Keyword – Life and style
Trefwoorden – Family, Life and style, Education
Title – I can’t afford a tutor to help my daughter get into grammar school. Will she still fulfil her potential? | Family | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/annalisabarbieri
Link – I can’t afford a tutor to help my daughter get into grammar school. Will she still fulfil her potential? | Family | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T05:00:22.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jun/21/cant-afford-tutor-daughter-grammar-school-fulfil-potential

I have two children aged eight and four. My eight-year-old is very bright . She’s in year 3 and doing year 6 maths . Her state school has large classes and limited resources, so I challenge her by doing fun maths at home. I wanted to try getting her into a grammar school (our local state secondaries do not get good results ), but lots of local parents pay for their children to have private tutor s , which I can’t afford .

I fear my children will be penalised and stuck in a cycle of not fulfilling their potential. This hits personally because I was diagnosed with dyslexia in my 20s after underachieving and disciplinary issues at school. I could be projecting my baggage and putting unnecessary pressure on my children to do better than me . But I feel sad and hopeless at the unfairness of this issue in the education system , and the way the rich will always outrun the poor. Sometimes I wonder if there is any point in trying for something better.

I work hard in a job I love and my salary is OK, but it is unlikely I will ever earn much more. I feel like this now when they are so young, so I think it will only get worse as they get older.

Your line about projecting hit the nail on the head. Your children know nothing yet of jobs, education or achievement. Their needs now are different from what you perceive them to be. Are you right to think about their future? Absolutely. But let’s take a step back.

I went to UKCP registered psychotherapist Sarah Kane, who felt you might be “trying to correct the imbalance you felt in your own childhood. I imagine you felt alienation and shame when you were punished unfairly at school, perhaps even labelled as a disobedient or defiant child. That feels very unfair. But the big difference is that your children have you. The lack of support you suffered may be feeding into your need to offer maximum support now.”

It’s good to separate our own needs, fears and wants from those of our children, which are often very different. What was going on for you at the age your daughter is now? Sometimes things buried deep can be reactivated.

“I’m curious,” continued Kane, “who the maths challenges are fun for. Do you find them fun but feel under pressure to do them? If so you may be removing all the fun for both of you.”

Kane also pointed out that you use “maximising language, such as ‘we will be stuck’; ‘not fulfilling potential’; ‘the rich will always outrun the poor’. When you respond to a situation with maximising language, it can seem futile, insurmountable. Plus, using ‘what if’ statements tends to create anxiety. Rather try using ‘what is’ statements. And what is happening is that your child is bright and you enjoy helping her with learning. There’s so much more to be gained from school than just education. It’s where children learn about making friends, negotiating their needs, playing and socialising as well.”

Kane noticed a theme of “imbalances and extremes in your letter: no support v maximum support; no attention v maximum attention; failure v success”. She also wanted you to be mindful of “splitting” your children or labelling them by saying one is bright. “You could be recreating the unfair system within your own family,” said Kane.

I promise your child won’t be feeling how you are, but she may sense how you feel and want to please you. She’s eight. The whole world is before her. Real learning and development is about failing, curiosity and discovering who we are. It’s not that I don’t agree that the world is unfair – it is. But the things most people want – and can’t buy – are love and being accepted for who they are, so they can develop into who they truly want to be.

Every week, Annalisa Barbieri addresses a personal problem sent in by a reader. If you would like advice from Annalisa, please send your problem to ask.annalisa@theguardian.com . Annalisa regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Submissions are subject to our terms and conditions . The latest series of Annalisa’s podcast is available here .

Comments on this piece are pre-moderated to ensure the discussion remains on the topics raised by the article. Please be aware that there may be a short delay in comments appearing on the site.

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – US-Israel war on Iran, Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Trump administration, Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Donald Trump, Switzerland, US foreign policy, Middle East and north Africa
Title – Middle East crisis live: Iran’s negotiating team leaves Switzerland after ‘constructive progress’ in first round of talks | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/yohannes-lowe,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/adam-fulton
Link – Middle East crisis live: Iran’s negotiating team leaves Switzerland after ‘constructive progress’ in first round of talks | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T09:17:33.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jun/22/middle-east-crisis-iran-us-peace-talks-switzerland-strait-of-hormuz-latest-news-updates

‘Major progress’ made to end Israel’s war in Lebanon, Iranian foreign minister says

In a post on X on Monday morning following the end of the first session of talks in Switzerland, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said “major progress” had been made to end Israel’s war in Lebanon.

He wrote: “Oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran. 1st real test: Lebanon deconfliction cell. ”

Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed yesterday to keep Israeli troops in the so-called “security zone” in southern Lebanon “for as long as necessary”, claiming this is to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah , the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group.

“As prime minister of Israel, I insist on this unequivocally, and nothing will change it,” seemingly referring to his increasingly strained relationship with the US president, Donald Trump , who has said Netanyahu has been using disproportionate force in the attacks against Hezbollah, in which civilians are often killed. Trump is demanding the Israeli airstrikes stop in Lebanon because the negotiations with Iran will be derailed again if they don’t.

Last week, Israel announced the “security zone” in southern Lebanon, which comprises hundreds of square miles of territory. Lebanese officials have demanded a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, something Iran said was required by the memorandum of understanding.

According to the Lebanese presidency’s office, Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun has had a call with the US vice president JD Vance, Donald Trump’s son-in-law/adviser Jared Kushner, and Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani.

“The discussion in the call addressed the issue of consolidating the ceasefire in Lebanon, halting the Israeli military escalation, and the steps that must be taken in this regard, including the possibility of forming a cell for this purpose,” according to a social media post by the office.

Iran’s senior negotiation team leaves Switzerland as technical talks on implementing MoU begin

According to reports in Iranian media, Iran’s delegation, led by the speaker of the country’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has left Switzerland after hours of intensive talks.

The technical team, led by Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi, reportedly remains in Switzerland to continue with technical negotiations with the US on implementing the memorandum of understanding (see this post for more details).

Representatives from mediator countries Qatar and Pakistan are also expected to participate.

Swiss foreign ministry welcomes ‘constructive progress’ in US-Iran talks

In a statement, the Swiss foreign ministry said: “The Swiss facilitator welcomes the constructive progress made during the intensive diplomatic talks that continued throughout the night of 21-22 June at the Burgenstock between the mediators, Iran and the United States”.

The ministry added that the roadmap agreed “ creates the conditions for the immediate resumption of new technical discussions ”.

Future talks are set to focus on Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions, and a “monitoring and dispute resolution group to ensure the effective implementation of the MoU, and on other matters”, according to a joint statement by Qatar and Pakistan , the key mediators.

Lebanon was drawn into the war when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on 2 March to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s former supreme leader in Tehran in late February.

More than a million people have since been displaced by Israel’s renewed war on Lebanon , sparking a refugee and humanitarian crisis.

Some Lebanese people have cautiously returned to their homes in the south since the announcement of the framework US-Iran peace deal, but many have stayed away fearing a resumption in full-scale attacks.

Others don’t have any homes to return to because Israel has levelled entire villages inside the so-called “yellow line”, a large area that has been occupied by Israel along the Lebanese-Israeli border, as my colleague William Christou notes in this story .

At least 4,106 people, including many women and children, have been killed and 12,153 injured by Israeli attacks since 2 March, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Hezbollah has killed dozens of Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and at least three Israeli civilians.

Hezbollah chief Naim ​Qassem yesterday reportedly rejected any Israeli security zone in Lebanon and said the ⁠militant group would ​respond to any ​violation from the Israeli side. In a televised address, he was quoted as having said: Israeli troops “remaining on Lebanese land is impossible. There are no security zones for Israel… we have a national army which deploys, and it is responsible for preserving sovereignty, and it is who we cooperate with”.

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said Israel has no intention of withdrawing from Beaufort castle in southern Lebanon. In a statement to X last night , he said: “Israel has no intention of withdrawing from the Beaufort, which is an integral part of the security zone in Lebanon and essential for the defense of the Galilee settlements and IDF forces.”

“As prime minister Netanyahu and I have clarified – Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon .”

The Israeli military, which already controlled territory up to the Litani River, captured the strategic castle at the end of May , as Israeli troops moved deeper into Lebanese territory.

It had symbolic significance because the Israeli military had used the castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, as a base during its previous occupation of southern Lebanon between 1982 and 2000.

The Israeli newspaper Hareetz is reporting that ambassador-level talks this week between Israel and Lebanon will establish “pilot areas” which will be under exclusive control of the Lebanese military , meaning the IDF will have to leave some of the areas they currently occupy. It is not immediately clear if an Israeli withdrawal from Beaufort castle is planned.

Under the reported plan, the Lebanese forces’ conduct in those specified “pilot areas” would be under close American supervision and Lebanon’s army would also take control of some areas not currently held by Israel.

‘Major progress’ made to end Israel’s war in Lebanon, Iranian foreign minister says

In a post on X on Monday morning following the end of the first session of talks in Switzerland, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said “major progress” had been made to end Israel’s war in Lebanon.

He wrote: “Oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran. 1st real test: Lebanon deconfliction cell. ”

Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed yesterday to keep Israeli troops in the so-called “security zone” in southern Lebanon “for as long as necessary”, claiming this is to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah , the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group.

“As prime minister of Israel, I insist on this unequivocally, and nothing will change it,” seemingly referring to his increasingly strained relationship with the US president, Donald Trump , who has said Netanyahu has been using disproportionate force in the attacks against Hezbollah, in which civilians are often killed. Trump is demanding the Israeli airstrikes stop in Lebanon because the negotiations with Iran will be derailed again if they don’t.

Last week, Israel announced the “security zone” in southern Lebanon, which comprises hundreds of square miles of territory. Lebanese officials have demanded a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, something Iran said was required by the memorandum of understanding.

US-Iran talks set to continue despite Iranian walkout

The first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran ended in Switzerland on Monday, mediators said, after a tense opening marked by Tehran saying it had again closed the strait of Hormuz and Donald Trump repeating his threats to resume attacks on Iran.

Mediators Qatar and Pakistan said Washington and Tehran agreed to a roadmap towards ⁠a final deal within 60 days and that technical talks ​would continue for the rest of the week in the Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock .

The parties agreed to a mechanism to end Israel’s war in Lebanon and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passages for commercial ships through the Hormuz strait, ⁠ according to the joint statement which said that the first session of talks under the US-Iran agreement had concluded.

Just before the high-stakes talks officially began on Sunday, Fox News ​reported that Trump said he had told Iranian officials regarding the strait of Hormuz: “You close it and you won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your fucking country.” Trump also reiterated an earlier threat that the US would ‌take over the strait and possibly charge a toll of its own, it said.

In other developments:

The talks had a tense start, with Iranian negotiators walking out in protest against Trump’s threats . Iranian state media said the talks had entered a “difficult phase” and recessed after the “publication of an insulting message by the US president”. But high-level negotiations continued before concluding in the early hours of Monday, with Pakistan and Qatar saying technical talks between the two sides would continue for the rest of the week.

After Trump’s threats became public, the Iranian delegation refused to return to the room where talks were held , though messages were still being traded via Pakistani and Qatari mediators, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media his country had secured waivers for oil and petrochemical ⁠exports, the release of some frozen assets and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan for Iran. The US did not immediately comment on the claims.

Iran said at the weekend that it had again stopped maritime traffic through the ​Hormuz strait , in response to continuing fighting in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel, and that Sunday’s talks would not cover substantive issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.

In Switzerland , US vice-president JD Vance played down the impact of the violence in Lebanon , saying progress had been made towards ending hostilities there. “These things are always a little bit messy,” said Vance, leading the American delegation.

In the US, Trump threatened to resume attacks on Iran if it did not rein in its allies . “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said on social media, apparently referring to Hezbollah. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”

Despite Trump’s threats, Vance told reporters the US president had “asked us to turn over a new ⁠leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran”.

Five vessels passed the strait on Sunday, ​a sharp drop from the 26 ships spotted a day ​earlier , data from analytics firm Kpler showed. The data may exclude vessels that switch off their transponders while travelling in the Gulf.

Sunday appeared to be the quietest day in Lebanon for some time , with no reports of major violence by nightfall, after two days of heavy Israeli strikes, which killed many people including civilians, and fire from Hezbollah fighters on Israeli positions. Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon on Sunday saw some of the heaviest traffic since the memorandum of understanding was signed, with residents returning to their homes, some waving Hezbollah flags. With news agencies

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Argentina, Lionel Messi, World Cup 2026, Austria, World Cup, Football, Sport
Title – Messi and Argentina ready to turn up the heat after fast World Cup start | Argentina | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/nick-ames
Link – Messi and Argentina ready to turn up the heat after fast World Cup start | Argentina | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T02:10:16.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/22/lionel-messi-argentina-austria-world-cup

H ow do you build on perfection? It is the poser Argentina face before a match that, for all its prosaic appearance in the middle of a bloated group stage, may prove critical to their World Cup defence. Lionel Messi’s storybook entrance to the tournament set a near-impossibly high bar for football romantics; Austria may provide a sterner test than Algeria and perhaps progress, in this case, will simply be defined by getting the job done.

Messi will seek the goal that makes him this competition’s leading scorer of all time , a milestone he should reach in comfort over the coming days or weeks. The collective aim is clear enough, too. Argentina would rather not entertain finishing second in Group J, which would probably mean gritting their teeth for a last-32 meeting with Spain. Overcoming a ferocious, flawed Austria is the best way to postpone that level of test; Dallas, famed for its heady barbecue scene, is the perfect venue for an asado -loving nation to turn up the heat.

It is also a poignant location at which to make a mark. Twenty miles to the east of AT&T Stadium lies the enormous, storied Cotton Bowl. That was where Diego Maradona, about to be thrown out of USA 94 for ephedrine doping, played his final game for Argentina . Dallas is the city where, as he famously told a press conference at the Four Seasons hotel after learning his fate, “they cut off my legs”.

The thousands of albiceleste who watch inside Monday’s more modern stage, the mind-bendingly vast home of the Dallas Cowboys, hope Maradona’s successors break into a gallop. A new chant has been doing the rounds among those following them around the US, referring to “the cup that was stolen from the No 10, the one they did not let us lift”. If Argentina need any extra motivation to dismiss Ralf Rangnick’s side, or indeed to supply Messi with his latest crowning moment, then they can always harness the song’s promises of revenge.

Not that further incentives should be required. Argentina can enjoy a far brighter picture than at this point in Qatar, when they needed to smartly repair damage caused by defeat to Saudi Arabia . Back then they gave truth to the adage that a team rarely finishes a tournament as it began; now they are tasked with resoundingly disproving it. “It was really tough starting with that defeat but then the rest of the World Cup was amazing,” said Enzo Fernández, engaging in a considerably lower-octane audience with the media than Maradona had hosted in 1994. “Having started with a win it’s very favourable, it helps our confidence.”

Scaloni, who has cut a noticeably relaxed figure so far this summer, said the class of 2022 have refused to ease up. “I think we are on good lines,” he said. “Three-and-a-half years have gone but they haven’t let themselves go, they always want to improve. They still have a high level of intensity, there is always room for improvement and they have understood the message really well.”

Before the Algeria game, which became etched into the country’s folklore by Messi’s hat-trick , Scaloni said his side had shed the mochila – the backpack – that burdened them until their night of glory in Lusail . A pressure valve has been released: Argentina and Messi can operate with an inner calm that simply was not present in those attritional early games last time around.

What hope, then, for Rangnick? “If you look at the algorithm it probably says we won’t win,” he said, although the sense persisted that he was deliberately playing Austria’s chances down. “Let’s talk about weaknesses first, because there are none,” he replied when asked to provide an assessment of Argentina. “Nothing that we were able to observe.” His team’s intense pressing, referenced more than once by a respectful Scaloni, will need to be perfect if the reigning champions, more rhythmic and possession-based, are not to pick holes. Jordan caused Austria intermittent difficulties in San Francisco .

“Obviously they have the greatest player of all time in their team,” Rangnick said, proceeding to note that Messi’s propensity to lurk, rather than harry, adds to his threat. “We need to show the best performance we have made under my tenure.”

Perhaps they will also have to rely on any Argentinian missteps. There is always the outside chance emotion gets in the way. If the symbolism of Dallas was not enough, Monday is the 40th anniversary of the “Hand of God” or, for those who prefer it, Maradona’s bewitching solo goal against England . “Maybe we will see it everywhere tomorrow and maybe we will cry a little too,” said Scaloni, who was referring to the latter and recalled watching it at his grandmother’s house.

The scene is set for Messi to imbue the date with fresh significance. Scaloni was asked what he would wish for his captain, who is competing here while his father, Jorge, undergoes medical treatment , when he turned 39 on Wednesday. “My wish is for him to be happy,” he said. Messi and Argentina, both in radiant form, aim to continue bringing the joy.

Keyword – Fashion
Trefwoorden – Yves Saint Laurent, Fashion, Life and style, Photography, Art and design, Exhibitions, Museums, New York, Culture, Irving Penn
Title – Fashion goes pop! How Yves Saint Laurent created photography magic – in pictures | Yves Saint Laurent | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/briana-ellis-gibbs
Link – Fashion goes pop! How Yves Saint Laurent created photography magic – in pictures | Yves Saint Laurent | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T09:00:27.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/gallery/2026/jun/17/yves-saint-laurent-created-photography-magic

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – South Africa, Ultrarunning, World news, Africa, Sport
Title – Sweat, tears and camaraderie as 20,000 runners take on world’s largest ultramarathon | South Africa | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/rachel-savage
Link – Sweat, tears and camaraderie as 20,000 runners take on world’s largest ultramarathon | South Africa | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T08:00:24.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/21/comrades-ultramarathon-south-africa

I n the early morning dark, thousands of runners waited, jostling with anticipation. South Africa’s national anthem rang out. Then the haunting swell of Shosholoza , first sung by Zimbabwean migrant workers in South Africa’s goldmines. Finally, that unmistakable, spine-tingling piano: Chariots of Fire.

Runners gather before the start of the marathon

5am. A cock crowed. A gun fired. The runners streamed across the start line of the Comrades marathon.

The Comrades is the world’s oldest and largest ultramarathon. The first race in 1921 took the runners 54.6 miles (88km) from Pietermaritzburg downhill to Durban on the coast. The following year the race was run in reverse, uphill back to Pietermaritzburg, and it has changed direction every year since, pausing only for the second world war and the Covid-19 pandemic. Over its 99 iterations, the route distance has averaged just under 55 miles.

L-R clockwise: Athletes gather before the start of the Comrades Marathon in Durban; supporters gathered to watch the start of the 2026 Comrades; the race begins

That first year, 34 runners, all white men, lined up for the race, conceived by the first world war veteran Vic Clapham as a way of honouring his fallen comrades. Sixteen of them finished. More than a century later, on 14 June, more than 20,000 people stood outside Durban city hall, hoping to make it to Pietermaritzburg before the 12-hour cutoff.

What started as an all-white, all-male test of physical endurance has become part of the fabric of South African life, something so ordinary that you would be hard-pressed to find someone here who does not know a Comrades finisher.

Running clubs bus in from all over the country. Security guards and shop workers line up alongside bankers and celebrities. And, for one day, every June, South Africa’s searing racial inequality seems to melt away.

Nomusa Shelembe, from the Run Alex team, passes through Pinetown

You hear it all around the race: every runner has their reason. William Seleka started running in March 2025, amid a deep depression after the break-up of his marriage. “I thought for me to stay alive, I had to keep myself busy,” he said, as he stretched before a run, outside the single room he rents in the Johannesburg township of Alexandra, two weeks before Comrades.

Seleka was persuaded to join Run Alex , a local club. Six months later, having never run further than 10km, he finished a 50km ultramarathon, from Johannesburg to Pretoria.

“I used to hear people saying, ‘This is Comrades, you are running from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.’ I said, ‘It’s insane, you can’t do that.’ But now we are facing reality – I’m doing that as well,” he said.

To train, Seleka ran at least 10km every weekday evening, after a day spent repairing appliances for fridge-maker Smeg. On Saturdays, the 38-year-old would run up to 50km with Run Alex. “Recovery,” he said, was a half marathon.

Seleka said he wanted to create a legacy for his 15-year-old son and three-year-old daughter. “I can’t wait to have my red cap and the medal to show my kids.”

William Seleka

On a Comrades “up run”, runners must climb about 1,800 metres (5,900ft) on their journey to Pietermaritzburg, 650 metres higher than Durban . This year, runners started in three batches, at 5am, 5.15am and 5.30am.

About 12 miles into the race, the sun began peeking above the horizon in Pinetown, a suburb above Durban. “Let’s go! Let’s go!” spectators shouted. Seleka appeared up the hill. “Good to see you,” he beamed, sweeping in for a glancing hug.

In 1923, Frances Hayward became the first woman to start and finish the Comrades. In 1935, Robert Mtshali was the first black man to complete the race. Nonetheless, with only white men officially allowed to compete, the Comrades seemed fated to stay what most ultramarathons remain today – a niche, elite pursuit.

L-R: A runner receives a leg-rub from a volunteer along the route in Camperdown; spectators cheer on the runners in Pinetown

That changed in 1975 when the privately run race was desegregated and also opened to women. South Africa at the time had been shut out of all major global sporting events in response to apartheid, driving the sport-obsessed country mad.

“Some people in the sporting world in South Africa had the idea that if they start desegregating some minor sports … it’ll show that South Africa is not as backward and racist a place as it’s made out to be,” said Ryan Lenora Brown, a journalist who has been covering the Comrades since 2017.

Then there was the introduction of TV in 1976. The single, heavily censored state channel started showing Comrades highlights. In 1986, it broadcast the entire, all-day race in full.

South Africans were mesmerised by the sight of delivery driver Hoseah Tjale going toe to toe with Bruce Fordyce, a professional athlete who won eight Comrades in a row from 1981.

Runners fill the road from Durban to Pietermaritzburg

“You would have these scenes in the 1980s of a white runner sharing a bottle of water with a black runner, which was such a small gesture, but such a huge thing in that society that was so divided,” said Brown.

Apartheid had forced black South Africans on to the lowest rungs of society. But Tjale and Sam Tshabalala, the first black man to win Comrades in 1989, were proof that they could do anything.

L-R: Supporters take photos with a runner in Pinetown; spectators line the route out of Camperdown

As the runners left Durban, they wound their way upwards through lush trees, open fields and small towns. Families braaied by the roadside. Running clubs handed out supplies from gazebos pumping out music. Everybody was cheering the runners, willing them on.

By the halfway point, most were walking up each hill. At the Run Alex aid station, Seleka changed into a spare pair of shoes. It was the wrong choice: by 34 miles he was in agony. The only way he could distract himself from the pain was by counting or singing.

William Seleka near Camperdown

“I’m not a person who goes to church,” he said. “But on that day I started to sing. I don’t know where those songs came from.”

Around 46 miles, Seleka found another Run Alex aid station and put on a clubmate’s shoes. He pushed on.

The light turned golden. Some runners danced across the finish line, arms outstretched. Some were arm in arm, complete strangers who had become friends on the road. Many stumbled over the line, or collapsed and were carried away on waiting stretchers.

Darkness began to fall. Guns were fired for the first 12-hour cutoff, and then the second. Around a third of Comrades runners finish in the final hour .

An official prepares to fire the shot to mark the final 12-hour cutoff

South Africa’s pacing “buses” are unique in long-distance running for their size and camaraderie, racers singing and chanting, led by a metronomic pacer, known as a bus driver. Perhaps the biggest cheer of the day came when the final 12-hour bus driver, Shahieda Thungo , crossed the line at 11:56:34, carrying dozens of runners home with her. About 91% of runners finished this year, according to The Running Mann blog.

L-R: Jenny Da Silva misses the 12-hour cutoff time by seconds; an exhausted runner rests shortly after crossing the finish line in Pietermaritzburg

Then there were those who just missed the cutoff. At exactly 5.30pm, a wall of people stepped across the finish line. Two women ran into them, seconds short. One, wearing the green bib of a 10-time finisher, doubled over in anguish, her face in her hands.

Seleka cried as he crossed the line at 10:30:49. He was thinking of his sister, whose kidneys failed in 2018. “At the start, everything changed,” he said. “I said this pain today is for my younger sister.”

A runner crosses the finish line of the 2026 Comrades Marathon in Pietermaritzburg

Everyone needs a reason if they are to finish the Comrades, said Seleka, who was already planning his race next year. “If you’re going through a lot, once you say why, then it’s a mission,” he said. “After Comrades is accomplished, it’s a new chapter again.”

Keyword – Global
Trefwoorden – Newsletter sign-up
Title – Sign up for The Long Wave newsletter: our weekly Black life and culture email | Newsletter sign-up | The Guardian
Author – Guardian Staff
Link – Sign up for The Long Wave newsletter: our weekly Black life and culture email | Newsletter sign-up | The Guardian
Publish date – 2024-10-16T12:47:09.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/global/2024/oct/16/sign-up-for-the-long-wave-newsletter-our-weekly-black-life-and-culture-email

Keyword – Culture
Trefwoorden – Dark Mofo, Swimming, Tasmania, Hobart, Festivals
Title – Bare bums brave the cold for Hobart’s Dark Mofo annual nude solstice swim – in pictures | Dark Mofo | The Guardian
Author –
Link – Bare bums brave the cold for Hobart’s Dark Mofo annual nude solstice swim – in pictures | Dark Mofo | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T02:38:44.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2026/jun/22/dark-mofo-nude-solstice-swim-hobart-tasmania-in-pictures

Keyword – Business
Trefwoorden – Global economy, Economics, Oil, Commodities, Interest rates, Inflation, Business, US-Israel war on Iran, World news
Title – Trump hails Iran deal but conflict continues to cast long shadow over global economy | Global economy | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/heatherstewart,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/phillipinman
Link – Trump hails Iran deal but conflict continues to cast long shadow over global economy | Global economy | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T12:24:47.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/21/trump-iran-deal-long-shadow-global-economy

Hailing his Iran deal this week amid the excess of Versailles, Donald Trump urged sceptics to take Wall Street’s word for its success. “There is nothing as smart as the market – and the market loves it,” he said, claiming credit for ending the economic chaos that had kicked off when he started bombing Iran in late February. Without the agreement, he said, “the alternative would be a worldwide depression”.

By the weekend, the outlook was less optimistic after planned US-Iran peace talks in Switzerland were abruptly called off , then reinstated, and Iran said Israeli bombing in Jordan meant it was justified in closing the strait of Hormuz again. Still, hopes persist that the sea passage carrying about 20% of the world’s oil supplies will reopen fully in the coming days and weeks.

If the oil does start to flow more freely again, it should forestall the shortages of key products, such as jet fuel, that some analysts had predicted would occur if the war persisted.

Energy markets are already anticipating the hoped-for resurgence in supply: the cost of a barrel of crude oil dropped below $80 a barrel after the agreement was announced, for the first time since the early days of the war.

Yet governments are still counting the economic costs of a war they did not want any part of.

The severity of the impact varies by region. Gulf economies, which have seen exports of their main revenue-raiser choked off and found themselves the target of Iranian bombs, are expected to plunge into recession. Analysts at Oxford Economics are expecting GDP in the region to decline by 2.6% this year.

Economic growth in the US, now a net energy exporter, has remained strong, with stock markets bolstered by the AI investment boom, and SpaceX just the first of a series of mega market launches expected this year.

But American drivers are paying $1 a gallon more for petrol than a year ago, and economy-wide inflation in the US has surged to 4.2% , its highest rate in three years – news that Trump greeted by claiming: “I love the inflation.”

Trump’s newly appointed pick as Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, was chosen in the hope he would deliver a string of interest rate cuts.

In fact, Warsh is likely to face pressure to raise borrowing costs in the coming months. Dario Perkins, the head of global research at the consultancy TS Lombard, said that of the leading central banks, “as the economy has remained strong and inflation has increased, the Fed is probably going to increase rates the most, maybe as much as four times (to a range of 4.5% to 5%) by the end of next year”.

He said the US economy had remained strong thanks to consumers running down their savings to continue spending, while shoppers in the UK and continental Europe had been more circumspect. “The euro consumer, while they have savings, are more worried about the war and its outcome,” he said.

In the EU, which is heavily reliant on gas imports, the European Central Bank (ECB) has already raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, in the hope of choking off surging inflation.

The impact on prices in the UK has been somewhat more muted, with inflation hitting 2.8% in April and interest rates on hold for the moment – but confidence has been hit hard and the jobs market remains weak.

Sanjay Raja, the chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank, said inflation would rise further – perhaps by up to another percentage point – in the coming months. “All of the data suggests that there’s something coming – we are going to see some pressure.” However, he expects the downward effect on growth to be relatively modest – knocking up to a quarter of a percentage point off GDP growth.

Many developing countries have been forced to ration fuel in the face of rocketing prices and are braced for the impact of surging fertiliser costs over the coming months.

This “demand destruction” – cutting back on usage when prices become unaffordable – may be part of the reason why oil prices have not surged even higher since February.

Raja argues it is also because countries including China have been able to rely on strategic oil supplies, some of which may not have been known about by analysts.

Despite Trump’s bullishness, his tentative agreement with Iran leaves many questions unanswered and will not immediately draw a line under the economic damage caused by the war.

Ryan Sweet, the chief global economist at the consultancy Oxford Economics, said: “The difficulty of quantifying the economic cost is that the economic timeline doesn’t equal the military timeline, so we’re still going to be feeling the economic impact of this through the rest of this year and potentially early next.”

He pointed out that while Trump had stressed that the strait of Hormuz would reopen, the details remained hazy. “There’s still the risk that tolls are imposed on ships, or the number of ships that go through the strait is a lot less than before the conflict – there’s still a lot of uncertainty around that.”

Fears remain that hostilities could yet be reignited – for example, if Trump comes to doubt that Tehran is serious about winding down its nuclear plans.

Trump is also facing some pushback against the deal at home, even from Republicans. Neil Shearing, the chief global economist at the consultancy Capital Economics, said policymakers should view the agreement as fragile.

“It’s a good start. But there are several ways the deal can fall apart. Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah and Lebanon, Iran exploiting its chokehold over the strait of Hormuz, and a dispute over how to limit Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”

He added that the oil markets may be too sanguine about the next few months. “Our modelling of the oil price shows that prices of Brent crude should be about $90 a barrel in the third quarter and $80 a barrel in the fourth quarter. However, the market has raced ahead and is already pricing oil at $80. That’s a Goldilocks outcome to the war when there is plenty more negotiating to be done.”

Matt Gertken, the chief geopolitical strategist at BCA Research, said in a recent research note that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding “should not be seen as a complete and durable peace deal that uncorks the global commodity bottleneck and concludes the war”.

Instead, he said, “we would still assign a 60% chance of renewed fighting after the midterm [elections in the US] as President Trump gains a window, from 4 November 2026 until the end of 2027, to try to get better terms and better implementation”.

Even if the deal holds, many economists are wary of assuming the energy markets will quickly snap back to normal.

First, that is because it will take time for Gulf oil infrastructure to be restored and for the backlog of ships stuck in the region to transit through the strait and beyond.

Second, and more worrying, there is a risk that by illustrating so starkly Iran’s ability to choke off Gulf oil supplies at will, the conflict may have permanently increased the cost of some commodities by prompting firms to build more slack into their supply chains. As Sweet put it: “I think there’s going to be a long shadow from this.”

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, World Cup, US television, Fox, Football, Television, Television & radio, Media, Culture, Sport, Thierry Henry, US sports
Title – The French aristocrat and the all-American idiot: Henry v Lalas is the World Cup’s most compelling battle | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/aaron-timms
Link – The French aristocrat and the all-American idiot: Henry v Lalas is the World Cup’s most compelling battle | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T09:00:27.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/21/thierry-henry-alexi-lalas-fox-world-cup

W e all know someone like Alexi Lalas. He’s the ranter whose rants never actually say anything, the life of the party at the party no one enjoys attending, the “big personality” who’s always misjudging the size of the room. He’s corporate America’s idea of a fun guy, the type of workplace “character” whose business trip hangover never stops him from being first at the hotel breakfast buffet, hair wet, Untuckit shirt untucked. He would absolutely dominate karaoke night at a conference on infrastructure finance. If only this were the limit of Alexi Lalas’s actual impact on the world, our culture would live in blessed ignorance of his existence. But in the real world Alexi Lalas is not a small-time menace working the floor at an infrastructure conference. In the real world Alexi Lalas is American soccer’s brightest media star, and he is everywhere this World Cup.

When Lalas’s Roger Ramjet jaw thrust into frame on Fox at the start of this tournament, it’s fair to assume that many viewers felt a sense of dread similar to that expressed in the Grand Theft Auto meme : “Ah shit, here we go again.” Lalas’s ubiquitousness every World Cup is American TV’s answer to the Iran war: no one wants it, everyone hates it, and as it drags on, it inevitably becomes a face-saving exercise in damage limitation. But there was also a glimmer of hope: for this tournament Fox has enlisted a pair of elite European strikers, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović, to terrorize Lalas and shake proceedings up. Steered by Rebecca Lowe, this new-look panel has promised a slightly more sophisticated approach to covering the tournament than the yahooing belligerence that was Fox’s stock in trade at the last two World Cups.

Zlatan is a dud, the late-career Samir Nasri of pundits – all minimal effort and visible exhaustion. But Henry is magnificent, which is no real surprise for those of us who follow his work through the Champions League season on CBS. And he has already begun to work his blood-twisting magic on the Maga hack at the far-right end of the panel. Brazil v Morocco, Netherlands v Japan, and France v Senegal have all had their admirers, but for sheer drama and eviscerating beauty they have not come close to matching Fox’s on-set title fight. The French aristocrat v the all-American idiot: Henry-Lalas is the real battle of this World Cup .

Henry’s now-viral humiliation of Lalas in the studio kickaround segment the other day – passing the ball with one foot then dragging it away with the other, leaving the defender with 96 caps for the United States to dance with thin air – was absolutely filthy, and in the arena of on-set debate the action has been no less processional. This has been less a battle than a slow-motion scalping, and the good news is it still has weeks left to run.

In contrast to the gormless agreeability and exhausting talkiness that reign on American TV, Henry is a wonderfully unimpressed on-screen presence, all raised eyebrows, frozen double takes, lip quivers and ashen shrugs. But he’s more than just an assembly of rehearsed gestures; he also has a lively mind and a sharp sense of humor. Whenever Titi’s sleek dome pops up on screen, you instantly know what you’re going to get: astute in-game observations, learned references to tactical history and a memorable facial expression or two. Lalas, to use a bit of managerial jargon for players of less refined talents, “offers something different”. Grating contrarianism, relentless jingoism, and a boorish insistence on America as the sport’s future constitute the core of his offering.

Lalas enjoyed a solid playing career, but he’s obviously not in the same league as Henry, widely considered the greatest footballer in Premier League history. This vast gulf in on-field pedigree has become more awkward as the tournament has progressed, with Lalas retreating into a meek silence whenever Henry reveals his depth of footballing experience. In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.

If Clint Dempsey represents soccer’s version of the American dream – growing up in a trailer park and overcoming poverty, hardship, and family tragedy to become arguably the USMNT’s greatest-ever player – Lalas may be the American nightmare: the man who soared into the national consciousness in 1994 in a blaze of kick-ups and flaming hair has ended up an international joke. Once, he sang crunchy dad rock and charmed the Olsen twins; now, he’s on X defending ads during the hydration breaks and quote-tweeting accounts with 197 followers to let us all know how “proud” he is to call the sport soccer, not football (for the last time: WHO CARES?).

Contrast this with Henry. The Frenchman’s voice – the hooting vowels, the fleshy emphases, the rounded Rs delivered out the side of the mouth – adds a dusting of Euro flair to everything he says. Among Henry’s many gifts as a broadcaster is an awareness that it is not always necessary to speak loudly to make an impression. Lalas never says anything of substance but when he does open his mouth the emerging inanity is always delivered at full volume: “IT’S GO TIME!” Maybe there was once a time when Lalas offered American soccer a kindler, gentler, more reflective face. But that time is long past. While Lalas rants and states the obvious (“We need Christian Pulisic to step up!”), Henry is a model of cosmopolitan calm – and it’s in this contrast of approaches, rather than any direct confrontation, that the meat of their battle resides.

Often over the course of the tournament’s opening days it has felt as if Lalas’s fellow panelists are laboring under a contractual obligation to find him interesting, a burden felt in every strained nod in agreement and forced round of laughter at a signature “bit”. The tirades, the improvised bars, the crescendoes to nothing: Lalas has given us the full package so far this tournament, and his studio mates have dutifully done their best to appear to find the man fun and insightful.

In the half-time recap of France v Senegal, Lalas described the French as “lacksadaiscal” (an autological mangling that, in Lalas’s own lazy attempt to pronounce the word “lackadaisical”, unintentionally expressed the very property described), drawing particular attention to the defending on a golden chance for Senegal that Ismaïla Sarr sprayed over the crossbar. “Sarr! Over the bar! Hit it far!” Lalas exclaimed, a trademark rhyme that elicited polite smiles from Lowe and Ibrahimovic. Henry, meanwhile, laughed and shook his head in mock wonder, repeating the words “Sarr over the bar” in the manner of a fond parent congratulating his five-year-old on successfully rhyming “cat” with “mat”. The beauty of Henry’s performance in this epic TV mismatch is that his cloak of Gallic outrecuidance has lent the contempt in which he plainly holds Lalas a measure of deniability. Is Henry mean, or is he just French?

At points Ibrahimovic has made it clear that he shares this disdain for the unquiet American, but he can’t touch Henry’s variety and subtlety when it comes to showing Lalas up. The French legend is not afraid to learn new things and study up on countries and players he’s not familiar with; Lalas gives the impression that he does not need to do any work for the simple reason that he’s American, and America, baby, is No 1. Titi’s contributions in the lead-up to USA v Australia on Friday included an incisive defense of counterattacking football, and a surprisingly deep dissection of the abilities of Socceroos midfielders Connor Metcalfe and Paul Okon-Engstler, two players it’s fair to assume that few in Australia – let alone America – had known much about until a few weeks ago.

Over in Seattle, meanwhile, with a crush of American fans at his back, Lalas called Socceroos defender Alessandro Circati “Cicada”. With that out of the way, he returned to regular programming: “America wants to celebrate America and this team is giving America a reason to celebrate America, and man oh man Rob Stone, ain’t that America?”

The kind of trollish, hyperventilating garbage that Lalas specializes in is standard fare on sports cable, but it’s a weird fit for soccer, whose global reach compels a kind of analytical modesty. It also runs counter to the sport’s prevailing cultural politics. Soccer in the US is the domain of migrants, urban liberals and anyone too scrawny for the bigger homegrown sports. There’s a strange mismatch between soccer as it actually exists throughout the United States and the red-meat Americana of Fox’s World Cup coverage, and no one better embodies this incongruence than the network’s resident carrot. While USMNT players expound thoughtfully on the importance of Juneteenth, vocal Trump supporter Lalas is busy doing promo videos for the Department of Homeland Security. (No doubt he would have loved the DHS’s hilarious tweet claiming the US’s heroic defensive effort in the second half against Australia as a variety of Trumpian xenophobia.) For Fox to turn a man as partisan, bullying and unlikeable as Lalas into American soccer’s figurehead is the media equivalent of getting John Wayne Gacy to perform at a children’s birthday party.

But now – improbably and perhaps accidentally – Fox has offered US viewers a living example of how much better they could have it, of what the beautiful game might look like on TV with the Lalasian headlights dimmed.

If the culture of American soccer – including on TV – moves in the same positive direction as matters on the pitch, the sport should eventually outgrow Lalas. In years to come, his brand of on-screen thuggery may even be remembered as the relic of a less enlightened era, as a kind of footballing minstrelsy. Maybe the retrospective embarrassment associated with Lexi the loinmaster will be so strong that he’ll be disappeared from the archival footage of this tournament altogether, like a purged party official in Stalinist Russia, and the scenes he once hogged will just show 30 seconds of mystifying silence with Carli Lloyd saying “right on” at the end. We can dream.

In the meantime we have this: the vindicating spectacle of a footballing lord showing up on set every day through this World Cup and coolly nutmegging Fox’s house clown into oblivion. In many ways, this is better.

Keyword – UK news
Trefwoorden – Scotland, UK news
Title – Taxi and Uber rider targeted in suspected anti-Muslim attacks in Edinburgh, say witnesses | Scotland | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/severincarrell
Link – Taxi and Uber rider targeted in suspected anti-Muslim attacks in Edinburgh, say witnesses | Scotland | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T19:06:31.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/21/taxi-uber-rider-targeted-suspected-anti-muslim-attacks-edinburgh-witnesses

Witnesses to the alleged knife attacks on Muslims and others in Edinburgh on Friday have described seeing a taxi and an Uber bike courier being targeted in Leith.

The attacks, suspected of being directed against Muslims and people of colour, began near a mosque in the west of Edinburgh, followed by incidents on Leith Walk in the east of the city.

Late on Saturday night, police confirmed a 38-year-old white Scottish man had been charged in connection with a number of incidents, and that five men aged between 22 and 39 had been injured, four of whom were taken to hospital for treatment.

Police Scotland said its counter-terrorism unit was involved in the investigation, which also included alleged threats, robbery and vandalism, but it had not yet declared it a terrorist incident.

On Sunday afternoon, about 100 local people, including several MSPs, councillors and activists from the Living Rent tenants’ union and Scottish Green party, gathered on Leith Walk close to the location for a hastily arranged rally.

Nat Gorodnitski, a climate campaigner who co-organised the demonstration, said it was intended to prove the attack was an aberration. “My hope is whoever is living in the area, who’s afraid to leave their homes or feels unsafe, this will say ‘you’re safe, you belong here’.”

Hasan Eren, the owner of Best Kebab House on Leith Walk, said he and his colleagues were in the Victoria bar close to the site of the alleged attacks on the street at about 9.30pm on Friday evening. Many local people were gathering to watch Scotland’s World Cup fixture against Morocco.

Footage on social media appeared to show a bare-chested white man brandishing a bladed instrument kicking and hitting the door of Origano pizza takeaway as pedestrians scattered, leading to staff bringing its remotely operated shutters down.

Eren recalled seeing the assailant allegedly attacking a minicab, kicking at it before apparently throwing a metal object and smashing one of the cab’s windows, terrifying a passenger, after appearing to chase pedestrians with a weapon.

The attacker then allegedly assaulted an Uber cycle courier with some form of bladed weapon, hitting him several times. Eren said he and other witnesses were shouting at the alleged assailant, urging him to stop and leave the cyclist alone.

Eren, originally from north London, said he had run Best Kebab House for 20 years and had never witnessed this level of violence in the area. “I love Leith, man,” he said. “I have come across lots of fights, but nothing like that.”

The alleged assailant was detained by police carrying stun guns; Eren said that as the police arrived the suspect allegedly threw the blade away, dropped to the ground and put his hands behind his head before laying down on the road, and did not resist arrest.

Footage on social media appeared to record him shouting he was “protecting the country”.

Another local man, Kenny, 53, who declined to give his full name, said he saw the police restraining the suspect on the road. “Everyone is a bit befuddled by it,” he said. “It’s a very nicely integrated community. There’s the problem with drugs – going back to the 80s – but they’re mostly harmless … it’s very multinational. People from all sorts of countries and backgrounds around here.”

Ava, 22, who works in Origano’s sister restaurant nearby and is originally from Leeds, said: “As a woman of colour, it’s scary seeing the way hatred has been whipped up. Everything that has been happening in Belfast and Southport, the level of comfortability that these people have expressing rightwing and horrendous racist views.”

Police Scotland said it received initial reports of two men being injured in the Sighthill area near Broomhouse mosque, both of whom were taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Three men were then injured in Telford Road at Crewe Toll, also in the west of the city, and then on Leith Walk.

Footage from west Edinburgh also showed another minicab allegedly attacked during the incident. A further incident was reported at Craigleith in northern Edinburgh, where a driver allegedly hit a food courier on their bike, before chasing them with a large blade.

John Swinney will meet members of Edinburgh’s Muslim community on Monday. “There is no place for race-based or faith-based violence in Scotland,” the first minister said on Sunday. “My thoughts are with all who have been impacted – the victims but also the communities who are understandably [made] anxious by what happened.”

Swinney said people must “stand united in utter condemnation” of the “heinous” attacks. He said allegations of anti-Muslim hatred were “abhorrent”, adding: “We must not allow recent attempts to stoke fear to divide us.

“Everyone who lives in Scotland – those that were born here and those that have decided to make Scotland their home – epitomise Scotland’s values of hope, tolerance and solidarity. These are values that must be cherished, nurtured and protected. We must all come together to ensure that.

“I want to reassure communities that my government will lead from the front in tackling all forms of violence, division and prejudice.”

Ben Macpherson, the Scottish National party MSP for Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith, said: “What happened on Friday was really shocking and our thoughts are with the people who were hurt [but] Leith is a place of pluralism and different nationalities, ethnicities, religions, we’re not going to let this situation disrupt that or distract from that.”

Kate Nevens, a Scottish Greens MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, said: “I love this neighbourhood, it has so much love and generosity of spirit. Obviously this is a horrible thing to have happened anywhere, but it does really feel like it’s hitting at the heart of Edinburgh.”