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Middle East crisis live: IDF warns displaced residents not to return home yet as Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire begins

US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah takes effect at 02.00GMT; Streams of car seen heading into southern LebanonFull report: Biden announces ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and HezbollahDown to the final half-hour before the ceasefire comes into effect and AFP is reporting strikes on south Beirut after the Israel army’s evacuation warning.“Urgent warning to residents of the Beirut area,” army spokesperson Avichay Adraee had earlier said in a post on X, telling people in the Bachoura area in the city centre to leave, as well as “all residents in the southern suburb area”, specifically in Ghobeiry. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 04:37:50

Irregular sleep pattern raises risk of stroke and heart attack, UK study finds

Variations in time a person goes to sleep and wakes up ‘strongly associated’ with higher risk of negative impactsFailing to stick to a regular time for going to bed and waking up increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart failure by 26%, even for those who get a full night’s sleep, the most comprehensive study of its kind suggests.Previous studies have focused on the links between sleep duration and health outcomes, with people advised to get between seven and nine hours shut-eye a night. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 23:30:43

UK cabinet ministers barred from visiting Russia amid missile row

Moscow bans Labour figures including Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves under new sanctionsRussia has banned cabinet ministers including Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves from entering the country under new sanctions announced by Moscow’s foreign affairs ministry.More than a dozen other senior Labour politicians are among the 30 British citizens on the Russian “stop list” after tensions between London and Moscow rose following Ukraine’s recent use of British missiles to strike deeper into Russia. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:39:23

Groucho Club’s licence suspended while Met investigates serious offence

Members’ venue in central London popular with the media and arts world closes as police inquiry explores recent crimeThe Groucho Club has been forced to close as police investigate whether the venue was the scene of a serious criminal offence.On Tuesday Westminster council ruled that the licence of the club, which counts many A-list celebrities among its members, should be immediately suspended for 28 days. A full hearing will then take place. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 22:03:35

Government confirms online slots cap and betting levy to fund NHS services

Gambling minister says measures will be ‘instrumental’ in helping those most at risk of addictionBookmakers and casinos will be forced to fund NHS services that tackle problem gambling, after Labour rubber-stamped the previous government’s plans, which also include a cap of as little as £2 on the sums that can be staked on online slot machines.The Guardian revealed on Monday that the government was poised to approve the new “statutory levy”, using proceeds of around £100m a year to fund research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 00:01:43

Plans to end NHS dental care crisis not working, warns spending watchdog

National Audit Office finds ‘significant uncertainty’ as to whether pledge for extra 1.5m treatments will be fulfilledPlans to end the deepening crisis in access to NHS dental care are failing, leaving patients unable to get treatment, according to a warning from the government’s spending watchdog.The National Audit Office’s (NAO) damning verdict on the “dental recovery plan” prompted patient groups to voice alarm that people’s struggles with decayed teeth represents “a serious public health concern”. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 00:01:44

China’s CO2 emissions have peaked or will in 2025, say 44% of experts in survey

Research reflects rising optimism about country’s green transition as it takes leading position on climate actionNearly half of experts surveyed by a climate thinktank believe China’s carbon dioxide emissions have already peaked, or will do so in 2025, reflecting increasing optimism about the country’s green transition at a time when it is being called on to take a leading position on global climate action.According to a report published on Tuesday by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a research organisation, 44% of climate experts from academia and industry believe that China’s CO2 emissions will peak, at the latest, in 2025. In last year’s survey, only 21% of experts gave the same response. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 00:01:44

Namibia goes to polls amid anger at high unemployment rate

Swapo party could lose its majority for the first time since independence in 1990, if youth voter turnout is highNamibians are going to the polls with the longtime ruling party’s parliamentary majority under threat if dissatisfied young people turn out in big numbers amid a wave of anti-incumbent sentiment globally.The Swapo party could also be forced to contest a second round in the presidential election for the first time since the sparsely populated southern African country became independent from South Africa in 1990. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 03:00:48

Marilyn Manson drops defamation lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood

Shock rocker, who denied Wood’s accusations of ‘horrific’ abuse and filed lawsuit, to pay her $327,000 in attorneys feesThe shock rocker Marilyn Manson has dropped his long-running defamation lawsuit against the actor Evan Rachel Wood and has agreed to pay her about $327,000 in attorneys’ fees, Deadline reported.Wood had previously identified Manson as her abuser in February 2021, accusing her former fiance of sexual assault, psychological abuse, violence, coercion and intimidation. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 22:05:37

‘Phantom gnome snatcher’ of Formby admits prank almost 50 years on

Arthur tells Vernon Kay on Radio 2 he left ransom notes in place of garden ornaments in seaside town in 1977The closest that residents in the sleepy seaside town of Formby got to violent crime in 1977 was, the BBC solemnly reported, by watching Kojak.So the mysterious disappearance of garden ornaments, replaced by sinister ransom notes, was big news. It led to a media circus as journalists were dispatched to investigate the “phantom gnome snatcher of Formby”. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 17:48:33

Southport dance teacher: ‘We just lost faith in the world’ after fatal attack

Leanne Lucas, who was seriously injured trying to protect children, says she plans to speak out more after trialA dance teacher who survived the knife attack in Southport in which three children were killed has said she is hoping her voice “will get louder and louder” after the trial of her alleged attacker.Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed in an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July, and 10 other people were injured, eight of them children. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:20:54

‘More straight talking’: How Reform UK is gaining support in Wales

Lack of faith in politics is a running theme among voters interviewed by the Guardian, but some believe Farage’s party may be worth a tryCrossing Gwent Square on a cold, crisp day in Cwmbran, married couple Maxine and David Griffin have more in common with each other than they did a year ago.In July, the Brexit supporters voted for the Reform UK party in the constituency of Torfaen; it was the first time they had both voted for the same party. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 17:12:47

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv pulls back 100,000 mortar rounds after failures

Investigation after troops complained of misfires; Russian Oreshnik missile carried no explosives, say Ukrainian officials. What we know on day 1,008 Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 00:51:00

Matlock review – Kathy Bates has spent years waiting for a role like this

An actor of the Oscar-winner’s calibre has deserved better for a long time – and is now front and centre of this legal drama. It’s far more than a spinoff of the 1980s US series … it’s a mystery fuelled by corporate greedMatlock is an almost complete reimagining of the 1980s US legal series, though it does pay tribute to its origins in multiple ways. Those expecting another straightforward drama about lawyers will find that those expectations are largely met during the first episode. But be forewarned: eventually it begins to defy expectations.To say more would be to build anticipation unnecessarily – spoiler alert, Kathy Bates does not turn out to be an alien – but as you amble through familiar territory, you are actually wandering towards a more substantial, more intriguing proposition. It doesn’t reinvent the legal drama, but there’s enough twisting and turning to ensure that it isn’t quite all it appears to be. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 22:00:41

‘We’d rather perish’: protests roil South Korean women’s university over plan to admit male students

Dongduk women’s university in Seoul was set up to help women in a deeply patriarchal society, but a demographic crisis is putting that under pressureSpray paint and protest banners cover the walls and pavements of Dongduk women’s university in Seoul. “We’d rather perish than open our doors,” reads one slogan. Since 11 November, students have staged a sit-in, initially occupying the main building and blocking access to classroom buildings across campus, forcing classes to move online and a planned job fair to be cancelled.The outcry was sparked by plans for some departments to admit male students but have since spiralled into a wider clash over the future of women-only spaces in a country that is grappling with the issue of gender equality. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 23:05:42

Is the China-US fentanyl pipeline really responsible for the US opioid crisis?

Donald Trump’s additional 10% tax on Chinese imports said to be response to China’s failure to curb its flow into USTrump’s tariff threat sets stage for bitter global trade warDonald Trump has said that his favourite word is tariff, which he describes as “the most beautiful word in the dictionary”.So his announcement on Monday that he would be imposing 25% tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and Canada was perhaps to be expected. He also separately outlined “an additional 10% tariff” on imports from China, which – even if enacted – would be well below the 60% rate that Trump had threatened on the campaign trail. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 17:37:03

The gospel according to Boris Johnson: it’s the church’s fault our kids are overweight | John Crace

The ex-PM opines that it’s Anglicanism’s failure to spiritually nourish children that has made them junk food addictsWhere would we be without a mind like this? The genius that is Boris Johnson. The man who has done more for this country than all other politicians of his generation. Never mind that most of it has been for the worse. Let’s not bother ourselves with inconvenient details.Instead let’s focus on the greater truth. That, in Boris, we have had a prime minister of startling insight. A man who has thought about the obesity crisis for all of 10 seconds and decided the blame lies with the Church of England. Even more unbelievably, it’s an opinion for which he doesn’t seemed to have charged. Boris will be devastated when he realises he could have got £10k from the Daily Mail for it. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:17:48

From Airplane! to The Naked Gun, Jim Abrahams was a pioneer of spoof comedy

The writer and director, who died this week, helped to define what big screen spoofs would look like in the decades afterJim Abrahams, co-creator of Airplane! and The Naked Gun, dies aged 80Very few people can honestly claim to have changed the direction of comedy, but Jim Abrahams – who died this week – is one of them. Thanks to the procession of spoof movies he made, both alone and with his fellow writer-directors David and Jerry Zucker, Abrahams helped to carve out a brand new genre of comedy, equal parts straight-faced and scattergun.The most enduring Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (ZAZ) film remains Airplane! After leveraging the show they honed at University of Wisconsin–Madison into the entertaining if directionless sketch film The Kentucky Fried Movie, the trio came across the 1957 aviation thriller Zero Hour! on television. They were so taken by the silly plot and wooden acting that they decided to parody the whole thing, by hewing so closely to the original that they ended up buying the rights to avoid a lawsuit. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 19:51:39

The best robot vacuums to keep your home clean and dust free, tested by our expert

Our writer trialled the most powerful robot vacuums – some of which even mop your floors – and these are the ones he ratesRobot vacuum cleaners take the drudge work out of cleaning your floors and carpets. No more tiresome weekly stints of vacuuming, and no more last-minute panic sessions when you have visitors on the way. Instead, your compact robot chum regularly trundles out from its dock, sucking up dust, hair and debris to leave your floors looking spick and span.Over the past few years, robot vacuums have become much more affordable, with basic units starting at about £150. They’re also doing more than they used to, mopping areas of hard flooring and charging in sophisticated cleaning stations that empty their dust collectors and clean their mop pads for you.Best overall robot vacuum cleaner: Eufy X10 Pro Omni£579 at EufyBest robot vacuum for power cleaning: Samsung Bespoke Jet Bot Combo AI+ £800 at John LewisBest for no-fuss robot vacuuming and mopping: iRobot Roomba Combo J9+£599 at iRobotBest robot vacuum cleaner for small homes and small budgets: Beko VRR61414VB RoboSmart £239 at Currys Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:00:36

Moana 2 review – vacuum-packed Disney ocean adventure that will leave you cold

Auli’i Cravalho’s Polynesian princess embarks on a quest to save other islanders oppressed by evil god Nalo – but this frictionless sequel lacks genuine passionOriginally planned as a TV series, now a feature film, Moana 2 is the sequel to Disney’s smash-hit family animation Moana from 2016, and really it’s a vacuum-packed slice of digital IP content, a perky ChatGPT iteration of love, laughter and belonging.Hawaiian-born actor Auli’i Cravalho returns to voice the role of Moana, the teen heroine on a Polynesian island. In the first film, she was chosen by her wayfinding ancestors and the mysterious forces of the ocean to restore the natural order of things, disrupted by the swaggering but somehow adorable demigod Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson. Now it’s a few years later and Moana is a much respected young woman on the island, admired and imitated by the female inhabitants that Maui calls “Mo-wannabes”. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 17:00:36

Health, happiness … and romance? How running could help you find love

It’s a well trodden fact that running with other people is good for camaraderie, safety and our physical and mental wellbeing – but now it seems it’s fertile ground for datingName: Running.Age: People have been doing it since there were beasts to run after and beasts to run away from. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 16:09:38

Elon Musk and a mass petition want a new UK election. Shall we do that – or just stick to democracy? | Marina Hyde

I know many are aggrieved with Starmer and co, but scrapping a government for Elon and a Shropshire publican seems like a stretchBy now you will be aware of the petition demanding another general election. Finally, an answer to what would happen if Maga had sex with the People’s Vote. I assume we don’t use the phrase “bastard offspring” any longer, but in this case I’ll be making an exception. To see the obnoxious essence of not one but two excruciating political movements hook up and push out a screaming signature-baby is not a pretty sight. I have immediately launched a petition to forcibly sterilise all political movements.To recap, this is the petition started by a Shropshire publican after he’d Googled “how to change the prime minister” and it told him to start a petition. Not a great ad for Google’s search accuracy, let’s face it, but I guess we already knew that was ageing like an unsealed bag-in-box of Phillip Schofield wine. Anyway, the resultant petition has now garnered two and a half million digital signatures, probably many more by the time you read this, and been pushed by public figures ranging from Elon Musk to Michael Caine. Fine. The Jaws film where the shark genuinely follows the Brody family all the way to the Bahamas is no longer the stupidest thing Michael’s done.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistA Year in Westminster: John Crace, Marina Hyde and Pippa Crerar. On Tuesday 3 December, join Crace, Hyde and Crerar as they look back at a political year like no other, live at the Barbican in London and livestreamed globally. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 13:29:52

Netanyahu’s boycott of Haaretz won’t stop us reporting the grim truth about Israel’s wars | Aluf Benn

Unlike most Israeli news outlets, my paper shows the suffering in Gaza and Lebanon. That’s why the government has targeted usAluf Benn is the editor-in-chief of Haaretz“Truth is the first casualty of war” goes the old cliche, but like any other adage, it holds a grain of verity. Battlefield reporting is always challenging: you are hampered by limited access, mortal danger, deliberate fog, and officials who get away with being less than truthful. And it becomes even more complicated when the journalists are part of a belligerent society, especially if the fight enjoys wide popular support as a just war.On 7 October 2023, Israel was attacked by Hamas, invading from Gaza to kill, loot, rape and kidnap civilians and soldiers. The next day Hezbollah joined the fray from Lebanon. Israel fought back with a vengeance, depopulating and destroying the Gaza Strip towns and villages, killing many civilians along with Hamas militants and operatives. In September 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a counteroffensive on the northern front, delivering a crippling blow to its arch-rival Hezbollah and razing the Shia villages that served as its frontline bases.Aluf Benn is the editor-in-chief of HaaretzDo 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...

Published: 2024-11-26 15:12:58

In Wales, we’re one more flood away from another disaster like Aberfan | Aaron Thierry

It is only a matter of time before a mountainside is brought down. We need climate adaptation help – and we need it nowAaron Thierry is an Earth-system scientist and environmental campaignerIt’s “raining old ladies and sticks” is the Welsh equivalent of cats and dogs, and boy did those old ladies mean business when Storm Bert poured out nearly a month’s worth of rain on the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) over Saturday night. By Sunday, the deluge was surging into the River Taff and through the Welsh valleys, forcing the Taff to burst its banks, bringing misery to communities along its length – including mine in Taff’s Well.Neighbours, who had been devastated by Storm Dennis in February 2020, were shocked to find that everything they had done to rebuild was undone. Replastered front rooms were submerged yet again. New cars were bobbing once more in the streets. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:00:03

Martin Rowson on Donald Trump’s plan to impose trade tariffs – cartoon

Published: 2024-11-26 16:33:07

I moved to another city – and found an unexpected way to make new friends | Arwa Mahdawi

While self-help books might suggest manifesting new people in your life or cold-water plunges to change your entire personality, the key to finding a community is much simplerIt started in my mid-30s: The Great Slipping Away. Gradually, and then suddenly, the friends I had in New York started to disappear. Some moved out of the city. Others moved into different phases of their lives: they became laser-focused on their careers and had no spare time. Or they had kids, and hanging out became harder.Then I became one of the people who had kids and moved out of the city and all my local friends slipped away. A couple of years ago I moved to Philadelphia, a city where my wife and I only vaguely knew a grand total of two people. We were drawn to Philly by its affordability but we underestimated just how difficult it is to build a new community from scratch. As an introverted freelancer who doesn’t have colleagues I see every day (even if just over Zoom), I certainly didn’t anticipate how much effort I would have to make if I didn’t want to become a complete hermit. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 16:53:38

Ignore the online CV truthers. If anything, Rachel Reeves is overqualified to be UK chancellor | Gaby Hinsliff

Gordon Brown and George Osborne studied history, but neither faced the questions of suitability levelled at the first woman in the jobRachel Reeves is not for turning. She won’t be pushed around, knocked off course, undermined by backbench mutterings or criticism from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The message the chancellor seemingly wants to send this week is that it’s her way or the highway, and if this attempt to stamp her authority on a jittery political moment feels a bit defensive or even impervious to criticism – well, perhaps it’s worth acknowledging that that authority is now being challenged in ways that strangely didn’t happen to her male predecessors.Is it just a coincidence that the first female chancellor is also the first to be swarmed by a mob of online truthers, flatly refusing to believe the woman they call “Rachel from accounts” was really employed at the Bank of England doing anything senior? (For the record: yes, she really did work there as an economist; no, going on to work for the less prestigious Halifax Bank of Scotland while scouting for a parliamentary seat doesn’t make her a call centre operative; and yes, you absolutely can rip someone’s budget to shreds without getting unnecessarily hysterical about them changing their LinkedIn entry to clarify a job title after being picked up on it by the Guido Fawkes website.) Or is this apparent desperation to believe that a woman in a position of authority must be a jumped-up know-nothing telling us something deeper?Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnistDo 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...

Published: 2024-11-26 08:00:05

The ICC arrest warrants for top Israeli officials are a step toward justice | Kenneth Roth

The warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant are also a reminder to governments arming Israel as it commits war crimes in GazaThe international criminal court’s issuance of arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defense minister Yoav Gallant is an important step toward justice for the Palestinian people, who too often have known only injustice. The court allows charges to move forward for war crimes and crimes against humanity focused mainly on the Israeli strategy of starving the civilians of Gaza and depriving them of medical and other necessities. The arrest warrants will make the world much smaller for these senior Israeli officials.The Israeli government had advanced two principal arguments in the hope of avoiding the warrants, both of which the court rejected. First, Israel contended in essence that Palestine was not enough of a state to join the court and confer jurisdiction for crimes committed on its territory. The court reaffirmed a prior ruling finding that Palestine’s status as a non-member observer state of the United Nations general assembly enabled it to ratify treaties such as the ICC’s Rome statute.Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch from 1993 to 2022, is a visiting professor at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:00:14

I used to think I could adapt to most things – then they rearranged my local Lidl | Zoe Williams

They haven’t just moved all the stuff, they’ve reversed half the aisles, so they run across instead of instead of along. It feels weirdly fake, like I’ve walked into a trick supermarketWhat they always say about cats – indeed, one of the reasons I prefer dogs – is that they don’t like moving house. You have to trap them inside for the first week after you relocate or they’ll make your life a misery, going back to the old house, getting into mischief on the way. I’ve always thought less of them for their inflexibility, their prima donna nose-twitching, their refusal to go with the flow. Always, that is, until someone remodelled my local Lidl.It is hell: they haven’t just moved all the stuff, they’ve reversed half the aisles, so they run across instead of along. I’m baffled by the physical space before I’ve even started looking for anything I want. It feels weirdly fake, like I’ve walked into a trick supermarket, for the purposes of … who knows, kidnapping? Reality TV? Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:00:13

The Guardian view on cruise ships: a licence to pollute | Editorial

The environmental harm caused by this shapeshifting, underregulated industry must be tackledLocal pushback against cruise ships in the world’s top tourist destinations is nothing new. More than three years ago, these vast vessels were barred from Venice’s lagoon on grounds of the risk they posed to the city’s historic buildings. This summer, cruise ships in Amsterdam and Barcelona were targeted by protesters, on grounds of chemical pollution but also as part of a wider movement against overtourism (as the negative impacts of huge influxes of visitors have become known). But – as revealed this week in a series of Guardian articles, The real cost of cruises – the environmental and social impact of this fast-growing industry goes way beyond individual cities, and requires action on a global scale.The carbon emissions of a cruise are roughly double that of the equivalent flights plus a hotel stay. The industry is also responsible for a vast quantity of waste discharged directly into the sea, as well as high levels of toxic air pollution in the ports where ships are docked – usually with their engines running. Once seen as the exclusive pursuit of a minority of wealthy retired people, these holidays are now mainstream, with vast floating resorts designed and marketed for families and young adults. The largest ships have up to 20 floors and room for several thousand people.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...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:46:00

The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s tariffs: protectionism is no longer taboo in politics | Editorial

US trade policies since 2016 highlight a broader global retreat from globalisation, driven by geopolitical tensions and shifting economic prioritiesDonald Trump’s broadside against America’s three largest trading partners, with whom it runs a $500bn trade deficit, should surprise no one. Since 2016, both Mr Trump and Mr Biden have departed from established norms in international trade. The two presidencies diverged significantly in approach: Mr Biden emphasised systemic reform while Mr Trump relied on rhetoric and theatrics. Although both administrations faced criticism for driving up costs through tariffs and industrial policy, global events were primarily behind rising prices.Mr Trump’s self-declared fondness for tariffs is closely tied to his ability to authorise them unilaterally, bypassing Congress under claims of national security. This may explain his recent announcement of plans to impose 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% on Chinese imports, unless these countries address alleged issues of illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling. The US president-elect clearly sees tariffs as more than mere policies; they are a calculated means of gaining leverage. By threatening to impose them, Mr Trump is signalling a desire to negotiate – but only on his terms.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...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:46:06

UK and US must halt escalation in Ukraine | Letters

Diane Abbott MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Ayoub Khan MP, Shockat Adam MP, Iqbal Mohamed MP, Adnan Hussain MP, Brian Eno, Alex Gordon, Fran Heathcote, Sophie Bolt and Lindsey German say diplomacy is the only path to peace. Plus, Laurie Farnum on why Russia can’t be trusted and Alex Hetmanczuk on the west’s failure to tackle it earlierWe are deeply concerned about the escalation in Ukraine. In response to British-made Storm Shadow missiles fired into Kursk (Report, 20 November), just days after Ukraine used the US’s army tactical missile systems (Atacms) to attack Bryansk, reports indicate that Russia has now launched intercontinental missiles into southern Ukraine. This rapid escalation seriously threatens an all-out military confrontation with Russia and Nato. The risk of a nuclear attack cannot be ruled out.The British government has to take responsibility for its actions and these terrible consequences. With hundreds of thousands already killed and injured, securing an end to this horrific conflict is crucial. We call on Joe Biden and Keir Starmer to halt this escalation and secure talks with Russia and Ukraine. Diplomacy and dialogue, not military escalation, are the only viable paths to a peaceful settlement in the region.Diane Abbott MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Ayoub Khan MP, Shockat Adam MP, Iqbal Mohamed MP, Adnan Hussain MP, Brian Eno, Alex Gordon President, RMT, Fran Heathcote General secretary, PCS, Sophie Bolt General secretary, CND, Lindsey German Convener, Stop the War Coalition Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 17:29:35

Whistleblowing doctors need better protection | Letters

Wes Streeting’s move is welcome, but the entire law in this area requires revisiting, say Dr David E Ward and Prof Jane SomervilleWe are encouraged to note that Wes Streeting is taking serious steps to stop NHS managers persecuting whistleblowing doctors just because they have raised patient safety concerns (NHS bosses who silence whistleblowers face sack under government plans, 24 November). The unwarranted and widely publicised detriments to some doctors who have spoken up about safety matters over the past 20 years have had serious consequences, despite laws intended to protect them. Trusts must be banned from dismissing doctors who raise patient safety concerns, and obliged to investigate their concerns, which at present are frequently covered up.The employment tribunal system, which some doctors may forlornly engage with to save their careers and livelihoods, is heavily biased against them. If dismissal was banned, most of the massive legal costs borne by the taxpayer would be avoided. In any case, why is the judiciary, which has little or no understanding of patient safety matters, involved if no laws have been broken? The entire law in this area requires revisiting. Mr Streeting has the important task of reviewing the current egregious arrangements. Why are no data formally collected about most of these major issues?Dr David E Ward Retired cardiologist, St George’s Hospital, LondonProf Jane Somerville Emeritus professor of cardiology, Imperial College London Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 17:20:30

Manchester City blow three-goal lead as Feyenoord produce stunning fightback

Manchester City’s losing sequence is over – just. But they remain a listing ship that can go down at any moment. “Fragile” was Pep Guardiola’s summation of his team’s state, and a clue to the manager’s own mood was the cut to his nose that he stated was self‑inflicted, by a finger, due to the contest’s travails.City were 3-0 up after 75 minutes but a late horror show ceded the advantage as Feyenoord preyed on home nerves via Anis Hadj Moussa, Santiago Giménez and David Hancko, who drew Feyenoord level to secure a well-fought point. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 22:10:50

Saka and Arsenal blow away Sporting to banish doubts on road in Europe

This was some response to charges of being goal shy. Arsenal knew they needed to discover a cutting edge abroad and duly located it at the home of the Champions League’s form team. Their best European away performance of the past half-decade was beautifully timed, furthering the sense that they are back to their old selves and making swift passage to the knockout stage look significantly more realistic.When Leandro Trossard completed the scoring it felt a trick of the mind that Sporting had blown Manchester City away on the same pitch this month. It was hardly an obvious venue for Arsenal to cut loose and score five times on the continent for the first time since October 2008. Beyond a 15-minute spell after the interval, when Gonçalo Inácio put a dent in their three-goal lead and the home side briefly looked capable of causing serious alarm, they were in complete command and superior in every department. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 22:01:09

‘A bit like the scapegoat’: Jude Bellingham reveals post-Euros pain

Real Madrid midfielder felt mistreated by England press‘It felt like the whole world was crumbling down on me’ Jude Bellingham has said he felt the “whole world crumbling down on me” after being mistreated and made a scapegoat for England’s defeat in the European Championship final.The Real Madrid midfielder, back in England for the Champions League tie at Liverpool on Wednesday, posted on social media that he had “got my smile back in an England shirt” after the recent Nations League win against the Republic of Ireland. In a searingly honest explanation of why the joy of playing for England had gone, the 21-year-old cited personal criticism in the aftermath of the Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain and media intrusion that he believes crossed a line. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 19:34:30

Refreshed Stokes clears the air with England before New Zealand Test

Returning to his native Christchurch is having a positive effect on the captain and hopefully will lift his side tooCome rain or shine, New Zealand cricketers tend to wear a smile on their faces. But this week there is a palpable glow around the place, that remarkable clean sweep in India, coupled with victory for the women’s team in the T20 World Cup, still fresh in the memory. Hagley Oval is sold out for the first Test against England, folks drawn to its inviting grass banks.English cricket has felt a little less cheery by contrast, be it their women’s team flunking that latest shot at a global title, the continuing culture war as the sale of the Hundred teams gathers pace, or the men’s Test side having lost in Pakistan to reopen the debate about the merits of so-called Bazball. Ben Stokes seemed to embody the mood in Pakistan, his return from a hamstring injury resulting in what he calls one of his toughest trips. A burglary back at home added to the stress levels and nearly forced an early flight back, only for his wife, Clare, to persuade him otherwise. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:00:37

Kane Williamson returns for New Zealand’s first Test against England

Former captain selected in XI at expense of in-form Will YoungAll-rounder Nathan Smith to debut for Black Caps at Hagley OvalPerhaps the trick to winning a Test series in India is to switch captains and make it a left-handed opener. It certainly worked for New Zealand, Tom Latham stepping up and leading a 3-0 slice of history three weeks ago – a first since Alastair Cook, a new full-time skipper at the time, led England to a 2-1 win in 2012.Either way, that seismic result now sees Latham and his Black Caps side enter this three-match home series against England in a buoyant mood and still with a chance to make next year’s World Test Championship final. Ben Stokes called the competition “a bit confusing” on Wednesday but was in no doubt about the feat his hosts recently achieved, describing it as “massive for world cricket.” Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 03:52:36

RFU’s annual report shows a worrying decline. Has it lost its purpose? | Gerard Meagher

Beneath headline figures of the chief executive’s bumper income, what does the RFU stand for and want to achieve?There have been suggestions in recent years, little more than rumours – though plenty of them – that the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, might have been preparing his exit strategy. That finding a replacement for Eddie Jones could be his parting gift, that negotiating the new eight-year agreement with the Premiership could be his intended legacy. Eventually the whispers grew loud enough that Sweeney publicly denied it and, after it emerged on Monday he was paid £1.1m thanks to the maturation of a bonus three years in the making, we appear to have a pretty good idea as to why.The first thing to say about Sweeney’s eye-watering raise – a performance-based payment of £358,000 on top of a base salary of £742,000 – is that you can hardly blame him for taking it. Admittedly, he will have likely negotiated the details of the long-term incentive plan that has so lined his pockets but would you really expect him to turn it down? The blame lies with the RFU’s board and remuneration committee for signing off on a scheme that has made Sweeney the best-paid chief executive of a UK sports governing body – excluding payouts – at a time when 42 redundancies have just been made and a loss to reserves of £42m has just been announced. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 17:38:28

Wilson Isidor denied as West Brom hold on for draw against Sunderland

Sunderland extended their unbeaten run to 10 games but, as the smattering of gentle boos that greeted the final whistle testified, it was most certainly not a cause for celebration on Wearside.Instead a fifth successive draw against highly efficient, if somewhat unambitious, opponents well practised at pinching ostensibly unlikely points led to Régis Le Bris’s early pacesetters slipping to third in the Championship. West Brom’s reward for the obduracy that so frustrated mildly disgruntled Stadium of Light season ticket holders was a drop to seventh in an increasingly fascinating second tier. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 22:10:21

Shelley Kerr to lead Hearts’ male player development in groundbreaking move

Former national coach to make Scottish football historyShe will also assist B team and monitor coach progress Hearts will create Scottish football history by appointing Shelley Kerr, a former manager of the women’s national team, to a key position relating solely to the development of male players.The Edinburgh club are poised to confirm Kerr as their first technical development manager, giving the 55-year-old significant responsibility for the transition from academy to first-team football. Kerr will become the first woman to take on such a position at a major Scottish club. The Uefa pro licence holder will also assist with the Hearts B team and monitor the progress of coaches at the training base. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 19:00:37

Backroom deals and betrayal: how Cop29’s late $300bn deal left nobody happy

While an agreement on climate finance was eventually reached in Baku, many poorer countries were outragedThe Lamborghini showroom and a Tiffany branch sit at either end of Baku’s long boulevards beside the Caspian Sea. Adorned with grand 19th-century mansions, all plaster nymphs and columned facades, that were built by the first oil millionaires, they are a testament to the enduring power of fossil fuels. Oil has been very good to Azerbaijan.It flows out of the ground here, and gas has seeped out, ignited and burned naturally in the area for so long that the country’s symbol is a flame and its nickname is the Land of Fire. Baku was the world’s first oil town, with wells exploited as early as the 1840s. Ilham Aliyev, the autocratic president, calls oil and gas “the gift of God” to his people. They represent 90% of Azerbaijan’s exports. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 06:00:02

Environmental grants promised to farmers in England frozen

Scheme to fund activities such as hedge-planting paused owing to budget constraints, sources sayGrants promised to farmers in England for planting hedges and cleaning up waterways have been frozen by the government.The capital grants scheme, which was opened by the government to allow farmers to invest in infrastructure such as slurry storage so animal excrement does not go into rivers, has been abruptly paused. Farmers have said this will make it difficult for them to run their businesses in an environmentally friendly way. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 16:07:50

Record number of English bathing sites classified as having poor water quality

River water quality distinctly worse than that of coastal bathing sites, results from tests for harmful bacteria foundWater quality has been designated as poor in a record number of bathing areas this year after 16 rivers were included in summer testing for harmful bacteria, figures reveal.The push to clean up England’s rivers has led to an increase in demand for bathing water status at river locations across the country. Rivers suffer from water company sewage pollution and agricultural pollution, and the results show river water quality is distinctly worse than that of coastal bathing sites. The results come after sewage pollution into rivers by water companies reached record levels last year. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:48:56

Cop29 deal fails to consider inflation so is not tripling of target, economists say

Experts say financial movements mean poor nations will in effect get billions less in value from £300bn pledgeA failure to factor in inflation means the $300bn (£240bn) climate finance deal agreed at Cop29 is not the tripling of pledges that has been claimed, economists have said.The international talks in Baku were pulled back from the brink of collapse early on Sunday morning when negotiators struck an agreement in which rich countries promised to raise $300bn a year by 2035. On paper, this is a tripling of the previous climate finance target of $100bn a year by 2020, and has been trumpeted as such by the UN and others. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 17:22:19

Young mother killed herself after years of abuse by ex-boyfriend, Preston court told

Kiena Dawes left note saying she was ‘murdered’ by Ryan Wellings, who is standing trial for her manslaughterA young mother killed herself and left a note saying “I was murdered” after suffering years of abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, a court has heard.Kiena Dawes, 23, a hairdresser, said in her note that “Ryan Wellings killed me”, a jury heard. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 19:33:10

Terror suspect on FBI’s most wanted list arrested in north Wales

Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was wanted in connection with two office building bombings in 2003One of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives has been arrested in the Welsh countryside.Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, has been on the FBI’s “most wanted terrorists” list for almost two decades for his alleged involvement in two office building bombings in San Francisco in 2003. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 19:04:14

TikTok to block teenagers from beauty filters over mental health concerns

Social media platform under pressure to improve security as it announces plans to block under-13s from signing upTeenagers are facing wide-ranging new restrictions over the use of beauty filters on TikTok amid concern at rising anxiety and falling self-esteem.Under-18s will, in the coming weeks, be blocked from artificially making their eyes bigger, plumping their lips and smoothing or changing their skin tone. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 23:01:42

Smithfield meat market to close for good after relocation plans voted down

City of London Corporation rejects plan for new Dagenham site and will offer traders about £300m in compensationLondon’s historic Smithfield meat market is to close for good after the City of London Corporation voted to pull out of plans to relocate it and Billingsgate fish market to Dagenham.The corporation, which owns and operates the central London site of the centuries-old market, had earlier this month put on hold relocation plans to a new £1bn site in Dagenham, east London, to review the “financial sustainability” of the planned move. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:21:20

Mother who kept three-year-old locked in a drawer jailed for seven years

Child was found severely malnourished, unable to walk or speak and had never seen daylight before her rescueThe mother of a three-year-old girl who was kept in a drawer and had never seen daylight or another human face has been jailed for more than seven years.The girl was found severely malnourished and unable to walk or speak in February 2023 by a partner of her mother’s who had gone upstairs to use the toilet and heard a noise that sounded like a baby. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 19:30:56

Supreme court urged to recognise ‘facts of biological reality’ in sex definition case

Scottish campaigners challenge ruling that found it lawful for guidance to extend definition of ‘woman’ to trans women with GRCThe supreme court has been urged to recognise “the facts of biological reality rather than the fantasies of legal fiction” in a case brought by Scottish campaigners to resolve how women are defined in law.For Women Scotland is challenging a prior ruling by the court of session in Edinburgh, which found that guidance extending the definition of “woman” to transgender women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) was lawful. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 19:06:12

Vauxhall owner plans to shut Luton van factory, putting 1,100 jobs at risk

Stellantis says it will shift production from Bedfordshire to plant at Ellesmere Port, CheshireBusiness live – latest updatesThe owner of Vauxhall has announced that it plans to close its van factory at Luton, in a decision that will put 1,100 jobs at risk of being cut or moving location despite the UK government preparing to relax rules on electric cars.Stellantis said it would shift van production from Luton, Bedfordshire, to another factory at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, blaming the UK’s economic conditions and the government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 22:37:48

Axa threatened to cancel cover for Briton with brain injuries in US, says daughter

Company said Jane Rubens, in a coma after being hit by vehicle on holiday, must be repatriated this week, against advice of neurologistsThe daughter of a woman who suffered brain injuries while on holiday in the US has said she was told by her mother’s insurer that she must return to the UK, against the advice of doctors, or face having funding for her medical care withdrawn.Jane Rubens, 73, from Edinburgh, is in a coma after being hit, as a pedestrian, by a large vehicle in St Louis, Missouri, at the start of November. The collision left her with severe brain injuries requiring multiple surgeries. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 19:15:48

War widows campaigner found guilty of assaulting her new partner

Christina Plumb, 49, whose former husband was killed by the Taliban, attacked Adam Plumb in a drunk rageA woman who became a prominent campaigner for military personnel after her husband was killed by a Taliban bomb has been found guilty of assaulting her new partner.Christina Plumb, whose late husband Olaf Schmid was a bomb disposal expert, hit, kicked and bit Adam Plumb at their home in Devon, a judge heard. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:40:47

More than 500 properties in England and Wales were hit by Storm Bert floods

Ministers reveal extent of damage as Met Office issues latest severe weather warning for parts of southern England More than 500 homes and businesses were flooded across Wales and England during Storm Bert, it has emerged, as forecasters issued another severe weather warning for rain in parts of southern Britain.In Wales, the first minister, Eluned Morgan, said 400 homes had been damaged as well as businesses and infrastructure, and reviews were being done to find out why some householders appeared not to have received warnings in time. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 18:30:27

Trump’s tariff threat sets stage for bitter global trade war

Trade experts hail ‘new era of protectionism’ with targeted countries retaliating with their own tariffsUS politics – live updatesDonald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on goods imported into the US has set the stage for a bitter global trade war, according to trade experts and economists, with consumers and companies warned to brace for steep costs.The president-elect announced on Monday night that he intended to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs on all their exports to the US – until they reduce migration and the flow of drugs into the country. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 16:49:43

Pakistani security forces raid supporters of Imran Khan after unrest in Islamabad

More than 50,000 people had earlier forced their way into capital to demand former prime minister’s releasePakistani security forces have launched a sweeping midnight raid on supporters of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan who had earlier forced their way through security barriers and entered Islamabad.Thousands of protesters had gathered in the centre of the capital after a convoy, led by Khan’s wife, broke through several lines of security all the way to the edge of the city’s highly fortified red zone. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 20:55:31

Bolsonaro allies nearly launched military coup in 2022, police report says

Senior Brazil military figures backed plot to seize power after Bolsonaro’s election defeat, federal documents allegeBrazil came within a whisker of a far-right military coup and the assassination of a supreme court judge just days before President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took power in January 2023, a federal police report has claimed.The report about the alleged plot to help the rightwing populist Jair Bolsonaro cling to power was made public on Tuesday, and paints a chilling portrait of how close one of the world’s largest democracies came to being plunged back into authoritarian rule. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 21:48:44

Rudy Giuliani tells judge he can’t pay his bills in courtroom outburst

Former New York mayor voices frustration in hearing over order to pay $150m to Georgia election workers he defamedThe former New York mayor and lawyer to Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, erupted in court on Tuesday, telling a judge: “I can’t pay my bills!”Sketches by courtroom artists, who create pictures for the media to use when cameras are not allowed in court, such as federal courts, showed a furious Giuliani, 80, pointing at the judge in his case, Lewis Liman. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 21:33:51

Chris Minns asks Sydney residents to keep washing machines off as heatwave nears peak

Temperatures climb towards 40C in the city’s west amid calls to cut back on power usage between 3pm and 8pmFollow our Australia politics live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSoaring temperatures and strained power supplies have prompted the New South Wales government to ask residents to reduce electricity use in a bid to avoid outages.The premier, Chris Minns, said Sydney residents should avoid using power-hungry devices if they can during a crunch period, which was expected to last for five hours.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 02:22:14

US lawmakers urge Biden to pardon Assange to send ‘clear message’ on media freedom

Exclusive: James McGovern and Thomas Massie warn US president they are ‘deeply concerned’ the WikiLeaks founder’s plea deal sets worrying precedentFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPresident Joe Biden has been urged to pardon Julian Assange by two US congressmen who warn they are “deeply concerned” the WikiLeaks founder’s guilty plea deal sets a precedent for prosecuting journalists and whistleblowers with espionage offences.James McGovern, a progressive Democrat from Massachusetts, and Thomas Massie, a libertarian Republican from Kentucky, wrote to the president with the bipartisan request to pardon the Australian publisher earlier in November. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 22:11:04

Irish PM’s party drops six points in pre-election polls amid ‘Simon slump’

Fine Gael had looked sure of victory on Friday before Simon Harris’s disastrous interaction with care workerIreland’s election: the parties, the voting, the issues and the likely resultIreland’s three main parties are almost neck and neck in the polls ahead of Friday’s general election, as the taoiseach, Simon Harris, struggles to contain the damage inflicted on his campaign by a disastrous interaction with an angry care worker.In what has been called the “Simon slump”, Fine Gael, the centre-right party which Harris leads, and which seemed almost certain to top the polls, is now under pressure. An Irish Times poll on Monday showed FG had lost its commanding lead of two weeks ago and was down six points. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 16:00:59

Catholic priest accused of sexual assault fathered children of victims, court hears

Revelation emerges at hearing for Anthony Odiong, 55, charged with several counts and held in Texas on $5.5m bailA Roman Catholic priest with links to Texas and Louisiana who is facing criminal charges for allegedly abusing his position of authority within the church to pursue sex with vulnerable women fathered at least two children with victims of his behavior, authorities have alleged.The stunning information about Anthony Odiong surfaced at a bail hearing on Tuesday in Waco, Texas, where prosecutors have charged him with several counts of sexually assaulting women to whom he ministered. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 02:57:28

Power cuts in Ukraine after Russia’s biggest drone attack yet

Moscow is pushing hard on eastern frontline amid uncertainty as to how Trump taking office will affect warRussia launched its biggest ever drone attack on Ukraine on Monday night and Tuesday morning, sending a reported 188 drones into the country against various targets, resulting in power cuts in part of western Ukraine and damage to residential buildings outside Kyiv.Russian forces are pushing hard along the frontline in the east of the country, amid uncertainty as to how the dynamics of the war might change once Donald Trump takes office in January. Russia also vowed “retaliatory actions” for fresh Ukrainian strikes on military targets inside Russia that used long-range missiles sent by the US. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 15:06:24

Female executive directors in FTSE 250 down 11% since 2022

Report finds maternity bias, childcare policies and male-dominated cultures keep women from top rolesThe glass ceiling for women in top roles at FTSE 250 companies is still “stubbornly in place” according to the latest research, which found the number of women in executive director roles fell more than 10% in the past two years.While gender diversity overall is improving in boardrooms, as more women are appointed to nonexecutive director (NED) roles, progress in the appointments of women at the top, executive-board level is in reverse, according to the research from Cranfield University and EY. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 13:54:56

Air fryers, heated throws and the world’s best jeans: Black Friday deals on the products we love

We recommended them in the Filter; now we’ve sifted through all the offers to find the genuinely good discounts on our favourite products Black Friday is still a few days away on 29 November, but stores are already dropping prices to compete for our attention and cash – and they’re offering some delectable discounts on products we’ve recommended in the Filter.We cautioned against getting carried away too early in our guide to not getting ripped off in the sales, because many prices continue to fall until Cyber Monday (2 December). However, some of the most popular items can sell out even before Black Friday comes around. So, if there’s something here you’ve had your eye on, this may be your best chance to grab it for significantly less than you’d normally pay. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-22 18:07:53

The best iPhones in 2024: Apple smartphones tested, reviewed and ranked

Looking for the latest iPhone, or a good deal on a refurbished handset? Our expert has assessed and rated the current crop of Apple smartphonesThe best iPhone may be the one you already own. There is generally no need to buy a fresh phone just because new models have been released, as hardware updates are broadly iterative, adding small bits to an already accomplished package. But if you do want a replacement handset, whether new or refurbished, here are the best devices of the current crop of Apple smartphones.Many other smartphones are available besides the iPhone, but if you’re an Apple user and don’t fancy switching to Android, you still have a couple of choices. Whether your priority is the longest battery life, the best camera, the biggest screen or simply the optimal balance of features and price, there is more to choose from in the Apple ecosystem than you may expect, especially after the iPhone 16 models were released on 9 September.Best iPhone for most people: iPhone 16£799 at AppleBest iPhone for camera: iPhone 16 Pro£999 at AppleBest iPhone for screen: iPhone 16 Pro Max£1,199 at AppleBest value iPhone: iPhone SE £429 at Apple Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-22 13:39:56

The best coffee machines: your morning brew made easy, according to our expert

Discover the perfect coffee maker for your home with our tried-and-tested recommendations, from simple capsule to fully manual espresso machines• How to choose the right type of coffee machine for youWhen it comes to something as earth-shatteringly important as coffee, everyone has an opinion. Some crave a single perfect shot of espresso, while others seek the milkiest latte; some love Starbucks and others, well, don’t. This is why the idea of there being a single best coffee machine is fanciful – everyone’s idea of the perfect coffee couldn’t be more different.As a selfless service to coffee drinkers everywhere, I’ve spent months researching and testing coffee machines to produce a shortlist of tried-and-tested recommendations. The list spans all the main types of coffee maker: manual espresso, filter, bean-to-cup and capsule (not sure what all of this means? Read our dedicated guide to the different types of coffee machine.Best manual machine for beginners: Sage Bambino Plus £349 at John LewisBest low-effort coffee at an affordable price: De’Longhi Magnifica Evo One Touch £375 at John LewisBest for simple filter coffee: Moccamaster KBG Select £218 at AOBest for capsules: L’or Barista Sublime £45 at AmazonBest low-effort premium coffee: Jura C8 £895 at John LewisBest capsule machine for long coffees: Nespresso Vertuo Plus £199 at Nespresso Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-21 18:00:01

Christmas gifts for swimmers: what to buy water babies, from swimming costumes to changing robes and bags

Whether it’s lengths in the pool or wild swimming, here’s what everyone from top-level coaches to year-round ocean dippers told us they’d love to unwrap on Christmas DaySwimming is among the most popular sporting hobbies in the country, with 4.7 million people enjoying a dip at least twice a month, according to Sport England. And, unless you’ve had a bad case of swimmer’s ear, you’ll have heard about the wild swimming trend. The Outdoor Swimming Society says that several million people in the UK now take to rivers, lakes, lidos and seas each year. Their main motivation? Joy, with 94% saying they felt happier and less stressed after a swim.Team GB’s five-medal haul – one gold and four silvers – at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 likely encouraged more people to take up or return to the sport, too. So, the chances of you having a swimmer in your life are pretty high. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-18 16:41:36

Bake Off 2024: Dylan the ‘pirate of pastry’ is the inevitable winner … or is he?

He’s had the most handshakes in the show’s history. He’s a viral sensation and ‘flavour king’. But don’t rule out the Welsh wonder – or the designer Dutchman. Who’ll take this year’s baking crown?Knot your aprons. Stand by your workbenches. And for one last time this series, bake! Yes, Tuesday evening sees the grand final of The Great British Bake Off. They’ve even put a fairground in the grounds of Welford Park to celebrate. Cue well-endowed squirrels riding on the waltzer.This might be the 15th series, but the hit calorific contest is still one of TV’s tastiest propositions. It remains Channel 4’s top-rated show, attracting almost 7 million viewers a week, plus a devoted international fanbase via Netflix. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 10:55:43

A very British omnishambles: how The Play That Goes Wrong conquered the world

This farce about a gaffe-laden am-dram whodunnit was born above a pub. How did it become one of Britain’s greatest ever exports, the toast of more than 50 countries? Our writer travels to Europe to solve the mysteryA bunch of twerps are floundering in the spotlight, striving to bluff their way through disaster. The vibe is not quite keep calm and carry on, more like carry on regardless. It could be a scene from any number of recent British political calamities. But this is the premise of the deliriously funny The Play That Goes Wrong, about a hapless am-dram troupe staging a whodunnit.Despite having its premiere in a tiny room above a London pub, there is nothing amateurish about the Olivier award-winning comedy – one of the longest-running shows currently in the West End. It spawned a franchise of “Goes Wrong” farces on stage, as well as a dazzlingly inventive TV series, and catapulted the creators, Mischief Theatre, to international glory. The play is on in Krakow, Kladno and Kyiv and has been performed in many other European cities and on Broadway. Next year it tours Australia and New Zealand. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 16:05:02

Writers condemn startup’s plans to publish 8,000 books next year using AI

Publisher Spines will charge authors between $1,200 and $5,000 to have their books edited and distributed with the help of artificial intelligenceWriters and publishers are criticising a startup that plans to publish up to 8,000 books next year using AI.The company, Spines, will charge authors between $1,200 and $5,000 to have their books edited, proofread, formatted, designed and distributed with the help of AI. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 17:10:20

‘Films were an escape – to a deeper repression’: Jarman winner Maryam Tafakory on Iranian cinema

The UK-based artist and film-maker reveals how the work that has won her the prestigious award was the result of watching 417 films made in post-revolution Iran, many of which she ‘fell in love with – and felt betrayed by’In the first weeks of the pandemic, Maryam Tafakory set herself the task of watching 417 films made in post-revolution Iran. She soon found something curious: the recurring use of bags. Objects such as bags are often deployed by film-makers as substitutes for actual physical contact between a man and a woman, in a country where such depictions of intimacy are prohibited.Focusing on films spanning nearly three decades, the UK-based artist built on research she originally began three years earlier for her PhD, to create several films and video essays. The first is Irani Bag, which uses a clip from a 1992 Iranian production, The Song of Tehran and features a couple seen from behind each holding a strap from the same bag, instead of taking each other’s hands. “Learning to touch without touching,” says a text inserted alongside split-screen videos in the 2020 work. In another clip, a bag is used to separate two actors sat on the back of a motorbike. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 16:38:29

X marks the bitcoin: the treasure hunt book is back – and it’s bigger than ever

Hidden in five chests across the US, the bounty includes everything from a Picasso pendant to Jackie O’s sapphires and a spot of crypto currency. We meet Jon Collins-Black, writer of the book behind the hunt – and a searcher himselfJon Collins-Black’s mother had always dreamed of living in a log cabin. So when his father, a minister, was given 20 acres of land by a member of his congregation, he built her one in North Carolina. “Literally with his bare hands,” Collins-Black says. On sweltering days, the young Collins-Black would chase lizards, sneak up on snakes, and dig holes. On balmy nights, he’d wonder what he might find the next day. Still, closest to his heart were his days spent at the Emerald Hollow Mine, a 20-minute drive away at the foot of the Brushy Mountains. There, he’d sift in the creek and poke through the dirt on the hunt for treasure.Over three decades later, Collins-Black has kicked off a real-world treasure hunt – what he believes to be the largest in US history – for a trove worth several million dollars. He has hidden five boxes – one containing “the lion’s share”, and four smaller ones – across five US states. Collins-Black’s new book There’s Treasure Inside, published this month, acts as a 243-page treasure map containing the origin stories of each item and clues about how to find them. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 15:43:04

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is accused of sexual abuse. Why are his music streams rising?

Combs is the latest problematic artist to see his work break more ground on platforms such as Spotify and YouTubeIn the past few years, powerful men within the music industry – the singer R Kelly, the Def Jam founder Russell Simmons and the Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose – have faced public outcry after sexual violence allegations against them surfaced. But in many cases, streams of these artists’ music have remained largely unaffected, sometimes even ballooning in popularity.The disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is the latest artist to see his music streams sharply increase following public accusations of sexual assault by numerous people, including minors. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:00:02

Flex your new visual super skills

We’ve all acquired new design smarts. Now it’s time to make the most of them Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-20 10:47:07

From manifesting to manifestos: Steven Bartlett is spearheading a new approach to achieving your goals

The entrepreneur has teamed up with Adobe Express to promote the benefits of creating your own personal manifestoSteven Bartlett might be a visionary entrepreneur but he’s all-too aware that having vision isn’t enough on its own. As part of a partnership with Adobe Express, the quick and easy content app, he’s now on a mission to show people how to turn their vision into actionable steps with the help of a carefully-conceived manifesto that aligns with their goals and values. Calling it the “Manifest-o Method”, the idea is to provide a framework that can help guide entrepreneurs in their early stages. As he put it in an interview with Adobe: “Manifestation without action is like setting your car’s sat-nav without turning the engine on.”When creating the Manifest-o Method, Bartlett, who is probably best known for The Diary of a CEO podcast and his appearances on BBC Dragons’ Den, drew on his own experience of creating and designing a business manifesto for his podcast company, Flight Studio, using Adobe Express. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-04 15:36:29

‘Time-chunking’ and great design … side hustle experts give their tips for success

Nearly half of us now run a side gig alongside our regular job. Here’s how to make it work …The side hustle has become central to modern living. Nearly 50% of Brits have a side hustle, with nine out of 10 “side hustlers” who are under 34 planning to transition said hustle into a full-time business. But juggling your side hustle with your day job can be tricky even for the most skilled multitasker. So here are some tips for managing multiple gigs without annoying your boss or colleaguesCompartmentalise while cross-fertilising Try to view your day job as a source of inspiration and insights rather than an obstacle to your side-hustle. Your life will feel more coherent and less draining. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-10-21 09:54:16

‘The best personal brands aren’t overly curated’: six dos and don’ts for the jobs market

Personal branding is far more complex than it once was, with evolving tech adding to the possibilitiesPersonal branding has undergone a radical rebranding. The way we showcase ourselves in the workplace and jobs market has been transformed by the tools at our disposal and societal shifts, such as the melding of work and life. Twenty-five years ago, you had a CV and, if you wanted a new job, you updated it and sent it to prospective employers. Your reputation may have enhanced your prospects but, when it came to job hunting, your qualifications and CV were pretty much the only showcase you had.With the internet everything changed – and then changed again with social media and smartphones. Suddenly, you were visible to millions of people on a device they carried around in their pockets. Those same tools gave you the ability to step up from CVs to slickly presented websites and slide decks. And social media gave everyone a platform to build and manage their own personal brand in real time. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-01 13:59:22

Sex with my partner was great – until I stopped feeling anything during penetration

I suddenly became unable to orgasm with a lover I previously had no problem climaxing with. It has been 11 months – what should we do?My ability to orgasm from penetrative sex seems to come and go. With some partners, I never climaxed; with others, I was able to climax at the beginning of the relationship and then became unable to; and then there are those with whom I had no issues climaxing. Now, I have suddenly become unable to orgasm from penetration with a partner that I previously had no problem climaxing with. I know people chalk it up to being a mental thing, or stress, but the relationship was great, the sex was great and out of nowhere I just became unable to feel anything during penetrative sex. We have been trying to solve this for 11 months.Is achieving orgasm through penetrative sex really so important to you? Many people see this as an ideal and even (erroneously) consider that there is something wrong with a woman who cannot climax during vaginal intercourse. For most women, though, the main physiological pleasure centre is the clitoris, which is located outside the vagina. So, in order for a woman to have an orgasm during penetration, areas related to the clitoris have to be stimulated; very often, direct clitoral stimulation has to be employed. So, in worrying about the elusiveness of one type of orgasm, you are expecting a great deal of yourself and of your physical sexual response. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:56:54

20 of the UK’s best hotels and pubs for the great outdoors – as chosen by the Good Hotel Guide

From pubs with rooms and seaside getaways to hotels for walkers and dog owners, all these picks put you in the middle of beautiful countryside Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 07:00:05

How can I perk up Thanksgiving dinner? | Kitchen aide

Our panel of expert cooks’ ideas include a spicy stuffing, punchy vinegar or mustard, and one great tip for cooking the ultimate turkeyFor Claire Dinhut, author of The Condiment Book, it’s all about staying within the confines of the traditional Thanksgiving menu, but giving each dish some extra zhoosh. The sides are the obvious choice for this: “My family is from Los Angeles,” Dinhut says, “but they’re also half Greek, so our creamed spinach, for example, is always spanakopita-style creamed spinach with feta and dill.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that Dinhut also goes by the moniker of Condiment Claire, she also leans on a variety of jars and bottles to perk things up: sure, dijon mustard will bring “brightness and a bit of texture” to mashed potatoes, but why not kick things up a gear and use smoky dijon? “Toast chilli flakes, then combine with mustard [or mayo] to get that extra depth; that also works a charm as a dip for green beans.”Dijon is also a friend to sprouts, Dinhut says: “We go for a slaw at Thanksgiving, with dijon, apple cider vinegar, fresh herbs and salt, to contrast that hearty mash.” Red-wine vinegar, meanwhile, features in Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s family favourite, braised red cabbage: “Toss the cabbage with vinegar and salt, then sweat onions in butter in a large casserole pan until tender,” says the chef/patron of ABC Kitchens in London. Add the cabbage mix, press down, then pour in some red wine and top with sliced apple (pink lady, for preference). Cover and cook until almost dry. Carrots are another Thanksgiving must, though Dinhut breaks from tradition by roasting hers with maple syrup and pumpkin spice blend ( cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves).Got a culinary dilemma? Email [email protected] Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 14:00:30

Nigel Slater’s recipe for apple and blueberry demerara crumble

A quick, comforting pudding to liven up the weekHeat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Peel 700g of cooking apples, then remove their cores and seeds and cut the apple into small pieces. Add 250g of blueberries to the apple and 2 tbsp of sugar and toss well to coat the apples with the sugar.Tip into an ovenproof dish roughly 24cm in diameter. Cut 95g of butter into small pieces and add to 150g of plain flour. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs, then stir in 35g of caster sugar and 35g of demerara. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:00:03

José Pizarro’s recipe for spiced roast squash soup with chorizo migas

A rich soup with everything – texture, comfort, flavour – all rounded off with the satisfying, savoury crunch of toasted breadcrumbs and chorizoThis smooth, comforting soup is a great winter warmer. Roasting intensifies the natural sweetness of both the squash and the garlic, the cumin and smoked pimentón add a lovely, smoky, aromatic depth, while the fresh oregano keeps everything vibrant and earthy. But the best part, as any self-respecting Spaniard will tell you, is the crisp chorizo migas, which is a classic touch that brings with it crunch and a burst of rich, meaty flavour. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 08:00:05

Gina Miller’s call to women: invest, and fight back against financial abuse

The activist and businesswomen is campaigning to raise awareness of the ‘gender pension gap’ and the importance of having one’s own moneyGina Miller became a household name for challenging the UK government over Brexit, but now the entrepreneur and activist has another big fight on her hands: to push women to invest so they can prosper and avoid being a victim of financial abuse.Financial independence is vital for women’s safety, security and freedom, she says, as research from the wealth management company she founded, MoneyShe, shows more than 75% of women are not confident that they can afford a comfortable retirement. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 10:00:37

Women in the UK: are you planning on having a baby on your own using fertility treatment?

We’d like to hear from women who are having a baby on their own or with someone else using IVF or DIAccording to a report by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the number of UK women who are single and undergoing fertility treatment has more than trebled in a decade.In total, 4,800 women without a partner had in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or donor insemination (DI) treatment in 2022. This represents a 243% increase from the 1,400 single women who had fertility treatment in 2012. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:31:46

Share your experience of buying weight loss jabs privately in the UK

We would like to hear from people who have bought weight loss jabs and the adverts they have seenWeight loss jabs like Wegovy and Mounjaro are becoming increasingly prevalent in the UK, and are available from many online pharmacies – including those run by high street companies. Yet concerns have been raised over whether these medications are being advertised or promoted.We’d like to hear from readers who have purchased these jabs privately, to discuss how you chose the pharmacy and your experience of adverts. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 14:56:19

Share your experience of being a celebrity lookalike

We would like to hear from people who have been told they look like a celebrityWith celebrity lookalike contests such as Timothée Chalamet taking place, we’re interested in finding out more about the celebrities you’ve been told you look like.Have friends or family said you look like a famous musician, sports person or Hollywood star? Have you had any experiences of mistaken identity? If so, what happened? We’re also interested in hearing from anyone who has taken part in a lookalike competition. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 14:48:44

People across the UK: have you been affected by flooding?

We’d like to hear from people who experienced flooding recently, whether it affected their homes, communities or journeysMore than 200 flood alerts remain in England and Wales after torrential downpours from Storm Bert caused “devastating” flooding over the weekend and a major incident in Wales.Hundreds of homes were flooded, with roads turned into rivers and winds of up to 82mph recorded across parts of the UK. At least five deaths have been reported in England and Wales since the storm hit. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 08:57:36

How the battle of Claremont Road changed the world: ‘The whole of alternative London turned up’

Thirty years ago, more than 500 activists united to save a street – and their actions marked a major turning-point in the environmental movementWalking through Leyton, in east London, you could easily miss Claremont Road. It is hardly a road at all, but a stubby little side street between terrace houses that ends abruptly in a brick wall. But when it comes to the history of direct action, this could be one of the most significant sites in England. Thirty years ago, in November 1994, the scene here was very different: 700 police officers and bailiffs in riot gear marched into a significantly larger Claremont Road and waged battle against about 500 activists, who were dug in – some of them literally – against efforts to evict them.The activists occupied rooftop towers, treehouses, underground bunkers and even secret tunnels. It took three days to get them all out. In retrospect, the “Battle of Claremont Road”, as it came to be known, was an almost unbelievable event. “I talk about the three C’s that underpin this type of activism: creativity, courage and cheek,” says campaigner Camilla Berens, who was there. “It set the template for the next 20 or 30 years of how to do responsible disruption.” Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 10:00:08

Trump’s talk of tariffs raises fears of hit to economies worldwide

Tariffs on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods threaten not just those nations but global economic growthTrump vows tariffs on Mexico and Canada and deeper tariffs on ChinaUS politics – live updatesEuropean companies were wondering whether they had dodged a harmful blow to their US sales after Donald Trump promised to slap trade tariffs on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods in social media posts late on Monday.They could congratulate themselves for avoiding the incoming president’s gaze – so far – and watch as he turned his anger on Beijing and Washington’s nearest trading partners. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:58:36

Massacre in the jungle: how an Indigenous man was made the public face of an atrocity

In 2004, 29 people were killed by members of the Cinta Larga tribe in Brazil’s Amazon basin. The story shocked the country – but the truth of what happened is still being fought overAt the federal courthouse of Vilhena, in the southern reaches of the Amazon basin, Nacoça Pio Cinta Larga limped to his seat, using one hand to steady himself on a table. In the air-conditioned chill and fluorescent glare, his crown of black and brown feathers shuddered with each step, a lonely reminder of the rainforest beyond the white-painted walls. A Brazilian flag hung limply in one corner, the national motto, “Order and progress”, concealed in its folds. “The prosecution says that, on 7 April 2004, around 11am in the Gully of Tranquility, you, sir, together with other members of your tribe, took the lives of several prospectors,” Judge Rafael Slomp began.Pale even for a white man, Slomp wore a pink button-up shirt beneath his robes. His goatee was immaculately trimmed, his tone bland, emotionless, entirely mismatched to the crimes he was describing. He listed 29 victims, 12 never identified: “A massacre.” He said that, hands tied, they had been unable to defend themselves, an aggravating factor. “The prosecution also alleges a base motive,” he went on. “That the Indigenous people who committed these acts wanted to keep anyone else from mining diamonds on their lands.” Greed, in other words. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:01

The 1920s desecration of a Gutenberg Bible shocked the US – but miraculously gave a Jewish family new life in Australia

Michael Visontay discovered that a ‘crime against history’ in the book world set off a chain of events that led to his family’s delicatessen in 1950s Sydney It was a brazen act of extreme literary vandalism that desecrated one of the world’s most valuable books. But it also allowed a family of Holocaust survivors to forge a new life in Australia.The extraordinary tale was uncovered by the author and journalist Michael Visontay while researching his family history during Covid lockdown and has now been published as a book, Noble Fragments. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 14:00:29

Romania election: what next after ultranationalist’s shock first-round victory?

Upset in presidential ballot as frontrunners knocked out and pro-Russian Călin Georgescu comes firstAfter an upset in the first of three crunch votes that could lead to Romania veering towards a more anti-EU, pro-Russian stance, the EU and Nato member state returns to the polls on Sunday for a parliamentary ballot followed, on 8 December, by a presidential runoff.The votes will be closely watched not least in Brussels, which does not want another disruptive, sovereignist influence in the region alongside Hungary and Slovakia, and among western allies, which Bucharest has reliably backed against Moscow. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 13:45:02

‘You’ve got the grass; you put a cow in it, and Bob’s your uncle’: the ranchers trying to halt the devastation caused by Bolivia’s cattle farms

This year, wildfires driven by ranching burned an area of Bolivian forest larger than Portugal – yet beef is booming. Two sets of pioneers aim to make the industry more sustainableWords and photographs by Thomas Graham in Concepción, BoliviaAt Alta Vista, a ranch in Concepción, Bolivia, a herd of cattle grazes under a smoky sky. Workers had been fending off fires for weeks, says Hermes Justiniano, the ranch’s general coordinator, as he rustles dry foliage with his boot. “It has been months since there was good rain.”That was in September, midway through Bolivia’s worst fire season on record, for which ranching and industrial agriculture are the main culprits. Alta Vista is one of a few ranches in Bolivia on a mission to make the business more sustainable. It faces an uphill task in a country where public policy and the law incentivise the most destructive form of agribusiness. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:00:01

Storm Bert offers stark reminder of UK’s underfunded flood defences

Spending shortfall has seen 500 of 2,000 new protection projects abandoned despite growing severity of disastersStorm Bert caused devastating flooding in the UK this week, taking lives and destroying homes and businesses in what has become a frequent occurrence during autumns and winters.Climate breakdown is making these extreme weather events more probable. Extreme rainfall is more common and more intense because of human-caused global heating across most of the world, and particularly in Europe. This is because warmer air can hold more water vapour, and flooding has become more frequent and severe as a result. But floods are also hitting communities with more intensity because of inadequate, underfunded flood defences. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 15:12:01

Israelis displaced by war split over prospect of Hezbollah ceasefire

Some who live close to the border with Lebanon believe a deal would allow them to raise their children in safety, but others say communities are splitThere is a crack, a boom and a siren, all more or less simultaneously. Sergio Helman has not quite reached the concrete shelter a dozen metres away from his hummus restaurant, off highway 99, which marks the northernmost limit of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.The 60-year-old shrugs and explains that Hezbollah fires the rockets from so close that Israeli air defence systems can give only 15 seconds warning at best. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 18:46:38

‘We need a cultural revolution’: femicide victim’s family seek change in Italy

After Giulia Cecchettin was killed by her ex-boyfriend, her sister shook the national conscience when she challenged a ‘society steeped in rape culture’. She is still speaking outJust a day after being told that her sister Giulia was dead, Elena Cecchettin was interviewed on live TV outside the family home in Vigonovo, a small town close to Venice. Floral tributes were tied to the railings behind her, and a torchlight procession attended by thousands of well wishers was under way. But Elena was not looking for sympathy. “Don’t hold a minute of silence for Giulia – burn everything,” she said. “We need a cultural revolution to ensure that Giulia’s case is the last.”On 18 November 2023, Giulia Cecchettin, 22, became Italy’s 105th victim of femicide that year. Her body, with more than 70 stab wounds, was found wrapped in black plastic bags in a ditch close to a lake north of Venice. Filippo Turetta, her ex-boyfriend, confessed to killing the biomedical engineering student, who was just days away from graduating. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:04

From Egypt to India, five jailed men who feel abandoned by Britain

A media mogul, a computer programmer, a developer, a trade unionist, and a Sikh activist – the prisoners arbitrarily detained abroadThe cases of five British men, held for years without a fair trial, are being highlighted as MPs, families, and campaigners fight for their release and better help for all those arbitrarily detained abroad. Who are the five, and what has happened to them? Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 07:00:04

The rise of ketamine addiction in the UK - podcast

Journalist Elle Hunt and recovered addict Jack Curran talk about the rise of ketamine use in Britain and its sometimes devastating impactKetamine use in England and Wales has doubled since 2016.The increase, as journalist Elle Hunt explains, is especially notable among young people. And it seems to have taken health services by surprise, with practitioners often unable to provide the right treatment for the particular challenges posed by addiction to ketamine. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-27 03:00:47

NWSL glory for Orlando and USA head to Wembley – Women’s Football Weekly

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Megan Swanick, and Tom Garry to round up the NWSL season games and look forward to the big Wembley friendlyOn today’s podcast, the panel reviews the conclusion of the NWSL season, where Orlando Pride were crowned NWSL Champions for the first time in their history. They discuss potential developments in the coming months that could help make the NWSL an even bigger product by 2025, as well as what lies ahead for the iconic Marta, who won her first NWSL Championship at the age of 38.The panel also covers the only game in the WSL over the weekend, where Chelsea maintained their perfect run by defeating Manchester United on Sunday, putting them five points clear at the top of the WSL table. Can Sonia Bompastor’s side be stopped? Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:49:29

S8, E10: David Gray, musician

The multi-platinum selling musician David Gray joins Grace this week on Comfort Eating. His breakthrough album White Ladder topped the charts worldwide and sold more than 3m copies in the UK, making it one of the best selling albums of the 21st century. Now with his 13th album, Dear Life, he joins Grace to look back at how music changed his life, the food that sustained a three-decade career and how he avoids playing the celebrity game.If you liked this episode then have a listen to Grace’s conversations with Rufus Wainwright, Guy Garvey and Self Esteem.New episodes of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent will be released every Tuesday Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:03

The Israeli settlers preparing to move to Gaza – podcast

While Palestinians are fleeing the war, one group of Israelis are planning for beachfront homes on the strip. Bethan McKernan and Ruth Michaelson reportFor weeks people living in northern Gaza, like Dr Mohammad Salha, have been sheltering from a renewed offensive by Israel. Israel has told civilians to leave, and food and humanitarian aid has stopped. Salha is the acting director of the al-Awda hospital – and has stayed behind to treat patients. He says there is only one surgeon left to do life-saving operations in the area, and food, medicines and electricity are vanishingly scarce. He has watched as thousands have fled, including his family. It is not clear when they will be allowed to return or if they ever will.Yet just over the border from Gaza, one group of far-right Israelis have a plan. Settlers from the Nachala organisation have held a conference in the closed military zone of the strip’s periphery to discuss moving into the Gaza Strip and taking over land there, to build their own homes. The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Bethan McKernan, was there and said so were members of the Knesset and cabinet ministers. And, she says, while plans to “re-settle” Gaza are at a speculative stage, the presence of politicians showi how the settler movement has grown in importance and power. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 03:00:08

‘Travesty of justice’: Cop29’s controversial deal – podcast

Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, about the controversial climate finance deal that brought Cop29 negotiations to a close in the early hours on Sunday morning in Baku, Azerbaijan. Developing countries asked rich countries to provide them with $1.3tn a year to help them decarbonise their economies and cope with the effects of the climate crisis. But the final deal set a pledge of just $300bn annually, with $1.3tn only a target. Damian tells Madeleine how negotiations unfolded, and what we can expect from next year’s conference in BrazilFind all the Guardian’s reporting on Cop29Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 19:03:13

How having babies became so political - video

The pronatalist movement in the US is gathering pace once again, rekindled by Silicon Valley personalities and hard-right conservatives who are becoming increasingly vocal about whether or not women are having enough babies. But it's not just in the US, some governments in other countries have launched marketing campaigns encouraging people to have more children, while others have offered financial incentives. But while many of these policies claim to be about halting population decline, there are other factors at play. Josh Toussaint-Strauss interrogates efforts around the world to boost birth rates, as well as the underlying political motivations, from bodily autonomy to immigrationBirthrates are plummeting worldwide. Can governments turn the tide?When desperate measures to persuade women to have children fail, it’s time for fresh thinking Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-21 12:33:44

John Prescott: former deputy PM and New Labour stalwart – video obituary

John Prescott, who has died at 86, served as deputy prime minister for more than a decade under Tony Blair, and was seen as a custodian of the Labour party’s traditional values in the face of a modernising leadership. Blair and Gordon Brown led tributes, with Blair telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was 'one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics' John Prescott, British former deputy prime minister, dies aged 86 Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-21 11:40:20

Mistrust, anger and suspicion of Bill Gates: voices from the UK farmers protest – video

Amid a protest in central London on Tuesday against changes to inheritance tax announced by Labour, the Guardian discovered a mistrust of politicians, fear over the future of UK farming and suspicion of Bill Gates Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-20 14:00:22

Atacms: what are the missiles Ukraine has fired into Russia for the first time?

American and Ukrainian officials have confirmed Kyiv employed US-made Atacms missiles to strike targets within Russia. The Kremlin stated that six missiles were launched at the town of Karachev, with fragments from one reportedly causing a significant explosion.In response, Russia has announced it is adjusting its nuclear doctrine. The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow would interpret any attack against it carried out by a non-nuclear state using weapons supplied by a nuclear state as a joint assault. But what exactly are Atacms, and why has their deployment unsettled Russia so deeply?Atacms: what are the missiles Ukraine has fired into Russia for first time?Russia-Ukraine war live Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-20 16:44:49

Sign up for the Fashion Statement newsletter: our free fashion email

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 ThursdayStyle, 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 ThursdayExplore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you Continue reading...

Published: 2022-09-20 11:06:20

Sign up for the Guardian Documentaries newsletter: our free short film email

Be the first to see our latest thought-provoking films, bringing you bold and original storytelling from around the worldDiscover 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...

Published: 2016-09-02 09:27:20

Guardian Traveller newsletter: Sign up for our free holidays email

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...

Published: 2022-10-12 14:21:58

Sign up for the Feast newsletter: our free Guardian food email

A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideasEach 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...

Published: 2019-07-09 08:19:21

Sensory art and grieving royals: photos of the day – Tuesday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 15:41:48

Pride and protest: a photographic history of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights

Images by Fred W McDarrah feature in a new exhibition that follows key moments of community and liberationThe Manhattan photographer Fred McDarrah came to prominence documenting the Beat movement that overtook Greenwich Village in the 1950s, capturing, among others, Jack Kerouac (who sat for a portrait in McDarrah’s apartment) and one of the earliest photos of a very young and unknown Bob Dylan. It was this portfolio that made his name at the Village Voice, where he would work for an astonishing 50 years, but toward the end of the 1960s McDarrah began to photograph an entirely new movement sweeping over the Village.In spring 1966 at Julius’s Bar, a short walk from the Stonewall Inn, four gay men – Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, John Timmons and Randy Wicker – engaged in what they termed a “sip-in” in order to challenge a law that made it a prosecutable offense for one man to buy another a drink. It was one of the first salvos in the incipient gay rights movement, and McDarrah was there to see it, perfectly capturing the decisive moment when a bartender – collaborating with the group – placed his hand over the drinks and stated that it was against the law to serve the men. The image is a perfect distillation of the encounter, a moment when customer and bartender are exchanging deep, meaningful looks that say so much more than words. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 09:04:05

‘Portal to space’: the place where astronauts take off and land – in pictures

Every three months in Kazakhstan, a trio of cosmonauts and astronauts head off to the International Space Station – then return in small capsules. What do the locals make of it? Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 07:00:03

Hungary’s most deprived people donate blood plasma to survive – photo essay

The UK-based Hungarian Roma documentary photographer Béla Váradi spent months photographing the lives of blood plasma donors after he realised several old friends saw payment for plasma donation as a way of getting byIn the rust belt of north-eastern Hungary, a new economy is thriving – one built on human blood. Private companies have found a way to profit from the desperation of the region’s most marginalised population, the Gypsies. For many, the act of donating blood plasma has become a lifeline, a grim means of survival in a landscape of chronic unemployment and deprivation.Miskolc, Hungary. One man prepares for plasma donation, while the other shows his bandaged arm Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 14:51:57

The big picture: earthbound reality at the International Space Station landing site in Kazakhstan

Andrew McConnell’s shot of a young scrap collector at the remote spot where astronauts return from space captures a curious juxtapositionThe photographer Andrew McConnell first went to Kazakhstan in 2015, to witness what the Earth’s primary space portal looked like on the ground. A particular corner of the remote steppe-land, near a village called Kenjebai-Samai, was where, every three months, astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station fell to earth, having been launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome 400 miles to the south. McConnell had spent much of the previous years working in war zones and was keen to focus on something more life-affirming.He discovered a curious landscape that was both on the frontier of human exploration and unchanged for centuries. Over a dozen visits in the subsequent years, McConnell became used to the rhythm of the landings. He would sleep out on the steppe in a tent with the ground crew of the Russian space agency; on hearing the explosion that heralded the capsule separating in the sky above, they would drive out over the wasteland to meet it as it landed – a vehicle no bigger than a family car.Some Worlds Have Two Suns by Andrew McConnell is published by Gost (£60) Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-24 07:00:04

A nostalgic photographic road trip across Australia – in pictures

When photographer Trent Mitchell was on the road looking for surf all over Australia he’d throw a couple of rolls of film in the bag and snap pictures here and there. He focused on scenes that reminded him of childhood road trips, ones he couldn’t get at home or had a surreal feeling to them.After collating the images into a fun zine-like exhibition catalogue, he realised there was a strong base to work from and the idea to publish a book was born.Maurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped banana artwork fetches US$5.2m at New York auction Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-23 23:00:06

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