Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Football, Women’s football, Sport, Newsletter sign-up
Title – Sign up for the Moving the Goalposts newsletter: our free women’s football email | Football | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/suzanne-wrack
Link – Sign up for the Moving the Goalposts newsletter: our free women’s football email | Football | The Guardian
Publish date – 2022-03-22T16:57:35.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/mar/22/sign-up-for-our-new-womens-football-newsletter-moving-the-goalposts

Keyword – Politics
Trefwoorden – Defence policy, Royal Navy, Ministry of Defence, Military, Politics, Russia, Europe, UK news
Title – UK officials expect Russia to retaliate for seizure of shadow fleet oil tanker | Defence policy | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/dan-sabbagh
Link – UK officials expect Russia to retaliate for seizure of shadow fleet oil tanker | Defence policy | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T18:47:03.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/17/uk-expect-russia-retaliate-seizure-shadow-fleet-oil-tanker-smyrtos

British officials believe Russia will try to retaliate for the Royal Marines’ seizure of the oil tanker Smyrtos, prompting UK ship owners to exercise greater vigilance until tensions with Moscow ease.

Military sources said the UK had considered possible responses to the seizure of the vessel carrying Russian crude worth $40m (£30m) to India, and anticipate that the Kremlin will want to hit back.

“Seizing the Smyrtos was in the works for a long period. They had gone through the risks, and expectation is Russia will try to retaliate,” said a naval insider. “If they do so, it could be globally. They are likely to take their time and pick their moment.”

No formal warning has been issued to British captains and ship owners, but the UK Chamber of Shipping, which represents the industry, said there was an understanding that there could be the risk of a Russian tit-for-tat action.

“We are aware of the increased risk and owners assess the risk for themselves,” said a spokesperson. “From an industry perspective, a greater vigilance is more prevalent, given the events of the last few days.”

The Smyrtos was seized in the small hours of Sunday on the orders of the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, as it sailed 25 miles (40km) south of the Isle of Wight. Its Indian captain has been charged with breaching UK sanctions on Russia .

On Tuesday, sailors on a Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired warning shots near a British yacht in the Channel. The pleasure boat, which was on its way to the French port of Cherbourg, had come close to the warship, though the couple on board said they had already taken evasive action when the shots were fired.

The Ministry of Defence did not think the incident had been a retaliation, but it demonstrates heightened Russian nervousness as tensions between London and Moscow deepen as a result of the UK’s support for Ukraine.

British-flagged tankers have been seized in tit-for-tat disputes in the past. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps held the Stena Impero in the strait of Hormuz for two months in 2019.

That incident came after the Royal Marines had detained an Iranian oil tanker, Grace 1 , in Gibraltar. It too was released after a couple of months.

The detention of the Smyrtos marks the first time that British forces have seized a Russia-linked oil tanker, and comes as the UK and Europe seeks to put pressure on Moscow’s shadow fleet of about 600 vessels, which are responsible for transporting half its crude oil exports, a key source of revenue to fund the continuing war in Ukraine.

Shadow fleet vessels are often old, falsely or not legally flagged, operating at poor environmental and safety standards. The UK says it captured the Smyrtos, which had been monitored for several days, because it was falsely registered under the flag of Cameroon, and therefore legally stateless.

The Department for Transport, which is responsible for issuing security notices to ship owners, said it was in constant contact with the industry to provide the latest advice. It does not comment on the details of such advice, sources said.

Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – Rory McIlroy, Golf, LIV Golf Series, Sport, Sport politics, Saudi Arabia and sport, US Open, PGA Tour, European Tour, US sports
Title – McIlroy fears ‘false economy’ created by LIV Golf could put PGA Tour events at risk | Rory McIlroy | The Guardian
Author – PA Media
Link – McIlroy fears ‘false economy’ created by LIV Golf could put PGA Tour events at risk | Rory McIlroy | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-16T17:48:55.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/16/rory-mcilroy-liv-golf-pga-tour-us-open-golf-shinnecock-hills

Rory McIlroy believes the “false economy” created by the threat of LIV Golf may now be putting some well-established PGA Tour events at risk. The world No 2 and current Masters champion said he felt people had lost sight of how good the tour was before it too had a huge cash injection.

When the Saudi breakaway started luring away some of the top talent on multimillion-dollar contracts ­during the early years the PGA Tour’s response was to restructure, ­creating eight signature events each with smaller field and prize funds of $20m (£15m), plus generating a number of associated financial benefits.

The threat of LIV has now subsided with its future in doubt after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – which had pumped $5bn into the venture – announced it would stop financing it at the end of the year. But further changes were already in the pipeline on the PGA Tour, including the contentious two-tier system of tournament rankings which McIlroy is not a fan of.

“It’s funny as they’ve done all this work [and] you start to realise that the way the tour was before LIV came along was actually pretty good,” said the Northern Irishman ahead of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills in Long Island, New York.

“It was a pretty good structure, and everything sort of worked pretty well. LIV created this false economy where we had to up prize funds and had to cut fields and try to support the top players.

“ I think it needed to ­happen because that was the only way to retain talent at the time, but now that LIV looks like it’s less of a threat, I think, as I said, the old ways of the PGA Tour weren’t actually that bad.”

“An event like last week, the Canadian Open, potentially going to one of these Track 2s. Track 2 is a glorified Korn Ferry [second-tier] event. I don’t think the Canadian Open should be one of those.

“I just think there’s going to be certain events that might lose their stature if a sponsor doesn’t pony up $30m, so that’s the tough thing.”

McIlroy will begin his bid for a ­second US Open title alongside Ryder Cup teammates Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Åberg at 7.52am local time (12.52pm BST) on Thursday. Nine months ago the trio were part of the European side which won overseas for the first time in 13 years, 60 miles west of Shinnecock Hills at Bethpage.

They will tee off at 7.52am local time (12.52pm BST), just after Brooks Koepka – a two-time US Open winner who was champion last time Shinnecock hosted in 2018 – goes out with compatriots Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup.

The event provides the world number one Scottie Scheffler with his first shot at completing the career grand slam and he tees off at 8.14am (1.14pm BST) with defending champion JJ Spaun and 2025 US amateur winner Mason Howell.

Golf’s newest major champion, Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai, is off at 1.14pm (6.14pm BST) with Collin Morikawa and Jason Day, both major winners themselves.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, England, Harry Kane, Thomas Tuchel, Croatia, World Cup, Football, Sport
Title – Harry Kane reveals half-time Tuchel pep-talk inspired England to victory over Croatia | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/ed-aarons
Link – Harry Kane reveals half-time Tuchel pep-talk inspired England to victory over Croatia | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T23:32:27.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/18/harry-kane-england-croatia-inspired-thomas-tuchel-speech

Harry Kane has revealed that a half-time speech from Thomas Tuchel when he told England “to show the world what we can be” inspired victory in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup .

Croatia equalised twice before half-time after Kane had equalled Gary Lineker’s record for goals scored by an England player at the World Cup finals with a penalty and a header from Declan Rice’s corner. But a much-improved performance in the second half saw Jude Bellingham re-establish England’s lead before Marcus Rashford came off the bench to wrap up the victory late on.

“He told us to take the shackles off, calm down and let’s go. He said what’s the worst that can happen? Show the world who we can be,” said Kane of Tuchel’s rousing speech.

“We came out in the second half full gas and they couldn’t live with it, and that’s the level we have to set in every game. The way we controlled the game once we went ahead, we never really looked like we were in danger and then scored on the counterattack. We had a spell where we could have scored three or four. Credit to everyone: the first game of the tournament and a great result against a tough side.”

Bellingham added: “It wasn’t one of those where it was a big drama or standing up and shouting; it was what the team needed. We have a mature group with great leaders in there; everyone knew the level we had to get to. The start of the second half gave us a great platform.”

There were concerns when Rice was taken off as a precaution in the second half and Tuchel said the Arsenal midfielder had felt discomfort in his lower back and upper hamstring.

“He feels discomfort. And I didn’t want to take any risks. So if I take Declan off, which I never wanted to do,” said Tuchel. “But it was the moment to protect him. I hope it’s nothing more. Declan just reassured me at the end. ‘It’s good, it’s good.’ I know the discomfort and we will take care of it.”

The England manager also acknowledged that his players had shown signs of nerves despite going twice ahead but hopes that they will learn from the experience.

“Sometimes if you want to get it so perfectly right, you sometimes want it too much and you overthink it,” he said. “In the end, in doubt, we took the decision to go backwards, on and off the ball. We played way too many [passes] backwards, we played way too many back to our goalkeeper. It took us a while to find our confidence. That’s why I said maybe it’s also normal. I had the hope that the goals would help us. It was not the case.”

Reflecting on his half-time speech, Tuchel added: “I told them to calm down. We just conceded the goal. To calm down, calm their nerves. And encourage them to do it our way. I told them that my perception of them in the last 17 days will not change no matter what the result is. I want them to do it their way. Our way. I want them to be brave, courageous and tenacious on the front foot. And just go for it.”

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – US-Israel war on Iran, Donald Trump, US news, US politics, World news, Iran, Middle East and north Africa
Title – Trump signs Iran peace plan, claiming deal averts ‘worldwide depression’ | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/roth-andrew,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/patrickwintour
Link – Trump signs Iran peace plan, claiming deal averts ‘worldwide depression’ | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-18T00:36:22.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/17/trump-us-iran-war-mou-deal

Donald Trump has signed a 14-point agreement with Iran, claiming it delivered a “major win” for the United States – even as it made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a “worldwide depression”.

In extraordinary remarks on Wednesday, Donald Trump went from threatening Iran with a new wave of attacks to suggesting the country had basic rights to enrich uranium for civilian use, that he would not pressure Tehran to abandon its ballistic missiles programme and the US was “going to have to give back” billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.

Those remarks, as well as the full text of the agreement – which was hailed by the Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, as a “great victory” – are likely to fuel anger in Israel and among hardliners in the Republican party who had urged Trump not to make a deal with Tehran.

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed the agreement on Wednesday from Tehran. The US vice-president, JD Vance, is also expected to sign the deal at a more formal ceremony in Geneva on Friday.

Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: “The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge.”

Defending the deal, Trump said no US president had ever been as tough on Iran as him, and “there is nothing as smart as the market – and the market loves it”.

Trump said that “the alternative would be a worldwide depression”, arguing that if he had not struck a deal, “the strait [of Hormuz] would never have been opened. They don’t like floating billion-dollar ships up and down the strait when their rockets are flying overhead and there are mines all over the place.”

Senior administration officials said the deal would help prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, pointing to an agreement to discuss down-blending its 440kg stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be further enriched for use in a nuclear weapon. Trump has said he was open to the stockpile being diluted inside Iran under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Trump administration had delayed the release of the full text of the memorandum of understanding, which is essentially a 60-day ceasefire agreement, in order to hold more comprehensive nuclear and permanent peace talks with Iran. The 14-point plan was dictated to journalists during a background briefing by senior administration officials as Trump spoke at the end of the G7.

The deal would provide important financial incentives to Iran, including the immediate lifting of a US naval blockade on Iranian ports and the issuance of waivers for Iranian crude oil to be shipped abroad, as well as the potential lifting of all international sanctions against Iran, the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets, and plans to develop a $300bn (£224bn) reconstruction fund for Iran funded by regional partners in the Gulf.

Trump angrily rejected suggestions that the US would be contributing to the $300bn fund, instead saying payouts by Gulf states were likely to be conditional on Iran’s good behaviour.

“Anyone who wants to can invest. What do you expect me to say: no one is allowed to invest? But we’re not investing; we’re not putting up even 10 cents,” he said.

The ceasefire deal included Lebanon, a key Iranian demand, which would restrain Israel from conducting military operations in the country, according to a senior administration official. It also included a clause ensuring the “territorial integrity” of Lebanon, although an administration official when asked did not confirm that meant Israel would be forced to withdraw from the swathe of the country it has occupied as a “buffer zone” against Hezbollah.

In return, Iran would agree to restrain its foreign allies including Hezbollah in Lebanon, and “reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons”.

The agreement would also allow the toll-free passage of ships for 60 days through the strait of Hormuz, but on Wednesday Ghalibaf said Iran would charge ships travelling through the waterway at the end of the period stipulated in the memorandum of understanding.

In an interview aired on state television, Ghalibaf said the “strait of Hormuz will not return to prewar conditions”, adding: “Iran has the right to sovereignty over the strait of Hormuz and of course we will receive a fee for services.”

Suzanne Maloney, the vice-president and director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, said: “Realistically, the level of expertise and detail that is required to hammer out even the nuclear piece of this seems overwhelming for an administration that is flying by the seat of his pants in these negotiations.

“So much is front loaded for the Iranians … they’re going to be able to export oil without the sanctions regime, which is almost surreal at this point in time. They’re going to make an awful lot of money very quickly.”

Trump backed a G7 leaders’ joint statement that welcomed the deal but said a follow-on agreement was necessary to rein in Iran’s ballistic missile programme, an issue not directly addressed in the memorandum of understanding.

“They have to have some, because other people have some. You got to have some,” Trump said.

“What am I going to do? Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can’t have them?” he added, referring to previous discussions with advisers on Iran’s missile arsenal.

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, called it a “very good deal”, adding that US allies in the G7 support it “because it’s an agreement that puts a stop to a situation of great instability that had terrible consequences for our economies”.

But the G7 proposal for further talks involving European leaders about Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for proxy forces is certain to be rejected by Iran. Tehran has been negotiating exclusively with the US and regards Europe as largely irrelevant.

Iran is also likely to reject France and Britain’s plan for a taskforce to escort ships through the strait, a proposal endorsed in the G7 leaders’ statement.

The G7 leaders said the agreement provided “a historic opportunity to prevent Iran from acquiring any nuclear weapon and tackling the threats related to its regional and ballistic activities. We support and are ready to contribute to its implementation.”

Trump also sounded a conciliatory note on returning frozen assets to Iran, a stipulation of the Obama administration’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that he had attacked in 2015.

“We have taken a lot of their money,” Trump told reporters. “It’s not our money, it’s their money, and we froze it at a certain point in time. I guess we’re going to have to give it back, you know, if we didn’t give it back, nobody would ever invest in the dollar again.”

Trump claimed the price of a barrel of oil had fallen to $72 – Brent crude dipped below $80 on Tuesday – and would soon fall below the level it had been at before the war.

Keyword – Opinion
Trefwoorden – Social media ban, Young people, Social media, Social media bans, Schools, Education, Digital media, Media, Society, UK news, World news
Title – We must be alive to the dangers of a UK social media ban – and the way to really help young people | Rosie Parkyn | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/rosie-parkyn
Link – We must be alive to the dangers of a UK social media ban – and the way to really help young people | Rosie Parkyn | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-18T11:00:02.000Z
Category – Opinion
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/18/uk-social-media-ban-dangers-young-people-education-content

A s a parent, I understand the appeal of the announcement on Monday by the prime minister that would prevent children under 16 from using social media. Right now, you are in constant battle with the infinite scroll for your child’s attention, while their impetus to explore the real world is subdued by endless entertainment always within reach. At best, their rapidly developing brains are rotted by a diet of the synthetic, sensationalist and shallow – humanity’s least impressive creative output catering to its lousiest instincts. At worst, they are being preyed upon by forces intent on manipulating, exploiting or recruiting them. You look around and wonder where they are, even as they are right under your nose. You worry they will never experience the boredom that leads to creativity and propels us forward.

The desire to protect children from an often hostile environment makes sense, and the ban sends a signal of what we deem acceptable, and maybe even opens up the possibility of a behavioural shift in how we use social media. But evidence from Australia, where similar legislation was enacted last December, is not encouraging. According to one study , two-thirds of young people retained their accounts, while 51% of those most affected by the ban now see less news. The fact is that this demographic get most of its news from social media feeds , consumed incidentally amid footage of fights, diet tips and dance crazes and conveyed by influencers whose shtick is authenticity not accuracy. But it is encountered nonetheless. If we remove access, we need to create alternative routes to news and information.

Given social media platforms’ abandonment in recent years of trust and safety protocols, effective content moderation systems, support for third-party factcheckers and any real pretence at serving the public interest, you may not see them as the best place to get information. Seventy-three per cent of people in the UK would agree with you . But young people want to understand the world, and there is real value in helping them navigate the information ecosystems we have as we build those we wish for, particularly when those ecosystems play such an outsize role in real-world outcomes. In addition, young people use social media as a place to connect and express themselves. And why wouldn’t they, as other dedicated spaces such as youth clubs, community organisations and extracurricular school provision closed down. Disconnection is dangerous too.

At the Guardian Foundation , we deliver media literacy programmes in primary and secondary schools in the UK. We update our materials regularly to reflect rapid changes in the way that people are accessing news and information, but the journalistic process – verifying information, seeking alternative perspectives, challenging assumptions and providing context – remains a constant. Children develop the skills to assess the reliability of information, but they also learn about algorithms and platform economics. They discuss who might benefit from targeting them with misogynistic content, or why filter bubbles develop, or how outrage is incentivised and dopamine activated – and how all this might make them, and those around them, feel.

This is critical preparation for a world in which trust is eroding and truth is increasingly contested, and particularly important in communities which have lost their local journalists and don’t see their concerns reflected in the national media. Teachers tell us that they are better equipped to handle conversations they might otherwise avoid, and young people delight in creating their own journalism, paving the way for an active role as consumers and producers of information.

Media literacy will join the national curriculum in England in September 2028 . If this fosters greater resilience to misinformation and disinformation and the ability to identify high-quality sources as conversational chatbots embed themselves in daily life, that will be good for all of us. Research has demonstrated how news consumption improves knowledge of current affairs and increases political participation, and our own research shows a strong correlation between media literacy and civic engagement. Conversely, the harms wrought by misinformation and disinformation are so well rehearsed they don’t bear repeating again.

But it’s an important addition in other ways: as is painfully felt by young people coming to the end of exam season, today’s education system emphasises the acquisition and retention of knowledge just long enough to recall it for the marking schemes. While a solid mastery of some facts is, of course, important, the ability to critically assess and make productive use of the abundant information you will be deluged by is surely more so. That’s why the social media ban must be accompanied by other measures to help young people thrive in a digital world, including properly funded news and media literacy education and alternative spaces for safe connection and participation.

Without this holistic approach, we cannot hope to win the battle to help our children stay safe and make good choices, while engaging – as they must – with technology. The ban is just a signal that there is much more to do.

Rosie Parkyn is executive director of the Guardian Foundation

Keyword – Opinion
Trefwoorden – Norway, Jeffrey Epstein, Europe, World news, US news
Title – Norway’s monarchy once seemed like a fairytale – recent crises have exposed its dark underbelly | Magnus Nome | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/magnus-nome
Link – Norway’s monarchy once seemed like a fairytale – recent crises have exposed its dark underbelly | Magnus Nome | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-18T04:00:03.000Z
Category – Opinion
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/18/norway-monarchy-royals-crown-princess-mette-marit-jeffrey-epstein

T he Norwegian monarchy is in crisis. Not because its future queen is gravely ill , nor even because her son has this week been convicted of serious crimes , but because the institution’s greatest asset – public trust – has been eroded by a series of self-inflicted mistakes.

Yesterday, it was announced that Norway’s crown princess, Mette-Marit, underwent a successful lung transplant after reports of a dramatic deterioration of her pulmonary fibrosis. That initial news prompted an outpouring of sympathy and even a surge in organ donor registrations. Without jumping the queue, she was matched with a compatible set of lungs less than two weeks after being placed on the list.

But the other two issues have elicited a very different public response. First, there are the actions of her son, Marius Borg Høiby. As a child, he stood on the palace balcony with the royal family, waving at the 30,000 children marching by on Norway’s constitution day. This year, he’s been standing trial, accused of 40 offences, including rape, threats and bodily harm. On Monday, Høiby was convicted of 34 of the 40 offences in the original indictment, including domestic abuse and two counts of rape, and sentenced to four years in prison. His lawyers immediately lodged an appeal. The palace had no comment on the outcome.

The second issue is entirely self-inflicted: Mette-Marit’s past contact with Jeffrey Epstein , and her reluctance to fully account for it. A drip of revelations shattered her initial description of a few casual encounters; released emails unveiled what looked more like a close friendship, including visits to Epstein’s Palm Beach house, shopping trips, personal advice and discussions of literature – including the Lolita author, Vladimir Nabokov – as well as a now-infamous 2011 exchange in which she wrote : “Googled u after last email. Agree didn’t look too good :).”

As more details emerged, public pressure mounted. After weeks of silence, in March the crown princess and Crown Prince Haakon gave a 20-minute interview to the public broadcaster NRK, with questions provided in advance. Mette-Marit expressed deep regret , saying she had been manipulated by Epstein, and ended contact in 2014 after realising he was a “bad guy”.

She revealed that she had witnessed him blackmailing others, and told of an incident at his Florida home that left her feeling unsafe, but declined to elaborate. She contended she was unaware of his sex crimes, and only ever saw him in the company of adults. She could not account for the smiley face email, saying she did not recall it.

Her regret deserves to be taken at face value, since everything indicates that she was more of a chess piece than a player in Epstein’s game, but her vague answers satisfied neither the public ( 68% found them insufficient ) nor most commentators. Mette-Marit has not been available for more questions, Haakon only reluctantly answering a few. The king commented that the couple had covered the issue satisfactorily, saying his daughter-in-law hadn’t broken any laws.

For royals who once possessed a keen instinct for the public mood, it appears to have deserted them. The institution has never been less popular, with one in three Norwegians now believing King Harald V, 89, should be the country’s last monarch .

Norway is not a natural fit for a monarchy; it abolished nobility in its 1814 constitution, and its people are not comfortable with being anyone’s subjects, valuing equality and humility over tradition and grandeur. Still, an overwhelming majority – 79% – voted for monarchy over a republic, when the country divorced from Sweden in 1905 . The government put its weight behind the monarchy, afraid of the political implications of becoming a republic in a Europe that, at the time, had very few.

But the Norwegian royals understood the brief, and delivered. King Haakon VII , imported from Denmark, dedicated himself to the nation and became a symbol of defiance during the second world war. His son, King Olav V , was beloved, famously taking the tram through Oslo during the 1973 oil crisis. The current monarch, Harald, grew to become as popular in his own right, and Crown Prince Haakon has long been seen as an intelligent, decent man fit to follow in their footsteps.

They embraced inclusivity, defining themselves as the people’s royals, from King Haakon VII declaring he was “ the communists’ king, too ”, to later generations’ unambiguous support for immigrants and LGBTQ+ citizens.

Even the choices of spouses without a drop of blue blood – including Mette-Marit, a single mother with a history of hard partying – were admired by most. Putting love over convention, it made the monarchy seem less elitist, more like a modern fairytale. Mette-Marit grew into the role, too, winning over critics and receiving the acceptance and esteem of the public.

How things change. This year, the crown princess has seen several of the humanitarian and cultural organisations she has previously supported cut ties with her. What used to be considered a great honour is now a potential liability. In online spaces, the mood has turned toxic, with people accusing the crown princess of being an accessory to both Epstein’s crimes and those of her son, dismissing her medical issues as a PR stunt, or insisting that she must have received her lungs so quickly at the expense of a commoner. There are no grounds for such accusations, but the palace’s misleading initial narrative and continuing reluctance to be transparent has provided a perfect breeding ground for conspiracy theories.

For all this, Norway isn’t getting a president any time soon. The few republicans in parliament, mostly on the left, routinely propose the abolition of the monarchy. They do so as a matter of principle, since the outcome is always the same: this year the proposal received 26 votes, with 141 against .

Even now, two out of three Norwegians still support the monarchy , but its unassailable position is gone. Its reputation as being “of the people” may never recover, in an age of anti-elitist populism. Mingling with Epstein reminded many that the royal family, however carefully they cultivated an image of ordinariness, belong to a global elite.

Norwegians sincerely hope Mette-Marit recovers successfully. Whether her health will ever permit a full return to public life remains to be seen. But while the Epstein issue is “on pause”, the palace’s task of rebuilding trust after such serious missteps remains – there are many questions still unanswered.

In a March poll, almost half of those surveyed saw Mette-Marit as unfit to become queen. The mood may have shifted since. But unlike in 1905, the population won’t be consulted on that, since a monarchy follows the archaic logic of bloodlines, not democracy. But the legitimacy of Norway’s royal family rests less on constitutional law than on public trust and affection. Once squandered, these qualities are not easy to recover.

Magnus Nome, based in Oslo, is a journalist, writer and co-creator of award-winning TV series in Norway

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here .

Keyword – Politics
Trefwoorden – Brexit, European Union, Trade policy, International trade, UK news, Foreign policy, Politics, Business, Europe, Economics
Title – Rejoining customs union would not fix damage caused by Brexit, research finds | Brexit | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/heatherstewart
Link – Rejoining customs union would not fix damage caused by Brexit, research finds | Brexit | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-18T04:00:02.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/18/brexit-customs-union-exports-single-market-research

Brexit has depressed UK exports to the EU by 12%, and rejoining the customs union would undo only a fraction of the damage, research shared with the Guardian shows.

With the UK’s future relationship with the bloc likely to feature prominently in a potential Labour leadership contest, the economists John Springford and Anton Spisak, of the Centre for European Reform, provide fresh evidence of the damage caused by exiting.

A decade on from the referendum, they have found that services sector exports to the EU are 7% lower than they would have been if the UK had remained in the EU, and goods exports are 16% lower.

Using detailed trade data and economic modelling, they show that the “overwhelming majority” of the impact – 10% of the total 12% decline in exports – is accounted for by leaving the single market.

“The regulatory costs related to Brexit – such as new certification procedures and checks for compliance with EU standards – have had a much more significant impact on UK-EU trade than customs-related barriers,” they say.

The hardest-hit sectors have been travel, finance and insurance, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and agrifood.

The estimate of lost services exports is larger than previous research has suggested, because the authors take into account a significant uptick in services trade within the EU since the Covid pandemic that the UK has missed out on.

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have increasingly stressed the importance of striking a closer trading relationship with the EU, with a summit to be held next month.

But the government has said it will stick to Labour’s manifesto promises not to rejoin the single market or customs union, or accept the free movement of people.

More recently, potential leadership candidates Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting have both suggested they would like to see the UK rejoin the EU at some point in the future.

The Liberal Democrats had previously advocated rejoining the customs union as the first step to reversing Brexit, but their leader, Ed Davey, announced this week that the party would now campaign for the UK to re-enter the single market.

The CER research suggests the upside of rejoining the customs union alone would be modest. It would eliminate the need for UK firms to comply with complex “rules of origin”, about where the content of exports comes from, to qualify for tariff-free trade.

But a customs union would have no benefit for the hard-hit services sector, and by analysing which goods exports currently do not comply with the rules, Springford and Spisak suggest the impact on overall trade would be small.

Meanwhile the UK would lose the opportunity to pursue trade deals with non-EU countries, because members of the customs union have to apply EU tariffs.

However, Springford and Spisak point out that the more radical step of rejoining the single market would entail risky political trade-offs, including signing up to the free movement of people, paying into the EU budget and following European rules the UK has had no say in setting.

“The overwhelming majority of the estimated trade impacts stem from leaving the single market. Recovering those losses would entail re-integrating with the EU economy via a single market, either in goods or in full, through a bespoke arrangement or eventual EU membership,” they argue.

“Either path involves difficult political choices: accepting free movement, making budget contributions, and aligning with EU rules without a vote on them. The more privileged the single market access sought by the UK, the greater the obligations it would be expected to accept.”

Reeves has suggested “dynamic alignment” in some sectors, with the UK agreeing to follow EU rules in exchange for increased market access. But Brussels-watchers are sceptical how much further along this route the EU would be willing to go without insisting the UK accept free movement and budget contributions.

Advocates of Brexit argued before the 2016 referendum that increased trade with non-EU countries, as the UK disentangled itself from the constraints imposed by Brussels, would offset any hit to EU trade. But Springford and Spisak find little evidence that this has happened thus far.

They say their findings are consistent with several studies suggesting that Brexit has knocked between 4% and 8% off UK GDP.

Keyword – Life and style
Trefwoorden – Australian lifestyle, Dating, Relationships, Life and style
Title – The moment I knew: When he saw my unkempt hovel, he was so nonjudgmental | Australian lifestyle | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/doosie-morris
Link – The moment I knew: When he saw my unkempt hovel, he was so nonjudgmental | Australian lifestyle | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-13T20:00:23.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jun/14/moment-i-knew-unkempt-hovel-nonjudgmental

I ’d had a big, sparkly pop career in my 20s but by 2024 I was beyond my twink era, and getting by hopping from one weird gig to the next. Covid had really done a number on the music industry and, while my friend Paul Mac had kept me making music, I found myself drifting through a strange, boozy few years in Sydney. I’d been single since 2020 and my best friend was my cat.

Throughout that hazy time, I was as terminally online as ever. At 38 I was posting like a 20-year-old. One day, for no particular reason, I posted a track from the Dissociatives’ self-titled album from the mid-noughties. Paul, who I call my gay uncle, and Daniel Johns of Silverchair fame, had made just one LP together, and the obscure track, Thinking in Reverse , was one of my favourites.

To my surprise it earned me a little fire emoji reaction from the drag queen Karen from Finance, who I was vaguely aware of from their time on Drag Race. I didn’t think queens listened to indie music, so I was snobbily impressed and clicked “follow”.

As I looked over their Instagram posts I was intrigued by this self-made character and realised we had crossed paths over the years. It turned out in 2022 at the Gaytimes festival, as I scrambled to deal with a keyboard malfunction, Karen had performed a 15-minute-long Tina Turner medley to tide the crowd over!

Still, we had never spoken and I had never laid eyes on Richard Chadwick, the man behind the makeup. An online connection bubbled between us and occasionally, if I noticed we were in the same city (he lived in Melbourne), I’d suggest we meet up. But the stars never aligned.

As the 2025 Melbourne fringe festival approached, I was staying with a friend in the city. I popped on to Grindr only to be greeted with this familiar, very handsome face at zero metres away.

Richard, it turned out, was my friend’s flatmate. Not wanting to sully our finally meeting face to face by involving the app, I casually kicked open the door of the spare room I was in, hoping to catch him wandering by. When that didn’t work I started marching loudly around the house trying to get his attention. Little did I know Richard was suffering through a severe hangover.

Eventually my antics lured him out of his room and I got my first look at him, all sparkling blue eyes in a black band tee and a pair of basketball shorts. It was the first time I’d seen him out of costume. He had this beautiful warm smile and I threw my arms open at the sight of him. I knew as we were locked in that first firm embrace I was going to fall for him.

He must have felt something too because his hangover magically disappeared and he joined me at my gig. I spent the entire performance catching his eye in the crowd and singing my little heart out as if he was the only one there.

On the drive home we gushed about Silverchair’s highly underrated Diorama album. And put it this way: I didn’t need to make use of the spare room.

I flew home to Sydney the next day feeling elated but not expecting anything more. I was bowled over a few days later when he proposed taking a detour, after a show in Adelaide, through Sydney to visit me.

I hadn’t had a house guest in years and my apartment was a bachelor pad in all the worst ways. I was so embarrassed about it I booked us a hotel, but the room was so bad he insisted we go back to mine. There he got his first glimpse of who I was behind my performer’s facade – dirty dishes, hideous bed linen and all. He was so fine with the state of my house I could hardly believe it. This is a person who will not drink champagne unless everyone’s glasses match, yet my unkempt hovel didn’t receive much more than a side eye.

That is something I adore about Richard. Despite his own exacting standards, he is so nonjudgmental. I am a famously cynical guy. I see the worst in everything, especially myself. But Richard doesn’t; he challenges my negativity without ever making me feel bad about it.

When I get salty about some perceived slight, he asks me gently if it’s really something worth spending my energy on.

I didn’t even have a full-length mirror in my home when Richard started to stay, so he bought me one. Now when I send him my daily fit checks, I make my bed and tidy up before I take the shot. Not because I fear he will judge my slovenly ways but because his love makes me feel like the kind of person who deserves to have six decorative bed pillows and not sleep with their shoes on.

Brendan Maclean performs in the cabaret production Velvet Inferno at the Sydney Opera House, 24 July to 12 September

Tell us the moment you knew

Keyword – Film
Trefwoorden – Aardman, Exhibitions, Museums, Bristol, Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep Movie, Chicken Run, Film, Culture, UK news, England
Title – Aardman exhibition marks animation studio’s half a century in Bristol | Aardman | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/stevenmorris
Link – Aardman exhibition marks animation studio’s half a century in Bristol | Aardman | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-18T14:00:05.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jun/18/aardman-exhibition-animation-studio-bristol-wallace-gromit

Aardman’s most famous characters, Wallace and Gromit, may be denizens of northern England but the studio’s deep-rooted connection to the south-west of the UK is being celebrated in a new show on Bristol’s harbourside.

The exhibition at the M Shed, just around the corner from the Aardman base on Gas Ferry Road (a name that would not be out of place in a Wallace and Gromit adventure), shines a light on the studio’s 50 years in Bristol .

It maps how Aardman rose from modest beginnings in the city and began to win the nation’s hearts and minds by moulding Morph for the children’s programme Take Hart, before going global with beloved characters such as Shaun the Sheep and the Chicken Run gang.

The show features puppets galore and beautifully crafted sets and describes how Aardman’s creations draw on Bristol’s independent, sometimes rebellious spirit.

“We’ve always had a creative identity that celebrated independence,” said Ngaio Harding-Hill, the director of attractions, live experiences and archive at Aardman. “I think the spirit of Bristol has always permeated our productions.”

As well as entertaining and informing, the exhibition is also designed to inspire young people to consider a career in the industry. “Over the 50 years, we’ve been able to develop a great creative community in the city,” Harding-Hill said. “We hope the exhibition will make people think about a career in the creative industries. If you’ve got a story, got an idea, you can make it happen.”

The Guardian was given a sneak preview as the finishing touches were being made to the show, which highlights how south-west England locations and products – as well as its alternative spirit – are used in Aardman works.

Grimy railways arches that appear in one of the Shaun the Sheep’s tales, for example, are based on Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

Tottington Hall, which features in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, was modelled on Montacute House , a late Elizabethan mansion in Somerset south of Bristol.

Some references are subtle but will delight Bristolians. Tucked away in a Chicken Run set, for example, is a tin of “Fly’s Cocoa”, a nod to Fry’s, the chocolate maker founded in Bristol.

Other highlights of the show include a flying machine built for Chicken Run that escaped the 2005 fire in which much of the studio’s past was destroyed. Someone involved in the production had tucked it away in their garage and handed it back after the blaze.

Another set, never shown in public before, features Wallace and Gromit being held captive by their arch-enemy Feathers McGraw for the 2024 film Vengeance Most Fowl.

Steve Bradley, an exhibitions and displays manager, said caring for so many national treasures was a huge responsibility. He is keen on some of the grubbier sets, such as one that has an overflowing skip as its centrepiece and a barbed wire fence with tiny plastic bags caught in the spikes.

“Even though they are gritty in nature, they’re still beautiful,” Bradley said. “The craftsmanship is extraordinary.”

The exhibition’s first weekend has already sold out. Visitors who want to take home a bit of Aardman will be able to buy limited-edition badges, key rings and jewellery.

And before they leave, they can dine in the cafe on Aardman-themed food including pasta and sandwiches – loaded, of course, with Wallace’s beloved cheese, wensleydale.

Helen McConnell Simpson, a senior curator of history at Bristol Museums, said M Shed often tackled difficult areas. The statue of slave trader Edward Colston, which was thrown into the harbour in 2020 during a Black Lives Matter protest, remains tucked away in a quiet corner of the museum.

“But it’s really lovely to welcome families to an exhibition which is focused on joy and celebration,” she said. “The world is a difficult place at the moment and it’s great to have something based on warmth and community and creativity and fun.”

Cracking Exhibition Gromit: 50 Years of Aardman in Bristol runs from 20 June to 13 September.