Polls show difference between pro-European Rafał Trzaskowski and nationalist Karol Nawrocki within the margin of error
Good morning, or dzień dobry, from Warsaw.
On the final day of the Polish presidential campaign, all polls show the difference between the two leading candidates – pro-European Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski and nationalist right historian Karol Nawrocki – within the margin of error.
Draft reportedly includes release of 28 hostages in first week, a 60-day ceasefire and aid for Gaza as soon as deal signed off
Israel has agreed to a US ceasefire proposal for Gaza, the White House has said, and Hamas said it was reviewing the plan although its terms did not meet the group’s demands.
As a US-backed system for distributing food in the shattered territory expanded, Israeli media reported that its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted a deal presented by US president Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
(Island) The Scottish songwriter delivers a confident, well-expressed debut even if their songs sometimes stray into overfamiliar indie-folk territory
The title of Scottish indie-folk musician Jacob Alon’s delicate debut album may seem ironic: the phrase describes an intense kind of desire, and Alon’s music can be shatteringly desolate and lonely, their voice and fingerpicked guitar conveying isolation and introversion with raw clarity. But In Limerence makes a strong case for its name: isn’t desire, Alon seems to ask, one of the most incurably lonely feelings of all? These story songs – about youthful infatuation, reckless hedonism and one-sided obsession – are brittle and wounded, each zeroing in on a different strain of disappointment or heartache.
Alon was born in Dunfermline, Fife, a city tucked between pockets of forest, and they play up the organic, semi-mystical nature of their music, performing in wings and Midsummer Night’s Dream-esque wreaths; In Limerence’s lyric sheet is filled with references to the cosmos, mythology and folklore. You can sense their fealty to Sufjan Stevens, who has also performed wearing wings and peppers his queer love songs with dense literary references.
Zimbabwe player’s high-profile trip around the world this week should prompt more players to think global and play local
Do you remember the first of Zimbabwe’s three ODIs against Bangladesh in 2022? No? Let me refresh your memory. Bangladesh’s batters had racked up 303 for two. Zimbabwe had lost both openers by the end of their second over. They were 62 for three when Sikandar Raza came to the crease. He scored 135 of the 240 runs the home side needed and Zimbabwe won with nearly two overs to spare.
Raza rescued them in the ODI that followed, too – another century – and ended up top-scoring in Zimbabwe’s first series win in three years. The then 36-year-old put his determined spirit down to his training in the Pakistan Air Force: “I couldn’t become a fighter pilot,” he said, “but I think, as a person, I will always be a fighter.”
Home hope leads after four rounds at Stavanger following his comprehensive victory in the Speed Championship
Magnus Carlsen arrived in vintage form at the start of the Norway Chess tournament. The encounter began inconclusively with the six stars – in ranking order Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, Gujesh Dommaraju and Wei Yi – all launching a win or two. Gukesh, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Wednesday, won in round three against Nakamura.
Carlsen’s version of one of Bobby Fischer’s favourite openings set the tone last week for another clean sweep of the No 1 of the global elite. Carlsen’s comprehensive victory in the chess.com Speed Championship, which this year also acted as a qualifier for the Esports World Cup, included mini-match victories over three important rivals.
The Britpop-defying indie trio are calling it a day after 35 years. From having their minds blown by techno to fireworks night with Aphex Twin, they recall the highs – and explain their eternal ‘psychic’ bond
In Saint Etienne, it is usually Bob Stanley who suggests the band’s tightly defined album concepts. What if you graft folk melodies to dance music? Make vaporwave about early New Labour? While finishing ambient pop album The Night, released in the dark of last winter, Stanley pitched an even starker one for its successor: the end of their band.
“I didn’t think I was saying anything uncomfortable or shocking,” says Stanley, affable and understated, in a park near his Bradford home. “When you’ve known each other for so long you have a psychic thing anyway. It felt like we would all agree.”
The third division team, based in the watch capital of Switzerland, went bankrupt in 2016 but have upset the odds to face Basel on Sunday
The Swiss Cup was established in 1925 and with the competition celebrating its centenary a remarkable story has emerged – a third division team has reached the final for the first time. Meet FC Biel-Bienne, who survived bankruptcy less than a decade ago, have problems competing with an ice hockey club, and whose sporting director injured himself while jumping for joy.
They come from a special town too. Biel/Bienne is the biggest bilingual city in Switzerland – Biel is the German name and Bienne is the French one. Until 2005 they were used separately until it was decided to unite them, true to the spirit of the community.
McDavid, Perry lead Oilers past Stars in West finals
Oilers to face Panthers in Stanley Cup final rematch
Connor McDavid had the breakaway goal that swung the momentum back to the Edmonton Oilers, and their captain happily touched the trophy they got after wrapping up another Western Conference title.
McDavid got that big goal in the second period after an earlier assist, 40-year-old Corey Perry scored again and the Oilers are going to their second Stanley Cup final in a row after beating the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Thursday night in Game 5 to wrap up the West final.
Erin Patterson watched herself on a screen, her voice filling court room four of the Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell.
She had done little but stand up and sit down, and watch on silently, throughout the first 20 days of her triple murder trial, as more than 50 witnesses catalogued their own role in her story.
The romance is beautifully drawn in this tale of two couples whose lives overlap at a Northern Irish manor house, a century apart
Time is layered in Northern Irish writer David Park’s latest novel. The past ever present, it underpins but also threatens to undermine the two protagonists. The story opens in present-day Belfast, with Alex, a man caught up in wedding plans. He loves his Ellie, but doesn’t love all the fuss over venues and seating arrangements. The pair are paying a visit to the Manor House, a grand hotel outside the city; Ellie has her heart set on the boathouse by the lake for their reception, and wants Alex to feel the same excitement. This first chapter finds him distracted, though. Impatient with deadlines and invitations, but also keen just to be married; more specifically, to let go of his old life and his old pals from his single days. We’re not told why, only that he is tired of “all the pretences and games” and that marriage represents his “best opportunity to loosen the connection”.
Chapter two returns us to the same place but a century earlier. The Manor House is home to the Remingtons, and the lake and boathouse of Ellie’s future dreams are as yet under construction, under the supervision of George Allenby. A young architect, George is also a veteran of the first world war. The fighting is not long over and he, too, would rather put his past behind him. But the lake excavation and the daily sight of his workers in the mud and rain is proving an awful reminder of the trenches. There, he was an officer; here he is once again in charge of men. George is sorely aware of their toiling, and the precarity of their employment set against the wealth of the Remingtons. George’s employers are new money, and he finds himself embarrassed at their ambitions to pass as landed gentry. He knows the lake he is constructing is part of this: a charade doomed to failure.
Photography, writing, painting and music learning holidays have all ignited our readers’ creative spark, at retreats from Snowdonia to Sicily • Tell us about your favourite mountain trip – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucher
Wider Horizons is an outdoor gathering in Berkshire dedicated to reigniting young attendees’ (18 to 30 years old) creative spark through workshops, music, ceremony and movement. On the glorious July afternoon I arrived, oak trees cast elongated shadows on the soft earth, a gentle breeze stirred the tall grass, and I found myself surrounded by a group of eccentric, vivacious young adults. A key element of the weekend is transformation: Wild Woman circles channelled sacred rage into empowerment, Forest Play turned ennui into childlike wonder, and poetry workshops used the surrounding woodlands as inspiration. My phone lay untouched, my mind grew quiet, and from that place of silence, the words poured out of me like rainfall. This year’s event is from 22-28 July. The full price is £250 with early-bird discounts available into June. Jade Serna
Complex built during second world war is to include military equipment, interactive exhibitions and a bar
During his time in military intelligence, Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond novels, regularly worked with Winston Churchill’s spy organisation based 30 metres below ground in a labyrinth of tunnels in central London.
The Kingsway Exchange tunnels complex, stretching out across 8,000 sq metres beneath High Holborn, near Chancery Lane underground station, hosted the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and is said to have inspired Q Branch in Fleming’s novels.
Media quoted unnamed distributors who said they could not obtain copies of the magazine or that it had been banned
The latest print edition of the Economist, which features Vietnam’s top leader on its cover, has been banned in the country, the latest instance of media censorship in the communist, one-party state.
The magazine carried an image of the Communist party General Secretary To Lam with stars on his eyes, alongside the headline “The man with a plan for Vietnam”, with an article carrying the subheading: “A Communist party hard man has to rescue Asia’s great success story”.
Multinational team monitoring sanctions says 20,000 container loads of missiles, artillery, rocket launchers and other munitions illegally supplied
Russian forces have used North Korean weapons to intensify missile attacks against critical civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and “terrorised” entire cities, according to a report by UN members that reveals the extent of Moscow’s dependence on the regime in Pyongyang.
The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, comprising 11 countries including the US, Britain, EU states and Japan, said Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship had supplied Russia with more than 20,000 containers of munitions since September 2023.
Lauren Mason decided to take action after witnessing huge amounts of camping gear abandoned at festivals
When Lauren Mason volunteered to help with the cleanup at a festival two years ago, she had no idea it would change the course of her life. She’d heard about the tents being dumped and left behind. Her mother, she says, is “an amazing seamstress”, so Mason thought she might be able to use some of the material to make clothes.
“I originally went to clean up with the idea to make my own jacket. But that’s when I realised the problem was bigger than we thought.”
Not that focaccia, but a sweet take on the classic Italian loaf that’s bit like a slightly chewy cinnamon bun
If you’ve been anywhere near TikTok, you’re likely to have seen plenty of videos of sweet focaccia doing the rounds. I’m not normally one to jump on to viral trends, but I couldn’t resist trying this one. The dough is pretty easy, with no kneading or stand mixer required – just some stretching, folding and plenty of time to rest. You end up with something that tastes like a cinnamon bun/doughnut hybrid, that’s not too sweet and with a little more chew.
Reform leader aims to make London a ‘crypto powerhouse’ and has previously hailed an ‘economic insurgency’
As Liz Truss prepared to make a U-turn on her mini-budget in October 2022, Nigel Farage discussed the economic instability on his GB News show. But he was not broadcasting from the channel’s studios in Paddington. Instead, Farage was speaking from a bitcoin conference in Amsterdam.
“With inflation forecast to perhaps get up to 20%, with increasing distrust of fiat currencies, people are looking for alternatives … Are you ready for bitcoin?” he said in his opening remarks.
His tax-and-spending maths may be bonkers, but while Labour dithers, the Reform leader knows just what his voters want
If Nigel Farage has a secret weapon, it is his seeming refusal to take things seriously.
His habit of repairing to the pub at any opportunity – though in private, he’s said to barely drink now – and the cheerfully unabashed amateurishness of his operation have long made other politicians look stuffy by comparison. But the chaos is also, as it was for Boris Johnson, a means of defence.
Brunson scores 32 as Knicks stay alive with Game 5 win
Towns adds 24 points and 13 boards despite knee injury
Pacers struggle on offense, miss chance to reach finals
The Madison Square Garden crowd had waited all week for a spark. On Thursday night, they got a firestorm. With their season dangling by a thread, the New York Knicks delivered a wire-to-wire 111–94 beatdown of the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, keeping their playoff hopes alive and forcing a Game 6 in Indianapolis on Saturday.
Jalen Brunson scored 32 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 24 points and 13 rebounds – despite a bruised left knee that had left his status uncertain until shortly before tipoff – as the Knicks trimmed the Pacers’ lead to 3–2 in the best-of-seven-games series and gave their home fans something to believe in.
Juliana Leon died of hyperthermia in Seattle at age 65 during the 2021 Pacific north-west heat dome – an event that killed nearly 200 people, and which meteorologists say would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused global warming.
Wrigley’s gave me 5,000 to start me off. I’ve now used nearly 3m
I don’t know what to put it down to, but I’ve always been a collector, a completist, a statistician – and maybe a little competitive.
As a schoolboy in Canada, I was fascinated by the Guinness Book of Records and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!. I would memorise the records and amaze my friends by quoting them.
Close-run race between pro-EU and nationalist candidates pits liberal vision against a radical-right, EU-critical stance
Poland’s presidential election runoff could have far-reaching implications for its place in Europe – either cementing the country’s hard-won seat at the EU’s top table, or heralding a return to altogether trickier times.
The mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, faces off against the historian Karol Nawrocki on Sunday in a neck-and-neck race, pitting a liberal vision of Poland at the heart of European policymaking against a nationalist, radical-right, EU-critical stance.
The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner – and that gives it leverage to finally change the course of this brutal war
European consciences have started waking up to the Israeli government’s crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories – and it is about time. What has caused this long and slow awakening? Is it Israel’s killing of more than 54,000 Palestinians since Hamas’s horrific attack on 7 October 2023? Thousands of babies at risk of dying from starvation and malnutrition? Civilians burning alive? Israeli ministers’ plans to reoccupy and recolonise the Gaza Strip, expelling Palestinians? Or perhaps it’s the Israeli army firing shots at diplomats, including Europeans, in the West Bank – or the racist chanting, during a state-funded march in Jerusalem, of “death to the Arabs” and “may their villages burn”?
It’s probably a combination of all the above, as well as the recognition that principled pressure on Israel will certainly not come from Washington. Whatever the triggers for it, Europe may be nearing an inflection point on the graph, turning the dark page of its complicity with Israel’s nearly 20-month war in Gaza.
Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist
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The indiscriminate, cruel and criminal killing of civilians may see us be banished from the family of nations and summoned to the ICC, with no good defense
The government of Israel is currently waging a war without purpose, without goals or clear planning, and with no chances of success. Never since its establishment has the state of Israel waged such a war. The criminal gang headed by Benjamin Netanyahu has set a precedent without equal in Israel’s history in this area, too.
The obvious result of Operation Gideon’s Chariots is, first and foremost, the confused activity of Israeli military units deployed around Gaza. This is true particularly in neighborhoods where our soldiers have already fought, were hurt and fell while killing many Hamas combatants, who deserve to die, and many more innocent civilians. These have joined the statistics of pointless victims among the Palestinian population, reaching monstrous proportions.
While students around the world dream of classrooms, students in Gaza dream of survival
Before the war, students in Gaza were surrounded by books, not bombs. They woke each morning to the voices of their mothers urging them to get ready for school, not to the sound of airstrikes and screaming. They were focused on building a future, working hard to shape a better life for themselves and their homeland.
Before the war started, my best friends and I used to go to the restaurants that were near the university, talking, laughing, eating and studying together, eating our breakfast together under a blue sky before going to the first lecture.
Nadera Mushtha is a writer and poet from Gaza who is studying English language education at the Islamic University of Gaza. Her writing has been published on Al Jazeera, Mondoweiss, the Electronic Intifada, and the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
Raynor Winn’s bestselling memoir about her and her husband’s 630-mile trek around England’s south coast has become a film. Its stars, makers and Winn talk floods, fog and forgiveness
‘I have played a lot of powerful, well-dressed women in my career,” says Gillian Anderson. They flash before your eyes: Margaret Thatcher (The Crown), Eleanor Roosevelt (The First Lady), Emily Maitlis (the Prince Andrew/Newsnight drama Scoop) – as well as the formidable sex therapist in the Netflix hit Sex Education, a role that led to her being inundated with dildos from over-enthusiastic fans. “These are all women in control of themselves and their environment. Any time I have an opportunity to steer against that, particularly lately, it’s of interest to me.”
There is steering in another direction, and then there is the screeching handbrake turn represented by her role in The Salt Path, adapted from Raynor Winn’s 2018 memoir of homelessness and hope along the coastline of England’s south-west. Playing Winn, Anderson is shown making a single teabag stretch for several cuppas, withdrawing the final £1.38 from her bank account, and warming her blistered feet by a pub fire. A typical day begins with her peeing in the undergrowth. It’s a far cry from Agent Scully in The X-Files.
Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham, who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups
Four people jailed in the landmark national security trial of the “Hong Kong 47”, the pro-democracy figures accused of conspiracy to commit subversion, were freed on Friday after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month.
Among those freed was longtime political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham, who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021.
Faizan Zaki’s enthusiasm for spelling nearly got the better of him. Ultimately, his joyful approach made him the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.
The favorite entering the bee after his runner-up finish last year – during which he never misspelled a word in a conventional spelling round, only to lose a lightning-round tiebreaker that he didn’t practice for – the shaggy-haired Faizan wore the burden of expectations lightly, sauntering to the microphone in a black hoodie and spelling his words with casual glee.
Jenny Stevens and Gina Tonic discuss the rise of #SkinnyTok and the popularity of weight-loss drugs
“There’s lots of chat at the moment about #SkinnyTok,” Jenny Stevens, the Guardian’s deputy features editor, tells Helen Pidd. “The TikTok influencers, TikTok users, who are documenting their extreme weight-loss journeys.
“I’ve looked through that hashtag and I think, wow, some of these people are really, really unwell. And I think that there is a profit-seeking algorithm that is pushing that content into the feeds of young users.”
Some experts are sceptical about the touted benefits to workers from the UK government’s proposed shake-up
Amid all the jargon of the latest announcement on pensions, one number will have leapt out: the claim that the average worker will gain £6,000 in their retirement fund as a result.
The figure comes from the government’s final report of its Pensions Investment Review published on Thursday. It lays out plans to shake up defined contribution pensions, the funds that invest workers’ regular payments in stocks, shares and other assets to grow the money. These provide workers with an income on retirement based on the value of their stake; the size of this income will depend on how much they have paid in and how well the investments have performed.
I heard from a woman who wore off-the-shoulder tops for an entire year because her crush said he ‘liked shoulders’
It was mid-winter when I found myself shivering on a slippery rock, staring out to sea. The waves in front of me were growling and my gut responded in kind. Instead of listening to it, I wrestled into a wetsuit and pulled the goggles I’d had since year 5 over my head. I signalled my friend to start recording. Then, I walked in.
By walked, I mean slipped. Violently. The ocean licked me off the rocks and sucked me under with glee. After a few seconds of panicked tumbling, I surfaced with a mouthful of salt water. My friend laughed. I laughed, then coughed, then laughed again.
The wise among us would never forgo our safe-sun protocol, but there’s no denying that many of us feel happier and healthier with a tan. The irresistible lure of sunkissed skin has long been a summer staple – and from tanning waters to wipes, instant tans to gradual tanning moisturisers, there are now more ways than ever to get a faux glow.
There’s also been a growing demand for multitasking beauty products, so the newest fake tan formulas often add skincare benefits alongside the bronze. Self-tans infused with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and vitamin C hydrate, nourish and protect much like your usual body cream or facial serum.
It’s time! The nine finalists have taken the stage. Esha Marupudi is first and she nails isopag, an equiglacial line on a map or chart that connects the points where ice is present for approximately the same number of days in winter. Next up is Oliver Halkett and he confidently spells corbicula. Sarvadnya Kadam has no problems with dolabrate. Now it’s Sarv Dharavane, the 11-year-old who is the youngest of the nine finalists. His word is ethology, defined as the scientific and objective study of animal behavior especially under natural conditions. After a few questions for head pronouncer Dr Jacques Bailly, he coolly drills it. Four up, four down: a roaring start heading into the first commercial break.
The majority of entrants in the National Spelling Bee are from the US, hailing from all 50 states. But some have traveled farther for the competition. Alleena Villaluz traveled some 7,800 miles from Saipan, a US commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands roughly 133 miles (by air) from Guam. This was her second consecutive Bee. Other spellers came from Canada, the Bahamas, Germany, Ghana, Kuwait, Nigeria, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
The $100,000 award is Australia’s richest art prize for artists under 40, with finalists exhibited at the Art Gallery of South Australia until 31 August. Here’s a selection
A recent winner of four Masters Games gold medals, Sawang Janpram began competing at 97 – motivated by his daughter, now 73
For the 105-year-old Thai athlete Sawang Janpram, the day normally starts at 5.30am. He has a breakfast of two boiled eggs, some protein, vegetables and fruit, and by 6am or 7am he’s out at the beach or local stadium near his home in Rayong province, training with his 73-year-old daughter Siripan.
He will walk between 1km and 2km before doing a quick 100m run, once or twice. Then, he practises one of his other sports: javelin, discus or shot put.
Natalie Phelps, who has stage 4 colorectal cancer, has raised the alarm over how patients in the agency’s clinical trials are facing setbacks in treatment
A 43-year-old woman and mother of two with advanced cancer says she is experiencing life-or-death delays in treatment because of the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Natalie Phelps, who has stage 4 colorectal cancer, has spoken publicly, raising the alarm about a setback in care for herself and others who are part of clinical trials run by the agency. Her story has made it into congressional hearings and spurred a spat between a Democratic senator and the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr. Behind the scenes, she and others are advocating to get her treatment started sooner.
Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, who has pleaded not guilty, declared not mentally fit to face charges of vandalism and felony stalking of the Friends actor
A judge declared on Thursday that a man is mentally incompetent to stand trial on charges of stalking Jennifer Aniston and crashing his car through her front gate.
The move in a Los Angeles County mental health court came after a second psychiatrist examined the defendant, Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, and reached the same conclusion as the first: that his mental health would not allow him to answer to felony charges of vandalism and stalking of the Friends star.
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