Zoo Playground, Edinburgh Belgian actors Verona Verbakel and Anemone Valcke share anecdotes about their industry in a knotty show about ambition and failure When we arrive, the screen behind the performers is displaying the entry for The Ego in the online fringe programme. It has a funny circularity that chimes with the self-aware nature of the show. Looking us in the eye, Belgian actors Verona Verbakel and Anemone Valcke tell us they are committed to being truthful. It is a promise that puts us on alert: do we really believe everything they say? How much is artifice? How much constructed? They confess to misleading us in one respect. The show is only superficially about egotism. There is a nice joke when Verbakel describes The Ego as her show, then remembers Valcke and attributes it to both of them. They flatter each other and glow with the praise. In their anecdotes from film sets and award ceremonies, they present themselves as actors who are hungry for the spotlight, insecure about rejection and in need of affirmation. Their ego drives their ambition and punishes their failures. Continue reading...

A revamped competition with the top singles players and held the week before the main tournament has caught attention at Flushing Meadows A few hours after Taylor Fritz’s third-round match at the Cincinnati Open, the theme of his post-match press conference shifted from his tough victory against Lorenzo Sonego to the looming US Open mixed doubles tournament. The first question posed to him on this subject was carefully prefaced with the acknowledgment that mixed doubles was probably not his priority in the middle of one of the biggest tournaments in the world. As a grin spread across his face, Fritz quickly interjected: “It is a priority,” he said. Fritz had been asked whether he had any sympathy for the frustrated doubles specialists who had been brushed aside to make room for the transformation of this event. From his perspective, the right players were in the draw: “I’ve seen a lot of people calling it like an exhibition, or it doesn’t count. I personally think this is the strongest mixed doubles field you’re going to see at a grand slam, in my opinion. If the mixed doubles teams that are in come in and win the event, then I’ll eat my words and say I’m wrong, but I personally think the level is going to be really high,” he said. Continue reading...

The UK’s plans seem to outsource sovereignty for phantom efficiency. Public services provide the data and power while US tech giants reap the rewards There was a time when Britain aspired to be a leader in technology. These days, it seems content to be a willing supplicant – handing over its data, infrastructure and public services to US tech giants in exchange for the promise of a few percentage points of efficiency gains. Worryingly, the artificial intelligence strategy of Sir Keir Starmer’s government appears long on rhetoric, short on sovereignty and built on techno-utopian assumptions. Last week Peter Kyle, the technology secretary, was promoting the use of AI-generated discharge letters in the NHS. The tech, he said, will process complex conversations between doctors and patients, slashing paperwork and streamlining services. Ministers say that by applying AI across the public sector, the government can save £45bn. But step back and a more familiar pattern emerges. As Cecilia Rikap, a researcher at University College London, told the Politics Theory Other podcast, Britain risks becoming a satellite of the US tech industry – a nation whose public infrastructure serves primarily as a testing ground and data source for American AI models hosted on US-owned cloud computing networks. She warned that the UK should not become a site of “extractivism”, in which value – whether in the form of knowledge, labour or electricity – is supplied by Britain but monetised in the US. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Calvert-Lewin and Grealish could make debuts Get in touch with Will to share your thoughts Pre-match reading: No Calvert-Lewin at all for Leeds, and Grealish is on the bench for Everton. We do have debuts for Perri, Gudmundsson and Stach for the hosts, while Dewsbury-Hall is in for the Toffees. Continue reading...

Last year’s floods have been followed by heatwaves. Ministers must throw their weight behind resilient, adaptable agriculture British farmers are, of course, not the only people who are suffering from the effects of this summer’s heatwaves. Across Europe and the Middle East, record-breaking temperatures are threatening lives as well as livelihoods. France has experienced its largest wildfire since 1949, while across Europe an estimated 500,000 hectares of land have burned. But farmers are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather, which has a direct impact on crop yields. So reports of a second consecutive year in which food growers in parts of the UK are seeing dramatic falls in production should concern the British public. Access to food is frequently taken for granted in the world’s wealthiest nations. But increased food insecurity is among the dangerous effects of the climate crisis, as well as being worsened by Trump’s tariffs, and geopolitical instability including the war in Ukraine. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Hakainde Hichilima struggles to bury differences with Edgar Lungu whose family are appealing repatriation of his body A furious row over whether the Zambian president, Hakainde Hichilema, will preside over the funeral of his predecessor, Edgar Lungu, is raging, as the former president’s family wages a legal battle in South Africa to try to stop his body from being repatriated to Zambia. The legal fight marks the latest twist in a feud between the two men that goes back at least a decade and has now outlasted the former president, who died in South Africa in June aged 68 while being treated for an undisclosed illness. Continue reading...

Deal would include 60-day halt to military operations and exchange of half of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners Hamas officials say they have accepted a proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal that would include the release of half of the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages as part of a phased resolution to the war, as Gaza health officials said 62,000 Palestinians had died in the 22 months of war. The proposed deal follows negotiations between Hamas and Egyptian and Qatari officials that have been taking place in Cairo in recent days, and comes after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was confronted on Sunday by Israel’s biggest protests of the war, which called for a deal to secure the release of the hostages. Continue reading...

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With two murders and over sixty officers injured during last year’s festivities, the Met fears dancing distracts police on duty For George Michael, it was guilty feet that left him unable to dance. For Eddy Grant, a world full of problems left him rooted to the spot as the music played. But for police officers amid the sound systems at this weekend’s Notting Hill carnival, it is orders from on high that dictate that no matter how the beat moves them, they are banned from dancing with revellers. Continue reading...

Robert Huxford reminds local authorities of their duty of care, while Daniel Scharf calls for a lower national speed limit, Shirley Pritchard would like more speed cameras to be installed and Andrew Morgan is a reluctant pedestrian Re Sadiq Khan’s article (Dear Britain, it’s now clear: 20mph zones save lives and don’t slow traffic. Implement them, 12 August), many people are unaware of the outstanding success of 20mph limits and low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in saving lives and preventing injuries and crashes, because the research and statistics are only being reported consistently by the BBC and the Guardian. People who rely on some of the other media outlets will have seen these policies characterised as unpopular, “hated” or a “war on drivers”. The failure to report impartially is a distortion of the truth that is misleading the public and politicians, and leading to pressure to revoke these life-saving measures. Highway authorities have a statutory duty to promote road safety, a duty to have “due regard” to the needs of elderly and disabled people, and a common law duty of care to all road users not to be negligent. On top of this, councils have duties relating to public health, and policies relating to active lifestyles and the prevention of obesity, all of which are supported by creating safer streets. Continue reading...

Dr Peter van den Dungen says the US president is complicit in destruction, not peace. Plus a letter from Malcolm Rush Donald Trump may be persuaded that the Nobel peace prize he covets will “become a genuine possibility” if he succeeds in bullying Ukraine “into accepting the unacceptable” (Editorial, 11 August). But the idea that this deluded and most undiplomatic and unpeaceful of US presidents could ever join such recipients as Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr is ludicrous. Alfred Nobel intended the prize in the first instance for efforts for “the abolition or reduction of standing armies”. Under Trump, the already bloated Pentagon budget has skyrocketed; in June he celebrated the US army’s 250th birthday (as well as his own birthday) with a military parade, complete with tanks, missiles, and aeroplanes overhead; in February, he signed an executive order to dismantle the US Institute of Peace, resulting in the unlawful firing of its president and board members. Continue reading...

Jean Garner objects to his monument in the Shropshire town and is hoping for Thangam Debbonaire’s support in getting it removed Thangam Debbonaire is concerned about visiting Indian citizens and dignitaries having to walk past a statue of Robert Clive in London (Labour peer calls for removal of Clive of India statue from outside Foreign Office, 11 August). I’m sure the people of Shrewsbury are equally concerned about having to walk past the Clive statue on our high street and main square. Five years ago, a petition on the subject was signed by 9,000 people. The council responded by keeping the statue and taking three years to produce a small interpretation board. The people of Shrewsbury do not want to be associated with this “unstable sociopath” (as William Dalrymple called him), and look forward to Debbonaire’s support for its removal. Jean Garner Minsterley, Shropshire Continue reading...

Kristoffer Berg says VAT can be progressive, while Anthony Seaton suggests making use of MOT data to tax cars Tax rises appear increasingly likely. Polly Toynbee discusses some possible tax changes, including VAT (Both left and right agree taxes must rise. Time for Labour to get creative, 12 August). My view is that a 2.5 percentage point rise in the average VAT rate is the most viable option to raise sufficient revenue without reducing growth. Toynbee also discusses possible changes to inheritance tax and the introduction of a wealth tax. These policies may be redistributive but are unlikely to raise substantial revenue. As an example, Norway currently imposes a wealth tax that raises less than 3% of its non-petroleum tax revenue. Continue reading...

Lib Dems warn data highlights a growing loss of faith in ability of service to be there for people when they need it Growing numbers of patients are finding their own way to A&E instead of taking ambulances with nearly 2.7 million people making their own way to emergency departments last year. The figure is a 14% increase from 2.36 million in 2019, and highlights the number of people losing faith in ambulance services, the Liberal Democrats have warned, after gathering the data from NHS trusts. Continue reading...

Cancelling meetings to highlight concerns over government plans on duty sparks backlash from betting industry body Two days on from the out-of-the-blue announcement that British racing will strike on 10 September, the widespread media exposure that the move has received may already be worth significantly more than the loss to sport from cancelling low-key meetings at Kempton, Lingfield, Carlisle and Uttoxeter, on an afternoon when most punters are looking 24 hours ahead to the St Leger meeting at Doncaster. As a result, there is a raised awareness of the deep concerns about government plans to “harmonise” the duty rates for online betting and casino-style gaming products, which could, according to modelling commissioned by the British Horseracing Authority, cost the sport between £66 and £160m in annual income. Continue reading...

The solutions to today’s teasers Earlier today I set you three puzzles from Tasty Japanese Morsels in Recreational Mathematics. Here they are again with solutions. 1. Squid game Continue reading...

Guardian survey of team finances reveals mixed picture for players England contracts range from £39,000 to £48,000 plus match fees The Women’s Rugby World Cup will make a glitzy start on Friday night in front of a global TV audience, but a Guardian survey of the 16 competing nations has discovered the brutal financial reality for many athletes taking part. Half of the 32-strong Samoa squad are raising funds to cover the costs of their mortgages and household bills while taking part in the tournament in England, according to one of their players, Nina Foaese, a 36-year-old mother of three. Continue reading...

The government has been struggling to find a place to put the 700,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste the UK has generated from past nuclear programmes The UK’s proposal for a new underground nuclear waste dump has been described as “unachievable” in a Treasury assessment of the project. Ministers have put new nuclear power at the centre of their green energy revolution. But the problem of what to do with 700,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste – roughly the volume of 6,000 doubledecker buses – from the country’s past nuclear programme, as well as future waste from nuclear expansion, has yet to be solved. Continue reading...

Hamas official tells Reuters news agency it has approved latest Gaza ceasefire proposal Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, said on Monday it had decided to exclude six companies with connections to the West Bank and Gaza from its portfolio, following a review of its Israeli investments. The $2tn wealth fund did not name the companies it had decided to exclude, but said these would be made public once the divestment was completed, Reuters reports. Continue reading...

The cheques keep rolling in for Jeffrey Voorhees, who played short-lived shark victim Alex Kintner when he was 12 – and he’s not the only one Name: Jeffrey Voorhees. Age: 62. Continue reading...

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Emily Woof draws a connection between the female adulation around the Fab Four and radical artist Valerie Solanas’s 1968 shooting of Andy Warhol A revolver is something that spins around. It is also a weapon. In this captivating piece of storytelling theatre, Emily Woof makes a connection between the two. On the one hand, there is Revolver, the seminal 1966 album by the Beatles; on the other, there is the gun wielded by Valerie Solanas when she attempted to kill Andy Warhol in 1968. The play is a perfect, if coincidental, companion piece to Philosophy of the World by In Bed With My Brother, playing elsewhere on the Edinburgh fringe. Where that show combines the story of the 60s girl group the Shaggs with the rage of Solanas’s Scum (Society for Cutting Up Men) manifesto, Woof’s play filters the female adulation of the Beatles through the same feminist lens. Continue reading...

Use of unhealthy body images ‘becoming more of an issue’, says Advertising Standards Authority The chief executive of the UK Advertising Standards Authority has issued a plea to advertisers to avoid using “irresponsible” images of unhealthily thin-looking models. Guy Parker, CEO of the UK watchdog, said adverts where models appeared to present an unhealthy body image were “becoming more of an issue” and called upon advertisers to “please, please, please think very carefully” about the body types they depicted. Continue reading...

League wants to take more control of its campaigns No plans to end ties completely with anti-racism charity The Premier League has reduced the length of its funding deal with Kick It Out from three years to 12 months, leading to some concerns about the long-term security of the charity’s income and the independence of the anti-racism movement. Kick It Out receives funding from a number of other stakeholders within the sport, including the Football Association, Professional Footballers’ Association and Sky Sports, but the Premier League is increasingly taking charge of its own initiatives and programmes around diversity and inclusion. It was revealed by the Daily Telegraph last week that it has ended an eight-year partnership with Stonewall and will abandon the rainbow armbands and laces campaign, with the top flight planning to launch its own anti-homophobia initiative in February to coincide with LGBTQ+ History Month. Continue reading...

Marius Borg Høiby charged with total of 32 offences and could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty Marius Borg Høiby, the son of the Norwegian crown princess, has been charged with 32 offences including four counts of rape, a prosecutor has said. Høiby, whose mother is the crown princess, Mette-Marit, and whose stepfather is the crown prince, Haakon, Norway’s future king, is expected to stand trial early next year and could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of the most serious charges. Continue reading...

Ghana forward reported abuse during game at Anfield Man, 47, banned from going to matches as bail condition A 47-year-old man from Liverpool who was arrested on suspicion of racially abusing the Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo has been conditionally bailed and banned from attending matches, Merseyside Police said on Monday. The Premier League match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday was halted during the first half after Semenyo told the referee he was targeted by a man in the crowd. The Ghana forward scored twice in the second half but Liverpool won the match 4-2. Continue reading...