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Showing posts from December, 2024

Man and woman in their 70s found dead at Dorset property

Detectives launch inquiry into incident reported at 11.35am on Tuesday, at address in Poole, Dorset A man and woman in their 70s have been found dead at an address in a seaside town, police said. Detectives have launched an investigation into the incident which happened at a property in Anthony’s Avenue, Poole, Dorset, and was reported at 11.35am on Tuesday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/b8dOLga

Woman fatally set on fire in New York subway car identified

It took nine days to identify Debrina Kawam, 61, of Toms River, New Jersey, after she burned to death in Brooklyn The woman who was set on fire in a subway car in New York on 22 December, horrifying New Yorkers and renewing a debate over city safety, has been identified as 61-year-old Debrina Kawam, of Toms River, New Jersey. The victim’s identity, released by the New York police department, came nine days after the fatal incident. Investigators had previously said they were using forensics and video surveillance to identify the victim. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/B3EGV79

Jimmy Carter to lie in state in US Capitol as tributes to ‘a statesman and a humanitarian’ pour in – latest updates

Jimmy Carter’s Washington DC funeral to take place on 9 January Jimmy Carter, longest-lived US president, dies aged 100 Writing in the New York Times, the administrator of the US agency for international development (USAid) Samantha Power , says of Jimmy Carter’s legacy : The former president’s regard for human rights was an outgrowth of his Christian faith — a faith so animating that he continued to teach Sunday school while president. Carter’s embrace of international human rights also grew out of his commitment to civil rights at home. His human rights message had broad appeal in the wake of Watergate and Vietnam, with Americans and many in Congress clamoring for ethics and decency from their leaders. Upon the death of former US president Jimmy Carter, the Norwegian Nobel Committee would like to repeat its praise for his “decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social ...

David Beckham earns £28m in dividends from personal brand empire

Former footballer’s commercial tie-ups with Stella Artois and Boss offset losses at TV production studio David Beckham has earned £28m in dividends from his personal brand empire, as new commercial tie-ups with brands such as Stella Artois and Boss helped offset losses at his TV production studio. The former England captain sold a 55% stake in his businesses in 2022 to Authentic Brands for £200m. The US firm owns rights to the images of Muhammad Ali and Elvis Presley, as well as labels such as Reebok and Hunter, which makes wellies. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/BC2G9s1

Pep Guardiola says City win at Leicester will ‘clear our minds and souls’

Savinho and Haaland on target in champions’ 2-0 victory ‘We will improve as the results improve, that’s for sure’ Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City’s return to winning ways will “clear our minds and souls” as he insisted the Premier League champions will get back to their best after a welcome 2-0 victory at Leicester . Guardiola expressed his relief after City halted their miserable run of results by recording their first win in six matches and only their second in 14 in all competitions. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/dWq496n

Salah stars as Liverpool rout West Ham to move leaders eight points clear

With 54 minutes gone at the London Stadium Trent Alexander-Arnold took a pass from Ryan Gravenberch with time to wait and look up, the lack of pressure from the West Ham players almost a public snub, before spanking a deflected shot past Alphonse Areola to make it 4-0 to Liverpool and kill off once again a game that was already long since dead. In the process Alexander-Arnold did at least provide a moment of cartoon drama, performing a slightly embarrassed silencing-the-chatter celebration, one hand raised to his ear. Perhaps this was a reference to stories overnight about a move to Real Madrid, something parts of the Spanish media have suggested is all but formalised. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/jBlsz84

Consciously uncoupling: what drives the rates of animal divorce?

Social monogamy has been observed in less than 10% of mammal species – and birds have been shown to be less faithful than previously believed In 2011, a shock celebrity break-up garnered headlines around the world – not the separation of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, nor Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, but the sudden, inexplicable rupture between Bibi and Poldi, two 115-year-old Galápagos tortoises at Happ reptile zoo in Austria. After nearly a century as a couple, the female, Bibi, had had enough: one day, she bit a chunk off Poldi’s shell, drawing blood, and continued to attack him until zoo staff moved him to a separate enclosure. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/gFJ0zXl

Allanah lost her son when she was 22 weeks pregnant. Now she’s helping others though the grief of stillbirth

Australia has protocols for stillbirths and neonatal deaths, but the quality of care varies widely across the country Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter The birth of Allanah Crameri and Braydon Newell’s son Lenny in September 2022 should have been filled with joy. But at just under 22 weeks, pregnancy complications led to a preterm labour and Lenny was born too early to survive. “I felt everything from sadness, despair, anger and shock,” Crameri says. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/qeI0R6U

Cyprien Sarrazin in intensive care after downhill crash on 2026 Olympic slope

Sarrazin, 30, set for surgery after head injury in crash French standout crashed during World Cup training French standout Cyprien Sarrazin was in intensive care with a head injury after a crash during training for a World Cup downhill race on Friday on the slope set to be used for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Sarrazin was one of two skiers airlifted to a hospital after crashing and the French ski federation said he was conscious but diagnosed with a subdural hematoma — bleeding near the brain. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/uTtWrbm

Arsenal v Ipswich: Premier League – live

Live updates from the 8.15 kick-off Arteta backs Martinelli to thrive in ‘bigger role’ Why not email Scott with your thoughts Arsenal make two changes to their starting XI after the 5-1 win at Palace. Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard are in; Thomas Partey drops to the bench while Bukayo Saka is hamstrung. Ipswich make five changes after their 4-0 home loss to Newcastle. Liam Delap, Kalvin Phillips, Ben Johnson, Luke Woolfenden and Jacob Greaves take the places of Harry Clarke, Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin, who are benched, and Cameron Burgess and captain Sam Morsy, who miss out altogether. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/bUKSE5J

Scottish roundup: Celtic thrash Motherwell as Aberdeen collapse again

Runaway leaders Celtic stroll to 4-0 victory Aberdeen lose 4-0 at Kilmarnock as slump goes on Celtic eased to a comfortable 4-0 win over Motherwell after getting a penalty breakthrough in first-half stoppage-time. Arne Engels opened the scoring after a tight first half as Aston Oxborough, the Motherwell goalkeeper, was penalised for a collision with Yang Hyun-jun. Daizen Maeda doubled the lead before the substitutes Nicolas Kühn and Reo Hatate netted to give Stuart Kettlewell, the visiting manager, a first taste of defeat in four visits to Celtic Park. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/58lYRgp

The Guardian view on the House of Lords: ministers risk a hollow reform with a partisan approach | Editorial

Over the holidays, this column will explore next year’s urgent issues. Today, why it is easier to be a constitutional reformer in opposition than in office Next year, the remaining hereditary members of the House of Lords will finally lose their right to sit in the upper house . When that happens, a democratic milestone in British parliamentary history will unquestionably have been reached. But a milestone along a road to what eventual constitutional destination? We do not know the answer to that, because the government will not say. The government itself may not be sure. As on many other issues, Labour’s true direction of travel on House of Lords reform remains obscure. One thing, however, can already be said. Last week, Downing Street published a list of 38 new life peers. It was one of the longest such lists of the modern era. It contained 30 new Labour peers , six Conservatives and two Liberal Democrats. Many were former MPs. The overall aim, as the nominations made extremely cl...

Ex-drug lord Fabio Ochoa walks free in Colombia after 20 years in US prisons

Victims of Medellín cartel demand justice as some express dismay former mob boss faces no charges in Colombia The return of former drug trafficker Fabio Ochoa to Colombia following his deportation from the United States has reopened old wounds among victims of the Medellín cartel, with some expressing dismay at the Colombian authorities’ decision to let Ochoa walk free. Some of the cartel victims said they are hoping the former drug lord will at least cooperate with ongoing efforts by human rights groups to investigate one of the most violent periods of Colombia’s history and demanded that Colombian prosecutors also take Ochoa in for questioning. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/o4GN3FZ

The Guardian view on homelessness: a health crisis as well as a housing one | Editorial

The numbers trapped in temporary accommodation and sleeping rough have risen again. More homes for social rent are desperately needed Shocking homelessness figures, showing that primary‑school children are the worst-affected age group in England, are a reminder of how gravely Conservative housing policies failed – and how desperately change is needed. In London, which has the highest homelessness rate , one in 24 pupils are in temporary accommodation – at least one in every classroom and more in poorer boroughs. Rough sleeping has also risen, bringing increased risks during cold winter nights. The recent increase in funding for councils, to help them fulfil their homelessness prevention duties, was welcomed by campaigners. But with charity budgets squeezed harder than ever , and with a national insurance rise for employers on the way, there is a real danger that housing problems for the most vulnerable members of society could get worse rather than better. Continue reading... fr...

European football: Mbappé on target as Real Madrid climb up to second in La Liga

French striker scores and assists in 4-2 win over Sevilla Dybala scores twice in Roma’s 5-0 win against Parma Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé netted the opener and set up another goal as the hosts beat mid-table Sevilla 4-2 on Sunday to move up to second place in La Liga and close the gap on Atlético Madrid to one point going into the winter break. Mbappé scored with a thunderbolt from outside the box in the 10th minute before Federico Valverde put reigning champions Real two goals ahead from long-range 10 minutes later. Rodrygo fired home the third in the 34th from a cross by Lucas Vazquez. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/E4P02Zw

I’m one of millions working in retail. This Christmas, don’t ask how we are – or we may tell you | Andrew Herrick

So far today I have dealt with 200 customers. I have smiled 200 times, but that’s getting harder. Consider me a checkout robot Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast You decided to do it differently this year. You usually buy online, with high-minded principle, from a company owned by the least-loathsome billionaire you can find. Instead, this Christmas you gritted your teeth and drove in a hot car to a local business where you (finally) found a park. Then you steadfastly hunted down the gifts that your family members simply must have, worked your way up the cattle race to the counter, upon which you triumphantly spread your purchases. With luck you’ll be out of here and home before the roads get too busy. That man behind the counter doesn’t look happy; who cares: as long as he’s efficient. That’d be me. I’ve been standing in one spot for the last six hours (OK, one toilet break) and have another three to go. I’ve worked in retail for 14 years, and so far to...

Appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to US divides Labour MPs

Ministers hail peer as a heavyweight but others question the selection of a previously outspoken critic of party policy Peter Mandelson has been formally unveiled as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, with a series of ministers hailing him as a political heavyweight who will be a reliable conduit into a potentially chaotic second Donald Trump administration. Some Labour MPs were, however, less enthusiastic, questioning why Keir Starmer would reward and trust a figure who had previously weighed in with outspoken criticism of the party’s policies and personalities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/S75XCvJ

Reeves says economic turnaround will take time and Farage ‘hasn’t got a clue’

Chancellor pledges renewed focus on growth after Bank of England warning that Britain is on brink of stagnation Rachel Reeves insists she won’t “gaslight” working people over her plans to turn round the economy as she launched a scathing attack on Reform’s offer to voters, saying Nigel Farage “hasn’t got a clue”. With many people still struggling with the cost of living, the chancellor defended her approach, which has so far focused on economic stability, arguing that it was impossible to turn round years of poor performance under the Tories in just six months. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/gzauRFS

Met police officer who slapped boy, 16, in face found guilty of assault

PC Sevda Gonen hit the boy in the back of a police van as he was being transported to hospital in London A police officer who slapped a 16-year-old boy with mental health difficulties “multiple times in the face” as he was being transported to a hospital in London has been found guilty of assault. Judge Briony Clarke found Metropolitan police PC Sevda Gonen of assault for striking the boy “multiple times in the face with an open palm” after “she allowed her frustrations to get the better of her” on 13 November 2023, according to the prosecution. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vBzHFdS

Countdown crowns first female champion in 26 years

Fiona Wood solves final conundrum to clinch victory and encourages other women to ‘give it a go’ A forensic accountant has become the first female Countdown champion in 26 years. Fiona Wood prevailed in the series final on Friday after correctly identifying the conundrum word as “lassitude”, meaning a state of physical or mental weariness. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/jXGmDOi

Gisèle Pelicot has allowed us all to shout out loud: she did it, and we can do it. Gisèle Pelicot is us | Judith Godrèche

The denial of Gisèle’s humanity by her rapists is the denial of violence done to every woman. At her side, we can now look the world in the eye I am looking at a colour photo of a woman with auburn hair entering the courthouse in Avignon. Around her, the impassive faces of her lawyers. This woman is about to hear a verdict. How much will he get? How much time in prison will be given to the man who drugged her senseless and remorselessly raped her? Judith Godrèche is a French actor, writer and film director Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/LlpzKBx

The Guardian view on Elon Musk and UK politics: interference in plain sight | Editorial

American tech billionaires are no more entitled to meddle in British democracy than other foreign oligarchs Under most circumstances, a British politician seeking cash from a foreign oligarch would make the approach discreetly. Recipient and donor would worry about the relationship looking improper even if the deal could be done without breaching UK electoral law. Nigel Farage has no such qualms. The Reform leader has boasted of his recent meeting with Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Nick Candy, a former Conservative donor and now the Reform party’s treasurer, was also present. Photographs and statements from the British visitors testify to their eagerness that the meeting – and the fact that money was discussed – attract maximum publicity. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Khazc8T

The Guardian view on a Moscow assassination: Ukraine’s justified strike and Russia’s baseless outrage | Editorial

Kyiv’s targeted killings expose the reach of its intelligence services, challenging the Kremlin’s war machine while sticking to the laws of war Russia’s leadership is furious that one of their top commanders has been assassinated by Ukrainian spies. Yet their anger seems misplaced: the targeted killing of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov was not an unprovoked act, but a consequence of Russia’s ongoing offensive and Ukraine’s right to defend itself under international law. The explosion that shook a quiet Moscow neighbourhood – eliminating the head of the Russian military’s chemical, biological and radiological weapons unit, known as RKhBZ – also revealed the unexpectedly formidable capabilities of Ukraine’s secret service (SBU). The general and his assistant are the most senior figures assassinated since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The pair were killed when a bomb, concealed in a parked scooter outside a Moscow residential building, was remotely detonated. Continue reading... from The Guardian...

Labour’s gamble with Royal Mail may go horribly wrong | Nils Pratley

Past talk of renationalisation gives way to approval of takeover in which price of first-class stamp could be set from Prague Royal Mail takeover by billionaire Daniel Křetínský approved Who is Daniel Křetínský, the new boss of Royal Mail? Two general elections ago, Labour was promising to renationalise Royal Mail. Now, in office, it is happy to see the ancient institution fall to a leveraged takeover bid from a private equity-style company that will have the power to set the price of a first-class stamp from Prague. The decision is an outright gamble. Many European countries have privatised their postal services but there is a good reason why none have allowed ownership to pass overseas. Even in a digital age, businesses such as Royal Mail provide critical national infrastructure that has a social value on top. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MQrhO4

Celtic beat Rangers on penalties in League Cup final after six-goal thriller

Six goals, 10 yellow cards, extra time and a penalty shootout that was won by the narrowest of margins. It will be of no consolation whatsoever to Rangers that they played their part in a Hampden Park epic. The scale of Celtic celebration as they reclaimed the League Cup gave a tacit admission of how hard they had to work to get there. Ridvan Yilmaz proved the Rangers fall guy. Rangers’ Turkish full-back missed the only one of 10 spot kicks, Kasper Schmeichel saving low to his left. Celtic thereby took delivery of the one domestic trophy to elude them last season . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lPjR0LM

‘Their bodies had turned to black’: Syrian chlorine victims can finally speak out

A chemical attack on the town of Douma killed 43 people in 2018. Now Assad has fallen, the enforced silence of those who witnessed it is over For years, residents of Ghouta, an embattled opposition-held region on the outskirts of Damascus, grew used to death loudly announcing its presence. When Syrian and Russian jets or helicopter gunships roared overhead, bombs were never far behind. But the night of 7 April 2018 was different. According to an extensive investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), two yellow cylinders were dropped from a Syrian air force helicopter, crashing through the top floor of one apartment building and landing on a balcony of another, in the eastern Ghouta town of Douma. The noise they made was negligible compared with the explosions of barrel bombs and airstrikes. But the concentrated green-yellow chlorine gas that hissed out of the canisters was no less deadly. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ae...

Championship rugby union match abandoned after referee is struck by ball

Ampthill v Hartpury called off after clearance hits official Thomas was taken off on a stretcher following incident The RFU Championship rugby union match between Ampthill and Hartpury was abandoned on Saturday after the referee, Alex Thomas, was struck by the ball. Thomas, who has officiated games in the men’s and women’s Premiership, was hit by a clearing kick from Hartpury’s Harry Bazalgette in the 28th minute of the game in Bedfordshire. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ZVTMRLa

What are the flying objects spotted in New Jersey?

Residents in several counties of the state have reported sighting drones, sometimes over military facilities Since about mid-November, hundreds of New Jersey residents have been calling law enforcement and state officials after spotting what appeared to be drones in the skies over about a dozen counties. The reports have become more frequent in recent days. In some sightings, mysterious car-sized flying objects, sometimes in groups, were seen above military installations and critical infrastructure such as energy facilities, railway stations and reservoirs. Republican state senator Jon Bramnick said it amounted to “ a limited state of emergency ”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/9fkYIFE

Prince Andrew says he ‘ceased all contact’ with alleged Chinese spy after government advice

Statement from the Duke of York says he met the businessman through ‘official channels’ and ‘nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed’ The Duke of York has said he “ceased all contact” with the businessman accused of being a Chinese spy after receiving advice from the government. Prince Andrew met the individual through “official channels” with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement from his office said. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/VtFOfG8

Texas sues New York doctor accused of mailing abortion pills across state lines

Lawsuit filed by state attorney general Ken Paxton against Dr Megan Carpenter will be first to test power of shield laws The Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, has sued a New York doctor over accusations that she mailed abortion pills to a Texas woman in defiance of the state’s ban on the procedure . The lawsuit will test the power of “shield laws”, a post- Roe v Wade strategy designed to protect abortion providers and enable access to pills for women in states that have banned abortion. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/fbo3VdA

Fury grows as US politicians demand answers behind mysterious drones

New Jersey governor urges Biden and federal agencies to further investigate unidentified aircraft sightings The governor of New Jersey has demanded that Joe Biden take control of an investigation into mysterious and more frequent appearances of multiple large drones flying over his state amid mounting frustration that federal officials are downplaying the incidents . Democrat Phil Murphy released on Friday a letter he wrote to the White House to express his “growing concern” after representatives from the Pentagon and FBI ruled out involvement by the US military, or hostile foreign actors, in numerous sightings of unexplained flying objects above about a dozen counties since the middle of November. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/geYPQlf

‘We won’t stop until we find them all’: joy gives way to grief as Syria buries its dead

As thousands took to the streets of Damascus for the funeral of Mazen al-Hamadah, a victim of Assad’s brutal regime, the search for Syria’s disappeared continues The streets of Damascus have been filled with celebrations since Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia last Sunday in the face of an unexpected rebel offensive, ending more than 50 years of his family’s brutal rule over Syria. But at a public funeral for Mazen al-Hamadah – before his disappearance in 2020 one of the most vocal survivors of torture in the regime’s prisons system – the joy gave way to sorrow, as the country begins to grapple with the fact that many of the estimated 130,000 people missing may be lost forever. Thousands of people flooded the streets on Thursday, following Hamadah’s body, wrapped in a traditional white shroud, as it was driven slowly from a hospital to the Abdulrahman Abu al Ouf mosque for funeral prayers. At a vigil afterwards in nearby al-Hijaz square, thousands of men, women and children cried and hu...

Kraven the Hunter review – Russell Crowe busts up laborious superhero yarn

Crowe’s safari-going Russian oligarch is the main redeeming feature of this Spider-Man-adjacent tale but there’s not much to like elsewhere Only the robust presence of Russell Crowe – and what might conceivably be a sly visual joke about exiled Russian plutocrat Mikhail Khodorkovsky – make this generic slice of superhero action worth watching. Kraven the Hunter has been an exotic, marginal figure in the Spider-Man part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but now he gets his own film and Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays him as an ultra-muscly super predator with Spidey’s skill in whooshing up and down buildings and a sense for something amiss – although the great arachnid himself does not appear. Kraven thinks of human beings as the only worthy game (that is: bad people who deserve what’s coming to them) and despises people who presume to kill noble beasts. Taylor-Johnson himself gets to fearlessly wrestle with a few digital big cats. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/HW...

Death feels imminent for 96% of children in Gaza, study finds

Needs assessment by NGO reveals the huge psychological impact of the war with Israel on young people Middle East crisis - live updates A new study of children living through the war in Gaza has found that 96% of them feel that their death is imminent and almost half want to die as a result of the trauma they have been through. A needs assessment, carried out by a Gaza-based NGO sponsored by the War Child Alliance charity, also found that 92% of the children in the survey were “not accepting of reality”, 79% suffer from nightmares and 73% exhibit symptoms of aggression. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/MF8fCtq

Sara Sharif murder: who are the 10-year-old girl’s killers?

Sara’s father and her stepmother were convicted of murder after a dramatic courtroom confession Sara Sharif ‘was doing her best to be a child’ – while suffering years of abuse What were the missed chances to prevent Sara Sharif’s death? Urfan Sharif’s family refused to believe he killed his daughter, Sara, even after he told jurors: “I want to admit that it’s all my fault.” His brother Imran Sharif told the Guardian at the time from the family’s eight-bedroom home in Pakistan’s northern city of Jhelum: “Urfan’s admission has left us devastated and heartbroken. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/yThOHzJ

The Guardian view on Trump’s threat to the media: time to pass the Press Act

Bipartisan legislation offers historic protections for journalists, banning secret surveillance and ensuring source confidentiality Fears of a press crackdown under Donald Trump’s second term deepened with his nomination of Kash Patel as FBI director – given his calls for retribution against journalists. Yet a rare chance to protect press freedom has emerged. The bipartisan Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (Press) Act , the strongest press freedom legislation in US history, is on the brink of a vote. While President-elect Trump has urged Republicans to block it, the Senate could still deliver it to Joe Biden before the lame-duck session ends in January. The Press Act would ban secret government demands for journalists’ communications from tech giants such as Google or Verizon and protect reporters from jail for refusing to reveal sources. For investigative reporters to do their jobs – holding government officials to account for corruption and wrongdoing – they need t...

British TV industry must diversify to survive, Lisa Nandy says

Culture secretary says viewers will switch to streaming services if TV channels’ shows do not connect with them Britain’s TV industry will not survive unless it diversifies as viewers will switch to streaming services if shows do not connect with them, Lisa Nandy has warned. The culture secretary said it was clear the TV industry has a “major problem” with diversity, given the last survey on class found only 8% of people in the industry are self-defined working class compared with around 45-50% of the population. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/juIrMGE

‘Greatest honour of my life’: Lewis Hamilton bids farewell to Mercedes

Hamilton admits ‘turbulent year’ was a challenging one Lando Norris feels ‘incredibly proud’ of win for McLaren Lewis Hamilton described his time with Mercedes as the greatest honour of his life after the seven-time champion bowed out with his final race for the team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After a superlative drive at the Yas Marina circuit, Hamilton also admitted that, after a difficult year, it was good to bid farewell on a high. Hamilton drove from 16th to fourth in Abu Dhabi, another mighty performance to sit alongside what has been an unmatched partnership of success with Mercedes since he joined the team in 2013. He has taken six titles with them and 84 wins over those 12 seasons and at his last race before he joins Ferrari next year , he took a moment to contemplate it all at the close when he was given a special place to park on the start-finish straight alongside the top three, where he knelt beside his car. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ry...

Strictly Come Dancing: semi-final results – live

As everyone danced two full routines for the first time, JB Gill led the way, while Pete Wicks was rock bottom. But who is doomed to face the last dance-off of the series? The Hit List on BBC1 now. Better or worse than Alan Carr’s Numberwang , do we reckon? Because it’s a Strictly special, I’m saying better. Just a couple of minutes to wait… Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/uQrPzA5

Fifa’s Infantino and Saudi Arabia 1, Football and human decency 0 | Jonathan Wilson

The World Cup has never seemed quite so far from its founder’s ideals as it does now with the confirmation of the 2034 hosts The greatest trick the devil ever learned was to overwhelm the critical capacities of those who would hold him to account. Use the word “garbage” once and there is a mass outbreak of close reading, drilling into the true meaning: did he say “supporters” or “supporter’s” ? Be a convicted felon who splurges out insults and non sequiturs constantly, though, and the response becomes too disparate, too unfocused, moving always to the next outrage so that none ever quite sticks. Saudi Arabia will be awarded the right to host the 2034 World Cup on Wednesday. There may not even be a vote, just the applause of acclamation . Lise Klaveness , the Norwegian Football Federation president, has been an admirably consistent critic of Gianni Infantino, and last month raised a number of questions about the bidding process for 2034, but there seems little even she can do now. Ot...

I’ve never been keen on turkey. Now my aversion is approaching outright loathing | Rachel Cooke

The Christmas bird has now been financially weaponised I’m calling this column “Turkey, Revisited”, after “Toads, Revisited” by Philip Larkin, a poet who was most definitely not a gourmand (“I was too lazy to buy rations in London, so today has been a poached egg, macaroni & tinned spinach”). Some years ago, you see, I wrote about my dislike of the bird in one of these columns, a piece that continues occasionally to reverberate in the form of messages from readers. Riffing on an essay by the great American food writer Jeffrey Steingarten , who once tried a legendary turkey recipe whose stuffing has 32 ingredients, the piece in question detailed my adventures with a Kelly Bronze I’d mortgaged my house to buy: the baroque trumpets that played as it entered the kitchen; the spa treatments I administered to its skin; the tea towel of finest cashmere that covered it before it was carved. It also came to the conclusion that, in spite of all of the above, I had completely wasted my time....

‘Enormous and irreparable damage’: former chairmen call for resignations at RFU

Anger at salary and bonuses paid to top executives RFU reported £40m loss and made staff redundant Three former chairmen of the Rugby Football Union have called for the mass resignations of the union’s current hierarchy in the wake of the row over record financial losses and the salary and bonuses paid out to its top executives. In a year when the union has reported an annual loss of almost £40m, the RFU’s chief executive Bill Sweeney was paid a total of £1.1m, comprising a salary of £742,000 and a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) bonus of £358,000. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/fkPbzlO

Compromise is a dirty word in French politics – but it may be Emmanuel Macron’s only hope | Paul Taylor

The president needs to find a new PM to stabilise France’s standing on the world stage, even if that means turning to the Socialists Having failed to solve France’s political crisis with a prime minister dependent on the far right , President Emmanuel Macron is exploring a deal with the Socialist party (PS) to give the country a new government, pass an overdue budget and avert financial turmoil. But his room for manoeuvre is severely limited and a non-aggression pact with the centre left may be only a temporary fix. It has been a humiliating week for the centrist president, seen as a great hope for European leadership when he was first elected in 2017. Macron’s first choice of prime minister, after his impulsive dissolution of the National Assembly in June led to a hung parliament, was Michel Barnier, the EU’s master Brexit negotiator. But the silver-haired Alpine rambler failed to weave his consensus-building magic on stubborn French politicians who didn’t want to share responsibili...

Canada man who ‘leapt on’ polar bear that attacked wife recovers in hospital

Couple discovered animal in their driveway in northern Ontario, where climate crisis can change bear behaviour A man who “leapt on” a polar bear to protect his wife in a northern First Nations community in Canada is expected to fully recover from the severe injuries he sustained in the attack. But experts caution that changing environmental conditions will lead to a shift in where and when polar bears are spotted , increasing the risk of surprise encounters. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/yvxJ1We

Emmanuel Macron addresses France after no-confidence vote topples Michel Barnier government – live

French president has asked Barnier to stay on as interim prime minister until replacement is appointed Macron has said he intends to carry out his full mandate as president, meaning he would stay on until 2027. Macron has begun his address. He has started by defending his decision to call snap parliamentary elections this summer. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/B7Njtgp

How do you save a dying mobile game? Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has the answer

The mortality rate for such games is high when developers stop updating them. But when Nintendo killed off Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, it found a novel way to extend its life – and now it’s even better At some point, most mobile games die. Apple’s iOS software updates have killed thousands of App Store games over the years: older games simply disappear, unless their developers make them compatible with every new device or software. (Most don’t, or can’t, devote such resources to that.) And for live mobile games, which encourage users to log in every day, the game’s popularity inevitably wanes and its developer stops updating it, leaving it inert and unplayable. Sometimes there is no warning. A game is there one day and gone the next. A bleak fate indeed. The mortality rate for mobile games is high: 83% of them fail within their first three years, according to one survey. But perhaps there’s another way. In 2017, Nintendo released a mobile version of its bestselling chill life-simu...

Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense should alarm all of us | Moira Donegan

Pete Hegseth, who has been accused of drunken, irresponsible and predatory behavior, would be in charge of the world’s most powerful military It takes a lot to get a man’s mother to declare him an “abuser of women”. Mothers, as a rule, are not known for their ungenerous assessments of their sons’ behavior. But Penelope Hegseth, the mother of the Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Defense, once did just that in an email to her son . “I have no respect for a man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego,” Hegseth’s mother wrote to him. “You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains and embarrasses me to say that, but it’s the sad, sad truth.” The email – which Hegseth’s mother later disavowed – appears to have come around the time of the dissolution of Hegseth’s second marriage; during Hegseth’s first marriage, according to a new report by Vanity Fair, he confessed to n...

Hegseth vows to stay sober if confirmed as defense secretary; Trump signals pro-crypto stance with SEC pick Paul Atkins – live

Former Fox host tries to charm Republican senators amid growing questions over suitability; Atkins named amid flurry of appointments Trump taps billionaire and private astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead Nasa Hegseth says he will ‘never back down’ amid rumors he’ll be replaced by DeSantis Conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh brought up the possibility that minors who receive gender-affirming care could later regret doing so. “You say there are benefits from allowing these treatments, but there are also harms, right, from allowing these treatments, at least the state says so, including lost fertility, the physical and psychological effects on those who later change their mind and want to detransition, which I don’t think we can ignore,” Kavanaugh said. The record evidence demonstrates that the rates of regret are very low for the population that has access to this treatment. So these are adolescents who have marked and sustained gender dysphoria that has worsened with the onset of p...

France in political crisis after no-confidence vote topples government

Minority coalition of PM Michel Barnier falls after three months, the shortest of any administration of France’s Fifth Republic France has been plunged into political crisis after a no-confidence vote brought down the government, ending the beleaguered minority coalition of the rightwing prime minister Michel Barnier after only three months. The no-confidence motion brought by an alliance of left-wing parties was supported by MPs from Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration, far-right, National Rally. A total of 331 lawmakers — a clear majority — voted on Wednesday night to bring down the government. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/amWxB5S

Who was Brian Thompson, slain CEO of UnitedHealthcare?

The 50-year-old had climbed up the ranks of the health insurance giant over 20 years and lived in Minnesota Manhunt under way after UnitedHealthcare CEO killed New York shooting – latest updates For 20 years Brian Thompson, the healthcare executive killed in a Manhattan shooting on Wednesday, climbed to the top of UnitedHealthcare. The 50-year-old chief executive of the main division of the conglomerate UnitedHealth Group, the US’s largest health insurer, was gunned down in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning by a masked assailant in what police are calling a “brazen targeted attack.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/TqiOb8A

Musk’s legal battle for his $56bn goes on. Tesla’s board still looks supine | Nils Pratley

The craven stance of Tesla’s board should not be lost in the legal back-and-forth The first time around, judge Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware court of chancery got it right. The $56bn pay package awarded by Tesla to Elon Musk in 2018 was indeed a governance abomination, a stitch-up in which ordinary shareholders weren’t told about the “deeply flawed” process whereby a “superstar ceo” secured wildly over-the-top terms from pliant directors. Her closely argued ruling in January spelt it out in persuasive detail. The company had “inaccurately described key directors as independent and misleadingly omitted details about the process”. Ira Ehrenpreis, the lead director negotiating for Tesla, had a 15-year business relationship with Musk. Another member of the working group regularly went on holiday with Musk’s family. A third was the company’s general counsel and Musk’s former divorce lawyer. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/wb9eijN

The Guardian view on protests in Georgia: resisting a drift into Putin’s orbit | Editorial

The Georgian Dream government’s suspension of EU talks has sparked an existential struggle for democracy In recent years, Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has brazenly pursued a policy of gaslighting an overwhelmingly pro-European population. Rhetorically, it has paid enthusiastic lip service to the national goal of eventual accession to the European Union, an aim that is enshrined in the constitution. In practice, a party founded by the billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili – whose wealth was accumulated in Russia – has been pulling Georgia ever further into the authoritarian orbit of Vladimir Putin. “Foreign agent” legislation passed earlier this year – provoking large protests in Tbilisi – copied and pasted Russian laws designed to curtail the influence of independent civil society organisations. Subsequent restrictions placed on LGBTQ+ rights came from the same playbook. Having awarded EU candidate status to Georgia in 2023, these illiberal moves led Brussels ...

Liz Truss is apparently too mad even for a rightwing US audience | John Crace

Former PM’s speech to the Heritage Foundation declares just about everyone alive be part of a communist conspiracy It was a sight for sore eyes. At least for any speaker who has turned up to an event to discover the organisers easily outnumber the audience. In an anonymous, windowless room in Washington DC, there were just a handful of people seated around a couple of circular tables for the latest session hosted by the rightwing – and conspiracy theory adjacent – US thinktank, the Heritage Foundation. Let’s hope there were rather more watching online. This is Liz Truss’s safe space. America, her last refuge. A nation that regards her 49-day tenure as prime minister a badge of honour rather than a sign of failure. In the UK, no one wants to know Liz any more. The Tory party just wish she would crawl under a stone. She’s the source of much of their embarrassment. Nor could her former constituents wait to see the back of her. Her loss was Norfolk’s gain. But in the US, she still has so...

The Guardian view on Gregg Wallace and the BBC: exposing poor conduct is in the public interest | Editorial

By drawing attention to the troubling behaviour of a male celebrity, Kirsty Wark recalls the spirit of #MeToo Famous men should not take advantage of their status to engage in sexually inappropriate behaviour, or make explicit remarks, at work. If and when this happens, their bosses should ensure that it is stopped. This might seem obvious. But in an interview for BBC News last week, Kirsty Wark , the former Newsnight host, described how when she was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef in 2011, she complained to the production company about the show’s co-presenter Gregg Wallace. She thought a sexualised monologue he delivered early one morning on set was so ill-judged that it made her angry, and worried that staff on short-term contracts would not feel able to object. BBC News also heard from 12 other people making various allegations. That it has taken so many years for these claims to emerge strongly suggests that the impunity enjoyed by celebrities is an ongoing cultural pro...

Fiorentina’s Edoardo Bove taken to hospital after collapsing on pitch

Serie A match halted as Bove treated by paramedics Players form protective barrier around 22-year-old The Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove was taken off the pitch in an ambulance after collapsing shortly after the start of their Serie A match against Internazionale. Sky Sport Italia reported that Bove was transported to the Careggi hospital near the Stadio Franchi in Florence, was breathing on his own and had regained consciousness. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5rMsw37