General news

• England prepared for one last push to claim third place against Belgium | Dominic Fifield

  13-07-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  The disappointment of the semi-final defeat has yet to subside but Gareth Southgate and his players are desperate to end their campaign on a high in St Petersburg on SaturdayThree days on the sense of regret is just as raw. Gareth Southgate has done all he can to re-energise his England squad for the third-place play-off, such a cruel commitment in the context of what might have been, but he still found himself squinting at his laptop in the small hours of Friday morning, poring over yet another
  
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• Kevin Anderson suffers survivor’s guilt after marathon defeat of John Isner | Andy Bull

  13-07-2018 22:59 via theguardian.com
  Spectators on Centre Court grew beards and ballboys walked off as grown men before John Isner lost the final set 26-24The grass grew, the sun set, governments fell, empires crumbled, and John Isner and Kevin Anderson played tennis. Ace after ace, game after game, hour after hour. There were spectators on Centre Court who grew new beards, ballboys who walked off as grown men. Anderson won, but after six hours and 36 minutes, he wasn’t happy about it. The fifth set, which finished 26-24 in t
  
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• God is a Woman: Ariana Grande taps into a long herstory of a female lord

  13-07-2018 22:21 via theguardian.com
  The singer’s new music video is far from the first example of the maker being imagined in non-masculine terms On Friday, Ariana Grande released God is a Woman, the third track previewed from her forthcoming album Sweetener. The music video features a feminist reimagining of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, starring Grande as God. There’s also a memorable cameo halfway through the video when Madonna’s disembodied voice appears, like the voice of God, reciting a gender-flip
  
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• Harvey Weinstein lawyer denies report producer 'offered acting jobs for sex'

  13-07-2018 22:05 via theguardian.com
  Lawyer for Weinstein – whose client faces up to life in prison if convicted of sexual assault – says he did not make quoted remarks in interview with the SpectatorThe disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer has claimed that his client was misquoted in an interview where he’s cited as admitting to having offered acting jobs in exchange for sex. Related: Harvey Weinstein out on bail after pleading not guilty to sex assault chargesContinue reading...
  
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• Xherdan Shaqiri completes his £13m move to Liverpool from Stoke

  13-07-2018 22:02 via theguardian.com
  • Forward underwent medical on Merseyside on Friday
  • 26-year-old is Liverpool’s third signing of the summerXherdan Shaqiri has been confirmed as Liverpool’s third summer signing, having interrupted a holiday to finalise his move to Anfield.Liverpool agreed a £13m fee with Stoke City for the Switzerland international this week and, with personal terms also agreed, the 26-year-old cut short a post-World Cup holiday to undergo a medical on Merseyside on Friday. The form
  
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• Nawaz Sharif arrested on arrival in Pakistan as 132 people die in bombing

  13-07-2018 21:58 via theguardian.com
  Former PM is escorted from aircraft in Lahore shortly after suicide bombing at political rally in Mastung Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested in Lahore airport on Friday as he returned to face a 10-year prison sentence which he claimed was part of a wide-ranging, military-backed conspiracy to deny his party a second term in an election due on 25 July.Military police boarded Sharif’s flight as it landed from a stop in Abu Dhabi after taking off in London. Parami
  
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• Novichok that killed woman came from bottle, police believe

  13-07-2018 21:36 via theguardian.com
  Object found in Amesbury home of Charlie Rowley held nerve agent, officers say The investigation into Russia’s suspected use of novichok in Britain intensified after police found a bottle containing the military-grade nerve agent in a Wiltshire home where a British couple fell ill after being poisoned by it.
  Counter-terrorism officers in protective suits found the container – believed to have contaminated Charles Rowley and killed Dawn Sturgess at a property in Amesbury, Wiltshire on
  
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• Martin Rowson on Trump's mercurial UK visit – cartoon

  13-07-2018 21:16 via theguardian.com
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• Scarlett Johansson drops out of trans role after backlash

  13-07-2018 20:52 via theguardian.com
  The actor has exited the fact-based drama Rub & Tug after the casting angered trans actors and activistsScarlett Johansson has dropped out of her role in fact-based drama Rub & Tug after backlash from the trans community.The actor was set to play the role of crime kingpin Dante “Tex” Gill, who was born Lois Jean Gill but identified as a man. He used his massage parlors as a front for prostitution.Continue reading...
  
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• WeWork says employees can't have any meat at events or on expenses

  13-07-2018 20:40 via theguardian.com
  The workspace company gave environmental reasons for banning meat from all budgets, including their upcoming festivalWeWork, the real estate company that rents out and manages office space, has announced that they will no longer hold any staff events that include meat, and that staff will not be able to expense any meals that include poultry, pork or red meat. In an email to staff, WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey also said that WeWork’s upcoming Summer Camp event, a music and food festiv
  
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• Trump leaves London after wreaking diplomatic destruction

  13-07-2018 20:36 via theguardian.com
  US president was shielded from the public but causes havoc for Theresa May With wheels up on Air Force One, Donald Trump vanished into the skies above Stansted airport on Friday evening, bound for his luxury golf resort in Scotland and leaving a trail of diplomatic destruction in his wake.The presidential hurricane had swept through southern England, uprooting protocols, rattling institutions and leaving politicians with a sense of whiplash. As the disrupter-in-chief’s MV-22 Osprey helicop
  
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• London's Trump protesters – in portraits

  13-07-2018 20:25 via theguardian.com
  Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in London on Friday against Donald Trump. Protesters held signs saying ‘Dump Trump,’ ‘This is the carnival of resistance’ and ‘My mum doesn’t like you! And she likes everyone.’ Photographer Olivia Harris spoke to the marchers Continue reading...
  
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• Girl given long-term cannabis oil licence in Northern Ireland

  13-07-2018 20:00 via theguardian.com
  Sophia Gibson, who has severe epilepsy, can use oil to be prescribed through NHSA girl from Northern Ireland has been granted a long-term licence for the use of medicinal cannabis.
  Sophia Gibson, seven, from Newtownards, Co Down, has a genetic condition which causes what her family describe as “frequent and dangerous fits”. Continue reading...
  
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• Tour de France: Dylan Groenewegen sprints to stage seven victory

  13-07-2018 19:58 via theguardian.com
  • Lotto NL-Jumbo man beats Fernando Gaviria and Peter Sagan
  • Greg Van Avermaet retains yellow jersey for BMCThe 2018 Tour de France turned east with a soporific stage, so lacking in action that it would have been welcomed by insomniacs. The 231km trawl, the longest of the race, through the Mayenne and Sarthe to Chartres, was enlivened only by the peloton speeding into the cathedral city for an inevitable sprint finish, won by the Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen (Lotto NL-Jumbo) from Fernan
  
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• Trump protests: tens of thousands take to streets across UK

  13-07-2018 19:56 via theguardian.com
  Baby blimp flies high as Jeremy Corbyn and Nick Clegg join those opposing president’s trip Tens of thousands of people poured through the centres of London, Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast on Friday, united in their rejection of the visit to Britain of the US president, Donald Trump, who admitted the protests had made him feel unwelcome.There was a carnival atmosphere with music, dancing, the bashing of pots and pans and a forest of often witty, sometimes crude placards. The tone was set i
  
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• Maurizio Sarri and Jorginho arrive at Chelsea to complete moves to club

  13-07-2018 19:52 via theguardian.com
  • Sarri to replace sacked Antonio Conte as manager
  • Midfielder Jorginho chooses Chelsea ahead of Manchester CityMaurizio Sarri and Jorginho were at Stamford Bridge on Friday evening to complete their moves to Chelsea.Sarri is taking over as manager from Antonio Conte, who left his job on Thursday. Chelsea confirmed Conte’s departure on Friday with a 52-word statement. Continue reading...
  
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• Video shows Cameroon army killing women and children, says Amnesty

  13-07-2018 19:47 via theguardian.com
  Government denies military involvement in shootings but has launched an investigationFootage showing two women, a child and a baby being shot dead by armed men in Cameroon has led to accusations by Amnesty International that the country’s army may be carrying out killings.In the video, which has been widely shared on social media, a woman is walking down a dirt track, holding a child by the hand. A man in military clothing and aviator sunglasses, with a rifle swinging from his shoulder, is
  
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• May attempts to woo openly hostile Brexiters at Chequers

  13-07-2018 19:46 via theguardian.com
  One hardliner accuses PM of trying to ‘butter up the butterable’ ahead of key Brexit billsTheresa May summoned several pro-leave Tory MPs to Chequers on Friday, just after president Trump’s departure, as she embarked on a charm offensive aimed at avoiding embarrassing defeats in two key Brexit bills next week.With a vocal section of the Conservative party in open revolt over Thursday’s white paper on the future relationship with the European Union, the prime minister is h
  
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• Paul Pogba and France seek to erase demons and claim second World Cup | David Hytner

  13-07-2018 19:27 via theguardian.com
  Didier Deschamps’ side know as they face Croatia in the World Cup final they cannot repeat the complacency of Euro 2016The tears have dried, according to Blaise Matuidi, but the memory continues to burn. France have powered their way to the World Cup final, where they will start as favourites against Croatia in Moscow, and it is to their credit that it will be a fifth major final in 20 years. Yet the journey to the point where a nation can dream was ignited by the nightmare of the last of
  
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• Three Lions breaks records to top the UK singles chart for a fourth time

  13-07-2018 19:00 via theguardian.com
  Campaign to get Green Day’s American Idiot in the charts to mark Donald Trump’s UK visit falls short as single stalls at No 25While the England team prepare for the match that will determine whether they finish third or fourth, the unofficial theme of this year’s World Cup has come out on top: Three Lions is the UK’s No 1 single.It is the fourth time that the Lightning Seeds, Frank Skinner and David Baddiel’s football anthem has topped the singles chart since its or
  
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• Trump's oily and obnoxious personality sorely tests British diplomacy

  13-07-2018 18:49 via theguardian.com
  The contradictory US president’s inclination is to side with those who want to break up the EUDonald Trump’s Jekyll and Hyde performance on the opening leg of his European tour – one minute angrily wielding a wrecking ball and the next playing the oleaginous anglophile – will hardly leave European diplomats, especially those in Britain, reassured as they brace themselves for his bilateral summit with Vladimir Putin on Monday.It is this meeting – the two men have met
  
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• Alone, Britain is easy prey for Trump. It must hug Europe close | Jonathan Freedland

  13-07-2018 18:46 via theguardian.com
  On his UK visit, the president gave Britons a glimpse of life after a hard Brexit: one of humiliation by a ruthless exploiterVladimir Putin must be dreading Monday’s edition of Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia’s big and breezy tabloid. It will doubtless splash on an explosive interview with Donald Trump ahead of his visit to Moscow, in which the US president will slam Putin’s handling of the war in Syria, suggest US-Russian relations are doomed and lavish praise on the Russian lead
  
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• Special relationship? Trump and May's is almost pathological | John Crace

  13-07-2018 18:38 via theguardian.com
  Always the handmaiden, the PM submitted once again to Trump’s power (hand) grabNot so much a press conference as a 50-minute couples counselling session. One in which the therapist was regrettably absent, leaving no one to mediate between two rapidly fragmenting psyches which were almost beyond help. The abuser and the abused.When Donald Trump described his relationship with Theresa May as “the highest level of special” he was for once telling the truth. It’s just not a l
  
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• 'Dump Trump': Views from the London marches

  13-07-2018 18:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest against President Trump's visit - but why?
  
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• The Guardian view on Donald Trump in Britain: this was the visit from hell | Editorial

  13-07-2018 18:11 via theguardian.com
  Theresa May should have grasped that this US president is an enemy of stability in Europe. Now she should learn from her mistakeIt may once, but oh so briefly, have seemed like a good idea to invite Donald Trump to Britain. But for Theresa May it all turned into a wrecking visit by the ally from hell. To make things worse, it was entirely her own fault. And yet, strange though it is to relate, some good may unexpectedly have come from the Trump visit.The British government did its absolute best
  
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• Police seek to identify woman found dead in Yorkshire Dales in 2004

  13-07-2018 18:02 via theguardian.com
  Officers launch appeal to solve 14-year mystery over body discovered on Pennine WayPolice have issued an appeal to discover the identity of a woman found dead in a stream in the Yorkshire Dales 14 years ago.The woman, who was south-east Asian in appearance, was found by walkers on the popular Pennine Way near Pen-y-ghent in North Yorkshire, on 20 September 2004. Continue reading...
  
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• The play’s the thing: five fabulous audio dramas not to miss this summer

  13-07-2018 17:58 via theguardian.com
  With audio content exploding in popularity, a raft of gripping stories told by multiple narrators is just a few clicks away. Coco Khan picks out some of the bestA conversation can speak volumes and in the world of audio dramas, they often do. The audio drama – a piece of fiction told using several voices – is in the midst of a renaissance. Previously consigned to rare radio slots on rainy Sundays, audio dramas are now ubiquitous, buoyed by audience tastes for podcasts, and attracting
  
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• Seven great audiobooks for car trips great and small

  13-07-2018 17:58 via theguardian.com
  It’s not easy to figure out what you feel like listening to at the best of times, but choosing the right audiobook for a journey is fraught with even more variables. We’ve taken some of the pain out of it for you with seven suggested listens Long car journeys used to be dead zones for your brain. After a while, most radio stations become repetitive and conversations drop off – unless you’re travelling with children, in which case the constant audio loop of “are we t
  
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• Wada may cut permitted limit of medication at centre of Froome case

  13-07-2018 17:49 via theguardian.com
  • Director general talks of ‘getting tough’ on salbutamol usage
  • Wada defends decision not to make Froome undergo CPKT studyThe World Anti-Doping Agency is considering whether to slash the daily permissible limit of salbutamol, the asthma medication at the centre of the Chris Froome case, the Guardian can reveal. Wada’s director general, Olivier Niggli, also raised the possibility of Wada lowering the dosage for which a TUE for salbutamol would be required.The UCI&rs
  
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• UN calls for access to Syrians stranded in desert after Deraa's fall

  13-07-2018 17:29 via theguardian.com
  Up to 250,000 people are in a ‘dire’ situation having fled birthplace of uprising The United Nations has called for unimpeded access to almost 250,000 Syrians stranded in the desert near Jordan and Israel, who fled as forces loyal to the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, entered rebel-controlled parts of Deraa.The UN high commissioner for refugees said 234,500 people had fled the violence in the country’s south since mid-June. The international body’s Offic
  
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• Heatwave sees record high temperatures around world this week

  13-07-2018 17:28 via theguardian.com
  From Europe to Africa, extreme and widespread heat raises climate concerns in hottest La Niña year to date on recordRecord high temperatures have been set across much of the world this week as an unusually prolonged and broad heatwave intensifies concerns about climate change.The past month has seen power shortages in California as record heat forced a surge of demand for air conditioners. Algeria has experienced the hottest temperature ever reliably registered in Africa. Britain, meanwhi
  
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• Reality Check: The post-Brexit US-UK trade deal

  13-07-2018 17:23 via bbc.co.uk
  Donald Trump has made several claims about the UK's ability to strike a new trade deal.
  
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• George Carey allowed church role despite part in abuse cover-up

  13-07-2018 17:19 via theguardian.com
  Former archbishop of Canterbury was criticised in report into abuse by Peter BallGeorge Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury who was heavily criticised in an independent report for his part in the cover-up of sexual abuse carried out by a bishop, has been allowed to resume an official role in the Church of England.
  Lord Carey stepped down last year as an honorary assistant bishop at the unprecedented request of Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, after a damning report which found
  
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• History teacher at private school jailed for 17 years for raping pupil

  13-07-2018 16:56 via theguardian.com
  James Husband is fifth teacher from Christ’s Hospital school convicted of sexual abuseA history teacher at a top private school has been jailed for 17 years for raping one of his pupils, leaving her suffering a “life sentence” of suicidal thoughts and self-harm. James Husband is the fifth Christ’s Hospital school teacher to be convicted of sexually abusing students. The five cases cover a period spanning more than 30 years and involving 22 victims.Continue reading...
  
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• Sean Spicer's book: 'I started to wonder if my first day would be my last'

  13-07-2018 16:42 via theguardian.com
  Trump’s former press secretary recalls ‘Holocaust centers’, Melissa McCarthy’s impersonation and not meeting the popeFormer White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s forthcoming book, The Briefing: Politics, the Press and the President, to be published by Regnery on 24 July, includes scenes from inside the White House and other personal observations by Spicer that add significant context to episodes from the early Donald Trump administration.Related: Sean Spicer con
  
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• UK schools move to ban the school run to protect pupils from air pollution

  13-07-2018 16:38 via theguardian.com
  Thousands of schools across the country are taking measures such as closing roads and setting up park and stride schemesSchools across the country are moving to ban the school run amid growing concern about the devastating impact of air pollution on young people’s health.
  The Guardian has found that thousands of schools in cities and towns – from Edinburgh to London, Manchester to Ellesmere Port – are taking measures to try to deter parents using their cars. These include closi
  
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• The roads to Moscow – a World Cup photo essay

  13-07-2018 16:37 via theguardian.com
  Russian photographer Evgeny Feldman has spent the last five weeks documenting his homeland as people have visited from all over the globe for the World Cup. As well as photographing the daily life of towns and cities during the tournament, he was also at the stadiums to capture the key moments and stars of the World Cup such as Kylian Mbappé, Luka Modric and Harry KaneIt seems a long, long time ago when Yuri Gazinskiy jumped to head home the first of five Russia goals against Saudi Arabia
  
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• Man who called for attack on Prince George jailed for terrorism

  13-07-2018 16:18 via theguardian.com
  Husnain Rashid jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years for string of offencesAn Islamic State supporter who called for an attack on Prince George has been jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years for a string of terrorism offences.Husnain Rashid, of Nelson, Lancashire, called for the four-year-old to be targeted shortly after the prince joined Thomas’s school in Battersea, south-west London, last year. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Immense pressure' of Thai cave rescue described by doctor

  13-07-2018 16:06 via theguardian.com
  Australian medic Richard Harris says: ‘I have never seen anything like it’An Australian doctor, lauded for his part in rescuing 12 young Thai footballers and their coach from a flooded cave system, has described the moment divers realised they would have to “swim” the trapped boys out of the cave.Writing on Facebook as he prepared to return home on an Australian airforce transport plane, Richard Harris described the massive efforts by Thai and international cave divers to
  
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• Jon Favreau of Pod Save America: ‘We’re not running for office. So we just speak out mind’

  13-07-2018 16:05 via theguardian.com
  Jon Favreau wrote some of the greatest speeches of the Obama presidency. Today, with a runaway political podcast, he says he is grateful that Trump has inspired a grassroots Democratic revivalBy many measures, Jon Favreau ought to be a vision of despair, holding his head in an Edvard Munch scream of angst at a world turned upside down.He was the future once, a twentysomething White House wunderkind who wrote speeches for President Obama that laid out bold, confident visions of progress on race,
  
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• A Monster Calls at the Old Vic – in pictures

  13-07-2018 15:52 via theguardian.com
  Patrick Ness’s popular children’s book about a worried boy visited by a storytelling monster has been turned into a new show by director Sally CooksonAll photographs by Tristram Kenton Continue reading...
  
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• Downton Abbey film confirmed to shoot this summer with series cast returning

  13-07-2018 15:46 via theguardian.com
  Long-awaited movie of Julian Fellowes’ beloved period drama will see original cast reuniteA big-screen transfer for Downton Abbey has been rumoured for almost as long as the show has been on television. But on Friday the movie was confirmed, with creator Julian Fellowes scripting, The Book Thief’s Brian Percival to direct and Universal Studios to distribute.Related: Downton Abbey movie appears certain as actor confirms Maggie Smith's involvementContinue reading...
  
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• Kylian Mbappé: the fast learner who takes it all in his rapid stride

  13-07-2018 15:17 via theguardian.com
  He made his debut for Monaco aged 16, became the world’s most expensive teenager at 18 and will play a World Cup final on Sunday at 19. Can anything stop the rise of Kylian Mbappé?The life of the little football geniuses sometimes has all kinds of discord and anger. Kylian Mbappé has been through this and is bound to be held responsible for the conflicts in his early career. But this kid, deeply devoted to the game, seemed stronger than anything, on the field and off it, as h
  
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• Social media platforms must police their sites better, says Ofcom

  13-07-2018 15:02 via theguardian.com
  Chief executive joins those arguing that social media are under-regulatedSocial media platforms need to be “more accountable” in how they curate and police content on their platforms, or face regulation, the head of Ofcom has said. The threat comes as Facebook stares down a barrage of criticism in the US for its refusal to bar the US conspiracy theorist website InfoWars from its platform, even as it mounts an international ad campaign claiming that “fake news is not our friend&
  
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• ‘One winner played on the toilet’: inside HQ Trivia, the hit quiz app

  13-07-2018 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Behind the scenes at the addictive live quizshow, where everyone’s a contestant and you play on your phone
  Which king was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine?In November 2000, 14 million people stared at their TV screens and held their breath while a 58-year-old garden designer called Judith Keppel tried to answer that question on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.I remember watching as a kid and feeling long-distance empathy for the first time. After Keppel gave her answer – Henry II, Aquit
  
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• Florence at a festival and freestyle football: Friday's top photos

  13-07-2018 13:57 via theguardian.com
  The Guardian’s picture editors bring you a selection of highlights from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• The killing of a blue whale reveals how disconnected we are from nature | Philip Hoare

  13-07-2018 13:50 via theguardian.com
  We need a better story than the pathetic one played out by beautiful animals that we haul into the sea of our ignoranceThey might as well have shot a giant panda. This week an Icelandic whaling company, Hvalur hf, caused uproar when it was revealed that it had killed a blue whale. Hvalur has killed hundreds of fin whales – mostly destined as meat for export to Japan. It resumed its hunt in June, after a three-year hiatus. But no blue whale – a highly endangered cetacean – has b
  
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• Salisbury Journal: 'We don't get murders or stabbings ... this is unprecedented'

  13-07-2018 13:39 via theguardian.com
  Journalist reveals impact of novichok poisonings on local paper and wider community
  On a grey Monday in March, the editorial staff at the Salisbury Journal were wondering how they were going to fill the newspaper. Heavy snowfall over the previous days meant most of the reporting team at the venerable weekly, established in 1729, had not been able to get to work.Continue reading...
  
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• The Lehman Trilogy review – Mendes is on the money with astonishing saga

  13-07-2018 13:38 via theguardian.com
  Lyttelton, London
  This engrossing play about the banking family provides a history of western capitalism and an acting masterclass from Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles and Adam Godley
  What an astonishing evening! Spanning 150 years and running three and a half hours, Stefano Massini’s play traces the trajectory of western capitalism by following the fortunes of a single family. But where previous European stagings have deployed a vast cast, Sam Mendes’s production of Ben Power’s
  
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• Hard cheese: Italy vows to scupper EU free trade deal with Canada

  13-07-2018 13:28 via theguardian.com
  Deputy prime minister fears piracy of protected foods such as Parmigiano-Reggiano Italy will not ratify the EU’s free trade agreement with Canada, the Italian deputy prime minister has said, potentially scuppering the bloc’s biggest deal in years.“Soon CETA [Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement] will arrive in parliament and this majority will reject it and it will not ratify it,” Luigi Di Maio said at a farmers’ association gathering in Rome on Friday. Contin
  
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