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Big agriculture is killing our bees. We’ll all pay the price | Jennie Durant
We’re thinking about the crisis facing pollinators all wrong. And we’ve come to a crucial moment Last winter, commercial beekeepers lost more than 60% of their colonies – their worst losses on record. We tend to blame bee losses on separate, singular threats: pests, pesticides, habitat loss or extreme weather. But we’ve been thinking about bee losses wrong. The real culprit is our industrial food system. Continue reading...
China’s BYD aims to be world’s biggest car firm within five years
EV maker aims to overtake Toyota, as it plans to spend £1.8bn to build five-minute flash chargers in Europe Business live – latest updates The Chinese car company BYD has said it aims to be the world’s biggest automaker within the next five years. Targeting Toyota’s long-held top spot, BYD’s founder and chair, Wang Chuanfu said he was confident it could overtake global rivals through rapid advances in battery technology, fast charging advances and growing production overseas, including Europe. Continue reading...
County Cricket: Surrey v Hampshire, day four – live
Updates from the final day’s play at the Oval Day three report | Mail Tanya or comment BTL The fallout from drinking sessions at the White Horse pub, aka the Sloaney Pony (or so I am told) and the Rex Rooms continues to drift. Hello! The final day of this one-off match unbuttons its shirt. We seems to be drifting towards a draw, especially if the weather intervenes again, but Hampshire have tumbled down the stairs more than once this season. Do join us, umbrella in one hand, espresso in the other, play starts at 11am. Continue reading...
David Sullivan’s contact with West Ham women’s and youth teams restricted since 2023
‘Temporary agreement’ in place since Football Association safeguarding investigation began three years ago David Sullivan has faced restrictions on his contact with West Ham’s women’s and youth teams since 2023 because of a safeguarding investigation. The Football Association began an inquiry three years ago after receiving a complaint, which the Guardian understands involves an allegation of sexual misconduct unrelated to football. Continue reading...
Humans prefer to walk anticlockwise, scientists find – but reason is unclear
From Spain to Japan, experiments have repeatedly shown a left-turn bias, but exact mechanic ‘is still an open question’ “I’m not an ambi-turner,” laments Derek Zoolander in the eponymous noughties satire about the world’s hottest male model and his rare catwalk hangup. “It’s a problem I’ve had since I was a baby … I can’t turn left.” Now, research suggests that the fashionista’s career-threatening quirk was even more unusual than previously thought. Tests reveal that when people are ambling about, they have a natural tendency to turn to the left and walk in an anticlockwise direction. Continue reading...
Two killed in rare street demonstration over women’s rights in Afghanistan
Taliban forces fire on crowds in Herat, who were protesting at manhandling of women arrested over hijab dress code A Taliban crackdown on women’s dress code in Afghanistan has escalated into a rare mass street protest in the western province of Herat, with at least two people killed by security forces. Officials made a wave of arrests in recent days targeting women and young girls accused of “improper hijab”. Residents say many families had received no information about the whereabouts or condition of those detained. Continue reading...
Peter Kyle’s quest for UK’s first $1tn firm is honourable, but he is overselling state activism | Nils Pratley
Business secretary exaggerates role of the British Business Bank and the National Wealth Fund in nurturing firms Is the business secretary, Peter Kyle, suffering from SpaceX fever? It must be something of that sort because his launch this week of a “concierge service” to allow fast-growing companies to navigate Whitehall bureaucracy came with an extraordinary pitch. The new service is “part of his [Kyle’s] quest to nurture the UK’s first trillion-dollar firm,” said the official announcement. One trillion dollars is about £750bn so Kyle’s quest is not a small undertaking when you see that the largest company on the London Stock Exchange, HSBC, is worth £235bn. Arm Holdings, the fast-growing UK chip designer that is listed in the US (sadly), is worth £280bn. So Kyle is saying he thinks he can “nurture” something much bigger. Continue reading...
Keir Starmer says those behind ‘unacceptable’ Belfast disorder ‘will feel full force of the law’ – UK politics live
PM says he ‘will not tolerate’ rioting and says people were targeted ‘because of their background’ after widespread unrest following knife attack video Keir Starmer has issued a statement about the rioting in Belfast last night. He says people were targeted because of their background (he means race – but doesn’t say so explicitly), and says the government won’t tolerate this. He also condemns those who “encouraged” the disorder online. This seems like a clear reference to Elon Musk – although the PM does not refer to him by name. The scenes in Belfast last night were shocking and completely unacceptable. There is no justification for the violence and disorder that we saw threatening our communities, nor for those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere. Continue reading...
‘I’m disappointed and I’m not alone’: Matty Lee hits out at Olympic president’s ‘amateur’ stance on pay
Olympic gold medallist diver reflects on the financial and emotional challenges since retiring from the sport and teaming up with his hero Tom Daley “It’s like I’ve already got an open wound and you’re stabbing me in it,” Matty Lee says as, deep into our second hour at a beautiful old Edwardian swimming pool in Leeds, we turn to Kirsty Coventry’s recent comments that athletes should not be paid at the Olympic Games. In her role as president of the International Olympic Committee, Coventry, a former swimmer who won seven Olympic medals, including gold in 2004 and 2008, has caused outrage among athletes. The IOC confirmed in its own financial report that it made $12.4bn (£9.2bn) between 2021 and 2024 and so Lee, an Olympic diving champion, grimaces when he considers Coventry’s resistance to paying the people we want to watch – the athletes. It is sobering to consider her stance in the company of Lee who, without bitterness, has told me about his hidden world as a retired Olympic champion now struggling emotionally and financially. Continue reading...
Car bomb kills senior Russian military official near Moscow
Video appears to show Col Damir Davydov’s BMW bursting into flames and bystanders pulling him from wreckage A senior Russian military official has been killed in a car bombing near Moscow, according to media reports. An explosive device planted underneath a BMW detonated at about 5.30am on Tuesday as Col Damir Davydov was driving near his home in the city of Balashikha, the independent outlet Astra reported. It was the latest in a string of assassinations targeting Russian military officials and prominent pro-war figures since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...
Pub chain Fuller’s hopes for bumper summer from World Cup and staycations
Company says it has strong bookings for England matches and has spruced up gardens for domestic tourists Business live – latest updates The boss of pub and hotel chain Fuller’s has said that the evening kick-off times of World Cup matches will provide a double-hit of business through the peak summer period, as the group gets “garden-ready” for fans before the tournament. Simon Emeny, the chief executive of Fuller, Smith & Turner, said that there have been strong advance bookings for the World Cup and that it has spruced-up garden areas across its 337 pubs, hotels and inns to cater for a bumper summer. Continue reading...
Japanese manga fans urge Trump to stop using characters in his online posts
Renewed outrage at White House’s use manga and anime imagery after US president is depicted as ninja Naruto Japanese anime and manga fans are urging Donald Trump to stop using their favourite characters in his social media posts. About 20,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org entitled Protect Japanese Manga, protesting against the official White House X account posting videos featuring unauthorised use of imagery from the popular Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Naruto series. Angry fans have also been posting their displeasure on social media. Continue reading...
The vanishing of Nicolás Maduro: how the former dictator is being erased from Venezuela
Billboards are being painted over and former allies seem eager to forget the man they once glorified For years, his bewhiskered face stared down from propaganda billboards glorifying the supposedly revolutionary rule of a dictator who styled himself as “the protector of the people”. The spin-doctored adoration was such that factories churned out plastic action figures exalting Nicolás Maduro as an “indestructible” and “iron-fisted” caped crusader nicknamed “Super Moustache”. Continue reading...
The Spurs can match the Knicks’ energy in the NBA finals but not their desperation | Chuck D
As a lifelong Knicks fan, the Public Enemy frontman knows how much New York craves an end to its 53-year NBA title drought I didn’t see the Knicks win their second championship in 1973 because I had to go to bed. That night, the Knicks beat the LA Lakers, but clinching game was on the west coast and it was a school night. I couldn’t watch it. I was 13 and in seventh grade. Back then things were different. Today, 13-year-olds stay up to 5am. But I had to go to bed. Chuck D was talking to Jacob Uitti. Continue reading...
The best films of 2026 so far
Jessie Buckley is dug up to marry Christian Bale, while Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel are the double act of the year in Steven Soderbergh’s dark comedy. Here’s our round up of movie magic from the last six months in the UK *** Continue reading...
Should you send that midnight text? 11 essential rules for phone etiquette
What about using voice notes, or calling someone totally unannounced? Experts give their verdict on how to use your phone without causing offence It is not news that many of us are addicted to our phones and nor is it a revelation that inconsiderate public behaviour now appears to be the norm, but when the two collide it can cause anger. Last week, at the end of a performance of the drama Inter Alia in London’s West End, the actor Rosamund Pike took to the stage after the curtain call to announce that she had seen someone texting during the performance. “I just wanted to say for anyone going to the theatre, it’s a huge thing that we’re trying to give you. I am trying to tell you a story, and I’m feeling you, and I hope you’re feeling me too … Maybe it was very important, and maybe you’re a doctor, and you’re saving someone’s life, and I hope you are, but we do see these, we do feel them.” What is the correct etiquette when using your phone? Myka Meier, author of Modern Etiquette Made Easy, says: “It is always thinking about other people before yourself when you’re on the phone.” This also means being aware of how disabled people might use, and rely on, their phones. As an academic with hearing loss pointed out to the BBC after Pike’s comments, bans on phones in theatres, or public shaming, could exclude disabled people in audiences, such as those who use hearing aid apps and need to adjust the settings. Continue reading...
Sali Hughes on beauty: a new generation of setting sprays that work even on oily skin
Want to keep your makeup in place but always end up looking shiny? These sprays have a blurry finish that flatters everyone I don’t know how any makeup wearer lives without setting spray, but for oily skins I do recognise it has pitfalls as well as many benefits. Setting spray keeps makeup in place when warm weather might otherwise melt it away, and allows for creamier, more flattering products to be used in place of powders. But it also cuts through the dusty look of any powdery makeup to give it a softer, more youthful finish. Continue reading...
The most inclusive World Cup ever? Tell that to Omar Artan, the Somali referee just banned by the US | Morgan Ofori
This episode feels symbolic of a World Cup where the global game has been sacrificed to Fifa’s cynical money-making – and Trumpian whim Omar Abdulkadir Artan was supposed to make history this week, becoming the first Somali referee to officiate at a World Cup. Instead, he’s watching from outside the US, denied entry without explanation by the Trump administration. Welcome to the most inclusive World Cup ever. Fifa, the game’s governing body, is projecting revenues of $8.9bn (£6.7bn) from this tournament – double what the 2024 Olympics made. More teams: 48, up from 32. More matches: 104 over 39 days. More markets, just how they like it. This is good business. Morgan Ofori is a reporter, blogger and subeditor for the Guardian’s The Long Wave Continue reading...
Democrats rally round Platner in Maine as Trump reaffirms grip on GOP after primaries
Outcome of polls in four states offer mixed signals about direction of two major parties before November’s midterms Progressives rallied round the controversial Graham Platner after his primary victory in Maine on Tuesday, while Donald Trump again exerted his grip on the Republican party, helping to defeat a politician who had pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Primary elections were held in four states – Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina – ahead of November’s midterms to decide control of both houses of Congress. The results offered mixed signals about the direction of the two major parties. Continue reading...
Referee Omar Artan given hero’s welcome in Somalia after US entry blocked
Artan was due to be first Somali referee at World Cup ‘I promise you that I will attend the next one’ The World Cup referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the United States arrived on Wednesday in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where he was received by a crowd of supporters and officials. Omar Artan was due to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making Fifa’s final list for the tournament. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025. Continue reading...
Bill Gates to face questions from House committee over links to Jeffrey Epstein
Microsoft co-founder to appear in closed-door session as part of lawmakers’ investigation into convicted sex offender Bill Gates is set to testify in front of the House committee on oversight and reform on Wednesday as part of the panel’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Microsoft co-founder will appear in a closed-door session, where lawmakers are expected to question him about his past relationship with Epstein. A transcript of the interview is expected to be released at a later date. Continue reading...
Pollinators in peril: scientists reveal the hidden human health costs of the world’s disappearing bees
Crops and flowers rely on them for survival, but wild bees are declining – and crucial nutrients will go missing from our diets as a result There are few ways in and out of Nepal’s Jumla district. The Karnali highway, considered one of the world’s most dangerous roads, provides the only land link, splicing through the Himalayas to connect Jumla’s terraced valleys to the rest of the country. As such, the 120,000 people that live there are almost entirely self-sufficient, with most of them eating and selling what they grow. It’s a tenuous existence, plagued by food insecurity and malnutrition. In recent years, local beekeepers have bemoaned languishing hives and dwindling honey production, observing that roughly half of their bees seem to have vanished over the past decade. These concerns, however, ignore an even more insidious impact. Continue reading...