Keyword – Life and style
Trefwoorden – Dating, Relationships, Life and style
Title – Blind date: ‘I got a bit carried away once the wine kicked in’ | Dating | The Guardian
Author – Guardian Staff
Link – Blind date: ‘I got a bit carried away once the wine kicked in’ | Dating | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T05:00:54.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jun/20/blind-date-alex-ellie

Alex on Ellie

What were you hoping for? To meet someone kind and have an enjoyable evening with someone I maybe wouldn’t ordinarily choose for myself.

First impressions? Pretty, with great style, loads of personality and a really relaxed energy.

What did you talk about? Work. Travelling. Shared Bristol connections and an unexpected link to a nightclub in Swindon. Her new personal training side hustle. Probably a bit too much about my cycling, in hindsight.

Most awkward moment? I managed to make a bit of a mess with some crackers that were a lot more brittle than I expected.

Good table manners? She had really nice table manners.

Best thing about Ellie? Her smile and infectious laugh.

Would you introduce Ellie to your friends? Absolutely.

Describe Ellie in three words Warm, easygoing, fun.

What do you think Ellie made of you? I’m not entirely sure. She was very honest at the end and said she didn’t feel romantic chemistry, which I respected. Aside from that, I hope she found me decent company.

Did you go on somewhere? Nope.

And … did you kiss? Only a friendly peck on the cheek.

If you could change one thing about the evening, what would it be? Probably I’d talk a little less. I think I got a bit carried away once the wine kicked in.

Marks out of 10? 7.5.

Would you meet again? I’d definitely meet again as friends. I really enjoyed her company.

Ellie on Alex

What were you hoping for? I try to have not to have too many expectations, but was hoping for good chat, laughter and alfresco dining.

First impressions? We were both nervous and early, but as soon as I met him I was at ease.

What did you talk about? Japan. Our lack of wine knowledge. Favourite fitness things.

Most awkward moment? A piece of food fell out of my mouth as I was talking. But he nearly knocked his wine over, so I think we were even.

Good table manners? Yes. Mine were worse, due to the above.

Best thing about Alex? He has a really welcoming, warm vibe.

Would you introduce Alex to your friends? Yes, but I can’t fully imagine us in each other’s social circles.

Describe Alex in three words Warm, humble, intelligent.

What do you think Alex made of you? I’m not sure. I think he agreed we had fun, but the attraction wasn’t there.

Did you go on somewhere? No.

And … did you kiss? Only the cheek.

If you could change one thing about the evening, what would it be? Some chemistry might have been nice.

Marks out of 10? 8.

Would you meet again? I don’t think so, but I had a wonderful evening getting to know Alex.

Ellie and Alex ate at Pasta Ripiena in Bristol. Fancy a blind date? Email blind.date@theguardian.com

Keyword – Law
Trefwoorden – International criminal court, Law, UK news, World news
Title – ICC prosecutor suspended by UK barristers’ watchdog amid sexual misconduct inquiry | International criminal court | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/ameliahill,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/harry-davies
Link – ICC prosecutor suspended by UK barristers’ watchdog amid sexual misconduct inquiry | International criminal court | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-19T15:04:48.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/jun/19/international-criminal-court-prosecutor-suspended-bar-standards-board

Karim Khan, the international criminal court prosecutor, has been suspended from practising as a barrister in England and Wales by the UK’s Bar Standards Board (BSB).

It comes less than two weeks after Khan was suspended as ICC chief prosecutor as part of a disciplinary process triggered by sexual abuse allegations against him. Khan has repeatedly denied the claims.

The BSB imposed an interim suspension with immediate effect on Friday. Under its procedures, the decision must be reviewed by a panel within four weeks.

The suspension means Khan is no longer authorised to practise in the jurisdiction where he qualified as a lawyer and established his legal career, before moving into international criminal law.

The allegations against Khan emerged in 2024. They were made by a woman who worked for him at the court’s headquarters in The Hague.

According to sources familiar with the situation, the BSB’s decision to suspend Khan relates to her claims, which include allegations that he engaged in coercive and nonconsensual sexual behaviour over an extended period.

Earlier this month, an executive committee of the ICC’s governing body voted by qualified majority to determine that Khan had committed serious misconduct in connection to the allegations.

Representing Khan, the leading London libel law firm Carter-Ruck said: “As he has consistently made clear, Mr Khan unequivocally denies all allegations of impropriety. He maintains that he has acted at all times fully in accordance with his professional obligations.

Carter-Ruck said the interim action by the BSB was based on a decision by the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC. It said the bureau was a “political body” that had “purported to substitute its own assessment” of the allegations over an advisory panel of judges who concluded that a UN report into the claims “did not establish misconduct”.

“Mr Khan’s legal team is taking all necessary steps to challenge the decision of the bureau, protect his rights, and ensure that due process is upheld,” the firm added.

Elected prosecutor in 2021, Khan has led some of the court’s most closely watched investigations. During his tenure the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president , Vladimir Putin, over the war in Ukraine. Khan also sought arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas figures in connection with the war in Gaza.

The allegations have hung over the court for almost two years. Questions about how the complaint should be handled and whether Khan should remain in office while investigations continued have caused tensions among its member states.

Although the BSB’s decision is temporary pending review, it represents a significant development in the case. Khan built his reputation at the English bar before moving into international criminal law, first as a defence advocate and later as a prosecutor on the international stage.

The case has presented the ICC with a situation it has not faced before: since the court was established in 2002, its member states have never been asked to decide whether a sitting chief prosecutor should remain in office.

The issue has now been referred to the ICC’s 125 member states. Representatives are due to meet on 24 July to decide whether they accept the conclusions of the disciplinary process and what action, if any, should follow.

A vote could then follow to determine whether Khan should remain in post.

In the meantime, the prosecutor’s office continues to operate under Khan’s deputies, who are overseeing ongoing investigations and cases.

The BSB’s interim suspension will also come before a panel within the next four weeks. Khan is expected to challenge his suspension through the barrister regulator’s processes.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, World Cup, Football, Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, England, Sport, Scotland, South Korea, Mexico, Czechia, South Africa football team, Canada, Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco football team, Haiti football team, USA, Turkey, Australia national football team – Socceroos, Paraguay, Germany, Ecuador, Côte d’Ivoire football team, Curaçao, Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia football team, Belgium, Iran, Egypt football team, New Zealand, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde, Senegal football team, Norway, Iraq, Austria, Algeria football team, Jordan, Portugal, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo football team, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Panama, Ghana football team, US sports, Australia sport, Switzerland
Title – Bracketology: predict a path to World Cup victory | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author –
Link – Bracketology: predict a path to World Cup victory | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-04T10:00:48.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2026/jun/04/bracketology-predict-a-path-to-world-cup-victory

Groups Touch and drag teams into predicted finish order

Third-place teams Pick eight sides to advance to the last 32

Knockouts Tap a winner from each match to plan your route to the final

The progress of the World Cup from match to match is determined from
the beginning: there are no further draws to decide who plays whom in
subsequent rounds.

To maximise the spectacle, the competition is structured, broadly, to
ensure that the “bigger” teams don’t face each other (and knock each
other out) too early in the competition, and to ensure that all 48
teams have an incentive to field their strongest side for every
fixture.

The top two teams from each group automatically qualify to the next
round. Because the winner of a group will face a second- or
third-placed team from another group, the hope is that France, for
instance, will not rest on their laurels once they have enough points
to qualify for the knockouts but will try to win their last game to
get what in principle are easier opponents in the next round, the last
32.

At the other end of the table, a team who know they will come at best
third in their group still have an incentive to give their all in that
last group game because the eight best-performing of the 12
third-placed teams also go into the last 32.

Let’s take the example of England, wholly arbitrarily. If England top
their group, they will face a third-placed team in the first knockout
round (technically any one of 20 other teams, but plausibly a team
such as Côte d’Ivoire or Algeria). If they come second, they will play
the runners-up from Group K, plausibly Colombia. And if they come
third but have a better points total or goal difference than four of
the other third-placed teams, they get a tougher fixture, against the
winners of Group K, possibly Portugal. The simulator includes the
predetermined routes for all 495 possible combinations of groups
yielding the eight best third-placed teams.

This simulator allows you to change the outcome of each group and see
the effect that those changes have on the last 32, and then to imagine
the winner of each knockout game to plot each team’s possible route to
the final.

Editorial: James Dart, Marcus Christenson and Philip Cornwall

Design and development: Barry Ainslie, Georges Lebreton,
Seán Clarke, Harry Fischer, Petter Nitter and Freddie Preece

Groups Touch and drag teams into predicted finish order

Third-place teams Pick eight sides to advance to the last 32

Knockouts Tap a winner from each match to plan your route to the final

Your winner

The progress of the World Cup from match to match is determined from
the beginning: there are no further draws to decide who plays whom in
subsequent rounds.

To maximise the spectacle, the competition is structured, broadly, to
ensure that the “bigger” teams don’t face each other (and knock each
other out) too early in the competition, and to ensure that all 48
teams have an incentive to field their strongest side for every
fixture.

The top two teams from each group automatically qualify to the next
round. Because the winner of a group will face a second- or
third-placed team from another group, the hope is that France, for
instance, will not rest on their laurels once they have enough points
to qualify for the knockouts but will try to win their last game to
get what in principle are easier opponents in the next round, the last
32.

At the other end of the table, a team who know they will come at best
third in their group still have an incentive to give their all in that
last group game because the eight best-performing of the 12
third-placed teams also go into the last 32.

Let’s take the example of England, wholly arbitrarily. If England top
their group, they will face a third-placed team in the first knockout
round (technically any one of 20 other teams, but plausibly a team
such as Côte d’Ivoire or Algeria). If they come second, they will play
the runners-up from Group K, plausibly Colombia. And if they come
third but have a better points total or goal difference than four of
the other third-placed teams, they get a tougher fixture, against the
winners of Group K, possibly Portugal. The simulator includes the
predetermined routes for all 495 possible combinations of groups
yielding the eight best third-placed teams.

This simulator allows you to change the outcome of each group and see
the effect that those changes have on the last 32, and then to imagine
the winner of each knockout game to plot each team’s possible route to
the final.

Editorial: James Dart, Marcus Christenson and Philip
Cornwall

Design and development: Barry Ainslie, Georges Lebreton,
Seán Clarke, Harry Fischer, Petter Nitter and Freddie Preece

Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – England cricket team, Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum, Cricket, Sport, England v New Zealand 2026
Title – Ben Stokes could be back soon as England captain as mood turns his way | England cricket team | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/matthughes
Link – Ben Stokes could be back soon as England captain as mood turns his way | England cricket team | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-18T18:03:57.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/18/ben-stokes-england-captain-cricket-ecb

The England and Wales Cricket Board is hopeful Ben Stokes will be able to make a quick return as England captain. Brendon McCullum , the head coach, and Rob Key, the team’s managing director, refused to say that they wanted Stokes back in the side in press conferences over the past week, but behind the scenes the mood is believed to be more optimistic.

The ECB is understood to be waiting for a report from the Cricket Regulator into Stokes’s actions in breaking the team curfew along with the fast bowler Gus Atkinson after England’s first Test win against New Zealand at Lord’s last week. The regulator’s preliminary report is due in the next few days and its contents will inform the ECB’s next steps.

McCullum repeatedly emphasised his concern for Stokes’s welfare during a press conference at the Oval on Monday but, having initially considered retirement last week, the talismanic all-rounder has now made it clear he wants to play on. Stokes is also understood to have been surprised at the tone of McCullum’s comments in questioning his mental wellbeing.

The 35-year-old has been named in Durham’s squad for their County Championship match against Northamptonshire on Friday, which indicates his desire to return and could create a problem for the ECB if he is omitted from next week’s third Test at Trent Bridge without further explanation.

The ECB is conducting its own inquiries into Stokes’s and Atkinson’s behaviour in a Chelsea nightclub in parallel with those of the Cricket Regulator, but is eager to get the matter resolved quickly.

An immediate return to the squad for Trent Bridge has not been ruled out, but given that match starts next Thursday an extended break until England’s Test series against Pakistan begins in August appears more likely.

Stokes and Atkinson were both made unavailable for selection for the current Test match, although it is unclear whether their absence at the Oval would count as a formal suspension.

McCullum also insisted his relationship with Stokes remains strong despite feeling let down by the captain breaking a curfew and reported tension over strategy during the 4-1 Ashes defeat last winter.

ECB sources said that while Stokes has work to do to win back the trust of the players and management, the overwhelming feeling is that they want him to return.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Mary Earps, London City Lionesses, Women’s Super League, Women’s football, Paris Saint-Germain Women, Football, Sport
Title – ‘People think I’ve vanished’: Mary Earps on signing for London City and feeling forgotten | Mary Earps | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/tom-garry
Link – ‘People think I’ve vanished’: Mary Earps on signing for London City and feeling forgotten | Mary Earps | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-19T12:30:32.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/19/mary-earps-london-city-lionesses-signing-interview

W hen Mary Earps signed for Wolfsburg eight years ago, shortly after they had played in the Women’s Champions League final, there was no club photographer available for her unveiling, meaning her agent popped out to buy a scarf from the club shop before taking a makeshift announcement image. So when the former England goalkeeper’s latest club, London City Lionesses , announced her Women’s Super League return with a glamorous photoshoot on a boat on the Thames in front of landmarks such as Tower Bridge, she was struck not only by how much the women’s game and her life have been transformed, but by the bold scale of her new team’s ambitions.

“The energy and effort put into the shoot, I would never have imagined this even five years ago,” says Earps, whose move to London City from Paris Saint-Germain was confirmed on Friday. “All I keep saying is ‘I’m so excited,’ but that shoot just poured petrol on the excitement fire. Wow, if that’s what they do just to say ‘Hey, by the way, Mary’s arrived,’ then imagine hopefully what we can do [in the future].”

The 33-year-old has signed a two-year contract with the club that recently finished sixth in their debut WSL season, having chosen to return to the league where she has spent most of her career, including five years at Manchester United.

“I had an amazing time in Paris for two years, in a really special city, but last year I was sort of swaying more and more towards coming home,” the 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year says. “Every contract now, with where I’m at in my career, it’s just about maxing out with whatever I’ve got left in the tank, and I wanted to do that at home.

“It felt like being back home in the WSL, scrapping it out every week, playing in front of the fans, being in those incredible English stadiums, being a part of English football culture again.”

When it came to choosing London City, a video call with the club’s owner, the American businesswoman Michele Kang , helped Earps feel valued: “She showed a real energy for me to join. I found it really impressive that she even made the time for me in [among] the crazy amount of business ventures that she’s got going on and how successful she is. She never made me feel like she had to leave. She was really, really open. She really believes in women’s football. I really respect her.”

The independently run club, who play home games in Bromley and train in Kent, will be hoping Earps’s fame can help them build a fanbase off the pitch as well as succeed on it. Work to build their new training centre at Cobdown Park in Ditton was also a pull for Earps. “I had the pleasure of playing at world-class facilities last year [at PSG],” she says. “In women’s football, I’ll be brutally honest, when you’ve experienced everything, you don’t expect perfection. But [London City’s] intention and the plan of: ‘This is when it’s going to happen, by this date,’ it feels tangible and more real. Whereas I think there’s a lot of broken promises that can be made in women’s sports sometimes because just of where it’s at in its timeline. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows. But their vision and the way they’re actively working towards it, it’s not just words, it feels very much like action.

“The main thing was really feeling like our values really aligned in terms of what the club wants to achieve, their ambition, my ambition. The fact that it’s a woman-owned football club, independent, can really go about its business in its own way was really exciting for me.”

Earps says she has no regrets about moving to PSG: “The facilities are the best facilities I’ve ever trained at in my whole entire life. You could eat dinner off the pitches. And, it sounds stupid, but even having your own [women’s team] places to park when you come in. These things, I’d not experienced prior to that. The league was maybe not as competitive as I would have liked and that’s just the nature of football sometimes.

“When I joined they were Champions League semi-finalists so I probably had hoped we’d be a little bit more competitive on the pitch than we turned out to be, but that’s football. I think a lot of people don’t take those jumps [in life] and I’m just one of those people – I’d rather give it a go and look back with no regrets. I loved it, the city especially was incredible.”

Can the fans expect to see a slightly different goalkeeper, on a technical skills level, from the one who left United after lifting the 2024 Women’s FA Cup at Wembley? “I’ll let the people decide, because I feel like for two years I know people think like I’ve vanished off the face of the earth,” Earps says. “People ask me if I’m still playing, which is sometimes a bit hard to hear because I’m like: ‘Guys, still here, I’m still around, I’m still alive and kicking.’ But I understand that’s how football is and obviously here it’s very WSL-focused.”

London City will be the sixth WSL side Earps has played for and she appears to have no desire to slow down or contemplate retiring. “It will be a challenge for myself to come back and to come to a new team [but] there’s still some fight in the old dog,” she says. “There’s still a lot to come, and still many years to come, hopefully. I think when you retire internationally, you accept that you’re not going to be in those conversations about being the ‘top goalkeeper’ any more, because that’s just how it goes when you’re not playing for your country.

“You do fall down the pecking order. So maybe people don’t expect that much of me any more, but hopefully I can show a good level and really contribute to the team. I felt really good for the last two years in PSG.

“I’m one of those people that always believe that better days are coming. I still want to be the best version of myself every day. I still think I can learn. If I didn’t think I could better myself, I would have hung my boots and gloves up already. Hopefully I can continue to grow as a player and peak. I don’t know if I’ll reach the 40s, but maybe a few more years.

“The 40s seems so far away. It does get a little bit harder as every season that you play, there’s a few more cracks in the back and the neck and the knees as you wake up in the morning. But I love this game and I will play it for as long as I love it … I want to play until the wheels fall off a little bit. I want to avoid going into the real world for as long as possible because football is a pretty good job.”

Keyword – Politics
Trefwoorden – Conservatives, Scotland, Politics, Climate crisis, Environment
Title – Tory byelection victory gives Badenoch vital evidence to justify abandoning net zero | Conservatives | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/kiran-stacey,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/severincarrell
Link – Tory byelection victory gives Badenoch vital evidence to justify abandoning net zero | Conservatives | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T06:00:01.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/20/tory-byelection-victory-gives-badenoch-vital-evidence-to-justify-abandoning-net-zero

For the first time in 50 years, the Conservatives have won a byelection in Scotland, taking Aberdeen South from the Scottish National party and giving Kemi Badenoch one of her most significant achievements as party leader.

The win for Douglas Lumsden, which was secured with a 15% swing, giving the Tories a majority of 6,050, provides the party leader with an important piece of evidence that her decision to abandon the party’s commitment to net zero by 2050 is working.

The question for Badenoch is whether the appeal of her pro-North Sea drilling position will translate in other seats away from the north east of Scotland , which is heavily reliant on the oil and gas industry for tens of thousands of local jobs.

Speaking at a rally on Friday alongside Lumsden, Badenoch said: “What this means is that we have won that referendum on oil and gas.

“Aberdeen has sent a message to the Labour government and to the SNP that we will not be ignored, Aberdeen will not be ignored, the centre will not be ignored.”

The seat was heavily targeted by the Conservatives, both because of its demographic make-up and because of the travails of the SNP .

As a semi-rural commuter belt comprising of two-car households and luxury villas based heavily on energy sector jobs, Aberdeen South was always going to provide the Tories with fertile ground.

The Tories took the seat in 2017, albeit against a backdrop of discontent over the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s attempts to use Brexit as a trigger for a second Scottish independence referendum.

The voters were also unhappy at the SNP this time, albeit for different reasons. Shortly after the byelection was called, the party’s former chief executive Peter Murrell pleaded guilty to stealing £400,000 in party funds.

The scandal hovered over the contest, and was often brought up by voters on the doorstep.

But it was the argument over the North Sea which appeared to be decisive.

The basin is in steep decline after decades of drilling, but the Tories argue it should be drilled for as long as economically viable.

The SNP has a more nuanced position, arguing new drilling should only take place if it can be shown not to violate the UK’s climate change commitments, and that the tax burden on oil companies should be cut. The party has also called, however, for heavy investment in renewables and cutting the UK’s carbon emissions.

Labour, meanwhile, has pledged to issue no new licences in the North Sea at all – a policy championed by the energy secretary, Ed Miliband.

Lumsden spent much of the campaign highlighting those differences, saying on Friday: “This result sends a clear message to Labour and the SNP: their war on North Sea oil and gas must end.”

Stephen Flynn, who triggered the byelection when he stood down as MP to take his place in Holyrood instead, called the result “a tough night in Aberdeen that some will need to reflect on, quite heavily”.

Badenoch said on Friday morning that the win means “a message has been sent that we do need to drill our own oil in the North Sea, not take oil from Russia or Norway when we have got our own oil right here”.

She urged the Labour government to approve environmental applications for the Jackdaw and Rosebank mega-fields.

The Tory leader has unlikely backers in this position from two of the country’s biggest unions: Unite and GMB.

Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, which has thousands of members in the energy sector, said: “Until there is a credible plan for jobs the anti-North Sea policies must be consigned to the bin.”

If Labour wants to counteract that message nationally, it will need to highlight the effects of North Sea drilling on the UK’s climate commitments.

Polling shows that voters are heavily in favour of issuing new licences in UK waters, with 48% saying they support such a move and only 21% saying they would oppose it.

But they are much less supportive of Badenoch’s argument that the UK should ditch the 2050 net zero target. A recent poll by Ipsos for the policy institute at King’s College London found 64% of voters believe that goal should be reached at least by 2050, if not earlier.

Badenoch’s stance might come into sharper focus in the coming weeks.

While the Tory leader was celebrating her victory in northeast Scotland, Andy Burnham was celebrating his own in Makerfield , more than 300 miles to the south.

If the outgoing Manchester mayor succeeds Keir Starmer as prime minister in the coming weeks and picks Miliband as his chancellor, as many of his allies want, the Tory attacks on Labour’s net zero policies are only likely to intensify.

Keyword – Life and style
Trefwoorden – Quiz and trivia games, Life and style
Title – Who warned of ‘climate instability’ in 1988? The Saturday quiz | Quiz and trivia games | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/thomas-eaton
Link – Who warned of ‘climate instability’ in 1988? The Saturday quiz | Quiz and trivia games | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T06:00:03.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jun/20/who-warned-of-climate-instability-in-1988-the-saturday-quiz

The questions

1 How many times does the sun rise each year at the north pole? 2 Which board game inspired the creation of QR codes? 3 Five of the six cataracts of the Nile are in which country? 4 In what decade did Germany print a 100-trillion Mark note? 5 Who warned of a “global heat trap” and “climate instability” in 1988? 6 Which rhythm section had the surnames Dunbar and Shakespeare? 7 Free the Weatherfield One was a campaign to liberate whom? 8 What was the main language of the Inca empire? What links: 9 Barringer, US; Chicxulub, Mexico; Vredefort, South Africa; Wolfe Creek, Australia? 10 Smokin’ Joe; Fighting Marine; Neon Leon; Easton Assassin? 11 American Legion; Theodor Escherich; Daniel Salmon; staff; twisted berry? 12 Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr; Larry Bell, Dion DiMucci and Bob Dylan? 13 Bass beer; bleaching allowed; major seventh chord; youth hostel? 14 Cole Allen; Thomas Crooks; Ryan Routh? 15 1558 (25); 1689 (26); 1702 (37); 1837 (18); 1952 (25)?

The answers

1 Once. 2 Go. 3 Sudan. 4 1920s. 5 Margaret Thatcher. 6 Sly and Robbie. 7 Deirdre Rachid (in Coronation Street). 8 Quechua. 9 Meteor/asteroid impact craters. 10 Nicknames of boxers who defeated Muhammad Ali: Joe Frazier; Ken Norton; Leon Spinks; Larry Holmes (Trevor Berbick didn’t have one). 11 Etymology of types of bacteria: legionella; E coli ; salmonella; bacillus (Latin); streptococcus (Greek). 12 People on Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album cover who are still alive. 13 Represented by a triangle symbol: brewery logo; laundry label; jazz notation; on OS map. 14 Alleged attempted assassins of Donald Trump. 15 Queens: accession year (age on accession): Elizabeth I; Mary II; Anne; Victoria; Elizabeth II.

Keyword – Games
Trefwoorden – Online multiplayer games, Games, Culture, Consumer rights
Title – ‘They kill games, we fight back’: the activists campaigning to keep video games playable | Online multiplayer games | The Guardian
Author – Nicole Carpenter
Link – ‘They kill games, we fight back’: the activists campaigning to keep video games playable | Online multiplayer games | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-19T09:00:27.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/jun/19/stop-killing-games-activists-campaigning-online-gaming

Y ou can never be sure how long an online video game will last. Developer BioWare shut off sci-fi shooter Anthem’s servers in January, after seven years. Electronic Arts discontinued access to The Sims Mobile the same month. Wildlight Entertainment shuttered its Highguard servers in March, mere months after the game’s release. Activision Blizzard took Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile offline in April. Dozens more games have had their servers shut down in the first six months of 2026, adding to an already long list of video games that are no longer playable.

There is little that players can do when a company decides to stop supporting online play. Communities work hard to keep their favourite games online, sometimes keeping dead games running on private servers , though that may not necessarily be entirely legal. Generally, though, when a game goes offline it is dead and it’s not coming back.

But there’s a movement lobbying to stop this practice. Stop Killing Games was set up in 2024 by YouTuber Ross Scott, after Ubisoft announced it was shutting down its online-only racing game The Crew . Something about that particular instance of game-death seemed to particularly rile people: two gamers filed a lawsuit accusing Ubisoft of fraud over it.

In the simplest terms, Stop Killing Games wants governments to introduce legal protections to prevent publishers shutting down video games, and advocates for “end-of-life plans” to keep them playable. Stop Killing Games’ director of US operations Jonah Goldman posits an example: if you play Call of Duty, you have the option to play multiplayer matches both online or through your own home network. If publisher Activision were to shut down the Call of Duty servers, Stop Killing Games suggests the company should allow players to buy and operate their own private online servers.

The movement has grown quickly, and Stop Killing Games has evolved into a non-governmental organisation in the US and Europe. The group has pursued “multiple legal and legislative avenues”, according to its website: a European Citizens’ Initiative petition, a lawsuit filed in conjunction with a French consumer advocacy group over Ubisoft’s The Crew, and a successful petition to get the issue debated in the UK parliament. As a result, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot met with European Commissioners and the trade organisation Video Games Europe on 3 June to discuss digital policy. And on 9 June, 45 members of the European parliament sent a letter urging the commission president Ursula von der Leyen, executive vice-president Henna Virkkunen, and commissioner for consumer protection Michael McGrath to commit to legislative action.

The European Commission responded this week that “it cannot propose a legal obligation to keep video games playable after they stop being provided commercially” because of European copyright and intellectual property laws. But it stated it will work with publishers to create a “code of conduct on managing video games’ ‘end of life.’”

This is a better response than expected. In an interview with the Guardian before the decision, Stop Killing Games’ strategy lead Moritz Katzner said that it had expected the Commission to simply do nothing. Instead, the group will lobby for inclusion in a forthcoming piece of legislation aiming to regulate manipulative practices online. “The Digital Fairness Act, which is a law package coming in front of the European parliament this summer, is perfect for us,” says Moritz. “We have committed promises, public commitment, that they’re going to put [our proposals] in there.”

In the US, meanwhile, Stop Killing Games helped the Protect Our Games act pass California’s Assembly vote in June; now it will head to the California senate for a second vote. If it becomes law, this bill will require publishers to give advance notice before taking a game offline, and mandate a way for players to keep accessing the game. It would apply only to purchased games – not free-to-play titles – released after January 2027.

“A constituent in my district brought this issue to my attention, highlighting a concerning gap in consumer protection for live service games,” assembly member Chris Ward told the Guardian in an emailed statement. “As technologies and markets evolve, our laws must keep pace, in this case to ensure that Californians can make use of the games they pay for.”

Goldman says the quick progress on the bill was “slightly unexpected, but very exciting.” He is optimistic about the bill’s chances of getting through the state senate. But whether it passes or fails, he expects more states to get involved. “There’s a lot of opportunity here for a lot of different states, especially those who have members who are focused on and care about consumer rights and consumer protections,” he says.

Stop Killing Games’ advancements have encouraged other states. Legislation such as that proposed in California is a major boon for the movement. That bill’s impact could be felt across the US; a California bill about transparency of digital licensing is the reason why every player purchasing a game on Steam now sees a disclosure right below the payment button: “A purchase of a digital product grants a licence for the product on Steam.”

The bill has met opposition from the Entertainment Software Association, a US-based trade organisation for the video games industry. In a press release in June, its president Stan Pierre-Louis wrote: “Behind every online game is an enormous, invisible infrastructure … When a game’s popularity fades, that infrastructure continues to run, for a fraction of the audience, at nearly the same cost.

“A legal requirement to keep games playable indefinitely will put game publishers in an impossible situation … This proposal essentially keeps games alive long after their natural lifecycle, draining resources and energy from creating what comes next.” Pierre-Louis posited that companies will make fewer games if they become “permanent obligation[s].”

Game companies’ resistance to Stop Killing Games policies is a “pure business decision,” says Katzner. “They’re concerned that … people still playing their existing games aren’t going to buy a new one,” he said. “That’s the simple thought chain here. But if you buy a new car, your old provider doesn’t come and destroy the old one.”

Keyword – Global
Trefwoorden – Law, Palestine Action, Protest, Arms trade, UK news, Gaza, Palestine, World news
Title – You may not sympathise with the Elbit four’s methods. But you should be outraged by their treatment under the law | Law | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/geoffreyrobertson
Link – You may not sympathise with the Elbit four’s methods. But you should be outraged by their treatment under the law | Law | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T11:00:03.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2026/jun/20/elbit-four-law-jurors-criminal-damage-terrorism

I n a London court in 1670, a judge, livid with the jury, locked them away for two days without food, water or even a chamber pot. The jury’s offence? Defying the judge’s direction to convict the Quaker William Penn – the future founder of Pennsylvania – charged with preaching sedition in the City of London. The foreman, Edward Bushell, would not yield and, when the matter reached the chief justice of England, he ruled that no juror could be punished for their refusal to convict, entitling a jury to decide according to its conscience, whatever the bench directed. A plaque honours Bushell at the Old Bailey, so jurors on their way inside may contemplate the man who secured their right to acquit.

The legal principle has held for three and a half centuries and, in my 50 years of practice, I have witnessed many juries bring back “sympathy verdicts”, that is, acquittals , because they think a defendant has been oppressively or unfairly prosecuted. But they are not usually reminded by barristers of their right to do so because of the profession’s concern that they should not be urging juries to lay aside the oath they took to decide according to the evidence.

This right sits at the centre of the case of the Elbit four who last week were sentenced to more than 22 years combined, for their part in a direct action protest. Leona Kamio, 30, a nursery teacher, Samuel Corner, 23, and Fatema Rajwani, 21, both students, and Charlotte Head, 30, a domestic abuse caseworker, broke into a factory owned by Elbit Systems, an Israeli company that manufactures drones. They are among more than two dozen people – “ the Filton 25 ” – being tried for breaking into an arms factory in Filton near Bristol, or in connection with the act. They are now in the process of going to court, spread over four trials .

The first group of defendants underwent not one, but two trials. At their first, they faced several charges, the gravest being aggravated burglary. Their leading counsel, Rajiv Menon KC, took to the floor to remind the jury of their historical right to acquit, and invited them to weigh the use to which the drones were being put. The judge, Mr Justice Johnson, referred Menon to the high court to be tried for the crime of contempt of court for breaching his order not to mention the jury’s right to acquit. The jury, however, went on to acquit the defendants of aggravated burglary. But they could not come to a majority decision on any of the remaining charges.

The prosecution decided that the defendants must face a retrial . This proceeded with the same Mr Justice Johnson presiding on the charges the first jury could not resolve: criminal damage, an offence ordinarily met with a fine or a sentence of 18 months or so. At this point, the four had already spent more than 18 months in pretrial detention. The second jury convicted the Elbit four of criminal damage .

One defendant was also convicted of grievous bodily harm without intent, having injured a female police officer with a sledgehammer. He said, and the jury must have accepted that, disoriented by the Pava pepper spray the officer had just deployed, he had swung the hammer to shield a co-defendant , accidentally hitting the police officer. His sentence nonetheless was seven years and eight months.

How does damaging property earn nearly eight years? At a secret hearing during the first trial, Mr Justice Johnson had ruled that the protest carried a “terrorist connection” . This was unprecedented in the history of direct action trials. His reasoning was that the defendants’ purpose was to “influence” the British government – which is the purpose of almost every political protest ever mounted. The judge’s ruling was kept secret from both the jury and the public, and the UK press was barred from reporting on it.

There was no terrorism in any ordinary sense: no violence meant to kill or maim, only a determination to expose British complicity in the killing of Palestinians. But the Sentencing Act of 2020 , passed by the then Conservative government, has significantly widened what counts as terrorism. That fateful act allowed the judge to impose a far heavier sentence. As “terrorists”, they will serve longer times in prison before they are up for parole and 15 years on a list that makes them police suspects for real terrorism crimes.

The Elbit four will be labelled as “terrorists” because they were convicted, in substance, of a quasi-terrorist offence that was never charged, never put to the jury, and never proven by the prosecution. The jurors who found them guilty of criminal damage had no idea their verdict would be treated as a verdict on terrorism. The prosecution was not required to establish the terrorist connection beyond reasonable doubt, or to any standard at all.

It is another foundational principle of English law that no one should be convicted of an offence that has not been charged and proved. In this case, the principle was suspended. The secrecy compounds the injury. The open-justice principle exists, as Jeremy Bentham put it, because “publicity is the very soul of justice; it keeps the judge, while trying, under trial”.

The court of appeal struck down the trial judge’s decision to have Menon tried by the high court for contempt. The better view is that contempt citations should be that contempt citations should be referred to the ttorney general to decide whether the public interest justifies a prosecution. The court ruled that Johnson’s decision was wrong; he apologised, but that did not stop him sentencing Menon’s clients when they were convicted at the second trial.

All of which returns us to Edward Bushell, and to what a jury is for. Juries have always had the power to temper law with mercy. It is among the oldest protections against an overbearing state. The difficulty is that judges seldom tell juries the power exists, leaving counsel to invoke it only obliquely.

Years ago, defending a woman who had killed a man for beating her every day of their life together, the great advocate Edward Marshall Hall closed with the words: “Just look at her, gentlemen of the jury. God never gave her a chance. Won’t you?” They did.

It would be far more transparent to bring the power into the open – to let the judge, where the defence claims it, remind the jury of the right, and let the prosecution argue against its exercise. Instead, the only lawful way to appeal to a jury’s conscience is to tell them to look at a plaque in the Old Bailey lobby.

The Elbit four did not act in ignorance of the consequences. Bentham held that a citizen may disobey a law they believe to be unjust, provided they are willing to accept the punishment. On that view, the protesters who knew very well they were breaking the law against criminal damage should have pleaded guilty. While on trial, they openly acknowledged participating in the factory break-in and damaging the drones. What no defendant should have to face is punishment for a crime of terrorism that was never charged.

A version of this article was originally published in The Key magazine

Geoffrey Robertson KC is founding head of Doughty Street Chambers and his latest book is World of War Crimes – Eyeless in Gaza and Beyond

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – China, Women, Comedy, Asia Pacific
Title – For women in China frustrated by sexism, female comics are offering a release | China | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/amy-hawkins,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/lillian-yang
Link – For women in China frustrated by sexism, female comics are offering a release | China | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-19T01:33:00.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/19/china-sexism-female-comics-standup-comedy-women-feminism

P acked into the upstairs theatre of a small performing arts space in east Beijing, more than 100 people, mostly women, are giddy with anticipation. “Who did you come to see?” asks the MC, fashionably dressed in a faded denim two-piece suit. The answer is bellowed in unison back to him: “Fang Zhuren!”

Fang Shaoli, AKA Director Fang ( Fang Zhuren ), has built a cult following in China in the past two years. Decidedly less fashionable than the evening’s host, Fang is dressed in a yellow hoodie and dark blue jeans. Her everywoman attire is part of the appeal. With a stout frame and short, sensible haircut, Fang, who was born in 1975, hails from rural part of east China’s Shandong province. Before discovering the art of standup comedy she worked in factories and on construction sites, but mainly lived as a housewife to a difficult husband. Her jokes riff on the deep sexism that permeates Chinese culture, particularly away from the big urban centres like Beijing and Shanghai.

Joking about her two daughters’ marriage prospects, Fang says: “If you don’t get married, then you won’t have to suffer the way I did.” Every joke prompts a ripple or a roar of appreciation from the crowd.

Fang’s success – she was a contestant on the hit reality television show The King of Comedy last year – comes as standup comedy as a genre has taken off in China. In the first half of 2025, the number of shows increased by more than 50% compared with 2024, while box office revenues increased by 135%.

There is a long history of comedy in China, from slapstick skits to cross-talk , a two-person performance based on rapid banter and wordplay. But the western style of observational wisecracks has only recently caught on in the mainstream. For women frustrated with everyday sexism, it has provided a useful release valve in a society where official censorship makes complaining openly fraught with difficulty.

“Women’s perspectives have long been overlooked, and now there’s finally space for them to really shine on stage,” says Su, 25, one of the throngs of people queueing to get a selfie with Fang after the show.

In a four-part series , the Guardian analysed the changing status of women across Chinese society. The series examines how women are responding to government restrictions and shifting social and economic conditions, in different aspects of their lives.

Navigating the minefield of political topics

Fang is one of several female comics to have emerged in recent years. There is also Wang Xiaoli, a 45-year-old woman from Chengdu who makes jokes about being single and childless .

Xi Ha, a former flight attendant, mocks the impractical dress codes for female flight attendants; some airlines have since abandoned the requirement for female staff to wear high heels.

Riffing on everyday observations about the hurdles faced by women, their jokes about daily life have resonated with millions of women across the country, from urban, educated millennials to frustrated rural housewives like Fang.

According to Rose Luqiu, a professor of journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University, standup comedy gives women a space to talk about certain topics that have become more sensitive in the past three years. “Nobody clearly talks about needing to be single, or not wanting to have a baby, but [female comedians] do have some narratives which echo the individualism or independence of women,” Luqiu says.

But although comedy can disguise social commentary as lighthearted jokes, sometimes the authorities have a sense of humour failure. Officials have warned comedians against stirring up discord between the genders “for the sake of being funny”.

In the run-up to International Women’s Day, amid a clean-up of online feminist content, a Uyghur standup comedian called Paziliyaer Paerhati, was banned from Weibo after posting a joke about having to cook for a fictional husband over lunar new year.

In 2024, the e-commerce giant JD.com dropped the popular female comedian Yang Li from an advertising campaign after a backlash from male customers who were outraged at one of her viral jokes about how men can “look so average, yet be so confident”.

And when it comes to explicitly political topics – or anything that criticises the state rather than social attitudes – comedians steer well clear.

Vickie Wang, a Taiwanese standup comedian who lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, says that before she performed at her first open mic night in 2017, she was warned by the organisers not to joke about politics, LGBTQ+ issues or anything relating to Tibet, Taiwan or the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

“There’s this understanding that you can’t talk politics, you can’t criticise the government. So instead of talking about systemic issues, you go very granular, you go very personal,” Wang says.

But the line of what is acceptable to censors shifts frequently. Wang, who left China in 2022, used to joke about dating. Now the government is sensitive about anything that might promote “ gender antagonism ”.

“In standup comedy in the west, the expectation is that you push the envelope”, Wang says. In China, it’s about telling jokes that resonate with your audience without attracting so much attention that the authorities scrutinise your jokes.

The need for Chinese performers to stay somewhat below the radar to avoid censorship limits the reach of their message. But in small theatres across the country, female comics are subtly expanding the boundaries of public speech.

For Fang, the unexpected success of her comedy career has even brought her an unlikely fan: her ex-husband, who she supports with the earnings from her newfound fame.

“I used to rant about the world and my ex-husband to anyone who’d listen,” Fang says. “Now when I get attacked online, he secretly jumps in to help me fight the haters”.

Additional research by Lillian Yang