Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice
How did tens of thousands of Ukrainian children end up in Russian re-education camps? Peter Beaumont reports
Ukrainian officials say 16,000 children have been deported from Ukraine to Russia, but some estimates are much higher.
In March, the international criminal court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, alleging they were responsible for the “war crime of unlawful deportation” of children.
Continue reading...Posted on 31 May 2023 | 2:00 am
The committee voted 7-6 to allow debate by the full chamber with expected vote on passage on Wednesday
The bipartisan debt ceiling deal brokered by Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy passed an important hurdle Tuesday evening, advancing to the full House of Representatives for debate and an expected vote on passage on Wednesday even amid opposition from far-right Republicans.
Earlier in the day, McCarthy, the Republican speaker of the US House, had insisted that supporting the debt ceiling deal would be “easy” for his party and it was likely to pass through Congress despite one prominent rightwinger’s verdict that the proposed agreement is a “turd sandwich”.
Continue reading...Posted on 31 May 2023 | 1:44 am
The ruling cleared the way for the pharma company to settle cases tied to the epidemic that caused more than 500,000 deaths
The billionaire family behind Purdue Pharma, the maker of the powerful and highly addictive prescription painkiller OxyContin, can be protected from lawsuits related to their company’s role in the opioids crisis, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
The second US circuit court of appeals in New York determined the company can shield its owners from legal claims in exchange for a $6bn contribution to the company’s broader bankruptcy settlement, in a ruling that also cleared the way for Purdue to settle lawsuits tied to America’s devastating opioid epidemic.
Continue reading...Posted on 31 May 2023 | 1:43 am
State media say the projectile plunged into the sea, after briefly sparking emergency warnings in South Korea and Japan
North Korea’s first spy satellite launch has ended in failure after its second stage malfunctioned, sending the projectile plunging into the sea, the country’s state media has said, with the regime vowing to conduct another launch soon.
The launch sparked emergency warnings in Japan and the South Korean capital Seoul, where the city briefly issued an evacuation warning in error.
Continue reading...Posted on 31 May 2023 | 1:21 am
Mike Matson, the city mayor, said remains of two people may be within the rubble amid protests of city’s swift demolition plans
Five people remain unaccounted for after part of an apartment building collapsed in Davenport, Iowa, over the weekend, officials said Tuesday.
The remains of two people may be within the rubble, the city’s mayor, Mike Matson, said at a news conference, which came amid protests and criticism that the city was moving too quickly toward demolishing the building. The 116-year-old brick and steel structure, built as a hotel, had more recently been used as apartments and tenants had been allowed to remain even as bricks began falling from the building.
Continue reading...Posted on 31 May 2023 | 12:43 am
Sydney Swans great Adam Goodes says the only regret in his life is not being able to save his late mother from experiencing the trauma of the Stolen Generations. The 2014 Australian of the Year has opened up in a rare interview, having a wide-ranging chat with former England footballer Rio Ferdinand.
Goodes revealed his beloved mother, Lisa Sansbury, died of a heart attack in February 2022, aged 62. The dual Brownlow medallist regularly thinks about what his family’s life would be like had his mother not been exposed to systemic and horrific racism practices growing up.
Continue reading...Posted on 31 May 2023 | 12:08 am
Putin accuses Kyiv of seeking to ‘frighten’ Russians after Moscow drone attack; EU official says import restrictions on Ukraine grain should be extended
Russian president, Vladimir Putin, accused Ukraine of seeking to “frighten” Russians after Moscow was targeted with a large-scale drone attack for the first time in the 15-month war. He said that Ukraine had chosen the path of attempting “to intimidate Russia, Russian citizens [with] attacks on residential buildings” and added that the drone attacks were “clearly a sign of terrorist activity.”
Ukrainian presidential aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, denied Ukraine was involved. However, he did he predict “an increase in the number of attacks”.
One of the drones used in Tuesday morning’s raid on Moscow appears to have been a Ukrainian manufactured UJ 22 drone produced by the Ukrjet company. Alleged footage of the drone, captured in flight during the attack, appears to match released images of the unmanned aerial vehicle which Russia has claimed has been used in other attempted attacks.
James Cleverly, the UK’s foreign secretary, told reporters that Ukraine has the “legitimate right” to defend itself and can “project force” beyond its borders. At a news conference in Estonia on Tuesday, Cleverly said: “[Ukraine] has the right to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself.”
The Russian defence ministry said eight drones targeted the city overnight but Russian media close to the security services wrote that the number was many times higher, with more than 30 drones participating in the attack.
Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, faced its third air raid in 24 hours on Tuesday morning. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed that 20 residents were evacuated from a damaged building. One person died and four were injured in the strike.
Restrictions on grain imports from Ukraine into the EU would need to be extended, the bloc’s agricultural minister said on Tuesday, despite opposition from Kyiv. The restrictions were implemented after complaints from eastern EU countries that a surplus of Ukrainian grain was driving down local prices and affecting local farmers.
Ukraine wants to begin work to make its Danube shipping canal deeper as early as this year, to expand its alternative routes to export grain, deputy minister of renovation and infrastructure, Yuriy Vaskov, said on Tuesday. The push for alternative export routes has taken on urgency during the war, after Russia blocked Ukraine’s traditional export routes via the Black Sea.
Sweden’s accession into Nato is “within reach”, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. Sweden formally applied to join Nato last year, but was blocked by Turkey over claims that Kurdish militants had settled in the country. Stoltenberg said it was “possible to reach a solution and enable the decision on full membership for Sweden by “ the Nato summit in July.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine committed to respect the five principles laid out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to try to safeguard Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The principles included that there should be no attacks on, or from the plant and that no heavy weapons should be housed there. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said he was encouraged that the principles were “widely supported and there was no voice opposing them.” The Russian and Ukrainian envoys at the United Nations blamed each other’s countries for the crisis at Zaporizhzhia, but did not reject outright the principles put forward by the IAEA.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 11:25 pm
Ex-leader of Conservatives says Canadian Security Intelligence briefed him on a ‘Chinese-orchestrated campaign’ to manipulate the vote
Canada’s spy agency told former Conservative party leader Erin O’Toole that China campaigned to discredit him and suppress votes ahead of the 2021 election he lost to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, O’Toole has said.
In a briefing on Friday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (Csis) informed O’Toole about intelligence saying Beijing had targeted him in 2021, when he was Conservative leader and running to defeat Trudeau.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 11:23 pm
Creatures dubbed the ambulator roamed across the continent’s arid interior 3.5 million years ago, scientists say
Scientists have identified one of Australia’s first long-distance walkers: a 250kg marsupial with “heeled hands” that roamed across the continent’s arid interior 3.5 million years ago.
Using 3D scanning, Flinders University palaeontologists have described a new group of ancient marsupial, calling it Ambulator – meaning walker or wanderer – for its specific leg and feet adaptations that equipped it to efficiently roam long distances.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 11:01 pm
Study of patients in England with neurological damage related to laughing gas finds group overrepresented
Young people experiencing neurological harm after using laughing gas are most likely to be male and Asian, according to a small study of patients admitted to hospital in England.
Nitrous oxide is the second most common drug used by 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK. It is typically released into balloons from small silver canisters before being inhaled. Rishi Sunak recently announced plans to criminalise the drug.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 10:30 pm
This carefully scripted hour-long documentary gives voice to both sides of the transgender debate. But given its divisive and complex topic, it is a mere introduction
‘Battle lines have been drawn and any constructive dialogue seems to be impossible.” So runs the opening line of the very carefully scripted narration of Gender Wars, a documentary about one of the most polarising, saddening, enraging and toxic debates of our time. Channel 4 has bitten the bullet and is the first, I think, to produce a programme giving voice to both sides of what is usually called “the trans issue”. However, the first problem it faces is that “the trans issue” is actually about 400 issues packed into one, which has partly contributed to the endless difficulties in approaching, let alone resolving, it.
Wisely, Gender Wars does not try to cover everything. It looks at the phrase “trans women are women” and the ramifications, if it is to be taken not as a catchy slogan, embodying the idea that everyone should be allowed to dress, present and live as they choose, but as literal truth and the central plank of an increasingly popular and powerful ideology.
Gender Wars is on Channel 4.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 10:05 pm
Police were called when the female, called Sundara, was spotted roaming the town on Monday
An 11-month-old red panda surprised workers in Cornwall after escaping from Newquay zoo.
Police received a call on Monday morning about the escaped red panda strolling down the streets of Newquay. Workers at a fruit wholesaler had spotted the creature, whose name is Sundara, and distracted her with an apple to keep her from running off again.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 9:56 pm
The incident is the latest in a season of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing this year
A Chinese fighter pilot performed an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” near an American surveillance aircraft operating over the South China Sea last week, according to US military.
The incident – which the Pentagon says is part of a pattern of behavior by China – comes at a time of already heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over issues including Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down after traversing the United States earlier this year.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 9:27 pm
Tighter rules could also demand plain packaging and more curbs on promotion of products
• Vaping: quitter’s aid or addiction risk?
Ministers are considering further vaping laws, such as a ban on colourful branding or flavours, to deter their sale to children amid calls for plain packaging to be extended to the products.
No 10 said the government was considering “further steps” on vaping, with a call for evidence due to close next week. The government announced on Tuesday that it was closing a loophole in the law that allowed companies to give away free samples to children, as concern grows that usage of vapes among under 18s has been on the rise.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 9:23 pm
It may have an absolutely star-packed cast, but this meandering political farce will rapidly lose your interest – unless you’re an aficionado of US political scandals from the 70s
White House Plumbers is an A-list, star-stuffed, prestige retelling of the Watergate scandal, which might sound familiar to viewers of last year’s Gaslit, another A-list, star-stuffed, prestige retelling of the Watergate scandal. Even with Julia Roberts as its star, Gaslit got lost in the avalanche of great television that continues to arrive, and White House Plumbers may share the same fate. Here, the mood is more satirical, and it veers into slapstick, although it tries to balance that with a strand of serious family and personal drama. It has a slick elegance to it, but it never quite feels as if it pulls the many elements together successfully.
The Veep showrunner David Mandel directs, which should give some idea of the acerbic tone it aims for. The obligatory “based on a true story” note that opens the show cheekily points out that “no names have been changed to protect the innocent, because nearly everyone was found guilty”. Over five episodes, it follows the inept misadventures (and that’s putting it lightly, although, surprisingly, the series does occasionally allow space for an interpretation of the pair as quirky goofs) of the Nixon operatives E Howard Hunt and G Gordon Liddy.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 9:05 pm
PM challenged as Cabinet Office battles to withhold Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages from Covid inquiry
Rishi Sunak has been accused of attempting to cover up the actions of ministers during the pandemic as the Cabinet Office intensified its battle to withhold Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages from the Covid inquiry.
The prime minister insisted his government has been cooperating with the investigation but is facing increasing calls from experts and MPs – with some coming from within his own party – to hand over evidence without redactions.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 8:30 pm
Statutory caps were brought in under Heath, now the government wants a voluntary store scheme to meet Sunak’s pledge to halve inflation
A cost-of-living crisis. Pressure on the government to step in to help hard-pressed consumers. Calls for supermarkets to cut prices on staple food items. Substitute Rishi Sunak for Ted Heath, step into a time capsule and journey back to Britain in 1972.
Let’s be clear: ministers are not considering imposing the sort of statutory price controls on a loaf of bread, a pint of milk or a bar of soap that were put in place half a century ago. Not now and not ever, according to Whitehall sources. But it has emerged that Sunak and his team are certainly not averse to the big supermarkets coming up with their own voluntary agreement to reduce the cost of the weekly shop.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 8:25 pm
Mirra Andreeva has cited an interaction with Andy Murray as a lucky charm following the 16-year-old’s first grand slam main-draw victory at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
Andreeva continued her rapid breakthrough as she moved into the second round with an easy 6-2, 6-1 win against Alison Riske-Amritraj. The victory marks her fourth win in a row in Paris after qualifying for her first grand slam main draw without dropping a set.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 8:21 pm
Reports say members of CMS committee will discuss the handling of the issue with executives
MPs are reportedly planning on questioning ITV executives over This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield’s affair with a younger male colleague.
It came as the Prince’s Trust said it had dropped Schofield as an ambassador. “In light of Phillip’s recent admissions, we have agreed with him that it is no longer appropriate to work together,” a spokesperson for the charity said on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 8:13 pm
Gender-critical feminist’s speech temporarily stopped after protester glues themself to floor
The gender-critical feminist Dr Kathleen Stock was forced to temporarily halt her contested appearance at the Oxford Union after a trans activist glued themself to the debating chamber close to the speaker’s chair.
Stock, who argues that transgender people cannot expect all the rights afforded by biological sex, had been speaking over the sound of up to 200 people protesting outside about her invitation when a group of activists stormed the debating chamber on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 8:01 pm
Manahel al-Otaibi, 29, was held in November on charges including using a hashtag calling for end to male guardianship
A young women’s rights activist in Saudi Arabia has been arrested and imprisoned for having Twitter and Snapchat accounts that embraced recent social reforms but also demanded more fundamental rights inside the kingdom, it has emerged.
Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old certified fitness instructor and artist who frequently promoted female empowerment on her social media accounts, was arrested in November 2022. Among other charges, Otaibi was accused by Saudi authorities of using a hashtag – translated to #societyisready – to call for an end to male guardianship rules.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 7:42 pm
Posted on 30 May 2023 | 7:09 pm
Scott Seddon, 26, from Liverpool was being filmed by his partner as the tragedy happened off coast of Rhodes
The partner of a British tourist who died when he was struck by lightning while paddleboarding off Rhodes had beseeched him to return to shore when the storm hit.
Scott Seddon’s girlfriend repeatedly shouted “come out” when it became clear the 26-year-old from Liverpool was struggling in the waters off Agathi beach. The woman, who has not been named, was on land filming Seddon, an accomplished sportsman, with her mobile phone as the tragedy unfolded.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 7:06 pm
José Luis Mendilibar has guided team away from relegation trouble and past European giants to reach final against Roma
“Any other team would have let go,” Pepe Castro says, but then Sevilla Futbol Club are not any other team, not when it comes to the Europa League. It is not just that they have found a way past Manchester United and Juventus, “clubs that have four times our budget”, to reach their seventh final Europa League final that is so extraordinary, according to the club’s president, or even that they have done it in their worst season for 20 years, one in which they have had three managers and risked relegation. It is that they even tried.
When José Luis Mendilibar took over as coach in March, he came on a rescue mission, the situation at Sevilla so desperate that the sporting director hadn’t even left the scene of their latest defeat before calling. Sevilla were two points off the relegation zone, had lost three of their previous four matches and were falling apart. Mendilibar was their last throw of the dice, a man who had taken charge of more than 400 first-division games over a career that goes back 27 years but not at clubs such as this; instead, he said, he had spent his career “fighting for different things”. Survival, mostly.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 7:00 pm
René Olivieri tells Hay festival the charity is in process of deciding what to do about stolen objects in its properties
The National Trust is working on a policy on the return of stolen objects in its properties, the charity’s chair has told the Hay festival.
The restitution or repatriation of objects that were taken from other countries during colonial rule was a huge issue, said René Olivieri, adding: “Provenance needs to come into public access, public benefit.”
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:44 pm
Government is raising amount parents can claim by almost 50% from 28 June
Parents claiming universal credit will receive hundreds of pounds more from the end of June, the government has announced.
The Department for Work and Pensions is raising the amount parents can claim by almost 50% from 28 June, it said on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:34 pm
‘Extraordinary’ sighting may open window on possibility of life beneath Enceladus’s icy outer crust
Astronomers have spotted an enormous plume of water vapour blasting out of Enceladus, a tiny moon of Saturn that is considered one of the most promising places to find life beyond Earth.
The record-breaking plume reached nearly 6,000 miles into space – covering the distance between Ireland and Japan – and poured water into the void at an estimated rate of 300 litres a second.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:31 pm
Business lobby group requested guidance on insolvency among other restructuring options
Britain’s most prominent business lobby group has sought guidance on possible insolvency as it battles for survival in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations.
The legal advice was requested by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) before the publication on Wednesday of a prospectus setting out plans to turn around the organisation. Members will be asked to decide on its future in a confidence vote, with the results announced at a crunch meeting on 6 June, which will determine whether the CBI and its new director general, Rain Newton-Smith, have a mandate to continue their work.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:26 pm
Disgraced founder of fraudulent blood-testing company Theranos begins prison sentence
Elizabeth Holmes has begun her prison sentence, in a remarkable fall for a startup founder who had become an icon known far outside Silicon Valley.
Holmes, 39, had once promised to revolutionize the medical world, but was convicted in January 2022 on four counts of defrauding investors in her blood-testing company, Theranos.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:24 pm
London Irish were clinging to their place in the Premiership on Tuesday night after it emerged that the Rugby Football Union was prepared to grant a seven-day extension for the proposed takeover of the club to be completed. Significant doubts remain, however, as to whether it would amount to anything more than a stay of execution.
The RFU had set Irish a firm deadline of Tuesday, insisting that a takeover by a US consortium was completed or the current owner, Mick Crossan, provided proof of being able to fund the club for the entirety of next season. Failing either of those, Irish would be suspended.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:17 pm
Blood-testing firm’s fraud saga sees its end as 39-year-old tech founder reports to federal prison camp
The Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has turned herself in for an 11-year prison sentence, marking a final chapter in a years-long fraud saga that riveted Silicon Valley.
The 39-year-old tech founder walked into the minimum-security, federal women’s prison camp located in Bryan, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon. Footage captured from outside the facilities shows that she was accompanied by an escort, was not handcuffed and wore a casual outfit. Holmes appeared in good spirits, smiling as she entered the building.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:12 pm
Dyfed-Powys police detained 46-year-old man on suspicion of murder after body found near Llanidloes
Authorities have arrested a man on suspicion of murder after a 34-year-old woman was found dead in a river in central Wales.
The woman’s body was discovered in the River Severn outside Llanidloes at about 4pm on Sunday, according to Dyfed-Powys police.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:05 pm
Five men who made over £7m streaming football matches to tens of thousands of customers jailed for total of more than 30 years
Five members of an illegal streaming gang have been jailed for a total of more than 30 years for offering cheap subscriptions for Premier League games to tens of thousands of customers.
The operation made more than £7m from at least 50,000 customers and resellers. Mark Gould, described by the judge as the driving force, was sentenced to 11 years at Chesterfield crown court on Tuesday after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and contempt of court.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:04 pm
Concern over children vaping is dismissed by one expert as ‘voice of moralists’ while others say there need to be stricter rules
With reports that ministers have not ruled out plain packaging for vapes or banning the flavoured versions, the dial on the products appears to be shifting in England.
The moves reflect fears that growing numbers of children and young people are becoming addicted to nicotine and risking lung damage by taking up vaping.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:00 pm
Exclusive: Staff at processing centre say lack of ‘upstream accommodation’ could see return to conditions that led to disease and violence
An asylum centre that became dangerously overcrowded last year could again become overwhelmed within weeks, civil servants and union representatives have told the Guardian.
Staff working at the Manston processing centre have said there could be a return to conditions that led to disease and violence because of the lack of “upstream accommodation” for asylum seekers once they have been processed.
Safeguarding issues around people who did not know one another sleeping close together.
Blankets being used to block wind and rain from coming into tents.
Contents of portable toilets overflowing during a rainy period and seeping into tents.
Children wearing inadequate clothing.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:56 pm
Sir Keir Starmer is right to say no to new hydrocarbon extraction from the North Sea
Sir Keir Starmer has been admirably straightforward about his mission to make Britain a “clean energy superpower”. Blocking new oil and gas fields is a sine qua non to realise that ambition. The Labour leader even went to the lion’s den of Davos earlier this year to give business leaders that message.
But judging from the headlines over the past few days, you might be forgiven for thinking that Sir Keir had never uttered a word about his plans. Or that Labour had not argued that a big public investment programme was needed to green the economy. The Conservative press instead said Labour’s ideas were a “gift to Putin”; raised a “£28bn question”; and were a sure sign that eco-friendly donors were being appeased. Such a tendentious reading of policy gives opportunistic bunkum a bad name.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:52 pm
The World Health Organization has said that Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency. But its impact will be felt for years
Once we could talk of nothing else. Now we barely speak of it at all. A leading Chinese epidemiologist has warned that there could be up to 65m cases of Covid-19 a week in his country by the end of June. Yet there appears to be little concern within China, and there is certainly little attention outside it. When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared earlier this month that the Covid pandemic was no longer a global health emergency, the announcement was greeted not with cheers or even muted celebration, but with what seemed to be utter indifference.
To some it may have seemed a statement of the obvious. Vaccines and treatments have made the disease far less dangerous and frightening to most. A disease that claimed millions of lives, ravaged economies and upended societies has become an afterthought – though as the WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, pointed out, it is still killing someone every three minutes.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:50 pm
Notoriety-courting ‘prankster’ who filmed home trespasses charged with breaches of criminal behaviour order
TikTok “prankster” Mizzy, who is accused of breaking a court order with social media videos, has been granted conditional bail after his mother agreed to have him home.
The 18-year-old, whose real name is Bacari-Bronze O’Garro, was charged with three breaches of a criminal behaviour order imposed on him last week – after he’d posted a video showing him invading an unsuspecting family’s home.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:33 pm
Josh Tongue has been parachuted into the England team for the first Test of the summer against Ireland starting on Thursday, with the Worcestershire seamer set to make his debut after edging Mark Wood and Chris Woakes out of the side.
England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, described Tongue as “a big strong lad” who “bowls quite fast and has some real skills” after watching him in action during the team’s first training session of the summer on Monday. After their second, McCullum broke the news to Tongue that he would play against Ireland.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:30 pm
Olga Guruli was heading to occupied Kherson province to arrange repatriation of boy and his brother
A Ukrainian woman who travelled to Russia hoping to arrange the repatriation of her godson and his brother from Russian-occupied Kherson province was arrested, interrogated for two days and threatened with being sent to a penal colony before being deported to Belarus.
The detention of Olga Guruli was initially reported by Russian media outlets who wrongly suggested she was an employee of Save Ukraine, an NGO that has been helping relatives recover children illegally deported by Russia.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:28 pm
Amid housing crisis, post-Brexit drag and hardline migration rhetoric, most 25- to 40-year-olds think party deserves to lose next election
“I do think it is pretty obvious really.” After new research suggested millennials believe the Conservatives deserve to lose the next election, former Tory cabinet minister David Willetts says the answer lies with the economy.
Polling for thinktank Onward, whose director, Sebastian Payne, hopes to become a Conservative MP, found that 62% of 25 to 40-year-olds believe the party deserves to lose the next election.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:24 pm
Actors and directors all have their own ways of finding closure once a production ends. Some are much more brutal than others
Like most Succession fans, you probably commemorated the show’s finale by blankly staring into the void for several hours after the credits rolled, traumatised beyond words by the bleak brutality of its climax. And, honestly, nobody could blame you.
Luckily, a salve for this torrent of psychic agony quickly appeared on social media. First, it was revealed that the final scene shot for the show was the one in the kitchen in Barbados, where the Roy siblings got to experience their last moment of fleeting happiness. And second, someone took a video of what happened as soon as the cameras stopped rolling. In the video, Jeremy Strong immediately starts shaving his head, to shed himself of Kendall Roy’s overwhelming emotional heaviness, while Kieran Culkin did the most Roman Roy thing imaginable and slapped a raw egg across Strong’s newly bald scalp.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:12 pm
Hundreds of tech leaders call for world to treat AI as danger on par with pandemics and nuclear war
A group of leading technology experts from across the world have warned that artificial intelligence technology should be considered a societal risk and prioritised in the same class as pandemics and nuclear wars.
The statement, signed by hundreds of executives and academics, was released by the Center for AI Safety on Tuesday amid growing concerns over regulation and risks the technology posed to humanity.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:10 pm
The Kosova Tennis Federation has accused Novak Djokovic of contributing to the rising tensions between Serbia and Kosovo following his statements at the French Open on Monday.
After Djokovic’s straight-sets win against Aleksandar Kovacevic, the 22-time grand slam title winner used the customary act of signing the camera lens to write the message: “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop violence” in Serbian. Djokovic then reposted a photo of his message on his Instagram story.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:04 pm
Never mind that the DWP itself found that some disabled people can’t afford food or heating, politicians and the media need scapegoats
Few things are ever really new. British politics – and the media ecosystem that maintains it – effectively regurgitates the same talking points on repeat, a kind of Groundhog Day where the key players may appear different but familiar destructive patterns are ever-present.
It is exactly a decade since former chancellor George Osborne launched cuts to the benefits system totalling tens of billions of pounds, and with them, fuelled rhetoric so toxic that it caused an increase in hate crime towards disabled people. This was the era of Benefits Street and the Sun’s Beat the Cheat campaign, where it was quite normal for a national newspaper to invite readers to report their disabled neighbours to the benefit fraud hotline.
Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 5:00 pm
Owner of house in Plumstead calls ordeal ‘frustrating’, with some guests having to stay in her living room
A woman has spoken of her frustration over tourists continually turning up on her doorstep after her home was mistakenly listed on Booking.com.
Karin Arsenius, 37, who lives in Plumstead, south-east London, with her two children and partner, said more than 20 unexpected tourists had arrived at her home, expecting to find the accommodation they had reserved on the online travel agency.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 4:58 pm
The force is attending fewer incidents and has the best arrest rates in the country – and now the Met is copying its approach
Where Hull leads, London follows. At least, that is the case when it comes to a radical new approach to policing that has led to the Humberside constabulary achieving the highest arrest and crime detection rates in the country – by refusing to attend most mental health calls.
When a letter from the Metropolitan police commissioner was leaked to the Guardian this week warning that from September his officers would no longer attend unnecessary mental health calls, Lee Freeman had a jolt of recognition.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 4:58 pm
This impossibly hilarious Netflix sketch show’s third season is incredible. It’s so impossibly funny that the antics of the Roy family are no longer even this week’s best television
When I Think You Should Leave debuted in 2019, it hit like a lightning bolt. Unless you came to it pre-armed with a working knowledge of minor, short-lived stars of Saturday Night Live from a decade ago, the arrival of Tim Robinson felt like the very best sort of surprise.
As the co-creator and lead actor of the series, Robinson’s comedy exploded at you from a million different angles. He’d made a sketch show, but one that deliberately avoided the genre’s traditional premise-escalation-conclusion structure in favour of freeform absurdism. From the second sketch – a compensation lawyer infomercial for a specific plumbing incident that leaves Robinson in pulsating fits of uncomprehending rage – it became clear that I Think You Should Leave was going to deal with a number of unfamiliar patterns.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 4:14 pm
Drone attack and explosions in Moscow region seen as ‘logical next step’ by some as Ukraine retaliates
Residents of the wealthy Rublyovka neighbourhood are used to a bit of noise. Home to sprawling gated villas of Russia’s political and business elites, including Vladimir Putin, the forested area west of Moscow is known for extravagant late-night parties and lavish fireworks displays.
But on Tuesday morning they were disturbed by something louder – the sound of drones exploding in the air.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 4:07 pm
Sweden’s pandemic postmortem is done and dusted, yet ours seems headed for the courts before it has even begun
British politics has become a medieval battlefield across which the victors wander, seeking the twitching remains of Boris Johnson to harass and hack. The latest spat is over how much to reveal of his Downing Street behaviour during Covid. Lady Hallett, chair of the Covid inquiry, wants the unredacted WhatsApp messages between Johnson and 40 senior colleagues, along with unredacted diaries and 24 notebooks.
Hallett thinks all material is potentially relevant for investigating, say, “the degree of attention given to the emergence of Covid-19 in early 2020 by the then prime minister”. The Cabinet Office strongly disagrees, citing privacy and disputing the relevance of much of the material. The eager Liberal Democrats claim that being kept in the dark is “yet another insult to bereaved families waiting for justice”.
Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 4:03 pm
Barry Bannan was never in doubt over promotion and believes side can hold own with likes of Leicester and Leeds next season
For Barry Bannan it ultimately came down to iron-clad belief. Yes, Sheffield Wednesday did not play well in the League One playoff final on Monday, and yes Barnsley arguably deserved to win given the fight they showed after being reduced to 10 men, but Wednesday’s captain was never in doubt – his side simply had to triumph. More than that, they knew they would.
The collective sense of destiny sprung from that semi-final victory against Peterborough, a 4-0 deficit overturned on a raucous, rollercoaster, incredible night at Hillsborough. There was no stopping Wednesday after that as far as Bannan was concerned and that meant, one way or another, overcoming Barnsley on what proved to be a hot day at Wembley in more ways than one. As he put it after Josh Windass got the job done with the latest of late winners: “The main thing for us was turning the [Peterborough] game around. We won it then. Promotion.”
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 4:00 pm
Aslef members will hold widespread stoppages on Wednesday and Saturday, while RMT crew and station staff will strike on Friday
Passengers are bracing for the first of three rail strikes this week as services in England come to a standstill amid a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
Members of the drivers’ union Aslef will embark on a 24-hour strike on Wednesday. The union also plans to strike on Saturday.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 4:00 pm
We should be more angry about the behaviour of polluting water firms, writes Gwyn Jones, while Ian Jones calls for tighter regulation and Dr Miles Clapham suggests more green investment in sewage management
Your article (Water firm to pay shareholders £300m despite anger over leaks and pollution, 25 May) was very well timed as the water company was having a two-day event in Windermere to “explain” what it was doing. I duly trundled along and asked about the enormous dividend paid by the most polluting water company in England last year. Lo and behold, the main problems lie with Ofwat, which insists that it keeps prices low, and with shareholders, who demand an enormous payout.
Then came what was, apparently, the clincher – “We have spent £XYZ million...” – a tactic much loved by Conservative frontbenchers, ie provide a meaningless sum instead of telling us what proportion of the amount that should have been spent was achieved. I suppose I was meant to be grateful that United Utilities is going to open an information centre in Windermere to tell us what it is doing. That money would be better spent reducing pensioners’ bills.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 3:20 pm
He came back from a disastrous penalty to reignite the English men’s football team – and inspire a country in the grip of gloom. Writer James Graham reveals how he turned the ‘quiet guy doing The Impossible Job’ into gripping drama
Before the European Championship final in the summer of 2021, Gareth Southgate was asked who ought to play him in a movie. “Well, it would have to be someone good-looking,” the England manager replied, with a smile. The matter has now been decided for him, albeit in a play. Joseph Fiennes is the blockbuster choice for the National Theatre production Dear England, a deep dive into Southgate’s transformation of the feeling inside and around the men’s national football team, written by James Graham, the acclaimed playwright and screenwriter. “A very generous casting,” Southgate said recently.
When I meet Graham during rehearsals, he is recalling his first meeting with Fiennes to discuss the project. “Joe had wanted to come back to the National for, like, 20 years.” He had last starred there in Love’s Labour’s Lost in 2003. “I’m sure he probably thought he’d come back and play Henry V or King Lear,” Graham says. “Now he’s Gareth from Watford.”
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 3:19 pm
Select committees are well-equipped to scrutinise the response to inquiries such the one on child sexual abuse, says Diana Johnson, the chair of the home affairs select committee
Regarding your editorial on the child sexual abuse inquiry (28 May), it is time for the government to be held formally accountable for its response, or lack of, to the recommendations of a public inquiry through the House of Commons select committee structure.
Unfortunately, once a public inquiry concludes, the powers and support function of its secretariat ends too. There is no ongoing parliamentary procedure for holding the government to account on what happens to the recommendations once they have been made by a public inquiry.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 3:18 pm
In her fortnightly food column, cook and author Alice Zaslavsky shares tips and recipes with Australian produce. This week – finally, fond you’ve been looking for, and a speedy midweek chicken dinner
Are you fond of cooking techniques that can economise ingredients, time and washing up?
Fond, otherwise known as the fonds de cuisine (loosely, the foundation of the kitchen) are the extremely delicious, crispy brown bits left in the bottom of the pan after frying. Too often they end up down the sink. But don’t throw them out! Even better, make fond an intentional part of your cooking.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 3:00 pm
We need not speculate on ways AI can cause harm; we already have a mountain of evidence from the past decade
As the resident tech politics nerd among my friends, I spend a lot of time fielding questions. Help! I’ve been part of a data breach, what do I do? What on earth is crypto and should I care? And lately: should I be worried that AI is going to take over and kill us all?
There is so much hype around artificial intelligence that the concern is understandable but it’s important that we hang on to our critical faculties. The current AI frenzy ultimately serves those who stand to benefit from implementing these products the most but we don’t have to let them dictate the terms of the conversation.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 3:00 pm
Governor makes remark to Fox News and predicts two White House terms should he defeat Trump for Republican nomination
Predicting two terms in the White House should he defeat Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination next year, Ron DeSantis said he would go on to “destroy leftism in this country”.
“I will be able to destroy leftism in this country and leave woke ideology in the dustbin of history,” the Florida governor told Fox News.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 2:57 pm
Nepal’s head of tourism says variable weather on the mountain has led to one of the deadliest years on record
Experts say this is likely to be one of the deadliest years on record on Mount Everest, with variable weather caused by climate change being blamed as one of the main reasons for the deaths of up to 17 people.
A total of 12 people have now been confirmed dead during Everest expeditions this season and another five are missing, presumed dead, as no contact has been made for at least five days in all cases, according to the Himalayan Database, which tracks mountain fatalities.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 2:56 pm
ICC warrant for Russian president’s arrest issued in March over alleged war crimes in Ukraine
South Africa has issued blanket diplomatic immunity to all leaders attending an August summit, meaning Vladimir Putin might be able to travel to Johannesburg and not fear the country acting on an international criminal court warrant for his arrest.
South African officials insisted the broad offer of immunity, issued in a government gazette, may not trump the ICC arrest warrant. As an ICC member, South Africa would be under pressure, and possibly under a legal requirement, to arrest Putin. The court issued a warrant for his arrest in March over the alleged forcible deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 2:51 pm
Does it help to break down the physical appearances of men and women into animal-based categories? Probably not. But that won’t stop it being hotly debated on social media
Name: Animal dating types.
Age: About a month old.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 2:19 pm
Abused by a neighbour as a girl, Reverend Joyce McDonald ran away from home and hit a downward spiral. Then one day during detox, she began modelling with clay – and hasn’t stopped
Clay may have saved the Reverend Joyce McDonald. Addiction, abusive relationships and sex work blighted much of the first half of her life. Now, at 72, she is emerging as the celebrated artist it seems she was always destined to be. In just a few short years, McDonald’s work has been added to the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Hammer in Los Angeles. The Brooklyn-based artist is now making her British debut – with her first solo show outside the US.
The exhibition, at Studio M in London, will include works going back to the 1990s. Mostly clay figurative sculptures, her work often incorporates other items including fake pearls, mirror and clothing. While her work is often biographical, suffused by her faith, and deals with difficult issues such as addiction and racism, there is something touchingly universal about it too. A hopefulness in dark times.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 2:17 pm
The Guardian’s picture editors select photo highlights from around the world
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 2:12 pm
People used to be grateful for our efforts to keep them safe. Now they accuse us of ‘sitting around staring at the water’
I became a lifeguard at a holiday park nine years ago. At first, the responsibility was scary, but over time my confidence grew. It definitely comes with challenges, especially when you see people doing silly and dangerous things. I always joke that when people go on holiday, they leave their brains at home.
Before the pandemic, there was more respect and gratitude for our services. On one occasion, I saw a woman fall and injure her spine, so I held her head still for hours until the ambulance arrived. People were putting suncream on my back and helping me to sip water because I couldn’t move. She made a full recovery and her family came to thank me the next day.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 2:00 pm
We thought Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea would finish in the top four and that Fulham and Bournemouth would go down
What we predicted: “Winning the Champions League is the focus for City, although anything less than top spot domestically will be a disappointment for a team aiming to set higher standards each season. Liverpool’s evolution and improvement will keep City on their toes and ensure there is, at the very least, a two-horse race for the title.”
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 2:00 pm
From HBO’s hit series to Shakespeare, the stage to Spooks, the actor’s global star status has been sealed
As Succession fans still reel from the relentless assault of quickfire one-liners, plot twists, betrayals and pathos that was its final episode, one thing is indisputable: this was Matthew Macfadyen at his stellar best.
So compulsive was he as the venal, unctuous, morally moribund Tom Wambsgans in the hit HBO series, it is hard to reconcile with his past role as period drama leading man Mr Darcy in Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 1:57 pm
We want to hear from people in Moscow and across Russia following the drone attack
Moscow has been targeted with a large-scale drone attack for the first time in its 15-month-old war in Ukraine.
We want to speak to people in Moscow and across Russia about their views on the attack. Have you been affected? Share your thoughts and experiences below.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 1:31 pm
We asked the UK’s top cheesemongers what varieties they favour for a perfect melt. It’s all about acidity, moisture and a sense of place …
What are the best cheeses for melting, and how do I know how they will behave under heat?
Andrew, Gamboa, Panama
We probably first need to define what we mean by melting, says Rob Lightbody from Neal’s Yard Dairy. “Most cheese will melt, but when a cheesemonger talks about ‘a good melter’, they’re probably talking about that satisfying stretch and pull you get from a good toastie, or from raclette melted over potatoes.” But Andrew’s right: because different cheeses do different things under heat, and that comes down to a few factors.
First, says Jazz Reeves, quality manager at cheesemonger Paxton & Whitfield, there’s the moisture and fat content. “When cheese is heated, the protein structure breaks down and it releases the fat and water, so cheese with higher fat and moisture tends to melt well.” Acidity also comes into play: “Cheese with high acidity [eg feta] won’t melt, but low-acidity cheeses [parmesan, say] won’t melt, either, so look for something in the middle.” That’s to say a pH level between 5 and 5.4, says Oli Smith, co-owner of The Bristol Cheesemonger. Mozzarella, he adds, “melts beautifully and produces those extraordinary stretches because it’s at that pH sweet spot of about 5.2”. Then there’s the age of the cheese to consider. “Younger ones are held together by a sort of protein matrix,” Smith explains, but that breaks down with time, which is why you can get those oil pools when extra-mature cheddar goes under the grill.
Got a culinary dilemma? Email [email protected]
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 1:00 pm
US airline pledged to go carbon neutral but plaintiffs say it is relying on offsets that do almost nothing to mitigate global heating
Delta Air Lines is facing a lawsuit over its $1bn carbon neutrality claim which plaintiffs say is “false and misleading” as it relies on offsets that do little to mitigate global heating.
In February 2020, the US airline announced plans to go carbon neutral, pledging $1bn to mitigate all greenhouse gas emissions from its business worldwide over the next decade. It included plans to purchase carbon credits generated from conserving rainforest, wetlands and grasslands along with decreasing the use of jet fuel and increasing plane efficiency.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 1:00 pm
The ‘not illegal’ woes of daytime telly are gripping the nation. Who better to opine than our squeaky-clean representatives?
Total and utter indifference on behalf of the ITV share price today, despite the UN formally designating This Morning a failed state. As you might be dimly aware, the daytime show is in disarray to the point of anarchy, unable to control its populace and beset by previously spurned warlords making significant territorial gains across the border from GB News. So the share price stability is the best news ITV has had all week. After all, any company where the behaviour of one half of one sofa is remotely market-moving would surely be moments away from going tits-up.
But it says so much about this great nation of ours that there are botched UK military interventions we’ve now heard less about than This Morning. Barack Obama famously judged what David Cameron allowed Libya to become as “a shitshow”. But had Obama, I wonder, ever watched Eamonn Holmes deliver a landmark drive-by in which he explained how Thursday nights were “playtime” for Phillip Schofield and his young lover? I think it could have put things into perspective.
Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist
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.
Posted on 30 May 2023 | 12:35 pm
As it reaches London this week, we would like to hear from people who have been to one (or more!) concerts on Beyonce’s acclaimed tour
Renaissance, Beyoncé’s first headlining solo tour in seven years, has had three UK dates so far and begins its week-long London leg this week.
Our critic, who attended the first night in Stockholm, described it in a five-star review as “a sensory overload of truly stunning ambition and stamina”, while the Observer’s Kitty Empire, also awarding five stars, said of one of her Cardiff concerts earlier this month: “This banging, progressive, LGBTQ+-embracing, Afrofuturist extravaganza is a masterclass in refined excess.”
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 12:27 pm
River’s condition said to be declining as Wildlife Trusts calls for action from government on farming pollution
The River Wye’s health status has been downgraded by Natural England, as wildlife charities accuse the government of failing to stop farming pollution harming the waterway.
The government nature watchdog has updated the status of the river from “unfavourable-improving” to “unfavourable-declining”, meaning its condition is poor – and worsening.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 12:27 pm
After Watson’s stint at No 10, she made headlines with her tales of having to ‘nanny’ Boris Johnson. Now she’s written a bonkbuster set in Westminster – and John Crace has read it so you don’t have to
It’s 11pm. The only things moving in the chamber of the House of Commons are the mice, who are shagging enthusiastically under the speaker’s chair. Out on the terrace of Strangers’ – the preferred Westminster drinking hole for many MPs and their researchers – are a group of young incels who wish they had the sexual charisma of an Andrew Bridgen. In her ground-floor office, Natasha Weaver, the secretary of state for the industrial economy, is speaking to a journalist on the phone about the latest gossip from cabinet. Behind her is her special adviser, with bulging trousers.
“You’d better shove it in,” she coos, romantically. “I haven’t got much time.”
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 12:17 pm
The president, Kais Saied, has turned our country into a dictatorship, while Europe looks the other way
“Historic” – that is how Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, described his meeting with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad on the eve of the Arab League summit in Jeddah earlier this month. Snaps of him standing alongside al-Assad and Egypt’s Abdel Fatah al-Sisi during the summit were widely shared around the region, signalling Tunisia’s return to the grand old club of Arab dictatorships.
For all their internecine conflicts and rivalries, hidden and visible, Arab leaders are again united around one sacred goal: aborting their people’s aspirations for change. Muammar Gaddafi, Hosni Mubarak and Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali may no longer be on the stage, but their spirit lives on in a new generation.
Soumaya Ghannoushi is a British-Tunisian writer and researcher specialising in the Middle East and north Africa
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 11:55 am
Monitoring software has become more common since the pandemic – but are activity scores the best way to measure productivity?
Every 10 minutes, Mae’s computer snaps a shot of her screen, thanks to monitoring software her employer made her install on her laptop. A figure looms large over her workday: her activity score, a percentage calculated by the arbitrary measure of how much she types and moves her mouse.
It’s hovering at about 62% when we speak. “That’s quite good. If I’m on a Zoom call that counts as 0% [activity], even though I’m in a meeting,” she explains, adding that she watches videos and attends calls regularly as part of her role.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 11:09 am
Caroline Polachek, Digga D and the Chemical Brothers are among the new names – plus a mysterious secret act, the ChurnUps
Queens of the Stone Age, the Chemical Brothers, Skepta, Caroline Polachek and Digga D are among the new names added to the 2023 Glastonbury lineup, as the weekend’s entire programme has been announced.
Additions to the Pyramid stage – joining previously announced big names such as Guns N’ Roses, Elton John and Lizzo – include Rick Astley opening the bill on Saturday and playing the festival for the first time; pop singers Maisie Peters and Sophie Ellis-Bextor; and the Master Musicians of Joujouka, the Moroccan group from a small village in the Rif mountains who play a deeply involving form of drone music.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 11:04 am
Swift’s legion of fans may not approve of her rumoured new boyfriend, but she deserves to have a life of her own
Taylor Swift writes about new love like it’s a daydream: many of her best songs express the feeling with contented sighs and evocations of fairytale enchantment. But for a small and vocal subsection of her fanbase, news of the singer’s rumoured real-life relationship with a fellow musician has been nothing short of a nightmare.
Since it was alleged that Swift is seeing Matty Healy, the frontman of the pop band The 1975, these fans have been up in arms, cancelling orders of Swift’s forthcoming album, posting lengthy reflections on Twitter justifying their attendance (or lack thereof) at Swift’s current tour, and launching a campaign – #SpeakUpNow – implicitly demanding that Swift break up with Healy. (Swift has not publicly acknowledged the relationship, but Healy has been seen at her concerts and the pair have been photographed together multiple times in recent weeks.)
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 11:00 am
In this week’s newsletter: The $3,000 product could be the next Apple gamechanger – or just another cool toy for those who can afford it
Next Monday will see Apple’s worldwide developers conference kick off, and with it one of the company’s two most important annual press events.
Typically, the keynote at WWDC (or “dub dub”) is a software-focused affair, previewing the next versions of iOS, macOS and so on for an audience of developers who need to get to grips with the updates before their launch in the autumn. It’s balanced out by the hardware-focused events oriented around each year’s iPhone launch, since Apple still likes to play the game of announcing and shipping its top-tier products in short order.
A tethered battery pack, designed to sit in the user’s back pocket, to ease the tradeoff between power and performance on the one hand and weight and comfort on the other.
A screen on the front of the headset, designed solely to show the user’s expressions to the outside world, with the goal of making it more comfortable to interact with people wearing the device.
A focus on “passthrough” use, where a camera on the front of the screen shows the outside world to the wearer, with apps and features superimposed on top.
And, most importantly of all, a price tag of about $3,000.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 10:45 am
Powder produced by ice sheets could be used to help tackle climate crisis when spread on farm fields
Rock “flour” produced by the grinding under Greenland’s glaciers can trap climate-heating carbon dioxide when spread on farm fields, research has shown for the first time.
Natural chemical reactions break down the rock powder and lead to CO2 from the air being fixed in new carbonate minerals. Scientists believe measures to speed up the process, called enhanced rock weathering (ERW), have global potential and could remove billions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, helping to prevent extreme global heating.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 10:44 am
Darryl Kelbrick shows Christopher Thomond the painstaking process behind artisan charcoal burning, a practice he has spent the past decade learning in an ancient coppiced woodland where he lives with his partner off-grid
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 10:42 am
Ashton Gate, Bristol
Putting their foot down for exhilarating rock’n’rollers, then easing it off for bossa nova ballads, Sheffield’s finest show why they’re the most dextrous band of their generation
‘Very good,” Alex Turner exhales after delivering the final crunching note of Teddy Picker, hitting the nail on the head. The Arctic Monkeys frontman, dressed like a Laurel Canyon troubadour in a wide-collared denim shirt and blazer, his shagpile barnet falling towards a pair of black-lensed aviators, has barely said another word in the opening half hour of the band’s first stadium tour, preferring instead to conduct a storm of rock music that’s as surprising as it is thrilling in its brutish simplicity.
Released last autumn, the group’s seventh album The Car suggested that this run of shows might hit a few speed bumps. Its songs – an ornate, string-led mix of spy caper jazz-pop and needling ballads – required puzzling out, and perhaps wouldn’t be suitable for deployment in venues of this size.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 10:40 am
Rare strike on Russian capital unnerves Muscovites who had been told conflict would not threaten them
Moscow has been targeted with a large-scale drone attack for the first time in its 15-month-old war in Ukraine, marking a new inflection point in the conflict, with the Kremlin threatening to take the “harshest possible measures” in response to the strikes.
Russia continues to pummel Ukraine with deadly missile and drone strikes on a near-daily basis. Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, faced its third air raid in 24 hours on Tuesday morning.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 10:37 am
Sex with my first partner has been great for both of us, but I would like to learn how to become a more satisfied and satisfying lover
I am an 18-year-old man and recently lost my virginity. I have been sexually active with the same girl since. I have never been able to ejaculate during sex, even though it has been great for both of us. I decided to research the issue and now believe it has something to do with my masturbation style, which is typically pretty fast, and unrealistic to replicate during sex. Is there was any way for me to change this, to make the sex more enjoyable for me?
You are right in thinking that a person’s masturbation style can affect their ability to engage successfully in partner sex. I am assuming you mean that you believe you would need to thrust very rapidly to ejaculate? Fortunately, a person’s sexual response is something that can be changed and developed. You must be patient. First, practise slowing down during masturbation. When you are with your girlfriend, try not to be anxious about finishing. Instead, focus on the pleasure you can both experience. Instead of being afraid of how you are “performing” try to enjoy the present moment, and focus on giving her pleasure. Ask her what she enjoys and practise those sexual skills. You are at the very beginning of your shared sexual journey: allow yourself to take the time you need to become a satisfied and satisfying lover.
Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a US-based psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders.
If you would like advice from Pamela on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns to [email protected] (please don’t send attachments). Each week, Pamela chooses one problem to answer, which will be published online. She regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Submissions are subject to our terms and conditions.
Comments on this piece are premoderated to ensure discussion remains on topics raised by the writer. Please be aware there may be a short delay in comments appearing on the site.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 10:27 am
Indigenous boutique owners Liana Shewey and Korina Emmerich want to acknowledge traditions but also push the design narrative
Location, location, location. It can make or break a business. For Liana Shewey and Korina Emmerich, it was a call to action. When a mutual friend told the activists and creatives – Shewey is an educator and Emmerich is a fashion designer – about a newly vacant storefront on the ground floor of her mother’s Manhattan co-op building, the pair, who met five years ago at an Indigenous women’s collective and quickly became best friends, visited the space. It was 350 sq ft – a far cry from the 20,000 sq ft clubhouse of the duo’s wildest fantasies. But something felt right. “We jumped on it,” said Shewey.
The co-op board wasn’t willing to hand the keys over to just anyone. But their friend’s mother is Navajo, and also the board president. Within days the building had its newest tenant: Relative Arts NYC, a boutique that carries pieces by Indigenous designers and also hosts literary readings, album releases and art installations featuring work by Indigenous artists.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 10:00 am
The shops are full of ‘jaffa biscuit teas’ and ‘malty biscuit brews’. Do they live up to the hype? And who wants to live in a world without crumbs? Time to get tasting
Who would want to drink tea that tastes like biscuits? It is, of course, a classic pairing: personally, I wouldn’t contemplate one without the other. But what is the point of forging them into a single entity? A box of “biscuit tea” that forms part of Aldi’s new range has only this to say: “Nothing better than a brew and a biscuit, so why not taste them together in one cup?” Except for the “not”, this is exactly my question.
If you are intent on adding one taste to another, this seems to be the wrong way round. On opening a box with the words “biscuit” and “tea” on the front, several members of my household were disappointed to find it contained biscuit-flavoured tea, and not tea-flavoured biscuits.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 9:00 am
The north-east has suffered decades of industrial decline and a devastating cost of living crisis, which men say is having a detrimental impact on their mental health. Video producers Maeve Shearlaw and Christopher Cherry follow Earl John Charlton, who is using his experience of homelessness and drug addiction to get other men to open up. From walk and talks to open mic nights, amid the reality of working in a declining industry, he tells men in his community that it’s OK not to be OK
The women on a 'war footing' as the cost of living crisis deepens
Mould, cold and a community hub offering hope in the cost of living crisis
In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 8:30 am
Under an ambitious conservation plan, 60 Mesola red deer are being moved from northern Italy to Calabria, where it is hoped they will thrive and multiply
In a meadow in northern Italy, the fog engulfs a forklift truck putting long, narrow boxes inside a green mounted police transporter. Small openings in the crates reveal the fearful looks of stocky deer, their antlers sawn off to prevent injury during transport. It will be a long trip, more than 1,000km (620 miles) and almost 20 hours of driving to Calabria in southern Italy, where they will be released.
The 20 animals in the crates are some of the 300 remaining Italian or Mesola red deer (Cervus elaphus italicus), a unique and endangered subspecies.
Time to move: an Italian red deer in the Bosco della Mesola nature reserve in northern Italy
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 8:00 am
It feels like the UK government hopes we will just give up and go home. But that would put my family’s life at risk
Our baby is growing so fast, it’s incredible. People have given us clothing for him, but a lot doesn’t fit any more. We are trying to find clothes at the cheapest prices or sometimes in charity shops – although they don’t have so much for babies. He cries for milk every two hours, but formula is so expensive. Nappies are, too. Even though a jumbo pack of nappies is cheaper, it’s difficult to pay for on our budget. When we do invest in the bigger packets, we’ve got 76 nappies, each for two or three pence less than the regular-sized pack, but it means we can’t afford any meat that week. Still, by the next week, we have some nappies left at home and extra money for some chicken or ham.
The mind of the asylum seeker is like an engine, turning and turning, trying to solve different problems and always trying to survive. You start from zero and you have to build a new life in a totally different culture, with a different currency, different language, different products. You’re managing your legal case, your budget, your weekly shop. All the prices are rising and our allowance – £40 a week for my wife and I and £5 for our son – is like water in our hands.
As told to Anna Moore. Paul is in his 30s and is an asylum seeker living in the north of England. Names have been changed
The Trussell Trust is an anti-poverty charity that campaigns to end the need for food banks. Show your support at: trusselltrust.org/guardian
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...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 7:00 am
A new crop of farming co-ops are finding ways to safely open up untouched landscapes and exotic wildlife to visitors – and grow superb coffee
At the beginning I thought we were in a Bob Dylan song, one of his epic Latino ballads. We drove down gravel roads where the only other traffic was cowboys on horseback, across iron girder bridges covered in rust and the webs of giant spiders. A caracara falcon stood in the centre of the road pulling a dead iguana apart. But then we left cattle country and crossed a desert made of pineapples. Darkness fell. After the shop where a mule was tied up, there were no more lights and the track clambered into the jungled hills. Eventually we pulled up at a gateway marked by a weird metal sculpture. Jovino, the driver, shrugged: “This must be it.”
“You never brought anyone here before?”
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:00 am
From buzzing match days at Anfield to couples snogging during nights out on the Wirral, a new retrospective of Tom Wood’s work highlights his bond with the city
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 6:00 am
For almost a decade the murderous actions of the Syrian president meant he was shunned but now he is being embraced by Arab leaders once more. What does this mean for the millions of refugees who fled from his brutal regime?
Bashar al-Assad has been condemned by leaders around the world because of the Syrian war – during which millions fled and hundreds of thousands lost their lives. Yet despite being accused of war crimes, and millions of Syrians still being displaced, he is once more being seen at gatherings of heads of state – and has even been invited to Cop 28.
Meanwhile, for the millions of refugees in countries such as Lebanon and Turkey, life has become more difficult. Anti-refugee rhetoric and policies have been on the rise, and one Syrian refugee living in Lebanon tells Michael Safi how a crackdown has left her living in fear that her family will be deported and about the terrible consequences that could lead to.
Continue reading...Posted on 30 May 2023 | 2:00 am
From Julia Garner’s old-Hollywood glamour to Elsa Hosk’s optical illusion gown, from feathers to the burnt to the bin-bag look, fashion’s ingenuity shone bright
Continue reading...Posted on 29 May 2023 | 4:28 pm
The Guardian’s picture editors select photo highlights from around the world
Continue reading...Posted on 29 May 2023 | 12:15 pm
A study is under way in the water-scarce region to see if commodity farmers can use the regenerative technique of cover cropping as a way to adapt to rapidly changing weather conditions
In one of the toughest growing regions in the US, commercial farmers like Frank Machac are experimenting with a style of ancient agriculture more known for soil health than profit.
They are perhaps unlikely budding agroecologists. “My number one concern is yield, I’m not worrying about climate change,” said Machac, 60, a ruddy-faced straight talker with 30 years’ farming experience in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV).
Continue reading...Posted on 29 May 2023 | 10:00 am
Work by more than 20 photographers from countries including Switzerland, Japan, Morocco, Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina, the UK and Brazil is displayed at the annual photography festival in Getxo in the Basque Country, close to Bilbao, Spain from 1 to 25 June. The theme of Getxophoto is PAUSE, understood as a potentially revolutionary gesture at a time of hyper-productivity and permanent connection
Continue reading...Posted on 29 May 2023 | 6:00 am
Who will take over Rupert Murdoch’s media empire after he dies, and why does it matter? Paddy Manning reports
As fans of HBO’s award-winning Succession watch the finale of the show, we hear about the real life succession battle that inspired it: the Murdochs.
Although the writers have drawn inspiration from various business dynasties for the show, the parallels to the Murdoch family are clear. It’s been reported that in Rupert Murdoch’s divorce settlement, Jerry Hall was told she could not feed storylines to the show’s writers.
Continue reading...Posted on 29 May 2023 | 2:00 am
When Mohammad Hashemi woke up this time last week, he was told that his cousin Majid Kazemi had been executed along with Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaqoubi. The Iranian regime had claimed three men were responsible for the deaths of three members of the security forces during anti-government protests in November.
Immediately after their execution, state media reran video posts of what were presented as the mens’ confessions, which Amnesty International said had been extracted by torture. Speaking to the Guardian from Sydney, Hashemi said his cousin was tormented by interrogators. Kazemi was also allegedly subjected to mock executions at least 15 times and reportedly shown a video of one of his brothers being tortured.
In an audio message recorded inside Dastgerd prison, Kazemi said: 'I swear to God I am innocent. I didn’t have any weapons on me. [Security forces] kept beating me and ordering me to say this weapon is mine … I told them I would say whatever they wanted, just please leave my family alone.'
More than 220 people have been executed in Iran this year, the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said recently. At least 582 people were executed in 2022, the highest number since 2015, according to activists.
Continue reading...Posted on 26 May 2023 | 1:08 pm
This vibrant pasta from the chef proprietor of Murano is a celebration of bright spring flavours and fresh green peas
I love spring – and to me this pasta dish is the best of it: showcasing fresh, seasonal ingredients simply. With simplicity there’s nowhere to hide, so quality is key: great oil, fresh veggies and flavoursome preserved lemons.
It’s so quick and easy that you can make it whenever you like, but for me lunchtime is the best time to eat pasta – serve it with a fresh, dry Italian white, great bread and a green salad for a long, lazy Saturday lunch.
Belazu Beldi Preserved Lemons bring a fragrant, soft acidity to everything from tagines to roasts
Continue reading...Posted on 26 May 2023 | 8:47 am
Suella Braverman has announced new limits for international students to bring dependents with them when studying in the UK
Suella Braverman has announced new limits for international students to bring family with them to the UK, under proposals released on Tuesday.
This new limit was introduced as the government seeks to reduce immigration numbers. The rule makes an exception for students on courses designated as research programmes, such as PhD students or research-led masters courses, who will still be allowed to bring dependants with them to the UK.
Continue reading...Posted on 25 May 2023 | 11:15 am
For 10 years Guardian Australia has pursued the facts, uncovered injustice, exposed misinformation and held those in power to account. To celebrate this milestone, editor Lenore Taylor and Guardian Australia journalists revisit the biggest stories and the impact they made on the Australian media and political landscape. From breaking the Indonesian spying saga in the publication's early days, to uncovering leaked reports from the offshore detention centre on Nauru, and investigations that revealed shocking statistics about the treatment of Indigenous Australians, Guardian Australia has relentlessly sought to reveal the truth thanks to the support of its readers.
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Lenore Taylor: Guardian Australia launched in a spirit of hope and determination. Ten years later we’re going from strength to strength
Watch Guardian Australia's 10th birthday celebrations – live stream
Watch Guardian Australia’s 10th birthday celebrations – video
How the Guardian shaped (and shook) Australian media – Full Story
Posted on 25 May 2023 | 1:51 am
We want to hear from those who have got an IVA with or without a debt management company in the UK
We’re keen to hear from people who have entered into a form of personal insolvency called an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA). These legally binding agreements with creditors let a person pay an agreed monthly amount over a period of usually five or six years. At the end, as long as the agreement hasn’t been broken, any remaining debts are written off.
We want to hear from those who have got an IVA with or without a debt management company. A debt management company tends to be more expensive because they charge a fee on top of the insolvency practitioner’s fees.
Continue reading...Posted on 24 May 2023 | 12:10 pm
Jamie Jackson reflects on a third Premier League title in a row for Pep Guardiola's team and how they turned the race with Arsenal around
Continue reading...Posted on 20 May 2023 | 6:40 pm
It was decades before Rob Pugal was able to begin to come to terms with being sexually abused as a child, but the experience made him want to do everything he could to empower children to protect themselves today
Warning: this article contains mentions of child sexual abuse and its impacts
For 50 years, Rob Pugal kept a secret, submerged somewhere deep inside him, he says – somewhere in his soul.
Back in the 1960s in the West End of Newcastle, where an Asian immigrant community had grown up, there was a white, British man who’d taken an unusual interest in some of the area’s families. Rob’s home was among those where he became a regular visitor, impressing his hosts by learning about their culture, religion and traditions, and even a few sentences of Punjabi.
Rob Pugal raising funds for the NSPCC at the London marathon
Continue reading...Posted on 17 May 2023 | 1:38 pm
Poland has a deep and historic relationship with coal, importing huge amounts despite producing yet more locally. With the energy crisis biting, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, the country’s government withdrew restrictions on burning materials and subsidised coal, creating huge air quality issues, particularly in the industrial south – reversing 10 years of hard work by air pollution campaigners in the process.
The Guardian visits southern Poland to witness first hand the impact of this decision on affected communities, meeting the ostracised miners at the front of the culture wars, and joining climate activists visiting towns in the region that are fighting back against fossil fuels and air pollution
Continue reading...Posted on 16 May 2023 | 9:52 am
As voters in Turkey prepare to go to the polls, anger over the government's response to the earthquakes in February is widespread. More than 50,000 people have died and millions more displaced. But its effects have been felt in a region that has already experienced years of discrimination under President Erdoğan.
Kurds are the biggest ethnic minority in Turkey, making up 15-20% of the population, but have had an increasingly fractured and marginalised relationship with the government. After decades of violence, it could be their vote that seals Erdoğan’s political fate.
The Guardian's video team joined Yeter Erel Tuma who works with children living in a Kurdish majority province. She has witnessed the civil unrest impacting families here, and now volunteers bringing aid to those devastated by the earthquakes.
Continue reading...Posted on 12 May 2023 | 3:07 pm
Intellectual property wrongdoing can be costly to businesses. So what can companies do to avoid IP infringement in their supply chains?
Oscar Wilde got it wrong. Imitation isn’t the sincerest form of flattery – at least when it comes to your business partners. When your supplier starts to make a knock-off version of your flagship product, the betrayal can hurt almost as much as the lost revenue.
For a growing number of businesses, having somebody copy their products can cause reputational damage and potentially cost their bottom line. Just ask Brompton Bikes, whose managing director, Will Butler-Adams, recently spoke of its “war of attrition” against copycats producing cheaper lookalikes of its famous folding bicycles. Or maybe James Dyson, of vacuum cleaner fame, who has condemned the “treachery” of brands that try to replicate devices that are the result of years of innovation.
Continue reading...Posted on 21 April 2023 | 9:26 am
Writer and disability campaigner Laura Elliott shares ways that people in pain can get better healthcare results
Being in pain is an incredibly lonely place, no matter who you are. But not everyone’s pain is treated equally. The UK government’s Women’s Health Strategy for England points out that healthcare still makes men the default in research and clinical trials. This means that women’s pain is consistently under-researched, under-treated, and less well understood.
Nurofen’s Gender Pain Gap Index Report1 revealed that one in six women experience severe pain every day, and more than half of women feel their pain is ignored or dismissed; for those who felt that way, one in four women said no one took their pain seriously. But what can we do about it?
Continue reading...Posted on 17 April 2023 | 10:59 am
'People are rationing, it's ridiculous,' says Louise, a co-founder of a community project in Shiremoor, North Tyneside. The Guardian's Maeve Shearlaw and Christopher Cherry went to meet the women who have begun work on transforming a crumbling building into a women-focused support centre in the area that has the highest rate of child poverty in the UK. Louise says it is often women who bear the brunt of the cost of living crisis and every day they are seeing people in need – whether it's asking for period products, help with heating bills or just a warm space to have a cuppa and some company
You can donate to Support and Grow (a registered charity) here
Continue reading...Posted on 6 December 2022 | 12:06 pm
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...Posted on 12 October 2022 | 2:21 pm
Upgrade your space today, with eight emails packed with tips to brighten up your home - whatever your budget
Embrace your space: the Guardian’s House to Home newsletter is bursting with tips and tricks to help you boost your bedroom and give your living room some love.
Sign up any time, and get eight emails direct to your inbox every Sunday morning.
Continue reading...Posted on 28 September 2022 | 9:35 am
A weekly email bringing you our best food writing, the latest recipes, seasonal eating ideas and must-read restaurant reviews
Each week we’ll keep you up-to-date with all the food coverage from the Guardian and the Observer. We’ll 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...Posted on 9 July 2019 | 8:19 am
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.
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Continue reading...Posted on 2 September 2016 | 9:27 am