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Chinese exports worth $125bn will face new taxes from 1 September, while China places levy on oil as agreement becomes more distant China and the United States have begun imposing additional tariffs on each other’s goods in the latest escalation of their bruising trade war that has sent shockwaves through the global economy. A new round of tariffs took effect from 0401 GMT on Sunday, with Beijing’s levy of 5% on US crude oil marking the first time the fuel has been targeted since the world’s two largest economies started their trade war more than a year ago. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32gkwRB

The Canadian writer made his name bringing intellectual sparkle to everyday subjects, and his new book - about how strangers interact with each other - is no exception In the flesh, Malcolm Gladwell is exactly as I imagined him to be: engaging, polite, dauntingly cerebral and supremely self-assured in that way that the exceptionally gifted often are. At 55, there is still something of the sporty, if slightly gawky, teenager about him; his jeans and a lightweight hoody accentuate his height and wiry thinness. The signature afro has been tamed somewhat and, if anything, makes him look even younger. He is not big on small talk, and one senses that every hour in his working day is geared towards maximum efficiency. Gladwell’s new book is called Talking to Strangers and, here we are, two strangers, conversing over tea in a fashionable Covent Garden hotel about the difficulties that can sometimes arise when, as he puts it, “we are thrown into contact with people whose assumptions, perspec...

David Goldblatt’s encyclopedic study shows how football worldwide has been co-opted by populist movements It is easily forgotten that the EU referendum fell in the days between Roy Hodgson’s hapless England football team grinding out a 0-0 draw with Slovakia to advance to the last 16 of Euro 2016 and it losing 2-1 to Iceland in a humiliating exit from the tournament. Donald Tusk tweeted presciently or gleefully: “UK-Iceland, 1-2. Winter is coming.” Who knows how a swan song Wayne Rooney hat-trick in that game might have affected voting intentions a couple of days later? What is certain, however, is that only a government as insouciant or incompetent as David Cameron’s would have called a vote on Britain’s European future while fans clothed and tattooed in the flag of St George were defending the honour of our boys in the fountains and pavement cafes of France – and our up-and-at-’em footballing nation was sensing a new humiliation at the hands of those sophisticated operatives from ac...

The defending champion cruised into the fourth round with a comprehensive victory over her teenage opponent. On an emotional Saturday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Naomi Osaka showed that she is not going to relinquish her US Open title easily. The world number one outclassed Coco Gauff 6-3 6-0 to reach the fourth round in just 65 minutes. “I was just happy throughout this entire match. I think I kept a very high level of focus,” said Osaka afterwards. “I honestly think it’s been since the Australian Open finals that I was that focused and I was fighting that hard for every point.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MNR0ik

After years of hearing about Botham’s exploits from our parents, thanks to Ben Stokes we now have new tales to tell There was something about Ben Stokes ’s miraculous match-winning performance in the third Ashes Test that felt like a coming of age. Not for him, you understand, but for me. For me and anyone else too embryonic to have been around for Headingley 81 . Like all England fans, I maintain a suitable awe of Ian Botham , all-round genius and charity walker. But Beefy has always belonged to the baby boomers. His mustachioed, cigar-smoking swagger was theirs. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HAP74c

The government stands accused of undermining democracy by proroguing parliament. Five experts assess a momentous political decision Historian and political commentator Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2LoFjLZ

Stop and work out what you want from your short time on the planet, says Mariella Frostrup. It’s time to put your incredible energy into your own wellbeing The dilemma I have a lovely husband, two gorgeous girls , a lovely home and a high-flying job . However, I cry every night because I hate myself. My inability to cope with pressure – financial, intellectual and emotional – horrifies me. I see others dealing with genuine problems and don’t understand why, with my myriad advantages, I cannot manage mine. My husband thinks I was over-praised as a child and am always chasing an unattainable A grade. My work is high-stress, involving huge budgets. Separately, five years ago I lost a baby in utero – a hugely painful experience . I fear stopping work would damage my daughters and place a large burden on my husband. But seeing our girls for less than an hour a day is miserable. I think I may be depressed , but admitting it may mean my children are taken away and I ’ll lose ...

The presenter on the joy of two breakfasts, shopping for rugs and switching off the news What time are you up? We’ve got an 18-month-old, so I’m up between 6.45 and 7am with him. I have about 30 seconds to pee and brush my teeth before getting upstairs to his bedroom. Then I’ll saunter to the kitchen to put the kettle on and change a nappy. Breakfast or brunch? Both. The joy of getting up early is two breakfasts, that’s the key to a good Sunday. ‘In breakfast’ is small and early, then it’s time for ‘out breakfast’. Anything with salt beef or smoked salmon and I’m sold. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2LeWpNq

Gary Usher doesn’t bother boosting his popular new bistros across the northwest. He doesn’t have to… Kala, 55 King Street, Manchester M2 4LQ (0800 160 1811). Starters £5.50-£14, mains £16-£30, desserts £6-£10, three courses at lunch £23, wines from £22 Journalists like a story, even those of us paddling in the shallow end in search of something nice for our tea: stories like the Holiday Inn just begging to have its terrible food reviewed, or the Swiss-themed place with the stringy fondue and the bought-in sorbet, or the Kurdish family remembering its own culture one dish at a time. The group of restaurants that has been opened across the northwest of England by chef and restaurateur Gary Usher is meant to be the anti-story. In 2011 when he launched the first, Sticky Walnut in Chester, he went all Royston Vasey and warned the likes of me off. This, he said, was a local bistro for local people. Stay away. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34cr3OW

Two cream-based delights for late summer lunches, one savoury, one sweet Take the lid from a pot of cream and it smells of a summer’s day, of cool shade and long grass. Cream, the real thing, is thick, fatty and pale yellow with a faint sharpness to it, and slides lazily from its tub. This long summer has seen cream in my kitchen for a brick-coloured crab soup and a hot shellfish pâté to spoon on to pieces of toast. It has been beaten with mustard and snipped dill for an impromptu sauce for salmon. There has been cream in which we melted thin slices of camembert for a sauce for steamed courgettes. And there has been cream with sautéed cucumber and courgettes, for wild mushrooms, and swirled languidly into a dish of baked Victoria plums warm from the oven. Cream of any hue is not a regular visitor to my kitchen. It is more a rare and gorgeous treat Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2zFc8in

Australian loses 6-7, 6-7, 3-6 to Russia’s Andrey Rublev Player says being on the road for five months ‘is not easy’ Nick Kyrgios has said he needs a break from tennis after he went out of the US Open tennis in New York after losing to the Russian player Andrey Rublev in straight sets. The Australian was heard complaining “I don’t even want to be here. I just want to go home” during his third round loss on Saturday night in which he went down 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NHMIIV

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US envoy for peace in Afghanistan, says agreement would reduce violence and allow ‘intra-Afghan’ talks US and Taliban negotiators are close to an agreement that would reduce fighting and allow full peace talks among Afghans, a top US official said on Sunday, a day after insurgent forces stormed the strategic northern city of Kunduz. Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born US diplomat overseeing negotiations for Washington, said he would travel to the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday for consultations after wrapping up the ninth round of talks with Taliban officials in Qatar. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NL9pfd

Actor turned politician salutes bodybuilder and former Mr Olympia who was his ‘partner in crime’ in his rise to fame The Italian bodybuilder and actor Franco Columbu, whom Arnold Schwarzenegger called his “best friend” in a moving tribute on social media, has died aged 78. A two-time Mr Olympia, Columbu appeared alongside Schwarzenegger in The Terminator , the Running Man and Conan the Barbarian. He died in hospital in his native Sardinia on Friday afternoon after taking ill while swimming in the ocean, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZJzNZo

Milo Yiannopoulos was ‘grand marshal’ for rightwing event Houston: Islamic group sees rightwingers rally A controversial “straight pride” parade in Boston on Saturday drew more than 1,000 counter-protesters and a few hundred supporters. The rightwing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was “grand marshal” of the event, for which a group calling itself Super Happy Fun America (SHFA) acquired a permit in June. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZvhWu4

A Spanish motorist has been hit with huge penalties for driving in the UK capital In December, Giancarlo Bonati, a DJ in Ibiza, made the journey by car to London to be with his mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer. During three months in the country he drove in and out of London 12 times, although never into the city centre. But in April, without prior warning that fines were building up, he says he was left in a state of shock after receiving 12 letters sent by Transport for London’s debt collection agents, EPC. Sent to his address in Ibiza, they demanded €1,219 each, or €14,637 in total (£13,300) for his 12 drives. He appealed, but the fine went up to £20,000, with about £18,000 going to TfL and £2,000 to EPC. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Ul8Wlb

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Blind date blogger the Guyliner goes behind the scenes of the Guardian column – and finds out what happened next on five of his favourite dates Did Saturdays even exist before the Blind date column ? Not as far as I’m concerned. The start of the weekend was a joyless desert until, in 2009, Weekend magazine started sending two hapless (my words) strangers out for dinner in the hope that three courses, a bottle of house white and the terror of appearing in a national newspaper would be the accelerant a romantic spark needs to go full inferno. I have been obsessed with Blind date for most of its 10-year existence. Its simplicity is deceptive: what the daters say leaves plenty of room for interpretation. On the surface, the questions are formulaic – somewhere between inane smalltalk at a stranger’s house party and the sexless interrogation of a dietary questionnaire from your GP. But in the context of the column, they are traps – and I love to see the participants fall right in, reveali...

When it’s my turn to serve, I throw the ball high and punch it confidently. It goes sideways, bouncing off toward the breaking surf I’m on a beach in Cornwall with a large group of friends, people in their 50s with children in their 20s. I am without my children or my dog, which is very relaxing, and I have already been in the sea. No other accomplishments are required of me. My friend Jake produces a large shopping bag holding what looks like a rolled-up fishing net. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MMqF49

President’s approach to foreign policy, from defending his Russian counterpart to supporting Bolsonaro after he rejected aid, has experts sounding alarms Days after Donald Trump returned from another contentious encounter with his fellow G7 world leaders , a Kremlin-backed TV channel painted a derisive picture of his overtures to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. Likening the US president’s staunch defense of his Russian counterpart to a tortuous love affair, the channel aired a mashup in which Trump’s speeches were pieced together to form the lyrics of Señorita – a summer ballad performed by the US pop stars Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NNH7ke

Mate 30 won’t have licensed access to any Google apps, thanks to ongoing dispute between US and the Chinese smartphone maker Huawei, the number two smartphone maker in the world, will launch its next flagship device without licensed access to the number one smartphone operating system in the world – Google’s Android – or any of Google’s ubiquitous apps. The 5G-capable Mate 30 will be revealed at a 19 September event in Munich, Germany, CNBC reported on Friday. But the launch by a company that saw its share of the European smartphone market soar by 55.7% in 2018 is approaching under a cloud of uncertainty, thanks to the actions of the US government. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MOLLPC

A sustainable environment means consuming less, not differently. With retail therapy losing its appeal, that should be easy Women love shopping, don’t they? Everyone knows we were born to do it; that left to our own devices we like nothing better than spending all day in some changing room, leaving our menfolk slumped outside in abject boredom, praying for it to be over. Except it’s not true, or certainly not for all women, and almost certainly never has been. Only 29% of women actually say they enjoy shopping, according to the retail analysts Mintel; for most of the rest it’s somewhere between actively anxiety-inducing (especially for anyone uncomfortable with stripping in front of a mirror) and merely rather boring. Too much advice about going green involves pushing slightly less toxic alternatives to things we don’t particularly need Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Ul45QZ

As the Scottish Tory leader’s resignation shows, balancing work and family is still a problem for women in public life I’m racing across the central belt to cover Ruth Davidson’s resignation , a row for missing an important email from my son’s nursery ringing in my ears, when I realise I’ve been reporting on women’s difficulty balancing work and family for what feels like two centuries. No wonder I’m feeling so ruddy tired. It’s the sheer unwieldy intractability of the dilemmas posed. It’s like getting stuck behind a motorhome on a Highland road: the progress is teeth-grindingly slow, you get tired of hearing yourself complain, then suddenly you’re forced to reverse into a ditch. At a press conference in Edinburgh on Thursday, the now former Scottish Conservative leader, who is widely admired for transforming her party’s fortunes north of the border, explained that she was leaving frontline politics because she had been “a poor daughter, sister, partner and friend”, and that the bir...

New space command reveals fears over vulnerability of superpowers’ satellites Donald Trump’s declaration that space represents “the next warfighting domain” comes at a time when nervous superpowers are taking an idea that once belonged to the realms of fiction increasingly seriously. US military briefings leading to Trump’s formal announcement of a new, separate space command argued that “an emergent China and a resurgent Russia” have eroded what Washington traditionally believed was an arena it could dominate. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/30MJhVa

Camp for Iraqis and Syrians fleeing caliphate flooded by families of Isis fighters, brewing deeper problems The vast scale of al-Hawl can be seen from miles away, on the road that leads to the camp from the west. The white tents housing the displaced women and children of Islamic State stretch out over the dusty landscape far beyond the adjacent town’s outskirts, the furthest away encroaching upon the foot of a hill. The women of al-Hawl now call it Jabal Baghuz, or Baghuz Mountain, named for the oasis town on the Euphrates River where their husbands were finally defeated in March. Deep inside the section reserved for foreigners and beyond the control of the camp’s overwhelmed guards, Jabal Baghuz is now the only place where the militant group’s so-called caliphate lives on. It is from here that the seeds of the Isis resurgence are being sown. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZzWdQV

Zellweger rises to the challenge superbly in a standard-issue heartwarmer, premiering in Telluride, that sugarcoats the sadness For Judy Garland fans, the final station of the cross in the ordeal of her last years was a five-week booking at the Talk of the Town nightclub in London in 1969, which she desperately needed for the money. In those famous and often chaotic concerts she appeared frail, unwell, tipsy or bleary-eyed: mannerisms that she had long since semi-consciously incorporated into her live act. But they were real at some level. Also real were the many flashes of the old magic; emotional arias made more glorious for having been wrenched from her battered heart. This movie is about that troubled period: a defiant last stand in full view of her passionately supportive fans. It was Judy’s emotional Alamo in the face of parasitic husbands, spiteful press and misogynist showbiz overlords – beginning with studio chief Louis B Mayer, who ruined her childhood on the yellow brick r...

The 75-year-old killer was hospitalised after being wounded in jail in San Diego Sirhan Sirhan, the man imprisoned for more than 50 years for assassinating Robert Kennedy, has been hospitalised after being stabbed by a fellow inmate in prison. A statement from the California corrections department said the stabbing occurred on Friday afternoon at the Richard J Donovan correctional facility near San Diego. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZDScH7

The columnist had a very public meltdown earlier this week after a professor compared him to a bedbug on Twitter Can you still subtweet if you deleted your Twitter account? If you’re New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, then the answer is yes. Earlier this week, Stephens had a very public meltdown after David Karpf, an associate professor at George Washington University, compared him to a bedbug on Twitter. Stephens sent an email to both the professor and the university provost in an attempt to get the professor in trouble, which promptly went viral. Stephens deleted his Twitter account amid the ensuing backlash. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZHtgyu

Video for ‘Sauvage’ fragrance has been called ‘deeply offensive and racist’ and the fashion brand has removed it from social media Dior is facing backlash for promoting its perfume line Sauvage with an advertisement featuring Native American imagery. The fashion brand teased the ad, which stars actor Johnny Depp, on Twitter on Friday as “an authentic journey deep into the Native American soul in a sacred, founding and secular territory”. It has since deleted the tweet and all references to the campaign on social media. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/30PFCGe

US president’s release of high resolution photo raises concerns over disclosure of classified information President Donald Trump has released a photograph of an apparently failed Iranian rocket launch and said the US had nothing to do with it, prompting concerns he disclosed classified information. Tehran has made no official comment on the indications from aerial photos that a rocket exploded on Thursday on the launch pad at the Semnan Space Center in northern Iran. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Zpy3Jq

As the Aramco listing is revived, crown prince appoints a businessman to lead the oil sector and gets a new gatekeeper Saudi Arabia has announced the creation of a new natural resources ministry, separating it from the energy ministry, while replacing the head of the royal court in a wide-ranging shakeup of the government. As plans for the massive $2 trillion stock market listing of the state-owned oil company Aramco are stepped up, the kingdom’s de facto ruler and crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has brought in a prominent businessman to head the new ministry of industry and mineral resources. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Pu4t16

Coroner said fentanyl, oxycodone found in pitcher’s system Family ‘shocked’ to learn death may involve Angels employee Skaggs was found dead in Dallas-area hotel room on 1 July The family of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs says it was startled to learn that a club employee “may” be part of the investigation into the 27-year-old’s death from an accidental drug overdose. A Texas coroner said in a report made public Friday that Skaggs died after choking on his vomit with a toxic mix of alcohol and the powerful painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his system. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32hY1vG

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Harper was a breakout star on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, then the lead of her own series, Rhoda Valerie Harper, who stole hearts and busted TV taboos as the brash, self-deprecating Rhoda Morgenstern on back-to-back hit sitcoms in the 1970s, has died aged 80. Longtime family friend Dan Watt confirmed Harper died on Friday, adding the family was not immediately releasing any further details. She had been suffering from cancer for years, and her husband said recently he had been advised to put her in hospice care. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZASWRq

Neil Cavuto becomes the latest network host to reject Trump’s criticism, saying: ‘My job is to cover you, not fawn over you’ The honeymoon between Donald Trump and his TV network of choice is showing signs of strain. Following a series of swipes at Fox News from the White House this summer, Neil Cavuto has become the latest network personality to push back against the president’s expectations of uninterrupted praise. Related: Michael Flynn completes cooperation with federal prosecutors – live news Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Ul4kLZ

Council calls for fewer marches amid reports of smoke bombs and closure of Govan Road Riot police, mounted officers, a force helicopter and dog units are being used in Glasgow after protesters against an Irish unity march sparked “significant disorder”. Police said the planned march through the city’s Govan area, organised by the James Connolly Republican Flute Band, was met by hundreds of “disruptive” counter-demonstrators at about 7pm. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Pqz5jX

At a pivotal moment in the region’s struggle for self-determination, there is seething anger as well as hope At the base of the verdant mountains of Sentani, where dense, tropical jungle overlooks a sprawling teal lake, worshippers stream into church, men in suits and ties and sandals or batik shirts, women with colourful woven bags strung from their foreheads and slung over their backs. Grey clouds hang low over the house of worship, a wood and tin shed with concrete floors and large open windows that let in the thick humid air. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZrXyd3

Fox News Breaking News Alert Hurricane Dorian strengthens to 'extremely dangerous' Category 4 storm 08/30/19 5:52 PM

Activist Agnes Chow held by police as Andy Chan, head of a now banned pro-independence party, is also detained Three prominent pro-democracy figures have been arrested in Hong Kong in an apparent crackdown amid protests that have plunged the city into its worst political crisis in decades. Democracy activists Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, former student leaders of pro-democracy protests in 2014, were arrested on Friday and Andy Chan, head of a now banned pro-independence party, was detained by police on Thursday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UdMI4P

Expect some pre-election largesse for police, NHS and schools, but no respite for services exhausted by previous spending cuts As the constitutional battle intensifies, public services are becoming collateral damage. The Brexit frenzy, combined with preparations for a general election, has torpedoed the chances of any semblance of financial stability returning to government spending. The chancellor, Sajid Javid, will present a one-year public spending round on 4 September instead of planning for the usual three-year review. This will give departments short-term funding once the current spending plans come to an end in March 2020. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2LaUQjL

As politicians and publications continue to target young trans people, representation on a show like Neighbours matters On Friday evening, the Australian soap opera Neighbours will introduce the show’s first trans character in its near-35-year run. The story of Mackenzie Hargraves – played by the Australian trans activist Georgie Stone – centres on the character befriending Yashvi Rebecchi, a fellow student at her school; revealing that she is trans; being accepted by her new friend; having her classmates stand up for her right to use the female bathrooms. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UhMaKZ

Visiting hacked sites was enough for exploit server to gather users’ images and contacts Hackers have been using compromised websites to install “monitoring implants” in iPhones for years, according to researchers at Google. The malicious software gathers users’ images, contacts and other information. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MKKid4

Scientists say global heating could endanger pilgrims as soon as next summer. This must be our call to action According to research published last week by US scientists, hajj is set to become a danger zone. As soon as next year, they say, summer days in Mecca could exceed the “extreme danger” heat-stress threshold. The news comes just weeks after over 2 million people completed their journey of a lifetime. The environmental threat to the holy pilgrimage is a panic button for British Muslims like me, signaling that the climate crisis is endangering an age-old sacred rite. Hajj is a pillar of Islam that I’ve yet to undertake, and the physical endurance required will only become more gruelling in coming decades – scientists predict that heat and humidity levels during hajj will exceed the extreme danger threshold 20% of the time from 2045 and 2053, and 42% of the time between 2079 and 2086. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32fE9t6

Puerto Rico was spared, but storm is expected to land in Florida Sunday night, potentially as a category 4 hurricane Florida is bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian with weather experts on Thursday proclaiming the state’s entire east coast at risk. A state of emergency has been declared and Donald Trump on Thursday canceled his forthcoming trip this weekend to Poland as the storm bears down. It was announced that the vice-president, Mike Pence, will travel to the eastern European nation in the president’s stead. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HzFpPQ

Beijing’s worldview cannot conceive of a leaderless movement: there have to be saboteurs behind it On Friday morning, as Hong Kong woke up, the news came in as thick as the incessant rain: Andy Chan Ho-tin, the head of the outlawed Hong Kong National party, was arrested overnight at the airport as he was about to go to Japan. Then came the news of Joshua Wong’s arrest – one of the most famous pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. Wong’s name became known in 2012 when, at 15, he organised the protests against the national education curriculum. The curriculum was seen as an attempt at instilling patriotism in Hong Kong’s youth, but described as “brainwashing” by Wong and his supporters. He was one of the leaders of the Umbrella Movement, in 2014 – for which he served time in jail, and is still facing a number of charges. Among the Umbrella Movement’s leaders was Agnes Chow: she, too, was arrested on Friday. Wong and Chow are the co-founders of the political party Demosisto, which, lik...

Del Rey goes back to her well of swooning melodies, twanging guitars, Twin Peaks-ish Americana and cinematic ballads about women in love with ne’er-do-wells We live in a world of terrifying flux and instability, where any consideration of what might happen next comes with a side order of blind terror. If you were looking to understand the appeal of Lana Del Rey , eight years and five albums since her commercial breakthrough, you might alight on the fact that she offers a certain respite from uncertainty. You put her albums on and know more or less exactly what will happen next. There will be ballads decorated with cinematic orchestration. Guitars will twang and electronics will waft and surge in a manner that evokes Angelo Badalementi’s soundtrack to Twin Peaks, and her voice will be swathed in reverb in a manner that evokes Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star . The vocals will have a dead-eyed quality at odds with the yearning ache of the lyrics, in which girls will simper after brooding n’...

Joshua Wong one of three prominent figures detained … PM puts Brexit negotiators on blistering timetable … and why there is no single ‘gay gene’ Hello, Warren Murray with you at the end of a busy working week in the news. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HvPywM

Activist Agnes Chow held by police as Andy Chan, head of a now banned pro-independence party, is also detained Three prominent pro-democracy figures have been arrested in Hong Kong in an apparent crackdown amid protests that have plunged the city into its worst political crisis in decades. Democracy activists Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, former student leaders of pro-democracy protests in 2014, were arrested on Friday and Andy Chan, head of a now banned pro-independence party, was detained by police on Thursday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UdMI4P

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When economic freedoms are taken away, informal markets will always find new and ingenious ways to satisfy demand. By Richard Davies When Wilbert Rideau was 19, in 1961, he killed a man in a bungled bank robbery. After being convicted and sentenced to death, he was sent to Louisiana State Penitentiary, known by prisoners, guards and locals as Angola after a slave plantation that previously existed on the site. Rideau was given the label C-18. The C stood for “condemned”, and the number denoted his place on the death-row list. His fate was to be the electric chair. Rideau lived in isolation on death row for more than a decade, and read voraciously. He became interested in journalism and started to write. By the mid-1970s he was living in the main prison and editing the penitentiary’s in-house monthly magazine, the Angolite. In the end Rideau avoided execution, and today he is undoubtedly Angola’s most famous former prisoner. Under Rideau’s 20-year editorship, the magazine won many ...

His second album is one of the most outrageous folies de grandeur in music history. Yet the drum’n’bass legend doesn’t care – it helped him recover from his damaged childhood In John Niven’s scabrous 2008 novel Kill Your Friends , there is a scene that dramatises the moment in 1997 when Goldie unveiled his second album, Saturnz Return – specifically, its hour-long opening track, Mother – to his expectant record company. Goldie is lightly disguised as a character called Rage. Like Goldie, he has survived an appalling childhood of abandonment, neglect and abuse to become the biggest star in Britain’s burgeoning drum’n’bass scene . Like Goldie, he has a penchant for gold jewellery and grills and, like Goldie, there is a great weight of music-industry expectation around his forthcoming album: expectation that goes up in smoke the minute he presses play. “People cross and recross their legs, sip their wine and pray for it to end,” offers the novel’s horrendous narrator, Steve Stelfox. “B...

Designer Fernando Reza has created a set of imaginary posters for films that couldn’t make it past pre-production, from Tim Burton’s Superman Lives to Alfred Hitchcock’s Kaleidoscope. Each print can be purchased and arrives with a fake movie ticket Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32eSOV8

Ring shapes communications of police agencies it works with. Critics fear it’s building up a for-profit private surveillance network Ring, Amazon’s camera-connected smart doorbell company, has cameras watching hundreds of thousands of doorsteps across the US. It’s also keeping an eye on what local police say online. Records obtained through an information request show how Ring uses corporate partnerships to shape the communications of police departments it collaborates with, directing the departments’ press releases, social media posts and comments on public posts. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Hwemof

I used to think of my family’s history in the Balkans as constantly shifting, but a trip to Sarajevo brought things home For a long time I didn’t know much about my father’s family history. Any details I had gleaned made it sound mercurial. Tempers flared the night before his grandfather’s wedding, for example, and two of the party were shot dead, but the nuptials still took place the next morning. I sensed it always moving, national identity was always shifting; the places they came from in Yugoslavia were constantly renamed and redrawn. I saw images on the news as a child and it seemed better to look away. The first time I went there, we buried my grandfather Misa in Petrovac. It was 1997 and the Bosnian war had just ended . The supermarket shelves were thick with dust. A kind, elderly woman with no English, charged with looking after me while the adults arranged the funeral, made me spaghetti with a single streak of oil. I was befriended by a gang of children who’d learned English ...

Starsky Robotics Front-End Software Engineer-Teleoperations by kartik_twr | on Hacker News .

Former star baffles audience at the Uefa Champions League draw by quoting from King Lear, before concluding: ‘I love football’ Given previous form, perhaps it should be no surprise that Eric Cantona has again prompted bafflement with a philosophical monologue loosely based on football. The player-turned-actor elicited furrowed brows from the audience at the Champions League draw with a brief but wide-ranging speech that alluded to science, immortality and war. Channelling the spirit of 1995, the year he delivered his famous “when the seagulls follow the trawler” speech, the Frenchman kicked off with a quote from King Lear as he accepted the Uefa president’s award on stage at the ceremony in Monaco. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Ue9ppu

The campaigner was bundled into a van while walking along street, says protest group as pro-independence politician Andy Chan also detained Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong has been arrested in Hong Kong on unknown charges, according to a statement by his political organisation Demosisto. The group said Wong was “forcefully pushed into a private minivan on the street” while walking to a subway station at about 7.30am. He was then taken to police headquarters in Wan Chai. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UdMI4P

Priti Patel discusses greater financial support amid increase in attempted crossings The UK government is considering increasing the amount it pays France to help deal with people trying to make the perilous Channel crossing to England using small boats, Paris has said. The proposal was discussed during talks on Thursday between the British home secretary, Priti Patel, and her French counterpart, Christophe Castaner, that were prompted by an increase in the number of such attempted crossings over the summer. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/30Lp8Pk

Wyndham’s Theatre, London The first night, playing to a celebrity-packed audience, felt like a coronation but Waller-Bridge still has the ability to spring surprises Six years after its debut on the Edinburgh fringe Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman play finally gets its West End premiere. In the interim it has travelled the globe, spawned two TV series and garnered shelf-fulls of awards. Seeing it on stage for the first time, I was struck by its subversive method, its inherent sadness and by Waller-Bridge’s mimetic skill as a performer. Everyone by now has a shrewd idea of who Fleabag is : a woman in constant crisis whose guinea-pig-themed cafe is going bust and who has the capacity to screw-up her sex life, alienate family and destroy friendships. Yet, although her story is familiar, and the first-night playing to a celebrity-packed audience felt like a coronation, Waller-Bridge still has the ability to spring surprises. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Phg...

Human rights campaigners claim Lord Carlile’s appointment undermines review’s credibility Human rights campaigners have threatened the Home Office with legal action over its appointment of Lord Carlile as the independent reviewer of its anti-radicalisation programme Prevent. The peer’s appointment, announced this month, was met with criticism from human rights and civil liberties groups, citing his previous on-record support for the Prevent programme. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/342gKgp

Ibrahim Sedef discovers to his cost that they don’t just settle for the bear necessities A beekeeper in Turkey who was harassed by a particularly persistent group of bears has discovered a profound truth: the animals have very expensive tastes when it comes to honey. Ibrahim Sedef, an engineer from Trabzon, north-east of Ankara on the Turkey’s Black Sea coast, struggled to keep his bee hives out of the hands of local bears, despite building storage houses and metal cages. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Uenhjn

An apparent move by big business to maximise stakeholder value sounds too good to be true For four decades, the prevailing doctrine in the US has been that corporations should maximise shareholder value – meaning profits and share prices – here and now, come what may, regardless of the consequences to workers, customers, suppliers and communities. So the statement endorsing stakeholder capitalism, signed earlier this month by virtually all the members of the US Business Roundtable , has caused quite a stir. After all, these are the CEOs of the US’s most powerful corporations, telling Americans and the world that business is about more than the bottom line. That is quite an about-face. Or is it? The free-market ideologue and Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman was influential not only in spreading the doctrine of shareholder primacy, but also in getting it written into US legislation. He went so far as to say : “There is one and only one social responsibility of business – to u...

Angry reaction as Boris Johnson gets royal nod to prorogue parliament … supermarkets illegally selling knives to children … and China’s ghost ships Good morning – it’s Warren Murray seeking to make things clearer this morning. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ztgWHp

Signs Beijing may be importing Iranian oil as Trump’s two biggest foreign policy headaches converge In early June, a Chinese-owned supertanker abruptly went dark in the Indian Ocean, the tracking system signalling its course apparently deactivated. It was not the first ship to vanish from the monitors. The deactivation of transponders that generate a unique ID issued to ships by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has become increasingly familiar in recent weeks to the companies that track tankers. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NCIkLq

From book stalls in Kolkata to craft beer in Seattle and ‘dancing shrimps’ in Thailand, our tipsters know where to shop for local flavour – and bag a bargain Our stay in Fang, northern Thailand, coincided with the weekly Sunday night food market. From 5.30pm, tiny quails rotated on a grill while their eggs were fried in a doughnut maker, pots and woks bubbled with Thai curries, and stir fries and bamboo sticks full of sticky rice were griddled. Whole salted fish, coils of round sausages and meat skewers were all being barbecued over hot coals. Other foods were ready to go: silkworms, dried shrimps and goong ten , or dancing shrimp (raw translucent shrimps eaten alive with chilli), while green papaya salad was pounded in huge pestles … with as many chillies as you dared. Helen Jackson Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ztI2Ox

Streak – CRM for Gmail (YC S11) Is Hiring in Vancouver by alooPotato | on Hacker News .

Thinktank IPPR North warns of leaks, overuse and climate crisis making droughts more likely Demand for water could outstrip supply by 2035 in parts of northern England, according to a report. Recent focus on near-future water shortages has been on dry south-east England, where London’s consumption of water already outstrips supply in dry years, and the water companies that serve the capital are located in areas classified as seriously water stressed . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/30IFHLw

Six years after its debut, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s monologue is back in the theatre after its tearaway success on TV. We sent three millennial critics to watch it Related: Sexy, subversive … and sad: Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag in West End premiere After six years, two television series, several theatrical revivals (including a sold-out Off-Broadway run) and a shot-for-shot French remake , Fleabag is back in theatres for one final run: just Phoebe Waller-Bridge, alone on a spotlit stool, performing the one-woman show that made her the toast of Hollywood. Since it’s been widely perceived as a tract on millennial womanhood, we assembled three millennial critics for a discussion on the play’s relevance, cult status and sexual politics. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2LcX6Wp

The warmer it gets, the more we use air conditioning. The more we use air conditioning, the warmer it gets. Is there any way out of this trap? On a sweltering Thursday evening in Manhattan last month, people across New York City were preparing for what meteorologists predicted would be the hottest weekend of the year. Over the past two decades, every record for peak electricity use in the city has occurred during a heatwave, as millions of people turn on their air conditioning units at the same time. And so, at the midtown headquarters of Con Edison, the company that supplies more than 10 million people in the New York area with electricity, employees were busy turning a conference room on the 19th floor into an emergency command centre. Inside the conference room, close to 80 engineers and company executives, joined by representatives of the city’s emergency management department, monitored the status of the city power grid, directed ground crews and watched a set of dials displayin...

Scientists claimed this week that being optimistic helps us live longer – but it isn’t always a positive feeling This week scientists claimed that being optimistic could help you live longer, though some may feel the gloom descend on being ordered to be cheerful. But optimism originally meant something much stronger than mere confidence in the future. The word was coined in French – optimisme – by the mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who argued in 1710 that God had optimised the universe to allow the largest possible amount of good for the least cost of evil. This was, therefore, the best of all possible worlds. Someone who believes that things are optimal (Latin optimus , best) is an optimist. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2L5jlPj

Blinded By the Light is about growing up as British Pakistani boy in the 1980s, yet it struck a chord with people worldwide There is a polarisation in today’s political culture that led me to seek solace in screenwriting, after almost 25 years as a journalist. I found the entrenched tribalism alienating and decided instead to explore the world of fiction and film. I thought I would be distracted from the question of our divided culture, but in fact I found potential clues for how to bridge the very divide I was fleeing from. I have spent the last six weeks travelling across Britain and the US, promoting Blinded By the Light . The film, directed by Gurinder Chadha, is a fictionalised retelling of my memoir, Greetings from Bury Park . It tells what is ostensibly a very personal story. It is located in a specific time and place – Luton in 1987 – and it is about a teenage British Pakistani boy whose life feels constrained by his class, culture and community until he discovers the liberat...

A new study has found US men appear to be following Mike Pence’s lead. Maybe they’re angry that #MeToo ever happened It looks like Mike Pence is quite the trendsetter. The US vice-president famously refuses to have dinner alone with any woman who isn’t his wife – and now working men across corporate America appear to be following his lead. Related: NYT columnist quits Twitter after daring critic to 'call me a bedbug to my face' Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZserQc

Front pages in the UK and beyond are full of Brexit drama as invective flies over Boris Johnson’s ‘constitutional outrage’ There is plenty of constitutional outcry on the front pages of the British papers today, which all lead with Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament ahead of the looming Brexit deadline. Front pages from abroad show the international press is transfixed too. The Guardian says there is “Outrage as Johnson suspends parliament”. The paper leads with John Bercow’s comments that the decision was a “constitutional outrage” and the paper’s leader says: “Johnson’s move represents a grotesque abuse of the country’s highest office”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NCragL

Movements, which have been portrayed as a scheduled troop rotation, come days ahead of anti-government protests Chinese military vehicles have been seen moving across the border into Hong Kong, in what the military said were regular troop movements, as fears rose that the city could see a Beijing-led crackdown after months of political unrest. Following witness reports of the movements in the early hours of Thursday, state-run news agency Xinhua released a report that the Hong Kong Garrison of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was making a scheduled rotation and that it was an “annual normal routine”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Nz6MgJ

In Australia with his new memoir, the ‘songwriting sociopath’ discusses creativity and what Shatner taught him about coolness: ‘He just does not give a shit’ Ben Folds has what appear to be perfect piano-playing hands. They’re large, with long, elegant fingers – until you look closer and inspect the damage. “My left hand’s fucked,” he says, raising a beer with it. He lowers the glass, then vigorously shakes out the hand, from the elbow down. There’s an audible click. “Good to go for the next couple of hours.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MJtxim

By MIHIR ZAVERI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2PlvCTP

By NEIL VIGDOR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Hy5Vcd

Authorities say there are 17 known cases so far after hair loss treatment mistakenly put in reflux medicine bottles At least 17 children developed so-called “werewolf syndrome” after a major medicine mix-up, Spain’s health ministry has said. The children – some of them babies – began growing hair all over their body after being given what was thought to be omeprazole, a drug that helps with gastric reflux. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MJuUgO

By ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2zrjvcZ

Appointments to the Lords and a less impartial civil service risk permanently entrenching Brexit battles in British public life Arise, Lord Tim of Wetherspoon’s. Try on this ermine for size, any economist prepared to go against almost the entirety of your profession in arguing that a no-deal Brexit would be just terrific for Britain. The prime minister is reportedly drawing up a list of so-called “Brexit heroes” to be rewarded with peerages, although the word “hero” here is arguably being stretched to breaking point: the plan is apparently to ennoble a bunch of leading leavers after 31 October, in a clear rebuke to a House of Lords that has so far proved decidedly sceptical about the idea of leaving the EU at any price. Well done, everyone involved in dragging Britain into this godawful mess! Now here’s your reward: the chance to get a whole new set of life-changing political judgments wrong, for generations to come. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2zktd0P

Proposed reforms would ‘kick kids out of school’, contributing to knife crime, say Lib Dems Schools shake-up: the four key areas in leaked Tory proposals Ministers have been accused of trying to act tough over proposed education reforms that would emphasise excluding unruly children from schools and using “reasonable force” against them. The plans are outlined in leaked documents seen by the Guardian that also set out government plans to announce within days billions of pounds in new funding and a further wave of free schools. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/328h3UX

From new employee entitlements to soap opera storylines, older women’s health needs a bigger profile Connected as it is with ageing, it is not surprising that the menopause has a bad reputation. Even for women who have generally found their periods to be a nuisance, the cessation of the monthly cycle of egg production often comes as a shock. As well as the psychological impact of what used to euphemistically be called “the change”, the menopause brings with it symptoms for which a lot of women find themselves alarmingly unprepared – as many readers told us when we invited them to share their stories. These symptoms include the heavy or irregular bleeding that often precedes the cessation of menstruation, hot flushes and night sweats, an increased risk of osteoporosis (brittle bones), disrupted sleep, anxiety, vaginal dryness and reduced sex drive. Given all this, and the fact that millions of women are going through the menopause at any one time (around 1 million women in the UK take...

Britain will be hunting for trade deals at the worst possible time, says ex-Bank economist How has Brexit vote affected the UK economy? August verdict Recession looms for Britain – two experts on the economic outlook Boris Johnson is heading into the crunch period for Brexit negotiations with the UK economy potentially on the brink of recession and as global economic growth falters , according to a Guardian analysis of economic news over the past month. The prime minister faces the challenge of breaking the deadlock with Brussels to avoid a no-deal Brexit on Halloween, just as the outlook for the economy deteriorates at home and abroad. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/347WXMG

Slick flexible working spaces are everwhere, but faith organizations offer a more basic service – with some unconventional benefits Last summer, Ted Henken, a 47-year-old sociology professor at Baruch College, New York, was searching for somewhere to get some work done when he passed a sign advertising a co-working space . Although there is no shortage of these in Manhattan, this one was different: the sign was outside a 90-year-old Lutheran church. Henken was intrigued, but wary; if he joined, would someone try to convert him? Curiosity, a sticker price of a $5 or $10 suggested donation and convenience won out. The unhip mess hall-esque kitchen of Our Savior’s Atonement (OSA) with its red concrete floor and farmhouse-style cabinets became Henken’s summer workspace. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/343RRkp

By Unknown Author from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2L2q8t0

Body of teaching assistant was found in Lancashire cemetery after extensive searches by the public A 16-year-old has been arrested in relation to the murder of Lindsay Birbeck after her body was found in a cemetery in Lancashire. A murder inquiry was launched on Monday after the 47-year-old teaching assistant’s body was found in Accrington cemetery by a member of the public on Saturday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HoJvdt

Discipline regime for schools rolled up with £3.5bn funding … Epstein accuser’s message to Prince Andrew … and hits and misses at the box office Good morning from me, Warren Murray. Here’s something for the news-hungry but time-poor likes of yourself. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Hu3Zlc

Many women are refusing to retire their bridal gowns to the back of the wardrobe, in favour of wearing them again or repurposing them. Guardian readers reveal what they did with theirs Catherine O’Nolan wears her wedding dress every year on her anniversary, regardless of where she is or what she is doing. That meant she once wore it on a ferry. She has also worn it to walk the dog on the beach near her home in Suffolk. She has eaten fish and chips in it, cut the grass in it, flown to Dublin in it. It’s not just any old frock; made by the bridal specialist Jenny Packham, there is no mistaking what it is. Strangely, she says, nobody ever says a word. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2LfJAB4

Less reboots! More Keanu! Less Shaft! The summer season is over and it’s time to sift through the hits and misses to see what the industry can learn Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3280x7y

Soon more than 1,000 schools nationwide will be using Yondr, a pouch that students lock their phones in during class Put your cellphone away. Stop texting. Stop using the camera as a mirror. Stop looking at Instagram. They’re the familiar commands of teachers and educators in the age of the smartphone. Most teenagers today have grown up never knowing a world without smartphones, with the Pew Research Center reporting that 95% of all teens currently have access or own a smartphone, and 45% are online almost constantly. That leaves educators the daunting challenge of teaching those whose attentions are – at least partially – attached to the devices in their pockets. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HtxIus

By merely making hostile noises in the direction of hard Brexit, Corbyn is failing to make a strong case for staying in the EU Boris Johnson is not a skilful manager, except of expectations. He impressed dignitaries at the G7 summit in Biarritz with a capacity for seriousness that used to come as standard in prime ministers. Johnson sets the bar low, then clears it. He steered a traditional British diplomatic course between Europe and the US. His style is a flattering tribute to Donald Trump but on the substance – Russia, Iran, the climate emergency – the UK still sides with Germany and France. That balancing act will be harder outside the EU, and the messier the Brexit, the wobblier the tightrope. Related: Cancelled Javid speech heightens election speculation – live updates Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/344sHSI

News organisations have moved on from colonial-era language, but entertainment shows are still rooted firmly in the past I have an idea for a British TV series. It involves finding an African society with a history of regarding Europeans as a profoundly inferior race – tricky, admittedly. Then find a small-town family, from County Durham, say, to perform stereotypically “English” culture to entertain them. Describe this as an “exchange” – it sounds more equal – but make sure the African characters are equipped with various gadgets and a familiar value system. We’ll follow their love lives, clothing preferences and personality quirks in minute detail on social media. By contrast, the County Durham people can just be lumped into one collective personality, a series of bland traits that cover not just them, but their entire ethnic group. Let’s call it “reverse anthropology”, the opposite of the tired old narrative with which you are already familiar. You know, the one we have seen so ma...

Moscow aiming to win influence by wooing African states with nuclear energy Russia is attempting to gain influence in Africa and earn billions of pounds by selling developing nations nuclear technology that critics say is unsuitable and unlikely to benefit the continent’s poorest people. Representatives of Rosatom, the Russian state corporation responsible for both the military and civil use of nuclear energy, have approached the leaders of dozens of African countries in the past two years. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZqekEM

Standup comedian also takes aim at callout culture that sees public figures held to account by audiences Dave Chappelle has come under fire for his latest Netflix special in which he claims he does not believe Michael Jackson sexually assaulted young boys, and makes jokes at the expense of Jackson’s accusers. In a standup set that seemed designed to provoke precisely the backlash that it was critiquing, Chappelle took aim at a prevailing callout culture that sees celebrities being held to account by audiences and in the media for perceived or actual crimes and for the offensive things they say. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UcOjrp

Scale AI is hiring engineers to accelerate the development of AI by ayw | on Hacker News .

Najib Razak, who was toppled from power last year, is facing 25 charges in biggest trial linked to the scandal-plagued government fund The long-awaited trial of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, who is charged with embezzling millions from the state in the 1MDB corruption scandal , has opened in Kuala Lumpur after months of delays. Najib, who served as Malaysia’s prime minister for nine years before being toppled from power last year, is facing 25 charges including abuse of power, and is accused of laundering 2.3bn ringgit ($540m) of a Malaysian government fund, known as 1MDB, for his own financial reward. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2znHTvV

Pyongyang’s new short-range missile have irregular trajectory, which could outsmart interceptor missiles, minister warns North Korea appears to be developing warheads to penetrate a missile shield defending Japan, the country’s defence minister has said. Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Tuesday Japan believed the rockets were a new short-range ballistic missile, pointing to their irregular trajectories, which theoretically could outsmart existing defence systems. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZzP4ji

Cave tells fan on on his website The Red Hand Files, ‘I suspected that drugs might have been a problem between us’ The Boatman’s Call has long been considered one of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ most confessional records, written around the time of Cave’s break-up with English musician PJ Harvey. But while it’s long been known that the 1997 album was in part inspired by her, Cave revealed on Tuesday the reasons behind the break-up – and the toll it took on him. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HorDPV

By ASTEAD W. HERNDON from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Zvu74Y

From Trump to Orbán, politicians are winning votes by stoking age-old hatreds. Where does this fear of migrants come from? By Suketu Mehta The west is being destroyed, not by migrants, but by the fear of migrants. In country after country, the ghosts of the fascists have rematerialised and are sitting in parliaments in Germany, in Austria, in Italy. They have successfully convinced their populations that the greatest threat to their nations isn’t government tyranny or inequality or climate change, but immigration. And that, to stop this wave of migrants, everyone’s civil liberties must be curtailed. Surveillance cameras must be installed everywhere. Passports must be produced for the most routine of tasks, like buying a mobile phone. Take a look at Hungary, where Viktor Orbán has forced out the Central European University and almost destroyed the country’s free press and most other liberal institutions, using immigrants and George Soros as bogeymen. Or Poland, whose ruling party pur...

An estimated 55 million adults will be vaping by 2021, creating millions of devices that will be disposed of improperly Vaping has been declared a serious health epidemic , but it could also create a massive recycling disaster, according to researchers. And top companies in the sector are piloting recycling programs to address the millions of devices improperly disposed of each year. Market research group Euromonitor estimates that the number of adults who vape will reach almost 55 million by 2021. The e-cigarette market was worth approximately $5.5bn as of 2018. As of 2017, there were 565 types of e-cigarette devices on the market in the US, 184 of which were disposable or single-use, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. When littered, these products can leach dangerous metals, battery acid, and nicotine into the environment. And there is no legal way to recycle them. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Pqrt0C

Many young people now spend hours in their bedrooms, perfecting extraordinarily intricate looks to put up online ‘It’s literally art!” exclaims 16-year-old Milly Provenzano, sitting cross-legged on her single bed. Her eyeshadow is like the plumage of a tropical bird: blue, pink and yellow, to match the rainbow lettering on her Pride T-shirt. On the wall above her, Provenzano has taped up photographs of her favourite Instagram makeup stars: drag artist Hungry , famed for transforming Björk into a vagina-flower hybrid for the cover of her Utopia album, and Antoinette Mahr, whose trademark multicoloured style was clearly the inspiration for Provenzano’s look today. I have asked the teenager from Kettering, Northamptonshire, to justify the many hours she spends alone in her room, perfecting fabulously complicated makeup looks. “That’s like saying to someone who does A-level art and is painting all the time, ‘Oh you shouldn’t be doing that, you should be doing something more academic.’ It...

We received 500 answers from those unhappy with their screentime (10 hours a day!) to those who happily log just two minutes Last week, we’ve asked Guardian readers to share their screentime with us . How long did they spent on their phone everyday? Did they think they controlled their phones, or that the phone controlled them? We received 500 responses and did the math: the average Guardian reader seems to spend 2.5 hours staring at a screen each day. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PpZiiK

The Weinstein scandal has inspired several new plays ranging from sharp satire to crass comedy. As the mogul heads to trial, we gauge theatre’s response Katie Arnstein tells a story of a day at drama school when a tutor told her to perform her graduation show in a bra “because I’m a blonde with a big chest”. It is one of several experiences that informed Arnstein’s solo show Sexy Lamp , performed at the Edinburgh fringe this month. The title comes from writer Kelly Sue DeConnick’s theory that, if you can replace a female character with a lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft. Arnstein wrote her play, which features shocking revelations about auditions and casting call notices, because she felt so galvanised by the #MeToo movement that followed the numerous allegations of rape and sexual assault levelled at Harvey Weinstein since 2017. (Allegations he continues to deny in the run-up to his trial in September.) “I was inspired by the strength shown b...

HMP Parc’s gardening scheme is improving prisoners’ lives – and has won an award from the Royal Horticultural Society Alan Grant steps back from the flowerbed he has been carefully weeding and reflects on his morning’s work. “It takes you away from prison a bit,” he says, “it’s therapeutic, it’s enjoyable. My time here would have gone slower if it wasn’t for the garden.” Related: UK prisons are a disgrace. No wonder a Dutch court has refused to extradite | Ben Keith Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/30FlBlE

The anti-no-deal politicians meeting today need to find a way to work together – and Labour will have to compromise You can tell there’s a general election coming, because that’s the subtext to everything else that happens. Boris Johnson uses the G7 summit to grandstand to the domestic tabloids . Meanwhile the fractious coalition of anti-no-deal forces meets today to try and form a coherent plan to stop Britain crashing out of the EU – and to force an election. If the object was to fight no deal through parliamentary process, the only people you would need in the room would be Dominic Grieve and Keir Starmer, with maybe somebody taking notes for John Bercow. But today’s get-together, convened last week by Jeremy Corbyn , is as much about a general election, which few people now doubt will happen sooner rather than later. Given that, it would have been better to enter the room in the spirit of anticipated unity, rather than publicly set out your red lines beforehand, as Jo Swinson has...