Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, World Cup, Football, Sport
Title – The 2026 World Cup team of the tournament so far (without the superstars) | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/john-brewin,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/billy-munday,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/marcuschristenson
Link – The 2026 World Cup team of the tournament so far (without the superstars) | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T04:00:21.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/21/the-2026-world-cup-team-of-the-tournament-so-far-without-the-superstars

Vozinha (Cape Verde, goalkeeper)

A star was born, at 40, when a player whose highest-profile employers were Portugal’s Gil Vicente, denied Spain’s all-stars in that historic 0-0 draw . His Christian name being Josimar may well have pointed to him being a nascent World Cup cult hero. So huge was his impact that the US authorities, on the orders of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, waived the visa fee and $15,000 (£11,300) bond for his mother, now able to fly in for her boy’s continuing adventures. Seven saves from Spain have made him a global social media sensation, too.

Vladimir Coufal (Czechia, right-back)

With set-piece football so voguish in the club game, long-throw experts are at a premium. Coufal is 33, and a Hoffenheim player these days, though is widely recalled as a West Ham player. That the Hammers let go the man with the golden arm who created his country’s best chances – and their goal – against South Korea will not have escaped Hammers fans. In North America, he has been employed as a wing-back in a team who have best embodied the physical approach of the European mid-rankers.

Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo, centre-back)

The passage of time means there are now tougher tasks in football than denying Cristiano Ronaldo a goal but Portugal still possess other players of high attacking class. The Democratic Republic of the Congo closed every door down. Mbemba is not an unknown quantity, the Lille defender having been a Newcastle and Marseille player; he is best recalled in England for turning up pre-match at St James’ Park in a tuxedo. As his country secured their first ever World Cup finals point, he led the defensive effort. The stats show that Ronaldo made 47 offers to receive the ball but only got it 10 times, as Mbemba was covering off the space, chopping down a tall tree as he did so.

Wilfried Singo (Côte d’Ivoire, centre-back)

Ecuador took a painful lesson in Philadelphia, John Yeboah and Alan Minda hitting the woodwork before they succumbed to a late goal from Amad Diallo . The architect of the winner was Galatasaray’s Singo, surging forward, his long run from defence taking him beyond tired opponents, and setting up Amad’s finish. Earlier, Singo’s running battle with the Ecuador striker Enner Valencia set the tone for a physical contest. He also caught the eye with an ambitious attempt at a bicycle kick.

Richie Laryea (Canada, left-back)

Canada’s buildup was dominated by the fitness doubts surrounding their captain, Alphonso Davies. Jesse Marsch has not needed to risk his talismanic left-back in the opening two games thanks to the performances of Laryea, who usually plays on the right. The Toronto FC defender is full of running and provides the sort of attacking threat Marsch demands, a real outlet in the 6-0 takedown of Qatar . Davies’ absence need not be such a hindrance.

Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco, midfielder)

Only declared for Morocco on 15 May, the France-born Lille midfielder’s performances against Brazil and Scotland have confirmed his reputation as one of the most promising players around. Almost a complete list of elite clubs are linked with an 18-year-old who pairs physical presence with an innate reading of the game. Both Casemiro and Scott McTominay were found wanting by Bouaddi’s presence. “A masterclass,” said Achraf Hakimi, the captain used to playing alongside the very best. These performances will come as no surprise to scouts, who know all about a player who already embodies a new, expansive Moroccan team.

Johan Manzambi (Switzerland, midfielder)

Granit Xhaka was not happy with the contribution of Switzerland’s substitutes in their 1-1 draw with Qatar. Without naming Manzambi, the captain lamented the way the team “no longer had the discipline in certain positions”. The 20-year-old’s impact off the bench against Bosnia and Herzegovina was emphatic. Xhaka denied the Freiburg forward the chance to complete his hat-trick with a late penalty, laying another marker that discipline and the collective remain key.

Yasin Ayari (Sweden, midfielder)

At the heart of Sweden’s commanding opening performance against Tunisia , and scoring two goals, was the Brighton midfielder, replicating early-season club form that fell victim to injury. Ayari, slight and willowy, pairs his creativity with energy and an aggression belying his physique. “That’s why I didn’t celebrate, because I feel a lot for the country,” he explained after scoring against the country of his father’s birth, having also shown why he is the latest Brighton player to be chased in the transfer market. He will cost a significant fee.

Elijah Just (New Zealand, right-winger)

Chris Wood, the striker expected to score his nation’s goals, turned supplier for both goals scored by the Motherwell man against Iran. Just’s first came from neat control of Wood’s flick followed by a thunderous finish, the second involved a run from midfield, another Wood flick, and an even better finish. The North Islander is coming off a fine Scottish Premiership season and had been linked with a move to Celtic but has now alerted suitors far and wide.

Folarin Balogun (USA, forward)

So far for the daddy hosts, Balogun has been the star of the tournament. The native New Yorker – by dint of an airline official – has been at the core of Mauricio Pochettino’s high-transition, speed-demon attack. “The kid’s insane,” said Christian Pulisic, who has been able to take a back seat and was benched against Australia as a precaution, while the Monaco man assumes centre stage and becomes an all-American hero. It was Balogun’s burst of speed and unplayable delivery that caused panic in the Australian ranks for Cameron Burgess’s opening own goal as progress to the last 32 was secured.

Julián Quiñones (Mexico, left-winger)

In Javier Aguirre’s pragmatic, often uninspiring Mexico team, that has still secured top spot in Group A with two wins, Quiñones has been the brightest spark. The 29-year-old, Colombia-born winger set the co-hosts on their way inside 10 minutes of the opener at the Azteca and does not lack for confidence, later trying to lob South Africa’s Ronwen Williams from a very long way out.

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – Spain, Pedro Sánchez
Title – Spanish PM’s wife to stand trial on corruption charges and banned from leaving country | Spain | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/oliver-holmes
Link – Spanish PM’s wife to stand trial on corruption charges and banned from leaving country | Spain | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T14:55:18.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/20/begona-gomez-pedro-sanchez-spanish-prime-minister-wife-corruption-trial

A judge in Spain has ruled that the wife of socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez must stand trial on corruption charges and has banned her from leaving the country.

Begoña Gómez had previously been charged after a two-year investigation with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds.

Gómez, 55, denies any wrongdoing in the case, which was triggered by a complaint from the group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a self-styled trade union with far-right links.

The judge in the case, Juan Carlos Peinado, ordered Gómez to surrender ​her passport, barred her ‌from leaving ‌Spain and required her to report to court twice a ‌month, according to a court order released on Saturday. She will face trial by jury on an unspecified date.

Sánchez had repeatedly dismissed the case against his wife as a baseless and politically motivated smear . The prime minister, an outspoken leftist leader in Europe, has accused his political and media opponents of pursuing his family and has also openly questioned the impartiality of some members of the judiciary .

The Socialist party quickly reacted to the judge’s ruling, posting on X: “(Begoña) has been ​subjected to judicial and political persecution for two years. Today’s development is another step in that process.”

The case is one of a series of corruption investigations that have plagued Sánchez, who came to power in 2018 by promising to end the graft that had mired the ruling conservative People’s party (PP).

Now, several investigations into Sánchez’s family and former top political allies threaten to topple the government.

Sánchez has not been named in any of the ‌cases but his brother, David, is accused of influence peddling while the former transport minister, José Luis Ábalos, is accused of taking kickbacks on public contracts . Both deny the accusations.

One of the most potentially damaging cases is against former socialist prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero – a titan of the Spanish left – who was placed under investigation last month for alleged influence peddling.

Zapatero, who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2011, defended his innocence during hearings this week.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

Keyword – US news
Trefwoorden – Washington DC, Donald Trump, Trump administration, US politics, US news
Title – Trump acknowledges ‘real problems’ at reflecting pool after $14m makeover, blaming ‘vandalism’ | Washington DC | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/anna-betts
Link – Trump acknowledges ‘real problems’ at reflecting pool after $14m makeover, blaming ‘vandalism’ | Washington DC | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T13:57:54.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/20/trump-reflecting-pool-renovation-vandalism

Donald Trump has blamed “vandalism” for “real problems” at Washington’s reflecting pool after an algae bloom in the wake of a $14.2m renovation of the site he declared would turn it “American flag” blue. Paint has also been seen peeling off in the water. He also made claims that vandals had been arrested.

Days after his administration claimed the pool was actually “crystal clear”, despite an unmistakably green hue, the US president acknowledged issues – and, without evidence, blamed foul play.

“We’ve cleaned, renovated, and beautified over 45 Monuments and Memorials, 28 Statues, and 22 Fountains in Washington, DC,” Trump wrote in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform on Friday night. “However, we’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial.”

Trump noted that “86 47” was recently etched onto a vast patch of grass nearby – “86” is frequently used across the restaurant industry to mean “stop” or to get rid of something, while Trump is the 47th president of the US – and claimed some people had “also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface” of the pool painted as part of the recent renovation.

“No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work,” Trump alleged, again without evidence.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday afternoon, Trump claimed, again with no evidence whatsoever, that “multiple individuals” had been arrested by US park police for “vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Poll”. “Who would do such a thing?” Trump wrote. “These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair.”

Trump also claimed in his post that the algae problem was largely under control, suggesting it was “75% gone” and the issue would soon be “completely remedied”.

Law enforcement is “actively investigating this situation”, he claimed, and “will hopefully have it resolved soon”. The Department of the Interior did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Trump’s statement.

A three-time US Olympian and canoeist was arrested on Friday after noticing a partly detached piece of the blue liner and reaching into the water to see what it felt like, he said.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” David Hearn, who had been cycling, told the Washington Post . “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”

Trump ordered a refurbishment project to turn the pool “American Flag blue” ahead of the country’s 250th birthday celebrations. The site – one of Washington DC’s most historically symbolic attractions – has been one element of his efforts to recondition Washington during his second term.

Just days after the renovation was finished , however, an algae bloom turned the water green . In response, National Park Service employees were deployed and seen using skimmers and adding hydrogen peroxide to the water in an attempt to restore the water quality.

In a statement on social media on Wednesday, the interior department declared that “advanced nanobubbler technology” had “very effectively killed the algae”, adding: “Our National Park Service team is now vacuuming up the dead algae resting on the bottom of some parts of the Reflecting Pool – just like the destroyed Iranian Navy resting on the bottom of the Persian Gulf.”

In reality, however, much of the water remained murky later in the week, with algae still visible in some areas, and large flakes of paint peeling from the basin and floating on the surface.

The Atlantic reported this weekend that laboratory testing it commissioned identified algae in the pool as Scenedesmus , a genus of green algae.

The project has also come under scrutiny over its contracting process. The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had awarded a no-bid contract to a business tied to a longtime supporter of the president to install the water-purification system in the pool.

Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who ran against Trump and JD Vance as the running mate of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Found an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn’t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went. The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell.”

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – Iran, US-Israel war on Iran, US foreign policy, US military, Pete Hegseth, Trump administration, US news, Middle East and north Africa, World news
Title – Four months after the horrific Iran school bombing, fears grow that Trump and Hegseth will bury the truth | Iran | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/roth-andrew
Link – Four months after the horrific Iran school bombing, fears grow that Trump and Hegseth will bury the truth | Iran | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T11:04:00.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/21/iran-school-bombing-minab-fears-trump-hegseth-bury-truth-investigation-findings

T he attack on a girl’s elementary school in the Iranian town of Minab was one of the US military’s deadliest civilian bombings in decades. But nearly four months on, the Pentagon has produced no answers about why the military fired a Tomahawk cruise missile into a school on the first day of the war, killing at least 175 people, mostly children.

Some critics doubt that the Pentagon ever will, or will bury the results under classifications to keep the worst mistakes secret from the public.

As the US signs a shaky memorandum of understanding on a ceasefire with Iran, the secretive investigation into the attack has also become a test case for the self-styled secretary of war Pete Hegseth’s new approach to what he calls “warfighting”. As he said in early March, nearly two weeks after the attack, “our rules of engagement are bold, precise and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it”.

Shortly after the attack, Donald Trump suggested that it was carried out by Iran. When it became clear that the strike used a US-made Tomahawk missile , he suggested that Iran also had access to the cruise missiles. It does not.

As he celebrated a ceasefire deal to open the strait of Hormuz last week, Trump signalled he was ready to write off the attack as a mistake. “It’s such a strange question to be asked at this date, because you’re talking about a long time ago,” Trump said when he was asked about the investigation during a press conference at the G7 meeting in Évian-les-Bains, France. “But nobody did that on purpose.”

It was at the beginning of what Trump has taken to calling a “little excursion” into Iran that the back-to-back or “double tap” strikes on the school building took place, killing mainly children under the age of 12. Officials have told media anonymously that the site was believed to be an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base.

Mohammadreza Ahmadi Tifakani lost two children in the school bombing. His seven-year-old daughter, Hanieh, was killed, along with all of her classmates in the girl’s section of the school, when the first missile hit. According to witnesses, her 10-year-old brother, Sobhan, survived the initial explosion and ran back to look for his sister. He was killed in the second blast.

“I personally went to the morgue and identified both of them,” Tifakani told the Guardian in an interview shortly after the attack. “Sobhan was missing an eye, and half of his face was gone. His legs were broken. Hanieh’s skull was fractured but her face was intact. I recognised Sobhan at first glance, even though he was severely injured.”

Trump said last week: “Mistakes are made. The war is nasty.”

Several former Pentagon and national security officials expressed doubt to the Guardian that the US government would take responsibility for the deaths of the schoolchildren in Minab or even release the full report into the attack.

“It’s very rare that you would have a military operation and not have some incidents where there was a mistaken target and civilians are harmed or killed, but then there is a system for investigating, assessing accountability and taking responsibility” in those cases, said one former senior Pentagon official.

“Even without the civilian harm mitigation office, there’s a very clear process for this, and I’m very doubtful that the Hegseth Pentagon will follow through,” the former official added.

As part of Hegseth’s “anti-woke” crusade at the Pentagon, the military has shuttered or reduced units meant to review civilian casualty incidents and has more broadly indicated that decisions made in combat by “warfighters” would not be subject to such close scrutiny. The reduction in civilian oversight at the Pentagon under Hegseth may make it easier to skirt blame for the incident.

The incident is comparable to some of the worst mass-casualty incidents of past US wars, including the 2017 Mosul airstrike that killed at least 105 and perhaps more than 200 civilians, the 2015 Kunduz hospital airstrike that killed 42 people, and the 1991 Amiriyah air raid shelter bombing that killed more than 400 Iraqi civilians who were sheltering during Desert Storm.

Trump said last week that the investigation was continuing. US Central Command, when asked about the investigation, gave no new information. “We have no updates at this time,” a defence official wrote.

But media reports indicate that the investigation has concluded. Preliminary results said the attack came because of the US using seven-year-old targeting data that failed to indicate that the building next to an IRGC base was in fact a girls’ school. The New York Times reported last week that at least one analyst had alerted a colleague several years ago that the US appeared to be targeting what was now a school in Minab. But the targeting data was not updated, and military officials continued to revalidate the site as a legitimate target for bombing.

Tifakani said at the time he had little hope of accountability from US investigations or the world. Asked what message he had for legal institutions or investigators looking into the bombing, he said: “They are witnessing everything themselves. We saw what happened in Gaza and Palestine. Now the same tragedy has befallen our own children. No matter what we say to them, that will not change anything.”

Congressional inquiries into the incident have also been stymied. “The US strike in Minab is one of the most horrific episodes of the entire illegal Trump war in Iran,” said Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian-American congresswoman who represents Arizona’s third district. She said she had written to the Trump administration to demand answers about the strike and “gotten little to no response”.

“Donald Trump is hiding the truth from the American people and Congress, and deflecting blame to Secretary Hegseth, because he does not want the public to know the true horrors of what he unleashed on the Iranian people with absolutely nothing to show for it,” Ansari said. “I will continue to do everything in my power to get answers for the families of these girls.”

Wes Bryant, a former US air force special operations targeting expert and former chief of civilian harm assessments at the Pentagon, said his few remaining colleagues overseeing civilian harm reduction at the Pentagon had been prevented from seeing the preliminary results of the investigation.

“I believe Hegseth and Trump are both going to do everything they can to suppress this investigation,” he said. “So, even if there is one really sitting there, it’s not getting out any more, unless we have, you know, a brave whistleblower.” He added: “The amount of people with eyes on that report are going to be very small.”

He said strikes in Iran that had killed thousands of civilians were a sign of the rising “aggregate harm” that the US was willing to accept as part of a culture of that pointed to “pure negligence and recklessness, but also to a degradation of culture at senior leadership levels in the military”.

Early in his tenure as secretary of defence, Hegseth moved to close down or severely reduce civilian oversight of the Pentagon’s civilian harm mitigation and response, and a report released in May by the department’s inspector general concluded that the US military no longer had the people, tools or infrastructure needed to comply with two federal statutes requiring it to maintain a functioning civilian casualty policy and operate a civilian protection centre of excellence.

In September, Hegseth said publicly that he had done away with “stupid rules of engagement” for the US military as part of an anti-woke revamping of the Pentagon. In March, weeks after the strike on the school, as the US campaign against Iran continued at a fever pitch, he boasted: “Warfighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly.”

Observers have said the remarks and shuttering of key offices have limited civilian oversight at the Pentagon, with one former official saying the US “threw in the trash the whole mitigating civilian harm strategy”.

Niku Jafarnia, the acting deputy Washington director for Human Rights Watch, said: “Hegseth himself has publicly expressed a lot of his scepticism around the amount of measures that we had in the military previously to mitigate these types of reckless errors and massive civilian harm incidents.

“He has publicly expressed scepticism about the value of constraints on fighters, and he has taken actions that have systematically weakened some of these protection measures that are supposed to ensure compliance with the law.”

Pointing to Hegseth’s earlier public remarks about “untying the hands of our warfighters” and ignoring “stupid rules of engagement”, she added: “I think we saw the effects of that on day one of the war.”

Keyword – Environment
Trefwoorden – Porpoises, Endangered species, Conservation, Cetaceans, 3D, Technology, Marine life, Environment, Wildlife, Zoology, Science
Title – Skeleton of the world’s rarest marine mammal preserved by digital imaging | Porpoises | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/matthew-pearce
Link – Skeleton of the world’s rarest marine mammal preserved by digital imaging | Porpoises | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T11:00:02.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/20/vaquita-porpoise-worlds-rarest-skeleton-preserved-digital-imaging-aoe

Scientists have created a digital reconstruction of the world’s most endangered marine mammal, preserving its anatomy in three dimensions to aid research and conservation efforts as the species teeters on the brink of extinction.

The project digitised the skeleton of a female vaquita, a small porpoise found only in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California, using a combination of medical imaging, ultra-high-resolution micro CT scans and photography.

Researchers have made the imaging freely available online to ensure that the complete skeleton – of which only a few are thought to exist – can be studied by scientists around the world without risking damage to the rare and fragile physical specimens.

Jamie Knaub, the study’s lead author and a doctoral researcher at Florida Atlantic University, said: “We want to influence conservation and awareness of the vaquita, but what it boils down to is open access datasets for biodiversity.

“There’s this whole web [of information] that can be shared to study biodiversity, conservation, evolution – there’s so many things that can come from one dataset.”

A 1997 survey reported about 600 vaquitas in the wild. Today, the WWF estimates there are between seven and 10 , making it the rarest marine mammal on Earth.

Its decline has been driven by bycatch in gillnets used by illegal fisheries targeting totoaba, a large fish whose bladder commands high prices on international hidden markets.

The research team, led by Florida Atlantic University, San Diego Natural History Museum, SeaWorld California and Noaa Fisheries, based the project on a complete female skeleton collected in 1966.

The study, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science , combined hospital-grade CT scanning with microscopic CT imaging capable of revealing structures smaller than the width of a human hair. Thousands of scan slices were then assembled into three-dimensional models of every bone.

The techniques allowed researchers to create a highly detailed model, from the overall skeleton down to microscopic bone structures.

Because vaquita skeletons are so rare, access to them is limited. Knaub said the imaging could be used to produce accurate replicas for museum exhibits and classrooms, helping introduce more people to the species.

Advances in imaging technology over the past decade have increased efforts to digitise museum collections. Digitised projects such as oVert in the US and Ozboneviz in Australia aim to make rare specimens accessible to researchers worldwide, removing the need to rely on photographs or gain permission to examine delicate originals.

“There’s a lot of people who don’t have access to museum specimens, or museums are wary of loaning out specimens because of how fragile or rare they are,” Knaub said.

The vaquita was only recognised as a species in 1958 . Growing to about 5ft in length, it is the smallest member of the whale, dolphin and porpoise family and is distinguished by dark markings around its eyes and mouth.

Find more age of extinction coverage here , and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield in the Guardian app for more nature coverage

Keyword – Life and style
Trefwoorden – Life and style, Family
Title – You be the judge: should my husband stop letting our kids climb over our neighbour’s fence to get their ball back? | Life and style | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/georgina-lawton
Link – You be the judge: should my husband stop letting our kids climb over our neighbour’s fence to get their ball back? | Life and style | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-18T06:00:02.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jun/18/should-my-husband-stop-letting-kids-climb-over-neighbours-fence-get-ball-back

The prosecution: Penelope

It doesn’t matter that it only takes five seconds. It’s a flagrant disregard for property rights

My husband, Spencer, and I have two children, Georgia, 12, and Alex, nine. We are usually quite aligned on how we parent, but I recently learned that Spencer is a little more relaxed with our children’s garden activities.

During half-term, Spencer was at home and I was at work. When I got back and asked the kids how their day was, they told me their ball went over the fence and into the neighbour’s garden. I assumed our neighbours hadn’t been in and the ball was still there, but they said “Dad let us hop over the fence to get it.” I was shocked.

When I spoke to Spencer, he just shrugged and said it was fine. These neighbours are a middle-aged couple with no kids. He said getting the ball only took five seconds, and then Alex and Georgia hopped back over. I asked them how many times they’ve done this and they said “four or five”.

This is a flagrant disregard for boundaries and property rights. If we allow our kids to hop over fences into spaces that don’t belong to them, we are encouraging public and private disobedience. It also reflects badly on us if the neighbours happen to be in one day. So far, it’s been OK, as they’ve been at work.

I said to Alex and Georgia that they need to be more careful with their football and tennis balls. We have a large garden and there’s no need for their balls to be going over the fence. It is really Spencer’s fault, though. He should be the disciplinarian.

We have a good relationship with our neighbours, but we haven’t asked their permission to retrieve these balls so if they suddenly see my kids playing in their garden, they would have every right to have a go at us.

I’m annoyed at Spencer for encouraging this. I am the stricter parent, but I thought we had similar styles overall. He thinks it’s funny how annoyed I am over this, but it’s the thought that Alex and Georgia have done this many times without me knowing. Spencer needs to see that he is in the wrong and be stricter when I’m not by his side.

The defence: Spencer

No harm was done to their garden. It’s just a lawn with a few shrubs. I don’t see the problem

The way Penelope goes on, you’d think I was letting the kids roam around the garden naked and screaming. They hopped over our fence to get their ball – it’s happened a few times. It was either let them go and get it, or listen to them complaining because the neighbours weren’t there to pass it over.

I manage my own business from home, so during half-term I had to juggle work and looking after the kids, which I’m happy to do, but some peace and quiet is conducive to a good working day.

The first time Alex’s football went over the fence he asked if he could hop over. I said, “Be quick.” He was very quick and Georgia helped him hop back over. From then on, they just retrieved the ball whenever it flew over.

Alex told his mum they went over the fence a few times. No harm was done to the neighbour’s garden, it’s just a flat lawn with a few shrubs, so I don’t see the problem. I’ve seen him do it – it’s very quick and it is usually just Alex going into the garden. It’s not as if both of the kids are there “trespassing”, as Penelope calls it.

Perhaps I’m used to this sort of thing because I grew up with siblings on a busy road in London. Penelope grew up in the countryside with no neighbours either side of her. I think they take trespassing and boundaries a lot more seriously there. Penelope said, “What if Alex damaged the garden and we had to pay for something?”

She is worried about going to war with our neighbours, but she’s being a bit dramatic. There’s no way for Alex to damage anything. We also share responsibility for the fence.

Penelope is worried about how it makes us look if the neighbours come home and see our children in the garden, but I would explain and say they needed the ball. If I had to apologise, I would. Penelope says I’m not strict, but I know how to discipline the children without her. I just don’t think this is a situation that requires so much emotion.

The jury of Guardian readers

Spencer and the kids should really get permission – asking your neighbours if it’s OK if the kids hop over the fence to get the ball when they accidentally hit it over would only take a moment, and the answer is unlikely to be no. Asking is just good manners. Tammy, 44

The worst thing that can happen is that the neighbours spot the kids and may give them and you a talking to. Everyone learns that way and hopefully it’ll improve communication in the long term, so carry on kids – just don’t smash any windows! Charlie, 33

Penelope is right. Spencer shouldn’t be encouraging the children to jump over the fence into their neighbours’ garden without permission. They either need to ask their neighbours if they mind them jumping the fence, or perhaps just get some more balls. Sarah, 29

I think people should respect their neighbours’ privacy and property, so Spencer is teaching his kids the wrong attitude. The family should apologise for any misdirected balls and maybe the couple will suggest hopping over next time, but it is up to them who they let into their garden. Kelly, 52

Spencer is definitely guilty. It’s an important part of being a kid that you have to wait, bored, until the neighbour comes home and chucks the ball back over. Good luck with teenagers who have been taught other people’s boundaries don’t matter, Spencer. Alicia, 53

Now you be the judge

In our online poll, tell us: is the game up for Spencer?

The poll closes on Wednesday 24 June at 9am BST

Last week’s results

We asked whether Charlene should share a digital calendar with her partner 57% of you said yes – Charlene is guilty 43% of you said no – Charlene is innocent

Keyword – Music
Trefwoorden – Music, Culture, Disco, Pop and rock
Title – ‘Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love makes you move your body’: Gloria Gaynor’s honest playlist | Music | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/rich-pelley
Link – ‘Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love makes you move your body’: Gloria Gaynor’s honest playlist | Music | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T08:00:25.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jun/21/gloria-gaynor-honest-playlist-marvin-gaye-beyonce

The first song I fell in love with I grew up in Newark, New Jersey, with five brothers and one sister, so there was always music in the house. I remember my mom singing Willow Weep for Me when I was five or six. There was something about the sadness in it that really moved me.

The first single I bought I heard Why Do Fools Fall in Love by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers on the radio and bought it from a local record store. I was singing in the hallway of our building when a neighbour leaned over and asked: “Gloria, was that you singing?” She thought it was the radio. That was the moment I decided I was going to be a singer.

The song I do at karaoke I’ve only done karaoke once – about 20 years ago, for my birthday. Someone dared me to get up and sing I Will Survive as if I were drunk. I thought: if you’re going to do it, you might as well commit. So I did – and I nailed it.

The song I inexplicably know every lyric to Every Little Bit Hurts by Alicia Keys. I sympathised with the unrequited love in the lyrics, having suffered the same feeling as a young girl.

The best song to play at a party Crazy in Love by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z, because it’s a fun song that makes you want to move your body the moment it comes on.

The song I can no longer listen to Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel by Tavares, because my ex-husband used to sing it to me. Now I can’t listen to it without it reminding me of him.

The best song to have sex to Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye because it’s got a sexy groove, the right tempo, and the words have the right vibe.

The song that changed my life Never Can Say Goodbye was my first major hit, and it changed everything. Suddenly there were more shows, bigger audiences and opportunities to travel the world. It took me from being someone with a dream to someone who was living it.

The song that gets me up in the morning Great Is Thy Faithfulness. It’s a traditional gospel song, but I love the version by Carrie Underwood.

The song that makes me cry Amazing Grace: my version opens my last album. Every time I sing it, it touches something deep in my spirit. It reminds me of how God’s grace has carried me through my life.

The song I want played at my funeral A song I wrote called I Want to See You. It’s about reunion – about seeing your loved ones again in heaven. That’s the message I’d want to leave behind.

Gloria Gaynor headlines Boogietown in Walton-on-Thames, on 11 July.

Keyword – Games
Trefwoorden – Games, Role playing games, Culture
Title – The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales review – a playable love letter to Zelda | Games | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/tom-regan
Link – The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales review – a playable love letter to Zelda | Games | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-18T11:15:01.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/jun/18/the-adventures-of-elliot-the-millennium-tales-review

Y ou can’t help but wonder if developer Team Asano is in a private competition with itself to come up with the most ridiculous name for a video game. Following Project Triangle Strategy and Bravely Default: Flying Fairy we have this mouthful: The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. It’s a playable love letter to the Zelda adventures of yesteryear rendered in the studio’s trademark glorious 2D-HD art style, melding evocative pixel sprites with modern visual effects.

From west Philabieldia, born and raised, our hero is adventurer Elliot. The antagonist making trouble in the neighbourhood is a king’s dastardly aide intent on summoning an ancient evil. The story is pure after-school-TV schlock, fully voice-acted but still unafraid to make you sit through reams and reams of text, and the action comprises treasure-hunting, temple-roaming and dispatching monsters. It’s part Chrono Trigger, part Oracle of Seasons as our almost obnoxiously upbeat hero journeys through the ages in order to solve puzzles, tip his fedora and of course, save a princess.

In each of the world’s four time periods, your surroundings change to suit the age you’re in, helping you uncover new abilities and the realm’s mysteries. While there is potential for a darker tale to be told, this is all stupendously saccharine stuff. It’s a world where everyone is pure of heart except for the mustachioed villain. Side quests have you saving cats and running errands for orphans.

Luckily, it’s a blast to play. What starts off as a straightforward exercise in Zelda worship later possesses a surprisingly deep and customisable combat system. Equippable gems allow you to modify your weapons and mix up your gameplay, boosting a sword’s critical hit ratio or adding flames to your arrows; combining these different fun effects can result in total grin-inducing carnage on screen later in the game. Even the weapons themselves are fairly inspired. Alongside your quintessential classics such as a shield, sword, bow and boomerang, there is a wildly swinging scythe and utterly devastating hammer.

Some friction is introduced by refreshingly challenging late-game bosses, but everything else on this adventure is designed to speed players along to the credits. With Breath of the Wild-esque temples spread out across the map, fast travel and constant hints about your next destination, Team Asano sacrifices retro mystique for satisfying forward momentum. A controllable fairy companion helps you solve puzzles by, for example, bursting into flame to light candles, but she also constantly remarks on each new dungeon and cave, advising you on whether it’s worth exploring. Such constant good-natured assistance may make Hollow Knight players scoff, but Asano has made the decision to keep the good vibes rolling, also ensuring that younger players are never hopelessly lost.

The Adventures of Elliot is not especially ambitious. It is a comforting balm during turbulent times. If you can stomach its occasionally nauseating earnestness, this rich fantasy world is a cosy one to retreat to. And despite my instinctive reaction to the off-puttingly cheesy dialogue, this charming world eventually began to warm even my cold, cynical English heart, thanks to some inspired dungeons and rewarding, customisable combat.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is out now; £49.99

Keyword – Life and style
Trefwoorden – Australian lifestyle, Relationships, Dating, Poland holidays
Title – The moment I knew: At the arrivals hall I was overcome with doubt. Then I saw him waiting, holding a red rose | Australian lifestyle | The Guardian
Author – Barbara Reszke
Link – The moment I knew: At the arrivals hall I was overcome with doubt. Then I saw him waiting, holding a red rose | Australian lifestyle | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T20:00:14.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jun/21/moment-i-knew-arrivals-hall-mexico-red-rose

I n 1992, I travelled from Adelaide to Poland to reconnect with my extended family. One afternoon, I came across a newspaper advertisement for the Warsaw Summer Jazz Days festival. On a whim, I decided to go, hoping to see Jack Bruce perform songs from his Cream days.

It was a Sunday afternoon and I arrived early at the concert hall. As I made my way to the bar, I overheard an Englishman struggling to order hamburgers. I stepped in to help, placed the order in Polish, turned to him and said, “She’ll be right, mate. Just pay the money, the food will be ready in 10 minutes.”

That was how I met Dave, the guitar technician for Jack Bruce.

We arranged to meet after the concert. It was not love at first sight – far from it. He reminded me of the mullet-wearing, heavy metal headbangers I had grown up with – not my type at all. But there was kindness in his eyes, a presence of assurance, and he wore his heart on his sleeve. We wandered across the road to the Akwarium jazz club where, over the next few hours, we listened to jam sessions by world-famous musicians while we laughed and drank beers.

He invited me to England, but I was about to go travelling in Mexico. He’d had enough of the music business and England, he said, so announced he would meet me in Mexico. Fifteen hours after we met in that burger line, he boarded a plane home.

Two days later, I called to see if he had been serious about Mexico. To my surprise, he had already set things in motion, and was even looking into an Australian working visa. I was due to leave for Mexico in three weeks, but Dave asked if I would delay my departure so he could raise enough money and secure his visa.

I agreed. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling I might never see him again. The whole situation seemed absurd. Who leaves behind their life to follow someone they’ve only met for a few hours?

My grandparents were sceptical and not happy I was meeting this Englishman in Mexico. My babcia was convinced he would sell me into the slave trade, and she passed those concerns on to my father in Australia who had already made up his mind about Dave.

Seven weeks after our meeting at the festival, I arrived late at night into Mexico City. My heart raced as I made my way through the airport. Dave had arrived the day before and promised he would be there waiting for me, but as I approached the arrivals hall, I was overcome with doubt. It was crowded with people — families reuniting, friends embracing, drivers holding signs above their heads. I scanned the sea of faces anxiously, searching for a tall blond Pom, but couldn’t see him anywhere. “I knew it,” I thought.

What I didn’t realise was that he was standing barely a few metres away, looking directly at me, holding a single red rose. Later, Dave admitted that during those few seconds, as I looked right past him, he feared that perhaps I was searching for someone else.

The instant I recognised him, a wave of relief and exhilaration washed over me. After weeks of anticipation, there he was. I walked straight into his arms.

We backpacked for three months and were together 24/7, getting to know each other in the most intense and honest way possible.

Despite our differences (my liberal outlook versus his black-and-white thinking; my penchant for cheap travel as opposed to his preference for five-star hotels; my affectionate Polish nature contrasting his reserved English upbringing), we found a rhythm. He was open to everything and easy with everyone, the kind of person who could strike up a conversation anywhere. My first impression that he was kind, genuine and warm turned out to be true. And he made me laugh – often.

With his money slowly dwindling, Dave flew to Melbourne to stay with friends we had met in Guatemala, while I continued travelling through Argentina and Chile.

After two months, I flew home to Australia, where to my surprise Dave was waiting for me at the airport again, holding a rose.

The next year was complicated as we navigated time together and apart, and my parents’ disapproval, all while I completed my studies. During one of the short, intermittent phone calls we shared while Dave was in England, I received a proposal: “How about it, Sheila?”

It was not exactly romantic, but it did make me laugh.

The day after I submitted my thesis, I flew to London. Once again, Dave was at the arrivals gate, holding a red rose.

Three weeks later, at the end of 1993, we were married in a register office in England, with Bob Marley playing as we said our vows.

In 1994, we returned to Australia, then moved to Queensland to build a life together.

In the 22 years we shared, we built a life full of love, laughter and adventure. We raised our beautiful daughters, travelled the world, and created a home grounded in kindness and respect. My parents’ fears proved unfounded. When my mother needed care, Dave stepped in without hesitation – that was simply who he was. He was a devoted father – the school runs, lunches, after-school activities, coaching football teams – and gave everything to his family.

He left the music industry because he said it was not conducive to a family environment, but music never left him. Our home was filled with it, played loud, through the best sound system he could assemble.

Even now, after his passing in 2014, the music remains. Last year in Brisbane, the girls and I went to a Metallica concert in Dave’s honour. As for the roses, I still have the one he gave me in London – well, two petals. Dried, pressed and a reminder of the life we had together.

Tell us the moment you knew