Women’s No 1 survives soaring temperature to defeat teenager 6-3, 6-0
Melbourne Park enacts extreme heat protocols on way to 45C
By the second set of Aryna Sabalenka’s 13th consecutive grand slam quarter-final, it was quickly becoming clear that the best tennis player in the world had reached flow state and she could do anything she wanted with the ball. Up 2-0 and mercilessly hunting a double break, Sabalenka swept forward to the net and executed a sickly sweet forehand half-volley winner that would have satisfied even the legendary volleyers of yesteryear.
There was once a time when a great performance from Sabalenka meant the Belarusian pummelling every ball, aiming for every line and praying that her shots would happen to land in. She has worked herself into such a well-rounded player today, who suffocates her opponents through the completeness of her game and has so many options at her disposal. Despite a valiant effort from her young opponent to simply prolong their high-quality opening set, Sabalenka bulldozed Jovic 6-3, 6-0 to continue her run through the draw.
Newsom launched a review of the platform, despite TikTok saying a systems failure was responsible for the issue
California governor Gavin Newsom has accused TikTok of suppressing content critical of president Donald Trump, as he launched a review of the platform’s content moderation practices to determine if they violated state law, even as the platform blamed a systems failure for the issues.
The step comes after TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, said last week it had finalised a deal to set up a majority US-owned joint venture that will secure US data, to avoid a US ban on the short video app used by more than 200 million Americans.
Testimony from medics, morgue and graveyard staff reveals huge state effort to conceal systematic killing of protesters
On Thursday 8 January, in a midsize Iranian town, Dr Ahmadi’s* phone began to buzz. His colleagues in local emergency wards were getting worried.
All week, people had taken to the streets and had been met by police with batons and pellet guns. With treatment, their injuries should not have been too serious. But emergency room staff believed many wounded young people were avoiding hospitals, terrified that registering as trauma patients would lead to their identification and arrest.
Last week, a UN report declared that the world has entered an era of ‘global water bankruptcy’ with many human water systems past the point at which they can be restored to former levels. To find out what this could look like, Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, who has been reporting on Iran’s severe water crisis. And Mohammad Shamsudduha, professor of water crisis and risk reduction in the department of risk and disaster reduction at University College London, explains how the present situation arose and what can be done to bring water supplies back from the brink
The mysterious Cornish electronic music pioneer has gained an extraordinary second life in the TikTok era. Writers and musicians explain why his glitchy slipperiness is so in tune with life today
QKThr, an obscure cut from Aphex Twin’s 2001 album, Drukqs, sounds like an ambient experiment recorded on a historic pirate ship. Shaky fingers caress the keys of an accordion to create an uncanny tone; clustered chords cry out, subdued but mighty, before scuttling back into dreamy nothingness.
This 88-second elegy has always been overshadowed by another song on Drukqs, the Disklavier instrumental Avril 14th, which alongside Windowlicker is the Cornish producer’s best-known track. But QKThr has become a weird breakaway success, featuring on nearly 8m TikTok posts, adorning everything from cute panda videos to lightly memed US presidential debates, and a fail video trend dubbed “subtle foreshadowing”.
Innocent people are being frozen out of basic banking services – and it all traces back to reforms rushed through after 9/11
Hamish Wilson lives a few miles away from me, in a cosy farmhouse in the damp hills of mid Wales. He makes good coffee, tells great stories and is an excellent host. Every summer, dozens of Somali guests visit Wilson’s farm as part of a wonderfully wholesome project set up to celebrate their nation’s culture, and to honour his father’s second world war service with a Somali comrade-in-arms.
Inadvertently, however, the project has revealed something else: a deep unfairness in today’s global financial system that not only threatens to ruin the Somalis’ holidays, but also excludes marginalised communities from global banking services on a huge scale.
How best to portray the evil of Stutthof camp witnessed by my grandfather? The Zone of Interest and Twin Peaks could have the answer
When I was nine years old, my grandfather took me to the museum at the former Stutthof concentration camp near Gdansk, in northern Poland. Established by the Nazis in the German-annexed territory of the Free City of Danzig, he had been imprisoned there as a teenager. It was his first visit since the second world war. When we went through the gate, he began to cry, to shout, to reconstruct scenes. The past returned all at once and he fell into a state of trauma. During his imprisonment he had been responsible, among other things, for carrying bodies from the camp infirmary.
Most of the most infamous Nazi death camps have been turned into memorials like Stutthof, in the hope that they can teach something to future generations and avert a repeat of this darkest of chapters in Europe’s history. But it is a fact that few visitors to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau or Stutthof are shaken like my grandfather was. Sites of memory increasingly fail to reach new generations. Visitors learn facts, dates, perpetrators. But knowledge of past crimes does not automatically prevent future ones. Many institutions still teach a reassuring lesson: there were evil people once, they were defeated, we are different. Evil is placed safely in the past. The visitor leaves morally intact.
As a young teenager, Javid and his brother were caught stealing from slot machines, arrested and held in a cell. His future hung in the balance. How did he get from there to the top of UK politics?
In 2019, when Sajid Javid was home secretary, he spoke about growing up on “the most dangerous street in Britain” and said how easy it would have been to fall into a life of crime. Fortunately, he said, he managed to avoid trouble. But it turns out that Javid was being a little economical with the truth. He did get into trouble. Serious trouble.
Now 56, he has just published his childhood memoir, The Colour of Home. It’s crammed with incident – arranged marriages, savage beatings and boys behaving badly. I think there’s one key moment in your story, I tell him. “What, just one?” he hoots. Javid is not lacking for confidence.
French port’s green energy push, evoking second world war spirit of resilience, is seen as a testing ground for reindustrialisation
A new cargo and passenger ferry service directly linking Scotland and France could launch later this year as the port of Dunkirk embarks on a €40bn (£35bn) regeneration programme it claims will mirror the second world war resilience for which it is famed.
The plans could include a new service between Rosyth in Fife and Dunkirk, eight years after the last freight ferries linked Scotland to mainland Europe, and 16 years after passenger services stopped.
Some are trapped in a vicious cycle: rising rents, rising energy bills and falling standards. But this is not inevitable
Australians are struggling through one of the most brutal heatwaves and hottest summers on record. Day after day, temperatures into the high 30s are turning homes into ovens, workplaces into hazards, and everyday tasks into endurance tests.
All of us are feeling it. But spare a thought for the millions of renters trying to survive this heat in homes that were never designed to cope with it.
Exclusive: Parents said their children had become withdrawn or hypervigilant because of uncertainty, unsafe environments and removal of support
Neurodivergent children living in temporary accommodation (TA) in England are subjected to conditions that amount to “torture”, and the harm it causes them is “psychologically excruciating” and a form of “child cruelty”, a report has found.
The report by King’s College London through the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for households in temporary accommodation, found that while living in TA was damaging for any child, it had a particularly severe impact on neurodivergent children and those with special education needs and disabilities (Send).
Only one ticket sold for premiere of film about US first lady at Vue’s flagship London branch as insiders question launch strategy
As film exhibitor strategies go, counter-programming is one of the most reliable. It worked for The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia!, released in the US on the same day in 2008, as well as for Dunkirk and Girls Trip in 2017. In 2023, Barbie and Oppenheimer leveraged the tactic to the tune of $2.5bn in combined box office takings.
This week we could see another example as Amazon releases its authorised documentary about Melania Trump in more than 100 UK cinemas. There it will compete against an already-eclectic slate of releases including the Jason Statham action film Shelter, the ape horror Primate, Bradley Cooper’s comedy-drama Is This Thing On? and Richard Linklater’s Jean-Luc Godard fictionalisation Nouvelle Vague.
Twice-sacked former home secretary is ‘not a team player’ and may limit attempts to expand Reform’s appeal
It was a full 90 minutes into the Reform UK rally – and 10 minutes into Nigel Farage’s speech – when the surprise guest who was also not a surprise at all came bounding on to the stage: ah, Suella Braverman, we were expecting you.
If ever there was a definition of a high-profile yet semi-detached Conservative, Braverman was it. Although twice the home secretary, and also attorney general, she has been on the backbenches for more than three years and had precisely zero chance of advancement under Kemi Badenoch.
Most of those at Monday’s event had to remind themselves that Braverman hadn’t defected long ago
That noise? The sound of the barrel getting scraped. Only last summer, Reform insiders were briefing the rightwing media that the party would never welcome Suella Braverman into its ranks. Too much baggage. Too out of control. Reform wasn’t a convalescent home for disgraced and failed Tory MPs. Surely not? Heaven forbid.
So it was only a matter of time before the MP forced to resign from Liz Truss’s cabinet as home secretary for breaking the ministerial code – imagine the shame of being sacked by Liz – and then fired by Rishi Sunak for criticising Scotland Yard’s policing of protests was welcomed by Nigel Farage. Let’s face it: if Kemi Badenoch weren’t already leader of the Tory party, she’d almost certainly be next in line to defect.
Labour may have successfully blocked the mayor of Greater Manchester from running for parliament, but this definitely hasn’t solved their problems
Some people call Andy Burnham Labour’s prince across the water and others call him the King of the North. Those are two pretty different symbolisms – the first referring to James Francis Edward Stuart, the exiled son of James II, the second referring to Robb Stark, and later Jon Snow, from Game of Thrones. Everyone on Team Starmer will be sticking with the Stuarts, since that whole saga was defined by fakery and flakery. Since the moment of his birth, there were rumours that James was an impostor. It was all a little bit convenient that, just as his father was about to be deposed, this heir would appear. If history had taught the era anything, it was that having sons could not possibly be that easy.
The Starks, by contrast, were known for honour, bravery and legitimacy, even the ones that were definitely illegitimate. The fact that they are also fictional is a side issue, really, given that none of these routes to power – commanding fealty, raising troops – has much to teach any pretender to Labour’s throne.
From 2016 to 2023, more than 26,500 people, mostly Latino, have gone to an ER in LA county to seek birthing care
This story was produced in partnership with the non-profit newsroom Type Investigations and the investigative reporting program at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Sigita Cahoon’s 16 September 2024 stretched through the night.
The TV cook and food writer replaces Prue Leith, who has stepped down after nine seasons on the show
Nigella Lawson has been announced as the new judge on The Great British Bake Off. She replaces Prue Leith, who stepped down after nine seasons of judging contestants’ culinary creations, so she could spend summers enjoying her garden, explaining: “I’m 86 for goodness sake!”
Lawson will join the programme for its next series, the 17th, which will launch later this year. She will serve alongside Paul Hollywood, who will continue in the role he has held since the baking competition launched on BBC Two in 2010.
Why do we focus on the bad news stories about cuts and crises in classical music ? Musicians are doing incredible things to engage, support and sustain us; we should tell those stories too
When did you last read a good news story about classical music?
Why do some people age better than others? Five extraordinary individuals – who scientists are studying – share their tips
Lajuana Weathers is determined to be the healthiest version of herself. She starts each day with a celery juice, is always trying to increase her step count, and meditates daily. Weathers is also 89 years old. And she has no plans to slow down. “I wake up in the morning and feel blessed that I have another chance at a day of life,” says the grandmother of six, and great‑grandmother of six more, who lives in Illinois in an independent living facility for seniors. “I look at my life as a holistic entity, and in that life is my physical, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. I have to take care of all of those. That’s what I like about the ageing process. All the clutter of raising children is out and I can concentrate on the wellness of me.”
Weathers is a superager. This isn’t a self-proclaimed label, but one backed up by science – she is part of the SuperAging Research Initiative at the University of Chicago. To qualify for the study, you have to be over 80 years old and have memory performance that’s at least as good as the average 50- to 60-year-old. There are about 400 superagers enrolled across North America.
Embark Studios’ multiplayer extraction shooter game has already sold 12m copies in just three months. Will it capture you too?
Released last October Arc Raiders has swiftly become one of the most successful online shooters in the world, shifting 12m copies in barely three months and attracting as many players as established mega hits such as Counter-Strike 2 and Apex Legends. So what is it about this sci-fi blaster that’s captured so many people – and how can you get involved?
We said goodbye to Casper Ruud (12) last night but, perhaps, not a moment too soon: the Norwegian now able to return home to be with his wife, Maria, ahead of the expected birth of their first child this weekend.
Tumaini Carayol was on hand as he went down 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to Ben Shelton (8).
Australia’s southern states are scorching in extreme heat that could break temperature records in Victoria and South Australia on Tuesday.
January and all-time records were forecast to be set in both states, with temperatures approaching 50C across inland areas, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Federal agents set to scale back presence in Minneapolis as president and allies strike more conciliatory tone
Donald Trump’s efforts to deploy militarized immigration agents in US cities may finally be reaching a reckoning as he faces widespread opposition across the US, dissenting lawmakers in his own party, and impending court rulings after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis.
While there was no sign the aggressive tactics used by immigration enforcement are coming to an end, the mayor of Minneapolis said the administration would begin to scale back the number of federal agents in Minneapolis starting on Tuesday, as the president and his team soften their harsh rhetoric regarding Pretti’s killing.
Strikes knock out electricity to 80% of Ukraine’s second-largest city and surrounding region and damage 11th-century Kyiv monastery. What we know on day 1,434
Russian drones and missile strikes hit Kharkiv on Monday, knocking out power to 80% of Ukraine’s second-largest city and the surrounding region and striking apartment buildings, a school and a kindergarten, local officials said. Two people were injured, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a video posted on Telegram. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said an “energy site” had been targeted in the city as night-time temperatures dipped to -14C. The capital, Kyiv, has been hit by three massive air attacks since the New Year, knocking out power and heating to hundreds of buildings. The war correspondent and executive director of war crimes unit the Reckoning Project, Janine di Giovanni, has suggested Russian president Vladimir Putin is intentionally “weaponising the savage eastern European winter”.
In Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s home town, Russian drones hit a high-rise apartment building, the head of the industrial city’s military administration said. Oleksandr Vilkul said on Telegram that the impact triggered a fire, but residents in the city south-east of Kharkiv were safely evacuated. Reuters could not independently verify the reports and there was no immediate reaction from Russian officials.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has warned Ukraine is facing its “harshest winter” for over a decade. He urged lawmakers in the European parliament on Monday to show flexibility on the use of EU funds and welcomed the French move to seize a suspected shadow fleet tanker in a hit to Russia’s model of funding its war. Rutte also highlighted Nato’s continued support of Ukraine with US military equipment worth billions of dollars – and noted Ukraine’s desire to join Nato, but pointed out some member states remained opposed, so “politically, it’s practically not on the cards” for now. Rutte dismissed a potential European alternative to Nato without the US, saying: “Putin would love it.”
Ruttesaid the aim of the ongoing US-led peace talks should be a peace deal or a long-term ceasefire “as soon as possible”, saying that Ukraine’s security “I think we all know … is also our security”. Discussing Zelenskyy’s recent comments that the US security guarantees are “close to being agreed upon”, he acknowledged the major and “very sensitive” issue of territory with Russia, saying only Ukraine could decide what, if any, compromise they accepted. He flatly denied that the US tried to leverage its promise of security guarantees for Ukraine in talks with Nato on Greenland.
Another Russian drone and missile attack has damaged parts of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine’s culture ministry said on Monday. The attack on Ukraine’s most famous religious landmark – a Unesco world heritage site – took place overnight to Saturday, the ministry said, leaving “damage to doors and window frames”. Agence
France-Presse was not able to immediately verify the extent of the damage. Orthodox Christians consider the complex Ukraine’s spiritual centre. Founded in the 11th century, it is home to more than 100 buildings as well as a subterranean labyrinth of caves where monks stay and worship. Unesco added it to its list of endangered landmarks in 2023, citing the “threat of destruction” from Russia’s ongoing offensive.
Kim Jong-un has viewed sculptures for a memorial of soldiers who died in Ukraine. The North Korean leader visited the Mansudae art studio on Sunday to guide the creation of the sculptures, state media KCNA said on Monday. He said they would “convey forever the legendary feats ... of admirable sons of the DPRK Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”. Under a 2024 mutual defence pact with Russia, North Korea sent about 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, where more than 6,000 of them were killed, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and western sources. Kim has repeatedly lauded the troops’ “heroism” in fighting abroad and honoured them, including greeting and decorating them and working personally on the memorial for the fallen soldiers.
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