Mubeen Blogs

Everyman, Liverpool Julian Moore-Cooke is terrific as Padraic, avenging his pet, but the mix of humour and gory violence needs fine-tuning in this revival The joke at the heart of Martin McDonagh’s 2001 black comedy has a lot in common with that of The Sopranos . The novelty of David Chase’s TV series was in seeing a bunch of New Jersey mobsters not only going about their murderous business but also taking it easy in their suburban homes. Torture one day, Sunday lunch the next. The Lieutenant of Inishmore offers a similarly comic juxtaposition. On the one hand, Padraic is an unhinged paramilitary killer, a man too extreme for membership of the IRA. On the other, he is sentimentally attached to his pet cat. Tending to the animal is the only thing that could make him abandon a torture session. A psychopath with a soft spot is doubly scary. At Everyman, Liverpool , until 12 October Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/TxYBIFS

Chastening defeat adds to Old Trafford crisis story but the reality is they were simply undone by a maverick opponent Well, Manchester United: here’s your Wembley of the North. Several years ahead of schedule, and perhaps not quite as envisaged in the architects’ drawings, but note-perfect in most other respects. A retail temple with a football concession attached; a shrine to wasted money; a ground where the noise barely rises above a disgruntled murmur, and where Tottenham feel pleasantly at home. Afterwards, Erik ten Hag tried to maintain some semblance of dignity, like a plumber calmly filling out his invoice even as brown water sloshes around his knees. After all, this is not simply a job but an office, and even in moments of decay a certain carriage is demanded. “Is there a fire drill?” the Tottenham fans gleefully asked as Old Trafford slowly emptied. There wasn’t. But the real thing is beginning to feel dangerously close. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.t

What does it feel like to discover, in adulthood, that you are a twin? Here, five sets of brothers and sisters tell their stories of meeting for the first time – and what happened to them next Imagine finding out late in life that there’s someone out there who looks just like you: same eyes, same nose, same mouth. Not a doppelganger, but a twin you never knew existed. Discovering that you’re a twin is “a life-changing experience,” says Nancy L Segal, a professor of psychology and the director of the Twin Studies Centre at California State University, Fullerton. Segal has written nine books on twins and is now working on her 10th. Over the years, she has come across at least 100 pairs of reared-apart twins. In most cases the twins were separated at birth and adopted by different families. “Adoptees often feel that something’s missing in their lives,” Segal says. “I think it relates to the fact they don’t look like their family members. They don’t feel a certain kind of belonging, even

It did not feel like bottom v top as Wolves succumbed to Liverpool. There was not a stark difference between the teams but, unsurprisingly, those now sitting at the summit possessed the greater quality in the critical moments as Liverpool showed they could win without playing well, a trait any team challenging for the title require. Rayan Aït-Nouri cancelled out Ibrahima Konaté’s opener, only for Liverpool to win a penalty in the immediate aftermath of the equaliser. From the spot, Mohamed Salah hit his fifth goal of the season to earn the points, even though his side failed to reach the levels Arne Slot expects. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/0npNs12

Manager says Manchester City made bad decisions at 1-0 Eddie Howe praises ‘really impressive’ Anthony Gordon A sanguine Pep Guardiola seemed reasonably content to settle for a point at Newcastle as his Manchester City side were held to a second Premier League draw in the space of seven days. Unlike last Sunday’s acrimonious match with Arsenal, Saturday’s meeting proved a much more cordial affair. Guardiola’s talk of war with Mikel Arteta was replaced with warm words and a lingering embrace for his Newcastle counterpart, Eddie Howe, as both managers agreed 1-1 represented a fair result . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/SYTtVGb

The Grammy-nominated singer took the plunge with Jeremy Dufrene in waterside outdoor venue In what some might see as an unlikely union, Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey has married a swamp tour guide from Louisiana. The Daily Mail obtained exclusive video and photos of the 39-year-old Del Rey’s wedding Thursday to Jeremy Dufrene, 49, in Des Allemands, Louisiana, about a 45-minute drive to the south-west from New Orleans. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/oYXjKtJ

Director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire says formidable actor brought many things to a set, including ‘terror’ Maggie Smith, Oscar-winning star of stage and screen, dies aged 89 I first met Maggie on the Harry Potter films, when she played Minerva McGonagall in Goblet of Fire . It wasn’t a very big part but she was always very notable, always poised in whatever she did – even when wearing a comedy hat. She brought a lot to the part, and to the set – and one of those things was terror. Maggie never bit me, but I think if she did bite you, you stayed bitten. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/c3BVCM1

The south-east of England could also see lightning, winds up to 50mph and even ‘isolated brief tornadoes’ Parts of the UK have been hit by further flash floods as the Met Office warns of more heavy rain throughout the evening and into Friday morning. The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (Torro) is also forecasting that much of the south-east of England could see lightning, winds up to 50mph and even “isolated brief tornadoes”. This includes much of East Anglia, the south-east Midlands and central southern England. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/aVhJP5q

Strong performances from Julia Garner and Dianne Wiest can’t add enough weight to a pointless horror that fills in gaps we didn’t need filling in There wasn’t any urgent necessity to this April’s horror prequel The First Omen , a film that took us back to tell a tale we mostly knew already. Filling in the specifics of Damien’s backstory, before he was adopted by a couple unaware of his satanic conception, was not something even the most impassioned Omen fans were thirsting for but it came to be because of Disney’s Fox purchase and a greedy desire to stuff its streamer Hulu with content associated with known IP, the common contemporary reasoning that forces existence: could over should. But a strike-affected release schedule, and I would imagine some enthused test screenings, pushed it into cinemas instead and while it wasn’t without its problems, it was made with such visual flair and frightening inventiveness that it ultimately felt like a worthwhile revisit. Months later, the same

We’re straight back in with a dozen underwhelming new bakers, an almost instantaneous bit of glad handing - and the smuttiest innuendo in the show’s history It’s the final round in week one of the new Great British Bake Off and Georgie, a paediatric nurse from rural Wales, has stepped forward with a cake that took her four hours to make. This is the moment presenter Alison Hammond has been waiting for. As the show’s judges, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, solemnly take a bite, Hammond turns to them and asks: “How does Fanny taste, guys?” Let me hastily explain. The showstopper round this week requires bakers to make a realistic “illusion” cake. Previously we have been told that Georgie is the owner of a hen named Fanny. Georgie has chosen to make a cake that looks like her pet chicken. Everything has been set up for the archetypal Bake Off moment: an innuendo so filthy it would be unthinkable on primetime TV if it weren’t being said in a marquee on a fine English lawn, among nice peop

Tribunal hears John Apter, since suspended, said he wanted to ‘comfort’ widow of officer killed on duty The former leader of the Police Federation made a sexual remark about the widow of an officer killed while on duty shortly before meeting her, a discipline tribunal has heard. John Apter is alleged to have said he would like to “comfort” the widow of PC Andrew Harper in his hotel room. The remarks were alleged to have been made just months after PC Harper’s death and shortly before his widow, Lissie, was due to collect a posthumous award on behalf of her late husband. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uZ9AB3

A number of people in Shiptonthorpe have received mail, but police inquiries are still to reveal the perpetrator “There’s nothing as funny as folk,” mused a resident of Shiptonthorpe in East Yorkshire, a quiet village in the grip of a mysterious poison pen letter writer. “It’s a lovely village,” she said. “I only moved here quite recently and everyone’s been really friendly.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/D3jY29v

Sale 12-11 Harlequins 31-year old kicked all of Sale’s points on a rainy afternoon at the Salford Community Stadium It may only be week one, but the reaction of Alex Sanderson and his Sale players at full-time here on a miserable afternoon in Salford underlined just how important the manner of this victory could prove to be in the months ahead. There is no doubting Sale have made impressive strides in recent seasons and they are capable of playing some fine rugby. But this gritty and attritional victory over a resolute and spirited Harlequins side was simply a case of needs must, amid a backdrop of grey skies and awful conditions which made free-flowing play difficult. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/p7Bw3xy

2nd Metro Bank ODI: Aus 270; Eng 202. Aus win by 68 runs Harry Brook’s team stumble to second loss in a row If this ODI seemed a match too far, in a series too many, a month too late, then no one told the Headingley faithful. They squashed on to trains to Burley Park and into the ungainly stands, a sellout crowd roasting in the unexpected September heat of the open seats of the Western Terrace and cheering England to the rooftops – alongside the pantomime if dated booing of Steve Smith and Alex Carey. At least for the first few hours. With stoical enthusiasm, most then stayed as the game swung, to watch England’s innings, a start-stop affair in light that faded alongside their chances, as an inexperienced 50-over side slumped to a comprehensive 68-run defeat. They go 2-0 down in the five-match series. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/EmVbuyh

A goalless draw at the Etihad last season cast Arsenal as frontrunners but they need to better balance aggression with defence It is the nature of the modern Premier League, in which 90 points has come to feel like a basic minimum to win the title, that analysis of how the league was won tends to focus on where it was lost. Manchester City’s excellence has become so relentless that the assumption is they will surpass 90 points. The question is less about anything they have done than whether other teams could have done anything to overhaul that total. In that context, the mind goes back to the final day of March last season, and Arsenal’s trip to Manchester City. Liverpool had beaten Brighton earlier in the day, giving them a three-point lead over Arsenal and four over City, having played a game more. Arsenal were content to frustrate City, drawing 0-0 . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/B0X7zqK

It’s slick, fast – and doesn’t feature the caped crusader once. The Irish actor is a revelation in a series that’s so twisty it leaves you breathless Though it stars Colin Farrell, reprising his part from Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The Batman , and is set just after the catastrophic events in Gotham that the Riddler masterminded at the end of the third act, you’re better off thinking of the Penguin as a kind of YA Sopranos than an addition to the Batverse. The Caped Crusader doesn’t appear and all the villainy on show – including that of the Penguin, now known as Oz Cobb instead of Oswald Cobblepot in a further move away from cartoonishness – is of a very human kind. Carmine, his boss and head of the Falcone crime family, was killed at the end of The Batman. There is now a power vacuum in the city and the series follows the Penguin’s attempts to rise from his position as a mid-level gangster, trusted to run a nightclub and a portion of the gangsters’ drug business but never fully accepte

Benny and Susanne Anguiano are back home in California with Rayne Beau, who ran into woods during camping trip For two months, a California couple was heartbroken, worrying about the whereabouts of their beloved cat after losing him in Yellowstone national park, a wilderness larger than some US states. But as summer came to a close, so did their tragic story. Benny and Susanne Anguiano reunited with their lost feline Rayne Beau last month after an animal welfare group called to let them know their cat had been found in Roseville, California, about 800 miles (1,287km) from Yellowstone. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1LzVKgB

Performer was first black actor to land leading role at National Theatre and to be cast in regular role on UK soap opera The “trailblazing” actor Cleo Sylvestre has died aged 79, her agent has confirmed. Sylvestre, also known as Cleopatra Palmer, had been a feature of film, stage, television and music since the 1960s, and played Melanie Harper, Meg Richardson’s adopted daughter, in ITV’s Crossroads – making her the first black actor to have a regular leading role in a UK soap opera. She was also the first black actor to land a leading role at the National Theatre. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/mSE6ZWM

The Oscar winner is a sturdy presence in an intriguing post-apocalyptic puzzle that can’t quite find all of the pieces There’s something nasty down in the woods again , just months after a deranged killer , some deranged fairies and a deranged attempt to resurrect IP all re-reminded us to steer well clear. In Alexandre Aja’s diverting yet overly derivative new horror Never Let Go, Halle Berry is a mother trying to keep her twin sons safe in a post-apocalyptic hellscape, hidden from whatever is left of the wider world. There are exhaustive rules told in an exhausting fashion, the most important of which is to never leave their remote shack without a rope attached, maintaining a connection with the holiness of home at all times. If they find themselves untethered then they’re at the mercy of a malevolent and inventive evil that will consume them. But it’s an evil that only she can see, telling the boys that they will only see it when they get older, a caveat that starts to grow a se

Local, national, international – the weekday paper was a brilliant one-stop shop. But information, and how we get it, is more atomised now Local daily to close.” Ultimately, that is the truth. From today, London’s Evening Standard is indeed ceasing to appear every weekday, as it has for almost 200 years. Yet you don’t have to have worked there for more than 15 years, as I did, to regard it as so much more than just a local rag. It will live as a website, with a once a week print edition, the London Standard. But it’s certainly a moment. The reach of the Standard as we have known it was huge, if implicit. Though its print edition was largely restricted to the capital, it used to be referred to, without irony, as “the influential London Evening Standard”. How long ago that seems. James Hanning is a former opinion editor of the Evening Standard, an ex deputy editor of the Independent on Sunday and author of The News Machine, about the phone hacking at the News of the World Continue re

With most of the year’s awards-aiming films now premiered, potential nominees are starting to fall into place Without a cinema-shuttering pandemic or a production-pausing strike in the way, this year’s fall festival season should have felt like a grand return to normal. There were Oscar winners in the mix – Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Adrien Brody, Ron Howard, Joaquin Phoenix – as well as a host of major biopics and adaptations, making for a robust, awards-friendly lineup on paper. But with Venice , Telluride and Toronto now out of the way, the Oscar race is far less certain than it usually is at this stage, without a clear Oppenheimer or Everything Everywhere All at Once to bet on. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1iCI3xE

Art deco detailing, baguette handbags and era-defining ensembles pepper collection by artistic director Kim Jones When a fashion brand makes it to its centenary, there are usually a plethora of important moments to reference in celebration. In the case of the Rome-based fashion house Fendi, artistic director Kim Jones has one the most illustrious fashion archives to play with. Co-founded by Adele Fendi in 1925, who later passed the reins to her five daughters, Fendi is famed for its era-defining ensembles, pop-cult baguette handbag and artistic collaborations, most notably with Karl Lagerfeld who was the brand’s creative director for 54 years until his death in 2019. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/WGbM6tn

London fashion week’s biggest name hints at change of direction after struggling to win over high-end shoppers Sometimes fashion shows are about what to wear to parties, and sometimes they are about money, national prestige, boardroom power struggles and the future of what was until recently one of Britain’s most valuable public companies. At Burberry, London fashion week’s biggest name, the clothes on the catwalk were clues as to the next chapter in an unfolding fashion industry drama. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/E4qgHQZ

USA win for first time since 2017 after 15½ to 12½ victory Charley Hull beat Nelly Korda 6&4 to give Europe hope They say Virginia is for lovers. The US ensured the overdue resumption of its relationship with the Solheim Cup on an afternoon when the heroics of Charley Hull almost inspired her European teammates towards the making of history. Watching golf fans were given cause to remember why the Solheim Cup is held in such deep affection. The event will return in the Netherlands in 2026; a wait that for now is unsatisfactory. It feels like an understatement to point out Suzann Pettersen’s European contingent battled hard to keep their hands on the trophy for what would have been a record-breaking fourth time. The US held their nerve. The scoreline of 15½ to 12½ did justice to that and a European team who lacked nothing in heart. Far from bursting through the tape, the hosts at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club stumbled over the line like an exhausted marathon runner. Continue

Exclusive: Ex-Labour leader gives speech at event where organisers say they aim to start party named Collective Jeremy Corbyn has addressed a meeting for a new leftwing political party named Collective attended by the former Unite general secretary Len McCluskey and a number of former independent candidates. Key figures in the group said they hoped the party would act as an incubator for future leaders who could replace Corbyn as a figurehead of the left, and aim to contest seats at the next general election. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MQ1JLc

To lose once after leading 2-0 could be deemed misfortune; to do so twice in succession smacks of carelessness. Not even Oscar Wilde would have come up with a script such as this but then the narrative around Everton pushes the bounds of credulity on a weekly basis. Lee Carsley, the interim England manager, was in attendance to see Ollie Watkins, who withdrew from his first squad through injury, score twice as Aston Villa followed Bournemouth’s example by giving Everton a two-goal lead before winning, this time with an outrageous long-distance shot from Jhon Durán. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/NxH3L0Q

More goals are being scored from inside the box because of better pitches and shifts in tactical thinking Last season, only 11.5% of goals scored in the Premier League came from outside the penalty area, the lowest figure Opta has recorded since the Premiership broke away from the Football League in 1992. That’s not a one-off: there have been fluctuations but the general trend over the past two decades has been a decline in the proportion of goals scored from long range. Which raises the obvious question of why? Is this the most clearcut evidence of the impact of data on football? Its exact impact on how football is actually played at the highest level is difficult to measure, not least because clubs are so keen to obfuscate any advantage they do derive from analysis to preserve their competitive advantage. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/gibtdev

National police agency says it is investigating 513 cases of deepfake pornography as a new scandal grips the country The anger was palpable. For the second time in just a few years, South Korean women took to the streets of Seoul to demand an end to sexual abuse. When the country spearheaded Asia’s #MeToo movement, the culprit was molka – spy cams used to record women without their knowledge. Now their fury was directed at an epidemic of deepfake pornography. For Juhee Jin, 26, a Seoul resident who advocates for women’s rights, the emergence of this new menace, in which women and girls are again the targets, was depressingly predictable. “This should have been addressed a long time ago,” says Jin, a translator. “I hope that authorities take precautions and provide proper education so that people can prevent these crimes from happening.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/EFu7kxP

Daily Mail owner says it has made ‘a small number’ of job cuts in US, and US Sun is also cutting back The publishers of the Sun and the Daily Mail are cutting jobs in their American digital operations amid financial pressure on the industry. News UK, the publisher of the Sun, and DMGT, the owner of the Mail, this week announced internal restructuring of their online divisions, Sky News reported. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/xVmUbYF

Marieha Hussain attended a London march against the war in Gaza carrying a sign depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts A woman who held a poster depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts during a London protest against Israel’s war in Gaza has gone on trial accused of a racially aggravated offence. Marieha Hussain, 37, pleaded not guilty as her trial began at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday morning. Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan said the term “coconut” was a “well-known racial slur which has a very clear meaning”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ZP7Fexr

Shows presented by eBay and Oxfam are first on-schedule at fashion week to exclusively feature preloved pieces If vintage fashion conjures visions of tea dresses and sweat stains, it is time to update your thinking. London fashion week kicked off in the capital on Thursday with clothes that might have been secondhand but felt very much of 2024. In an event space underneath a railway arch in Shoreditch, eBay, in partnership with the British Fashion Council (BFC), sent clothes by leading British designers from different decades down the catwalk, in a nod to it being London fashion week’s 40th anniversary . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/AVGuh7e

Emily Thornberry becomes head of foreign select committee, while Karen Bradley is sole Conservative given leading role Emily Thornberry will chair the foreign affairs select committee, but none of Labour’s 2024 intake succeeded in their attempts to lead parliament’s various select committees, it has emerged, after the Speaker of the House, Lindsay Hoyle, declared the results of the elections for select committee chairs. Thornberry, the member of parliament for Islington South and Finsbury, was surprisingly left out of Keir Starmer’s cabinet despite years serving in his shadow cabinet. The 64-year-old will head the highly influential foreign affairs select committee instead, while Labour MPs will also fill almost every other committee chair position. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1CUIwGf

When Cathy Terkanian learned that the daughter she was persuaded to place up for adoption had gone missing, she knew the police would never bother to find her. So she did it herself I feel like it’s been quite a while – 10, maybe even 20 minutes? – since Netflix’s last addition to the true crime genre (AKA an anthology of male violence against women and girls), but Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter is worth the wait, in the strange and twisted way of these voyeuristic endeavours anyway. It is the story of Cathy Terkanian’s search for her adopted daughter Alexis (renamed Aundria by her new parents, Brenda and Dennis Bowman). It began in 2010, when she got a letter asking if she could give a DNA sample to the police in case an unidentified woman’s brutalised body they had found was Aundria’s. That is how she discovered that the child she had been persuaded as a 16-year-old single mother to place up for adoption had run away from home in 1989 at the age of 14 and never been seen again. C

EasyGroup took legal action against Easyfundraising after claiming it had infringed trademarks EasyJet’s parent company has lost a trademark dispute against a charity shopping website that has “easy” in its name. EasyGroup took legal action against Easyfundraising, its founder, Ian Woodroffe OBE, and investors the Support Group (UK), after claiming it had infringed several trademarks. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lTt5Xqp

Foo Fighters frontman posts that he aims to be loving parent to new daughter and earn family’s forgiveness Dave Grohl has announced that he has become the father to a baby girl born “outside of my marriage”. The Foo Fighters frontman, 55, said he plans to be a “loving and supportive parent” to his new daughter in an Instagram post on Tuesday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/AUtsPhz

Toronto film festival: the actor leads a top-tier ensemble, including Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini, in an entertainingly juicy adaptation of Robert Harris’s novel Like the easily devoured paperback it’s based on, pulpy papal thriller Conclave has a brisk, page-turning allure, filled with juicy intrigue and mystery, a beach read that would follow you back home after. We’ve become grimly accustomed to plot-heavy best-sellers such as this stretched out into indulgent 10-episode seasons of television (such as the recently misjudged re-adaptation of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent on Apple TV+), a baggy over-extension of stories that demand a tighter grip. So it’s a mercy of sorts to see All Quiet on the Western Front’s Edward Berger transform Robert Harris’s “unputdownable” pot-boiler into a brisk, contained feature instead, a two-hour escape to the Vatican that knows exactly when to drop us in and take us out. It’s a fairly dry setup in theory but Harris and playwright Peter

A mother and daughter’s isolated life is upended by the arrival of an injured villain and the trouble that follows – but a quiet meditation on womanhood in the west this ain’t Westerns are ideal for stories hinged on remote isolation; sieges, shootouts, hostage situations all gain an added zing when the good guys and bad guys are a hundred miles from the nearest one-horse town, with no prospect of raising the alarm. That’s certainly the case for Pandora (Heather Graham) and Hester (Brielle Robillard), a widow and her teenage daughter living a long way from civilisation, at a time when civilisation was far from a guarantee of safety. At the start, as Hester hangs out by her dad’s grave you might imagine you’re in for a sombre relationship-based film, perhaps calling to mind the likes of Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff. Perhaps this will be a quiet meditation on grief and womanhood in the old west? Not a bit of it. Moments later, she discovers a wounded bandit, and being a good Christi

Ireland beaten 2-0 in interim manager’s first match ‘I feel like we’re in a good position with the players’ Lee Carsley has opened up to ­feelings of self-doubt over his ­ability to ­manage England but has been emboldened by the success of his opening game against Republic of Ireland on Saturday. The interim manager saw his team win 2-0 in Dublin, the goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish ­coming during a dominant first-half per­formance. It got England’s Nations League Group B2 campaign off to a good start and, more significantly, did likewise with Carsley’s audition to replace Gareth Southgate on a ­permanent basis. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/67pbnt4

Platform run from industrial estate in Cumbria and catering to alternative relationships has expanded globally A dating app aimed at alternative relationships nearly doubled its revenues last year as non-monogamous, queer and kinky users helped the UK-based business expand its reach across the world. Feeld, founded by an entrepreneur couple in an open relationship, has said it is “on a mission to elevate the human experience of sexuality and relationships” from its registered office on an industrial estate in Carlisle, Cumbria. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/0swdPpV

Dozens said to be considering abstaining from Tuesday’s vote over pensioners’ payments, as PM says dealing with dissent is ‘matter for chief whip’ As many as 50 Labour MPs could refuse to back the government’s controversial plan to cut the winter fuel allowance, despite Keir Starmer urging back benchers to get behind a measure he has conceded is “unpopular”. While few on the government benches are expected to vote against the policy in Tuesday’s vote, dozens are believed to be considering abstaining or being absent – though rebels say the numbers in their ranks are very hard to predict. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/mx0XoA7

Anthem storm before serene Nations League victory over the Republic of Ireland was silly but avoidable At precisely 4.59pm in Dublin, an act of great treachery took place. Nobody will forget where they were on the day when Lee Carsley from Birmingham stood and decided not to sing a song moments before leading England to an easy 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in their 2024 Nations League opener. Has a victory ever tasted so ­bitter? Has the imagination of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ­passing, the audacity of Jack Grealish’s ­dribbling and the general sense of an England team treating the ball like an old friend ever felt so ­irrelevant when placed next to the Shame of Carsley? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/hnuTVqY

Updates from the 9pm BST start at Flushing Meadows Get in touch! Share your thoughts in an email to John Weather news, it’s windy and cold in NYC , so the roof is on. Does that favour the bigger hitters? Advante Sabalenka in that case. As the piece below shows, Pegula’s parents happen to own the Buffalo Bills. They will be hoping their daughter doesn’t do a Jim Kelly. The Bills roster have wished her good luck. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/wSpGfJ4

Bodies of Dominik, 3, Nikodem and Kacper, both 2, and their father, Piotr Swiderski, 31, were found last week The deaths of three young boys whose bodies were found next to their father’s at a house in Surrey last week are being investigated as murder, police have said. Last Saturday, police discovered the bodies of Dominik, three, and Nikodem and Kacper Swiderski, both two, with their father, Piotr Swiderski, 31, at a property in Staines-upon-Thames at about 1.15pm. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/8zKDH9O

Toronto film festival Tom Michell’s feelgood memoir could have been a winning buddy movie with Coogan’s colleague – if it wasn’t for the titular bird always muscling its way in looking baffled Films set in Latin America during periods of political and social unrest – the early work of Pablo Larraín, say – have traditionally been low on Dead Poets Society-style inspirational uplift. Or, for that matter, penguins. Now the Steve Coogan Heartwarming True Story Machine – the same one which produced Philomena and The Lost King – seeks to rectify the oversight, and not a moment too soon. This adaptation of Tom Michell’s cosy memoir The Penguin Lessons, scripted by Coogan’s semi-regular collaborator Jeff Pope and directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty), begins in Buenos Aires in 1976, just as Isabel Perón is being ousted in a military coup. Tom, played by Coogan, pitches up with his wardrobe of snazzy beige and mustard-coloured jackets (“Steve Coogan’s suits by Gresham Blake”) at a priv

Coach on the road to winning Olympic gold with the US, why her final months at Chelsea were so tough and immersing herself in politics “Was there a moment that I knew we were going to win gold? Probably the toe save,” says Emma Hayes, after a pause to think. “After the toe save I was like: ‘Oh, your name’s on it. Your name’s on it.’” That “toe save” came in the 119th minute of the United States’ Olympic semi-final against Germany, the goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher leaping and flicking away Laura Freigang’s point-blank header to preserve their lead . Four days later, Mallory Swanson’s 57th-minute strike earned the US gold against Brazil, a staggering 72 days after Hayes oversaw her first practice. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/owuXUiH

To see the kids kicking balls around at the international tournament in Croatia is more than just a joy; it’s a miracle Even though I didn’t know Graham Norton, I ended up playing simultaneous chess alongside Nemanja Vidić. I should explain. A couple of brothers from the Croatian city of Split came to see me in London, hoping I could put them in touch with Graham Norton, which I couldn’t because I don’t really know him. The brothers, Zdravko and Slaven Marić, told me about a sports tournament they organised for kids from countries that were once part of Yugoslavia. What, really? Kids from Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, all coming together in Split to play and compete together? Apparently so. And Norton came into it because in Croatia he’s a big star. Everyone loves his show, subtitles and all. So they wanted him to come to Split to be a guest of honour at their Youth Sports Games. At short notice I was unable to make their wish come true, but they didn’t seem

With possible election looming, Jagmeet Singh calls end to confidence and supply arrangement with ‘weak, selfish’ party Canada’s New Democratic party says it has “ripped up” a key agreement with prime minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, sowing uncertainty into the country’s politics as party leaders brace for a possible election. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh made the surprise announcement on social media on Wednesday afternoon, accusing Trudeau of “caving” to corporate greed. “The Liberals have let people down. They don’t deserve another chance from Canadians,” he said. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/GYQLKsZ

Inspired by a notorious real-life case, Fabrice Du Welz’s film starts strong but gets lost in the murky waters of conspiracy Fabrice Du Welz began the century as a master of Belgian gothic, riding the wave of Euro-extreme cinema. Calvaire, or The Ordeal , from 2005, was a gruesome gripper. Since then, in a chequered career, he has more or less maintained his stride, and now he comes to Venice as director and co-writer of an initially promising true-crime horror procedural. It is loosely inspired by the serial killer and child rapist Marc Dutroux , whose case enraged the Belgian public when it became clear the country’s various quarrelling law-enforcement authorities, hampered by bureaucracy, incompetence and turf-war disputes, had in effect allowed Dutroux to go free for years. It’s an intriguing premise and this baggy, free-ranging movie presents a tonal range of sour acrimony, anxiety and occasional flourishes of nauseous black comedy. But it’s a long film which finally – and rathe

Three girls and two boys held on suspicion of murder after alleged serious assault in Braunstone Town park Five children have been arrested on suspicion of murder – including three 12-year-olds – after the death of an 80-year-old man who was allegedly attacked while walking his dog on Sunday evening barely 20 metres from his front door. Leicestershire police said the pensioner was found having been assaulted at about 6.30pm in Franklin Park, Braunstone Town. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/EJ6osCV

Temporary ruling prevents ex-president from using Hold On, I’m Comin’ while permanent injunction is considered A judge on Tuesday blocked Donald Trump from playing a song by the late soul singer and composer Isaac Hayes at his rallies, at least while a lawsuit from the artist’s family seeking a permanent injunction is considered. The temporary ruling from the federal court judge Thomas Thrash in Atlanta, Georgia, prevents the Republican presidential nominee from further use of Hold On, I’m Comin’, written by Hayes and David Porter and a 1966 hit for the Miami-based soul duo Sam & Dave. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/bRAQkcj

Spy cop confessions, stressful wire-wearing scenes and a sheriff down … as the series enters its home stretch it’s certainly not making for relaxing viewing Spoiler alert: this recap is for people watching Sherwood on BBC One. Please don’t read it unless you have watched series two, episode four. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/PRmlLzs

Fifteen suspected assailants, members of the Turkey Youth Union, were detained after attack in port city of Izmir Two US military service members were “physically attacked” in the port city of Izmir in western Turkey on Monday by members of an anti-American youth group, authorities said. Fifteen suspected assailants were detained in the attack on the two service members, who were dressed in civilian clothing at the time of the incident. Five other US service members joined in the incident after seeing the violent encounter, officials said. Reuters contributed to this report Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ftEI6cV

Organisation does not believe customer data has been compromised and says transport system not affected Transport for London has said it is dealing with a cyber-attack. The organisation, which runs most of London’s transport network, said it had undertaken immediate action to prevent any further access to its systems and was working closely with the relevant government agencies, including the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/FHRx6Aw

Brad Pitt and George Clooney have near identical roles as veteran crime fixers who are called into the same assignment in a fun, infectious caper Brad Pitt and George Clooney play two sides of the same coin in Jon Watts’s jaunty, high-concept comedy-thriller about a pair of self-styled lone wolves who find they’ve been double-booked. Watts earned his spurs as the director of the money-spinning Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy and he sets about Wolfs with the panting relief of a man who now feels he can kick back, let loose and consign the Marvel salt-mine to history. Except that the joke might be on him because what he’s made is basically the film of the meme in which two Spideys point at each other. Exterior, night: the Manhattan skyline. A crash of glass, a woman’s scream. Margaret (Amy Ryan, thankless role) has been cavorting with a young stud she picked up in a bar, but now the kid’s dead and who’s she gonna call? Margaret calls Clooney, who reckons himself to be the only man for t

Reigning champion struggles to sixth in Italian GP He says retaining his Formula One title is ‘not realistic’ The Formula One world champion, Max Verstappen, has condemned his Red Bull car as “undriveable”, “a monster” and insisted he does not believe either he or his team remain world championship contenders as things stand. Verstappen was speaking after finishing sixth at the Italian Grand Prix, where he was off the pace all weekend and the race was won by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in second and third. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/B1nrjW3