26 m. ago South Africa v Australia: World Test Championship final cricket, day four – live

South Africa chasing a target of 282 to win at Lord’sPlay starts at 10.30am BST / 11.30am SAST / 7.30pm AESTRead the latest edition of The Spin | And email GeoffWho’s nervous? I’m nervous, on their behalf. The batters in next will have spent the evening telling themselves that they’re relaxed, but I’m sure there are thoughts flittering around, mostly that they would all really like to not be required. Australia need to turn that screw right away to have a chance.Then there was Andy Bull, who pondered the slips and the turn of fate that saw Steve Smith’s horrible hand injury. Continue reading...

Sport

33 m. ago ‘Venice is worn out’: locals see Jeff Bezos wedding as symbol of city’s ills

City leaders claim days-long event will bring in riches but opponents say it will not benefit ordinary VenetiansMarta Sottoriva, a teacher in Venice, has tirelessly campaigned for various causes in her cherished lagoon city, from railing against giant cruise ships to battling soaring rents. Now she is busy preparing banners, handing out flyers and shouting through megaphones in squares as she joins dozens of activists in whipping up resistance to the “umpteenth gigantic event” she says that risks turning the world heritage site – which has long suffered from the effects of excessive tourism – into a playground for the rich.Sottoriva is referring to the star-studded nuptials between the billionaire Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, and Lauren Sánchez, a former TV journalist. The days-long shindig, expected to begin from 24 June, will be the biggest wedding held in Venice since George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin in 2014. Continue reading...

Politics

33 m. ago Netanyahu outplayed Trump on Iran. Now the US risks being mired in another war | Mohamad Bazzi

If Trump wants to be the peacemaker he claims to be, he must negotiate a new deal with TehranBefore dawn on Friday, Israel unleashed a wave of air strikes against more than 100 targets in Iran, including nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and air defense systems. The surprise Israeli attack also killed some of Iran’s most senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. The Iranian regime called it a “declaration of war” – and western powers raced to prevent a wider regional conflict that could draw in the US along with other countries in the Middle East.While the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claims that he’s trying to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the attack is as much intended to blow up ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Donald Trump’s administration. While Trump’s overall foreign policy has been a disaster, for months he had resisted Netanyahu’s pleas to give Israel a green light to attack Iran, with US assistance. Trump insiste...

Events

34 m. ago Gardeners issued urgent ladybird warning for June as insect loves particular flower

June marks the peak flowering season for roses. Whether they’re climbing up walls and trellises or flourishing in borders and pots, roses are the essence of an English country garden and remain a firm favourite among gardeners.

Events

49 m. ago Ikea urgent product recall as shoppers told 'stop using it immediately'

Due to a risk of "small metal pieces detaching during use", shoppers are being asked to return the item

Politics

65 m. ago Ruben Amorim 'given very short deadline' to turn things around at Man Utd or risk sacking

Rio Ferdinand believes that Ruben Amorim has until Christmas to turn the tide at Manchester United before the board assess his future, following a 15th place finish in the Premier League this season

Events

78 m. ago From tradwife to radwife: abandoning perfection in favour of the ‘good enough’ life

No they don’t cook from scratch, sometimes forget the sunscreen and often miss work deadlines, but at least their kids are wearing secondhand clothes Meet the new gen of radically normal mumsMost mornings, I’m woken at 6am by my alarm (the baby crawling on to my head). I stretch, go downstairs, fill a bowl with iced water and, the theme of Transformers playing in the background, write my journal (a list of emails-I-forgot-to-reply-to). I drink hot water with cider vinegar to regulate my blood sugar levels, followed by tea using the baby’s leftover milk. Dragging a chilled jade gua sha spoon across my face in an attempt to reverse the ageing process, I then make my young sons’ porridge. While they eat, I plunge my face into the iced water until I can’t breathe, and begin my three-step routine (two La Roche-Posay serums followed by SPF). Some mornings, I run. Others, I cry into a coffee, albeit one made with organic milk, before taking a mushroom gummy to take the edge off the da...

Politics

85 m. ago Met Office thunderstorms warning in place in Wales with threat of flooding

Wales is at risk of seeing thunderstorms for much of Saturday, with a yellow Met Office weather warning in place until 6pm

Events

1 hour ago Netflix announces huge list of films and TV show being axed next month

You have around three weeks until these programmes and popular blockbusters are taken off the streaming service - so time is of the essence.

Culture

2 h. ago Shoppers told range of popular pies 'unsafe to eat' and what to do

The manufacturer is recalling a number of its pies over safety fears

Politics

2 h. ago JEREMY VINE on the day his daughters stopped finding him funny: 'I was crushed. I want to be their idol again'

Today, Father's Day, you won't find Jeremy Vine with his pants on his head. Now his kids are older, he's learnt the hard way that getting their attention requires a new set of skills

Politics

2 h. ago Andrew Lloyd Webber is ‘hot again’ –with help from new kids on musicals block

Veteran composer’s work is everywhere, but generation who grew up admiring him say he has never been out of touchWhen Andrew Lloyd Webber walked on stage to collect the Tony award for best musical revival for Sunset Boulevard, it was the first time in 30 years he had been recognised by the American Theatre Wing.The Jamie Lloyd-directed revival was the star of the show at American theatre’s big night last Sunday with its three wins signifying a return to prominence for the veteran composer. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Need for speed: how sport’s risk takers recognise deadly danger and do it anyway | Emma John

In a stable and affluent society, it is possible to declare that ‘life is for living’ through pursuits that shorten your odds of dyingLast year I visited St Moritz’s infamous Cresta Run. You know the one – the vertiginous skeleton course that has killed a number of its participants and maimed many more. I was with a group of friends who were attempting it for the first time, and who quickly became addicted to the adrenaline fix. I stubbornly refused to even contemplate it.It’s not just that my mates are braver than me – they are – but they’re all decent athletes, cricketers, hockey players, marathon runners and Channel swimmers. They have rapid reflexes and hand-eye coordination: I barely have a sense of where my arms and legs end. There are endless ways to hurt yourself on a crushingly heavy toboggan with razor-sharp runners that’s hurtling at 50mph between sheer walls of solid ice, and if anyone was going to slice off a finger or break their head landing upside down, it was me. Co...

Events

3 h. ago ‘On a peak under a blue sky’: the joy of summer in Europe’s mountains

Our writer recalls his favourite mountain experiences, from hard-won views to splendid isolation and the comforts of simple refugesAfter a tough scramble to the summit of Rhinog Fach, we look down into the deep valley holding the chilly waters of Llyn Hywel, then west across several miles of heather, bilberry and bare rock to the Welsh coast. Turning my gaze north, there is the entire Llyn peninsula leading east to the peak of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), no doubt weighed down by thousands of visitors. Up here there are just two of us in an utterly peaceful landscape. No clouds on the horizon. No surprises.I lie down for a few minutes and feel myself drift off. There are no human voices to be heard, only birds. Summer has come early to these mountains and I wouldn’t be anywhere else, drinking in that particular kind of tranquillity to be found on a peak under a blue sky. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Soho Society faces financial ruin after failed legal battle with Mayfair gin distillery

The Soho Society says it faces financial ruin if ordered to pay nearly £44,000 in legal costs

Events

4 h. ago ‘The risk was worth it’: All Fours author Miranda July on sex, power and giving women permission to blow up their lives

The artist and author’s hit book had so much in common with her own life that even her friends forgot it wasn’t real. How did this revolutionary portrayal of midlife desire come to inspire a generation of women?When Miranda July’s All Fours was published in May last year, it triggered what felt like both a spontaneous resistance movement and the sort of mania last experienced when the final Twilight book dropped, except this time for women in midlife rather than teenage girls. Two friends separately brought it to my house, like contraband dropped out of a biplane. Book groups hastily convened, strategically timed for when the men were out of the picture.The story opens with a 45-year-old woman about to take a road trip, a break from her husband and child and general domestic noise. She’s intending to drive from LA to New York, but is derailed in the first half hour by a young guy, Davey, in a car hire place, to whom she is passionately attracted. The next several weeks pas...

Events

4 h. ago Airdrie captain calls for 'clean bill of health' after injury

Adam Frizzell hopes the Diamonds got their bad luck out of the way last season

Society

5 h. ago HMRC tells parents of these students to contact them following “GCSE season”

Parents could be at risk of losing their benefit payments as their children finish their GCSE exams

Society

7 h. ago EasyJet passengers can get best seats 'completely free' with simple check

easyJet is a popular budget airline for Brits looking to book a cheap getaway, but passengers will need to act fast if they want to get the best seats onboard for free

Politics

8 h. ago Is your child ready to go out without you during the summer holiday? How to tell

Your child may want to go to the park or into town with friends during the holidays, but how can you know if they're ready?

Politics