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Move could have severe consequences for US economy US citizens who cross border for work or family fear hardship The Trump administration reiterated on Sunday the president’s threat to close the border with Mexico, regardless of potentially severe consequences for the US economy. Related: Under the bridge: migrants held in El Paso tell of dust, cold and hunger Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2OBzVX0

• Tottenham Ladies 1-5 Manchester United Women • United on course for promotion to Women’s Super League If “women against girls” was an apt description for the reverse fixture, it is worth rehashing after a full-time Manchester United moved four points clear of part-timers Tottenham in the race for the Championship with a 5-1 win against their title rivals. Two first-half goals from Katie Zelem put United, who have a game in hand over Spurs at the top of the table, in the driving seat before the visitors’ captain, Jenna Schillaci, pulled one back from a free-kick. However, United proved too strong in the second half. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UlSB2a

The Oxford English Dictionary’s inclusion of regional terms shows off what the UK has in common – linguistic ingenuity In a rare piece of happy news to distract us momentarily from all the chaos, those lovely linguists at the Oxford English Dictionary have announced an abundance of new words all taken from regional dialects. The new entries include the Indian-English phrase “kiss my chuddies”; the delicious word “jibbons”, which is what spring onions are called in Wales; and the Scottish words “sitooterie”, which is (obviously) a place to sit out, and “bidie-in” (“a person who lives with his or her partner in a non-marital relationship”), which surely should have been in the dictionary ages ago, since the author Val McDermid, a fine connoisseur of the English language, uses it in her Twitter bio. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uDxF8l

Zuzana Čaputová campaigned on platform of ‘humanism, solidarity and truth’ The woman who has been elected Slovakia’s first female president said her victory showed “you can win without attacking your opponents”, after fighting a positive campaign based on progressive values and political reform, and providing a rare moment of hope for liberal politics in central Europe. Zuzana Čaputová, a 45-year-old lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner , won 58.4% of the votes in Saturday’s poll and will take office in June. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uyuSgS

With parliament deadlocked and no-deal Brexit still a terrifying possibility, the best way out would be a people’s vote It is astonishing to reflect that the prime minister’s announcement on Wednesday of her resignation plans was by no means the most important political story of the week. Far from it, in fact. In normal circumstances – of which you may have a dim recollection – Theresa May’s declaration that she “ won’t stand in the way ” of “a new leadership” once her Brexit deal was approved would have driven all other news to the margins, rocked the markets, gripped the world. But, in these extraordinary times, such a story is just another day at the office. And rightly so. As significant as the identity of the next Conservative leader undoubtedly is – not least because that person will probably be the next prime minister – it is small potatoes compared with the redefinition of Britain’s relationship with the European Union and the scandalously amateurish process by which that mat...

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By MATT STEVENS and SYDNEY EMBER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2UsPiXj

Opposition to May’s deal is all about the backstop, say those in party’s Northern Irish heartlands Tory Brexiters who wonder how the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) ended up snagging Brexit will find a simple answer in the party’s heartlands: it’s the backstop. The fear of a wedge being driven between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK trumps everything. A possible hammer blow to the economy, a rupture in the party’s relationship with farmers, business groups and Tory allies, a threat to Brexit itself – all are prices worth paying. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uCozc8

Football can be a cruel game at times. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Cardiff were leading 1-0 and the mood in the away end was mutinous. “We want Sarri out” reverberated loud and clear time and again, so much so that it was tempting to wonder whether Chelsea’s manager was fighting to hold on to his job. How quickly things can change. By the time the final whistle blew the Chelsea fans were celebrating a victory that kept alive their hopes of a top-four finish and left Cardiff crestfallen. The killer goal was César Azpilicueta’s equaliser, in the 84th minute, and it should never have been allowed to stand. The Chelsea captain was a yard offside as he nodded home Marcos Alonso’s flick on. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2U6BnXb

Waiting until after conference would allow new generation of candidates to emerge Downing Street hopes to delay any Conservative party leadership contest until October in a move that will hamper the campaigns of established candidates such as Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid. As Tory contenders began manoeuvres this weekend to replace Theresa May after the defeat of a third Brexit deal, sources confirmed that those close to Theresa May will push for a new prime minister to be chosen after the party’s conference at the end of September. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2COsJly

Trump and Brexit were not some perversion brought about by corrupt campaigners, but the result of years of failing politics Almost a year ago, the US public radio network, NPR, interviewed Robert Mueller’s biographer, Garrett Graff, on All Things Considered. It was a classic American hagiography. The “wealthy” Mueller went to Princeton University where he played lacrosse, then followed his teammate David Hackett to Vietnam after Hackett had been killed trying to rescue another ambushed platoon. Related: Mueller’s report is a warning – and Britain won’t listen | Carole Cadwalladr Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Vaigs2

Fox News Breaking News Alert Donald Trump Jr. joins Howard Kurtz on 'Media Buzz' at 11am ET 03/31/19 7:46 AM

Images of one of 20th century’s greatest hoaxes expected to fetch nearly £70,000 Photographs of what is considered to be one of the greatest hoaxes of the 20th century are expected to fetch nearly £70,000 when they are sold at auction. Pictures of the Cottingley Fairies were taken in July and September 1917 by the 16-year-old Elsie Wright and her nine-year-old cousin Frances Griffiths, in the village of Cottingley, near Bingley in West Yorkshire. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FEBZcQ

Exclusive: long wait for Home Office decision led to at least one child attempting suicide, the Guardian has learned Children who were forced to languish in Calais for up to a year as they waited for the Home Office to transfer them to the UK went on hunger strike and in at least one case a child attempted suicide, the Guardian has learned. Senior officials at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) raised concerns with the Home Office about the health and welfare of at least 35 children held at a centre in Calais in a series of emails seen by the Guardian. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TLh64v

Victims in Edmonton may have been targeted because they were ‘alone and vulnerable’ The victims of a spate of stabbings in north London may have been targeted at random because they were “alone and vulnerable”, police have said. Four people were attacked in the Edmonton area between 7.02pm on Saturday and 9.43am on Sunday, and two remain in a critical condition. Police believe a male suspect, who may have mental health problems, was acting alone. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FQVUFB

Klara Dollan spent nine months totally unaware that she was pregnant. The possibility only crossed her mind as she gave birth in her bathroom. But cryptic pregnancies like hers are far from unusual When Klara Dollan, then 22, woke up at 4am on the day she was due to start her new job, she thought her agonising stomach cramps signalled her period being “back with a vengeance”. She had been taking the pill with no break for more than six months, but had stopped about two weeks before. The waves of pain left her pale and shaking, but she didn’t feel she could call in sick on her first day – so she took some paracetamol on her mother’s advice, and caught the bus then the tube from the home they shared in Cricklewood in north-west London into the city. Hours later, Dollan was in Hampstead’s Royal Free hospital, cradling a newborn baby girl: completely healthy and carried to term. Dollan had given birth by herself in the bathroom of her flat, after being sent home sick from work; a neighbo...

Whether or not Celtic deserved this win will not matter one iota to Neil Lennon. A crucial match in Lennon’s tenure – as is only guaranteed to be in charge until this summer – produced yet another late Celtic winner. On account of their second half display, Rangers can legitimately feel hard done by. A match which had continually threatened to boil over concluded with both sets of players involved in an ugly melee; Old Firm fixtures are not famous for both sides routinely covering themselves in glory. Related: Celtic 2-1 Rangers: Scottish Premiership – live! Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TKpAZJ

Second year of reporting the median pay gap shows women paid 14p less an hour than men The public sector has failed to narrow its gender pay gap this year, with women still paid an average of 86p for every pound paid to men. According to latest figures, the median pay gap was 14.1% in March 2018, slightly higher than the 14% of a year earlier, though still below the national average of 17.9% across both the public and private sectors. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2OyhSkk

Volodymyr Zelenskiy ahead of Petro Poroshenko and ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko in polls Ukrainians have gone to the polls in a crucial vote that could move a comedy actor with no political experience a step closer to becoming the country’s next president. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who plays the president in the television series Servant of the People, is expected to win Sunday’s vote in a rebuke of the country’s leadership. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Ozx292

President’s party faces defeat in some areas as country’s economic woes erode support Voters across Turkey have begun casting their ballots in local elections that are being viewed as a crucial test for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , as the country’s economic woes bite into his popular support. At least 57 million people are eligible to vote on Sunday in contests in 30 cities and more than 900 other areas around the country. While the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) has won every vote since it first took office in 2002, for the first time the party is facing the prospect of significant defeat in several places, including the capital, Ankara. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JTMmi3

Lyon, Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood issue statement Bowlers deny claim made about ball-tampering scandal Four Australia bowlers have denied reports they were prepared to boycott a Test match if David Warner had been cleared to play following the ball-tampering scandal . The spinner Nathan Lyon and fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood all denied the Sydney Morning Herald’s claim they intended to sit out the final Test of the South Africa series last year following the incident in Cape Town. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2V7U2P1

Piano that sailed to Sydney with the first British settlers is being restored in Bath A piano that sailed to Australia with the first British settlers has been returned to home soil 231 years on, to be painstakingly restored in a workshop near Bath. Dubbed the First Fleet piano, the mahogany instrument has survived (just about) the ravages of the ocean voyage, searing heat once it arrived, not to mention the attention of woodworm over the centuries and the indignity of being stored at one point in a laundry room. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2CWPZy7

David Gauke says May would have to ‘look closely’ at customs union if Commons voted for it Theresa May will have to consider the possibility of accepting a softer Brexit if the measure is supported by parliament this week, the justice secretary, David Gauke, has said. With 10 days before the UK is due to leave the EU, and parliament plunged into a political stalemate, Gauke, a soft-Brexit supporter, said the prime minister would have to “look very closely” if MPs back a customs union in a fresh round of indicative votes that begin on Monday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JSmao7

Officials say Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings reopened for first time after days of hostilities Israeli authorities have reopened the two crossings with the Gaza Strip after days of hostilities in a sign that ceasefire talks may be advancing. Israeli and Hamas officials who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed on Sunday that the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings were opened for the first time since Monday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HQ5dJc

Milestone hit a day and a half after Britain was originally meant to have left EU The petition asking the British government to revoke article 50 and reconsider its plan to exit the European Union passed the 6m-signature mark a day and a half after Britain was meant to have left the European Union. The number of signatories passed the 5m mark the previous Sunday , making it the most popular to have been submitted to the parliament website. The previous highest total of 4,150,260 was for a 2016 petition calling for a second referendum should the initial poll not provide a definitive enough result. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UsuNtP

Shadow foreign secretary also says it is likely Labour would pursue policy of leaving the EU in government Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, has said Labour is considering calling another vote of no confidence in Theresa May’s government following parliament’s failure to pass her Brexit deal with 10 days before the UK is due to leave. The prime minister survived a vote of no confidence in January , the day after her Brexit deal was rejected for the first time. Her deal has since been voted down two further times. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2CNoUNB

Singer follows George Clooney in protest at sultanate’s death penalty for gay sex and adultery Elton John has joined George Clooney in calling for a boycott of nine Brunei-owned hotels over the sultanate’s new death penalty laws for gay sex and adultery. “I commend my friend, George Clooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of Brunei – a place where gay people are brutalised, or worse – by boycotting the sultan’s hotels,” the singer wrote on his Twitter page late on Saturday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uEoB2Y

In an extract from her new book, poet and teacher Kate Clanchy recounts how a school poetry club enabled often traumatised pupils to find their inner voice • Read an interview with Kate Clanchy Thirty years ago, just after I graduated, I started training to be a teacher. I wanted to change the world and a state school seemed the best place to start. Certainly, it wasn’t a compromise or a stopgap career: I had no thought of being a writer then. Soon, I was much too busy to write, even if I had thought of it. Teacher training is hard, a crash course not so much in the study of education, but in the experience of school: in the taking of the register and the movement of chairs from room to room; in the flooding sounds of corridor and stairs; in the educational seasons, from the tempering heat of exam week to the crazy cosiness of Christmas; and, above all, in the terrifying confidence trick that is classroom discipline. It’s a bodily experience, like learning to be a beekeeper or an a...

What do you ask the man who knows everything? The theoretical physicist and bestselling author answers questions from famous fans and Observer readers Theoretical physicists and mathematicians are fond of describing their theories and equations as beautiful but very few writers are able to bring this elegance to life for the general public. The Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli has proved himself to be one of those rare figures. His first attempt at writing a book for a mainstream audience, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (2014), outsold Fifty Shades of Grey in his home country, has been translated into 41 languages and sold more than 1m copies. His second, The Order of Time , is an appreciation and lucid deconstruction of a quality we take for granted – “We inhabit time as fish live in water,” he writes. Like other popular scientists such as Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan and Brian Cox, Rovelli feeds our fascination with the fundamental forces that make our universe tick. Here, famous f...

England heavyweights face each other at start of unique season that includes the World Cup and Ashes on home soil Summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Who can argue with Warwickshire’s old stalwart in advance of the 2019 cricket season? This is a summer that has all cricket fans salivating and it will be gone before they know it. It is one to savour, especially since it is accompanied by the grim knowledge that summers will never be the same again. The 2019 international schedule for the men’s game has been well rehearsed: a World Cup, during which there will be a match (or two) on your screens (if you are among the minority with the appropriate viewing card) every day between 30 May and 6 July, after which come the semi-finals at Old Trafford and Edgbaston and the final at Lord’s on 14 July. England, despite frailties in the bowling department, have never been so strongly fancied to win the trophy. So failure to secure a semi-final place would constitute a grave disappointment w...

The co-founder of a company working with Gloucester and Arsenal believes the coach’s enlisting of a team psychologist is wise England’s collapse against Scotland at the end of the Six Nations prompted Eddie Jones to hire a psychologist to help tackle his squad’s apparent inability to handle pressure. The head coach was mocked by some former players but the co-founder of the digital health company Headspace believes Jones’s move is a significant step in getting the mental welfare of players treated as seriously as their physical wellbeing. “It was a really bold call by Eddie Jones and, as an England fan, it really pleased me,” says Andy Puddicombe, who grew up supporting Bath and spent 10 years studying meditation and becoming a Buddhist monk. In 2010he then helped launch Headspace, which works with basketball and American football franchises in the United States. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2YDLEsI

Exclusive: cuts, burns and bruising documented, despite government denials of torture Political prisoners in Saudi Arabia are said to be suffering from malnutrition, cuts, bruises and burns, according to leaked medical reports that are understood to have been prepared for the country’s ruler, King Salman. The reports seem to provide the first documented evidence from within the heart of the royal court that political prisoners are facing severe physical abuse, despite the government’s denials that men and women in custody are being tortured. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FPetex

Mucus that protects fish contains substances that could help tackle MRSA and E coli Fish slime could be key to the development of new antibiotics, researchers say. Antibiotic resistance is a growing danger, with experts warning of a return to a situation where everyday infections could become life-threatening. The NHS is aiming to cut antibiotic use by 15% by 2024 in a bid to tackle the problem – which has been called a danger to humanity – while the government has also announced it is looking into offering incentives to drug companies to come up with new antibiotics. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2I1bYHf

Encouraged by all the catwalk and social media stars with grey hair, Emma Beddington decides to give it a try. But her ‘greynaissance’ raises more issues than she expected I’ve gone grey overnight. It’s fake (I’ll explain later) but, even so, applying an amateurish smudge of lipstick in the station lavatories before I meet my husband, I’m anxious. There’s an element of chucking a grenade into a long-term relationship when you surprise your spouse with a physical transformation. When mine came home from a fortnight’s holiday with a straggly beard, I refused to look at him until he’d shaved. He’s poking at his phone and doesn’t see me until I’m standing in front of him, then he looks up, recoils in surprise and laughs. “Well?” I say. He looks at me more appraisingly, but he’s smiling. “It looks good, actually. I think it suits you.” Thus begins my week of grey. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FLfTX3

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The Turkish president’s party could lose control of several cities as high inflation hits his core voters in the pocket “Where are the onions? I can’t cook green beans without onions,” a middle-aged woman tells the vendor at one of Turkey’s new “people’s vegetables stalls” in Istanbul. “Where’s the aubergine and peppers? If you don’t have those, then what’s the point?” Several dozen people queued at the white tent in the middle of Taksim Square one morning last week, one of 150 set up in Istanbul and Ankara by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to combat what he calls “food terrorism” – a steep rise in the cost of basic goods that is souring public opinion against the government before crucial local elections on Sunday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uElUOU

Twenty children died in the 2012 US school shooting. Now Jeremy Richman, too, is dead, tormented by conspiracy theorists and unbearable grief There are some driveways that you hesitate before walking up and some doors that you pause at before knocking. A couple of years ago I drove the two hours from New York City to Newtown in Connecticut to meet Dr Jeremy Richman, a neuroscientist and educator whose daughter, Avielle, had been among the 20 children murdered with six of their teachers in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 . I was, at the time, collecting stories for something I was writing about the endurance event Tough Mudder ; Richman led a 50-strong team, Mud For Brains, which, since his daughter’s murder, had run the gruelling 10-mile obstacle course several times to raise funds for the Avielle Foundation , which had been set up in her name. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2I1bvot

Welcome to the not quite final chapter of my definitive history of Brexit The March to Leave is a sparsely attended, fortnight-long, 200-mile protest ramble, aimed at securing Brexit, a trembling parliament its final destination. I wanted to see it in the flesh so I could tell my grandchildren “I was there”, before taunting them with descriptions of toilet paper. Nearly three years ago, during the week of 13 June 2016, I watched members of the public on live TV debates, bamboozled not only by funny Boris and those Leave lies , but also by how percentages work and what words mean. And I realised Remain would lose the referendum. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uAUycu

The Brexit shambles exposes the weaknesses of Westminster, which have grown starker since the 1998 devolution settlement After every shattering bungle, some PR creep says: “Lessons have been learned and appropriate changes put in place.” Well, and British Brexit? What lessons, and what hope for changes? There’s one obvious lesson which Westminster, despite centuries of dire experience, still fails to learn. Do not kick Irish cans down the road. Some contain Semtex. All have a way of rolling back and tripping you up. There’s an English habit of not thinking about Ireland lest it spoil a nice afternoon. If David Cameron had thought of the British border in Ireland , he would have called his referendum off. But he kicked Arlene Foster and two Irish taoiseachs down the road. Now British politics lies sprawling on that same hard tarmac. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WBk9hG

Grassroots campaign hopes to save city’s Litfaß columns from being destroyed by authorities They have been an integral part of the city’s furniture for so long, Berliners admit to taking them for granted. But concrete advertising pillars, known as Litfaßsäule – or Litfaß columns – after the man who invented them, around 3,000 of which dot the German capital, are under threat. A low-key, grassroots protest has sprung up in an effort to save them from destruction and sparked a trend involving writing messages on the pillars, as well as poems and heart felt tributes. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uBO2SM

Relaxing of rules means police in England and Wales no longer need grounds for suspicion Police in England and Wales are being given more power to stop and search people without “reasonable suspicion” in an attempt to tackle knife crime. The home secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced he is making it easier for officers to impose a section 60 order, which allows them to search anyone in an area if serious violence is anticipated. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JSEQ7e

The veteran Tory Remainer on the British leaders of his lifetime and how he came to be the hero of the Put it to the People march Lord Heseltine is a Conservative politician and businessman. He served as an MP between 1966 and 2001 and now sits in the House of Lords. He has held several government positions, including defence secretary under Margaret Thatcher and deputy prime minister under John Major, and worked as an adviser to David Cameron. He lives in Northamptonshire with his wife, Anne, and is co-founder of the publishing company Haymarket. A longstanding Europhile, he is now a prominent critic of Brexit. Your speech was the hit of last weekend’s Put it to the People march , even with some people who had never voted Conservative. Have you found a new audience? I belong in the centre ground of politics and this is a transcending, transgenerational issue; people are increasingly putting party politics aside and voting for what they believe to be the right thing for the country...

I used to have no idea how to mark the occasion. Now, I realise there’s no way to do it ‘properly’ I can’t remember the last Mother’s Day I spent with my mum. It would have been in 2013, since in August of that year she died, but the day itself is lost in the memories of all those that came before it. Those past Mother’s Days were a mad rush to buy a card and a bunch of flowers – lilies, always – the haphazard breakfasts in bed made with my brother when I was a child, and one year even writing a poem; the flowers must have all sold out. In the six years since my mum has died, though, each Mother’s Day is now a looming presence, one that cannot be passed over and forgotten. Rather than fret over the day as a commercial inconvenience, as I did when she was alive, now it is something I grit my teeth through – a different kind of endurance test. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UkruVb

Campaigner’s views on family life may not be ‘compatible with professional standards and could impair her fitness to practise’ A psychologist who has played a key role in opposing the introduction of relationship and sex education lessons in schools is being investigated by her profession’s governing body over her fitness to practise. Dr Kate Godfrey-Faussett, who has extensive experience working with young children and families, is a leading figure in Stop RSE , a campaign against relationship and sex education (RSE) lessons in schools. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2U5aCCC

The former foreign secretary says Theresa May’s approach to Brexit has been indefensible. Time to take back control When Tony Blair asked Margaret Beckett to become foreign secretary in May 2006 she was so taken aback that all could she could say to the then prime minister was “fuck” . It was not that she didn’t want the job but more that she had never thought it would be offered to her. Beckett’s time at the Foreign Office did not last long – just 13 months – and it was far from plain sailing. It ended when Gordon Brown took over from Blair and Beckett returned to the backbenches. But whatever her successes and failures, she will go down in history as the first female foreign secretary. And the aura of parliamentary grandee has surrounded her, increasingly, ever since. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2U93chA

Women are right to be sceptical – they’re left holding the baby when things go wrong Once again, there are reports of the male contraceptive pill being tantalisingly imminent. And, once again, a mental image occurs of a man and woman looking at each other, arms folded, as if to say: “Sorry, I don’t trust you a bit.” A University of Washington study, involving 40 men, showed that sperm production could be disrupted with minimal side-effects and everything returning to normal once men stop taking the pill. Which all sounds intriguing, though it wouldn’t resolve the other major issue – the intrinsic lack of contraceptive trust between the sexes, which seems impossible to resolve, leastways to the point where the chemical baton could pass from women to men. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WBm31x

Instagram has become the window display for a new generation of savvy shoppers – and it’s changing the way we consume style, for good and bad. Leah Harper meets some of the pioneers at the forefront of Insta-fashion We’ve all bought them at some time or another: the perfect pair of shoes. Stylish, comfortable – the kind you wear with everything until they fall apart, and you have to start scouring the internet for a replacement. But recently you might have noticed that the way you find a replacement has changed. Not long after you begin your search, a pair of similar shoes appears, as a sponsored post, on your Instagram feed. They’re there one day, and then the next. You’ll likely end up seeing them countless times, though never in the flesh. The brand to which they belong may not even have a physical store – but its Instagram presence is such that you peruse its wares with the kind of frequency you only usually afford your local corner shop. Continue reading... from The Guardian ...

Adrian Dunbar talks about the flaws of his character, who had always been a bastion of probity, as Jed Mercurio’s series returns to TV When hit police drama Line of Duty returns to BBC One on Sunday evening, eager fans will have just one question on their minds: can Superintendent Ted Hastings, father figure to his police crew and deployer of excellent Ulster colloquialisms, really be H, the corrupt mastermind behind the evil deeds that fuel the show’s labyrinthine plot ? If he does turn out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the loud noise you’ll hear across the land will be the breaking of thousands of hearts. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2CIxpJW

In a new scheme, fishermen are paid €200 a month to recycle waste found in nets rather than dump it in polluted waters The fish market at Keratsini comes alive at night. Under floodlights, crews in rubber waders and boots wash down the decks of boats moored in the harbour, repair nets dangling from cranes, and put on ice the shrimp, calamari, mullet and hake that are their latest pickings. Recently other things – objects that might never have been pulled from the sea – have also supplemented hauls. “We’re talking about lots of waste, lots of garbage,” says Dimitris Dalianis. “We’re finding it almost everywhere.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2V4UVId

She got the keys to Number 10 because Tory MPs thought her a safe bet. She’s been anything but It nearly always ends in tears, whether they are shed publicly or just inside, but few premierships have drawn to a close with such wretchedness as that visited on Theresa May. She’s not quite out of the door yet and other Tories are already describing her as the worst prime minister in a hundred years. That is a savage verdict when the competition for this dismal accolade includes Neville Chamberlain , Ramsay MacDonald , Anthony Eden and David Cameron . I think we can safely say she will not be remembered as one of the more strong and stable occupants of Number 10. Hilarious as it may seem today, she seized the keys in the summer of 2016 because colleagues thought her “a safe pair of hands”. She commended herself to Tory MPs – and was pretty popular with a lot of voters – as she seemed to promise a premiership of common sense and calm after the anarchic orgy of backstabbing unleashed by t...

On the eve of the final series, 10 of its stars including Carice van Houten, Jonathan Pryce and Gemma Whelan reflect on what it’s meant to them Now filming Sky series Temple and a film called The Glass House . Has had a child with partner, fellow actor Guy Pearce Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HNBGQr

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By MIRIAM JORDAN and SIMON ROMERO from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2FLJCPV

Cabinet ministers join warning on poll as Amber Rudd leads bid to halt shift to the right Conservative MPs from across the party are threatening to vote down any attempt by Theresa May to lead them into a snap election, warning it would split the Tories and exacerbate the Brexit crisis. In a sign of the collapse in authority suffered by the prime minister, cabinet ministers are among those warning that there will be a serious campaign by Conservative MPs to vote against an election headed by May, a move she hinted at last week to break the Brexit deadlock. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HQvSp3

Up to half of nurseries set to close or reduce services they offer, survey warns Parents will be forced to pay higher fees for childcare this year because of a lack of government funding, new research suggests. Nurseries and childminders are being driven out of business, while staff feel stressed, demoralised and even suicidal. The Early Years Alliance (EYA), a membership organisation representing nurseries and childminders, has accused the government of turning a blind eye to the financial chaos hitting a sector dominated by low-paid female workers, which will be made worse when the national minimum wage increases by 5% on Sunday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UqCwrY

Expert in heraldry and genealogy wasn’t stripped of title until three years after court recognised him as a paedophile Lawyers have called for an overhaul of the honours forfeiture system after it emerged that a sex abuser retained an honour bestowed for services to the Queen some three years after a court recognised him as a paedophile. The system is too slow to acknowledge an offender’s offences, say lawyers specialising in abuse claims, and, in the case of those who have died, cannot strip them of their honours, leaving victims feeling that they have been cheated of justice. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uCyvCt

Allegation follows publication in January of ‘intimate text messages’ between Bezos and Lauren Sánchez The security chief for Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos says the Saudi government had access to Bezos’s phone and gained private information from it. Gavin de Becker, a longtime security consultant, said he had concluded his investigation into the publication in January of leaked text messages between Bezos and Lauren Sánchez , a former television anchor who the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper said Bezos was dating. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TFKRnm

Five members of staff at Furzedown primary in London take reductions of up to 20% Teachers at a cash-strapped primary school have volunteered to take a £7,000-a-year pay cut to save the jobs of colleagues. Schools across the country are so short of funds that headteachers are being forced to make drastic cutbacks. In a stark example of the funding squeeze, Furzedown primary school, in the south London borough of Wandsworth, had instigated a series of measures to balance its books and was facing the possibility of making redundancies. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TN9Gh6

Facebook founder speaks out amid fears over election advertising and rise of far right The Facebook boss, Mark Zuckerberg, has set out how he believes the social network and the internet should be regulated. The firm’s founder and chief executive said there was a need for governments and regulators to have “a more active role”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FH9hb2

Presenter made comments about pro-Brexit marchers on flagship news show Channel 4 News has apologised after its presenter Jon Snow said he had “never seen so many white people in one place”, referring to the pro-Brexit protesters who flooded the centre of London on Friday. The 71-year-old frontman was broadcasting live from outside the Houses of Parliament when he made the unscripted remarks while wrapping up the programme. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Uj2wpk

Zahir Visiter was found on an estate in nearby St John’s Wood after being stabbed Police have identified the 25-year-old victim of a fatal stabbing in central London, after armed police sealed off a mosque as they hunted for suspects. Zahir Visiter, of Westminster, was stabbed beside the canal in Regent’s Park on Thursday night but was found on an estate in nearby St John’s Wood. Visiter, who was originally from Chechnya, was treated at the scene but later died in hospital. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TN9rTe

In first official comment on February incident, Pyongyang suggests Washington’s possible involvement North Korea on Sunday described the February raid on its embassy in Madrid by a dissident group as a “grave terrorist attack” and urged an investigation into the perpetrators. A group of armed men burst into Pyongyang’s Spanish embassy last month and roughed up employees before fleeing with documents and computers. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2CO1RSW

Men never worry when it’s the other way round, says Mariella Frostrup. So celebrate your good fortune The dilemma My partner and I are mismatched in terms of attractiveness and this plays on my mind almost daily. I am preoccupied with not being good enough for him. He has never said anything to this effect, and I’m not aware of him having been unfaithful, but still I worry he will eventually realise and leave me for someone better. I think he underestimates how desirable he is and appears not to notice how much attention he receives from the opposite sex. I feel painfully self-conscious when he introduces me to friends. A colleague once commented I had “done well”. We continue to have a good sex life, but I can tell he doesn’t share the immense physical attraction I still feel. We are compatible in many ways and I don’t doubt he loves me as a person, but I’m tired of the shame I feel when looking in the mirror and my constant doubts about why he would limit himself to me sexually. I ...

As Bibi marks 10 years in power in Israel, life for the Palestinians looks bleaker than ever It is difficult not to marvel at the scale of Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal achievement. Israel’s prime minister celebrates 10 consecutive years in power on 31 March. His country’s youngest-ever leader in 1996, he has been re-elected three times since 2009, matching David Ben-Gurion’s record. As matters stand, he has a good chance of winning again in polls on 9 April. Netanyahu’s political achievement is altogether less marvellous. Under his grimly negative, fearful tutelage, Israeli society has shifted steadily rightwards. Attitudes to a peace settlement with the Palestinians have perceptibly hardened. Thanks in large part to Netanyahu’s uncompromising stance, the issue no longer occupies centre stage as it once did. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WxYg2L

The restaurant of an events venue proves that great modern British cooking is as good as any show EartH Kitchen, 11-1 7 Stoke Newington Road, London N16 8BH (020 3873 2345). Starters £5-£6.50. Mains £12.50-£16. Desserts £5-£7.50. Wines from £24 Let’s dispense with the preamble and get to it. A bowl arrives filled with watercress, all deep green leaf and stem, hung with fragile rings of lightly pickled shallot. Almost buried by the foliage are lumps of bronzed and golden debris. They appear deep fried, these misshapen pieces. It is vice and virtue clambering into bed and seeing what they can learn from each other. And so you dig in. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WBvONc

The president celebrated victory with the Mueller report – but then his latest effort to invalidate Obamacare left some feeling he ‘stepped all over that message’ It felt like a victory lap. At a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday night, surrounded by a sea of red Make America Great Again hats, a defiant Donald Trump held the podium before a raucous crowd. Related: Trump Fed pick was held in contempt for failing to pay ex-wife over $300,000 Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FLxoXw

Some on the right say it’s wrong for Trump and his followers to fixate on the young New York Democrat. Others are convinced she’s electoral poison “It’s weird,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mused on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers earlier this month. “Why are so many grown men just obsessed with this, like, 29-year-old?” Related: Ocasio-Cortez says Green New Deal critics are making 'fools of themselves' Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2OxX64k

Anna Sorokin, who went by ‘Anna Delvey’, is accused of perpetrating a two-year, $275,000 scam of friends, banks, designers and upscale hotels Judge Diane Kiesel could barely conceal her irritation. Anna Sorokin, the defendant at the centre of a highly publicized art world extortion trial, was refusing to attend proceedings on account of dissatisfaction with her courtroom outfit. Related: 'Magic trick': trial begins for fake heiress who swindled friends, banks and hotels Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FN0Dct

Record figures for news programmes proves the political saga is addictive viewing Viewing and listener figures for Brexit news programmes and Westminster debates have set new records in the past few months. BBC Parliament, the niche television channel that relays proceedings from the House of Commons, has been watched by more than 3.5 million people every month since January, and it is now clear that key votes on the “no confidence” motion, meaningful votes one and two, and lobby divisions on the backstop and no deal have given the channel its top five biggest days of the past decade. Channel 4 News and its YouTube updates have also drawn unprecedented numbers of viewers. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FH0jKU

Charles Jeffrey Loverboy collaborates with Björn Borg, Bode uses antique fabric for a new collection, and celebrating Barbie’s 60th birthday Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2YCayJm

As John Terry knows, acquittal in a court of law on the basis of ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ does not mean the FA will not take action on the balance of probabilities It is coming up for seven years now since John Terry found himself in the dock of Westminster magistrates court on charges of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand and, though I could never say sitting through that week-long trial was a particularly fulfilling experience, there is one memory that offers some light relief amid all the other numbing details. It goes back to the penultimate day, when Terry was being taken through some of the evidence related to his exchange of words with Ferdinand, then of QPR, and having to repeat some of it for the benefit of the court. Terry was obediently following the instructions, albeit not looking absolutely sure what purpose it served, until he was asked to let the court know the number of times he had been sent off throughout his Chelsea career. Continue reading... from The Guardia...

• Birmingham fighter leaves arena under barrage from fans • Price says former sparring partner ‘lost his head completely’ Kash Ali faces a lengthy ban from boxing after being disqualified for biting David Price during their all-British heavyweight contest in Liverpool. The incident happened in round five when Price, 35, landed a fierce blow on the 27-year-old previously undefeated Birmingham fighter. Ali reacted by forcing his former sparring partner to the canvas where he was seen to bite the Liverpudlian, leaving a clearly visible mark on his torso. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2CKTyHv

The hooker chose a good time to impress the watching England coach, Eddie Jones, at Allianz Park On afternoons like this it is easy to forget just how long Jamie George had to wait for his first England start – that he was named as a replacement 19 times before getting hold of the England No 2 jersey, more than two years after his debut, and that he made three starts for the Lions before he did so once for his country. For here was further evidence that, if Dylan Hartley ends up being part of Eddie Jones’s World Cup squad, he will not do so as England’s first-choice hooker. Related: Liam Williams bags two tries as Saracens storm to semi-final Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JSRtPx

The Spurs forward believes the move to a shiny new ground can provide fresh impetus for their stuttering Premier League form Son Heung-min has never known anything like it. Not since his arrival at Tottenham in August 2015 have the team endured a worse run of Premier League form during a single season. And, by the forward’s reckoning, he has never gone three weeks without a match inside a domestic campaign. Seismic change is also afoot. After all the delays, Spurs are primed to enter their 62,062-capacity new stadium on Wednesday for the Premier League fixture with Crystal Palace. Son and his teammates trained there for the first time on Thursday and, it is fair to say, they are champing at the bit to perform in front of a full house. The atmosphere against Palace promises to be special. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HNcNV1

• ‘It was beautiful,’ says Christophe Lemaire after filly’s victory • Thunder Snow becomes first to win Dubai World Cup twice Almond Eye took the first step here on Saturday on a path towards Longchamp and a possible meeting with Enable in the Arc and she did so with a flourish. She is the most exciting horse to emerge from Japan since Deep Impact in 2006 and, though she finished only a length and a quarter in front of Vivlos in the $6m Dubai Turf, her class was obvious as she seized control a furlong out before idling just a little in the closing stages. The conclusion of Saturday’s race had echoes of Almond Eye’s success in the Japan Cup last November, when she broke the course record having sat close behind a lightning pace. When the four-year-old quickens she does so almost imperceptibly, closing in on the lead with little sign that Christophe Lemaire, her jockey, has told her to go. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UfCd3r

North Korea is a country in transition, moving from isolation to fast food, smartphones and plastic surgery Many people would balk at the idea of a westerner setting foot in North Korea, which is known internationally for its nuclear weapons, human rights record and its highly regimented, militaristic society. They might be somewhat shocked to hear then, that one young Australian – that’s me – would give up two years of his 20s to study at Kim Il-sung University , North Korea’s top university, in the country’s capital, Pyongyang. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WzysTH

New legislation on copyright will hurt small users and boost tech titans’ influence While all eyes were on Westminster , and on the inability of MPs to pass even a poop, the European parliament got on with its job and passed some new legislation. Soon, most of us might be wishing that it hadn’t. The directive on copyright in the digital single market is a bland name for a dreadful piece of law likely to reshape our use of the internet. “The transformation of the internet from an open platform for sharing and innovation into a tool for the automated surveillance and control of its users,” was how Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the worldwide web, and 70 other technology pioneers described it in a letter to the president of the European parliament last year. And they’re right. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2CInfsA

The time has come for some straight talking to halt the loss of members and bring the party back to life When Scotland’s next generation of modern studies students is asked to explain the main reasons for the abject decline of the Labour party in Scotland, the possible answers should be offered in a multiple-choice format. The major problem facing the examiners would be: which options to leave out. I suspect many would be tempted to plump for the one about the ruinous sense of complacency that had settled upon the party towards the end of the 1990s. This was evident in the conduct of some of its superstar MPs who felt that a long-distance relationship with their constituents was sufficient to maintain their support. By the time the SNP had got its electoral machine in full running order in 2011, Labour was desperately handing out satellite navigation systems to some of its big beasts for the purposes of reacquainting them with their neighbourhoods. Continue reading... from The Gua...

Surely surrendering to hedonism rather than misery would be better in a care home Contemplating getting old and thinking about what it would be like living out your last years institutionalised in a care home is enough to make anyone feel depressed. Sure, there are some excellent care homes out there, but there are also plenty that are steeped in loneliness and misery. And the prospect of losing your physical – or, even worse, your mental – faculties is deeply scary. That gut reaction – an inherent fear of decline – is a very strong one, difficult to overcome. It infuses our attitudes towards ageing and helps bake ageism into society. Ageing is culturally all about managing decline rather than living the good life until the very end. That, in turn, affects how older people are looked after by their families and the care system. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WwHC3q

Jerry (YC S17) Is Hiring Senior Software Developers in Toronto by linaz | on Hacker News .

Singer expected to make complete recovery, and fans advised to hold on to tickets for dates in US and Canada The Rolling Stones have postponed their upcoming tour of the US and Canada because Sir Mick Jagger has been told he needs medical treatment, the band have said. A statement from the group said: “Unfortunately today the Rolling Stones have had to announce the postponement of their upcoming US/Canada tour dates. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2U5Ykdd

Wanstead Flats, London Some great performances - including a surprise appearance by Blur - are marred by too long watching roadies milling around Damon Albarn’s Brexit strategy was striking. The Africa Express co-founder had planned to mark the UK lurching out of Europe on 29 March by defiantly staging one of his organisation’s wilfully international, multicultural celebrations just down the road from where he spent his early boyhood years, in Waltham Forest, London’s inaugural borough of culture for 2019. The non-events in parliament have changed the storyline, and so Albarn finds himself peering out at a packed crowd inside a big top on the edge of Epping Forest, with Britain still clinging on to membership of the EU. “We’re in a period now where everything is make-believe,” he remarks, from under a blue baseball cap. “It’s like Danny Dyer said – it’s all a great mad riddle.” Since it formed 14 years ago, Africa Express has always been predicated on collaborations between weste...

By GLENN THRUSH from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2I2tf2H

Agreement was signed in February, just after his conviction Wife Emma Coronel Aispuro will be involved in the designs First the tunnels , then the narcocorridos , then the Netflix series . Now, inevitably, the El Chapo fashion line. Related: Betrayal, torture and a $100m bribe: what the El Chapo trial has revealed Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FMKwLW

Around the pitch and in the stands, the Tottenham Hotspur stadium is both magnificent and intimate, but the jarring exterior is mid-table fodder It was, for a while, all about the cheese room . The new Tottenham Hotspur stadium , it was reported, was to offer its premium customers a selection of specially sourced cheeses, a concept which encapsulated how far the football fan has come from those black-and-white, crackly-voiced days when a gristly pie was all you got, an edible version of the brown balls that were hacked around the Flanders-like mud of those bygone fields – a distillation (conceptually speaking) of the catarrh of a million Capstans. Which, goes the narrative, was how it should be. In the tribal warfare of football you don’t want the food to be too nice. And what could be more Waitrose, more metropolitan elite, more Highbury and Islington than a range of fermented curds? What could be less likely, except perhaps CO 2 foam or a flame-retardant blanket, to put fire in th...

Pre-race examinations ordered at Grand National as new monitoring device promises to enhance horses’ wellbeing Racehorses are to be fitted with high-tech devices, similar to the fitness and activity trackers sported by humans, as part of a groundbreaking attempt by scientists to improve horse welfare. The issue has become urgent following the deaths of seven horses at last year’s Cheltenham Festival. Ahead of the Grand National meeting at Aintree this week, with the big race on Saturday, the British Horse Racing Authority ( BHA ) has announced that all runners will undergo pre-race examinations. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TJPzAz

Environmental and anti-corruption activist Zuzana Čaputová won first round with 40.6% of the vote Voters in Slovakia are selecting a new head of state in a runoff that could give the country its first female president. Zuzana Čaputová, an environmental activist, is up against the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič in the vote for the largely ceremonial post in the nation of 5.4 million. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2K0ywL8

By CHARLIE SAVAGE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2FGeyj0

Thousands were brutalized and hundreds killed during Brazil’s 21-year military rule – a period lauded by the current president After they were arrested by military policemen in 1977 for leaving leftwing pamphlets outside a Brazilian factory near São Paulo, Márcia Paes and Celso Brambilla were tortured for 10 days straight. “Where are the weapons?” their captors repeatedly asked them, as they attempted to link them to leftist guerrilla groups who had taken up arms against Brazil’s military rulers. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2V4JfFp

The young driver is of noble lineage but the likes of Laila Ali, Kim Clijsters and Elena Baltacha should also be celebrated Poor Mick Schumacher – even his Wikipedia page can’t help itself. The first entry under his name reads: Not to be confused with Michael Schumacher. Which is a big ask when he’s your dad, and you’re about to have your maiden test drive for Ferrari . Mick was born 20 years ago this month, when his dad was still in the process of turning the Prancing Horse back into a title-winning prospect. In fact, only two weeks before the birth of his second child, his father Michael – with just the two world championships to his name back then – had watched his own little brother, Ralf, take third place in the opening grand prix in Australia, while he finished a lap down in eighth; the crash that would break his leg and ruin his 1999 season was still to come. Related: Michael Schumacher’s son to make F1 debut in Ferrari test next week Continue reading... from The Guardian h...

The coach has not always been a fan of Kolpak players but believes the South African pace man can make a difference Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s first-team coach, has described the winter signing of Duanne Olivier on a Kolpak deal as a one-off that will give the county all the benefits of an international-class fast bowler without the drawbacks of an overseas player. Olivier is set to make his first-class debut for the White Rose against the students of Leeds/Bradford MCCU on Sunday, having called time on an emerging Test career with South Africa at 26 for the financial security of a three-year county contract . This switch provoked consternation about the latest South African to exploit the EU loophole – not least having taken 24 wickets in a breakthrough three-Test series against Pakistan during the winter – and only increased further when Olivier said that, long-term, he is now looking to qualify for England via residency. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HNYVc...

The aristocrats of French rugby endured a spell in the wilderness but face Racing 92 feeling full of confidence No team have appeared in more European Cup finals than Toulouse but after winning the last of the six, in 2010, the aristocrats of French rugby went into decline. It was slow at first, then steady, before gathering enough momentum to see them wallow in the Challenge Cup for the first time last season. They were one place above the Top 14’s relegation zone in 2017 with only the bottom club, Bayonne, having a worse attacking record. Toulouse’s fall has been mirrored this season by that of another European powerhouse, Leicester. While the Tigers are still looking at how to reacquaint themselves with success, Toulouse, unbeaten in their last 14 matches in their domestic league and top of the table, did it by investing in the future. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WBe7Oa

UK sites including London Eye and Eden Project take part in WWF event highlighting climate change More than 100 landmarks across the UK from Buckingham Palace to Edinburgh Castle are switching off their lights to mark this year’s Earth Hour. The lights will go off at famous buildings and structures across the country between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Saturday as part of the international event organised by conservation charity WWF to urge action to save the planet. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Va9TNa

How a revolutionary idea became our go-to way of living. Shop the look: our pick from the high street Spending a night at the hallowed Bauhaus school in Dessau, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, was my teenage dream come true. The walls of my childhood bedroom were plastered not with posters of pop stars, but with the furniture manufacturer Vitra’s wall chart of iconic 2 0th-century chairs . As a design geek, growing up in a house bedecked with Laura Ashley, I found the idea of the Bauhaus thrilling: each chair was a mini manifesto, embodying the world of stripped-back modern design that I might one day inhabit (I’m still waiting). Yet, almost 20 years later, when I got to stay in Josef Albers’ former bedroom in the Bauhaus dormitory block, surrounded by chairs and lamps designed by the school’s various luminaries, it felt disappointingly like a sleepover in an Ikea showroom. There was a stack of four coloured nesting tables in one corner, of the kind readily available from H...

The debut novelist struggled to find books about women like her, so she wrote one. She talks about interracial dating, white middle-class publishing and her love for social media A fortnight ago the writer Candice Carty-Williams was talking to a man on a dating app. They began to discuss meeting up, then out of the blue, he announced: “I like really strong ebony women and I want them to dominate me.” “This has happened to me, like, 100 times,” Carty-Williams says with surprising cheerfulness. “He was a white man. It’s only now that I’m old and wise enough to understand my value that I didn’t take that forward. The younger me – the girl growing up believing that black girls are not desirable except for sex – would have entertained that for a long time.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JTY2RZ

Campaign group to take direct action outside bank’s branches in protest at fossil fuel funding John McDonnell has called on Labour members to join Momentum on its first direct action campaign, as a senior organiser for the group called it a move from party politics to movement politics. Forty local Momentum groups across England and Wales, from Exeter to Redcar, will take action outside branches of Barclays on Saturday to raise awareness of the bank’s financing of fossil fuel companies. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2V7D4jA

Remain-supporting MP, who has said he felt ashamed of his party, rejected by members The remain-supporting Conservative MP, Dominic Grieve, is facing deselection by his party after losing a confidence vote held by his local association by 182 to 131 votes. The Conservative association in his Beaconsfield constituency said it no longer had confidence in the former attorney general after he put his case to members at a meeting on Friday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WEHv6b

By EDWARD WONG from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2YCxJmA