Mubeen Blogs

Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/YkvVLuD

Coaches and teammates on how Birmingham’s ‘skinny teenager’ developed into one of the world’s best players before his first Champions League final This week Jude Bellingham offered a glimpse into the mind of a phenomenon by quietly admitting he had envisaged these days, just maybe not so soon. Little did he know, at the start of his teens, that one week training on the outskirts of Barcelona and another at the foothills of the Black Forest would provide him with something of a peek into the future. Birmingham City recognised the boy who joined at seven from Stourbridge Juniors would benefit from fresh challenges, different plains. They wanted to take him out of his ever-evolving comfort zone, though that was somewhere he rarely stayed long. Birmingham sent Bellingham on a kind of footballing school exchange, to Cornellà and Freiburg, teams in Spain and Germany with whom they had links, to give him a taste of European football. On Saturday Bellingham will play in the continent’s grand

Labour spent the day in a muddle of its own making over whether or not the north London MP would be standing again Keir Starmer began his day by taunting Rishi Sunak for the faltering start to the Conservative’s election campaign. On a visit to Wales the Labour leader said Sunak thought he was laying a trap by calling a snap summer election but a series of blunders since meant he had “caught himself in his own ambush”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/sSpJMFq

Late-night host discussed end of the ex-president’s hush-money trial and also talked about public support from his sons Jimmy Kimmel took aim at Donald Trump and the end of his hush-money trial on last night’s edition of his late-night show. On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host spoke about the former president’s New York City trial, where he faces multiple charges, which is coming to an end as the jury deliberates. Trump must stay in the courthouse to “sit there for hours farting next to the vending machine”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/wkxp0zn

Brexit campaigner suggested he and prime minister should ‘have a conversation’ after favours he had done Tories over the years Rishi Sunak has ruled out a deal with Nigel Farage after the Reform politician suggested they should “have a conversation” before the election. Farage has held back from running as a candidate for the Reform party, which is led and funded by Richard Tice, but on Wednesday he extended an olive branch to Sunak in an interview with the Sun, telling him: “Give me something back. We might have a conversation.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/w9yTCiE

Wall Street Journal reports pair have had several phone calls recently and that Musk could assist if Trump wins another term Donald Trump has floated a possible advisory role for the tech billionaire Elon Musk if he were to retake the White House next year, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal . The two men, who once had a tense relationship, have had several phone calls a month since March as Trump looks to court powerful donors and Musk seeks an outlet for his policy ideas, the newspaper said, citing several anonymous sources familiar with their conversations. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/wc4sA5S

The billionaire Daniel Křetínský, AKA the Czech Sphinx, is poised to buy the business – but what does he have planned? The billionaire sometimes known as the Czech Sphinx appears to be on the verge of becoming the first person to buy the Royal Mail in its 500-year history. The board of the British postal service’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), has agreed to a £3.57bn takeover bid from Daniel Křetínský , meaning the deal has a strong chance of going through. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/BcfahQ6

What’s gone wrong for the prime minister? And why does everyone think his Conservative party will lose? The UK is holding a general election on 4 July. Here’s what you need to know. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ure7qBt

Those struggling to pay debts include students from overseas who have seen the value of their currency crash Hundreds of students at the University of Sussex have been warned they may be unable to graduate or re-register for the next academic year if they fail to pay outstanding debts. Those affected include students from Nigeria and Iran who have been struggling to pay their fees after the value of their currencies crashed. Other international students, as well as UK students, are also among those in debt. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/DM4WVog

Crucial supply line for aid deliveries to starving Palestinians cut off and will take at least a week to repair, Pentagon says US aid efforts for Gaza have suffered an embarrassing setback after the temporary pier built by the military broke apart in heavy seas, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. The $320m pier was intended to provide a crucial supply line for aid deliveries by sea to reach starving Palestinians and alleviate a humanitarian catastrophe. Now the effort is on hold for at least a week. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/o0hiIZC

Thousands of parents never got to say goodbye to their lost children. We hear from four of them What happens when a baby is stillborn in England and Wales? As late as the 1990s, healthcare professionals assumed that if a parent saw their stillborn baby or established any kind of connection with them this would only deepen their grief. As a result, thousands of babies were abruptly taken from their parents, denying them the chance to say goodbye. Many were buried in mass graves across the country – but parents were often told different or conflicting stories. Most did not know where their children were laid to rest. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/8nhrNx9

This ambitious identity-and-imperialism saga sees the American actor take on several different roles – and demands your full attention Robert Downey Jr really Robert Downey Jrs the hell out of The Sympathizer. He thunders around in a vast array of prosthetics, giving off that weird, intense aggro-magnetism, and it might be the sheer Robert Downey Jr-ness of him that explains why it took me until halfway through the second episode to realise that he wasn’t playing the same character in disguise, but several different characters, and that The Sympathizer is very much that kind of show. Still, given that it is an adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel and has been directed by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden), it would have been foolish to turn up and expect its cerebral identity-and-imperialism saga to be handed to you in easily digestible chunks. Naturally, it makes you work, demanding that you follow along as it peacocks and pirouettes around the plot

Residents bemoan the 20mph speed limit, polluted waters and strain of the cost of living crisis On market day in the ancient town of Newcastle Emlyn where, legend has it, the last Welsh dragon was slain , the place was bustling with farmers buying and selling cattle. Viv Edwards, in a shirt bearing the slogan “No farmers, no food”, the rallying cry of farmers who descended in their thousands on Cardiff to protest against the Welsh Labour government’s agricultural policies earlier this year , had just bought a young bull at auction and had a satisfied look on his face. It vanished as soon as politics was brought up. “I’m Tory,” he said. “But who to vote for now? That’s the question. A bloody good question. I don’t trust any of them.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/6TdzcJP

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

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/fYFnoe3

Erik ten Hag may be heading for the exit, but United’s FA Cup final display was the blueprint for how they should be playing They were still out there an hour later, catching the last few rays of evening sunshine, wringing out this moment for every last drop of joy in it. Everyone wanted a go with the trophy. Some simply hoisted it like a kettlebell. Some hugged it close like a child. There was a time when Manchester United would win these finals, pose for photos and disappear back up the M6. Not now. Everyone knows how precious these moments are, how rarely they can come along, how closely they need to be treasured. And at the end of this Red Devil redemption, Erik ten Hag sought out the two men responsible. In fact many men had authored this triumph, from the brutal Bruno Fernandes to the indomitable Lisandro Martínez to the inspired André Onana. But Ten Hag wanted a few moments alone with Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo. Ballers; cup final scorers; Wembley heroes; teenagers.

The international court of justice has ordered Israel to halt its attack on Rafah. The US has a last chance to stop this bloodshed The international court of justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Israel to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where about half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have taken refuge in recent months. The ruling is the closest that the UN’s top court has come to ordering a ceasefire, and it further exposes Israel and its closest supporters, especially the US and the UK, for their disregard of international law and institutions. For much of the world, Israel is now a pariah state that has repeatedly ignored pressure from international bodies to end its brutal war in Gaza, stop using starvation as a weapon of war, and allow more aid into the besieged territory. On Monday, the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC), a separate tribunalalso based in The Hague, announced he was seeking arrest warrants for senior Hamas and Isra

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/PT6BDam

Two young men are promoting a grab-bag ideology celebrating ‘honor’ and condemning ‘global elites’ – and winning powerful friends on the right In the last few years, a self-styled political movement that sounds like a contradiction in terms has gained ground online: “Maga communism”. Promoted by its two most prominent spokespeople, Haz Al-Din, 27, and Jackson Hinkle, 24, Maga communism comprises a grab bag of ideas that can seem lacking in coherence – ranging from a belief in the power of Donald Trump’s followers to wrest power from “global elites” to an emphasis on masculine “honor”, admiration for Vladimir Putin and support for Palestinian liberation. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/yUaQmMA

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/8IGSjn1

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/TvU2m7B

Multicoloured floor is part of sale along with Raiders of the Lost Ark prop prototype and The Big Lebowski costumes So, how deep is your pocket? The dancefloor used in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever has been put up for auction with an estimated price of about $300,000 (£235,800). John Travolta, playing the role of Italian-American Tony Manero, strutted his moves on the multicoloured floor to the film’s Bee Gees soundtrack, which featured hit songs including How Deep is Your Love, More Than a Woman, Open Sesame and Stayin’ Alive. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/w8AMBgv

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

The international criminal court’s chief prosecutor has applied for warrants; what will happen now? ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Israeli PM and Hamas officials The international criminal court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has announced he will apply to the court for arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, as well the country’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant. At the same time, Khan is seeking warrants for the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, the head of its military wing, Mohammed al-Masri (better known as Mohammed Deif), and the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh. The charges he is pursuing against Netanyahu and Gallant concern the conduct of the war in Gaza, include the use of “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”, “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime”, extermination as a crime against humanity, and murder as a war crime. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/oYsZ

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/muFlWkc

McLaren driver pushed Max Verstappen in tense Imola climax Norris revealed he watched golf and boxing the night before Lando Norris said he was praying for just one more lap to have a shot at victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix after a thrilling final fight with Max Verstappen at Imola. The British driver also revealed he had been up the night before the race until 2am, watching the title-fight boxing and PGA Championship golf. Verstappen held on to win at Imola but only after the final laps came alive as Norris hunted him down, closing to within under second and ultimately finishing just 0.725-seconds behind the world champion. The 24-year-old McLaren driver was convinced that with another lap he would have been able to try to make a pass on Verstappen. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/DwOousR

Third T20i: England, 176, beat Pakistan, 142-4, by 34 runs Wyatt dropped three times on way to a blistering 48-ball 87 A month after Yorkshire lost out to Durham in their bid to host a Tier One professional women’s team, 7,500 spectators defied the England and Wales Cricket Board’s verdict by filing into Headingley to watch England defeat Pakistan by 34 runs in the third and final Women’s Twenty20. England rarely play in this part of the world – the most recent women’s international here took place in 2018 – but they served up a treat for the locals. A Danni Wyatt special – 87 runs hammered from 48 balls, 54 of them in boundaries – and the chance to see Pakistan make a semi-decent fist of the run-chase for the first time in the series. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/I2T65z7

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/tQrSu6X

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/vRCWcEN

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/B4C9bYk

‘Bakery scent’ added via microcapsules to postage stamp celebrating ‘jewel of French culture’ The French Post Office has released a scratch-and-sniff postage stamp to celebrate the baguette, once described by President Emmanuel Macron as “250 grams of magic and perfection”. The stamp, which costs €1.96, depicts a baguette decorated with a red, white and blue ribbon. It has a print run of 594,000 copies. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/SCv7g15

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/wPy0ft5

A few months after 14 May 2022, a curator sought out three local artists. The resulting exhibition, Before and After Again, is thought to be the first of its kind Two years ago, a white supremacist drove 200 miles to Buffalo, New York, and opened fire in a grocery store in the city’s predominantly Black East Side neighborhood, killing 10 people and injuring three. Though the Tops Friendly Markets where the racist mass shooting took place has been remodeled, and most of the country has forgotten about the violence that occurred on 14 May 2022, Buffalo’s East Side is forever changed. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/mqu1LFv

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/zonMOLr

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

Cannes film festival With help from an A-list cast, Dupieux brings his customary mischief to an amiable tale of imposture and role play Cannes can always do worse than choose a comedy for its opening gala, and the festival is off to an amiable, entertaining start. Quentin Dupieux brings the wackiness onstream with this cheerfully mischievous, unrepentantly facetious fourth-wall-badgering sketch. It’s a sprightly meta gag, a movie about a movie, or perhaps a movie about a movie about a movie – or perhaps just a movie, full stop, whose point is to claim that reality as we experience it inside and outside the cinema is unitary despite the levels of imposture and role-play we bring to it. It is all just one unbroken skein of experience like the endless dolly-track (the temporary rail that lets the camera move smoothly) that Dupieux finally shows us. There are plenty of laugh lines, though The Second Act would be a bit thin were it not for the rich, creamy thickness of the alpha-grade Fre

Annie decking Canning was the most satisfying moment of the series. But disaster quickly struck again with a gunshot fired at Grace and Stevie. This could be the end for one of them Has another of our police protagonists taken a fatal bullet? Here’s all the intel on the penultimate episode, Where I Want To Be … Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/YEWs9N7

Exclusive: Report recommends ‘double lock’ for those renewing their tenancies Rent rises should be capped for millions of people struggling to afford soaring rates, according to a landmark report commissioned by Labour. The leaked proposals recommend a swathe of measures that give breathing room to renters buckling under the cost of living. An annually updated National Landlords Register which would require landlords to demonstrate compliance with the decent homes standard or face fines and even be subject to a criminal offence. The abolition of no-fault evictions , and “back-door” evictions introduced by the Conservative renters’ reform bill, which may include landlords wishing to move themselves or family members in and landlords wishing to sell a property which Cowan says in the report “shouldn’t be a ground for ending a tenancy”. Measures to discourage landlords from entering the short-term and holiday let market or nightly paid temporary accommodation sector by equalising t

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/timGU0y

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”.

Defeat to Chelsea in last year’s FA Cup final stood Marc Skinner’s side in good stead to win their first major trophy In the words of Julius Caesar, “experience is the teacher of all things”. As Marc Skinner and his Manchester United team made the long climb to the royal box at Wembley, they will have known how important the lessons of heartbreak last time out were in enabling them to lift the Women’s FA Cup for the first time in their history. With a dominant performance in a comfortable 4-0 victory over Tottenham, the demons of that defeat by Chelsea were firmly put to bed. On that occasion, United were outdone by the guile and nous of more seasoned winners. Against Robert Vilahamn’s fledgling side this time around, Skinner’s side were determined to put on an accomplished display that illustrated why many considered them favourites. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/jSG4tk3

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/7MyAh8D

A points deduction, the owner leaving the stands to remonstrate with the referee, that post on X and even a cameo from Gladiators’ very own Mark Clattenburg. Nottingham Forest is the most entertaining show in town and they are – almost certainly – coming back for another compelling season hosted by the Premier League. Needing only a point to confirm their top-flight status, Forest were set to earn all three until Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson changed the direction of the match in Chelsea’s favour to earn a third straight win, although it did little to dampen spirits on the banks of the Trent. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/uHQ9htc

FA Trophy final: Gateshead 2-2 Solihull (aet; 5-4 on pens) Solihull lost playoff final on penalties to Bromley last week Solihull Moors and Gateshead knew their Wembley trip was only ever going to be double or quits. Tears and deja vu were guaranteed either way – it was merely a matter of dishing out the joy and despair. In the end, it was Gateshead who, courtesy of Dajaune Brown’s penalty – the 16th and coolest of an enthralling shootout – who avenged their defeat on this very occasion 12 months back. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vIbaTLl

Summer’s would-be blockbuster has hit a brick wall – did it simply typify everything the public hate about Hollywood or does it belie broader box office blight? On paper, it couldn’t fail. The Fall Guy was a lock as this summer’s first – and possibly biggest – box office smash. It had it all. Action, comedy, romance. Record-breaking stunts. Two of the hottest stars around. Great reviews. And a dog. Yet fail – or at least stumble – the The Fall Guy did. David Leitch’s bells and whistles blockbuster was tracked to make $40m at the US box office on its opening weekend. Instead, it landed just shy of $28m: a soft opening echoed overseas, where it picked up $30m across 68 other territories. Its current global total stands at $70m. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/0hgR3k6

Death toll may rise as search continues for victims under mud and rubble and as more rain approaches At least 50 people, mainly women and children, have been killed in flash flooding in the northern Afghanistan province of Baghlan. The number was confirmed by Hedayatullah Hamdard, the head of the provincial natural disaster management department, who said it could increase in the coming days. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/H2XUjSY

WABC owner says Trump ally received warnings not to discuss ‘election fallacies’ and that refusal to do so ‘left me no option’ The former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani’s troubles deepened on Friday when he was suspended by WABC radio, for trying to use his show to discuss the lie that the 2020 presidential election was lost by Donald Trump because of electoral fraud. John Catsimatidis, a New York billionaire, Republican donor and owner of WABC, told the New York Times : “We’re not going to talk about fallacies of the November 2020 election. We warned him once. We warned him twice. And I get a text from him last night, and I get a text from him this morning that he refuses not to talk about it. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/WtT62gu

Defense paints Trump as a distracted multitasker who signed papers without review as texts between Stormy Daniels’ ex-publicist and a former editor were shown Donald Trump returned to the Manhattan courthouse on Friday, marking his 15th court appearance in his historic hush-money criminal trial. Friday’s court session, which featured a handful of custodial witnesses who provided more technical supplements to testimony or evidence, followed several days of testimony involving the adult film star Stormy Daniels, who testified in lurid detail about her alleged sexual affair with Trump. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/B0hi7zt

Judge Maryellen Noreika orders trial of up to six days to begin 3 June in Wilmington, Delaware, in first for child of sitting president A federal appeals court panel rejected a bid by Hunter Biden dismiss criminal gun charges, clearing the way for the trial of Joe Biden’s son to proceed, a first for the child of a sitting president. A three-judge panel of the US court of appeals for the third circuit in Philadelphia said Hunter Biden could not appeal because the lower court had not yet entered a final judgment in the case. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/sDopHZy

Bestselling author of Lace and Superwoman turned her attention to helping people overcome anxiety about maths Shirley Conran, the author of Lace and Superwoman, has died aged 91, her son the designer Jasper Conran has announced. The bestselling “ queen of the bonkbuster ” was also the founder of the Maths Anxiety Trust, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to help people who experience anxiety or fear when faced with maths problems. Last week Conran was awarded a damehood in her bed in Charing Cross hospital in London for her services to mathematics education. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/MVx9wtm

Exclusive: Operation Safeguard confirmed by Ministry of Justice after damning report on conditions in one of UK’s biggest jails The government has formally triggered a crisis measure to ease prison overcrowding by using police cells to house inmates. The confirmation of Operation Safeguard by the Ministry of Justice follows a decision to consider releasing some prisoners 70 days before their sentences were due to end. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/O0v43aJ

The performer who wrote ‘MeToo’ on Gustave Courbet’s The Origin of the World is right to think the painting is misogynistic: the model doesn’t even have a face! On Monday afternoon, a group of feminist artist-activists tagged “MeToo” in red paint on Gustave Courbet’s L’Origine du Monde . Currently on loan to the Centre Pompidou-Metz for an exhibition dedicated to the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan , the painting is a notoriously tight close-up of an unnamed woman’s vulva. It has never not been startling. It operates as a kind of social lightning conductor, consistently illuminating the invisibility women too often experience – in art as in life. Luxembourgeois artist Deborah de Robertis , who is also exhibiting in the show, has claimed authorship of the action. Its title, she’s said, is On Ne Sépare Pas La Femme de l’Artiste , which translates as “You do not separate the woman from the art.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lyPecJO

Exclusive: plans revealed in new leaked dossier sent to unions ahead of crunch meeting with Keir Starmer Labour has vowed it will change the law to ban fire and rehire, after a war of words with unions who accused the party of watering down its pledges on workers’ rights. The plans are revealed in a new leaked dossier, which was sent to trade unions ahead of a crunch meeting with Keir Starmer and contains sweeping plans for an overhaul of workers’ rights including on employment status, protection against unfair dismissal and union representation. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/EZ0DCIr

Rasoulof is one of Iran’s leading directors and his film The Seed of the Sacred Fig is due to premiere at Cannes film festival The Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging, a fine and the confiscation of property, his lawyer has confirmed. Writing on X , Babak Paknia, a human rights lawyer representing Rasoulof, said that the judgment was confirmed in a court of appeal and the case had now been sent for enforcement. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/69UyCoD

Christopher Kirker tells members that normal waiting times will apply for most women as concerns raised about tokenism The chair of the Garrick has told its members that the club may consider “allowing one or two exceptional … lady members” to join in the near future but that normal waiting times will apply for the majority of women. A leaked email from Christopher Kirker to all members on Wednesday described Tuesday’s vote ending the London institution’s men-only rules as “momentous” and addressed questions about how quickly the club might move to admit women. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/mtWcpF9

It’s a moment of truth for Biden’s policy on Israel and the Palestinians – and at the least will make continued prevarication harder to disguise When Israeli troops paraded through the Rafah crossing with an oversized star of David on Tuesday morning, they were making a point to Hamas – and at the same time driving up to the very edge of Joe Biden’s “red line”. The Biden administration avoids that phrase at all costs. Its top officials also served Barack Obama, who drew a red line he did not enforce over Syria’s chemical weapons . But there is no hiding from the fact that they have clearly and repeatedly stated US opposition to a Rafah offensive , absent proper humanitarian provision for the more than 1 million people sheltering there. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5iuwhsM

All the coverage and latest updates from fashion’s biggest night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Follow live Florals for the Met? Groundbreaking. But alas it seems guaranteed. But digging into the fashion archives could prove fruitful. Remember Moschino’s 2018 collection where Gigi Hadid and Kaia Gerber dressed as actual bouquets . Fun! Or what about that finale dress from Chanel’s 2005 haute couture show covered in handcrafted silk camellias . It would be incredible to see the Challengers star Josh O’Connor, who is also a Loewe menswear ambassador, in one of the brand’s grass growing pieces . An accidental nod to Wimbledon’s centre court, each of the sprouting pieces were the product of a collaboration between the Spanish fashion house and Spanish bio-designer Paula Ulargui Escalona. Game, set, match! Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/XThrfYA

UCLA watched the chaos unfold in the middle of the night and did nothing until it was far too late Things had been tense at the University of California, Los Angeles, with some ugly jibes and the occasional shove exchanged between students who support Israel’s war on Gaza and those who have set up encampments to call for a permanent ceasefire and the university’s divestment from companies that arm and otherwise profit from Israel’s occupation and military incursions in the Palestinian territories. But what happened in the middle of the night last Tuesday was no scuffle. It was not even one more of the outsized, excessively brutal raids that college administrations have invited the police to inflict on their students. Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept, and the author of five books Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ZKfLC9t

During a decade of American disillusionment, a series of films, from Seconds to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, represented a culture cracking up In assembling a slate of films, a programming team or other curatorial body will often be made to answer the question of why now , what relevance old art has to the current moment. In the case of the Criterion Channel’s new series Hollywood Crack-Up: The Decade American Cinema Lost Its Mind , a sampling of arthouse hysteria from across the 60s, the argument all but makes itself. These bursts of celluloid madness come from a not-so-remote time when governmental credibility had hit an all-time low and the culture-war rift yawned wider than ever; when the disillusionment of a mistreated youth generation exploded into student protests against an overseas war colored by unsavory political imperatives; when ascendant minority groups demanded rights and dignity in the face of high-boil prejudice; when a terrified old guard felt that everything the

Despite disastrous election results, long-threatened coup lacks numbers to force no-confidence vote After months of plotting to oust Rishi Sunak by some on the right of the Conservative party, the rebellion fizzled out with barely a whimper this weekend despite a disastrous set of local election results . Senior Tories had long predicted that bad losses could be enough to push their despondent colleagues over the edge, even those who could see that changing leader yet again before the general election could have dire electoral consequences. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/al8Ionk

Trailers for fake five-episode series use broadcast clips to poke fun at Conservative prime ministers Chaos, drama, sleaze and scandal – it sounds like the background to a prestige TV show, but it could also describe 14 years of Conservative government. It’s this overlap that Labour is riffing on as the party releases trailers for Chaos & Decline, a spoof five-episode series stitching together broadcast clips of low moments under Conservative rule that pokes fun at Tory MPs while telling the story of the damage wreaked on UK society and the economy under the party’s five prime ministers. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/SwYaj0A

Cristiano Romero and Emerson Royal in confrontation at Anfield Tottenham’s 4-2 defeat at Liverpool their fourth consecutive loss Ange Postecoglou claimed he had no issues with the Tottenham defenders Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal becoming embroiled in a half-time row at Anfield as it showed “they care” about the club’s plummeting form. Spurs were well beaten by Liverpool in Jürgen Klopp’s penultimate home game with Mohamed Salah, recalled to the starting lineup following a spat with his manager at West Ham, sparking the win. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1DlmNRE

Menotti led Argentina to success in home World Cup in 1978 He also coached Barcelona and Atlético Madrid The World Cup winning coach César Luis Menotti, who led Argentina to the title in 1978, has died at the age of 85, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said on Sunday. Menotti, who played for Rosario Central, Boca Juniors and Santos, began his coaching career at Newell’s Old Boys and won the Argentinian championship with Huracán in 1973, before taking over as head coach of the Argentinian national team in 1974. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2smC3zZ

Live updates from the Miami International Autodrome Miami thrice: Another blast of sold-out showbiz in the sun Have any thoughts? Send Tom an email Bernie Owen emails in with a prediction: “Here’s the result. Verstappen wins, the rest in any order you like 39 seconds plus behind. It’s so exciting.” Seeing as this track is very hard to overtake on, Max is in pole and recent F1 history, you’re probably right. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/OLT5tRi

Leinster 20-17 Northampton Irish side survive late fightback after Lowe’s superb hat-trick They were not given much of a chance – and sure enough, for most of the match they did not have one. But Northampton, having looked completely lost in front of 82,000 at Croke Park, burst into life in the final quarter to give Leinster something of a scare. The home side, though, are too packed to the rafters with international quality to lose from such a position. They have had their wobbles in the recent past, but letting slip a 20-3 lead early in the first half would really have been too painful to contemplate. As it is, with a hat-trick for James Lowe – one of the very best players in the Six Nations, let alone the Champions Cup – they march on to London for the final at the end of the month. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/rM5oVdD

Berlin’s finance minister says property owned by Hitler’s propaganda minister will be demolished if taker not found Berlin’s government is offering to give away a villa once owned by Adolf Hitler’s propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, hoping to end a decades-long debate on whether to repurpose or bulldoze a sprawling disused site in the countryside north of the German capital. “I offer to anyone who would like to take over the site, to take it over as a gift from the state of Berlin,” Berlin’s finance minister, Stefan Evers, told the state parliament, the German Press Agency reported. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/g13xw4A

Oscar-winning actor criticized an upcoming two-part expose in the UK detailing alleged incidents that go back to his youth Kevin Spacey has attacked an upcoming documentary detailing years of his alleged sexual abuse, saying he was not given adequate time to respond. The two-part documentary Spacey Unmasked, which will broadcast on Channel 4 on 6 and 7 May in the UK and will stream on Max in the US, claims to feature “never-seen-before interviews and archive” to examine the Oscar-winning actor’s life “from childhood to early success on Broadway and subsequent meteoric rise to stardom”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/zkiLgPh

Agency pushing to raise funds as research shows 44 years of development in health and education could be erased by the war Rebuilding homes in Gaza destroyed during Israel’s seven-month military offensive could take until 2040 in the most optimistic scenario, with total reconstruction across the territory costing as much as $40bn (£32bn), according to United Nations experts. An assessment, which is to be published by the UN Development Programme as part of a push to raise funds for early planning for the rehabilitation of Gaza, has also found that the conflict may reduce levels of health, education and wealth in the territory to those of 1980, wiping out 44 years of development. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/A5LoRZh

Teenager killed and another injured after attempted burglary at east Midlands farm A man in his 50s has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after a teenager was shot dead and another injured following an attempted burglary at a farm in the east Midlands. Officers were called to the property in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, at about 1.20am on Wednesday and found a teenager with fatal gunshot wounds. The force said he was not the owner of the property. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/FTkufXt

The star makes for a charming lead playing a mother falling for a younger pop star in a passable adaptation of Robinne Lee’s bestselling pulp There are lithe, low-level pleasures to be had in the glossy pop romance The Idea of You, Amazon’s latest attempt to turn a fanfic fave into a broadly alluring date movie. It follows last year’s Red, White and Royal Blue , a smartphone screen adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s what-if gay romp. In that film, it was the fantasy of a president’s son and an English prince. Here it’s a 40-year-old mum and a Harry Styles-level pop star, a blogpost daydream of love and lust, played out with both jostling for space. It’s a far sleeker and far more satisfying package than the former, illuminated by the genuine movie star power of Anne Hathaway and made with a higher level of craft, from the sturdy studio-level direction of Michael Showalter to a mostly smooth-going script. The romcom genre has allegedly been “back” for a while now but that’s mostly trans