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The Guardian

Garrick Club’s men-only members list reveals roll-call of British establishment (lun., 18 mars 2024)
Exclusive: Details made public for first time prompt anger over how many influential figures belong to club that bars women ‘It isn’t acceptable’: Garrick Club remains a bastion of male elitism The full membership list of the men-only Garrick Club reveals its central position as a bulwark of the British establishment, featuring scores of leading lawyers, heads of publicly funded arts institutions, the head of the civil service and King Charles. Members also include the deputy prime minister, the secretary of state for levelling up, the chief executive of the Royal Opera House as well as Richard Moore, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and Simon Case, who as cabinet secretary is the prime minister’s most senior policy adviser and the leader of nearly half a million civil servants. Continue reading...
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MPs vote to throw out amendments to Rwanda deportation bill (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
All 10 amendments made by peers voted down, giving much-needed boost to beleaguered PM Rishi Sunak’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda took a step forward on Monday night after MPs voted overwhelmingly to throw out a series of amendments made to the Rwanda bill by the House of Lords. MPs voted down all 10 amendments made by peers over the past few weeks to return the bill to the form in which it was initially passed by the Commons in January, giving a much-needed boost to the beleaguered prime minister. Continue reading...
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Fierce clashes between IDF and Hamas after Israel takes control of key hospital (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Israel claims to have killed 20 militants at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City following early morning raid Fierce fighting has continued around al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, as Israeli troops battled Hamas militants after seizing control of the strategically situated medical complex in an early morning raid. Witnesses reported multiple airstrikes and ferocious firefights as fears rose for the safety of hundreds of civilians in the immediate vicinity of the hospital. Continue reading...
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Rachel Reeves: Treasury will ‘hardwire’ growth into tax and spending decisions (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Shadow chancellor to outline plans to shake up department after Labour election victory The Treasury under a Labour government would “hardwire” raising Britain’s growth rate into its budget tax and spending decisions as part of plans to shake up Whitehall’s most powerful department, Rachel Reeves is to announce. The shadow chancellor will use a lecture in London on Tuesday to say that a decade of national renewal must start with “day one” reform after a Labour election victory to make growth more pivotal to the Treasury’s work. Continue reading...
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£58bn plan to rewire Great Britain expected to spark tensions along route (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
‘High-capacity electrical spine’ to run onshore from north-east Scotland to north-west England A £58bn plan to rewire Great Britain’s electricity grid to connect up new windfarms off the coast of Scotland is expected to trigger tensions with communities along the route. National Grid’s electricity system operator (ESO) has mapped out power “motorways” across Great Britain to allow for the biggest investment since the 1960s. Continue reading...
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US and Japan push for ban on nuclear weapons in space with UN security council resolution (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
UN chief António Guterres says risk of nuclear war has escalated and that ‘humanity cannot survive a sequel to Oppenheimer’ The US and Japan are sponsoring a UN security council resolution calling on all nations not to deploy or develop nuclear weapons in space, the US ambassador has announced. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a UN security council meeting that “any placement of nuclear weapons into orbit around the Earth would be unprecedented, dangerous, and unacceptable.” Continue reading...
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West Midlands PCC wins case to stop his powers being given to Tory mayor (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Home Office had planned to scrap the police commissioner role held by Labour’s Simon Foster and give powers to mayor The police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands has won a high court challenge against government plans to transfer his powers to the region’s mayor. Simon Foster, a Labour politician, took legal action against the Home Office’s move to scrap his role in time for local elections in May. Continue reading...
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New Zealand v England: first women’s T20 international – live (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
Updates from the first T20 in Dunedin Get involved! Email Tanya with your thoughts 1st over: England 6-0 (Beaumont 1, Dunkley 5) Dunkley, who’s not been in the most sparkling of form, eases onto her toes and sends Kerr sparkling away for four. Looks less comfortable later in the over as Kerr arrows in on the stumps. Peek my head round the door for the national anthems, Heather Knight has her arm round her old mucker Tammy Beaumont, playing in her 100th T20 international. Jess Kerr has the ball and waits for the countdown clock. Continue reading...
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‘Sneaky’ fees add up to 25% to UK music ticket prices, says Which? (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
Consumer body calls for a crackdown on ‘bewildering’ range of extra charges at big ticketing sites Live music fans are losing out because of an array of “sneaky” fees that can add up to 25% to the cost of concert and festival tickets, research from the consumer body Which? has found. With booking open for big summer gigs, the lobby group has called for a crackdown on the “bewildering” range of extra charges that some of the UK’s biggest ticketing websites impose. Continue reading...
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False King Charles death story spread by Russian media outlets (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
One site tweeted of monarch’s purported demise only to later concede: ‘Most likely, the information is fake’ The news broke in the Russian media on Monday afternoon. King Charles III was dead. He was not, but no one really had time to check the details. The saga of the royal family finally had its latest twist: a viral Russian disinformation angle. The rumour went into overdrive when it was shared on a Telegram channel used by Vedomosti, once Russia’s most respected business newspaper. There was a photo of Charles in ceremonial military uniform and the curt caption: “British King Charles III has died.” It made it through Russian internet channels, including Readovka, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel with more than 2.35 million subscribers. Continue reading...
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Putin’s vote share nears outer limits but still the only way is up (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Observers say Russian leader’s election numbers approaching 90% mark final break with western conventions Vladimir Putin is approaching the electoral outer limits. Claiming a record landslide on Sunday of 87.28% of the vote on a 77.44% turnout, Putin has launched himself into the stratosphere of post-Soviet election results. It is a mathematical axiom for any president-for-life: support should never go down, only up; turnout should never go down, only up. And as Putin’s one-man rule extends past a quarter of a century, Russian officials retain straight faces even as they post astronomical numbers that would make many convinced autocrats blush. Continue reading...
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In the busy waters between China and Taiwan, the de facto border is being tested (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
After a fatal capsize off Kinmen island, China has rejected the existence of the prohibited waters line, which has been tacitly respected since the 1990s Motoring across the calm waters of the South China Sea, Taiwanese captain Lu Wen-shiung recalls the old days, when Chinese and Taiwanese fishers used to meet behind rocky headlands, anchoring their boats out of the authorities’ sight, to share a meal. There was less surveillance then, and the two sides were more friendly, fishing the same waters, occasionally selling to each other on the sly. “We were like brothers, we had a good relationship, they would even cook for us,” he says. “But … now the control has become more strict, the [Chinese] coast guard will call me if the boats are too close.” Continue reading...
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‘It isn’t acceptable’: Garrick Club remains a bastion of male elitism (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Ban on female members appears not to have deterred senior figures in the government, Whitehall, the arts and the law Garrick Club’s men-only members list reveals roll-call of British establishment Around the turn of this century, a change to Garrick Club rules finally granted female guests permission to walk up and down the vast, oil painting-lined staircase that leads up from the grand entrance hall to the bars and libraries on the first floor. However, most women invited to the club will still find they are immediately ushered on arrival by the hall porter towards a side door and a smaller, narrower staircase to hang up their coats upstairs. Continue reading...
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‘What’s the big deal?’: London Black Out night welcomed despite No 10 concerns (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Theatre evening that encourages Black-only audience dubbed ‘divisive’ by Downing Street gets seal of approval from punters Stephen, an international education consultant, goes to about 20 theatre shows a year. “It’s a lot compared with most Londoners,” he says, “and every time, it’s the same crowd. It’s very white and it’s a shame – theatre is for everyone.” On Monday night, he was going to see Blue at the Seven Dials Playhouse during one of its Black Out night performances. On these nights “the Black community is invited to enjoy the show and welcome to linger after the performance with the playwright, cast and director”, the theatre’s website says. Continue reading...
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Whites Only: Ade’s Extremist Adventure review – a woeful failure to challenge racism (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
Ade Adepitan is a charming presenter, but his ‘chilled-out’ approach to entering a ‘whites-only’ South African town is utterly feeble. At points, his passivity is borderline offensive Not every attempt at documenting real events ends up fulfilling its intended purpose. Capturing the Friedmans started as a sweet tale about clowns and ended up lamenting harrowing crimes. Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster was planned to be a couple of infomercials, not a nuanced portrait of the poisonous effects of fame. Tom Cruise went on Oprah to chat on the sofa and discuss his love for Katie Holmes in a totally normal way. In the case of Whites Only: Ade’s Extremist Adventure, Ade Adepitan’s attempt to see if “racial separatism can ever be justified” becomes a cautionary tale for black people who think they can one-of-the-good-ones themselves out of white supremacy. Continue reading...
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Sunak and Badenoch put on united front in face of high-level fawning | Zoe Williams (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
With continuing talk of a leadership challenge, PM and business secretary have little to say at stage-managed praise-filled event Before we go to the Business Connect conference in Warwickshire, a quick “previously in Tory endgame”: Rishi Sunak was under pressure, as even Conservative MPs who thought that however bad he was, changing leaders would be worse, were starting to revise their view. Penny Mordaunt’s name had been floated, but she was commonly thought of as the stalking horse candidate, for the more plausible Kemi Badenoch (at this point, you just have to imagine inverted commas round all the adjectives, a kind of “who-are-these-people?” confetti). Rishi had threatened a general election if people didn’t stop challenging his leadership. Kemi had told everyone not to be silly. And then the pair arrived before the burghers of Coventry and Warwickshire, to tell them how great the Conservatives were going to be for small businesses. Sunak had three main announcements: cutting taxes, cutting red tape and creating 20,000 apprenticeships. It was pretty dry fare. Continue reading...
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How to restore a leather handbag at home (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Handbag rescue videos are one of TikTok’s most wholesome, soothing trends. And as a professional handbag repairer confirms, the results are achievable at home too Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email An hour into researching this piece I found myself on the resale platform Depop looking for vintage Coach bags. It’s not the first time writing about fashion has brought me close to buying something, but in this instance my desire came from a new place. I didn’t just want a bag, I wanted a beat-up leather bag from the 1980s (when Coach was still made in New York) so I could try and restore it following the instructions of the videos I’d seen on TikTok. Watching someone thoroughly clean and condition an old leather bag till it’s plump and smooth, while they calmly explain what they’re doing, is so incredibly satisfying I wanted to experience it myself. Continue reading...
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The Gone review – it’s the rich, warm characters that make this thriller so compelling (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
An Irish couple go missing in New Zealand, and a Dublin detective flies in to investigate – but why? As we meet the local Māori community, this crime drama becomes almost a mood piece If you can forgive the ponderous opening episode and its slightly by-numbers feel, there is much to enjoy in the new six-part police drama The Gone. When a young Irish couple go missing during a stay in New Zealand, hardbitten-slash-maverick Dublin detective Theo Richter (Richard Flood) flies over to help the local cops investigate, despite the fact that he has just handed in his resignation after 20 years for no reason he is willing to give to his superiors. Unresolved trauma from an old case? Burdened by a secret sorrow? Something is prompting him to pick fights and find distraction in getting beaten to a pulp by thugs, and no doubt we’ll find out soon enough. The Gone is on BBC Four and is available on BBC iPlayer, and on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video in Australia. Continue reading...
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‘We actually don’t know much’: the scientists trying to close the knowledge gap in trans healthcare (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Researchers are running trials on how hormone therapies affect trans people that will also benefit healthcare for the wider population When Cameron Whitley was diagnosed with kidney failure seven years ago, the news came as a shock. But the situation was about to get worse. His doctor decided the diagnosis meant Whitley’s hormone therapy had to stop. As a transgender man, now 42, who had taken testosterone for 10 years, the impact was brutal. Continue reading...
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The truth about joggling: the sport for people who find running too easy (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
In July, the World Joggling Championships take place, which raises just one question: could you run a marathon in less than three hours – while juggling? Name: Joggling. Age: Supposedly invented in 1975. Continue reading...
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‘One time, we achieved levitation’: Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman on magic, mysticism and mourning (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
In his first interview since the death of the influential band’s guitarist, Geordie Walker, the singer talks about their friendship, transhumanism and his fears that rogue AI will destroy the world There are many crazy stories about Jaz Coleman. There was the time he went missing and resurfaced living a nomadic existence in Western Sahara. He has claimed to have seen a UFO – actually seven orange orbs, one bearing the image of a stick man – in central London. Once, he was so annoyed by a Melody Maker review that he stormed into the magazine’s offices and dumped rotting liver and maggots over the reception desk. Today, though, video-calling from Argentina, he is reflective and emotional. “I’m still in terrible shock,” says the 64-year-old from behind dark sunglasses in the South American daylight. “It’s been an incredibly difficult time for everybody around Killing Joke.” He is talking about the death of Kevin Walker, better known as Geordie. The hugely influential guitarist and band co-founder died in Prague in November, also aged 64, after a stroke. Continue reading...
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Loyalty was once the glue that held the Tories together. But now they’ve come unstuck | Simon Jenkins (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Claims of a leadership bid are ‘bonkers’, say Penny Mordaunt’s allies. But so too is staying silent while the PM stumbles towards an election There are many good reasons for Rishi Sunak to postpone a general election. All are about reducing his party’s potential loss of seats. There is also an overwhelming reason for calling one now. It is in the national interest. British government needs an act of cleansing. It needs renewal and a fresh start under a new regime. Every month that start is delayed has a cost in decisions postponed. The presumed next government of Labour’s Keir Starmer is waiting and ready to go. Its learning curve will be steep and its climb hard. There is not the remotest national advantage in another six months of bickering and squabbling. Continue reading...
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If I give away a kidney, will it make me a better person? | Zoe Williams (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Could one extravagant pro-social act lead to me finally doing all the other ones I promised to do? It’s great giving blood when you’re O negative. I do absolutely nothing to produce this stuff, I don’t even drink water very often, and yet I have these constant, positive interactions with the donation people. Every phone call starts with a five-minute introduction about how great I am. Every email has a heartwarming story about someone who needed O negative, and then got it, and now they’re alive, because of me. Sometimes they’ll randomly send me a badge or a plastic bracelet saying “first responder” on it, which makes me sound like a hero who ran, didn’t walk, towards an emergency, as opposed to what I am: a person who goes into town once every four months for 20 minutes of no-big-deal and gets given a pint of squash and an orange Club at the end of it. I love it. Last year, they asked me to go in on Boxing Day, and I said no, don’t be daft, it’s Boxing Day, and I still came away from that feeling like a king. Then, this morning, I got an email with a slightly different ask: blood is great and all, but have you ever heard of a living organ donation? For instance, would you like to give away a kidney? It was a bit of a gear shift, somewhere in the region of: “Thank you for your direct debit of five quid a month, would you like to give us your house?” But I gave it due consideration. I know three people with only one kidney: one because she was born with a kidney problem; one gave his to his sister; one, I don’t know what happened to hers – it turns out this is the kind of thing you have to wait to be told. Continue reading...
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Famine is ‘imminent’ here in north Gaza – and I’m watching it begin to unfold | Mahmoud Shalabi (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
An entirely human-made tragedy is under way as the world looks on. Israel must open the crossings for aid and aid workers now Here in the north of Gaza, there is virtually no food available. People are resorting to eating animal feed or bird seed to stay alive. For some, there is only grass left to eat. Doctors have been warning for months that the Israeli military’s five-month long bombardment and siege of Gaza would end in hunger and starvation. Today, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has reported that famine is “imminent” and will take hold in the north of Gaza over the coming two months. Half of the population across Gaza now faces catastrophic levels of hunger, nearly twice as many people as reported in November. Children are already dying of malnutrition and dehydration. Meanwhile, the Israeli government continues to throttle aid at the border crossing into Gaza while the international community watches on. The tiny amount of aid that is allowed to enter is either being prevented from getting to people, especially in the north, or is being chaotically distributed, leaving people desperately scrambling for whatever they can get their hands on. This is stripping my community of its dignity while leaving the most vulnerable without any help at all. Hundreds of people have even paid with their lives trying to get food for their families. Mahmoud Shalabi is a senior programme director for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in Gaza. This article was co-produced with his colleagues in London, based on WhatsApp messages and voice notes 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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Ben Jennings on Vladimir Putin’s landslide victory in the Russian election – cartoon (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
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Sharing childhood faves with my kids has its ups and downs – but I know it takes them places Netflix or Disney won’t | Myke Bartlett (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Helping children detach from the zeitgeist feels important in our algorithmic age. Branching out is hard when there’s always more of what you already love Sharing childhood faves with the kids can be one of the most rewarding and most disappointing parts of parenthood. I will admit that one of the main reasons I was keen to start a family was to indoctrinate a new generation in the film, TV and music that has meant so much to me. Part of this was the arguably noble impulse to share great art with young minds. Part of it was wanting to experience the joy of those young minds discovering things I’d loved at their age. And, yes, part of it was me wanting to drag out my old Doctor Who DVDs. These viewing sessions haven’t always gone to plan. The kids were unmoved by ET – the first time I watched this as an adult I was so distraught that when my wife returned from a night out she assumed a parent had died – but adored Flight of the Navigator, which had left no impression on me. For years our girls re-enacted the single dramatic scene from The Railway Children but could I get them excited about Krull or The Goonies? Reader, I could not. Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...
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‘Where honour and ridiculousness collide’: in praise of karaoke’s inventor, on his death at 100 (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Shigeichi Negishi’s invention invites us to cast off humility and take a shot at singing stardom. His legacy will be credited – and blamed – for us living out our popstar fantasies Received wisdom holds that haughty music critics, grinding our axes on fans’ beloved pop stars, are nothing more than failed musicians. This has always struck me as slander – not of critics, who certainly can be bitter and mean, but of supposedly failed musicians. How, after all, does one fail at music? To suggest success rides on certain technicalities, like talent or a career, gravely underestimates music’s draw, and nowhere is the lie more spectacularly exposed than in karaoke. Here is an arena of musical greatness in which incompetence is the house style. Delusions of grandeur, haywire pitch, weird stage presence? Join the party. On that valorising little stage, “failed musician” becomes the most entertaining role in the business. Continue reading...
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Print your own tickets, treat your own illnesses – welcome to DIY Britain | Tom Whyman (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Adverts telling us to take services into our own hands are trying to maintain the delusion that we still have a functioning society One of the beautiful things about adverts is that each one is a kind of window: into the entire thought process that led to it being produced. The television series Mad Men understood this: although I doubt there was quite so much grief and self-torture behind someone thinking, for instance: “Maybe we could use a guy with a giant head to advertise this online bank.” I often spend journeys on public transport trying to peep through these windows. For instance, over the past few months, I have been seeing posters that in effect state: “For the love of God, stop bothering the doctors with your minor complaints.” Explicitly, the content is more along the lines of: “Cold? Tummy bug? Nits? Think pharmacy first!” But implicitly, I know what whoever came up with this advert was thinking. “The NHS has no money. We have to find a way to have fewer patients. Please can the less seriously sick people just start taking their medical care into their own hands?” One version of the advert tells patients to “#DoYourBit” and “Don’t just turn up” to A&E. Tom Whyman is an academic philosopher and a writer Continue reading...
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Reckitt Benckiser: how one terrible deal wrecked the company (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Takeover of baby formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition could lead to billions in damages payouts The worst acquisition by a major UK company in the last decade? It’s hard to think of a deal that beats Reckitt Benckiser’s $18bn purchase in 2017 of Mead Johnson Nutrition, a US-listed maker of baby milk formula. Shares in the Dettol-to-Durex group have never recovered from the shock. By way of add-on award, Rakesh Kapoor, Reckitt’s chief executive back in the day, can probably scoop the prize for most overpaid FTSE 100 boss of recent times: he departed two years after his fateful piece of deal-making having been paid the astonishing sum of £97.6m during his eight years in charge. The latest example of Mead Johnson’s dreadful legacy was Friday’s news that a court in Illinois awarded $60m in damages to a woman whose premature baby died in intensive care after consuming the company’s Enfamil formula; the allegation was that Reckitt failed to warn adequately that feeding with infant formula increased the risk of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). The verdict knocked 15%, equivalent to £5.4bn, off Reckitt’s stock market value as investors tried to guess what could follow from 400-odd similar NEC-related cases involving Mead and its US rival Abbott Laboratories. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on Russia’s election: in Stalin’s footsteps | Editorial (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Vladimir Putin’s landslide victory in a fake contest marks the latest phase in a transition from authoritarianism to outright autocracy One of the curiosities of the Soviet Union was the serious weight its leaders attached to holding elections. In a dictatorship, why bother? Academic studies concluded that ensuring a 99% vote share for the only candidate on the ballot was a useful tool for civic mobilisation, and a way of isolating and intimidating anyone who aspired to a real democratic choice. Under the repressive, paranoid leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russians are going back to the future. Mr Putin’s 87% landslide in Russia’s presidential election – the highest percentage in any post-Soviet poll – confirms that, almost a quarter of a century after he first entered the Kremlin, the resumption of a form of totalitarian control is all but complete. Having changed the constitution to ensure he can continue to rule, a further victory in 2030 would see him surpass Stalin’s 31 years of dictatorial power. Continue reading...
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The Guardian view on Britain’s non-white political class: supporting change by embodying it | Editorial (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
The success of the three political leaders should not be seen as a repudiation of the existence of racism itself If power was just about office, then Britain’s ethnic minorities would appear to have nothing to worry about. Rishi Sunak sits in Downing Street. Humza Yousaf heads Scotland’s devolved government. When Vaughan Gething takes over as the first minister in Wales, he will become the first black leader of a European nation. But the success of the three political leaders should not be seen as a repudiation of the existence of racism itself. Its current toxic persistence has been made obvious by the racist comments about Britain’s first black female parliamentarian, Diane Abbott, by the Tories’ biggest donor. The difference between the current crop of leaders and the trailblazers of the past is the extent to which they represent a generational shift in the opportunities open to non-white politicians. Parties want to be seen as part of the future, not the past. Having ethnic minorities in top political positions helps convey that message. Mr Yousaf, Mr Gething and Mr Sunak not only express support for change but also embody it. Elected by MPs or members, these three have yet to face the voting public. Continue reading...
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Labour has not got long to find its moral compass | Letters (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Peter Riddle says voters fear they will get Tory-lite policies and calls for honesty, while Carl Gardner says the party should make the UK attractive to struggling people, not big business. Plus letters from Martyn Taylor and Michael Meadowcroft When Francis Ryan asks “What is the point of Labour?” she is articulating the thoughts of many voters who have waited years for a sea change in the government and now fear that a Labour one under Keir Starmer will simply offer us Tory-lite (What’s the point of Starmer’s Labour if it won’t stand up for poor, sick or disabled people?, 12 March). She rightly identifies that Labour’s policy agenda seems to be shaped by a small group of rightwing newspapers, resulting in Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves parading around dressed in the sackcloth and ashes of fiscal responsibility. There is a fundamental flaw and inherent dishonesty in adopting this economic straitjacket while propounding the notion of growing the economy as the route to recovery and the rebuilding of public services. Starmer needs to be honest with the electorate that growing the economy will only improve the wealth and wellbeing of us all if it is accompanied by a redistributive tax regime, where those who prosper the most pay the most and additional tax revenues are invested in public services and infrastructure. Peter Riddle Wirksworth, Derbyshire Continue reading...
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My late husband, Bernie Grant, received vicious abuse like Diane Abbott | Letter (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Sharon Grant calls on the Labour party to address its deep-seated problems with race and the abuse that its black MPs have received for decades I miss my late husband, Bernie Grant, every day, but was painfully reminded of the challenges he faced as one of the first black MPs by Diane Abbott’s experience (Frank Hester’s ugly words about me are a reminder: all parties, including Labour, must stand against racism, 13 March). Labour’s difficulties on race are deep-seated and longstanding, and it has always weaponised or trumpeted the issue at its convenience. The first black MPs for almost 100 years – Bernie, Abbott and Paul Boateng – walked a tightrope to become selected and then again to get elected, and re-elected. Another candidate, Sharon Atkin, was deselected in 1987 for declaring the Labour party was racist. As they sought to establish the first black presence in parliament, there were huge expectations, and at the same time vicious abuse in the gutter press, intrusion into our families, threats of violence and, at best, condescension from parliamentarians themselves, as they sought to reflect the pressing issues facing the black community. Continue reading...
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Supporters should blame club owners – not the rules – for points deductions | Barney Ronay (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Clubs may not like what they sign up to and object to the extent of sanctions, but cannot cry corruption if rules are transparent Welcome to the Premier League’s latest sensational product innovation: the courtroom drama relegation battle. Two things seem certain after the decision to dock four points from Nottingham Forest over breaches of profitability and sustainability rules. First, this isn’t over by any measure. Buckle up for some really excellent legal wrangle content over the coming months as Forest, Everton and at least four other clubs cling like Indiana Jones on a collapsing rope bridge to a league table primed to shuffle and rejig with every fresh tribunal hearing and special circumstances appeal. Continue reading...
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Manu Tuilagi agrees Bayonne move and brings England career to a close (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Veteran centre lands two-year deal with Top 14 side Steve Borthwick had wanted 32-year-old to remain eligible Manu Tuilagi has agreed to join ­Bayonne on a two-year deal in the summer, bringing an end to his England career. The 32-year-old made his swansong appearance off the bench against France last Saturday and is set to make himself ineligible for England by joining the Top 14 side. A host of clubs were interested in Tuilagi’s signature but it is believed that, following the conclusion of the Six Nations, the centre visited ­Bayonne on Monday to undergo a medical. Provided he passes all the necessary checks he will join the club ninth in the Top 14. Continue reading...
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Emma Raducanu pulls out of Miami Open with lower back injury (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
Briton was due to face China’s Wang Xiyu in first round Late withdrawal another injury setback for 21-year-old Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Miami Open on the eve of the joint ATP and WTA 1000 tournament due to a lower back injury. Raducanu had hoped to build on her positive performances at Indian Wells over the last two weeks and she had been handed a fair draw, with a first-round meeting against Wang Xiyu of China and the winner facing Anna Kalinskaya, the 22nd seed, in the second round. Continue reading...
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‘You just have to be gutsy’: how Laura Kenny created her golden era | William Fotheringham (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Britain’s most successful female Olympian rode through adversity and her refusal to compromise explains retirement “The find of the century” is probably the best summary of Laura Kenny’s career, the view of a leading British coach before the 20-year-old’s Olympic debut at London in 2012. The precocity of Kenny’s talent was blindingly obvious back then. Less easy to read were the long-term passion and drive that have made her Britain’s most successful female Olympian, with six Olympic medals to her credit – five gold, one silver – in a 15-year career that spanned three Games. An old truism applies in this case: her retirement on Monday does mark the end of an era, a liberally gold-spangled one at that, with 23 other major titles to her name. The arrival of Laura Kenny, née Trott, on the global stage coincided happily with the initial steps by the world governing body, the UCI, to bring women’s track cycling into parity with men’s, and with the inclusion in the track programme of the multidiscipline omnium, which she dominated in 2012 and 2016, all the while being a mainstay of the British women’s reign in the team pursuit. As the formats changed and times changed, she adapted with aplomb, winning the first women’s gold medal in the madison relay along with Katie Archibald at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Continue reading...
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English football regulator close as government confirms ‘historic’ bill (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
Football governance bill to be published on Tuesday Prime minister: bill will ‘prevent a breakaway league’ An independent regulator for English football is imminent after the government confirmed plans to put a bill before parliament under which clubs could be fined up to 10% of revenues if they breach agreed conditions. The long-awaited football governance bill is to be published on Tuesday and will define the powers of the regulator according to three objectives: “to improve financial sustainability of clubs, ensure financial resilience across the leagues, and to safeguard the heritage of English football”. Continue reading...
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No quick Ryder Cup fix for Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton after LIV switch (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Pair due to receive fines and suspensions from DP World Tour Bans could stop them playing for Europe at Bethpage in 2025 Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will still receive fines and suspensions from the DP World Tour because of their switch to LIV, in the latest indication that much work needs to be done to secure the influential pair a berth in Europe’s next Ryder Cup team. A sporting arbitration panel ruled last April that the DP World, formerly European, Tour was correct to impose sanctions on members who appeared on LIV without securing releases from their home circuit. The fines and suspensions range in value, depending on the impact on whatever DP World Tour event is taking place on the same week the golfers in question appear on LIV. Continue reading...
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Emma Hayes wary of Ajax’s threat to Chelsea in Women’s Champions League (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
WSL champions visit Amsterdam in quarter-final ‘They are a club with serious ambition in Europe’ Emma Hayes praised the development of Ajax and said their rise had come as no surprise, as she prepared her Chelsea side for Tuesday night’s first leg of the Champions League quarter-final in Amsterdam. Ajax were the first Dutch team to make the group stage this season and then escaped a section with Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Roma with three home wins at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. They welcome Chelsea as the ­underdogs, but their threat is real, said Hayes. Continue reading...
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Talking Horses: BHA may struggle to resist Irish Cheltenham juggernaut (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Racing’s ruling body may lack the funding or the influence to turn good intentions into meaningful action at the Festival If the first step towards solving a problem is to acknowledge that you have one, then a statement this weekend by Julie Harrington, the British Horseracing Authority’s chief executive, after another dominant Cheltenham Festival for Irish-trained runners, could yet come to be seen as the first step on the long journey back for Britain’s jumping yards. Last week’s final total of nine wins for British stables was, in some respects, a little better than might have been expected at the start of the meeting, not least with the Nicky Henderson stable apparently in the grip of a virus. But Willie Mullins still managed to equal Britain’s total all by himself, and the 14 Grade One events were split 12-2 in Ireland’s favour, with Dan Skelton responsible for both British victories. Continue reading...
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Sunak and ministers stoking division over UK’s net zero target, warns Ed Miliband (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Labour shadow energy minister will use speech to say Tory approach is also leading to higher bills Ministers are stoking the fires of the culture wars over the UK’s net zero target instead of addressing the urgency of the climate crisis, Ed Miliband will say. The shadow energy secretary will make a pitch directly to Conservative voters who are concerned that the party has made major U-turns on cutting greenhouse gas emissions amid increasingly anti-green rhetoric. Continue reading...
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Climate protesters in England and Wales lose criminal damage defence (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Appeal court says defendants’ ‘beliefs and motivation’ do not constitute lawful excuse for damaging property One of the last defences for climate protesters who commit criminal damage has been in effect removed by the court of appeal. The court said the “beliefs and motivation” of a defendant do not constitute lawful excuse for causing damage to a property. The defence that a person honestly believes the owner of a property would have consented had they known the full circumstances of climate change has been used successfully over the last year by protesters. Continue reading...
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‘Bewildering’ to omit meat-eating reduction from UN climate plan (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Academic experts also criticise UN Food and Agriculture Organization for dismissing alternative proteins The omission of meat-eating reduction from proposals in a UN roadmap to tackle the climate crisis and end hunger is “bewildering”, according to academic experts. The group also criticised the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s report for “dismissing” the potential of alternative proteins, such as plant-based meat, to reduce the impact of livestock on the environment. Continue reading...
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South Sudan closes schools in preparation for 45C heatwave (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Authorities advise parents to keep children indoors during extreme heatwave, expected to last two weeks South Sudan is closing all schools from Monday in preparation for an extreme heatwave expected to last two weeks. The health and education ministries have advised parents to keep all children indoors as temperatures are expected to soar to 45C (113F). Continue reading...
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P&O Ferries has paid some crew less than half UK minimum wage (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Company is using legal loophole UK government promised to close two years ago, Guardian analysis suggests P&O Ferries, which controversially sacked about 800 workers in 2022, has paid some crew members less than half the UK minimum wage thanks to an ongoing legal loophole the British government promised to close two years ago. Agency workers at the company, which is owned by the Dubai-based DP World, have in some cases been earning about £4.87 an hour – even lower than the £5.15 an hour the company suggested was its lowest pay rate – an analysis of recent payslips conducted by the Guardian and ITV News suggests. Continue reading...
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Home Office attempt to deport UK-born man was illegal, judge says (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Tribunal finds that Dmitry Lima, who has never left the UK, is British citizen and should not be deported to Portugal The Home Office acted unlawfully in trying to deport a British-born man who has never left the country to Portugal, from where his parents arrived more than 30 years ago, a judge has ruled. Dmitry Lima, 28, who was born in Lambeth, south London, does not speak Portuguese and has never travelled abroad but in 2022 he was given a deportation order by the Home Office after serving a prison sentence for drugs offences and for carrying a Taser. Continue reading...
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Penny Mordaunt’s Tory leadership rivals blamed for coup plot rumours (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Allies of Commons leader say other future candidates for top job are trying to make her look disloyal Penny Mordaunt’s rivals in a future Conservative leadership contest have been blamed for briefing coup rumours meant to ruin her chances of eventually taking over from Rishi Sunak, the Guardian has been told. The Commons leader, who came a close third in the leadership contest won by Liz Truss in 2022, has in recent days been at the centre of speculation over an alleged plot to try to oust the prime minister to avert a general election disaster for the Conservatives. Continue reading...
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More young people being radicalised online, says UK counter-terror officer (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Senior detective warns children are accessing extreme material as a result of lockdowns, after a 20-year-old was jailed on Monday A senior counter-terrorism officer has warned that children and young people are increasingly being radicalised online after spending long periods on the internet during the pandemic. Det Supt Andy Meeks said a growing number of vulnerable people were accessing extreme material after spending hours unsupervised online. Continue reading...
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Man jailed for ramming motorcyclist off Milton Keynes bridge in ‘extreme’ road rage (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Nikesh Mistry, 34, caused serious injuries after using his BMW to try to force the motorbike off the road A man has been jailed for ramming a motorcyclist off a Buckinghamshire bridge in what police described as an act of “extreme” road rage. Nikesh Mistry, 34, repeatedly tried to force the motorcyclist off the road, which resulted in him sustaining serious injuries, police said. Continue reading...
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Rose Dugdale, English heiress turned IRA bomb maker, dies aged 83 (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Sinn Féin members pay tribute to Dugdale, who was also involved in 1974 art heist and police station attack using hijacked helicopter Rose Dugdale, who went from a background of wealth and privilege in England to become an IRA militant and bomb maker, has died in a Dublin nursing home aged 83. Dugdale was presented as a 17-year-old to Queen Elizabeth as part of the 1958 summer debutante season. Years later, in 1974, Dugdale was given a nine-year prison sentence, in part for her role in the theft of 19 paintings from the home of a wealthy British politician. Continue reading...
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Barack Obama drops in on Rishi Sunak on London trip (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Former US president understood to have discussed AI and other subjects with PM on informal ‘courtesy’ visit Barack Obama has held talks with Rishi Sunak as the former US president paid a “courtesy visit” to Downing Street during a trip to London. The pair are understood to have discussed a range of subjects during an hour-long meeting, including one of the prime minister’s favourite topics, artificial intelligence. Continue reading...
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Seven men jailed after violence outside Merseyside asylum seeker hotel (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Group gathered outside hotel in Knowsley in February last year, chanting ‘get them out’ Seven men have been jailed for violent disorder after their involvement in “racially aggravated” trouble outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Merseyside. Violence broke out from a large group gathered outside a hotel in the Merseyside town of Knowsley on 10 February last year, with the crowd chanting “get them out”. Continue reading...
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Man, 47, arrested after two people injured by crossbow bolts in London (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Attempted murder suspect was carrying knuckle duster and substance in bottle when he was detained in Shoreditch, say police A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two people were injured by crossbow bolts in east London. The 47-year-old was carrying a knuckle duster and “a bottle containing a substance” when he was detained at 11pm on Sunday in Shoreditch, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...
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Unions condemn Tata Steel decision to shut Port Talbot coke ovens early (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Unite calls for strike action after firm had previously said closure of blast furnaces would happen by end of year Tata Steel has abruptly announced it will cease operations of coke ovens at its Port Talbot plant in south Wales, a move condemned by one union as a “massive blow”. The steelmaker, owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, said it had made the decision after a “deterioration of operational stability”. The move is likely to impact about 200 workers, but the immediate impact remains uncertain. Continue reading...
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‘Catastrophic levels of hunger’ in Gaza mean famine is imminent, says aid coalition (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
More than a million people are at risk, according to report, as Oxfam says Israeli authorities are blocking relief deliveries Famine is imminent in northern Gaza with people suffering “catastrophic levels of hunger”, a coalition of aid groups has warned. The situation was called “man-made starvation”, as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a group that includes the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization, said that 1.1 million people, half of Gaza’s population, faced famine. Continue reading...
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At least a dozen dead as gang violence spills into wealthy areas of Haiti capital (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Gunmen looted homes in Laboule and Thomassin, forcing residents to flee previously peaceful neighborhoods • Haiti: what caused the gang violence and will it end now the PM has quit? Gunmen have assaulted two upscale neighborhoods in Haiti’s capital in an attack that left at least a dozen people dead in surrounding areas and suggested that a gang insurrection that prompted the prime minister to resign is far from over. Assailants looted homes in the communities of Laboule and Thomassin before sunrise on Monday, forcing residents to flee as some called radio stations pleading for police. Both neighborhoods had previously remained largely peaceful despite a surge in gang attacks across Port-au-Prince that began on 29 February. Continue reading...
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Michelin hails ‘cultural dynamism’ as 52 French restaurants earn their first stars (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
One chef receives three stars at first attempt in 115th edition of the French foodies’ bible A record 52 restaurants in France – including 23 that only opened in the past year – have been awarded one or more Michelin stars for the first time, which the French foodies’ bible said reflected the “cultural dynamism” of a new generation of innovative young chefs. “This year’s is a generous vintage, and also true to our values,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the director of the Michelin Guide, at the launch of its 115th edition on Monday. Well over half of the new laureates were under the age of 40, he said. Continue reading...
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Second man charged with stealing Dorothy’s Wizard of Oz ruby slippers (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
Jerry Hal Saliterman, 76, of Minnesota allegedly threatened to release a sex tape of a woman if she told anyone about the caper Nearly five months after an ailing man with a history of theft admitted to stealing the shining shoes worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, a second person has been charged in the caper, according to the Associated Press. Jerry Hal Saliterman, 76, of Crystal, Minnesota, was charged with theft of a major artwork and witness tampering. He did not enter a plea when he first appeared on Friday in a US district court in St Paul, Minnesota. He was released on his own recognizance after the hearing. Continue reading...
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Peter Navarro: US supreme court denies Trump ally’s bid to avoid prison (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
Justices find ‘no basis to disagree’ with lower court’s ruling after Navarro, former Trump trade adviser, convicted of contempt The US supreme court on Monday denied a request by Donald Trump’s former aide Peter Navarro to avoid prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction for defying a subpoena from a panel that investigated the 2021 Capitol attack. Navarro, who served as trade adviser during Trump’s presidency, is set to become the first senior member of his administration to be imprisoned for actions related to the attempt to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss. Continue reading...
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West condemns ‘undemocratic’ Russian election as results show Putin landslide (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
UK, US and Germany denounce poll that was said to give president vote share of 87.28% amid crackdown on dissent Western nations have widely condemned Russia’s presidential election, in which Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide victory that will keep him in power until at least 2030 amid a crackdown on dissent and opposition. “These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war,” said the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, as EU foreign ministers met to approve new sanctions against 30 individuals and organisations in response to the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Continue reading...
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Trump lawyers say he can’t post bond covering $454m civil fraud judgment (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
New York appeals court judge had ruled ex-president must post bond covering full amount to pause enforcement of judgment Lawyers for Donald Trump said on Monday he could not post a bond covering the full amount of the $454m civil fraud judgment against him while he appeals the New York ruling, because to do so was “a practical impossibility” after 30 surety companies turned him down. In a court filing seeking a stay on the payment, which is due on 25 March, lawyers for the former president and this fall’s presumptive Republican presidential nominee quoted Gary Giulietti, an executive with the insurance brokerage Lockton Companies, which Trump hired to help get a bond. Continue reading...
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Nearly 130,000 children exposed to lead-tainted drinking water in Chicago (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Study says the 19% of kids using unfiltered tap water have about twice as much lead in their blood as they would otherwise About 129,000 Chicago children under the age of six are exposed to poisonous lead in their household drinking water because of lead pipes, according to a study published on Monday. The study used artificial intelligence to analyse 38,000 home water tests conducted for the city of Chicago, along with neighborhood demographics, state blood samples and numerous other factors. Continue reading...
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Cuba blames US for stoking protests amid power cuts and food shortages (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
US embassy says ‘absurd’ to suggest Washington behind protests in Santiago de Cuba led by parents struggling to feed their children The Cuban government has summoned the US ambassador, Benjamin Ziff, to its foreign ministry, accusing Washington of stoking a protest which saw hundreds of people take to the streets in the island’s second city of Santiago de Cuba. The demonstration late on Sunday was a rare public show of disenchantment against Cuba’s communist government, and was apparently led by parents struggling to feed their children in the face of a worsening food crisis. The protesters reportedly chanted: “Without electricity and food, the people get hot.” Continue reading...
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Elon Musk defends stance on diversity and free speech during tense interview (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Tesla CEO tells Don Lemon people should be treated ‘according to their skills and integrity’ Elon Musk has defended his stance on diversity and free speech in a tense interview with the former CNN anchor Don Lemon. The Tesla chief executive was openly irritated by Lemon’s line of questioning during the hour-long video interview, published on Monday. Continue reading...
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Motherboard review – enthralling smartphone self-portrait of family life (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Copenhagen documentary film festival Victoria Mapplebeck’s documentary stitches 20 years’ worth of footage into a home video love letter to her son, whose whole life so far is observed Victoria Mapplebeck is a British director and lecturer who has worked in film, video, VR, user-generated content, and with her personal, revelatory projects she’s shown a magic touch with a smartphone camera: she won a TV Bafta in 2019 for her iPhone short Missed Call, about her life as a single mum, working out her relationship with her teenage son and his absent dad. Now she has developed this into a tender, intimate, funny and entirely absorbing full-scale feature documentary, the title of which is a reference to the central circuit board on a computer – meaning perhaps both the importance of the digital equipment she’s using to record everything, and her own central importance to the computer of their own family unit, the motherboard that isn’t allowed to go wrong or take a day off. Motherboard is essentially a home video love letter to her son Jim that crafts 20 years’ worth of footage, showing her own life and that of Jim growing surreally from a tiny baby into a fiercely opinionated, smart young adult who suddenly towers over the parent. The film lasts around 90 minutes, which is about how long the growing up process seems to take in real life for a parent. And at the same time she has to deal with exhaustion, a breast cancer diagnosis, anxiety and her own complex relationship with her father who walked out on the family when she was still young. Continue reading...
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Steve Harley obituary (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Singer and songwriter best known for the 1970s No 1 hit Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) Steve Harley, the frontman of Cockney Rebel, who has died aged 73 of cancer, was much more than a one-hit wonder, but his sole UK chart-topper defined his career. This was Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) , which reached No 1 in February 1975. The following year it also became the group’s only appearance on the US charts when it reached No 96. A seemingly cheerful piece, powered by a bouncing bassline and an infectious “ooh la-lala” hook sung by female backing singers, it was the perfect playground for Harley’s distinctive and eccentric vocal style. The lyrics were part sung and part declaimed, with vowels stretched and syllables twisted as if Harley were auditioning to play Richard III. The way he delivered the line “for only metal, what a bore” was a case in point. Continue reading...
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The big idea: should we worry about trillionaires? (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Individual wealth is reaching levels we’ve never seen before. What might that mean? At the beginning of each year, the world’s corporate and political elite gather in the Swiss ski resort of Davos to pat each other on the back, attend seminars on “the fourth Industrial Revolution” – whatever that might be – and generally mull over the state of the world. Rarely is so much wealth to be found in so few conference rooms. And each year, Oxfam, the global development charity, takes the opportunity to run the numbers on the state of global inequality. Oxfam’s findings are often eye-catching, but this year especially so. The wealth of the five richest people in the world, they found, has more than doubled, from $405bn (£320bn) in 2020 to $869bn in late 2023. That’s an increase of about $14m an hour, which is not bad going by anyone’s reckoning. Perhaps more strikingly, Oxfam calculates that on current trends the world is due to welcome its first dollar trillionaire within a decade. Elon Musk, the richest person at the time of writing, is worth about a fifth of that, at $210bn. Continue reading...
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‘A portal to a new world’: when the Trocadero was the centre of the video game universe (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Arcade enthusiasts recall the heady days when Funland and SegaWorld at ‘the Troc’ in central London had all the latest and greatest cabinets, and united subcultures in a social gaming scene that anticipated the internet Entering central London’s Trocadero complex in the late 1990s could be an overwhelming, intoxicating experience. The vast building was then home to SegaWorld, an “indoor theme park” and arcade based on the “Joypolis” concept that the Japanese gaming giant had seen thrive in its homeland. Leaving the bustle of Coventry Street behind, visitors would pass a statue of Sonic the Hedgehog at the doors before stepping on to the famed pair of “rocket escalators”: a vision of the future delivered in brushed steel and slashes of electric blue lighting. Taking people high up into the building through a vast central open area, the escalator ride afforded a glimpse of the varied attractions that occupied each floor – the Mad Bazooka bumper car ride, the Ghost Hunt VR experience – before visitors were deposited at the top, ready to snake their way down through themed zones such as the Carnival and the Sports Arena. All around, arcade machines chirped and sang, backed by a chorus of juddering AS-1 simulator rides, with their whining hydraulics, and the excited chatter of guests waiting in line for Sega’s VR-1 virtual reality experience, with its eight-seater pods and interactive shooter games. Intermittently the sudden mechanical wail of the Pepsi Max Drop ride would fill the air, along with the screams of its occupants. Speakers belted out the era’s biggest pop hits. Props including a full-size Harrier jump jet and carefully placed Formula 1 car occupied the gaps between the cabinets housing arcade icons such as Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter. The whole experience, Sega keenly asserted in promotional videos, was “the ultimate in futuractive entertainment”. Continue reading...
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Two Hours by Alba Arikha review – an impassioned tale of how life pummels and reshapes us (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Navigating the extreme gap between a woman’s life and the one she imagined for herself, the writer’s third novel is concise, rigorous and heartbreaking ‘I write about families,” Natalia Ginzburg said, “because that is where everything starts, where the germs grow.” The French-born writer and musician Alba Arikha clearly agrees, and has set her brilliant third novel firmly within the crucible of two families: the one her narrator is born into and the one she makes herself as an adult. The narrator is Clara, who, at the start, is a 16-year-old living in Paris and shares some biographical details with her author. (But not the fact her godfather was Samuel Beckett and she was named after his poem Alba.) Life doesn’t sit still in your teens, and Clara’s is overturned when her father moves the family to New York for a teaching job. She rages against it (“I was overdoing it with my father. This was important to him. But I couldn’t help myself”), but what makes it worse is meeting the family who are moving out of the house they are moving into. Clara develops a crush on the son, Alexander, and the two hours she spends in his company will colour her life for decades. Continue reading...
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Let There Be Light review – MacMillan’s monumental work needs a monumental space (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Barbican, LondonThe centrepiece of a thoughtfully curated programme examining light and loss, James MacMillan conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the UK premiere of his 2020 choral work Fiat Lux When it was completed in 1981, what is now Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, was reportedly the largest glass building in the world. This was the venue for which James MacMillan wrote his 2020 choral work Fiat Lux. Its UK premiere, with MacMillan himself conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, was in the very different, subterranean setting of the Barbican Hall. It started with faint, glimmering breaths from the orchestra, introducing the two soloists, the soprano Mary Bevan and baritone Roderick Williams – he singing Latin, she English. With the horns tracing elemental rising figures, this opening section felt like Britten’s Canticles meeting Wagner’s Das Rheingold, a not unhappy prospect. Further episodes turned in different directions: the men of the excellent chorus intoning Latin against decorative choral soprano lines; perky, cyclical dances on woodwind; a huge organ chord of arrival, coming at us through loudspeakers in the absence of a suitably colossal instrument. The text seemed to evolve almost organically from biblical phrases to Dana Gioia’s evocative poetry. Continue reading...
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Social mobility in finance: the new scheme tackling banking’s class ceiling (Mon, 05 Feb 2024)
Although the banking sector has increased its focus on becoming more diverse in terms of gender and ethnicity in recent years, it is still often regarded as elitist. Citi’s new programme strives to change this perception Fifteen years ago, Kobi Rahman arrived in London with just enough money for a roof over his head and a Ford Fiesta he couldn’t afford to run. A self-funded history graduate from the Midlands – he was the first person in his family to go to university – he’d landed a role in wealth management at a financial advisory firm. “Those first two years were a baptism of fire,” he says. “I sat at tables with no idea why there were two forks and knives. I was a fish out of water. I survived because I had supportive managers from the start.” Continue reading...
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‘Representation matters’: how a bank is supporting students from diverse backgrounds seeking a career in finance (Mon, 05 Feb 2024)
In a bid to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce, Citi has run a number of initiatives including a Black Heritage Insight programme About eight years ago, when Joanna Anafu was heading up the graduate programmes at Citi, she became aware of the lack of diversity that often existed among applicants – an issue that affects the wider finance industry. So when she later became diversity, equity and inclusion manager within the talent acquisition team at the global bank, whose clients include corporations, financial institutions and governments, she decided to do something to help address it. Continue reading...
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Ready for a comeback? The hiring scheme targeting workers on a career break (Mon, 05 Feb 2024)
When returning to the workplace after a prolonged break, many professionals are forced to take lower-skilled jobs – but now some employers have started to address the challenge. Two returners tell their stories When it comes to re-entering the workplace after a substantial time away, many people find themselves struggling to get a job, returning to positions that no longer fit or taking more junior roles. Research suggests that, in the UK, women in particular (three in five women) end up in lower-skilled jobs, experiencing earning reductions of up to a third as a result. But some employers are starting to recognise the challenge – and the talented potential recruits they might be missing out on. Global bank Citi is one employer attempting to encourage and support valued employees back into the workplace after a career break, with its Reactivate Your Career programme, set up to support experienced professionals back to work following a break of two years or more. (The programme initially began as a pilot in London in 2020, before expanding to Belfast and, due to its success, is currently operating in 13 locations globally.) And while candidates with banking experience are welcomed, many are new to the finance world altogether. Continue reading...
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Apprenticeships: could this career in finance option work for you? (Mon, 05 Feb 2024)
Citi’s apprentice scheme for school leavers and people in the early stages of their working life offers an alternative way into finance When Uwana Effiong joined global bank Citi’s first cohort of apprentices in 2020, she was unsure what to expect from the new scheme. “I had no idea what an apprenticeship was in terms of how I could scale it into a career,” she says. “I thought apprentices just collected coffees and scanned files all day, but my apprenticeship was far from that.” Designed to offer an alternative route into a career in financial services, a Citi apprenticeship doesn’t require a degree, unlike other traditional graduate programmes. The scheme, aimed at school leavers and those in the early stages of their career, operates in London and Belfast. It varies in structure depending on the location and training modules apprentices choose, but all candidates receive training, on-the-job experience and mentorship. For those candidates who perform well and successfully complete the programme and receive a qualification, there may also be the chance to be considered for permanent positions at Citi where vacancies are available. Continue reading...
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From Barbie to Naomi to Paolo Roversi, the style shows you have to see (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
In this week’s newsletter: Inspired by fashion week? Head to any of these museums and galleries to experience the magic of what we wear up close • Don’t get Fashion Statement delivered to your inbox? Sign up to get the full article here Our television screens are awash with incredible fashion programmes at the moment. From Disney’s exploration of the gorgeous world of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s original haute couture to Apple TV+’s deep dive into the rivalry between Christian Dior and Coco Chanel in The New Look, and Kevin Macdonald’s shocking yet illuminating insight into John Galliano, being a couch potato has never been more stylish. However if you’re on a mission to reduce your screen time, then there are also plenty of fashion-focused exhibitions to entice you to venture out into the real world. Continue reading...
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Lemon drizzle, pistachio and blood orange, egg-free date – Tarunima Sinha’s spring bakes (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Cleverly using just one size of cake tin for all her recipes, the baker and author has come up with a stunning array of beautiful cakes. Here, we pick five of our favourites from her new cookbook Before I moved to the UK, my love for lemons was limited to savoury dishes, lemonade and shikanji, an Indian lemon drink. It wasn’t until 2001 – on the third day of my new life in the UK – that I tried lemon cake. I didn’t know then that it would become my favourite. Continue reading...
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The pet I’ll never forget: Tiggy the serial killer, who ruled the house with naked menace (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
She was my first pet, so her aversion to affection came as a disappointment. But I couldn’t help admire her carefree, combative confidence My pyjama trousers must have been on the small side at the time – not unusual for a nine-year-old going through a mini-growth spurt. However, the reason I know that the trouser legs were hanging above my ankles is that when Tiggy took a swipe at them that morning, she managed to draw blood. To be fair, she had given me due warning. On the previous occasion I was slow to feed the cat, she had growled with such naked menace that had she been human, the message could not have been more explicit: next time I’ll cut you. Continue reading...
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Did you solve it? Lewis Carroll for insomniacs (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
The answers to today’s puzzles Earlier today I set these puzzles by Lewis Carroll, who as well as writing books like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, was also a prolific puzzle setter. 1. The Chelsea Pensioners Continue reading...
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Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for roast red pepper orrechiette with pistachios and ricotta | Quick and easy (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Ear-shaped pasta in a roast red pepper and tomato sauce and topped with pistachios and ricotta This dish is a happy accident. I first made it to accompany roast potatoes, with muhammara in mind (a delicious Middle Eastern dip of roast red pepper, walnuts and pomegranate molasses). But I had no walnuts, so used pistachios instead. The result is addictive and it has since become a go-to; the sauce works just as well tossed through pasta as it does with grilled prawns or roast potatoes. You could use crumbled feta instead of ricotta to top the pasta, but I like that the ricotta doesn’t compete with the flavour of the sauce. Continue reading...
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How to enjoy Hyrox: I tried the gruelling, thrilling, hugely popular race – and discovered 11 ways to tackle it (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
It is the new CrossFit and Tough Mudder, and might actually be harder than both. But what’s the best way to survive it and improve your time? If the word “Hyrox” sounds familiar, it’s probably because the obviously fit person in your office or at your child’s sports day was talking about it. Featuring 8k of running split up by eight mini-workouts, it’s the hottest new must-do event for people who love the gym and the ’Gram. Launched in 2017, it’s now sponsored by Red Bull, with the sculpted superhumans who win its world championships taking home a combined prize pot of $150,000 (£118,000). Less technical than CrossFit and not as messy as Tough Mudder, it might also be harder than both: it takes most participants just over an hour and a half to finish, and very few of those minutes are what you’d call pleasant. I know this, because I got a spot in the recent Glasgow event, trained for three weeks, then limped over the line in a sort-of-respectable 1hr 47min 35sec (the men’s pro winner, Jake Dearden, did it with slightly heavier weights, in just under an hour). Slumped in an Uber afterwards, I couldn’t imagine doing anything so horrible again – but two days later, surprisingly un-sore, I was already thinking about how to improve my time. Hyrox, you see, has a little bit of something for everyone: there’s no upper time limit on finishing, and age group categories let you choose your own level of competitiveness. You can also do it as a pair, or a relay team, to make the amount of work involved a bit less intimidating. I, obviously, am already consulting every competitor I can find to get myself under the 90-minute mark; here’s what might help us all out. Continue reading...
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Russia: voters use petrol bombs and dye to protest against elections at polling stations – video (Fri, 15 Mar 2024)
People used dye, molotov cocktails and fires to protest against Russia’s elections, which are certain to extend Vladimir Putin’s 24-year rule until at least 2030. The Kremlin released footage of what it said was Putin casting an online vote and the foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, voting at a polling station. The elections are due to continue until Sunday Vladimir Putin’s victory all but certain as Russians head to the polls A forever war, more repression, Putin for life? Russia’s bleak post-election outlook Continue reading...
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Britain's broken welfare system is leaving our community on the brink – video (Thu, 14 Mar 2024)
The Guardian has been working with a group of community reporters in Rochdale in greater Manchester, who turned the lens on a benefits system that they have seen unfairly penalising vulnerable people in their town. The group of reporters from the Elephants Trail met friends, family and others in the community trying to navigate the system, and consider how they can use those stories to advocate for change across the country. This film is part of a collaborative video series called Made in Britain. Continue reading...
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Diane Abbott snubbed by speaker in PMQs debate on remarks about her – video (Wed, 13 Mar 2024)
The Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, has sparked a fresh row by refusing to allow Diane Abbott to ask a question during a heated session of prime minister’s questions, which was dominated by discussion of a Conservative donor’s comments about her. Abbott had sought to ask a question throughout the 35-minute session, during which MPs debated the comments made about her by Frank Hester, the Conservatives’ biggest donor. The Guardian revealed earlier this week that Hester once said Abbott made him 'want to hate all black women' and that she 'should be shot', comments the MP has called 'frightening'. Hoyle provoked groans in the chamber, however, by ending the session without having called on her – even after the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and Stephen Flynn, the Scottish National party leader in Westminster, both used their questions to raise the controversy Speaker fails to let Diane Abbott speak in PMQs debate on Tory donor’s remarks UK politics: latest updates Continue reading...
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Rigging the vote: how Putin always wins Russia's elections – video explainer (Tue, 12 Mar 2024)
Over more than two decades in power, Vladimir Putin's government has crafted a template for winning elections and quashing any dissent. He became acting president when Boris Yeltsin resigned on 31 December 1999, and won the election the next year. He has already served as Russian leader for longer than any other ruler but Joseph Stalin and later in March, he is expected to sweep the vote to claim his fifth presidential term in stage-managed elections no one doubts he will win. From puppeteering public opinion through state TV and propaganda, to widespread allegations of vote rigging, as well as the elimination of prominent opposition politicians such as Alexei Navalny, Andrew Roth, the Guardian's Russia correspondent, explains the Kremlin science behind Putin's victories – and why, despite his certainty of success, holding elections is still so significant Continue reading...
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'A bloody revolution': Haitians struggle for power and reject international help – video report (Wed, 13 Mar 2024)
Protests broke out in Port-au-Prince against the plan by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to install an interim prime minister after Ariel Henry announced his intention to resign. Special forces police officer turned gang kingpin Jimmy 'Barbecue' Chérizier has control of a great part of Haiti's capital along with other criminal groups, and politicians across the country are scrambling for power, making the creation of a transitional presidential council unlikely. Politically connected gangs have sowed chaos in Haiti's capital over the past two weeks, storming prisons, seizing control of the port, torching shops and police stations and laying siege to the international airport Is the feared gang boss ‘Barbecue’ now the most powerful man in Haiti? Haiti: what caused the gang violence and will it end now the PM has quit? Continue reading...
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Tell us: how did your relationship survive infidelity? (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
Many consider sexual affairs to be the ultimate dealbreaker, but some couples can overcome these transgressions. If that is you, we want to hear how you did it Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Cheating is often regarded as the mother of all relationship crimes, but it doesn’t always result in a couple calling it quits. We want to hear how you navigated the fallout from a sexual betrayal. What motivated you to try to work things out? And how did you find your way back to a place of trust and togetherness? Continue reading...
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Tell us about your holiday fridge magnets (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
What kinds of feelings and memories do your holiday fridge magnets evoke? We’d like to hear about your holiday fridge magnets and find out how they make you feel. Lots of people buy fridge magnets to remind them of places they’ve visited and we’d like you to tell us about yours and what kinds of feelings and memories they evoke when you look at them. Continue reading...
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UK employers: what kind of vacancies have you been struggling to fill? (Wed, 13 Mar 2024)
We’re keen to hear from employers in Britain which job openings they have been having trouble to recruit for, and why Employers in the UK have cut back on hiring new staff, pushing the number of advertised vacancies down on the quarter by 43,000 to 908,000, while the unemployment rate rose unexpectedly to 3.9% in January from 3.8% in December, according to the Office for National Statistics. We’re interested to hear from UK employers whether there have been vacancies in their companies they have been struggling to hire qualified staff for, and why they think that has been the case. Continue reading...
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UK patients: have you waited more than two weeks for a surgical abortion? (Thu, 14 Mar 2024)
We want to learn more about waiting times for surgical abortions in the UK Waiting times for abortions in the UK have risen, according to a report in the Telegraph citing NHS England’s chief delivery officer, amid an increase in demand. We want to learn more about surgical abortion waiting times in the UK. If you have recently had a surgical abortion, please get in touch and let us know how long you had to wait for the termination. Continue reading...
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24 in 2024: salsa parties, stinky tofu and being queer in Taiwan (Tue, 19 Mar 2024)
Social media manager Noya Lee says gen Z struggles with ‘everything’ but going straight into the workforce has given her confidence Read more from our 24 in 2024 series Twenty-four in 2024 is a series on the lives, hopes and fears of 24-year-olds around the world in a year of election uncertainty, conflict and climate change. Continue reading...
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Bulletproof windows and ‘bunga bunga’: Berlusconi’s palace to be used by world’s press (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Italy’s Foreign Press Association – branded ‘communists’ by late politician – moves into Palazzo Grazioli in Rome The first and only time Silvio Berlusconi held a news conference at the Italian Foreign Press Association in Rome was in November 1993. The businessman told journalists he had no desire whatsoever to enter politics, and hoped he would never be forced to. But when the correspondents probed further, particularly about his friendship with Gianfranco Fini, the leader of the National Alliance, a descendant of the neofascist Italian Social Movement, he accused them all of being “communists” – the ultimate insult, from those on the right in Italy – against anyone with leftwing leanings. Continue reading...
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Brian Mulroney obituary (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Progressive Conservative PM of Canada for nine years who was a leading opponent of apartheid and an early environmentalist Brian Mulroney, who has died aged 84, was both loved and reviled in his nine years as prime minister of Canada. A dealmaker who learned his political skills as a party organiser and labour lawyer before he ran for public office, Mulroney won back-to-back majority governments in the 1980s as leader of the Progressive Conservative party. He took office in 1984 in a landslide victory, but saw his popularity plummet by the early 1990s. As prime minister, he raised his country’s international profile. A leading opponent of the apartheid regime in South Africa, he persuaded both Margaret Thatcher and the US president Ronald Reagan to support sanctions against the country, which led to the dismantling of apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. He was also recognised as an early environmentalist, signing an acid rain treaty with the US in 1991. Continue reading...
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Volkov attack signals Russia’s return to cold war-era spying in Europe (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Defence experts say Moscow is rapidly improving its intelligence operations after Ukraine invasion It was a crude and violent assault, but as a bloody message, it was chillingly effective. An attacker ambushed Leonid Volkov, a close adviser to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Nalvany, outside his home on the outskirts of Vilnius, Lithuania. The time was 10.06pm on Tuesday night as he arrived, after having filmed an anti-Putin video in time for this weekend’s election. The assailant smashed open the car window and blasted Volkov with teargas, and repeatedly struck him with a hammer – about 15 times – breaking his left arm and bloodying his left leg before fleeing the scene. It was, Volkov said in the aftermath, “an obvious, characteristic, typical, gangster-style greeting from Putin” and the assault reflected an emerging truth: Russian intelligence operations in Europe are back. Continue reading...
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‘My 17-year-old son was arrested for sharing child abuse images – he said it was a relief’ (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
A mother describes how her autistic son became one of thousands of under-18s caught viewing or sharing indecent images of children Louise* thought she had been open and clear with her two children about the dangers of the internet. But last year there was a knock on her door at 6am. It was the police looking for her 17-year-old son. “There were five or six police coming up my stairs,” she says. “When they said they were looking for my son because of indecent images I thought I was going to pass out. Continue reading...
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Pythons for bait and dodging militias: on the trail of the rare ‘monkey-eating’ eagle (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Mindanao island is the last stronghold of the endangered Philippine eagle. But now the raptor’s habitat is at risk from logging, hunting and armed groups Christian Daug whistles with all the spirit he can muster. “The male and female were perched there yesterday,” he says, pointing to a dead tree amid the sea of flora that smothers the tallest mountain on the Philippine archipelago. He whistles again as we look out over the jungle from a wooden observation post. This area is one of the last remaining strongholds of Pithecophaga jefferyi: one of the world’s largest and rarest eagles. Measuring about a metre in height when perched, with a wingspan that can reach more than two metres (6.5ft), it is known locally as the “monkey-eating eagle”. The enormous raptors prey primarily on macaques, but also feed on pythons, chickens, cats and dogs. Continue reading...
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The one question we all need to ask ourselves – and how to tune in to the answer (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Your inner voice can open up huge possibilities for change and growth, but it can be strangely hard to hear it. In the first of a new series, we look at how to really listen I often find myself thinking about the famous question that ends Mary Oliver’s poem The Summer Day: Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Continue reading...
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Church of England accused of ‘acting like a loan shark’ over vicar’s widow falling £313,000 in debt (Sun, 17 Mar 2024)
A church mortgage supposed to help clergy buy their own home has turned into a huge burden for a woman who paid interest for almost 29 years The family of a vicar’s widow has accused the Church of England of behaving like a loan shark after a £55,000 mortgage it granted became a £313,000 debt – on top of monthly payments she has been making for almost 30 years. Tessa Norris* says her 84-year-old mother, Rose, has “devoted her life to the church, all on a voluntary basis” but that it is treating her, and others in a similar position, “as commodities to make money”. Continue reading...
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‘Our chances? Zero – and getting worse’: inside a Tory death spiral (Sun, 17 Mar 2024)
Frank Hester, Lee Anderson, an unpopular budget … as the catalogue of Conservative disasters piles up, discipline seems to be breaking down, and any hope of election victory fading ‘This place is utterly dysfunctional’: MPs on why they’re leaving parliament Asked what chance his party had of winning the next general election, a former Tory cabinet minister, who had occupied a senior government post until not long ago, threw his eyes skywards and replied in an instant: “Zero.” It was last Wednesday afternoon in the Palace of Westminster. The former minister then paused, grimaced, and added that with every passing day, as the chaos grew, the chances were likely to diminish further – into negative territory. Continue reading...
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‘People question everything now’: how Kate’s photo scandal rips up the rules for royals and the media (Sun, 17 Mar 2024)
What appeared to be a harmless-looking snap has turned out to be anything but. Though previous official images of the royals have been altered, this one could change their relationship with the media for ever On Thursday the doors of Kensington Palace swung open to welcome an eager public. Its new exhibition, Untold Lives, offers to shine a light for the first time on all the staff who have worked behind the scenes over the centuries, those stage managers who ensure the smooth running of “the business they call showbusiness” … in other words, the monarchy. It was sweetly ironic timing as much of the wider world remained agog, guessing at exactly what was going on inside the walls of that very palace. Ill-informed speculation on social media and lurid reports in the foreign press were running riot. Avid royal watchers wondered if the Princess of Wales, still scheduled to be out of action after an operation, was seriously ill, or perhaps even about to quit her role. Continue reading...
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FA Cup magic is alive at Old Trafford and Molineux – Football Weekly (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Max Rushden is joined by Paul MacInnes, Jordan Jarrett-Bryan and Robyn Cowen after Manchester United beat Liverpool in extra time in a thrilling game to make the FA Cup semi-finals 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; the FA Cup still produces plenty of magic and a brilliant set of quarter-finals with Coventry stunning Wolves and Manchester United breaking Liverpool hearts deep in extra time. Continue reading...
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Episode 5 – The white mask – podcast (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
In January 2020, Robert Williams was arrested by Detroit police for a crime he had not committed. The officers were acting on a tip not from a witness or informant. In fact, not from a person at all Continue reading...
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The tyranny of the algorithm: why every coffee shop looks the same – podcast (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
From the generic hipster cafe to the ‘Instagram wall’, the internet has pushed us towards a kind of global ubiquity – and this phenomenon is only going to intensify. By Kyle Chayka Continue reading...
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What happens when you put a nursery in a care home? – podcast (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
At Belong Chester, residents spend their days with nursery-age children. What effect does it have on the wellbeing of both groups? Helen Pidd reports “I think there’s something very natural about bringing young children and older people together, and yet in the UK it’s not the norm any more,” Helen Pidd, the Guardian’s north of England editor, tells Nosheen Iqbal. Is the UK missing out on the benefits of intergenerational living? Helen visits Belong Chester, a multigenerational care home in Chester’s city centre. Sue Egersdorff, co-founder of the charity Ready Generations, who operate Belong’s nursery, tells Helen that many residents are reserved when they arrive but blossom when they make friends with the nursery children. Continue reading...
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Weekend podcast: teacher Michael Donkor on coming out to his pupils; finding love via small ads; and are bad habits your fault? (Sat, 16 Mar 2024)
Should you blame yourself for your bad habits? (1m53s); author and teacher, Michael Donkor, on the dilemma of whether to come out to his pupils (7m50s); and missed connections: four extraordinary stories of couples who found love via small ads (26m05s) Continue reading...
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Electric mountain: the power station that shows the beauty of infrastructure – podcast (Fri, 15 Mar 2024)
Utilitarian as they may be, some civic projects are so monumental they approach the sublime. And one of the most elegant is hidden inside a mountain in Wales. By Deb Chachra Archive: NASA Continue reading...
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Can US Congress control the abuse of AI in the 2024 election? – podcast (Fri, 15 Mar 2024)
In January, voters in New Hampshire answered a phone call from what sounded like President Joe Biden. What turned out to be an AI-generated robocall caused a stir because it was trying to convince Democratic voters not to turn up to polling stations on election day. In response to this scam, just a couple of weeks later, the US government outlawed robocalls that use voices generated by artificial intelligence. But experts are warning that this story is just one example of why 2024 will be a year of unprecedented election disinformation in the US and around the world. This week, Jonathan Freedland and Rachel Leingang discuss why people are so worried about the influence of artificial intelligence on November’s presidential election, and what politicians can do to catch up Archive: CNN, NBC News, CBS Boston 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, Ravinder Bhogal, 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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Star Wars coins, a new Banksy and a big cat: photos of the day – Monday (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...
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Galapagos biodiversity under threat – in pictures (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Greenpeace has called for the creation of a high seas protected zone under a new UN treaty to secure a much wider area around Ecuador’s Galapagos archipelago, whose unique fauna and flora inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution Continue reading...
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Laura Kenny’s glittering career – in pictures (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
A look back at the Olympic champion’s career after the decorated cyclist announced her retirement Continue reading...
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Houston’s Fotofest biennial 2024: Critical Geography – in pictures (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
Founded almost 40 years ago, the Fotofest biennial has an ambitious programme of exhibitions, portfolio reviews and artist talks. This year’s central show, curated by Steven Evans, reveals the effects of social, cultural, ecological and political forces on places and communities Continue reading...
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Steve Harley – a life in pictures (Mon, 18 Mar 2024)
The Cockney Rebel singer and songwriter has died aged 73. Here are some images that capture his style, attitude and achievements over a long career in rock Steve Harley, Cockney Rebel frontman, dies aged 73 Continue reading...
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The big picture: George Hoyningen-Huene’s mysterious Divers (Sun, 17 Mar 2024)
Seemingly shot on the French Riviera, the grand make-believe and glamour of this famous image is characteristic of the photographer’s work for French Vogue’s golden age George Hoyningen-Huene took this famous picture, Divers, not at the French riviera, as it seems, but on the roof of the Vogue studio on the Champs-Élysées. The image originally appeared in a magazine spread headlined “Modern Mariners Put Out to Sea”. Its grand make-believe was characteristic of Hoyningen-Huene, friend and confidant to Coco Chanel, and a fixture in the French avant garde between the wars. There has been speculation about the identity of the two models in the shot. It was long thought that the man on the “diving board” was Horst P Horst, the model who became Hoyningen-Huene’s lover and eventually supplanted him as the star photographer of French Vogue’s golden age. Recent research has shown, however, that the picture was taken a couple of months before the pair met. There is more certainty about the woman beside him, thought to be Lee Miller, another protege of Hoyningen-Huene, then just embarking on her career as an artist. George Hoyningen-Huene is published by Thames & Hudson on 28 March Continue reading...
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