35 h. ago Lucy Bronze rolls back the years in reminder of Lionesses’ golden summer | Tom Garry

England’s ageless right-back proved she has no intention of slowing down soon with a performance which bodes well for the EurosThere was a very summer 2022 feel to this England victory. From the throwback of seeing a confident Beth Mead finding acres of space down the right, to Keira Walsh hitting defence-splitting passes with ease, to a sold-out crowd enjoying the embers of the sunny weather and creating a party atmosphere as they revelled at the entertaining, attacking football being played by the European champions, with a level of cohesion rarely seen since the World Cup. The lineup was reminiscent of that 2022 Euros success too, with seven of this starting side here having been key components of the team that won the European title.Rolling back the years even further, though, was Lucy Bronze, because there was something very World Cup 2015 about the performance of the best player on the pitch. Continue reading...

Politics

47 h. ago US and UK World Cup bid success boosts hosts but does little for global game | Tom Garry

Tournaments in 2031 and 2035 are likely to be great events but will be hosted by those who need them the leastThere is an abundance of reasons why staging the 2031 and 2035 Women’s World Cups in the United States and UK respectively offers cause for delight. The countries have well-established and emotionally invested fanbases, a genuine buy-in to the women’s game and huge, modern stadiums to choose from. These two summer parties will surely eclipse anything women’s sport has seen and the countries, having invested in the women’s game more than any others in modern times, have frankly earned this.Yet the news that the US and UK are bidding unopposed to host these tournaments is also sad for the women’s game from a global perspective. The US’s NWSL and England’s Women’s Super League are the two most-watched women’s leagues in the world with the largest average attendances and the most professionalised facilities for players and therefore, while many will agree that means they deserve...

Politics

3 d. ago Secrets of Success: the church that served a plantation remains a monument of resistance

Amid the site in rural Jamaica that once belonged to a Guardian financier may lie a treasure trove of artefacts that tell the story of Britain’s history of colonisation and enslavementStanding amid the ruins of Success, a former sugar plantation in Hanover, rural Jamaica, there is a muted silence, interrupted by the occasional rumble of a vehicle passing, overripe cocoa pods falling to the ground and green iguanas scuttling across dying leaves on the estate floor.Hidden from the lively community just outside its boundaries, the overgrown site today is a stark contrast to what would have existed there more than a century ago. One of more than 800 sugar plantations across the island, Success was once co-owned by Sir George Philips, one of the 11 men who financed the launch of the Manchester Guardian in 1821.A brick likely to have been used in the construction of a building on the sprawling estate Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago The wrestler with nine lives: how Saraya survived alcohol, abuse, injury and a leaked sex tape

At 18, Saraya-Jade Bevis had a rags-to-riches signing that took her from Norwich to the largest wrestling promotion in the world. A few years later, she hit rock bottom. Here is how she started overIt’s hard to know where to start with champion wrestler Saraya-Jade Bevis. Do we start in the same place as her memoir, at rock bottom aged 25 when a sex tape of Bevis taking part in a threesome was leaked and went viral? At that time, Bevis was suspended from wrestling, addicted to alcohol and, she says, snorting so much cocaine that her nose was spraying out blood.Or do we start with her childhood in Norwich, raised by a family of wrestlers, ex-cons and alcoholics, living in a council house where, she says, the rent was always due and dinner might be mashed potato sandwiches. The childhood sexual abuse that she had kept hidden for most of her life? Her rags-to-riches signing at 18 to WWE, the largest wrestling promotion in the world? Her new life in the US, when she was enjoying success...

Events

8 d. ago Tennessee lawmakers want schools to teach the ‘success sequence’

Under new bill, students would learn they are more likely to be successful if they graduate, get a job, get married and then have kids

Society

8 d. ago Pep Guardiola sends blunt message to Man City bosses as he eyes £97m success

Manchester City's season has failed to live up to expectations and Pep Guardiola believes even with FA Cup or Club World Cup success his team will not deserve a bonus in 2024/25

Economics

8 d. ago So many souvenirs for JD Vance to take home from Greenland: oil, gas, minerals – and that’s just the start | Marina Hyde

The widely reviled veep and his wife may not see much of the island they’d like to annex, but the US military base will be lovely at this time of yearThere’s a Gerard Butler movie called Greenland, which – via a series of cataclysmic events handled incredibly Butlerishly – ends with Gerard cocooned in a remote secure bunker in Greenland. As the week has worn on, this has increasingly become the mood of today’s supposedly super-fun tourist trip to Greenland by the second lady of the United States, Usha Vance, and her husband, the vice-president, JD Vance. Who, come to think of it, does actually look like the Cabbage Patch Gerard Butler.Anyway: Greenland. Like I say, the trip has evolved this week both in style and substance. Originally, it was announced that the second lady was going to take one of her sons, immerse herself in various local events – she’s apparently simply fascinated by Greenland’s culture – and attend the famous Avannaata Qimussersua dog sled race. No more. Now, it’...

Society

1 week ago Michele Pascarella: The world’s best pizza chef on success, burnout and breaking the rules

Named the world’s best pizzaiolo, Michele Pascarella has gone from selling pies out of a three-wheeled truck to running two of the most in-demand pizzerias in the capital. But behind the glory, he’s faced pressure, burnout and a fight to redefine what Neapolitan pizza can be. Hannah Twiggs finds out what drives him – and why he thinks London, not Naples, is now the city to watch

Events

1 week ago Meet the Ayrshire businesses behind success of World Wheelchair Curling Championships

The smooth running of a world championship event is down to the many businesses and organisations which come together to make it happen

Politics

2 w. ago Adolescence reveals a terrifying truth: smartphones are poison for boys’ minds | Martha Gill

When a Netflix drama highlights how online influencers can turn a teenager into a killer, it’s time to rethink social mediaEvery so often, a television drama comes along that has the power to change things. Last year, it was ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, in which the plight of subpostmasters was rendered with such success that it actually hastened in real-world legislation to compensate them.And now we have Netflix’s Adolescence, which looks at the online radicalisation of young boys by men’s rights activists (MRAs) such as Andrew Tate. Last week, Keir Starmer told the Commons he had been watching the series with his family and that it portrayed an “emerging and growing problem” that needed to be tackled. Now MPs are examining ideas to address the issue with greater urgency.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Contin...

Events

2 w. ago Norway’s sovereign wealth fund buys a quarter of London’s Covent Garden

Shaftesbury Capital sells stake in estate, which includes shops, market and transport museum siteBusiness live latest updatesNorway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, has made a fresh bet on the future success of central London as the country’s investment vehicle struck a £570m deal to buy a quarter of the Covent Garden estate.Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages $1.8tn (£1.4tn) and invests government money from the oil industry, announced on Thursday that it had bought the 25% stake in the £2.7bn Covent Garden property portfolio of the landlord Shaftesbury Capital. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Jack Draper emerging as a talent that can compete for the biggest prizes

After his success at Indian Wells Masters 1000, the next step for the world No 7 must be to challenge for grand slam titlesIn the joyful aftermath of his triumph in Vienna late last year, the deep satisfaction Jack Draper felt from his rapid progress prompted him to look ahead. Draper does not often think about his specific goals, preferring to simply focus on his daily work, but the ultimate objective was clear. He saw himself in the mix at the very top of the game, chasing down the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. He believed he was not so far from doing so.After a series of sublime performances over the past 10 days secured for Draper his first Masters 1000 at Indian Wells, the 23-year-old is now even closer. Not only has he reached No 7 in the ATP rankings by defeating four top-15 opponents in succession, including a stellar semi-final win against Alcaraz, he has positioned himself as a top contender for years to come. If Draper can continue to keep significant injurie...

Events

2 w. ago Dumfries woman and her pooch achieve success at world's most famous dog show

Lilly O’Brien won the Young Kennel Club Handler of the Year award at Crufts with nine-year-old Tibetan Spaniel Zoe.

Politics

3 w. ago Australian man survives 100 days with artificial heart in world

Sydney surgeons ‘enormously proud’ after patient in his 40s receives the Australian-designed implant designed as a bridge before donor heartFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn Australian man with heart failure has become the first person in the world to walk out of a hospital with a total artificial heart implant.The Australian researchers and doctors behind the operation announced on Wednesday that the implant had been an “unmitigated clinical success” after the man lived with the device for more than 100 days before receiving a donor heart transplant in early March.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Events