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Luis de la Fuente is excited by his squad’s variety and says his 16-year-old forward was ‘touched by God’s wand’ Luis de la Fuente is losing sleep and it’s only getting worse, yet it isn’t panic, it is preparation. Spain have known for five days where and when they are going to play their last-16 tie – Cologneon Saturday night – but not who they are going to play against, only that it will be someone who finished third in Group A, D, E or F. By they time they find out, a week will have passed since they secured their passage. When they reached the dressing room in Düsseldorf after their final group game , 11 different teams could still be their next opponents; the reward for excellence is uncertainty. “If we’ve only slept two, three hours a night so far, we’re going to have to go a few with almost no sleep at all because we’ll have to study more opponents and be ready for anything until we know for sure,” Spain’s coach said. “It will be Wednesday night before we do but there’s no oth

Style, celebrity and sport combine for fashion’s unofficial Olympic launch – and a reinvention of a potent brand Paris has a lot going on right now. With one week to go before the first round of voting in elections that could radically redraw French politics, the country is a tinderbox. Pre-Olympic nerves are frayed; high water levels on the Seine after weeks of heavy rain have forced the postponement of a rehearsal for the ambitious opening ceremony, due to be conducted on barges sailing through the city. Football fans are on tenterhooks on the eve of a crucial Euro 2024 encounter with Poland. But Paris is never too busy for a fashion show. Especially one with supermodels Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner on horseback, Bad Bunny rapping, Sabrina Carpenter channelling Brigitte Bardot and Katy Perry in a leather harness, US actor Jeremy Pope dancing to Eartha Kitt, and iconic French ex-footballers Djibril Cissé, Blaise Matuidi and Emmanuel Petit taking a lap of honour under a photogenic m

The sport has not come to terms with his celebrity status. After the pitch invasion drama, Uefa must deal with it There was something disconcerting about the man being grabbed and jostled and hauled away by security guards on the concrete causeway below the executive boxes half an hour after full-time at BVB Stadion Dortmund on Saturday night. For one thing the man seemed unusually well groomed, brilliantly ear-ringed, dressed in full shiny Portugal tracksuit. He was also beaming relentlessly, shouting things such as “Big Love” and “Say Hi to Georgina”, doing the heart gesture with this hands even as three men in hi-vis jackets grabbed him by the elbows. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/k5SyoKx

Defeat could mean early elimination for Italy Croatia must win to have chance of progress The Italy centre-back Alessandro Bastoni has promised that they will cast fear to one side when they try to avert the embarrassment of an early exit from Euro 2024. A defeat against Croatia would almost certainly mean the reigning champions have to sweat on the shakedown of third-place finishers, with the chances high that more than four teams will finish on three points. They could even finish bottom of Group B if Albania simultaneously record an unlikely win against Spain, who outplayed Luciano Spalletti’s side on Thursday. It promises to be a knife-edge evening given only a win will do for their opponents and Bastoni believes a no-regrets approach will help banish any lingering disappointment. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/GaSTQqj

Senior Tories call for suspension of those being investigated and Labour demands to know names in gambling circle Rishi Sunak is facing a growing clamour to come clean about the betting scandal engulfing Westminster after a fifth figure was drawn into the row. Senior Conservatives were among those calling for candidates and officials to be suspended pending the result of investigations, while the prime minister was urged to get a grip on the drip-drip of revelations. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/7lOnBHD

Foden: ‘We expect more from ourselves’ Stones backs City teammate to produce against Slovenia Phil Foden has said that the intensity in training has gone up as England look to build their physical condition before facing Slovenia on Tuesday. Gareth Southgate raised concerns about the level of England’s pressing after their disappointing 1-1 draw with Denmark but Foden has been encouraged by the preparations for the team’s final match in Group C. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/VF93uLE

Coach calls for consistency after Germany controversy Both teams need to win final Group A match The Hungary head coach, Marco Rossi, has called for officials to be “consistent” during the Group A clash with Scotland, as the fallout from his team’s loss to Germany on Wednesday continues. Rossi remains adamant Hungary should have been awarded a free-kick in the lead-up to Germany’s opening goal in the tournament hosts’ 2-0 win. He was asked what he expected from Facundo Tello, the Argentinian referee, and referenced what he believes is the favouring of larger nations at the Euros. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/O4NUc1W

On a clammy, boisterous afternoon in Dortmund Portugal ensured they will now top Group F with a disarmingly low pulse rate 3-0 defeat of an outmatched Turkey. This was a statement victory for Portugal, not because of what they did, but because of what they didn’t have to. At times it felt a bit like watching a team of grown-ups strolling past the local primary school XI. The biggest obstacle Roberto Martínez’s team experienced here was an excessive number of spectators (five of them) running on to take stolen selfies with Cristiano Ronaldo. If Portugal were able to play in battery-saver mode it is tribute to the coherence of the-set up here, a 4-3-3 with strength in every position and a beautifully fluid sense of control in the centre. Many English pundits seem to be convinced England’s hand of talent is the envy of the world. Portugal have a stronger team man for man, a more natural balance, a Portuguese way of playing that everyone comes in understanding. Continue reading... from

This game was supposed to be the moment when Robert Lewandowski marked his arrival but an ultimately comprehensive defeat to Austria means Poland’s stay at this tournament is all but over. Marko Arnautovic capped victory from the penalty spot after Wojciech Szczesny upended Marcel Sabitzer, giving them hope of qualifying from Group D when they meet the Netherlands here on Tuesday. On the eve of this game Szczesny told how Lewandowski’s presence would spook these opponents, but arguably Poland’s greatest export did not appear on the pitch until the hour and his impact was minimal at best, 11 forgettable touches. A peculiar event, at least a lesser-spotted thing, happened with 24 minutes showing on the big screens on three sides of this stadium, the Marathon Gate at one end, once home to the Olympic flame, meaning a fourth is logistically tricky if not impossible. Austria led 1-0 and appeared in total control. Within seconds of kick-off Sabitzer earned a throw-in high down the left flan

“England, England, It’s Never Coming Home.” The chant from the Denmark support – to the tune of Yellow Submarine – had been heard outside the stadium in the hours before kick-off and it would reverberate around it during a highly stressful 90 minutes. On this evidence, it was the understatement of Euro 2024 so far. Gareth Southgate can highlight the point, which moved England closer to the job done territory of qualification for the last 16. It must be said there is precious little jeopardy around that. Who exactly does not advance? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/mDMzBqZ

With general election result appearing to be a foregone conclusion, some have suggested that people may not vote The devil may yet be in the detail, but the polls are clear about one thing: Labour is heading for a large, possibly very large, majority when results come in on 5 July. But what might this mean for turnout at the general election? Does a result that seems to be a foregone conclusion mean people might think their vote doesn’t matter? On a winter’s day in December 2019 turnout was 67%. Down a little on 2017, but substantially up on a low of 59.4% for the UK general election in 2001. With an allegedly uninspiring campaign, a clear signal of the winning party and high levels of voter distrust, some have suggested that a summer’s day in 2024 might not tempt voters to the polling station. Paula Surridge is professor of political sociology at the University of Bristol Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/JfZGeua

Denmark’s goalscorer Morten Hjulmand was the pick of the players as lacklustre England disappointed once again Kasper Schmeichel (GK) Beaten at close range by Kane when England took the lead. Fine save from Watkins. 6 Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/w46O7GJ

Grace Wales Bonner and Bianca Saunders both reference vintage, mid-century Caribbean style and visual sensibilities With her razor-sharp tailoring and highbrow references, Grace Wales Bonner is a high-fashion favourite. But her eponymous London-based label has now scored wider attention, thanks to her collaborations with Adidas. The recent Samba boom can be traced back to a silver version of the shoe she designed. And she was also responsible for the popular kits worn by Jamaica’s female footballers at the 2023 World Cup. Her show in Paris on Wednesday evening provided further examples of how she is able to please both connoisseurs and customers. Designs included a take on the classic mac, satin suiting, and knitwear subtly flecked with colour, worn with red swimming trunks. But there was also a tracksuit with shorts, and some new trainers – including a Superstar – that are bound to spark excitement online. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/NzdlcVh

Deschamps optimistic forward will feature in tournament Mbappé broke his nose in France’s first match Kylian Mbappé returned to France training on Wednesday – for the first time since breaking his nose in their Euro 2024 opener – but Didier Deschamps confirmed his captain will require surgery at some point, most likely after the tournament. France are sourcing a custom-made mask for Mbappé, who trained alone at their base in Paderborn before joining in a finishing drill with the rest of his teammates. Mbappé wore wound-closure strips across his nose and was limited to non-contact exercises. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/CmtNczG

Oh, what fun we had. What an occasion this was, what noise, what a night. Played in the middle of a biblical storm, water cascading off the roof of the Westfalenstadion, the Euros best night fit the weather somehow: a wild, wonderful, wide open match that had everything: 38 shots, three efforts that hit the woodwork and four goals. One was historic, Georges Mikautadze scoring Georgia’s first ever at a tournament; two were ridiculous, comic book belters from Arda Guler and Mert Muldur, and the other was scored with the last touch of an astonishing evening Kerem Akturkoglu running 70 yards and rolling the ball into an empty net. Right there, with the bench emptying and everyone heading after him, the place erupting yet again when you thought it could hardly erupt any more, Turkey had the victory and this game had the ending it deserved. Or one of them anyway. Just seconds before, Georgia had a 96th-minute chance to equalise – their third opportunity in added time – which would have been

BMA to lobby next government to change limit, which is one of the highest in Europe Doctors have called for England’s drink-driving limit to be reduced to the equivalent of a small glass of wine or beer, in a proposal supported by a number of medical and road safety organisations. England’s legal limit for getting safely behind the wheel is one of the highest in Europe at 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, a law established in 1967. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/sioTq0J

Labour leader says projected rise in number of children hit by policy is ‘powerful’ reason to ditch it but refuses to set timeline Keir Starmer has said he is “not immune” to the powerful argument for scrapping the two-child benefit cap, after experts said the number of children affected by it would rise by a third in the next five years. The Labour leader refused to set out a timeline for when he would scrap the policy, despite previously saying he would ditch it if he could. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/jUYiX0b

Hayward Gallery, London From a hut that plays music as if it’s history’s jukebox to a rocket fuelled with sugarcane, the Bahamian makes art freighted with history and peopled by the overlooked and flawed ‘You belong here,” reads the neon sign high on one of the Hayward Gallery’s exterior walls, in a curving handwritten script. But where are we and what does belonging mean? That’s what Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan asks in There Is Light Somewhere , which fills the building. Origins and arrivals, disappearances and sudden returns have a big part to play in Strachan’s art. Along the way, the artist has walked to the north pole, following Black polar explorer Matthew Henson, and taken a block of arctic ice back to the Bahamas. He has trained as an astronaut in Russia and blasted a sugarcane-fuelled rocket into the stratosphere, as part of a programme to interest young Bahamians in science and technology, and to further whatever dreams they have of escape. Referencing sports and regg

Piece by piece the gilt is flaking off what’s left of Belgium’s golden generation. An abundance of talent, sometimes functioning, sometimes not, but a team without cohesion or an abiding idea, they were picked off by an unheralded Slovakia side who had everything their lustrous opponents did not. But boy, a fair amount happened along the way. An unerring finish by Ivan Schranz after a defensive aberration was the decisive moment in the match and came after just six minutes. Just as notable were the moments of inaccuracy that piled up for Belgium and, in particular, on the broad shoulders of Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian No 9, wearing No 10, missed enough chances for two hat-tricks and had not one but two goals disallowed. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/S7YsZcK

Following in his father’s footsteps, Edward Iordanescu has helped the team emerge from a dark period with fresh hope A smile spreads across Anghel Iordanescu’s face as he considers his incorrigible bequest to Romanian football. “I go to Edi’s house for a glass of wine,” he says. “But he just wants to show me some analysis he has done. I tell him: ‘Be careful, you’ll get stuck in front of that computer!’” The 74-year-old is talking about Edward, his son, who has dragged the national team out of the mire and into Euro 2024 . Thirty years ago Anghel took them to the World Cup quarter-finals with an intoxicating attacking style that has remained an impossible benchmark ever since. Hagi, Dumitrescu, Raducioiu, Petrescu, Popescu: the memories are magical and perhaps, at last, a country whose football scene had descended into corruption and hopelessness is ready to forge some more. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/kIEBa3u

For the first time in 137 games, Spain did not complete as many passes as their opponents, and they could not be happier. The last time the majority of possession had not been theirs was the final of Euro 2008 when they beat Germany to begin the greatest generation in their history. This is another generation: this time, with no one left from Vienna and Lamine Yamal, the youngest footballer this competition has ever seen, on the wing, they defeated Croatia 3-0 to give them the hope that maybe they can go back there one day in the not too distant future. This was a new beginning, a new generation. And while it would be rule out another false dawn, it impressed. Fast, incisive, and effective, Spain opened the group of death with a flash of life, Alvaro Morata, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Carvajal scoring to rack up a 3-0 victory before the first half was even out and to reinforce suggestions that there might be a different direction they can take. Continue reading... from The Guardian https

Women’s prize for fiction winner tells story of a family caught up in conflict in her second novel, Brotherless Night Every couple of years VV Ganeshananthan would do a poll on Facebook asking people to nominate their saddest novel. The uncontested winner was Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance, about India during the turbulent 70s and 80s, a novel that Ganeshananthan loves. Now, with her second novel, Brotherless Night , which on Thursday night was awarded the Women’s prize for fiction , the American novelist has written a story to rival Mistry’s 1995 weepy. We are talking in her UK publisher’s office, in a room with a view of the US embassy. “I have to apologise for my nation for so many things,” she says with a resigned eye roll. The author, who trained as a journalist, teaches fiction and nonfiction at the University of Minnesota and also co-hosts the Lit Hub Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast , which was set up in 2017 after the election of Donald Trump to shine a light on current events

Disposal team attends after former defence minister Jeremy Quin was sent suspicious package A bomb squad had to be called in to a Conservative candidate’s constituency office after he said he received a suspicious package. Sir Jeremy Quin, a former defence minister and the Tory candidate for the Horsham constituency, received the package at his West Sussex office. Bomb disposal experts were called in to investigate after a decision by Sussex police. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/IaGM5No

Call for better trail signage and backing for walking clubs as concerns grow over tourists encountering searing heat With Greece gripped by unusually high temperatures, fears are growing that foreign visitors are not aware or being properly informed of the risks posed by overexertion in the searing heat. Over the past week, three search and rescue operations have been started for tourists who have gone missing during treks on far-flung islands, including one for the popular TV presenter Michael Mosley, who was found dead on the island of Symi . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/alwMeUz

Black bear apparently opened the vehicle by lifting door handle with its mouth, after breaking into same car last year After a string of vehicle break-ins in a north Canadian town, local residents have identified the culprit: a black bear with a taste for upholstery foam. Awoken by a noise near midnight on 11 June, Kayla Seward, who lives in the Ontario township of Larder Lake, went outside to investigate – and found the sleepy black bear locked inside her car. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/u4FVsir

Marlena Robbins believes psilocybin could help treat mental health and addiction issues among Native Americans Even though therapy helped Marlena Robbins better understand her intergenerational trauma, she wanted to delve deeper into her healing practice. In 2019, on the recommendation of her partner, Robbins sat at her home altar with a dose of psychedelic mushrooms. Drawing upon her Diné, or Navajo, heritage, she said a prayer and asked the mushrooms for guidance. The experience changed the trajectory of her life. “When I sit with [mushrooms], it’s like engaging with the holy people. I see them as doctors,” Robbins said. “They’re already writing the prescription. They’re already writing the treatment plan.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/whF91Hp

The paper’s reinvention, with the appointment of Will Lewis as publisher, is a mess – but there’s still time to turn things around Get Margaret Sullivan’s latest columns delivered straight to your inbox What’s the point of owning the Washington Post if it’s no longer the Washington Post? By that, I mean the iconic US newspaper whose storied reputation is based on holding powerful people and institutions accountable, all for the sake of democracy? The paper that broke the Watergate story, thus helping to unseat a corrupt president, and that, following the New York Times, riskily published the Pentagon Papers? When Jeff Bezos bought the Post in 2013, it was struggling financially, and its future was uncertain. The billionaire’s ownership not only restored the paper to profitability for several years, but allowed it to regain its prominence. While setting an ambitious tone for technical transformation, he properly kept his hands off the journalism, letting legendary editor Marty Baro

Exclusive: Siyabonga Twala can begin rebuilding his life after Home Office rescinds exclusion order that left him stuck in Turkey On a scrap of grass behind a red brick housing estate in Chester, Siyabonga Twala stops to get his breath back as his son Mason dribbles a football past him. “You’re too fast now,” he laughs, his chest heaving. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/AuMi3HV

No major surprises at launch, as Davey attempts to separate party from Labour and Tories in terms of policy costings The Liberal Democrats have become the first of the major parties to launch their full election manifesto , at an event in London. Here are the main things to know: Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/oF8dBCG

Fears of negative press outweighed by sadness and disbelief after TV presenter’s body was found five days after he went missing “Thank God we found him.” Seated in his black leather office chair, surrounded by icons, oil paintings, photographs, medals and models ships, Lefteris Papakaloudoukas, Symi’s longtime mayor, is clearly relieved. It’s 9am and almost 24 hours have elapsed since the body of the TV presenter Michael Mosley was found lying in a gulley of rocks and thistle only metres from the sea, beneath the perimeter fence of a beach bar. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/GXTp1b4

Spaniard wins 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in 4hr 19min Alcaraz the youngest man to win majors on all surfaces Much of the clay-court season this year has been a miserable ­experience for Carlos Alcaraz. He missed three of his four planned tournaments with a forearm injury and was ­hampered in the one event he did play. His fitness struggles raised ­further ­questions about whether his body can withstand the pressure his all‑action playing style imposes on it and he arrived at Roland ­Garros without much match practice or rhythm. It takes a special talent to enter a major tournament with such disjointed preparation yet still be able to overcome every obstacle and find a way through to the other side. During five messy but increasingly dramatic sets the Spaniard kept his head, and he recovered from an inexplicable third-set collapse to defeat Alexander Zverev 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 to win his first French Open title. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1Ywf9ki

Lawes marks last game before Brive move with title ‘I couldn’t believe we won it … we tried so hard to lose it’ The France-bound Courtney Lawes says his Northampton side deserved to be crowned English champions but admitted they had ridden their luck against 14-man Bath before clinching their first Premiership title for a decade. Lawes, who celebrated his final appearance for his hometown club by turning up bare-chested and wearing ski goggles to the post-match press conference, acknowledged Saints’ performance had left much to be desired after hoisting the trophy aloft alongside his teammate Lewis Ludlam. “I’m actually still livid from the game,” said Lawes, speaking to TNT Sports. “I don’t think we could have played worse. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/BeN9Wl5

Attack took place in central Copenhagen on Friday but it is unclear whether Frederiksen was injured A man has been arrested after attacking Denmark ’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen in central Copenhagen on Friday. It was unclear whether Frederiksen was injured by the attacker. The prime minister’s office said in a statement that Frederiksen was “shocked by the incident”, but did not provide further details. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/LDpMPtR

It was a long way from being the triumphant Euro 2024 send-off for Gareth Southgate and his England players at a sold-out and increasingly fretful Wembley. Never mind the result because it was not the main thing, however much it stirred memories of you-know-when against Iceland. It was the performance that raised the difficult questions, the worst one for quite some time and at exactly the wrong time. The home fans, thousands of whom made for the exits before the end, were forced to watch the second half – from about minute 55 onwards – through the gaps between their fingers. And it had not been great before that. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/4ndfQL0

Second TV outing manages to be simultaneously predictable, deadly dull and extremely bad-tempered Labour and Tories renew clashes in ill-tempered second election debate Not another one. We’ve only just recovered from the last election debate. A fairly tawdry head to head between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer in which all we learned was that the prime minister would tell any lie to try to stay in Downing Street. He’s even moved on to lying that he isn’t a liar. We’re now in Boris Johnson territory. But the debates come thick and fast and it’s now the BBC’s turn. This a seven-way debate between the leaders of the Green party, the Scottish National party, Plaid Cymru and Reform, along with the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat deputy leaders. It promised to be a 90-minute shouting match in which almost no one had the time to talk in anything but soundbites. And who would be watching anyway on a Friday night? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vC3yWUV

Will Lewis’s appointment of his ex-Telegraph lieutenant Robert Winnett sparks fears journalism will be diminished Below the archaic font of the Washington Post’s masthead, its motto is printed in italic flourish: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” The publication has been enveloped in its own black cloud this week, as a worsening crisis sparked fears among staff – and media commentators – about the new British senior executives at the heart of its operation. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/AEuRQx7

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INDIA alliance prevents Modi’s BJP from forming majority but analysts say keeping it united will be difficult In the months building up to India’s election, many pundits had already written obituaries for the country’s beleaguered political opposition. Over his decade in power, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government has stood accused of using the full might of the state against political opponents, with agencies harassing and jailing opposition leaders or intimidating them into switching sides en masse. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/MCnQcRg

Exit polls had projected overwhelming victory for the BJP and an even stronger mandate for India’s strongman India’s elections may return Narendra Modi to power for a third term , but Tuesday’s results did not have the flavour of victory for the strongman prime minister. Indeed, as the early counts of the votes began to roll in, it was clear this was going to be one of the most humbling moments for Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in over a decade. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ACakvjR

Gabriel Attal unexpectedly interrupted a radio debate in which Valérie Hayer was taking part France’s prime minister has been accused of deliberately seeking to eclipse the head of his party’s list in European elections when he unexpectedly appeared on a stage where she was taking part in a radio debate. The prime minister, Gabriel Attal, strolled into France Info’s radio debate with lead candidates amid an exchange between the anchor and the head of the ruling party’s list for the 9 June polls, Valérie Hayer. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vetNQG8

These are the moments he lives for – right at the centre of things, all stardust and no responsibility Alas, poor Dicky, I knew him well. Richard Tice and Nigel Farage had already given two press conferences in the previous week. Both times they had been given equal billing. Even though everyone but Dicky T knew who the real star was. On Monday all pretence had been pushed aside. Out came the op note. Nigel Farage was to make an “emergency election announcement”. Tice wasn’t even mentioned as an afterthought. Even though he was probably paying for the pleasure. Dicky was determined not to be left out, though. The man with no charisma or personal warmth relegated once more to Nige’s warm-up act. The man on the downward trajectory. Soon he will be relegated to doorman. I’m not sure if Tice even convinces himself. His patter is all third-rate Farage. The sort of thing you might get if you typed “write me a bad Nigel speech” into ChatGPT. Reform was “moving into eighth gear”, he said. Re

Deputy leader has voted against renewing Trident but says she supports ‘triple lock’ commitment to programme in near term Angela Rayner has said she has not changed her mind about nuclear weapons even though she supports Labour’s policy to keep and renew them. The deputy Labour leader voted against the renewal of Trident in 2016 but said on Monday that she supported Labour’s “triple lock” – a commitment to maintain the UK’s nuclear deterrent round the clock, build four new nuclear submarines, and carry out future upgrades. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ENCYmBM

Increase sharper than in any age group and is likely to be linked to soaring obesity levels, junk food and inactivity, say experts The number of people under 50 being diagnosed with cancer in the UK has risen 24% in two decades, a sharper increase than any other age group, according to figures experts say are likely linked to soaring obesity levels, cheap junk food and inactivity. Early onset incidence rates grew from 132.9 per 100,000 people in 1995 to 164.6 in 2019, analysis of data shows. About 35,000 under-50s are now developing cancer every year, almost 100 young women and men a day, the research reveals. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/qvbuUeD

A look back at the life of the rugby league star who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019 and has died aged 41 Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/U8ZK2BO

With a vote on the technology looming, it’s debatable that the search for accuracy is worth the sacrifice of spontaneity On Thursday, Premier League clubs will vote on Wolves’ proposal to scrap video assistant referees . The motion will almost certainly not achieve majority support, never mind secure the 14 votes out of 20 needed for it to pass. But what it may do is to shift the Overton window and lead to a serious review of VAR, an assessment of where it works and where it doesn’t. And that is something that is long overdue. Consultation is unfashionable in the modern world. Politicians of all stripes act too often in effect by fiat, and that is as true in football as anything else. VAR was imposed for the 2018 World Cup with minimal research or conversation and accepted almost everywhere without anybody really investigating the consequences. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3JLgGep

Campaign starts against Scotland with the Yorkshireman set to play an influential role in ensuring team hit all the right notes But for a slip on the golf course, a cruel twist of fate that led to a cruel twist of a left ankle and a pretty sickening compound fracture, Jonny Bairstow might well be a fifth member of the England squad with two white-ball World Cup winners medals. As it is, the Yorkshireman goes into this T20 World Cup defence still looking to add to the 50-over title he was so central to back in 2019. Slated to open in Australia two years ago, only for that incident on the tee to offer Alex Hales a route back in, Bairstow has now been repurposed as a firebrand No 4 after the peppy arrivals of Phil Salt and Will Jacks alongside Jos Buttler in the top three. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/hfT4o5j

After new feature tells people to eat rocks or add glue to pizza sauce, company to restrict which searches return summaries Google announced on Thursday that it would refine and retool its summaries of search results generated by artificial intelligence, posting a blog explaining why the feature was returning bizarre and inaccurate answers that included telling people to eat rocks or add glue to pizza sauce. The company will reduce the scope of searches that will return an AI-written summary. Google has added several restrictions on the types of searches that would generate AI Overview results, the company’s head of search, Liz Reid, said, as well as “limited the inclusion of satire and humor content”. The company is also taking action against what it described as a small number of AI Overviews that violate its content policies, which it said occurred in fewer than 1 in 7m unique search queries where the feature appeared. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/HBTsJ

Author of Anansi’s Gold, a nonfiction account of a notorious Ghanian conman ‘told with biting wit’, wins £1,000 award Yepoka Yeebo has won the 2024 Jhalak prize for her nonfiction book about a Ghanaian con artist. Anansi’s Gold is an “exhilarating journey” through the life and “almost unbelievable” adventures of John Ackah Blay-Miezah, “told with great panache and a biting wit,” said prize director Sunny Singh. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3dZucnP

I was shocked to learn of the brazenness of Israel’s intimidation effort. It is to the credit of the ICC prosecutors that it has failed I should not be surprised at the lawlessness of a government that bombs and starves Palestinian civilians in Gaza, but I was still shocked by the brazenness of Israel’s efforts to subvert the international criminal court’s investigation of its war crimes. As exposed by the Guardian along with Israeli media outlets +972 and Local Call, the Israeli government over the course of nine years “deployed its intelligence agencies to surveil, hack, pressure, smear and allegedly threaten senior ICC staff in an effort to derail the court’s inquiries”. The effort was brazen. Mysterious men visited the former chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, outside her private home and handed her an envelope of cash, which the ICC believed “was likely [Israel] signalling to the prosecutor that it knew where she lived,” the Guardian has reported . They allegedly threatened her

Rishi Sunak is so palpably convinced he can’t win he’s promising any old mad thing. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems are falling off kayaks People say manufacturing has declined under the Conservatives, but the sheer volume of outrage manufactured by Rishi Sunak’s national service wingnuttery at the weekend was last night compounded by his decision to unveil a quadruple lock to the state pension. Truly the seven-blade razor of advanced pensions technology. It’s so innovative it might even spin off and manufacture another deranged Loose Women segment . I am still howling at the moment on the show a couple of weeks ago when Janet Street-Porter demanded of Sunak: “Why do you hate pensioners? WHY DO YOU HATE PENSIONERS? That is the only conclusion I can come to.” State of the art lunacy, made end-to-end in the UK. Let’s face it: this is what you call a joined-up manufacturing industry. But look, for whatever reason, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves preferred to spend their afternoon at a facility

Few of us have the money to take a long pause from work or caring responsibilities. But, as I found, even a day can make a difference You might imagine that escaping from your everyday life would involve relocating to a Hebridean croft or attending a series of rejuvenating retreats. But, according to Emma Gannon’s new book project, A Year of Nothing, it could be as simple as staying at home. “I did nothing,” writes Gannon. “I stopped replying to emails. I used my savings. I slept. I borrowed a friend’s dog. I ate bananas in bed. I bought miniature plants. I read magazines. I lay down. I did nothing. It felt totally alien to me.” For Gannon, the sabbatical was enforced after she experienced burnout, caused by chronic exhaustion from occupational stress. “All the while, I was keeping diaries,” she says. “Writing down the ‘nothingness’ of my days. I journalled all the things I noticed, the stuff I usually ignored, the people I met, the kindness of strangers, the magical coincidences – t

This revealing memoir about the author’s 20 years in the City of Light identifies the complex codes of behaviour that newcomers are obliged to master In 1990 the Spanish writer Juan Goytisolo published a short essay called Paris, Capital of the 21st Century. By the end of the 20th century, he had decided that Paris was exhausted. The city of avant gardes, ideas, revolutions and class struggle, which had defined so much of European and world history, was now no more than a museum. As almost a lifelong Parisian and a lover of the place, Goytisolo desperately wanted Paris in the 21st century to retake its place as a great metropolis. But this could only happen, he argued, if Paris reinvented itself by “de-Europeanising” itself. By this, he meant it had to look towards the world beyond Europe, welcoming its sometimes dissident non-French, non-European voices to make itself a truly global city. Only in this way could Paris be brought back to life. More than 30 years on from that essay, Si

Dominant Pogacar wins by biggest margin since 1965 Tim Merlier outsprints Jonathan Milan to take final stage Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar emphatically won the Giro d’Italia on his debut when he retained his unassailable overall lead after the 21st and final stage in Rome on Sunday, winning by the biggest overall margin since 1965. The 25-year-old UAE Team Emirates rider had been in the leader’s pink jersey since winning stage two, the first of his six stage successes, and finished the ceremonial 125km flat run on Sunday safely in the bunch as Tim Merlier won the stage. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/jVsG3bO

Bilbao is used to being decorated in stripes, the flags of their beloved Athletic Club hang from every other window, but on Saturday the city found itself swamped in less familiar colours, Barcelona’s red and blue filling every bar and populating every square as travelling fans celebrated beating Lyon in a Champions League final at the third time of asking. It was their talismanic duo, playmaker Aitana Bonmatí and superstar Alexia Putellas, who delivered in front of 50,827 fans. Bonmatí’s effort taking a deflection off Vanessa Gilles to take it past Christiane Endler shortly after the hour mark, before Putellas added the second a minute after coming on deep into injury time. It was deserved, the French champions were unable to handle the guile of the world’s best passers of the ball. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Vsb9tAm

The world champion speaks on dealing with Red Bull’s internal strife, learning from mistakes and focusing on performance Max Verstappen takes a breath, gathering his thoughts, the usually ebullient and unpredictable driver for once appearing stilted. It is almost as if he is assessing the parameters of what he can and cannot say, knowing his words carry more scrutiny than ever this season. “The more I talk about it, the more people have to write,” he says, almost apologetically. “You write it down, you make a story out of it and people will pick up little things and it becomes a massive shit storm. You know what I mean? I tell you a story that might get translated to Spanish, Dutch, whatever. The more I say about it is not going to help the situation.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/L18RTbO

Ceiling of Medusa Beach Club on the seafront at Palma de Mallorca gave way, according to reports At least four people have been killed and 27 injured after a building collapsed on a beachfront in Mallorca, emergency services said on Thursday. The two-storey building, the Medusa Beach Club, collapsed in Palma de Mallorca, according to reports. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1AzYfcr

Last of state’s Indigenous tribes vote ‘in solidarity’ to bar Noem after she claimed tribal leaders benefit from drug cartels South Dakota’s far-right governor Kristi Noem is now officially barred by Indigenous groups from visiting all tribal lands in her own home state. The sweeping ban is the latest development in the contentious relationship between Noem and Indigenous tribes after controversial comments the governor made connecting tribal leaders to international drug cartels. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lCNUTAZ

Cannes film festival Gilles Lelouche’s new movie aims for a Springsteenesque blue-collar energy but buckles under the weight of its own naivety Gilles Lelouche’s new film is a giant operatic crime drama of star-crossed lovers and hurt feelings; it’s very French, but aiming for some blue-collar Springsteen energy. There are some good performances, and a very serviceable armed robbery scene. But Beating Hearts suffers from a lack of subtlety and bloat, with an increasingly insistent cry-bully sensitive-macho ethic, and a colossally inflated final section belatedly reassuring us of the film’s belief in the power and importance of love. In the end it is sentimental and naive, particularly about the legal consequences of beating your husband half to death in a phone box, however abusive he has been. And I had a strange taste in my mouth after a late scene in which the heroine, working on the checkout of a supermarket where her boyfriend is employed in the loading bay, coolly tells the obn

Ex-president recasts FBI’s standard policy statement limiting use of deadly force into claim Biden officials were ‘locked and loaded’ On social media and in a Tuesday fundraising email, Donald Trump raised an alarming concern. The Department of Justice, he said, was ready to kill him. The wild distortion came against the backdrop of Trump’s hush-money trial in New York and amid fears of rising political violence around the coming presidential election, predominantly from the far right. The comments cement an inverted picture Trump and his allies have painted, in which a patriotic Trump is pitted against anti-democratic deep-state foes. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/RmbU7p2

High temperatures in Mexico have been linked to dozens and perhaps hundreds of deaths of howler monkeys It’s so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are falling dead from the trees. At least 83 of the midsize primates, who are known for their roaring vocal calls, were found dead in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco. Others were rescued by residents, including five that were rushed to a local veterinarian who battled to save them. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/0PLondy

People infected as well as close relations of victims or those caring for victims will be eligible Victims of the infected blood scandal – seen as one of the worst treatment disasters in the history of the NHS – have raised concerns about the government’s pledged compensation scheme. There are worries that existing payments could be conflated as being part of the wider compensation scheme. An injury impact award, to recognise the physical and mental injury the infection has caused victims. A social impact award to acknowledge the stigma or social isolation. An autonomy award. A care award. A financial loss award. Hepatitis B or hepatitis C acute, defined as an infection shorter than six months. Hepatitis C or hepatitis B chronic, defined as infections longer than six months. Hepatitis C or bepatitis B cirrhosis, which left long-term liver damage. Hepatitis C or hepatitis B – decompensated cirrhosis HIV. Co-infection of HIV and hepatitis C or hepatitis B. Hepatitis C (acut

Former world No 1 is more confident and at ease with herself since her return to action in January after 15 months away Naomi Osaka is a worrier. There are times, she says, when she cannot stop her mind from working itself into overdrive as it fixates on her future. One of her concerns in recent years has been what lies ahead after tennis; she is not sure if she is good at many things beyond the brutal treatment she can dole out to a ball. Considering the common theme of much of the conversation so far had been Osaka’s growth and maturity, this disclosure naturally prompts a question about how she has managed to move past her tendency to overthink her future plans. She responds, laughing, without hesitation: “Who said I’m past that?” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5Rt3uSf

The US and others have criticised the chief prosecutor for seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. The ICC needs support The international criminal court was born more than two decades ago, largely from the genocides of Rwanda and Yugoslavia, and the contradictory impulses that they inspired: the grim recognition of the worst of human nature and the optimistic determination to address it. More than 120 countries ratified its founding treaty. But the world’s superpower – and other major players including Russia, China and India – refused. The result, almost inevitably, was that it became regarded – in the reported words of one elected official to the chief prosecutor, Karim Khan – as “built for Africa and thugs like Putin”. In fact, Vladimir Putin’s indictment a year ago, applauded by the US and others, was regarded as a gear change for a body that had overwhelmingly charged African leaders and officials . Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you wo

Which? readers have consigned the Lincolnshire town to the bottom of the list of beach resorts – despite its affordability, unspoilt coastline and clean water Name: Skegness. Age: Inhabited since the iron age. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/l1U7Vfk

Anfield said goodbye to a coach that has reinvigorated the club since 2015, even if his trophy haul is underwhelming There was a game of football at Anfield on Sunday, and Liverpool, despite missing countless chances, as they have done consistently over the past couple of months, won it 2-0. But nobody seemed to care too much; even Gary O’Neil was restrained in his reaction to the VAR upgrading Nelson Semedo’s yellow card to a red. It was only last week that Wolves called for the review system to be abolished : if you come at the VAR you’d best not miss. But beneath a sky of perfect unbroken blue, this was not a day on which the game or the league table mattered; this was a day for saying goodbye, and saying thank you. “Danke Jürgen,” as the tifo running round two sides of the ground read, culminating with a heart on the Kop in the colours of the Germany flag. Liverpool knew that, whatever happened, they would finish third. That’s three places higher and, as it turned out, 20 points

Ukrainian makes convincing case as greatest of all time after rocking the Gypsy King to unify the heavyweight division In the final shake-up it was those 30 seconds at the end of the ninth round that determined Oleksandr Usyk would finish the night holding all four heavyweight belts, the first man to do so this century; and in the process complete an ascent to the most rarefied all-time champion air. This was a wonderful heavyweight fight, 12 rounds of craft , heart and in Tyson Fury’s case, bloody-minded will to keep throwing punches from the edge of unconsciousness. If that half a minute was pivotal, a knockdown that ultimately shaped the judges’ cards , it also captured the wider patterns of a fight during which Usyk worked away at Fury like a man chopping down a tree with a forged steel hatchet. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Hpu9yQf

Zverev will be among French Open favourites amid stellar form Raducanu switches focus to upcoming grass-court season Alexander Zverev defeated Nicolas Jarry in Rome to win his second Italian Open title. The German first lifted the trophy in the Italian capital back in 2017 and repeated that thanks to a 6-4, 7-5 victory over unexpected finalist Jarry. The Chilean dug deep to try to force a decider, saving three match points, but Zverev – who lost only five points on serve all afternoon – finally forced a decisive error, sinking to the clay in delight. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1LlMWx9

And so, the fabled Oxfordshire adage rings true again. Yes, revenge truly is a main course best dished up in the Wembley sunshine, in front of a 30,000-strong yellow wall, and with a Championship spot to contest. Well, at least that could have been Des Buckingham’s message to Oxford’s players as they wandered out to face a team who had, less than 10 weeks prior, swatted them aside by five goals. Because what followed cackled in the face of Bolton’s “clear favourites” tag. Josh Murphy sparkled, scoring twice in the first half, and Oxford were promoted. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/B8IvWYw

World champion equals Senna record of eight straight poles Oscar Piastri demoted to fifth so Lando Norris second on grid Max Verstappen had to pull off a comeback he believed was the best he had managed for more than five years to claim pole position for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, delivering a suitably superb lap under immense pressure that raised him to stand alongside Ayrton Senna with a record eighth consecutive pole. In the year of the 30th anniversary of Senna’s death at Imola, Verstappen had to dig deep to deliver, after a torrid weekend during which he and Red Bull have struggled with the car’s grip and balance. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Z5wo3v0

Swiatek beats Belarusian 6-2, 6-3 in Rome Pole is third woman to win in Madrid and Italy in same year World No 1 Iga Swiatek brushed aside the No 2 Aryna Sabalenka to win the Italian Open in Rome. The 22-year-old Pole needed just one hour and 29 minutes to ease to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over her Belarusian opponent on the clay to claim the crown for the third time in four years. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ZgJu1rh

Yonaguni is a tourist hotspot – but its location just 100km from Taiwan means residents must wrestle with the creeping militarisation of their home In the minds of many Japanese people, Yonaguni is a sleepy paradise of crystal-clear sea and pristine beaches, where miniature horses graze on clifftops and empty roads dissect fields of sugar cane; where tourists dive with hammerhead sharks and marvel at the Ayamihabiru – the world’s largest Atlas moth. But this tiny island, located far closer to Taipei than Tokyo, now finds itself at the centre of regional tensions triggered by a new round of Chinese aggression towards Taiwan . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/MPorITH

Hotel surveillance cameras at InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles captured incident Combs had vehemently denied A newly released video shows Sean “Diddy” Combs manhandling and kicking singer Cassie Ventura – his former girlfriend – in plain view of hotel surveillance cameras in 2016, before the rapper, music producer and businessman rapidly settled a lawsuit that she brought against him this past November, according to footage exclusively obtained by CNN . The video in question illustrates in the most graphic nature possible one of the beatings alleged and described in Ventura’s lawsuit , which Combs had vehemently denied. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Ba92CTt

DePape, a rightwing conspiracy theorist, broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home in 2022 and hit Paul Pelosi with a hammer David DePape, a rightwing conspiracy theorist who broke into Nancy Pelosi’s northern California home in 2022 and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. A federal jury convicted him of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official in November 2023 , just over a year after the attack in the former House speaker’s San Francisco home. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/YrEtPeh

Firm asked to back up claims about Fiona Harvey after executive’s appearance before select committee An MP has asked Netflix to provide evidence that the woman who inspired the character Martha Scott in Baby Reindeer is a “convicted stalker”, claiming that a record of her conviction has not yet been found. Netflix’s director of public policy, Benjamin King, told the culture media and sport committee on 8 May that the show was “the true story of the horrific abuse that the writer and protagonist, Richard Gadd, suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/sSUg2yt

The Treasury has been quietly selling off the government’s stake at ever-higher prices on a rising market. Why mess with that? The government’s plan to sell shares in NatWest to the general public is so advanced that the odds on the chancellor pulling the plug on a pet project are slim. Investment bankers from Barclays and Goldman Sachs are doing their well-remunerated stuff, and M&C Saatchi is knocking up some adverts. The go-ahead for a rah-rah pre-election retail share offer is expected any week now. In a rational world, though, Jeremy Hunt would call the whole thing off. He already has a tried-and-tested method for disposing of the state’s NatWest shares and – this is the point – it is working splendidly. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/DqOr9Rm

Suppressed DWP study told of hardship endured by carers forced to repay thousands after minor allowance breaches Ministers were warned three years ago that unpaid carers were being treated unfairly and forced to repay huge sums for minor benefit breaches, a long suppressed government report has revealed. A Department for Work and Pensions document presented to politicians in 2021 detailed how carers – the majority of whom were on low incomes and spending 65 hours a week caring for loved ones – endured financial hardship, stress and anger after being heavily penalised for falling foul of strict carer’s allowance eligibility rules. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/75vBsSI

But coroner finds no evidence to suggest trust directly caused death of Maya Siek in December 2022 An inquest into the death of a six-year-old girl has concluded an NHS hospital trust made a number of failures in her care before she died. However, a coroner found there was no evidence that suggested the trust had directly caused or contributed to the death of Maya Siek in December 2022. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Oe83SZf

Cannes film festival Taylor-Joy makes a fantastic action heroine, facing down a hilariously evil Chris Hemsworth in signature high-speed fights ‘My childhood! My mother! I want them back!” With this howl of anguish, young Furiosa, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, sets the tone of vengeful rage that runs through George Miller’s immersive, spectacular prequel to his Mad Max reboot from 2015 . Once again, there are the crazily colossal and weird convoy-action sequences which fuse the notion of “chase” and “violent combat” into a series of delirious high-velocity contests between motorbikes, 18-wheelers and armed parascenders all attacking and shooting at each other while fanatically zooming in the same direction. The vehicles themselves are what makes the Mad Max movies so very strange. Many films are called “surreal”, but these strange, ritualistic gladiator-vehicle displays in the reddish-brown emptiness really do look like something by Giorgio de Chirico or Max Ernst . Furiosa is the ori

Researchers also find lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in schools and say portion sizes sometimes not enough Free school meal allowances are not enough for students from lower-income backgrounds to buy healthy school lunches, research suggests. The study, presented at the European Congress of Obesity (ECO), involved 42 pupils aged between 11 and 15 at seven schools across the UK. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/xBKLlG6

The prime minister as a stork: would you trust him with your infant? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/gA8k0pD

Writer known as ‘Canadian Chekhov’ captured the desire and darkness of ordinary life in rural Canada, particularly for women Alice Munro, Nobel winner and titan of the short story, dies aged 92 Alice Munro, the 2013 Nobel laureate considered one of the greatest short story writers in the English language, has died at the age of 92 at her care home in Ontario, after suffering dementia for more than a decade. Born and raised in south-western Ontario, the “Canadian Chekhov” captured the desire and darkness of ordinary life in rural Canada, particularly for women – subjects long out of focus for the mainstream, finally achieving recognition later in life. A housewife and mother of four children, one of whom died in infancy, Munro would sneak in writing around naps and housework, publishing her first collection of short stories, Dance of the Happy Shades, in 1968, at age 37. Lives of Girls and Women, her only novel – really a collection of interlinked stories, as she called it – follo

Significant advances by Vladimir Putin’s forces in the Kharkiv region must concentrate minds in the west at a critical moment Antony Blinken’s unannounced visit to Kyiv on Tuesday was a welcome and timely show of support. It was the US secretary of state’s first trip to Ukraine since America belatedly signed off on a $61bn aid package last month, allowing a desperately needed supply of new arms to finally flow to troops in the east. As Mr Blinken met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the capital, events continued to underline how urgently such assistance – and much more of the same – is required. The ultimate scope of Russia’s significant offensive in the Kharkiv region is yet to become clear. In part it may be intended to create a buffer zone, protecting Russian territory close to the north-east border. But as thousands of residents are once more displaced, and the prospect looms of a huge artillery assault on the city of Kharkiv, the incursions are also diverting threadbare Ukrai

The most harrowing experiences of women in labour come under eight common themes in the MPs’ report Women suffering ‘harrowing’ births as hospitals hide failures, says MPs’ report A parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in the UK received more than 1,300 written submissions. The stories shared were harrowing. In many cases, the trauma experienced by women was caused by blunders before, during and after labour. Failures were often covered up by hospitals seeking to frustrate efforts by families to find answers, according to a review of the evidence by the Guardian. There were also many stories about a lack of compassion. Women were often ignored when they felt something was wrong, and were mocked, shouted at or denied basic needs such as pain relief. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/wepMOGg

With many NHS maternity services struggling and a shortage of midwives, MPs’ plan for overhaul is ambitious That the findings of the UK’s first inquiry into birth trauma are far from surprising does not diminish the fact that they are shocking, devastating and difficult – indeed distressing – to read. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for birth trauma’s 80-page report should give ministers, NHS bosses and the midwives and obstetricians who deliver care serious pause for thought. It highlights how “mistakes and failures” by maternity staff lead to stillbirths, premature births, babies being born with cerebral palsy because they were starved of oxygen at birth, and also “life-changing injuries to women as the result of severe tearing”. How some mothers were mocked, shouted at, denied pain relief, not told what was going on during their labour, left alone in blood-stained sheets, with desperate bell calls for help going unanswered – all examples of “care that lacked compassion”.

Glamorgan beat early Division Two pacesetters Sussex inside three days in Cardiff What a start to the season Daniel Bell-Drummond is having – after a disappointing 2023 (an unbeaten 300 against Northants notwithstanding!) – with two hundreds and two seventies under his belt already, and 67 not out against Worcestershire. His fellow batter Leaning has just reached his first fifty of the season at Canterbury , Kent 131-2. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/QuCGN2E

The television cut-aways to the ­enclosure housing the Arsenal ­supporters perfectly captured the anxiety. It was not supposed to be like this, not against this ­Manchester United. But the lesser spotted a­cceptable version of Erik ten Hag’s team was on show, fighting for the badge, and Arsenal were made to suffer. Leandro Trossard scored their goal midway through the first half after a United defensive malfunction – of course it was – but the advantage was slender and everyone knew, least of all Mikel Arteta, that it could take only one moment to rub out. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/BUcS7Tg

The second series of Things Fell Apart, the writer and broadcaster’s podcast series exploring conspiracy theories and the culture wars, topped the charts earlier this year. He explains why journalistic values such as evidence and fairness are needed more than ever Just turned 57, Jon Ronson has had a number of successes in his multi-platform career, with books such as 2011’s The Psychopath Test and documentaries such as Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes . But perhaps none of his works has resonated quite so powerfully with audiences as the podcast Things Fell Apart – in particular the second series released by the BBC in January. Later this month he is due to discuss the show as a star guest at Sheffield’s podcast festival. Like the first series, it traces the origins of a number of conflagrations in the so-called culture wars, but it ingeniously sews together these disparate events and disagreements, tying them all to the early days of lockdown, so that listeners don’t so much hear about,