationships are getting a thorough stress test too. Netflix, from Thursday 1 May Continue reading...
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Zoé Basha: Gamble review | Jude Rogers's folk album of the month (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
(Self-released) The Dublin-based French-American singer and guitarist’s heart is in the Appalachian mountains – but her songs swim from country to blues and French chanson Bookended with canonical traditional songs and sung in eerily bright a cappellas, Gamble is a confident, self-produced debut by an exciting new voice. This is Zoé Basha, a Dublin-based French-American singer and guitarist whose folk music swims deftly around country, jazz, French chanson and the blues. This is a nourishing, impressive 11-song set, with Basha’s voice swooping high and low like the Appalachian mountain music she loves. It begins boldly with Love Is Teasin’, first recorded by Appalachian singer Jean Ritchie and covered by Shirley Collins on her 1954 debut. Basha’s precise enunciation nails her protagonist’s wearisome experience of love, but a friskiness also lurks at the ends of her phrases, her highest notes tremulous with heat. She also masters playfulness on Sweet Papa Hurry Home (a cover of Jack Neville and Jimmie Rodgers’s 1932 country song, Sweet Mama Hurry Home, which shows how naturally the genre’s roots mixed with jazz), sweet suggestiveness on Come Find Me Lonesome, an original tailor-made for a blues club: “Cold is creeping up my spine in the night-time.” Continue reading...
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The Great Gatsby: A New Musical review – what a swell party this ain’t (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Coliseum, London F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic jazz age novel ought to be the perfect basis for a musical, but no amount of Charlestons from a fine cast can put the fizz into this There is a strong argument for turning F Scott Fitzgerald’s jazz-age critique of the American Dream into a musical, from the sound of the lavish parties at Jay Gatsby’s mansion to the natural lyricism in its prose. It does not transpose convincingly here, though not for the lack of size or volume. Under the direction of Marc Bruni, it starts big, in sound and look, as the world of spoiled old-money couple, Tom (Jon Robyns) and Daisy Buchanan (Frances Mayli McCann), collides with that of the self-made Jay Gatsby (Jamie Muscato). Continue reading...
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The best running shoes to take you from trail to road to marathon, tried and tested by runners (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Whether you’re a beginner runner, a 5k faithful or a track star, our expert-picked running trainers, from Adidas and Asics to Hoka, will help you beat your PBs The best treadmills for your home ‘How does anyone do this?” I thought as I hobbled home from my first run, a pair of threadbare Converse biting into my heels. It took me a while to connect the dots. Maybe I was just prone to shin splints? Perhaps your calves were supposed to burn with every stride? Or – lightbulb moment – could it be that these post-jog aches and pains were a symptom of my wildly inappropriate footwear? As with millions of rookie runners before me, my problems melted away when I bought myself a pair of proper running shoes. Fifteen years and countless pairs later, I know just how much difference they can make. However, this isn’t a simple case of one size fits all. Continue reading...
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‘They repaired the zip for free’: 12 companies that went the extra mile, according to Guardian readers (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
You told us who went above and beyond to help fix (and even replace) your favourite things, from broken teapot lids to well-worn shoes Sometimes, things fall apart: a zip jams, a lid breaks, a seam ruptures. Unless you’re a whiz with a needle or a tube of glue – or have a brilliant repair shop nearby – it can consign the broken item to the back of the cupboard, or worse, to landfill. But many companies offer repair services, and it may be easier (and cheaper) than you expect. In some cases, as these readers told us, they might replace things altogether. Their stories show that, whether it’s an ancient piece of jewellery or a brand new gift, it pays to ask (and no, none of these people work for, or are associated with, any of these companies; they are just very happy customers). Continue reading...
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The best mascaras for longer, fuller and fluttery lashes: 10 favourites worn and rated by our beauty expert (Wed, 23 Apr 2025)
Whether you’re searching for volume, length or waterproof warpaint, we tested 30 mascaras (and applied up to 40 coats) to find the best for your makeup bag • Anti-ageing products that actually work: Sali Hughes on the 30 best serums, creams and treatments If you were allowed to pick only one makeup item to use for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Without a doubt, mine would be mascara. It’s the most transformative beauty staple. Defining your lashes has literally eye-opening results, making them appear bigger and brighter. If the questions I’ve been asked as a beauty editor are anything to go by, even those who consider themselves low-maintenance usually own a mascara: requests for mascara recommendations are by far the most common. It seems no one is immune to how effortlessly eye-framing a few coats can be. Best overall: Giorgio Armani Vertigo Lift mascara £23.20 at Look Fantastic Best budget mascara: L’Oréal Paradise Big Deal mascara £8.39 at Amazon Best for length: Lancôme Lash Idôle Flutter Extension mascara £28 at John Lewis Best for volume: Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara £25.36 at Sephora Best brown mascara: Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High mascara £12.99 at Look Fantastic Continue reading...
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Essential women’s underwear: the best knickers, bras and socks for every occasion (Tue, 22 Apr 2025)
From organic cotton to lace, fancy socks to matching sets, our expert untangles the underwear that’s worth your money – and will stand the test of time • The best bras for every situation I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the right underwear can mean the difference between a good and bad day. Get it wrong and your day will involve retrieving fallen bra straps, pulling up socks or retrieving knickers sliding towards an uncomfortable spot. My evidence? The moment when, in 2020, aged 35, I put on my first pair of truly comfy pants. It was a warm day in lockdown. The banana bread was cooling, Joe Wicks was lunging, and I slid into my high-rise undies with a “full coverage” seat. That was the day I introduced myself to true underwear contentment (the fact that bras and I were on a break added to the sense of comfort). Continue reading...
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Quirky converted homes in England for sale – in pictures (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
From a Norfolk windmill-watermill to a Sussex oast house with micro vineyard, conversions worth a toast Continue reading...
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The neglected fans in the loft sense their time is coming: the Stephen Collins cartoon (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
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Ain’t no sunshine? How to embrace your shady, north-facing garden (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Observe where the light falls, and plant leafy, textural and woodland-inspired species to create a lush oasis I’m at the point in my 30s when everyone seems to be moving house – or at least trying to. I’m among them; sometimes I dream in floor plans. But one thing that persists among all the conversations about postcodes, rail connections and side returns is the subject of north-facing gardens: a horticultural bogeyman even among those who profess not to know about gardening. It’s funny that north-facing gardens have such a bad rep. There’s a sense that to live with one is to cloak yourself gothically in shade and misery, which isn’t true. And as we approach May, there’s rarely a better time to scrutinise your garden for how and where the light and shadows fall. Continue reading...
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Ravneet Gill’s recipe for apple souffle and hazelnuts | The sweet spot (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Here’s a showstopper pudding for you: a scooped-out apple shell stuffed with apple souffle and topped with nuts Take souffle to the next level by baking it inside an apple. This retro dessert is easy and a bit of fun, too. The result is a soft, tender apple shell filled with light, airy souffle, perfect with lashings of vanilla ice-cream (which will hopefully form a delightful puddle when served with the hot pudding). Ideal for entertaining – it’s like eating the filling of an apple pie, but lighter. Continue reading...
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Outfits of defiance: would you wear shoes made from rugs? (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
A ‘wear-once’ mentality and dirt-cheap offers have made fashion a leading pollutant. Can a new global ‘upcycling’ scheme change not only the industry, but how we think about dressing? In 1942, the British government’s Board of Trade launched a Make Do and Mend scheme. It was one of several campaigns encouraging the public to save resources during the second world war by learning basic sewing skills alongside taking on bigger projects such as remodelling men’s clothing into womenswear. Today, Fashion Revolution, a non-profit social enterprise founded in the wake of the 2013 Rana Plaza factory disaster in Bangladesh, is gearing up to launch its own Mend in Public Day. This weekend participants from all over the world will be able to join free local community classes to learn how to mend and stitch. However, this scheme is aimed at addressing not scarcity, but overconsumption. Continue reading...
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Taking the biscuit: for 100 years we’ve been eating chocolate digestives wrong (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
McVitie’s reveals chocolate side should be down to fire up taste buds Whether dunking, nibbling or munching a chocolate digestive, it seems common sense to keep the biscuity side down. But we are getting it all wrong, according to Anthony Coulson, general manager of the McVitie’s factory in Stockport, Greater Manchester. Continue reading...
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Share how changing US tariffs may affect your business (Fri, 11 Apr 2025)
We’d like to hear from small business owners in the UK and elsewhere about any impact of changing tariffs China has raised tariffs on US imports to 125% in an escalation of the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. US tariffs on Chinese goods now total 145%, while most other countries, including the UK, have maintained a 10% tariff on goods following Donald Trump’s announcements on Wednesday pausing “reciprocal” tariffs for 90 days. Continue reading...
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Tell us your favourite YouTube TV shows (Tue, 22 Apr 2025)
To mark 20 years since the first ever YouTube video, we’d like to hear your favourite YouTube TV shows The first YouTube video, a 19-second clip posted entitled “Me at the zoo” posted by co-founder Jawed Karim, was uploaded on 23 April 2005. Now the most popular video-sharing platform in the world, YouTube has expanded far beyond short clips and into TV streaming. To mark the anniversary, we’d like to hear your favourite YouTube TV shows of the moment. You can tell us your favourite and why below. Continue reading...
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Parents: share your experiences of behaving badly during kids’ football matches (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
We would like to hear from parents who sometimes get too involved when their children play football Kids’ football can be emotional. Some parents shout at their own children, others swear at officials, and a few even get into fights. We’d like to hear from parents about the times they’ve become too involved in their kids’ football matches. What has your experience been like and how did your children react? Have you noticed other parents’ behaviour on the pitch? Continue reading...
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Tell us: how have you regained a sense of adventure? (Tue, 22 Apr 2025)
We want to hear your tips for how to renew your sense of adventure – whether it’s making spontaneous decisions, trying new things, or actively broadening your horizons As we get older, many of us feel like we lose our sense of adventure. Busy lives can leave us lacking in energy, while increasing responsibilities can leave little room for more adventurous pursuits. But maintaining an adventurous perspective can help to keep life exciting. With this in mind, we want to hear your tips for how to renew your sense of adventure – whether it’s making spontaneous decisions, trying new things, or actively broadening your horizons. If you know a surefire way to reignite your adventurous side, tell us about it below. Continue reading...
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When is Pope Francis’s funeral, who will be there and what happens next (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
The late pontiff’s funeral, due to take place on Saturday, will attract dignitaries and worshippers from around the world Pope Francis, who died on Monday morning at the age of 88, will be laid to rest on Saturday in Rome. His funeral is expected to draw dignitaries from across the world, as well as tens of thousands of faithful. This is what is expected to happen on the day, and what may come next for the Catholic church. Continue reading...
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‘Like a slap in the face’: Trump officials cut hundreds of millions to combat gun violence and opioid addiction (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
DoJ told over 350 groups that promised funding would be cut because it ‘no longer effectuates’ department priorities Hundreds of millions of federal grant dollars meant to prevent and respond to gun violence, opioid addiction and support victims of violent crimes were cut this week by the Trump administration. The US department of justice emailed more than 350 organizations on Tuesday to tell them that the promised funding was being terminated. According to a termination notice shared with the Guardian, the Department of Justice said the money was rescinded because it “no longer effectuates Department priorities”. Instead, the department intends to focus on “more directly supporting certain law enforcement operations, combatting violent crime, protecting American children, and supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault, and better coordinating law enforcement efforts at all levels of government”, the notice read. Continue reading...
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Canada election is Carney’s to lose in contest turned on its head by Trump (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
The Conservative Pierre Poilievre was poised to be the next PM until a lurch in US relations tilted polls to the Liberals Canada elections: the key players and what is at stake Every election, the message from exasperated pundits and pedants is the same: Canadians don’t actually vote directly for their prime minister. But on a rural intersection south of Ottawa, residents could be mistaken for thinking otherwise. Continue reading...
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Trump is jailing immigrant families again. A mother, father and teen tell of ‘anguish on a daily basis’ (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Family incarceration has been revived after Biden – and Jade, Jason and Gabriela are speaking out about their distressing treatment in Texas When Jade and her family first arrived at the detention facility in Karnes county, Texas, she wasn’t really sure what to think. “I guess I was confused and scared,” said the 13-year-old. Her parents were doing their best to reassure her that everything would be OK, but she knew they were in danger of being deported. Continue reading...
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‘Morally repugnant’: Brazilian workers sue coffee supplier to Starbucks over ‘slavery-like conditions’ (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Brazil has been the world’s leading coffee producer due to the forced labour of enslaved Africans and Afro-Brazilians “John” was just days from turning 16 when he was allegedly recruited to work on a Brazilian coffee farm that supplies the global coffeehouse chain Starbucks. Soon after his birthday, he embarked on a 16-hour bus journey to the farm in the state of Minas Gerais – only to discover that none of what he had been promised would be fulfilled. Continue reading...
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Meet the new American refugees fleeing across state lines for safety (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Americans have often moved between states for opportunities. Now they’re being forced to uproot themselves to escape hostile forces under Trump Continue reading...
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Starmer and Reeves try to ride three horses with US, EU and China trade ties (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
The UK is being dragged in opposing directions by international forces in its quest for growth Riding two horses is hard enough, but diplomats are joking in private that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are trying to ride three. At the International Monetary Fund summit in Washington this week, Reeves sought to position the UK as a beacon of free trade that is open to business with the EU, US and China. Continue reading...
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How has India reacted to attack in Kashmir and why are tensions in region so high? (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Kashmir, where 26 people were killed on Tuesday, is claimed in full by the arch-rivals India and Pakistan Countries move closer to conflict after tourist attack Tensions between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan have escalated rapidly after the massacre of 25 Indian tourists and a Nepalese citizen in the disputed Himalayan Kashmir region on Tuesday, prompting warnings of a return to conflict. A previously unknown Islamic militant group calling itself the Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the attack, which India immediately linked to Pakistan, although it did not publicly produce any evidence. Pakistan has denied any involvement. Continue reading...
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‘Why do they dislike me so much?’: the trials, trolls and triumphs of Britain’s most divisive barrister (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
She has been called a ‘brave disruptor’ by campaigners and ‘rabid’ by internet critics. But for Charlotte Proudman, only one opinion matters: that of the women and children she defends in the family courts At lunchtime, when she is working at her barristers’ chambers in central London, Charlotte Proudman, a specialist in family law, faces a confronting choice. Should she nip around the corner to Pret a Manger or join her colleagues at the Middle Temple dining hall? It’s not so much a question of whether she feels like a sandwich or a sit-down meal, but a more existential decision, requiring her to analyse who she is and where she belongs. It is 15 years since Proudman qualified as a barrister, but she still feels a sense of alienation when she walks into the formal dining halls. “It’s largely a sea of male, pale, stale figures sitting there, all in their suits. They all look identical, and are probably from similar demographic backgrounds. As a woman, you already stand out,” she says when we meet at her deserted offices on Good Friday. “It feels like a pocket of establishment elitism. In Pret you’ll have a mixture of solicitors, some paralegals, maybe some judges popping in and out; it’s more cosmopolitan.” Continue reading...
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Now comes the ‘womanosphere’: the anti-feminist media telling women to be thin, fertile and Republican (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
A crop of conservative personalities such as Brett Cooper and Candace Owens, and outlets like Evie, are convincing young women of a gender-essentialist worldview On the most recent episode of her YouTube show, the rightwing commentator Brett Cooper joined the rest of the world in jeering Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez’s brief flight to space. “These women were completely dependent on men who built this spacecraft,” she said with a cheeky smirk. “Frankly, we all are, because men built civilization. They built the homes that we live in, they built the studio that I am recording in … the spaceships that all of these rich celebrities are flying around in.” The difference between Cooper and feminists, she says, “is I choose to acknowledge that and celebrate it and be grateful”. Continue reading...
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In search of the South Pacific fugitive who crowned himself king – podcast (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
Noah Musingku made a fortune with a Ponzi scheme and then retreated to a remote armed compound in the jungle, where he still commands the loyalty of his Bougainville subjects By Sean Williams. Read by Simon Darwen Continue reading...
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The rule of law in Trump’s America and what it means for Mel Gibson’s guns – podcast (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
The US justice department says it did not fire a former pardon attorney, Liz Oyer, after she refused to recommend reinstating Mel Gibson’s gun rights. But Oyer tells Jonathan Freedland a different story, one she believes points to a wider crackdown by the Trump administration on the rule of law in America Archive: ABC News, Face the Nation, CBS News, CNN, PBS, NBC News, Fox News, WHAS11 Continue reading...
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‘They excavated a nightclub!’: uncovering Black British history beyond London – podcast (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
From struggles over miscarriages of justice to groundbreaking music, Lanre Bakare looks at the places and events that shaped Black Britain in the Thatcher years When Guardian arts and culture correspondent Lanre Bakare was growing up, he learned the same Black British history as many of us did. It was a series of singular events: the docking of the Windrush in 1948, unrest in Notting Hill or Brixton, the murder of Stephen Lawrence. All important, but all firmly focused on the capital. Now Lanre has written a book about the Thatcher years, looking at the stories that are less often told: those that took place outside London, in Liverpool – with the oldest Black community in the UK – or in his home town of Bradford. Continue reading...
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Liverpool’s title chance, the FA Cup semis … and walkers: Football Weekly Extra - podcast (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Seb Hutchinson and Dan Bardell as Manchester City get a vital win over Aston Villa in the hunt for Champions League football Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today: two midweek Premier League games to review. One more consequential than the other as Manchester City go third with a late win over Aston Villa. In the other fixture, Crystal Palace score two brilliant goals to claim a point at Arsenal. Continue reading...
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Evidence of alien life, a clue about the rise of bowel cancer, and a new colour? – podcast (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample discuss three intriguing science stories from the week. From a hint at alien life on a distant planet to a clue in the search for answers over why colon cancer rates are rising in the under 50s, and news from scientists who claim to have found a colour no one has seen before Are we alone? New discovery raises hopes of finding alien life Childhood toxin exposure ‘may be factor in bowel cancer rise in under-50s’ Hue new? Scientists claim to have found colour no one has seen before Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...
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How ultra-processed foods are making us sick – video (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
They are everywhere – and they may be messing with your body more than you realise. They’re linked to obesity, gut issues, even chronic disease. But how exactly are UPFs making us sick? Neelam Tailor speaks to the food philosopher and former industry insider Prof Barry Smith, who breaks down what UPFs do inside your body, how food companies keep us hooked, and how you can reduce how much UPF you eat Continue reading...
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The life and legacy of Pope Francis – video obituary (Mon, 21 Apr 2025)
Pope Francis, the pontiff whose popular appeal reached far beyond his global congregation, has died aged 88. During his 12-year papacy, Francis – the first Jesuit pope – was a vocal champion of the world’s poor, dispossessed and disadvantaged, and a blunt critic of corporate greed and social and economic inequality. Within the Vatican, he criticised extravagance and privilege, calling on church leaders to show humility. His death is likely to exacerbate sharp divisions within the curia, with conservatives seeking to wrest control of the Catholic church from reformers Pope Francis, groundbreaking Jesuit pontiff, dies aged 88 Continue reading...
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How children with special educational needs are being failed in England – video (Tue, 22 Apr 2025)
From anxious children unable to cope with school to those with more complex, profound disabilities, support for Send children in England is broken, with underfunded local authorities delaying legal obligations to support families and increasing numbers of parents unable to work, burnt out, judged and even suffering PTSD from attempting to navigate the system. The Guardian meets parents and children from across the country to get a sense of the scale of the issue Continue reading...
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Khartoum before and after: footage shows destruction wreaked by war in Sudan – video (Tue, 15 Apr 2025)
At the end of March, the Sudanese army took full control of Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which it had been fighting since April 2023. After seizing several key sites across Sudan's capital, the army forced the RSF to retreat, marking a critical turn in the country’s civil war. Footage from the capital shows a city devastated by two years of fighting, which has left many of Khartoum’s most important landmarks badly damaged. The Guardian has collected before and after footage to illustrate the scale of the destruction Death, displacement and devastation – two years of war in Sudan The siege of Khartoum has lifted. Left behind are scenes of unimaginable horror Sudan in ‘world’s largest humanitarian crisis’ after two years of civil war Continue reading...
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Endangered koalas and the ecologist documenting their extinction – video (Fri, 11 Apr 2025)
Maria Matthes, a lifelong koala conservationist, says loss of habitat and the climate crisis have threatened the endangered species in eastern New South Wales. Almost 2m hectares of forests suitable for koalas have been destroyed since 2011. They are one of more than 2,000 Australian species listed as under threat in what scientists are calling an extinction crisis Continue reading...
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How green tech is fuelling a war in Africa – video (Thu, 10 Apr 2025)
As demand for smartphones, laptops and electric vehicles has soared, so has demand for the minerals - such as cobalt and coltan - for the batteries that power them. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has vast reserves of these minerals, and their extraction is fuelling the country's civil war. Josh Toussaint-Strauss finds out more about how global demand for tech is causing human suffering in central Africa, and how we, and western powers and companies, are complicit Continue reading...
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Syria’s March massacres: how sectarian violence targeted Alawites – video (Fri, 04 Apr 2025)
Four days of shocking violence in north-west Syria left more than 1,500 people dead – including at least 745 civilians – in some of Syria’s deadliest days of fighting since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. Widespread revenge attacks against civilians have mostly targeted Alawites, a minority Islamic sect from which the ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad hailed. The Guardian has put together a visual breakdown of the events which shook Syria's coast Continue reading...
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How philanthropists are destroying African farms – video (Thu, 03 Apr 2025)
What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent's food. From seed laws that criminalise traditional practices to corporate partnerships with agribusiness giants such as Monsanto and Syngenta, we explore how a well-funded green revolution has led to rising debt, loss of biodiversity and deepening food insecurity across the continent Continue reading...
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How countries cheat their carbon targets – video (Thu, 27 Mar 2025)
Net zero is a target that countries should be striving for to stop the climate crisis. But beyond the buzzword, it is a complex scientific concept – and if we get it wrong, the planet will keep heating. Biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield explains how a loophole in the 2015 Paris climate agreement allows countries to cheat their net zero targets through creative accounting, and how scientists want us to fix it Continue reading...
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How bottled water companies are draining our drinking water – video (Thu, 20 Mar 2025)
As droughts become more prevalent, corporate control over our drinking water is threatening the health of water sources and the access people have to them. Josh Toussaint-Strauss explores how foreign multinational companies are extracting billions of litres of water from natural aquifers to sell back to the same communities from which it came – for huge profits ‘It’s not drought - it’s looting’: the Spanish villages where people are forced to buy back their own drinking water Foreign firms taking billions of litres from UK aquifers to make bottled water Continue reading...
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Can the UK fix its broken prison system? – video (Tue, 18 Mar 2025)
The prison population in England and Wales has doubled in the last 30 years, with overcrowding now endemic across the system. But the government's strategy of easing this pressure by granting early release to thousands of offenders has had a knock-on effect. With many lacking stability on the outside, reoffending rates are high, exacerbating the existing problem. The Guardian visited Wales to see this playing out on the streets of Bridgend; and the Netherlands, to find out why the Dutch have closed more than 20 prisons in the past 10 years, seemingly in complete contrast to the struggles in Britain - and despite increasing levels of more serious crime seen across the country With thanks to Prison Escape Utrecht and Tap Social Movement Continue reading...
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How social media is helping catch war criminals – video (Thu, 13 Mar 2025)
In Sudan, fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, appear to have filmed and posted online videos of themselves glorifying the burning of homes and the torture of prisoners. These videos could be used by international courts to pursue war crime prosecutions. Kaamil Ahmed explains how the international legal system is adapting to social media, finding a way to use the digital material shared online to corroborate accounts of war crimes being committed in countries ranging from Ukraine to Sudan Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates Continue reading...
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Refusing to fight: Israelis against the war in Gaza – video (Wed, 12 Mar 2025)
For many Israelis, military service is a rite of passage that lasts two to three years. Being such a formative part of the social contract in Israel, it is unusual for eligible young people to refuse their draft orders. Every year some ask for exemptions, but only a handful openly declare themselves as conscientious objectors, commonly known as refuseniks. However, since 7 October and the war in Gaza, refusenik organisations say the number of people refusing the draft has risen, even though during wartime punishments are harsher. The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, Bethan McKernan, spent time with Itamar Greenberg, an 18-year-old who has been in and out of military prison for almost a year as a result of his refusal to serve Continue reading...
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How plastics are invading our brain cells – video (Thu, 06 Mar 2025)
Plastics are everywhere, but their smallest fragments – nanoplastics – are making their way into the deepest parts of our bodies, including our brains and breast milk. Scientists have now captured the first visual evidence of these particles inside human cells, raising urgent questions about their impact on our health. From the food we eat to the air we breathe, how are nanoplastics infiltrating our systems? Neelam Tailor looks into the invisible invasion happening inside us all Continue reading...
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From Gaza to Texas: the race to save Mazyouna’s face - video (Tue, 04 Mar 2025)
Mazyouna, a 13-year-old girl from Gaza, lost the right side of her jaw in an Israeli attack on her home in Gaza that killed her brother and sister. She was denied access by Israel to life-altering surgery abroad for more than six months. Only after the publication of a Guardian article condemning her treatment were Mazyouna, her mother and her surviving sibling granted permission to leave - her father was not permitted to join them. Their evacuation and specialist surgery at the El Paso children's hospital in Texas was facilitated by FAJR Scientific, an organisation that evacuates children in need of medical treatment from war zones. Last month, the World Health Organization urged a rapid scaling-up of medical evacuations from Gaza where thousands remain in critical condition Continue reading...
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How a 12-year-old boy was killed in the West Bank – video analysis (Sat, 01 Mar 2025)
On 21 February, 12-year-old Ayman al-Hammouni was killed, shot by Israeli fire, video footage seen by the Guardian suggests. Two cameras recorded the circumstances of Ayman's death. The Guardian has used this footage to tell the story of the child’s last moments Gunshots and a surge of panic: footage shows last moments of boy, 12, killed in the West Bank Continue reading...
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How China uses ‘salami-slicing’ tactics to exert pressure on Taiwan – video (Fri, 28 Feb 2025)
China has dramatically increased military activities around Taiwan, with more than 3,000 incursions into Taiwan's airspace in 2024 alone. Amy Hawkins examines how Beijing is deploying 'salami-slicing' tactics, a strategy of gradual pressure that stays below the threshold of war while steadily wearing down Taiwan's defences. From daily air incursions to strategic military exercises, we explore the four phases of China's approach and what it means for Taiwan's future Continue reading...
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‘Fix poverty, fix health’: A day in the life of a ‘failing’ NHS (Tue, 18 Feb 2025)
A GP surgery in one of the most deprived areas in the north-east of England is struggling to provide care for its patients as the health system crumbles around them. In the depths of the winter flu season, the Guardian video producers Maeve Shearlaw and Adam Sich went to Bridges medical practice to shadow the lead GP, Paul Evans, as he worked all hours keep his surgery afloat. Juggling technical challenges, long waiting lists and the profound impact austerity has had on the health of the population, Evans says: 'We are seeing the system fail'  Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Fashion Statement newsletter: our free fashion email (Tue, 20 Sep 2022)
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Guardian Documentaries newsletter: our free short film email (Fri, 02 Sep 2016)
Be the first to see our latest thought-provoking films, bringing you bold and original storytelling from around the world Discover the stories behind our latest short films, learn more about our international film-makers, and join us for exclusive documentary events. We’ll also share a selection of our favourite films, from our archives and from further afield, for you to enjoy. Sign up below. Can’t wait for the next newsletter? Start exploring our archive now. Continue reading...
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Guardian Traveller newsletter: Sign up for our free holidays email (Wed, 12 Oct 2022)
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays. From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays. Continue reading...
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Sign up for the Feast newsletter: our free Guardian food email (Tue, 09 Jul 2019)
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner. Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email. Continue reading...
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Holocaust Remembrance Day and Wicked tulips: photos of the day – Thursday (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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Week in wildlife: wild ponies, a playful jaguar and penguin chicks taking their first swim (Fri, 25 Apr 2025)
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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Shot from the hip! A street level view of 1970s New York – in pictures (Thu, 24 Apr 2025)
Mark Cohen’s photographs of his daily walks in New York show the world viewed from the height of a child – revealing fresh threats, thrills and perspectives Continue reading...
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Space craft and heavenly respite – readers’ best photographs (Wed, 23 Apr 2025)
Click here to submit a picture for publication in these online galleries and/or on the Guardian letters page Continue reading...
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A dwarf crocodile carried home by a hunter: Thomas Nicolon’s best photograph (Wed, 23 Apr 2025)
‘As a species, these crocs are easy to find and easy to catch. Brice Itoua is the most skilled hunter in his village. But they kill the crocs to eat – not to sell’ The Congo dwarf crocodile is a lovely species. They’re very shy and, unfortunately, very easy to find and catch. Mostly hunted for their bushmeat, these crocs only grow up to a few feet in length and during the dry season, they often spend the daytime hiding in burrows and dens at the water’s edge. Hunters use a long, woody liana vine with a hook on the end to drag them out, before binding their snout with a shorter vine and carrying them away. Last summer, I shot a story about the Congo dwarf crocodile after being given access to the Lake Télé Community Reserve by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which manages this protected area in the Republic of the Congo with the Congolese government. Continue reading...
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Miniature horses race in New Zealand’s big wilderness – in pictures (Wed, 23 Apr 2025)
Dozens of miniature horses and their human running mates have taken part in the Great Northern Gallop, an adventure race through dense forests and across rugged beaches in New Zealand’s Far North. Participants run or walk 100km over four days for the event, which raises money for the welfare of miniature horses Continue reading...
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