General news

• Pippa Middleton confirms engagement to James Matthews

  19-07-2016 14:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Pippa Middleton and hedge fund manager James Matthews have confirmed they are engaged to be married and are planning a wedding for 2017.
  
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• England v Pakistan: first men’s cricket Test, day one – live

  19-08-2026 12:45 via theguardian.com
  Updates from Headingley; play starts 11am BST
  Ali Martin on ‘El Dysfunctiono’ | The Spin Warm applause as Joe Root leads England out at the start of his second spell as permanent captain. Are there any precedents for this, an experienced former captain returning to the job on a permanent basis years later? Bob Simpson is the name sitting at the top of my head. I guess Mike Brearley qualifies, though his situation was unique.Last Friday was a glorious anniversary for Pakistani cricke
  
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• Zelenskyy sacks deputy head of his office amid reported corruption investigation – Europe live

  19-08-2026 12:39 via theguardian.com
  Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies said they uncovered group responsible for money laundering $3.35m but did not name individuals involved Meanwhile, for all the noise and controversy around it, the Ukrainian parliament has just approved Zelenskyy’s nominations for foreign and defence ministers.Andrii Sybiha and Yevhen Khmara were both approved by the lawmakers just minutes ago.“I am grateful to the MPs for supporting Andrii Sybiha for the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of U
  
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• Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and Red Driving School investigated over hidden fees

  19-08-2026 12:34 via theguardian.com
  UK competition watchdog investigation is part of broader clampdown on illegal ‘drip pricing’ Business live – latest updatesThe UK’s competition watchdog has launched investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and Red Driving School over concerns that all three companies displayed misleadingly low prices to their customers.The Competition and Markets Authority’s investigations are part of a broader clampdown on “drip pricing”, an illegal practice that
  
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• Ihsane review – Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui leads us from brutal tragedy to euphoric harmony

  19-08-2026 12:28 via theguardian.com
  Festival theatre, Edinburgh
  The choreographer combines a homophobic killing from 2012 with a remembrance for his father in an often rapturous show about healingIn 2019 at the Edinburgh international festival, the Swiss director Milo Rau staged an intense theatrical investigation, La Reprise: Histoire(s) du Theatre (I), recreating a homophobic killing in Belgium. The murder of Ihsane Jarfi, seven years earlier, had made headlines and the news disturbed choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui who was j
  
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• Over/Under review – beautiful coming of age story of female best friends set across five summers

  19-08-2026 12:12 via theguardian.com
  There’s an astonishing naturalism about the two leads, navigating the ups and downs of adolescence, bodily changes and learning to use tamponsPractically any woman who had a best female friend in early adolescence will be able to relate to this fragile, thoughtful drama about two American children, Violet (Emajean Bullock) and Stella (Anastasia Veronica Lee), living through the ages of nine to 13, a time as packed with incident as it is simultaneously uneventful and reassuringly dull. Unli
  
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• Why are progressives winning across the United States? It’s not complicated | Bernie Sanders

  19-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Poll after poll shows the same thing. The American people know that the current economic system is riggedThe media pundits have written article after article desperately trying to understand why progressive candidates, despite being heavily outspent, keep defeating establishment Democrats in primaries around the country. Well, the answer is not complicated.Whether it is a corrupt campaign finance system, unprecedented income and wealth inequality, a broken and wildly expensive healthcare system,
  
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• The men I see in therapy did everything right. So why do they feel so empty?

  19-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Many of my clients expected to find fulfillment from their career, marriage and home. Instead, they feel grief“I have the career I wanted, but at this point I just don’t care.”“I don’t know why I’m so angry.” Continue reading...
  
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• Is Turkey home to savvy signings or a new retirement league? We’ll soon find out

  19-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Mohamed Salah’s arrival made a splash, but the Turkish Super Lig will probably become the latest league to end up as a bailout fund for Europe’s powerhousesMohamed Salah plays in Turkey now. So do Romelu Lukaku and Leandro Trossard and Leroy Sané and Nathan Aké. Mason Greenwood and N’Golo Kanté and Dusan Vlahovic, too.Bruno Fernandes and Gabriel Martinelli may yet follow them there, depending on negotiations and moods and whatever else compels a footballer
  
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• At 43, I was fit and happy. Then I developed a nasty – and very expensive - case of shingles | Arwa Mahdawi

  19-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Healthy women under 50 are now more at risk of the condition. What I didn’t know is that intense exercise could be to blame and the condition could cost me hundreds of dollarsIf you’re in your 40s, I have a great trick for getting people to spontaneously tell you how young you are: develop shingles. Friends, acquaintances and medical professionals will rapidly inform you that the painful rash is an older person’s disease and, “You’re a bit young to get that, aren&rs
  
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• Five Sydney Swans players suspended for rest of AFL season say they are ‘deeply sorry’

  19-08-2026 11:37 via theguardian.com
  Bice, Blakey, Heeney, Jordon and Warner hit by suspensionsNone of the five players have been arrested or chargedFive Sydney Swans players have said they are “deeply sorry” after they were suspended for the rest of the AFL season.The club stood down players Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner on Wednesday morning. None of the men have been arrested or charged, but police are investigating an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne. Cont
  
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• Labour ‘could lose up to 50 seats’ to Greens if new drilling in North Sea approved

  19-08-2026 11:28 via theguardian.com
  Greens say analysis shows government failure to take bold climate action could lead to big gains for party at electionUK politics live – latest updatesLabour could lose dozens of seats to the Green party if the government allows new drilling in the North Sea, according to internal research shared with the Guardian.Green party analysis suggests up to 50 Labour MPs, including Andy Burnham’s key ally Louise Haigh, could lose their seats at the next election if the government fails to ma
  
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• The Spin | Heatwaves leave groundstaff high and dry in search of playable wickets

  19-08-2026 11:27 via theguardian.com
  A summer of five heatwaves and barely a drop of rain have left groundstaff wrung out as they work all hours to keep packed schedule goingOn Thursday, the County Championship resumes for its final six-week run, charging towards 27 September with barely a pause for breath. It’s tight at the top of Division One, with only 11 points between first placed Nottinghamshire and sixth placed Essex, while Kent and Northants prepare to elbow it out for the second Division Two promotion place alongside
  
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• Nick Kyrgios suspended from tennis after testing positive for cocaine

  19-08-2026 11:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Australian reveals ‘huge mistake’ in Instagram postKyrgios tested positive at ATP 250 event in JuneThe former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has been suspended from tennis after testing positive for cocaine.The 31-year-old Australian revealed on an Instagram post on Wednesday that he had “made a huge mistake” before his suspension was confirmed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) shortly afterwards. Continue reading...
  
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• Who is Natalie Harp? Trump’s closest and most devoted aide is in the spotlight

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Speculation about US president’s executive assistant sparks furious backlash from White HouseWearing shoulder-length blonde hair, gold earrings and a red dress, cancer survivor Natalie Harp introduced herself to the 2020 Republican national convention as “a formerly forgotten American from California” and compared Donald Trump with George Bailey, the everyman hero played by James Stewart in the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life.“George Bailey’s father was rig
  
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• ‘We now live without this violence’: the Colombian farmers giving up coca for palm oil

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Subsidies and a crackdown on armed groups are helping smallholders rebuild their lives, leaving behind decades of conflict and fearSurrounded by towering oil palm trees on his farm in the small village of Caño Barbú, near San Pablo in northern Colombia, Yoger Payares uses a malayo – a pole-mounted iron tool with a hook – to hack at the fronds of one, freeing a bunch of its vibrant reddish-orange fruit so it falls to the ground.Today, Payares proudly works in the oil pal
  
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• The Blood of Dawnwalker – save your family while becoming what you hate

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Human by day, vampire by night, Coen has difficult choices to make – beginning here in the 1300s, his adventure could span centuries in upcoming sequelsThe Blood of Dawnwalker could be the start of an epic saga. Created by some of the talent behind The Witcher 3, this dark fantasy role-playing game takes place in the 14th century in the fictional land of Vale Sangora, a Carpathian valley of wetlands, mountains and forests cut off from the rest of the world and under the rule of a vicious v
  
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• Sali Hughes on beauty: will social media bans for teens mean the return of grownup skincare?

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Soon it will be harder for the beauty industry to aggressively market at children, hopefully spelling the end of gimmicky, ineffective kiddie makeupThis summer’s announcement that under-16s will soon be banned from some social media platforms and, more recently, that 16- and 17-year-olds will face a digital curfew, strikes me as a good and sensible decision. It also has unignorable benefits for beauty consumers who are old enough to vote, as opposed to those receiving pocket money –
  
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• Ninja Luxe Cafe review: a do-it-all espresso machine at a bargain price – but far from perfect

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Ninja’s assisted machine will make every coffee you crave at hundreds of pounds cheaper than some of its rivals, although you’ll have to put up with a few quirks• The best espresso machines, testedIf you’re not a morning person, decision-making is best avoided before 8am. Or, at the very least, until you’ve had a cup of coffee. That is why assisted espresso machines, such as the Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier ES601UK, are so welcome in my kitchen. They require more effort t
  
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• ‘Jim Crow must go’: the artists and everyday heroes who fought injustice – in pictures

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Turn the Volume Up! at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University highlights the activism of everyday people who have confronted injustice. New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, quoting the Bronx rapper KRS-One’s song Turn the Volume Up during his election-day victory speech inspired the name of the exhibit. Featuring work by artists such as Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems and the Guerrilla Girls, the show examines how protests and collective action can create and inspire social change. T
  
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• After 25 years, I’m breaking up with The Sims. Here’s why you should, too | Jordan Erica Webber

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Now that Jared Kushner and the Saudi Investment Fund have bought The Sims’ publisher, EA, it’s unlikely to remain a game celebrating diversity and inclusivitySometimes it feels as though horrific world events and the malicious entities behind them are reaching into every aspect of our lives, from heatwaves that keep me shut away indoors, to generative AI that makes it increasingly difficult to trust what I read online. I can no longer even retreat into my favourite video game without
  
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• Activist forced out of US after criticising Trump-aligned Colombian politician

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Beto Coral held up banners in Florida warning fellow Colombians to not vote for Abelardo de la EspriellaIn the week before Colombia’s presidential election, Beto Coral, a well-known activist living in the United States, travelled to Florida to persuade fellow Colombians not to vote for the far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella.Coral held banners outside polling stations in Miami warning that the millionaire lawyer, whose candidacy was endorsed by Donald Trump, would “help depo
  
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• Rising inflation underlines scale of Andy Burnham’s cost of living challenge

  19-08-2026 10:40 via theguardian.com
  PM’s plan to shield households from more pressure risks being overwhelmed by wider price risesUK inflation rises to 2.9%Business live – latest updatesJuly’s increase in inflation, to 2.9%, is likely to be the first of several, underlining the challenge facing Andy Burnham in shielding consumers from a fresh cost of living squeeze this autumn.Rising energy bills, as an increase in Ofgem’s quarterly price cap came into force, were the main driver of the jump in inflation, f
  
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• Shapes and ladders: Edinburgh fringe’s dance shows reach for the sky

  19-08-2026 10:19 via theguardian.com
  With brute strength and beauty, party tricks and personal revelations, this year’s dance and circus programme has ambition and a spirit of togethernessIf you want to be wowed by technical prowess, I recommend taking a trip to see a couple of New York pole dancers, Donna Carnow and Gina Alm, in their Edinburgh fringe show Dusk/Night/Dawn. The pair are wildly impressive performers with just one piece of apparatus, a hanging pole suspended above the stage, on which they climb and spin and bal
  
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• The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore review – an ominous warning of tech takeover

  19-08-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  A historian charts the emergence of a democracy-crushing dystopia that is – in some ways – already with usPulitzer prize-winning US historian Jill Lepore’s new book addresses the threat posed to liberal democracy by artificial intelligence. According to Lepore, the extraordinary power of private tech companies led by men whose priorities may not align with the wellbeing of the Earth or its inhabitants is set to destroy civilisation as we know it.Lepore’s concept of t
  
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• David Shrigley London exhibition will find the funny side of old masters

  19-08-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Dulwich Picture Gallery show to feature British artist’s work hung next to paintings by Dutch and Flemish greatsThe contemporary UK artist David Shrigley will apply his trademark arch humour and distinctive artistic practice “in dialogue” with old masters of Dutch and Flemish painting in a major new solo exhibition in London.The celebrated visual artist will explore the 17th-century paintings with his own new works “responding to” and hung alongside original masterp
  
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• Premier League season preview: Arsenal to Fulham | Football Weekly video

  19-08-2026 09:58 via theguardian.com
  Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson, Philippe Auclair for the first of our Premier League preview podcasts. Continue reading...
  
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• Shares in humanoid robot firm Unitree surge 600% on Chinese stock market debut

  19-08-2026 09:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Company’s robots have gained global fame via videos of them performing martial arts and as dancers for pop starsUnitree, the world’s biggest humanoid robot maker, has made a spectacular entry on to China’s stock market, with its shares surging by more than 600%.The Chinese company’s robots have gained global fame via viral videos of them performing martial arts, running at Olympic speeds and serving as backup dancers for pop stars. Continue reading...
  
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• UK inflation rises to 2.9% as Iran war drives up energy bills

  19-08-2026 09:25 via theguardian.com
  Accelerating price increases in July add to pressure on households, with chancellor saying ‘there is more to do to restore hope’Analysis: Rising inflation underlines scale of Burnham’s cost of living challengeBusiness live – latest updatesUK inflation rose to 2.9% in July as the impact of the Iran war on energy prices triggered a renewed cost of living squeeze for British households.The Office for National Statistics said inflation rose from a 15-month low of 2.6% in June
  
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• WSL’s ‘big two’: Arsenal and Chelsea record more revenue than rest of league combined | Tom Garry

  19-08-2026 09:15 via theguardian.com
  Two clubs are far ahead in wages and turnover, but London City Lionesses could be new force after big transfer movesAfter reviewing eight seasons’ worth of Women’s Super League clubs’ financial accounts, it seems appropriate to start by offering a sincere apology to any reader who has become accustomed to seeing the phrase “the big four” in Women’s Super League coverage in reference to Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. Financially speaki
  
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