Keyword – Environment
Trefwoorden – Extreme heat, Extreme weather, Europe, France, Environment, Belgium, Spain, Germany, World news, UK news, Climate crisis, Italy
Title – Two children found dead in car in France as heatwave hits Europe | Extreme heat | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jonhenley
Link – Two children found dead in car in France as heatwave hits Europe | Extreme heat | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T15:22:05.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/22/europe-record-heatwave-temperatures-forecast-reach-44c

Two children aged four and two have been found dead in their family’s car in south-eastern France , the local prosecutor said, as a large swathe of western Europe suffers a ferocious heatwave forecast to shatter absolute temperature records.

“The causes of death are yet to be determined, but the heat is the leading line of inquiry,” said Hélène Mourges, the prosecutor in the town of Carpentras, where the temperature was expected to exceed 39C (102.2F) on Monday afternoon.

The deaths follow those of three elderly people, aged between 80 and 95, who died ⁠near Bordeaux over the weekend as a result of health problems caused by the extreme temperatures, an official said. Thirteen more drowned in swimming accidents.

French authorities on Monday placed half the country – 49 of the country’s 96 mainland departments – on a level 1 danger-to-life warning, urging 35 million people to exercise “absolute vigilance”, avoid strenuous exertion and stay out of direct sun.

A further six departments will be added to the red list on Tuesday, with 35 others remaining on a level 2 orange alert. “ Very high temperatures are setting in for the long term across the country,” said the national weather service, Météo-France.

It said temperatures throughout western and central France were likely to exceed 40C from Monday afternoon, hitting 43C in Bordeaux, 41C in Limoges, 40C in Toulouse and Tours and 39C in Paris, and would continue rising until the end of the week.

Night-time lows are also likely to be far higher than normal until at least Friday, Météo-France said, with the minimum temperatures of about 25C recorded in several towns and cities overnight on Sunday already setting all-time records.

France’s so-called national heat index, an average of the day and night-time highs measured at 30 weather stations around the country, hit its highest level for June on Monday, the forecaster said.

More than 1,300 schools were closed nationwide on Monday, while another 4,000 rescheduled classes to allow pupils to leave early. One in 10 regional train services around Paris were cancelled amid fears for rolling stock and tracks.

“Many people are going to suffer, because bodies suffer from an accumulation of high temperatures,” said Stéphanie Rist, France’s health minister, visiting a Paris hospital on Monday. She urged people to check on elderly and vulnerable neighbours.

“We’re heading for, at the very least, several days of very, very hot weather. We really don’t know when temperatures will start falling,” Rist later told French television.

France went ahead with its annual street music festival, the Fête de la Musique, on Sunday, although some local authorities called it off altogether and others ran only evening events. Alcohol restrictions were imposed in many areas.

Spain declared its first official heatwave of the year from Sunday until Wednesday, with temperatures forecast to reach 44C in some areas. A public screening in Madrid of the national football team’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia was cancelled.

The state weather service, Aemet, warned on Sunday of “extremely high” day and night temperatures and issued a red alert for the northern Basque region where the city of San Sebastián was forecast to hit 40C, more than double the seasonal average.

“We are seeing temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, and in some northern areas ​even more than 10 degrees above average,” said Rubén del Campo, a spokesperson for the meteorological agency.

In Germany , organisers suspended the final of the Berlin Open tennis tournament and cleared everyone out of the event location because of severe thunderstorms as temperatures in the German capital topped 30C over the weekend.

Temperatures in Belgium – already past 30C on Sunday – would be “the hottest ever recorded”, said David Dehenauw, the head of forecasting at the IRM weather institute. Some rush-hour trains were cancelled to limit the risk of breakdowns.

In the UK, the Met Office national weather service has issued an “extreme heat” warning for much of southern England and parts of Wales until Thursday, predicting temperatures of up to 39C. The current record for a June day is 35.6C, set in 1976.

Italy on Monday issued heatwave red alerts for 12 cities, including Milan, ​Turin, Venice, Bologna, Florence and Rome.

Scientists have said that as the Earth continues to warm, extreme heat events historically confined to high summer will become more frequent, more intense and last longer, as well as happening earlier and later in the year.

Keyword – UK news
Trefwoorden – Scotland, UK news
Title – Man charged with terrorism-linked attempted murders after Edinburgh attacks | Scotland | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/severincarrell
Link – Man charged with terrorism-linked attempted murders after Edinburgh attacks | Scotland | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T20:08:41.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/22/john-swinney-victims-edinburgh-knife-attacks-deeply-traumatised

A 36-year-old man has been charged with five counts of attempted murders “aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection” after a series of attacks in Edinburgh last Friday.

Lewis Hawkes has also been charged with assault and robbery, two counts of breach of the peace and two counts of culpable and reckless conduct, all of which were also aggravated by reason of a terrorist connection.

Hawkes appeared in private at Edinburgh sheriff court on Monday but made no plea or declaration, and has been remanded in custody with a further court appearance expected within the next eight days.

The investigation into the series of attacks across Edinburgh last Friday has involved specialist counter-terrorism officers.

John Swinney has said victims of the allegedly anti-Muslim knife attacks in Edinburgh last week have been deeply traumatised by their experiences.

Scotland’s first minister spoke to some of the five men injured in the series of attacks that appeared to target Muslims and people of colour around the city on Friday evening, with four taken to hospital.

Speaking to the PA news agency after a visit to Broomhouse mosque, near where the attacks are thought to have started, Swinney said he had come with a message of solidarity, sympathy and empathy for those affected.

“I have spoken to some of the young men who were injured as a consequence of this act on Friday evening. They are not only physically injured but they are deeply traumatised by the attack,” he said.

“I’m here to express the solidarity of the Scottish government and the political leadership of Scotland with the community who will be traumatised,” he said. The incident could have “enormous consequences for cohesion within our community”.

Police with stun guns arrested a white Scottish man, who was bare chested, on Leith Walk at about 9.30pm on Friday night after reports of a series of incidents at least six locations involving someone wielding bladed weapons.

Two men were stabbed as they left Broomhouse mosque in the south-west of the city at about 8.30pm, and a taxi was vandalised at a petrol station on Telford Road near Crewe Toll in the north-west about 45 minutes later.

At about 9.28pm, shelves were reportedly overturned at a shop at the eastern end of Ferry Road in Leith, and at about 9.30pm three people were hurt on Leith Walk. An eyewitness told the Guardian a bicycle courier was attacked and a minicab had its window smashed.

The five injured men were aged between 22 and 39.

Owais Ahmed, a member of Broomhouse mosque’s management team, said on Saturday: “There is a sense of anxiety and uncertainty in some aspects but people are resilient, and people are looking at it as objectively as they possibly can.”

Omar Afzal, the director of public affairs with the Scottish Association of Mosques, said anti-Muslim hatred had become normalised in the UK, leading to a “profound sense of shock, alarm and anger within Muslim communities” across Edinburgh and Scotland.

Swinney said he had grown up near Broomhouse and used to play football there: “This was always a very welcoming, inclusive community, a community that was brought together, so it’s heartbreaking to experience what we’re experiencing now.”

Friday’s incidents reinforced the importance of encouraging people to “understand and appreciate the strength that comes from diversity” from a young age, he said.

Supt Neil Wilson of Police Scotland said officers had spoken to more than 90 faith-based organisations and community leaders in Edinburgh and other parts of the country since Friday, and had also visited local businesses in the areas affected.

He said Scottish counter-terrorism officers were continuing to assess the evidence, but that there was no evidence of a wider threat.

“We are carrying out a community impact assessment and will closely monitor the situation to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all communities, and we are prepared to respond promptly to any emerging issues,” he said.

Keyword – Opinion
Trefwoorden – Iceland, European Union, Europe, World news
Title – Why the EU should be moving heaven and earth to get Iceland into the club | Valérie Hayer | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/val-rie-hayer
Link – Why the EU should be moving heaven and earth to get Iceland into the club | Valérie Hayer | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T11:00:23.000Z
Category – Opinion
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/22/iceland-eu-brussels-rigid-rules

I celand is preparing for a referendum this summer on whether to restart negotiations with the EU about joining the bloc. If voters approve, the government in Reykjavík could complete talks for the country to become the EU’s 28th member state. Iceland is already part of the Schengen passport-free area, and has access to the EU single market through the European Economic Area, meaning that much of the regulatory groundwork for its integration is already done.

Yet the conversation about a possible Icelandic application for EU membership reveals a deeper issue: the European Union must rethink its own future admission of like-minded democracies as a geopolitical necessity.

There is, thankfully, a long queue of candidate countries, from Ukraine to Montenegro, seeking to become members of the club. At some point in the future, who knows, the UK and even Canada might come knocking on our door. Either way, deep reforms within the EU are needed to cope with further expansion.

As we learned with Hungary under Viktor Orbán, a union of 27 countries, let alone 32, cannot run efficiently on unanimity, the principle that allows one country to veto decisions and progress for everyone else.

For years, Iceland’s potential membership has stumbled over fishing rights. Iceland’s economy and national identity are deeply tied to the control of its territorial waters, and disputes over the EU’s common fisheries policy were one of the main reasons why negotiations, which first began in 2009, stalled four years later.

It hardly seems appropriate that a single policy issue – fisheries, in this instance – can paralyse an entire accession process. But Iceland’s difficulty demonstrates how the EU’s traditional enlargement model, requiring full alignment by candidate countries across every policy area from day one, is increasingly ill-suited for a world in which Europe needs to expand strategically, move faster and build coalitions with like-minded democracies.

A more flexible membership process should become the rule, not the exception, while maintaining a strict merit-based approach to assessing a country’s readiness and its commitment to the rule of law as a core condition. Those who oppose letting more members join the club will use existing EU treaties to block reform, but they fail to fully appreciate the extent to which Europe already operates at different speeds.

There are different ways to be part of the EU. Not every country has adopted the euro as its currency, despite this being a condition of membership. Not every member is part of the Schengen agreement, or of defence initiatives. The concept of a “multi-speed Europe” exists already, case by case. But this logic has never been fully applied as a new enlargement model. Now it’s time to move on from our old ways.

We must remember, as we have seen all too well since the fall of the Berlin Wall, that countries neighbouring the EU can be very much up for grabs for competing powers. When it was an EU member, the UK played an active role in encouraging engagement in the Balkans. Regrettably, after Brexit that slipped, and Russia and China have filled the void. It is in our interests to have stable, democratic neighbouring countries. Hence, we must once again understand enlargement not as a threat but as a strategic instrument of power projection and continental stabilisation.

A new, more flexible system of enlargement would allow the EU to anchor candidate countries earlier at the heart of its institutions. This approach would recognise that sovereignty sharing can occur in layers: countries could take part in the single market before their full institutional integration, integrate their security and defence before complete political accession. They could opt out selectively from certain sensitive domains.

Enlargement is one of the few tools the EU possesses to shape its neighbourhood peacefully yet decisively. But the painstaking, box-ticking logic that defined previous enlargements prioritised completeness over speed. Today, time lost risks giving the upper hand to China, Russia or even the Trump family. Ultimately, it would also foster public disillusionment with Europe, democratic backsliding and regional instability, as we have seen in Serbia.

Admitting Iceland would strengthen Europe’s Arctic strategy and our defensive capabilities in the North Atlantic, amid reports of increased Russian and Chinese activity in the region. For the people of Iceland, accession would mean security and safety as a member of a club of democracies.

At the same time, Reykjavík would lend the EU deep expertise in ocean governance, climate science and Arctic diplomacy.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the threats of Donald Trump and China, Europe’s security architecture has to evolve. If the EU is serious about becoming a geopolitical actor, it will eventually need more agile decision-making structures – including a possible European Security Council bringing together key states for rapid coordination on foreign and defence policy.

Iceland, a Nato member located at a critical North Atlantic crossroads, would be a natural participant in such a framework. Its geography alone – between North America, Greenland and Europe – makes it strategically indispensable. Getting Iceland on board would kick off the geopolitical rise of an EU that understands the realities of the 21st century.

Valérie Hayer is a French MEP and leader of the Renew Europe parliamentary group

Keyword – UK news
Trefwoorden – Rail transport, Bedfordshire, Train crashes, Transport, UK news
Title – Train driver killed in Bedford crash named as family pay tribute | Rail transport | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/donna-ferguson,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/harry-taylor
Link – Train driver killed in Bedford crash named as family pay tribute | Rail transport | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-21T16:47:49.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/21/major-disruption-after-bedford-train-crash-to-continue-for-at-least-a-week

Police have named the driver killed in the Bedford train crash on Friday, as his family paid tribute to him.

British Transport police said Shaun Burton, 60, was the East Midlands Railway driver killed in the collision between two trains on the line between Bedford and Luton that also left 100 people injured.

In a statement released on Sunday, Burton’s family said: “We are devastated by his loss. Our thoughts are also with those affected by this incident.”

Aslef, the train drivers’ union, also paid tribute to Burton. Its general secretary, Dave Calfe, described him as “dedicated to the job, and devoted to his colleagues and enormously popular at his depot”.

“Shaun, a driver at East Midlands Railway, joined the railway relatively late in life. He loved public transport – he used to work on buses and coaches – before he became a train driver seven years ago … The railway family grieves his passing; no one should go off to work in the morning and not come home. Our thoughts are with his family and friends tonight.”

The managing director of East Midlands Railway, Will Rogers, said Burton was a “dedicated railway professional” who had “touched the lives of colleagues and passengers alike”.

Rogers said the company’s “deepest condolences” are with Burton’s family. He added: “Shaun was known for his quick-wit, kind, generous and intelligent nature, and for always having a smile on his face.

“He was a well-respected colleague both in his role as a driver, and in his previous role as a train manager, often acting as a trusted adviser and available to share his wisdom, support and guidance to others.

“He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”

Earlier on Sunday, Network Rail said it expected major disruption on the rail line to continue for at least a week.

Engineers are working to remove the track’s overhead electrical wires and construct a temporary access road to the crash site.

This will enable two 110-tonne cranes to lift the damaged trains and carriages on to trailers to remove them by road, allowing engineers to assess any damage to the track and complete the necessary repairs.

The line between Bedford and Luton will remain closed for the rest of the week, with a limited rail replacement bus service in operation instead. There will be no services between Bedford and London St Pancras station.

A limited service will begin to run north from St Pancras as far as Luton from Monday, but there will be no services north of Luton on the busy commuter Thameslink line. Luton airport express services have been cancelled and a rail replacement bus will operate between Luton airport and Luton.

Investigations into the crash are continuing, but the managing director of Network Rail’s eastern region, Ellie Burrows, said “current indications are that this was a tragic isolated incident”.

Removing the two trains is a “complex and challenging task”, she said, adding that services through the area would be disrupted for most of the week and people should only travel if absolutely necessary.

More than 80 passengers were treated in hospital on Friday night. As of Saturday morning, 28 were still in hospital, nine of them in a critical condition .

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said on Saturday that its inspectors were continuing to gather evidence at the scene, which is just south of the Elstow interchange between the A421 and the A6. An update would be provided “in the coming days”, the organisation said.

The trains involved were the 4.40pm Friday service from Corby to St Pancras and the 3.50pm departure from Nottingham to the same destination.

The front of the Corby train was crushed when it crashed into the rear of the Nottingham train, and it also sustained damage to its rear carriages when they were shunted into the ones in front.

The chief constable of British Transport Police, Lucy D’Orsi, said people in Bedfordshire had shown “immense kindness to those stranded on trains and casualties”.

One person from Elstow, who did not wish to be named, said a friend’s son had had a full view of the crash site from his home. “There was loads of people throwing out water and food over the fence. They did everything they could to try and help those people,” she said.

Network Rail said that while the Midland mainline was closed at Bedford, train operators would accept tickets for affected EMR customers on any alternative route. If customers decide to travel on EMR once the line is reopened, their connecting ticket on other operators will be valid on that day too.

Journey planning apps and websites are being updated to reflect the changes to the timetable but may take a few hours to do so, Network Rail said. Customers are advised to check live travel updates before they travel.

Keyword – UK news
Trefwoorden – Immigration and asylum, Home Office, Shabana Mahmood, UK news, France, Refugees
Title – UK and France rewrite ‘one in one out’ treaty to stop removed migrants returning | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/rajeev-syal
Link – UK and France rewrite ‘one in one out’ treaty to stop removed migrants returning | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T09:17:44.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/22/uk-and-france-rewrite-one-in-one-out-treaty-to-stop-removed-migrants-returning

The UK and France have been forced to rewrite the “one in, one out” deal because of concerns over the numbers of people re-entering the UK after being removed to the continent.

The original treaty said people arriving in small boats could be returned to France. But people smugglers have used lorries to bring people who had been deported to France under the deal back to the UK.

Shabana Mahmood, the UK home secretary, has agreed with her French counterpart to amend the treaty so that previously deported “one in, one out” migrants who return to Britain by lorry can be sent back to France again.

To close the loophole, the Home Office created a new classification of claimant, a “returnee case”, according to documents first disclosed by the Times .

The UK has removed to France 921 migrants who arrived on small boats since the treaty came into effect on 6 August last year, which represents 3.5% of all such arrivals in the same period.

The UK has accepted 896 asylum seekers from France in that time, under the reciprocal deal.

The treaty stipulated that Britain could send illegal Channel migrants back to France in return for taking the same number of asylum seekers.

At least four people who had been deported under the scheme travelled back to the UK by lorry over a two-week period in March and this followed at least two in the autumn.

Mahmood and Laurent Nuñez, the French interior minister, have agreed to apply the treaty to any returning migrant entering the UK illegally, regardless of their method.

In a letter to Nuñez, Mahmood said: “Following our recent meeting which allowed us to observe the quality of the cooperation established under the agreement … I wish to propose an addition to the objectives of the agreement, explicitly adding the objective of deterring clandestine returns to the UK by individuals previously transferred to France under the agreement.”

People removed to France under the agreement who then travelled back to the UK previously told the Guardian: “The [people] smugglers know where the shelter is in Paris where people sleep in the first few days after being returned to France.

“They caught me near the shelter and sent me back to UK by force in a lorry. The smugglers have guns, they control everything, we have to try to stay alive.”

The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, signed a deal they hailed as “groundbreaking” last July, known as “one in, one out”.

Under the terms of the deal, every asylum seeker who arrives in the UK in a small boat is forcibly returned to France, in exchange for another in France who has not tried to cross the Channel being brought to the UK legally.

The two leaders agreed that initially the scheme would be a pilot, which was due to end on 11 June. But the two countries have now agreed to extend the scheme until 1 October.

The numbers crossing the Channel so far this year have fallen by about a third compared with the same period last year, although this is thought to be partly due to the weather.

In April, the UK and France confirmed a new £662m deal to stop migrants from crossing the Channel.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Under our returns agreement with France, we have already removed more than 900 illegal migrants from British soil.

“This contributes to the nearly 70,000 illegal migrants who have been returned from July 2024 to March 31, 2026, up 41% on the 21 months prior.”

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Women’s Super League, Women’s Super League 2, Women’s football, Football, Alcohol, Sport
Title – WSL and WSL2 fans can drink alcohol in stands next season after successful trial | Women's Super League | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/tom-garry
Link – WSL and WSL2 fans can drink alcohol in stands next season after successful trial | Women's Super League | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T11:44:00.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/22/wsl-wsl2-fans-can-drink-alcohol-in-stands-next-season-after-successful-trial

Women’s Super League and WSL2 clubs can permit supporters to drink alcohol in view of the pitch from next season, the Guardian can reveal, after a change to the leagues’ regulations on the back of a successful trial over the past 18 months.

Not all clubs will necessarily take up the opportunity, but it is understood WSL Football’s shareholders have approved the change. Clubs will be expected to inform their fans whether they will allow the practice, and in which areas of stadiums it will be permitted.

Drinking alcohol in view of the pitch is banned across English men’s football’s top five leagues, in accordance with the Sporting Events Act of 1985. The WSL was not tied to that legislation but opted to follow suit while run by the Football Association. After the league split from the FA in 2024 a pilot scheme was introduced to test whether a change could be beneficial.

Birmingham, Bristol City, Newcastle and Southampton took part in a second-tier trial from January 2025 and that was expanded to include 20 clubs, 29 venues and 190 matches in the 2025-26 season across the top two divisions.

More than 4,000 fans were surveyed last summer, in January and at the end of the recent season, and the proportion of respondents supporting the idea grew from 58% to 69% over the past year. More than 90% of those surveyed continued to say they felt WSL matches had a safe atmosphere and remained family friendly.

WSL officials have frequently spoken about wanting to test innovative ways in which the women’s game can try to modernise and appeal to new fans, and this process is regarded as an example.

The comparatively low incidences of crowd trouble in women’s football have been a key factor under consideration throughout this process. Government data for the 2023-24 season showed there were no arrests recorded at any women’s football matches in England and Wales.

The WSL and WSL 2 seasons will begin on the weekend of 4-6 September.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, World Cup, Sport, Football, Photography, Marcelo Bielsa, Lionel Messi, Jude Bellingham
Title – Who are ya? Behind the scenes of the official World Cup portrait photographs | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jonny-weeks
Link – Who are ya? Behind the scenes of the official World Cup portrait photographs | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T09:39:23.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/22/behind-the-scenes-official-world-cup-portrait-photographs

L ionel Messi of Argentina stands rigidly in front of the camera. Marc Cucurella of Spain whips his hair and appears to boogie. Diego Moreira of Belgium covers his eyes with his forearm and reveals an eerie tattoo. Harry Kane leans awkwardly on to one knee.

There are 1,248 football players and 48 managers at the World Cup , and none could escape the obligatory media duty that is the official portrait – whether or not they had a fun pose in mind.

Shot by Getty Images on behalf of Fifa in recent weeks, the portraits capture a wide array of poses and expressions, revealing details about each player’s personality – and the image they wish to convey to the world.

The accompanying behind-the-scenes images, shared by Getty, tell the stories of how the portraits were made and what some of the players were like off camera.

(Above) Diego Moreira of Belgium obscures his eyes for an eerie portrait. (Below) Marc Cucurella of Spain, Ronald Araújo of Uruguay and various other familiar faces.

Two photographers were assigned to shoot each team, enabling them to prepare opposing sets – one plain and one distinctive – so players and managers could be rotated into position quickly.

Simple lighting set-ups were used throughout: typically, a large studio strobe-light with a softbox aimed at the subject’s body, with a couple of rim lights to provide shape and definition from the rear.

Though the backdrops were muted compared to the official portraits for the 2022 World Cup , the photographers were able to create vivid images using special lens filters that produced unpredictable blurring and kaleidoscopic effects (like the Messi image above).

(Above) Danilo of Brazil waits as his compatriot Alisson poses for a picture in front of a softbox. (Below) Neymar plays up to the camera and the resulting image.

An emotive shot of Marquinhos.

The Guardian sports photographer, Tom Jenkins, says photographing famous footballers can be challenging at the best of times, let alone when it’s like a production line.

“With these kinds of shoots, you only get a few minutes with each player and you have to bash out various pictures and think incredibly quickly,” he says.

“You want some shots that are dead plain like a school photo – that’s how player portraits always used to be done – but these days you also want pictures that are more emotive and fun. A lot of players will have their own poses and goal celebrations already but you’ve also got to have a list in mind.

“The interesting thing is that you’re in control of these superstars and every aspect of the shoot. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with that. You have to make sure you’ve set things up and tested everything before they arrive, so that when the shoot starts you can just focus on them.”

(Above) Lionel Messi Argentina poses rigidly. (Below) Messi appears warmer off camera.

Name cards were prepared for every player – Messi included, lest anyone in the editing team fail to recognise the world’s most feted footballer – and players often reviewed the images on set for their own satisfaction.

“Most football players are very aware of their own image these days and they know how powerful it can be, especially through Instagram,” Jenkins explains.

“They’ve done this kind of thing before for big brands – Eberechi Eze did Burberry and Declan Rice did L’Oreal – so actually they’re much more comfortable with being in front of the camera and some of them really enjoy it.”

(Above) The USMNT team being photographed in Laguna Niguel, California. (Below) Tightly-cropped details of South African players’ faces.

Despite being image savvy some of England’s players got roasted in the wake of their photoshoot: Declan Rice for his sunburn, Anthony Gordon for his passing resemblance to Princess Dianna and Dean Henderson for his disturbing side-eye.

But the more creative images of Bellingham and co show what photographers can achieve in camera, even if the players themselves lack spark.

(Above) A special effects camera filter creates a blurry double of Jude Bellingham . (Below) Some of the images for which England players were ribbed.

Curiously, the portrait which has received by far the most coverage this time around is not of a player, but of Uruguay’s manager, Marcelo Bielsa . The image, shot by Michael Regan at the team’s base in Cancún, Mexico, captures Bielsa’s unwillingness to cooperate with the process.

Instead of facing the camera, he looked down at his feet, creating an unusual image that says much about the unorthodox Argentinian. “I’m not a model,” he later protested .

Jenkins adds: “Ultimately I think the best portrait is one that displays the individual’s personality, and that’s why the Bielsa picture is so brilliant. It’s perfectly him.”

Marcelo Bielsa, head coach of Uruguay, refuses to look at the camera during his photoshoot which went viral.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, World Cup, Serbia, Football, Sport
Title – Serbian TV pundit causes outrage with racist comment during Belgium game | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – AFP
Link – Serbian TV pundit causes outrage with racist comment during Belgium game | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T19:48:51.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/22/serbian-tv-pundit-rade-bogdanovic-causes-outrage-racist-comment-belgium-iran-world-cup-game

The former Yugoslavia and Atlético Madrid striker Rade Bogdanovic has sparked controversy on Serbian TV after saying that “Black players lack concentration beyond 60 to 80 minutes” during the Belgium v Iran World Cup match .

Bogdanovic, 56, made the comment on a World Cup programme aired by Serbia’s public broadcaster (RTS) late on Sunday night while discussing the 66th-minute red card shown to the Belgium defender Nathan Ngoy.

“I have always said those players – and I’m really not racist – but Black players lack the concentration to last more than 60 to 80 minutes,” Bogdanovic said.

“When we played, we sometimes had to protect our own players to stop them making mistakes,” he added.

The host challenged Bogdanovic over the remark, but the former international forward doubled down, insisting that “the majority lack concentration”.

His comments drew widespread attention and condemnation on social media. RTS, however, has not commented on nor apologised for Bogdanovic’s remarks, and a day later had him back in the studio as an analyst for the Argentina v Austria match.

Bogdanovic began his career in his home town of Sarajevo, now the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for Zeljeznicar, before moving to South Korea and then Japan. He later returned to Europe, briefly playing for Atlético and later joining Werder Bremen, in Germany.

He made three appearances for Yugoslavia in 1997.

Belgium and Iran drew 0-0 in their Group G match in Los Angeles, leaving Iran second and Belgium third as both sides battle to reach the next phase.

Keyword – Games
Trefwoorden – Twitch, Games, Culture, Social media, Digital media, Media, Technology
Title – ‘Streaming gave me a space to be myself’: Twitch creators on what it’s like to grow up on the platform | Twitch | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/keithstuart
Link – ‘Streaming gave me a space to be myself’: Twitch creators on what it’s like to grow up on the platform | Twitch | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-16T08:30:16.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/jun/16/twitch-gamer-creators-twitchcon-rotterdam

A imee Davies, better known as Aimsey to their fans, is 24 but looks much younger. Sitting in a bland meeting room above the annual TwitchCon event in Rotterdam, they’re a barely contained whirl of energy in a beanie hat and T-shirt, all smiles and lightning-fast chatter. Aimsey (who uses they/them pronouns) is also a Twitch veteran, having started streaming eight years ago at the tender age of 16. A million subscribers tune in every week to see them chaotically play Minecraft and share snippets of their life. They have grown up, from teen to young adult, carrying a vast audience with them into maturity. What is it like to experience that?

“When you’re 16 you want to tell everyone everything about you,” they say as music blares from the event below. “When I came out as a lesbian, I told the world. Every part of my identity, my mental health struggles … I thought if I could help one person feel like they weren’t alone, I wanted to do that.”

For several years Aimsey was in a relationship with another content creator, Guqqie, and it played out in front of their fanbases with very little filtering – until it ended. It’s a situation common to streamers – they’re young and naive, they build an audience through sharing personal details with few boundaries, then the pressures of endless invasive attention take a toll. “Honestly, for a long time, the lines got blurred,” says Aimsey. “Streaming would seep into my real-life friendships, where I thought the only way people would be my friend was if I could give them something – because that’s obviously how it is on a stream.”

Recently however, Aimsey has learned how to step back and be a little more guarded. “I’ve been so open all my life, but I was falling into these cracks where I was like, God, who am I? I felt like I couldn’t figure that out. I think that in the last few months something switched in my brain. I’m living a little bit more of a reserved life. I’m still myself when I stream, but I’m trying my best to keep some things private – at least for now. I surround myself with people who definitely remind me that I’m not just content.”

Fellow Twitch star Sweet Anita is older at 35 years old, but she too is a veteran, having streamed since 2018. As a sufferer of Tourette syndrome, the platform has been a kind of emancipation. “Streaming has changed me a lot,” she says. “I used to be a timid person and quite apologetic – obviously I’d learned to be after a lifetime of dealing with Tourettes. I feel like streaming really gave me a space to be myself without constantly having to apologise to people. I have a lot more fun, I reach out to more people, I’m a lot more sociable now.”

It concerns her that so many children are now listing content creator as their ambition. “When I was a kid, it was astronaut or fireman, but now they desperately want to be in my position,” she says. “But it’s a little bit of a trap because once you’re here, people don’t forget you. You could leave tomorrow and someone might continue stalking you for the next 10 years. Once you’re in, you’re in. The only difference is how much security you can afford.”

For its part Twitch recognises the vulnerability of streamers. It has set up guilds to help specific minority groups navigate the platform and communicate concerns to the executives. It has created an AI-driven AutoMod feature, which polices chat during streams to delete abusive messages. “We’ve invested heavily in moderation tools so streamers can define what safety looks like to them,” says head of community Mary Kish. “It is going to be very important to be familiar with how you can protect yourself. I’m worried about anyone who might think on a whim, I’m going to go live. You need to be prepared – you need to have mods, or at the very least, turn Auto Mod on, you need to set your community up. We have a little work to do to make sure that anyone making their first stream understands what they’re getting into.”

Tellingly, neither Aimsey and Sweet Anita have plans to stop streaming any time soon. “Honestly, my vision is I’m probably always going to be streaming,” says Aimsey. “It’s something that’s been so consistent in my life and I adore it. That could change. But I’ve got so much more stuff I want to do with Minecraft – I want to do events, I want to do more stories and role-play, and there are so many more ideas in my head that there’s no point in even thinking about stopping.”

Sweet Anita has plans to move on from video games, at least some of the time. “I used to do animal rescue before this and I haven’t done enough for animals – that’s what I’d like to do next. I hope I get to go to animal sanctuaries, I hope I get to show people endangered animals. I’d love to do some rehab again, release some wild birds, that was the core of my existence before all of this.”

The maturation of both streamers and stream watchers is certainly something Twitch itself is thinking about. A huge majority of streams used to be about playing and watching video games, but recently categories such as Just Chatting and In Real Life (IRL) have become more popular. Streamers are getting out of their home studios and taking their viewers on days out, to restaurants, on walks, and beyond – top creator IShowSpeed has been streaming while scuba diving. Shayanelhawk literally sent his Twitch chat into space.

“Right now our biggest age group is actually 25-34 because people have aged up while using it and they keep using it,” says CEO Dan Clancy. “We’ve seen this in the growing diversity of content because as creators get older, they have new interests and their community stays with them. So I think we’ll see continued diversification. I’ve often conjectured that when the so-called Twitch generation gets to 60-70, we’ll see all these knitting and crochetting streams. As you get into retirement – the issue of looking for connection that you had as a teenager comes back, because the kids have left home, you’re looking for people, for community – and you have time. As we saw during Covid, Twitch is a platform that explodes when you have time.”

The one massive gamechanger lurking on the horizon is AI. There is already a successful AI avatar streamer, Neuro-sama, a cutesy anime girl with 1 million followers. Will Aimsey be part of the last generation of human teens who’ve had the chance to become, and grow up, as streamers? They think not. “No matter what happens there is always going to be an audience for human-made things. It doesn’t matter what we do, it doesn’t matter how big AI gets, there’s always going to be people who need that human connection to feel real.”

Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – US Open, Golf, US sports, PGA Tour, European Tour, Sport
Title – Wyndham Clark battles hostile crowd to win US Open again: ‘It’s rare fans boo your shots’ | US Open | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/bryan-armen-graham
Link – Wyndham Clark battles hostile crowd to win US Open again: ‘It’s rare fans boo your shots’ | US Open | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-22T01:41:18.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/22/wyndham-clark-battles-hostile-jeers-to-win-us-open-again-shinnecock-hills

Wyndham Clark spent much of Sunday afternoon hearing cheers for everyone but himself.

The grandstands and six-deep galleries packed around Shinnecock Hills revelled in his mistakes, groaned when he escaped trouble and reserved their loudest support for his playing partner, the world No 1, Scottie Scheffler. Several spectators were removed from the course after directing abusive comments at him, the United States Golf Association confirmed. By the time Clark finally tapped in on the 18th green to secure his second US Open championship in four years, the 32-year-old from Colorado felt he had won more than a golf tournament.

“They definitely didn’t want me to win,” Clark said afterwards, seated beside the trophy he’d nearly let slip away. “It’s pretty rare in a [US Open] or a major to have fans kind of boo against your shots or cheer for bad shots.”

For a player whose public image was badly tarnished after last year’s locker-room smashup at Oakmont , the reception hardly came from out of nowhere. Clark acknowledged that some of the hostility was self-inflicted. “Some of it’s self-deserved. I kind of brought it on myself,” he said. “But I also get it, too. Scottie was going for the career grand slam, and it hasn’t happened very often.”

What impressed Clark most was not that he won, but how he won. His yawning six-shot advantage entering the final round shrank to one on several occasions, yet he never surrendered the lead and hung on with a three-over-par 73. “It was tough, but I’m proud of myself that I battled through,” he said. “Things really could have gotten away from me. I stood tough.”

The victory completed an extraordinary turnaround from a period Clark described as one of the darkest stretches of his professional career. After missing the cut at Oakmont last year and kicking in two of the club’s 121-year-old lockers in frustration, Clark found himself dealing not only with a regression in form but with the reputational fallout from an incident that has dogged him since.

“After what happened at Oakmont was obviously the lowest point,” he said. “People probably didn’t see what happened after, but it was a really tough two, three days for me. I was in a dark place, didn’t really go outside much. It was a really negative, dark place.”

At the time, Clark feared much more than a missed cut. “I felt a lot of my career, world ranking, reputation, everything just dwindling,” he said. “That’s a terrible feeling.”

The player who arrived at Shinnecock this week bore little resemblance to the one who left Oakmont in disgrace 12 months ago. Clark credited changes to both his game and his outlook. “I did a lot of work in the offseason on my golf swing, on the things I needed to do,” he said. “As this year went on, I started hitting it better and started seeing the results. Then I started gaining my confidence.”

He also learned to handle adversity differently. Asked how he coped with a gallery that overwhelmingly wanted someone else to win, Clark disclosed the simple mental trick he leaned on. “Anytime someone said something negative to me, I replaced it with something positive,” he said.

At times he even found humour in the situation. “I was kind of making jokes about it with Dave,” Clark said, referring to caddie Dave Markle. “If we heard someone cheer for me, I’d go: ‘Oh, there’s one person that likes me.’ So we would kind of make jokes and make it maybe a little lighthearted.”

Years of experience in hostile environments helped. Clark pointed to Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup appearances away from home and even last week’s Canadian Open as preparation for what awaited him on Long Island. “It sucks being the underdog or getting rooted against,” he said. “But I can pull through, and there’s nothing like winning kind of an away game, if you will.”

The support he did receive came from those closest to him. Among the surprises waiting on the 18th green was his father, who had never previously been present for one of Clark’s victories and who took an overnight flight from Denver to be there for the finish. “He’s never been there to see me win,” Clark said. “Not only that, to finally have him there for a win is amazing, but especially on Father’s Day.”

A year ago Clark wondered if he would ever fully escape the shadow of Oakmont. On Sunday he was asked whether a second US Open title might finally turn the page on that chapter. “I sure hope it closes the door on it,” he said.