by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#5W9AZ)
With more stars that any other county, the land of gravy and chips is now held up as a rival to Paris and San SebastiánWhen Simon Rogan and his family moved to Cumbria in 2002, the Lake District was famed for many reasons but food was not top of the menu. Visitors came in droves for the hills, rather than the haute cuisine.Twenty years later their feted village restaurant, L’Enclume, is at the centre of a “mind-blowing” culinary renaissance that has led some diners to compare Cumbria to international foodie havens such as Paris, San Sebastián and Copenhagen. Continue reading...
Flor Bressers, on Belgian and Europol most-wanted lists, has been on the run since 2020One of Europe’s most-wanted drug lords, a Belgian with a master’s degree in criminology, has been arrested in Switzerland after two years on the run.Flor Bressers, 30, nicknamed “the finger cutter”, has been sought since 2020 when he was given a four-year jail sentence for kidnapping, slashing with a razor and beating a Dutch florist who failed to smuggle drugs past UK customs. Continue reading...
Forgotten how to behave in public? As Covid restrictions lift, a quick refresher on everyday encounters from shaking hands to sharing drinksRecently, while out for drinks and sharing plates, a friend reached over and took a sip of my cocktail. There are key parts of this anecdote that still, two years into the push–pull of pandemic guidance, strike nervousness into me. They include the words “dinner”, “friend”, “sharing plates”, not to mention the thought of a bathroom where there’s nice soap but the water from the tap still comes out cold and for some reason there’s no dainty way of opening the door once you’ve washed your hands, so you just have to grab the door handle with your newly washed hand, which seems to instantly negate the point of washing the hands. But the crucial information here is that I had a very nice negroni in front of me, and they wanted to try it, so they took the glass and raised it to their lips and took a sip.In 2019, I would not have minded. That’s because All This hadn’t happened, and I considered myself fairly normal. This is no longer true. I have forgotten how to talk to anyone. How to greet people. How to meet new people. How to sit in an office. A lot of people forgot how to talk back to me, too. Restrictions are easing up, but people aren’t necessarily doing the same. So I spoke to some experts to get some guidance. Continue reading...
by Helena Smith in Athens and Lorenzo Tondo in Palerm on (#5W8YQ)
Rescue services trying to save pair trapped on Euroferry Olympia, which was headed to ItalyGreek rescue forces are desperately trying to save two people trapped onboard a stricken ferry amid fears that 14 passengers were missing nearly eight hours after the ship burst into flames.A Super Puma helicopter had attempted several times to approach the Euroferry Olympia, an Italian liner en route to Brindisi, when the fire broke out at around 4am. State-run TV described the pair - a Bulgarian and a Turk - as lorry drivers trapped in the ship’s garage. Continue reading...
Record number of death sentences handed out over attacks in Gujarat city of Ahmedabad, which killed 56A court in India has sentenced to death a record 38 people for a deadly terror attack in the Indian city of Ahmedabad in 2008, in which up to 20 bombs were set off across the city in hospitals, shopping centres and parks, leaving 56 dead.It was the first time so many accused have received death sentences in a single case in the country. The sentence must be confirmed by a higher court. Judge AR Patel also sentenced 11 people to life imprisonment in the case. Continue reading...
Celebrated blogger had suffered ill health after spending 17 months in prison for speaking out against president Ali BongoHervé Mombo Kinga, the pro-democracy activist and celebrated blogger who spent 17 months in jail for insulting the Gabonese president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, was not impressed when he saw the pictures of the leader limping up the stairs of France’s presidential palace.Kinga, who died last week at 47 after contracting Covid, was infuriated by the episode – widely shared in the west African country of Gabon, despite the embarrassment it caused the president, whose family has held power for more than five decades. Continue reading...
This month, we dives into a European salad that went global after the Americans added mayo. But why is cheese a no-no? And should you be punished for popping in pineapple?It won’t prevent cancer, rejuvenate ageing skin or arrest global warming but coleslaw is nonetheless a “miracle food”. Crunchy and wet, creamy and fresh, sweet and savoury, the subject of this month’s How to eat – the series identifying how best to enjoy Britain’s favourite foods – delivers rare complexity in every mouthful. It is also one of the few salads that works with hot dishes, the mayonnaise greasing the wheels of that gastronomic interaction.Little wonder that Dutch koolsla, originally a way of dressing raw cabbage to make it palatable, not only survived its 18th-century journey to the US but with adjustments (swapping vinaigrette for mayonnaise), was re-exported to global acclaim. Continue reading...
Cine y Moda looks at fashion’s relationship with film, from Brando’s The Wild One to Kubrick’s A Clockwork OrangeFrom Zorro’s mask to Rocky’s shorts, and from Madonna’s conical bra to Ringo Starr’s papal attire in the 1975 musical Lisztomania, some of the many costumes that have stitched together the worlds of film and fashion have gone on show in a Madrid exhibition overseen by Jean Paul Gaultier.The enfant terrible of French fashion, now silver-haired and a couple of months shy of 70, says the idea is to look at how the two creative spheres have fed and influenced each other while simultaneously serving as mirrors of social, sexual and cultural change. Continue reading...
Always wanted to tackle the great Irish writer but not sure Ulysses is for you? This handy primer may just help you find a way inThe books of James Joyce, along with Middlemarch and War and Peace, were among the titles that many vowed to read when the UK was plunged into its first coronavirus lockdown. Almost two years later, we now know that most of us filled all that time indoors with Netflix and Zoom quizzes rather than catching up on lengthy classics (apart from the author David Mitchell, who did read Ulysses in 2020). But with this month marking the centenary of Ulysses and 140 years since Joyce’s birth, perhaps now really is the time to familiarise or re-familiarise yourself with the influential modernist writer.The entry point Continue reading...
None of 22 crew members hurt after vessel with almost 4,000 VW group cars onboard caught fireA burning container ship carrying almost 4,000 cars – including 1,100 Porsches – has been drifting in the mid-Atlantic after the vessel’s 22 crew members were evacuated, the Portuguese navy has said.The ship Felicity Ace, which was carrying a number of Volkswagen Group vehicles from Germany to the US, caught fire near the Azores on Wednesday evening, a VW spokesperson said on Friday. Continue reading...
She says the bike has got to go; he thinks it’s a work of art. We air both sides of a domestic disagreement – you deliver the verdictIf you have a disagreement you’d like settled, or want to be part of our jury, click herePeter loves his bikes; we now have a garage, but he still keeps one in the house
by Mostafa Rachwani (now) and Caitlin Cassidy (earlie on (#5W8N6)
Premier Mark McGowan announces border reopening date; Bob Katter raises concerns over gun trafficking bill; at least 39 Covid deaths recorded; PM says federal government had no power ‘to prevent’ Port of Darwin sale; ACT to ease restrictions from tonight. Follow all the day’s news
Renowned photographers Bruno Zanzottera and Elena Dak spent a year following a shepherding family and their flock across mountainous pastures. Words by Bruno Zanzottera, Elena Dak and Tom LevittAlice and Fabio have been nomadic shepherds for almost 10 years, taking their sheep every year from pastures high in the Dolomites to and from the Po valley, a large expanse of agricultural landscape in northern Italy.Between June and September, they move around various pastures in the Dolomites, but when the weather starts to get cold, they take their flock of about 1,000 to the lowlands.Fabio drives his flock of 1,000 sheep through the Fochet pastures in the Belluno Dolomites Continue reading...
by Helen Davidson in Taipei, and Sum Lok-kei in Hong on (#5W8ZJ)
A policy of admitting every positive case to hospital means thousands are being added to an already huge backlog every dayThe beds pile up outside Hong Kong’s Caritas hospital. In the cold night, elderly patients lie on gurneys covered with blankets and thermal foil sheets. A woman in pink folds her arms against the chill, while another reaches across her bed in an apparent gesture of comfort to a neighbour. Nearby, others crowd into yellow and blue spillover tents lining the car park edges. The hospital staff attend people calling out when they can but they are outnumbered. Wails from patients carry through the air.There are similar scenes across the city, where 11 public hospitals were operating at or beyond capacity as of Friday. Private hospitals refuse to take Covid patients. Photos supplied to the Guardian show a treatment room inside one hospital earlier this week (88% capacity) with gurneys three deep across the thoroughfare, on a floor strewn with garbage. Bathrooms that no one has had time to clean were soiled with faeces, dirt and discarded biohazard bags. Continue reading...
After a meandering third season, Rachel Brosnahan is back on ferocious form as a ‘girl comic’ fighting to regain her careerAfter a treacly, uneven third season, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel (Amazon Prime) appears to have found its fangs again. “Revenge … I crave it. I am completely consumed by the need for it,” purrs Midge/Miriam (nobody seems to call her Midge any more), rediscovering her sharp edges, now back on a small stage in a dingy nightclub, with an act that is heavy on the F-word. This show is never better than when Miriam is having to fight tooth and nail for her spot in the limelight, and it is a welcome relief to see her having to do it again. “That’s life. Shit happens,” she declares, ending the routine on a surprisingly acerbic note.I say surprising because, while the first two seasons were a lot of fun, Mrs Maisel found herself in a rut during the third, which paired huge set pieces with a meandering plot and episodes that felt far longer than they were. Season three all-but guaranteed that Miriam was going to make it big, until her seemingly certain path to stardom and home ownership hit not so much a road block as a solid brick wall, when she accidentally(ish) outed the biggest star in the world to his adoring audience. It appears that few picked up on the Judy Garland references that felt a little ahead of their time, but it was enough to get her fired from her fame-making tour, and bring her back to where it all started. Continue reading...
Subset collective to enter proceedings after 10 year ‘game of cat and mouse’ over murals including one of Sir David AttenboroughAcross the world, public murals have given bursts of cultural and political expression to cityscapes. Some of their creators, such as Banksy, have even become millionaires in the process.But in Ireland, a collective of street artists known as Subset are about to enter a court battle as part of a 10-year “game of cat and mouse” with Dublin city council over three murals, including one celebrating the life of Sir David Attenborough. Continue reading...
When the pandemic hit, I realized the work that would take me a few hours in the office drags on at home. Discovering a site that forced me to be accountable saved meThe first thing I did when I sat down to write this piece was to have a conversation with Ben. Ben is a polite clean-cut white American thirtysomething with a 5 o’clock shadow sitting against a plain blue wall. The only thing hanging in his study is a white frame with “less.” on it in lower-case serif, which makes me think he’s a graphic designer. But the only thing I really know about Ben is he’s too easily distracted, and so am I.I have been randomly assigned to work with Ben on a website I use every day called Focusmate, which uses a sense of accountability to help you focus. The homepage kind of looks like a Google calendar: you book in a 50-minute session and the site matches you with someone else who wants to work in that time slot (this is mostly done randomly although brand new users are matched with more experienced ones). When the time comes, you and your buddy get placed on a video call. You politely and briefly tell each other what you’re planning to use the time to do and then you get on with it. Continue reading...
A rare red weather warning for coastal parts of south Wales and south-west England has been issued by the Met Office before what could be the worst storm to hit the UK in 30 years. Storm Eunice is predicted to arrive on Friday morning and comes after Storm Dudley battered Northern Ireland, northern England and southern Scotland
Chahi Ariel makes the Guinness World Records with a 289g strawberry – five times the average weight of that varietyAn Israeli farmer has grown the world’s heaviest strawberry, according to Guinness World Records.At 289g, the strawberry was about five times the average weight of a regular berry of the local Ilan variety, said Nir Dai, a researcher at Israel’s Volcani Institute, where the strain was developed. Continue reading...
The five-year-old boy is believed to have fallen into the well in a remote village while helping adults dig a boreholeRescuers were desperately scrambling to reach a five-year-old boy trapped for two days down a well in a remote southern Afghan village.The operation in Shokak village, Zabul province, comes less than two weeks after a similar attempt to rescue a child from a Moroccan well gripped the world – but ended with the boy found dead. Continue reading...
Justin Trudeau says ‘high time these illegal and dangerous activities stop’ after nearly three weeks in Canadian capitalTruckers who have blockaded downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks have defied a growing police presence in the Canadian capital and ignored repeated warnings that they could face steep fines and possible arrest.Officers had warned of an impending crackdown on Thursday, as busloads of police reinforcements arrived in the city and work crews took the rare step of erecting metal fences outside the senate and parliament. Continue reading...
The new measure allows abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy for urban adult women and 16 weeks for rural minors and adultsEcuadorian legislators have approved regulations to allow women and girls access to abortions in cases of rape, following a constitutional court ruling that decriminalized such abortions.Previously, Ecuador allowed abortions only when a woman’s life was endangered by pregnancy. Continue reading...
A resident of a city in eastern Ukraine where a kindergarten was hit by shelling from Russian-backed separatists has said that he thought the artillery barrage meant that war had started.'We were getting ready to go to work, we got up and just like back in 2014 and 2015 there was a huge noise, it was not far away,' Dmytro, a resident of Stanytsia Luhanska, said.'We were all anxious and panicked because we knew, we expected some provocations exactly at this time so we thought that the war has indeed started,' he added.The incidents come at a time of global concern over the prospect of a wider war, with more than 100,000 Russian troops near the Ukrainian frontier. Moscow denies it is planning an invasion and has said this week it is pulling back some troops, though western countries say they are not convinced it isShelling by Russian-backed separatists raises tensions in east UkraineRussia and Ukraine crisis latest news: live updates as US warns of Russian invasion Continue reading...
by Mark Brown, Caroline Davies and Steven Morris on (#5W7RJ)
People urged to stay home on Friday as thousands remain without power after Storm DudleyA rare red weather warning for coastal parts of south Wales and south-west England has been issued by the Met Office before what could be the worst storm to hit the UK in 30 years.Storm Eunice is expected to arrive at 5am on Friday, bringing potentially dangerous weather for much of the UK. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh in London and Andrew Roth in Moscow on (#5W8K4)
Analysis: evidence contrasts with statements from Russia that troops are being sent back to barracksBritain believes that nearly half of Russian forces that have massed near Ukraine are now within 30 miles of the border, in contrast to statements from Moscow that its forces were being sent back to barracks.Reinforcements from 14 battalions were in the process of arriving, officials added, while highlighting a pontoon bridge that had been briefly set up in Belarus in the past few days as an example of unusual military activity. Continue reading...
Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine rose after Russian-backed separatists opened fire across the line of control with Ukrainian forces, hitting a nursery school and injuring three people.According to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe there were multiple shelling incidents on Thursday morning across the frontline in the Donbas region.The nursery attack took place in the city of Stanytsia Luhanska with video showing debris and masonry strewn over a play area
After discovering the creative joys of collaborative vocal improvisation, the Suffolk singer wants to help people reach into their hearts and bring out their voices“What sound does my body make?” is a question that has followed Briony Greenhill since she was a child in Suffolk, sitting and singing on the stairs of the family home. It’s there today in her work as one of the world’s leading proponents of collaborative vocal improvisation (CVI) and, too, in the power and intimacy of her new album, Crossing the Ocean. “These voices that we have are part of our human design,” she says. “There’s a beauty in bringing that out and making music with it.”Vocal improvisation is different to other forms of singing. There is no song, no score, no lyrics. “When you’re not given a song, and you end up learning to trust the song that comes through you in the moment, it’s like finding the rubber ring you can trip down the river on,” Greenhill says. Continue reading...
Study finds ‘widespread’ ill-treatment and extrajudicial executions during 1945-9 war of independenceThe Dutch state condoned and concealed a systematic use of extreme violence such as extrajudicial executions and torture during the 1945-9 Indonesian war of independence against colonial rule, a government-backed inquiry has concluded.The ruthless brutality of the Netherlands’ military and intelligence services is said to have been sanctioned at the highest levels of government, with all considerations subordinated to the goal of maintaining the colony. Continue reading...
One former and two serving officers charged with sending grossly offensive messagesTwo serving Metropolitan police officers and one former officer have been
The rapper answers your questions about his passion for weed, the group’s appeal to 90s rock kids – and their beef with Ice CubeYou were one of the hip-hop acts that crossed the divide and attracted fans who were into other genres. Did you realise that back in the day? AmongstTheWavesIn the beginning, in 1991, we opened for the likes of Naughty By Nature and Ice Cube, but developed a reputation for energetic shows. We somehow got booked for Lollapalooza and thought: “What are we doing here?” but started seeing crowdsurfing and stage diving. After that, rock fans, metal kids and punk fans started showing up to our shows. Our imagery was rockish and we started winning those kids over without doing that style of music. Continue reading...
On the 65th anniversary of Funny Face, we run down the Givenchy girl’s best moments – from upstaging her (usually much older) leading men to literally representing heaven in a dazzling white cable-knitThis exotic MGM romance directed by Hepburn’s then husband, Mel Ferrer, was in fact her first big flop. Anthony Perkins plays a Venezuelan refugee whose life is saved by Rima the jungle girl: Hepburn in a suede pixie tunic, accessorised with a pet fawn and backed by a supporting cast in brownface. Continue reading...
Former Scotland editor says she repeatedly experienced gendered abuse while doing her jobSarah Smith, the BBC’s former Scotland editor, has said she feels relieved to have left the country after enduring years of misogynistic “bile and hatred” while covering Scottish politics.Smith, the recently appointed North America editor for BBC News, said she repeatedly experienced gendered abuse while doing her job, which led her to significantly reduce her use of Twitter and to fear she had become a visible target. Continue reading...
by Angelique Chrisafis in Paris and agencies on (#5W7Y9)
Fears of jihadist push in Gulf of Guinea after Macron and allies pull outFrance and its European partners are to begin a military withdrawal from Mali after more than nine years fighting a jihadist insurgency, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, confirmed on Thursday.Asked at the Élysée if the withdrawal marked a failure for France and its policy of fighting terrorism in west Africa, Macron said: “I completely reject that term.” Continue reading...
Dodgy graphics, mysteriously sourced computers and a bemused artist: a new Youtube documentary celebrates 30 years since the release of computing classic LemmingsWhen you try to describe the much-loved video game Lemmings, it sounds like a wind-up. Your mission: herding a collection of tiny, green-haired, blue-jumpered, bipedal sprites from a trapdoor entrance to a safe exit without them dying horribly. It looked, if not bad, then wilfully basic even for 1991. But, released years before mobile phone games were a thing, it was nonetheless a fiendishly addictive game that feels like the spiritual precursor to the likes of Angry Birds. And it was manna to many, many kids like me, whose sole household computing device was a rubbish PC with a horrible four-colour CGA screen that basically couldn’t play any video game of the time … except Lemmings!To mark 30 years since its release, Exient – current holders of the franchise – has made a YouTube documentary about it. Made remotely, Lemmings: Can You Dig It? largely consists of interviews with the people involved in the creation of the original game, plus spirited nostalgic interjections from various nerdy talking heads. Continue reading...
Defence ministry says women joining military need permission of male guardian and must wear head coveringKuwaiti women are angry after the military, having allowed female soldiers to take combat roles, decided they need the permission of a male guardian and banned them from carrying weapons.Activists have decried the policy as “one step forward, two steps back” after the defence ministry also decided that women in the armed forces, unlike civilians, must wear head coverings. Continue reading...
Fifteen questions on general knowledge and topical trivia plus a few jokes every Thursday – how will you fare?Once again the task that lies before you is 15 vaguely topical and general knowledge questions, littered with repetitive in-jokes that long since stopped being entertaining. You will meet Ron from Sparks. You will meet Kate Bush. You will have several Doctor Who references to spot. And after the fuss everybody made about the Eiffel Tower question last time around, this week you will not have to measure anything in feet. There are no prizes, it is just for fun. Let us know how you get on in the comments.The Thursday quiz, No 43If you do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, please feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com but remember, the quiz master’s word is always final, and he is too busy writing about the Winter Olympics to reply anyway. Continue reading...
by Aubrey Allegretti Political correspondent on (#5W7WF)
System has previously been criticised as a ‘backdoor loophole’ to funnel dirty money into UKMinisters are preparing to scrap the “golden visa” system that allows wealthy foreign investors a fast track to living in the UK, amid concerns over links with Russia.Given concerns about how the system is being taken advantage of, and against a backdrop of souring relations with Moscow given its military buildup on the border with Ukraine, the home secretary, Priti Patel, is to axe the residence route. Continue reading...
Simon Nellist, 35, was reportedly training for charity swim when he was killed off SydneyA swimmer killed in what is believed to have been the first fatal shark attack off Sydney, Australia, in almost 60 years has been named locally as a British man.Friends said Simon Nellist, 35, who was engaged to be married, “loved the water” and was an experienced diving instructor. The British expatriate, who it is understood was living in the Wolli Creek area of Sydney, was reportedly training for a charity swim. Continue reading...
At least 94 people have died after heavy rains sent mudslides and floods through a mountainous region of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state. Petrópolis, the ‘imperial city’ that was the summer getaway of Brazil’s monarchs in the 19th century, was directly in the path of the deluge when it hit on Tuesday. The city’s mayor, Rubens Bomtempo, said the number of dead could keep rising as searchers picked through the wreckage. Twenty-one people have been recovered alive and civilians have joined the official recovery efforts
Labour’s Andy McDonald said he will seek assurances public money will not be used when MPs return next weekA Labour MP intends to seek assurances in parliament that public money will not be used to pay for the Duke of York’s settlement with Virginia Giuffre.An out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum, reportedly as high as £12m, was reached with Giuffre, who was suing the Queen’s son claiming he had sexually abused her after she was trafficked by his friend and convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein. Continue reading...