1st over: Ireland 7-0 (Stirling 5, Adair 1) Luke Wood takes a couple of deliveries to get going. His first ball is a wide; his first legal delivery is larruped to the cover boundary by Stirling.
The rest of the over is better. An inswinging yorker is well defended by Stirling, who then inside edges past the stumps.
Dion Rudakubana tells inquiry his younger brother, Axel, became ‘progressively more isolated’ after school expulsion
The brother of the Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has asked a public inquiry to determine whether officials could have stopped his sibling causing “the most immense pain, anguish and grief”.
In his first public comments since the attack last July, Dion Rudakubana said his younger brother had become “progressively more isolated” after being expelled from school in October 2019.
I met Bob in 1984 after he finished Out of Africa through a mutual friend in Malibu, and subsequently began to work for him and became friends. At that time he was establishing Sundance and distancing himself from Hollywood. He was a dolphin among sharks. He was the most kind and wise person one could ever know in this life. Lex, Joshua Tree, CA
Royal Academy, London Kidnappings, enslavement, cops and squad cars, golfers, picnics, croquet-players, interstellar travellers … the US artist’s largest ever European show takes in an extraordinary range of experience in a breathtaking show
Biting, funny, astonishing, difficult, surprising, erudite and hugely ambitious, Kerry James Marshall’s The Histories is the largest show of the black American’s work ever held in Europe. Its effects are cumulative. The Histories charts the 69-year-old painter’s intellectual as well as practical development, his themes, his switches of media and of focus and attention. Everything is here for a reason.
How engaging Marshall’s art is, from the first. He takes us from the bar to the bedroom, to the Middle Passage, from the studio to the academy, from the beauty parlour to the dancehall. He paints scenes of kidnappings and of enslavement in Africa and of a black cop sitting on the hood of his squad car – I love the jagged stylised flare of the streetlights in the background. Marshall knows that everything is contended and complex and that there are no innocent images. Pustules of paint, like litter between the blocks, decorate the spaces between the housing projects, like flowers blooming in a riot. On an idyllic day in the park, black folks picnic, practise a golf swing, play croquet, water-ski on the lake and listen to the Temptations, the lyrics floating up like ticker tape from radios on a sunny afternoon. It is an absurd, impossible image. The humour in Marshall’s art is not to be underestimated. In a series devoted to the Middle Passage a Baptist flounders. There are water slides and swimming pools, ocean liners and toy boats and a woman about to dive from a board. The water is filled with drowned maps of Africa and carefully rendered fish, and there’s an exhortation to plunge.
Speaking to Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch on her Good Hang podcast, the star criticised the lack of credit given to comedy acting
Amy Poehler, the Saturday Night Live veteran and star of multiple films as well as Parks and Recreation, has spoken out about what she perceives as an anti-comedy bias at the Oscars.
Speaking to Olivia Colman on her Good Hang podcast, Poehler first canvassed Colman’s The Roses co-star Benedict Cumberbatch for questions.
The freezer is one of the best tools for saving waste. Here it makes an unexpected but inspired burrata topper
While most Instagram food trends prioritise spectacle over substance, the viral frozen tomato idea that I’m employing today delivers genuine culinary value, and solves a common kitchen problem into the bargain. I’m a bit late to the party, admittedly, but it’s a versatile waste-saving technique.
Its origin clearly derives from either Hawaiian shaved ice or granita, that classic Italian frozen dessert made by stirring and scraping or grating a sorbet-like base into shavings, and the approach essentially applies granita principles to fresh produce, while at the same time cutting out all of the hassle: simply pop any surplus or past-its-best fruit or vegetables in the freezer until they’re rock solid, then grate!
Yulia Navalnaya says tests by two laboratories on samples smuggled out of Russia show her husband was killed by poison
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said that two foreign laboratories had confirmed her husband was poisoned, after tests on biological samples secretly smuggled out of Russia.
Navalny, 47, died suddenly on 16 February 2024, while being held in a jail about 40 miles (64km) north of the Arctic Circle, where he had been sentenced to decades in prison to be served in a “special regime”.
Former sprinter claims he is facing own financial losses
‘Michael has asked for patience while we try to fix this’
Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track organisation has denied the former American sprinter has pocketed $2m from the series while his athletes have gone unpaid, calling the speculation “categorically false” – and claimed he was facing financial losses himself.
Johnson is facing the prospect of legal action from athletes, agents and the suppliers who helped stage three GST meetings, with sources claiming they are owed as much as $19m (£13.9m). It is understood that two athletes claim they had to withdraw from buying a house when prize money was not paid, and many privately believe they will never receive their money.
Lage goes after 3-2 Champions League defeat by Qarabag
Benfica play Mourinho’s former club Chelsea this month
Benfica are closing in on the appointment of José Mourinho after sacking Bruno Lage in the wake of their defeat by Qarabag in the Champions League.
Mourinho is on the market after leaving Fenerbahce last month and is in advanced talks over a return to his former club, who he briefly manager in 2000.
At a high-profile global summit held by China this month, there were strong statements directed at the west’s “bullying” as well as renewed calls to stabilise “global governance”. The meeting was the clearest indication yet that China is vying to become a world superpower, aiming to marshal an anti-western bloc. But the foundations of that position partly lie in Africa and the Caribbean, where China has been building relationships for decades.
The NBA star and actor’s marriage didn’t even last a year. But their relationship catered for eccentrics, misfits, and outsiders
The internet is frothing. This time, over Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement, a spectacle reminding us how celebrities function as wish machines. Us normies ride shotgun, living vicariously through the highest peaks and, at times, the lowest valleys, making up for our own grayscale lives.
But, while Taylor and Travis are about as mainstream as you can get, in the 1990s there was a celebrity couple who catered for the eccentrics, misfits, and outsiders.
Preteens are parroting influencer speak, stealing and demanding anti-ageing products. Experts say the pressure to fit in is intense – and the beauty stores aren’t helping
Jessica, 25, was working a shift at Sephora when a little girl who looked about 10 ran up to one of her colleagues, crying. “Her skin was burning,” Jessica said, “it was tomato red. She had been running around, putting every acid you can think of on the palm of her hand, then all over her face. One of our estheticians had to tend to her skin. Her parents were nowhere to be seen.”
Former Sephora employee KM, 25, has her war stories too. Like the day a woman was caught shoplifting and told the security guard “she was trying to steal because her kid was getting bullied because she didn’t have a Dior lip gloss. [The mom] couldn’t afford it but her daughter told her she is going to get made fun of at school.”
Co-founder Mike Tindall insists R360 will launch next year but, with financial projections changing, questions remain
R360’s decision to withdraw its application for sanctioning by World Rugby this month, as revealed by the Guardian, was the first significant setback for the planned breakaway league, which had appeared to be developing unstoppable momentum.
More than 160 players have signed pre-contract agreements with the proposed new competition, which is offering annual salaries of up to £740,000 for a 16-match season, with 75% of the potential recruits having played international rugby within the past two years, and at least 10 of them for England.
I hope tonight’s gig will have the same galvanising effect as the 1988 Nelson Mandela concert – and give people courage to speak out about Gaza
In the summer of 1988 the music festival producer Tony Hollingsworth organised a concert at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate the 70th birthday of Nelson Mandela. He offered the BBC the rights to broadcast it live, but the corporation was nervous. Mandela had been in jail since 1962 and, to the extent that he was a well-known figure, he had been branded a “terrorist”. Hollingsworth met BBC executive Alan Yentob, who was wavering. “Alan,” Tony said, “you’ve got to bite the bullet.” Eventually Yentob agreed, replying: “I’ll give you five hours. If the bill improves, I’ll increase the time.”
Conservative MPs were soon organising a parliamentary motion, deploring the BBC’s editorial decision. Opponents of Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) were right to be worried about the concert. The event was broadcast to a global audience of 600 million people, it made Mandela a household name around the world and, in all probability, hastened his release. Oliver Tambo, then president of the ANC, told Hollingsworth the concert was “the greatest single event we have undertaken in support of the struggle.”
Brian Eno is a musician, artist, composer and producer
God As My Witness shares survivors’ stories and exposes church cover-ups as it returns to the scandal’s epicenter
A film examining the Catholic clergy molestation crisis in New Orleans recently won the prize for best documentary at Colorado’s Winter Park film festival and has been chosen to be screened in the city where the scandal has unfolded.
God As My Witness makes “clear that those who commit these atrocities cannot hide” while giving “a voice to the survivors, justice to the abused and a platform to be heard,” the Winter Park film festival’s director, Connor Nelson, said in a statement.
The late frontman refused to adhere to the lyrical conventions of the genre, surveying suffering in a peerless wailing screech that will echo across the history of heavy music
Tomas Lindberg was not the voice of death metal – he was so much better than that. During his 35-year career fronting Swedish band At the Gates, he never toed the line, never grunted about loving violence and hating Christianity because the genre dictated that you do so. Rather, he ripped up the rulebook with both his messaging and his delivery, setting a new standard for distinctiveness in extreme music.
Lindberg – who has passed away aged 52 after being diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare oral cancer – was fascinated with suffering. Yet, unlike his peers, he was seldom concerned with the suffering caused by a chainsaw or organised religion. It was the suffering inside of us, rooted in our own expectations, trauma and follies. “Twenty-two years of pain and I can feel it closing in,” goes the bridge of 1995’s semi-autobiographical fan-favourite track Cold. “The will to rise above, tearing my insides out.” And Lindberg delivered each line not with a typical, guttural rumble, but with a wailing screech that made all that anguish feel even more real.
The all-girl trio gave punk a playful spin and drew admirers in Paul Weller and Captain Sensible – but, singer Debsey Wykes recalls, faced confusion for being out of step with era’s noise and anger
At 19 years old, Debsey Wykes stood in front of a sold-out crowd at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, her knees “literally knocking with fear”, as she puts it. It was the end of 1980 and Dolly Mixture were supporting the Jam for a second time, having piqued the interest of Paul Weller. Despite the shaky start, the teen trio made it through the set to appreciative applause. “Everyone is your friend when you support the Jam,” Wykes recalls in her new memoir, Teenage Daydream: We Are the Girls Who Play in a Band.
Dolly Mixture paired girl-group harmonies and pop sensibilities with scuffed-up combat boots and charity shop dresses. Their intricate arrangements remained playfully punk, displaying a songwriting craft well beyond their years. Although beloved by the Undertones and John Peel, as well as becoming the first group to release a single on Weller’s label, Respond, the band never found the success of many of their peers. “I think people were confused,” says Wykes. “One: we were girls, and girls often didn’t play in bands. And if you’re not dressed in jeans and leather, you must be crap and cute. There was no subtlety allowed.”
Injury to New Zealand flanker means one of four changes
Fly-half Ruahei Demant set for landmark 50th cap
Jorja Miller has been ruled out of New Zealand’s semi-final against Canada in a huge blow to the Black Ferns’ hopes of defending their Rugby World Cup crown.
New Zealand are in for a tight game on Friday against Canada, who are ranked No 2 in the world, as the Black Ferns seek a place in a third straight World Cup final. Their most recent meeting ended in a 27-27 draw in the Pacific Four tournament.
The former Arsenal footballer Thomas Partey has pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault at Southwark crown court.
The 32-year-old is accused of raping two women and sexually assaulting a third woman. The alleged offences took place between 2021 and 2022, when he was an Arsenal player.
We want to hear from people in their 60s, 70s, 80s or even 90s who are actively dating other people over the age of 60
We’d like to hear from both single people and members of couples who very recently met the love of their life on a date. What is the best and worst date you’ve been on? Any funny or shocking anecdotes to share?
How do relationships compare to the ones you had at a younger age? How much does companionship or sex factor? What about exes – your’s and your partners’ children and grandchildren? Are you using apps and websites or relying on word of mouth? Have you been on a lot of dates? What about ghosting?
On the first full day of his state visit to the UK, the US president will attend various events in Windsor before a state banquet
Lucy Powell has hit out at the “sexist” framing of her deputy Labour leadership campaign, with people claiming she and her rival, Bridget Phillipson, are standing as “proxies” for two men, Aletha Adu reports.
Most of Donald Trump’s policies horrify progressives and leftwingers in Britain, including Labour party members and supporters, but Keir Starmer has said almost nothing critical about the Trump administration because he has taken a view that maintaining good relations with the White House is in the national interest.
I understand the UK government’s position of being pragmatic on the international stage and wanting to maintain a good relationship with the leader of the most powerful country in the world. Faced with a revanchist Russia, Europe’s security feels less certain now than at any time since the second world war. And the threat of even higher US tariffs is ever present.
But it’s also important to ensure our special relationship includes being open and honest with each other. At times, this means being a critical friend and speaking truth to power – and being clear that we reject the politics of fear and division. Showing President Trump why he must back Ukraine, not Putin. Making the case for taking the climate emergency seriously. Urging the president to stop the tariff wars that are tearing global trade apart. And putting pressure on him to do much more to end Israel’s horrific onslaught on Gaza, as only he has the power to bring Israel’s brazen and repeated violations of international law to an end.
Women’s 200m: Will we get and American 1-2-3 come the final? Maybe. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the 100m champion, finishes her heat in first in 22.24sec with countrywoman Thelma Davies finishing second and Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai taking third.
Women’s 200m: The first heat has US’s Anavia Battle, the four-time Diamond League winner and no surprise, she leads the pack, winning with heat with a time of 22.07sec, her season’s best. Ivory Coast’s Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith and Greece’s Polyniki Emmanouilidou qualify alongside Battle.
Teen romance and paranoid surveillance collide to dysfunctional effect in Neo Sora’s beguiling debut future set in an oppressive near-future
Neo Sora is a Japanese film-maker who directed Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus, a documentary about his father, the renowned composer. Now he has made his feature debut with this complex, beguiling and often brilliant movie, co-produced by Anthony Chen; it manages to be part futurist satire, part coming-of-age dramedy, part high school dystopia. It combines the spirit of John Hughes’s The Breakfast Club with Lindsay Anderson’s If.… and there might even be a trace memory of Paul Schrader’s Mishima, only without the seppuku.
In a high school in Kobe in the future, students are oppressed by the reactionary xenophobia of their elders; periodic earthquake warnings, and actual earthquakes themselves, create a widespread air of suppressed panic which the authorities believe justifies a perpetual clampdown. The prime minister has taken to claiming that undesirable elements are taking advantage of the earthquakes to indulge in lawlessness. In the school, there is an almost unconcealed racist disdain for students who are not fully ethnic Japanese as well as those who have unorthodox or rebellious views.
As the US president comes to the UK, let’s give credit where it’s due: he wasn’t lying when he said smart people don’t like him
Channel 4 will be marking Donald Trump’s visit to the UK with what it describes as “the longest uninterrupted reel of untruths, falsehoods and distortions ever broadcast on television”. It will play more than 100 of Trump’s lies or misleading statements in a segment called Trump v The Truth. All his greatest hits, from false claims about the price of eggs to disgusting lies about the US spending millions on condoms for Hamas, packaged together.
Obviously we’ve got to be fair and balanced here, though, haven’t we? Gotta show both sides. So I think it’s only right that Channel 4 also broadcast a 10-second segment covering all of the truthful and astute things the president has said. It’s not just lies, lies, lies: occasionally the man can be surprisingly wise. Only this week, for example, a video circulated online of Trump telling attendees of a gala at one of his golf clubs: “Smart people don’t like me, you know?” He added: “And they don’t like what we talk about.” No lies detected there.
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