Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – Israel, Lebanon, War crimes, Palestine, Human rights, International criminal justice, Middle East and north Africa, World news, Law, Gaza
Title – Construction equipment multinationals may be aiding Israeli war crimes, experts say | Israel | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/william-christou
Link – Construction equipment multinationals may be aiding Israeli war crimes, experts say | Israel | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T13:00:32.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/17/construction-equipment-multinationals-may-aiding-israeli-war-crimes-experts

Human rights experts have alleged that six multinational construction equipment conglomerates may be aiding and abetting war crimes by supplying excavators and bulldozers to Israel, after photos and videos showed the Israeli military using their equipment to demolish villages in south Lebanon. The Guardian geolocated and verified images showing the Israeli military using excavators made by six companies – Caterpillar, Volvo, Hyundai, Doosan, Hitachi and Komatsu – to destroy homes, public utilities, shops and other structures across southern Lebanon.

Israel has levelled entire villages inside the “yellow line”, a 608 sq km area occupied by Israel along the Lebanese-Israeli border. At least 46 villages in south Lebanon have suffered heavy damage, most of it caused by demolitions carried out after the 17 April Lebanon-Israel ceasefire, according to a satellite analysis by Bellingcat.

The Israeli military said it was destroying Hezbollah infrastructure, with Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, calling for “all homes in Lebanese villages near the border” to be destroyed to “remove threats”.

However, Human Rights Watch has said that Israel’s wide-scale destruction of villages could amount to wanton destruction – a war crime. Displaced residents have watched from afar as videos show craters and vast fields of rubble where their family homes once stood.

Much of that destruction is being carried out by excavators and bulldozers produced and sold to Israel by foreign companies.

Two pictures taken by the Associated Press on 12 and 15 April in the Lebanese border town of Mays al-Jabal show excavators from all six companies among flattened houses, as well as Hyundai, Caterpillar and Komatsu excavators actively destroying homes.

Videos from the Lebanese border towns of Naqoura and Debel in April also showed the Israeli military using foreign-produced excavators to destroy homes and other infrastructure. Surveillance footage captured the Israeli military using a Volvo excavator to destroy solar panels and water infrastructure in Debel, a key source of electricity and water for the residents of the besieged town.

The Israeli military, commenting on the incident in Debel, said the actions seen in the video were “not in line with the IDF’s values”, and that the incident was under investigation.

Human rights experts said that supplying the construction equipment that enables the Israeli military to destroy homes and villages in south Lebanon could make these companies complicit in any war crimes and potentially lead to their executives facing legal consequences. Foreign companies should stop supplying heavy construction equipment to Israel until they are assured that it will not be used in war crimes, the experts said.

“Businesses carrying out activities that contribute to serious international law violations in Lebanon, such as the extensive destruction of civilian property, may expose themselves, or their individual directors and managers, to the risk of prosecution for complicity in war crimes,” said Mark Dummett, the deputy programme director and head of business, security and human rights at Amnesty International.

Dummett added that Israel’s “longer track record” of using military and civilian excavators to carry out demolitions in the West Bank, often in violation of international law, should have already raised concerns among companies continuing to supply equipment to Israel.

He said: “Any basic corporate human rights due diligence process would have flagged the risks of the company contributing to these abuses and should have triggered robust measures to ensure that their machinery and equipment were not involved in abuses.”

For decades, the Israeli military has used foreign-produced excavators to demolish the homes of Palestinians, often in circumstances that could amount to forced displacement and war crimes .

Most recently, Caterpillar has come under scrutiny after the majority of US Democratic senators voted in April to block a $295m sale of Caterpillar D9 bulldozers to Israel. Caterpillar’s D9 armoured bulldozer has become notorious for its use by the Israeli military to demolish homes and for crushing the nonviolent US activist Rachel Corrie to death in 2003 in Gaza .

Four of the six companies identified in Lebanon – excluding Hitachi and Komatsu – were named in a report by the UN special rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, as companies that profit from Israel’s displacement of Palestinians.

Evidence of their products being used to commit widely documented abuses has seemingly not given some of these companies pause. Instead, companies such as Caterpillar have signed new multimillion dollar deals to supply the Israeli military with equipment.

Now, excavators from Caterpillar and other multinationals are being used to systematically destroy dozens of villages in south Lebanon, after decades of similar destruction in Palestine .

Much of this destruction has been carried out by the placing of charges, as in the case of the town of Qantara, where the Israeli military used 450 tonnes of explosives to level structures there.

But the Israeli military has also used excavators to destroy border villages, relying on civilian contractors who bring in their construction equipment to assist with the demolitions. According to Haaretz , some contractors are paid based on the number of buildings they destroy.

The construction equipment is supplied directly to the Israeli military and to local partners in Israel, where they are sold commercially to civilian construction firms. Because the Israeli military outsources its demolition work to civilian contractors, it means that any excavator or bulldozer exported to Israel – even if not sent to the military directly – could be used to destroy homes in Lebanon or Gaza.

In the past, construction companies supplying heavy equipment to Israel have said they are not responsible for and cannot control how their products are used once they are sold.

Volvo, Komatsu, Hitachi and HD Construction Equipment – which operates the Hyundai brand – said they had internal policies to ensure that human rights were respected, including in their contracts with dealers who sell their equipment. Volvo, Hitachi and Komatsu said they had limited ability to control what customers did with their products once they were sold to dealers, while HD Construction Equipment said the equipment bearing the Hyundai logo pictured in Lebanon was not sold by them and was “entirely unrelated”. Caterpillar did not reply to a request for a comment and Doosan is no longer being produced.

However, business and human rights experts have said that pleading ignorance does not hold much weight given the abundance of evidence that their products are being used in human rights abuses.

Alreem Kamal, an international lawyer who works on corporate accountability in the Middle East, said: “The documented use of similar equipment in contexts such as Gaza means that companies cannot plausibly claim that they were unaware of the risks.

“The harm is foreseeable, and they bear a responsibility to take appropriate measures accordingly. Failure to do so may expose these companies to legal, reputational and financial consequences.”

The UN has set out guidelines for corporations under the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. Under the UN principles, companies have a responsibility to avoid causing or contributing to human rights violations, and to mitigate human rights abuses directly linked to their products.

The guidelines are nonbinding, but Sweden, Japan, and South Korea – where Volvo, Komatsu, Hitachi, Doosan and Hyundai are headquartered – have developed national action plans to implement the UN principles. The US, where Caterpillar is based, does not have an action plan.

There is a legal precedent of executives and corporations being held accountable for selling products used in human rights violations, starting with the Nuremberg trials. Thirteen directors of IG Farben, a German chemical conglomerate, were charged for selling to the Nazis Zyklon B, the gas used to murder Jewish people and others during the Holocaust.

In recent years, national courts are increasingly holding companies and their executives accountable for complicity in crimes committed abroad in conflict settings. French courts convicted the French cement company Lafarge and four former executives in April 2026 for financing terrorism for their role in paying armed groups in Syria, including Islamic State.

In Sweden, a court case is continuing against two former executives of the Swedish oil company Lundin Energy, now Orrön Energy, who are accused of complicity in war crimes in what is now South Sudan. Both former executives deny the allegations.

Kamal said: “The broader trend is clear: scrutiny of corporate involvement in atrocity crimes is growing and the impunity that has long protected them is steadily eroding.”

Keyword – Opinion
Trefwoorden – The super-rich, Income inequality, Elon Musk, Inequality, SpaceX, Global economy, Economics, Economic policy
Title – Is it bad that Elon Musk has a trillion dollars? Yes, and here’s why | Ingrid Robeyns | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/ingrid-robeyns
Link – Is it bad that Elon Musk has a trillion dollars? Yes, and here’s why | Ingrid Robeyns | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T04:00:21.000Z
Category – Opinion
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/17/is-it-bad-that-elon-musk-has-a-trillion-dollars-yes-and-heres-why

I t was bound to happen eventually: Elon Musk has become the planet’s first trillionaire . Until recently, economists who spoke about “trillions” were describing the GDP of the largest economies or the accumulated value of bequests on their way to the heirs of today’s billionaires. The term is not often used in daily conversation, let alone to describe the wealth of an individual.

But now we have entered a new phase of the oligarchic era. Previously, when we described the wealth of the world’s richest billionaires, it was understood as a few hundred billions. Three years ago, the value of Musk’s total assets was estimated to be about $250bn. The pace at which it has increased is mind-boggling – and so is what it represents.

We need to know two things about trillionaires: what a trillion dollars exactly stands for , and why this level of wealth concentration is dangerous.

A trillion is $1,000,000,000,000 – or “12 zeros”. Macroeconomists may understand the significance of this number, but most of us don’t. That’s why, when I wrote about a book about the need for a cap on personal wealth, or “limitarianism” , I proposed the concept of “an equivalent hourly wage”, the wage that one needs to earn to accumulate a fortune. In other words, in the case of Musk, what wage would he have to be on to amass a trillion dollars? The answer is that, even if he worked 70 hours a week from age 20 to 75 and took no holidays, his pay rate would need to be about $5m an hour. By way of comparison, the median hourly wage in the US is just under $25.

Why is such wealth concentration a problem? One reason is fiscal fairness. The economist Gabriel Zucman has shown that billionaires pay much lower effective tax rates than others. This is because our legal systems contain so many possibilities for tax avoidance – for instance, by shifting financial flows between the different countries in which their companies are active, by making use of loopholes in the law, or by putting their wealth in tax havens.

For decades, neoliberal economic thinking has urged us to accept cuts in the tax rates of the richest on the basis that eventually their wealth will trickle down. The claim has been that everyone benefits from the rich becoming billionaires – and now trillionaires. But even the IMF has by now accepted that this is not true . It is an optimistic ideological myth to ensure we stop worrying about widening inequalities.

A second argument against billionaires and trillionaires is wastefulness. There is no point in an individual having so much money, and it is scandalous, given that many people die prematurely or live stunted lives with very few opportunities, simply because the richest take the lion’s share of the wealth that we as societies produce together. A less unequal distribution of wealth in the world would allow humanity to address crucial global challenges such as global heating, while 99% of the global population would live better lives (and perhaps the 1%, too, given the corrosive mental health effects and social isolation that tend to come with extreme wealth). And the richest would still enjoy very nice lives.

But perhaps we should focus most of our attention on the third reason against billionaire and trillionaire wealth, and that is the harms it creates. Extreme wealth concentration undermines democracies. It comes with massive greenhouse gas emissions and environmental harm that are not needed to live a dignified life. These harms lead to social problems, and even economic damage because disproportionate corporate power risks making the economy less fair and competitive.

A focus on harm is alien to the dominant thinking about money, which is built on the assumption that when it comes to wealth accumulation, the sky is the limit. But we need a paradigm shift when it comes to thinking about the negative effects of extreme wealth concentration.

As the world’s richest person, Musk is a clear example of these dangers. He made the largest donation in history to a presidential campaign, spending around $290m on Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. He then used the power and influence to create the “department of government efficiency” (Doge), wreaking havoc in the US civil service. Musk has dismantled USAID , the agency that funded and operated a wide range of humanitarian and development programmes, including rapid interventions to prevent famines. Scientists have estimated that due to the closure of USAID, more than 14 million lives will be lost by the end of 2030, including 4.5 million children under five.

Extreme wealth concentration stands for extreme power. And Musk is using that power, including via his social media platform X, to amplify racist and xenophobic sentiments. He enables the spread of fear and violent rhetoric, thereby fuelling irrational anxieties that drive voters to the radical right. He has meddled in Europe’s internal politics, boosting the far-right AfD in Germany, for instance, and calling the UK prime minister a criminal.

The ultimate danger is the so-called oligarchic endgame theory, whereby power is concentrated among the super-rich. Governments, captured by the richest, then do everything to protect the privileges of this group and its supporters. Democracy itself is at risk if the rigid social hierarchy implied by this concentration of power among the wealthiest comes to pass.

If we want to prevent this from happening, we will have to find ways to curb current levels of wealth concentration. And not just Musk’s trillion. We need initiatives such as the extreme wealth line project that aim to find out, based on the available scientific evidence, the threshold at which wealth begins to cause harms, and where to place the “wealth line”, just as we use the “poverty line” to determine what an adequate income is for people to live on.

But it starts with understanding why billionaires and trillionaires are not a sign of success, but of a dysfunctional system that is harmful to all our lives.

Ingrid Robeyns is a Belgian-Dutch economist and philosopher, and the author of Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth

Keyword – Television & radio
Trefwoorden – Television, Travel, Television & radio, Culture
Title – ‘That’s when the shark fins appeared’: your horrifying holidays – from natural disasters to missile threats | Television | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/guardian-readers,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/alfie-packham
Link – ‘That’s when the shark fins appeared’: your horrifying holidays – from natural disasters to missile threats | Television | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T10:36:17.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jun/17/thats-when-the-shark-fins-appeared-your-horrifying-holidays-from-natural-disasters-to-missile-threats

‘I didn’t think too much about the quiet, empty place’

In early 1969, my parents booked a holiday in Belfast for one week and a bed and breakfast in Dublin for one week. When we arrived at our Belfast destination, The Elsinore Hotel, there wasn’t another car in the parking lot and the hotel was empty except for the aged husband and wife owners. Being 12 years old, I didn’t think too much at the time about the quiet, empty place but the owners invited the whole family down to the dining room every evening and we enjoyed some great meals. Lots of pictures of JFK and the pope adorned many of the hotel walls and being a Catholic family ourselves, the hosts made a big fuss of us.

A few days after returning home my dad and I sat in front of the TV eating supper when the BBC newsreader began the broadcast with the announcement that a bomb had gone off that morning in downtown Belfast and had pretty much destroyed The Elsinore Hotel – the purported meeting headquarters of the IRA. My dad spilled his dinner on the floor as he rose from his chair with a loud shout of “Good God!” Imagine a solitary car with an English number plate in a parking lot frequented daily by the leaders of the IRA? I guess we survived because we were a family of Catholic red heads even though we were English. Marcus Graham, Florida, US

‘My husband ended up walking barefoot because of his blisters’

Our honeymoon in 2008 was like a Laurel and Hardy sketch, since everything was done in silence. We weren’t speaking to each other after my new husband got so drunk at the wedding we couldn’t do the first dance. Then everything else seemed to go wrong. On our way to the airport, our car broke down so we had to get a hire car. When we finally got to the resort, we were told that our accommodation was two miles out of town and that there was no public transport or taxis because it was a religious feast day.

We walked uphill in baking sun and one of the wheels fell off my suitcase on the way. My husband ended up walking barefoot because of his blisters. When we arrived, the site restaurant had closed for the day so we had to have frozen pizza from the shop. My husband said we could have eaten the pizza box and it probably would have tasted better. We are, however, still married 18 years later. Fiona Irwin, 52, Hull, England

‘The water was red from my blood’

About 20 years ago, I went to Fiji. I can’t swim, and have a fear of going deeper than my knees. But my friend, an accomplished surfer, was relishing this part of our trip. The weather was so hot that going in the water seemed sensible and as it was only a degree or two less than the air, I was actually starting to like it. Then my friend [and I] rented kayaks. We went out to sea, staying close to land, and I had my lifejacket, goggles and snorkel to hand. It was genuinely fun.

My friend got excited about something called a “reef break” and wanted to get a closer look. The water got less calm. It got harder to control my kayak. My friend was getting further away. I shouted to my friend. At first I couldn’t hear his reply, which panicked me even more. Then I heard him say, “Ride the wave!” I saw him get on top of a huge lump of water and it propelled him back to shore. I turned to see a wave above my head and then, a second later, I was underwater, no kayak, no lifejacket, no snorkel. I was kicking my legs and waving my arms. My foot made contact with something that felt solid, but painful – coral. I pushed up, cutting my foot, but I got my head above water and could breathe again. Disoriented, I looked around and the water was red from the blood from my foot. That’s when the shark fins appeared, and I thought … this is it. I don’t know how many of them there were – it could have been three, four, 10 or a million.

Then there was a noise and something hit my back – a surfboard. A hand pulled me on to the board. I lay there exhausted and the surfer paddled back to land where my friend was waiting, in shock. The guy who saved me was a local from the island who had seen me in trouble. My friend said something to him about the sharks, and he laughed and said “they won’t kill you, they might bite you or take a nibble”. We walked back to our beach hut, bandaged my foot and went for several beers. Tim Halliday, 47, Madrid, Spain

‘I pictured the missile approaching the shore’

Our first day in Ka’anapali was spent on Canoe Beach, snorkelling. The next morning in a hotel courtyard, I pulled two chairs up to a table, and set my partner Alison’s purse beside me. Our phones beeped in unison. My text bubble read: “Emergency Alert. BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” A wave of cold nausea swept through my body. I showed Alison and her face grew pale.

When I asked the barista if the hotel had a bomb shelter, she pointed to a sign near the stairwell, an image of a dancing couple. An ashen-faced woman with a baby stroller rushed past. All around us, people stared at their phones, dazed and numb-looking. We decided a huddle in the basement ballroom would only increase our panic. Partway to the concierge desk, Alison fainted. I carried her to a chair, and the woman behind the counter offered to call 911. I wondered how island emergency services would be prioritised. When Alison regained consciousness, I put my arm around her and asked her what to do. “Take me to the beach. I want to sit near the water.”

We settled on to chaises to watch the waves and the sky. I pictured the missile approaching the shore, a composite of every childhood cartoon and nightmare image of nuclear detonation I’d ever seen. We phoned several people on the mainland but nobody answered. I began thinking of myself in past tense.

Several minutes later, a second text appeared: “Emergency Alert. There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False Alarm.” I looked at my toes in the sand and watched the water sparkle over the beach, scattering small rocks and broken shells, erasing footprints. Thirty-eight minutes of my vacation had been stolen, but my souvenir was a glimpse of eternity. Benjamin Malay, 56, Seattle, Washington, US

Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – Royal Ascot, Ascot, Horse racing, Sport
Title – Royal Ascot 2026: Ombudsman wins Prince of Wales’s Stakes on day two – as it happened | Royal Ascot | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/gregwood,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/tonypaley
Link – Royal Ascot 2026: Ombudsman wins Prince of Wales’s Stakes on day two – as it happened | Royal Ascot | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T17:53:07.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/jun/17/royal-ascot-2026-day-two-horse-racing-updates-live

That’s the lot today. Ombudsman was the star on the track, winning a strong Prince of Wales’s Stakes with ease although whether he’ll challenge the incredible sprinter Ka Ying Rising for highest-rated horse in the world is another matter. Meanwhile, off the track Aidan O’Brien came out in defence of his team after two of his riders were banned after the controversial St James’s Palace Stakes on Tuesday when he his jockeys were effectively found guilty of ‘team tactics’. There was plenty of debate on social media and in the racing press and for once most people were unanimous in agreeing that the stewards were right and O’Brien’s Ballydoyle squad were in the wrong. We may not have heard the last of this as his runners are sure to come under close scrutiny in forthcoming races. Meanwhile, we’ll be back tomorrow when it’s Gold Cup day, traditionally the highlight of the week. See you all then.

6.10 WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES result

1 King Of Cloughan (Billy Loughnane) 33-1 2 Moonrise (P J McDonald) 66-1 3 Harlequin Sky (Cieren Fallon) 125-1

6.10 WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES And they’re off … this will be over with quickly as it’s just five furlongs … Alpe D’Huez has an early lead after bursting out of the stalls … Troublesome Guest leads the pack on the stalls side … Moonrise hit the front but was caught near the post by King Of Cloughan … a 33-1 winner for trainer Joseph O’Brien and Billy Loughnane!

6.10 WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES betting

Controlla – 2/1

Sergei Diaghilev – 4/1

Sale Shark – 6/1

Celeron – 8/1

One Number – 8/1

Dance A Jig – 12/1

Rulers Control – 20/1

Alfred Wallace – 20/1

BAR 20/1

Betting via Oddschecker

6.10 WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES preview

There was a good deal of controversy when the British Horseracing Authority announced some significant changes to the conditions for this race, upping the distance from five to six furlongs and restricting it too to juveniles whose sire won at least once over seven furlongs as a juvenile, or at a mile or further at three. Karl Burke, the leading trainer in the north, suggested that the move – designed to broaden the appeal of middle-distance sires – would simply provide “low-hanging fruit” for racing mega-corps like Coolmore and Godolphin, and change the nature of a race “where the average man in the street has got a chance of buying a relatively cheap horse and having a runner at Royal Ascot.” Year one is not the time to judge, but Burke, at least, does not have a runner in this year’s race, and the closest thing to a “fairytale” runner is probably Celeron, who cost 20k gns as a yearling and runs for Michael O’Callaghan’s Irish stable. Aidan O’Brien fields the well-fancied Sergei Diaghilev, though his draw in stall two is not ideal, and another Irish-trained runner, Robson de Aguiar’s Controlla, makes more appeal from stall 15. She was just behind Victorious, one of the favourites for the opener, on her racecourse debut and will be a big fancy to open her account should that one run well.

Timeform top-rated: Controlla

SELECTION: CONTROLLA

5.35 KENSINGTON PALACE STAKES HANDICAP result

1 Alobayyah (Tom Marquand) 11-4 Fav 2 Miss Nightfall (D Egan) 12-1 3 Seren Star (Harry Davies) 40-1 4 Rhapsody (Cieren Fallon) 12-1

5.35 KENSINGTON PALACE STAKES HANDICAP And they’re off … All Moonshine has the lead on the farside but most runners have come to the nearside and Radiant Beauty leads that pack … Betty Clover is poised … Miss Nightfall kicks for home but Alobayyah gets there late to nab the prize! Trainer William Haggas has had the first, the third and the fourth home!

5.35 KENSINGTON PALACE STAKES HANDICAP betting

Alobayyah – 7/2

Radiant Beauty – 5/1

Stateria – 7/1

Gaga Girl – 10/1

Oolong Poobong – 10/1

Miss Nightfall – 12/1

Zgharta – 12/1

Rumba Numba – 14/1

BAR 14/1

Betting via Osddschecker

5.35 KENSINGTON PALACE STAKES HANDICAP preview

Something of a Hunt Cup for fillies, over the same track and trip, and a shortish favourite given a 24-runner field in William Haggas’s Alobayyah, 1lb higher in the weights after a promising handicap debut over course and distance behind today’s likely second-favourite, Radiant Beauty. Alobayyah is 5lb better off with that rival having been beaten by around two-and-a-half lengths, and she was also given plenty to do by her rider last time, so must have every chance to reverse that form, at least. The field is full of live rivals, however, including Stateira, third in a Group Two in Ireland last time despite finding some trouble in running, and her stable-companion at the Andrew Balding yard, Zgharta, who had some decent bits of form in good company last season. I’ll be throwing in my lot, though, with James Fanshawe’s Miss Nightfall, who will be finishing late from stall 21in a race that should unfold to suit, and ran better at Yarmouth last time than the bare form might suggest.

Timeform top-rated: Alobayyah

SELECTION: MISS NIGHTFALL

5.00 ROYAL HUNT CUP result

1 Rogue Diplomat (Harry Davies) 28-1 2 Blue Rc (H Crouch) 28-1 3 Indalo (Ray Dawson) 9-1 4 Ebt’s Guard (Lewis Edmunds) 20-1

5.00 ROYAL HUNT CUP And they’re off … Scoville leads on the far side … and they are clear of the horses on the stands side … Alchemist is up there as is La Botte … Jagged Edge coming strongly … Rogue Diplomat getting up on the nearside who now lead and gets there!

5.00 ROYAL HUNT CUP betting

Archivist – 6/1

Jagged Edge – 7/1

Erzindjan – 10/1

La Botte – 11/1

Indalo – 11/1

Fifth Column – 11/1

Shout – 12/1

Classic – 14/1

Chibitty N/R

Linwood N/R

BAR 16/1

Betting via Oddschecker

5.00 ROYAL HUNT CUP preview

Back to the straight course for what can be fairly described as the most famous and historic of Royal Ascot’s handicaps (though Saturday’s Wokingham has asked me to point out that it dates back to 1813, while the Hunt Cup is a relative stripling, having first been run in 1843). Others may differ, but for me the only way to break down a 30-runner field for a contest like this is to start with the draw – high numbers are best – and then look for a runner that can quicken from off the pace at the death, as it is notoriously difficult to make all the running over the straight mile. Archivist, who raced for William Haggas last season before being bought by the Wathnan operation and switched to Hamad al Jehani, had a productive winter in Dubai and has been given a break since March, though Timeform at least suggests he has something to find with quite a few of his rivals. Jagged Edge too has switched stables since last season, joining Stephen Thorne, who has made a strong start to his career after joining the training ranks in 2024. Fifth Column, Classic and Ebt’s Guard – seventh last year and better drawn this time – also fit the bill, but perhaps not so snugly as Terry “TJ” Kent’s eight-year-old Erzindjan. He is one of the most exposed runners in the field but not long with an up-and-coming yard and posted a very useful performance when winning his sixth start for the stable at Newmarket in May. Ryan Moore is booked for his first ever ride for Kent and he has an excellent pitch in stall 24.

Timeform top-rated: Scoville

SELECTION: ERZINDJAN

4.20 PRINCE OF WALES’S STAKES result

1 Ombudsman (W Buick) 11-10 Fav 2 Minnie Hauk (R L Moore) 15-2 3 Daryz (M Barzalona) 2-1

4.20 PRINCE OF WALES’S STAKES And they’re off … in the most anticipated race of the week with two of the world’s best in Daryz and Ombudsman … the expected pacemaker Mississippi River has the early lead … Minnie Hauk is behind the leader and Ombudsman is towards the back … on the turn for home Daryz and Ombudsman are waiting to pounce with the leaders on their own … new leader Devil’s Advocate is going to get caught and Ombudsman has stormed through for a convincing victory.

4.20 PRINCE OF WALES’S STAKES betting

Ombudsman – 5/4

Daryz – 2/1

Almaqam – 6/1

Minnie Hauk – 7/1

See The Fire – 14/1

Dancing Gemini – 33/1

Mississippi River – 100/1

Devils Advocate – 100/1

Betting via Oddschecker

4.20 PRINCE OF WALES’S STAKES preview

The betting suggests that Wednesday’s feature is a head-to-head between Daryz, last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner, and Ombudsman, last year’s winner of this race and a dual winner at the highest level since, at York in August 2025 (with Daryz sixth and last) and then at Meydan in March. In true Royal Ascot style, though, it is more of a head-to-head-plus, as Minnie Hauk, a dual Classic winner and the Arc runner-up in 2025, and the improving five-year-old Almaqam could both have a big say in the proceedings. The tale of the tape has Daryz, successful in two Group Ones already this year in April and May, 2lb in front of Ombudsman on Timeform ratings, while they are tied three-all in terms of victories at the highest level ahead of their second meeting on the track. Ombudsman’s track form may tip the balance for some punters, and he is very much a 10-furlong specialist while Daryz’s famous success at Longchamp in October came at a mile-and-a-half. Francis-Henri Graffard’s runner found a very sharp turn of foot to score over an extended nine furlongs at Longchamp last time, however, and the stiff uphill finish will not go amiss, either. Minnie Hauk needs little introduction after winning the Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks before her close second behind Daryz at Longchamp, and her run into fifth behind Almaqam at the Curragh last time is forgiveable as she was found to be slightly lame after the race. Almaqam was the first horse to beat Ombudsman, in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown in May 2025, and while Ed Walker, his trainer, insists that the five-year-old needs some cut in the ground to show his best form, it was officially good-to-firm when he broke through at Group One level in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh last month. Bay City Roller, the runner-up there, ran away with the Coronation Cup at Epsom on Derby day, and while the rain-softened ground was a significant factor in his win, Almaqam is not lightly dismissed.

Timeform top-rated: Daryz

SELECTION: DARYZ

3.40 DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE STAKES result

1 Blue Bolt (Colin Keane) 5-2 Fav 2 Jancis (S M Levey) 16-1 3 Friendly Soul (Oisin Murphy) 7-2

3.40 DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE STAKES

And they’re off … She’s Perfect has the lead in the early stages … Falakeyah had a slow start … Carolina Jetsream joins the leadert and they turn for home … Blue Bolt comes through with a strong run and wins the race!

O’Brien denies ‘team tactics’ claim

Aidan O’Brien has spoken about the controverisal bans received by Christophe Soumillon and Ryan Moore in Tuesday’s St James’s Palace Stakes.

Moore, Gstaad’s jockey, pick up a three-day suspension from the stewards for “careless riding for allowing his mount to edge left-handed without correction” in the race while Soumillon on Gstaad’s front-running stable companion, Puerto Rico, moved left at the top of the straight to allow the second-favourite a clear run up the rail. While it did not affect the result, the manoeuvre did not impress the stewards and the rider picked up an eight-day suspension for “riding his mount in such a way that intended to give an advantage to another horse from the same stable”.

O’Brien told the Racing Post : “The stewards are the ones that make the decision. Rules are rules, the stewards have their job to do and that’s the way it is.

“I thought both horses would be very forward and I thought one could be leading. I thought Christophe might be leading because his horse won making the running twice last year in a Group One and that’s why Christophe was on him. I thought he would lead and I thought Ryan would be sitting second. That’s the way I read it.

“I don’t know what happened. I saw it like everyone else.”

On whether he disagrees with the opinion that team tactics were used, O’Brien added: “There’s no doubt about that. I always say when we put horses in a race, they’re in there for one thing – it’s to make sure there’s an even pace for everybody. That’s the only reason.

“Then you come out of the race and you know what trip your horse wants and whether your horse is good enough to run against those horses or not. If it’s a muddle, you don’t know what’s going to happen and it’s inconclusive for everybody.

“What happened was a mess, wasn’t it?”

3.40 DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE STAKES betting

Blue Bolt – 3/1

Friendly Soul – 6/1

Catalina Delcaprio – 6/1

Cathedral – 6/1

Godspeed – 8/1

Jancis – 11/1

Kon Tiki – 12/1

Falakeyah – 16/1

BAR 16/1

Betting via Oddschecker

3.40 DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE STAKES preview

A race that was run on the straight mile until 2024, and with 15 runners, the second-largest field in its 22-year history, due to go to post, it might make for a fairer race if it were back on its original turf. The round mile it is, though, and that may well favour pacier, low-drawn horses that can sit handy while the runners from outside stalls get in each other’s way. Blue Bolt raced close to the pace when second in the Group One Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket last October, but she has also been drawn a little higher than ideal in 10, while Friendly Soul and Catalina Delcarpio, the next two fillies in the betting, have fared better in five and four respectively. Friendly Soul arrives with a “P” against her name, having been the luckless runner that found a hole in the Haydock turf during a race there on 23 May, and she will be a big runner if she is back to her Group One-winning form – albeit over an extra two furlongs – in the Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp in October. The lightly-raced Catalina Delcarpio too deserves close inspection, as she arrives with just five races in the book and was sent off favourite for the 12-furlong Ribblesdale here last summer. She finished third without quite seeing out the trip and has already shown improvement back at a mile this spring. Jancis and Cathedral deserve to be factored in too on their 1-2 in the Dahlia Stakes in May, although Jancis let the form down slightly when only fifth in a Group Two at the Curragh next time up.

Timeform top-rated: Cathedral

SELECTION: CATALINA DELCARPIO

3.05 QUEEN’S VASE result

1 Limestone (Dylan Browne McMonagle) 10-3 2 Del Maro (W Buick) 12-1 3 Ranga Tang (Cieren Fallon) 40-1

3.05 QUEEN’S VASE And they’re off … Mr Colonel was slowly away … Ravenspire leads from Limestone in the early stages of the race … Ranga Tang has taken it up but is pulling very hard and is well clear though she’s surely going to tire herself out very fast … they turn for home and Galiyan makes a move. … Ranga Tang still leads but the others are coming … including Limestone and Del Maro have gone past the post together. Photo finish! LIMESTONE gets the verdict! And that’s naother for son of Aidan, Mr Joseph O’Brien.

Victorious victorious again for O’Brien

Victorious lived up to her name when maintaining her unbeaten record in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot , the first race on the Wednesday card. The Wootton Bassett filly was on a hat-trick following successive spring wins at Naas, most recently landing a Group Three at Naas over six furlongs.

“Ryan [Moore] gave her a brilliant ride. She is a filly with one eye so she’s always lacked a bit of confidence but she’s been coming along lovely,” said O’Brien, registering his 99th Royal Ascot winner.

“She’s incredible, we knew she was very classy and we’ve always felt that she’d be very good. Going back to five [furlongs] in this type of race, sometimes you can get lost, but it was lovely how Ryan got her racing in a small group.

“In her left eye she doesn’t have any sight, so he slowly got her out and reassured her all the time. He rode her in Naas and he really loved her. We knew she was very good but sometimes over five they might not get everything together but we were very hopeful.

“The people around her are the ones who are very careful not to frighten her, they’ve taught her everything very slowly.”

Moore said: “She is a gorgeous filly and I think the world of her. She is actually blind in her left eye so she can’t see anything on that side. She is just a sweetheart and has always shown plenty. She is so straightforward and the complete professional.”

The winner was given a 12-1 quote for the 2027 1,000 Guineas by Paddy Power.

Appropriately, on the day England have their first World Cup group game in Dallas the former manager of the national team, Gareth Southgate, was on hand to present the trophy to the winning connections of Victorious after the first race. A queue of journalists formed to ask him the obvious questions but were briefed by the Ascot PR team that Southgate “was not doing any media today”. Probably wise.

3.05 QUEEN’S VASE betting

Galiyan – 2/1

Limestone – 7/2

Point Of Law – 7/1

Asakir – 9/1

Ravenspire – 10/1

Port Of Spain – 10/1

Del Maro – 12/1

Wareeth – 18/1

BAR 16/1

Betting via Oddschecker

3.05 QUEEN’S VASE preview

The first runner of the week in the royal colours could hardly have been more disappointing – although the very relatable pictures of the King’s grimace as Reaching High dropped away to finish last in the Ascot Stakes will have done no harm at all to his public image. He’s a punter, just like us! But the second runner in scarlet and purple will hopefully fare at least a little better, and Point Of Law looks like a solid 8-1 shot for what, if we’re honest, feels like a slightly sub-par renewal of this Group Two contest. He was a short-priced favourite for his second start, at Newbury in mid-May, and did not need to improve to shed his maiden tag, through a Timeform rating of 109p gives him plenty to find with several of today’s opponents. Galiyan, from the Andrew Balding stable, is probably foremost among those, as the form of his maiden success at Chester looks more robust and is backed up by a strong timefigure. Limestone bids to give Joseph O’Brien a second winner of the meeting after his 1-2 in yesterday’s Ascot Stakes, while his father Aidan’s runner, Port Of Spain, is also impossible to rule out given that the trainer is looking for a record ninth win in the race.

Timeform top-rated: Port Of Spain

SELECTION: GALIYAN

2.30pm QUEEN MARY STAKES result

1 Victorious (R L Moore) 10-3 Fav 2 Senorita Bonita (W Buick) 8-1 3 Ruiva (Juan Hernandez)

2.30pm QUEEN MARY STAKES And they’re off … this will be very quick given it’s over the minimum trip of five furlongs … Envision has the lead in one group … More Champagne tries to make ground … Senorita Bonita is there … Victorious finishes fast and best of all. Another winner for the unstoppable Aidan O’Brien team!

There’s going to be an awful lot of talk and front pages dedicated to the Princess of Wales in tomorrow’s papers given her striking choice of outfit.

2.30pm QUEEN MARY STAKES betting

Victorious – 4/1

Alta Regina – 4/1

Senorita Bonita – 8/1

More Champagne – 9/1

Wild Blossom – 9/1

Ruiva – 12/1

Drazinda – 20/1

Velozee – 22/1

BAR – 22/1

Betting via Oddschecker

2.30pm QUEEN MARY STAKES preview

The biggest field this century for Royal Ascot’s five-furlong dash for juvenile fillies with 27 due to go to post in the absence of Your Song, and Aidan O’Brien’s impeccably-bred Victorious is a narrow favourite to give the trainer only his second win in this race after True Love broke his duck 12 months ago. Victorious is more stoutly-bred than True Love, and on paper would be a more likely candidate for the Albany Stakes later in the week as she has won her two races to date over six furlongs, but perhaps that is just a further tip for Sun Goddess, O’Brien’s sole entry in that contest on Friday. Victorious does have a slightly sub-optimal draw in stall five, however, not least in view of how the races on the straight course panned out yesterday. Senorita Bonita, a narrow winner at Nottingham on debut, is also prominent in the betting, and can be rated much better than that bare form – she ran into traffic problems and still had three lengths to find on the leader with a furlong to run. She was a six-figure purchase at the breeze-up sales in the spring, a comment that also applies to Alta Regina, a four-and-a-quarter length winner at Lingfield 18 days ago, while Wild Blossom was made favourite for this race after a 10-length win at Carlisle in mid-May but has since drifted to around 9-1 as other candidates have staked their claim. That quartet are among nine unbeaten fillies in the field, but it would be surprise if one of the remainder found significant progress to figure and Kentucky Rain, who was snapped up by Amo Racing for £380k at the London Sale earlier this week, is worth a second look at current odds of up to 66-1. She was unfancied on debut in a well-run race at Goodwood but travelled smoothly and looked unlucky not to win after finding trouble in running.

Timeform top-rated: Victorious

SELECTION: SENORITA BONITA

6.10 WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES preview

There was a good deal of controversy when the British Horseracing Authority announced some significant changes to the conditions for this race, upping the distance from five to six furlongs and restricting it too to juveniles whose sire won at least once over seven furlongs as a juvenile, or at a mile or further at three. Karl Burke, the leading trainer in the north, suggested that the move – designed to broaden the appeal of middle-distance sires – would simply provide “low-hanging fruit” for racing mega-corps like Coolmore and Godolphin, and change the nature of a race “where the average man in the street has got a chance of buying a relatively cheap horse and having a runner at Royal Ascot.” Year one is not the time to judge, but Burke, at least, does not have a runner in this year’s race, and the closest thing to a “fairytale” runner is probably Celeron, who cost 20k gns as a yearling and runs for Michael O’Callaghan’s Irish stable. Aidan O’Brien fields the well-fancied Sergei Diaghilev, though his draw in stall two is not ideal, and another Irish-trained runner, Robson de Aguiar’s Controlla, makes more appeal from stall 15. She was just behind Victorious, one of the favourites for the opener, on her racecourse debut and will be a big fancy to open her account should that one run well.

Timeform top-rated: Controlla

SELECTION: CONTROLLA

5.35 KENSINGTON PALACE STAKES, HANDICAP preview

Something of a Hunt Cup for fillies, over the same track and trip, and a shortish favourite given a 24-runner field in William Haggas’s Alobayyah, 1lb higher in the weights after a promising handicap debut over course and distance behind today’s likely second-favourite, Radiant Beauty. Alobayyah is 5lb better off with that rival having been beaten by around two-and-a-half lengths, and she was also given plenty to do by her rider last time, so must have every chance to reverse that form, at least. The field is full of live rivals, however, including Stateira, third in a Group Two in Ireland last time despite finding some trouble in running, and her stable-companion at the Andrew Balding yard, Zgharta, who had some decent bits of form in good company last season. I’ll be throwing in my lot, though, with James Fanshawe’s Miss Nightfall, who will be finishing late from stall 21in a race that should unfold to suit, and ran better at Yarmouth last time than the bare form might suggest.

Timeform top-rated: Alobayyah.

SELECTION: MISS NIGHTFALL

5.00 ROYAL HUNT CUP preview

Back to the straight course for what can be fairly described as the most famous and historic of Royal Ascot’s handicaps (though Saturday’s Wokingham has asked me to point out that it dates back to 1813, while the Hunt Cup is a relative stripling, having first been run in 1843). Others may differ, but for me the only way to break down a 30-runner field for a contest like this is to start with the draw – high numbers are best – and then look for a runner that can quicken from off the pace at the death, as it is notoriously difficult to make all the running over the straight mile. Archivist, who raced for William Haggas last season before being bought by the Wathnan operation and switched to Hamad al Jehani, had a productive winter in Dubai and has been given a break since March, though Timeform at least suggests he has something to find with quite a few of his rivals. Jagged Edge too has switched stables since last season, joining Stephen Thorne, who has made a strong start to his career after joining the training ranks in 2024. Fifth Column, Classic and Ebt’s Guard – seventh last year and better drawn this time – also fit the bill, but perhaps not so snugly as Terry “TJ” Kent’s eight-year-old Erzindjan. He is one of the most exposed runners in the field but not long with an up-and-coming yard and posted a very useful performance when winning his sixth start for the stable at Newmarket in May. Ryan Moore is booked for his first ever ride for Kent and he has an excellent pitch in stall 24.

Timeform top-rated: Scoville

SELECTION: ERZINDJAN

Oddschecker market movers

Alta Regina (2.30pm) – 4/1 from 7/1

Cathedral (3.40pm) – 11/2 from 10/1

Jagged Edge (5.00pm) – 7/1 from 12/1

Royal Ascot Procession List 1st Carriage The King The Queen Mr Daniel Chatto The Lady Sarah Chatto

2nd Carriage The Prince of Wales The Princess of Wales The Duke of Richmond and Gordon The Duchess of Richmond and Gordon

3rd Carriage Mr Rory Stewart Mrs Rory Stewart The Lady Sarah Keswick The Marchioness of Lansdowne

4th Carriage Mr William Haggas Mrs William Haggas Mr John Gosden Ms Rachel Hood

Racing fans will be most interested that two of the finest British trainers (John Gosden and William Haggas, both from Newmarket) are in the Royal Procession while the world of politics is represented by Rory Stewart. As is customary the Prince and Princess of Wales are at Royal Ascot on Wednesday when the Prince of Wales’s Stakes is run. The current King and Queen have carried on the late Queen Elizabeth II’s tradition of going to Royal Ascot every day. Some will wonder whether that will be the case when William accedes to the throne.

We speculated here yesterday about whether Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie would not be at Royal Ascot amid the continuing fallout of their father’s association with Jeffrey Epstein. No other outlet seems to have picked up on this other than the Sun but they reported that Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi were at the races yesterday but ‘hid from the cameras to prevent stealing the limelight’. A source told the Sun: “Beatrice attended Royal Ascot privately and deliberately avoided then parade ring.”

4.20 PRINCE OF WALES’S STAKES preview

The betting suggests that Wednesday’s feature is a head-to-head between Daryz, last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner, and Ombudsman, last year’s winner of this race and a dual winner at the highest level since, at York in August 2025 (with Daryz sixth and last) and then at Meydan in March. In true Royal Ascot style, though, it is more of a head-to-head-plus, as Minnie Hauk, a dual Classic winner and the Arc runner-up in 2025, and the improving five-year-old Almaqam could both have a big say in the proceedings. The tale of the tape has Daryz, successful in two Group Ones already this year in April and May, 2lb in front of Ombudsman on Timeform ratings, while they are tied three-all in terms of victories at the highest level ahead of their second meeting on the track. Ombudsman’s track form may tip the balance for some punters, and he is very much a 10-furlong specialist while Daryz’s famous success at Longchamp in October came at a mile-and-a-half. Francis-Henri Graffard’s runner found a very sharp turn of foot to score over an extended nine furlongs at Longchamp last time, however, and the stiff uphill finish will not go amiss, either. Minnie Hauk needs little introduction after winning the Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks before her close second behind Daryz at Longchamp, and her run into fifth behind Almaqam at the Curragh last time is forgiveable as she was found to be slightly lame after the race. Almaqam was the first horse to beat Ombudsman, in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown in May 2025, and while Ed Walker, his trainer, insists that the five-year-old needs some cut in the ground to show his best form, it was officially good-to-firm when he broke through at Group One level in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh last month. Bay City Roller, the runner-up there, ran away with the Coronation Cup at Epsom on Derby day, and while the rain-softened ground was a significant factor in his win, Almaqam is not lightly dismissed.

Timeform top-rated: Daryz

SELECTION: DARYZ

3.40 DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE STAKES preview

A race that was run on the straight mile until 2024, and with 15 runners, the second-largest field in its 22-year history, due to go to post, it might make for a fairer race if it were back on its original turf. The round mile it is, though, and that may well favour pacier, low-drawn horses that can sit handy while the runners from outside stalls get in each other’s way. Blue Bolt raced close to the pace when second in the Group One Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket last October, but she has also been drawn a little higher than ideal in 10, while Friendly Soul and Catalina Delcarpio, the next two fillies in the betting, have fared better in five and four respectively. Friendly Soul arrives with a “P” against her name, having been the luckless runner that found a hole in the Haydock turf during a race there on 23 May, and she will be a big runner if she is back to her Group One-winning form – albeit over an extra two furlongs – in the Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp in October. The lightly-raced Catalina Delcarpio too deserves close inspection, as she arrives with just five races in the book and was sent off favourite for the 12-furlong Ribblesdale here last summer. She finished third without quite seeing out the trip and has already shown improvement back at a mile this spring. Jancis and Cathedral deserve to be factored in too on their 1-2 in the Dahlia Stakes in May, although Jancis let the form down slightly when only fifth in a Group Two at the Curragh next time up.

Timeform top-rated: Cathedral

SELECTION: CATALINA DELCARPIO

3.05 QUEEN’S VASE preview

The first runner of the week in the royal colours could hardly have been more disappointing – although the very relatable pictures of the King’s grimace as Reaching High dropped away to finish last in the Ascot Stakes will have done no harm at all to his public image. He’s a punter, just like us! But the second runner in scarlet and purple will hopefully fare at least a little better, and Point Of Law looks like a solid 8-1 shot for what, if we’re honest, feels like a slightly sub-par renewal of this Group Two contest. He was a short-priced favourite for his second start, at Newbury in mid-May, and did not need to improve to shed his maiden tag, through a Timeform rating of 109p gives him plenty to find with several of today’s opponents. Galiyan, from the Andrew Balding stable, is probably foremost among those, as the form of his maiden success at Chester looks more robust and is backed up by a strong timefigure. Limestone bids to give Joseph O’Brien a second winner of the meeting after his 1-2 in yesterday’s Ascot Stakes, while his father Aidan’s runner, Port Of Spain, is also impossible to rule out given that the trainer is looking for a record ninth win in the race.

Timeform top-rated: Port Of Spain

SELECTION: GALIYAN

2.30pm QUEEN MARY STAKES preview

The biggest field this century for Royal Ascot’s five-furlong dash for juvenile fillies with 27 due to go to post in the absence of Your Song, and Aidan O’Brien’s impeccably-bred Victorious is a narrow favourite to give the trainer only his second win in this race after True Love broke his duck 12 months ago. Victorious is more stoutly-bred than True Love, and on paper would be a more likely candidate for the Albany Stakes later in the week as she has won her two races to date over six furlongs, but perhaps that is just a further tip for Sun Goddess, O’Brien’s sole entry in that contest on Friday. Victorious does have a slightly sub-optimal draw in stall five, however, not least in view of how the races on the straight course panned out yesterday. Senorita Bonita, a narrow winner at Nottingham on debut, is also prominent in the betting, and can be rated much better than that bare form – she ran into traffic problems and still had three lengths to find on the leader with a furlong to run. She was a six-figure purchase at the breeze-up sales in the spring, a comment that also applies to Alta Regina, a four-and-a-quarter length winner at Lingfield 18 days ago, while Wild Blossom was made favourite for this race after a 10-length win at Carlisle in mid-May but has since drifted to around 9-1 as other candidates have staked their claim. That quartet are among nine unbeaten fillies in the field, but it would be surprise if one of the remainder found significant progress to figure and Kentucky Rain, who was snapped up by Amo Racing for £380k at the London Sale earlier this week, is worth a second look at current odds of up to 66-1. She was unfancied on debut in a well-run race at Goodwood but travelled smoothly and looked unlucky not to win after finding trouble in running.

Timeform top-rated: Victorious

SELECTION: SENORITA BONITA

Going to start putting up some previews of the day’s action from our racing correspondent and tipster Greg Wood, who is currently leading the national press challenge in the Racing Post.

Good morning. It was a bit drizzly this morning at Ascot but it has had minimal impact on the racing surface. The going for day two of Royal Ascot is: Good to Firm and there’s very little between the different sides of the track.

GoingStick at 8.30am: Stands’ side: 8.9 Centre: 8.7 Far side: 8.5 Round course: 7.6

We have two non-runners so far so cross these off your list of possible wagers … 2.30pm Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2) 28 Your Song ( sold at Goffs London Sale on Monday and off to America) 5.35pm Kensington Palace Stakes (Fillies’ Handicap)| 20 Song N Dance (vet’s certificate – infection)

Preamble

Good morning from a somewhat overcast royal racecourse, where France’s racing superstar, Daryz, will attempt to follow up the footballers’ impressive showing against Senegal yesterday evening when he goes to post for the Group One Prince of Wales’s Stakes at 4.20pm.

The feature event is the only Group One on today’s card after the meeting kicked off with three in the first four races on Tuesday, but it is perhaps the week’s most eagerly-awaited race as it pits Daryz , last season’s Arc winner, against Ombudsman , bidding to follow up his win in this race last year, and two more live contenders at each-way prices in Minnie Hauk , the Arc runner-up, and Almaqam , a Group One winner in Ireland last time out.

Arc winners are hardly an unfamiliar sight at Ascot , but they tend to run in the King George, in July, rather than at the Royal meeting, and Daryz is the first reigning Arc winner to run at this meeting since Treve finished third in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes in 2014.

The second day’s card is nothing if not varied, as the five-furlong Queen Mary for juvenile fillies at 2.30 is swiftly followed by the Queen’s Vase , over a mile-and-three-quarters, where Point Of Law, the second royal runner of the week, will set off at around 8-1. The main handicap on the card, meanwhile, offers the unmissable sight of a 30-runner field hammering down the straight mile in pursuit of the Royal Hunt Cup .

It is cloudy but dry at the track and the going is good-to-firm on both the round and straight tracks, after 5mm of water was applied overnight. Picks for the seven races on today’s card are here and the live blog will be here throughout the afternoon and early evening until the last runner in the Windsor Castle Stakes is safely back in its box.

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – France, Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump, Europe, World news, Vladimir Putin
Title – ‘Very naive’: French left up in arms as Macron hosts Trump at Versailles | France | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/angeliquechrisafis
Link – ‘Very naive’: French left up in arms as Macron hosts Trump at Versailles | France | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T14:08:59.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/17/french-reaction-macron-host-trump-versailles

The US president, Donald Trump , will be the guest of honour at a sumptuous dinner at the Palace of Versailles, as the French left criticises Emmanuel Macron for going too far in attempts to flatter him.

“Versailles is not gold leaf, Versailles is the real deal,” said Trump of the opulent 2,300-room palace which was once home to France’s Sun King, Louis XIV. “I’m a fan of beautiful places.”

Macron’s office said the dinner on Wednesday night would mark the 250th anniversary of the independence of the US, in which France had played an important role by supporting the American revolution. The Palace of Versailles was chosen as a venue because it is “a historic symbol of Franco-American friendship”, an Élysée official said.

The French president, under pressure to show he was not fawning over Trump, said it was not a “gala dinner” but instead simply a moment to mark France’s role in American independence. Macron said: “I’m pragmatic. It’s by firm and respectful discussion that one gets results.”

The dinner at France’s most spectacular palace – the seat of the French monarchy and a symbol of the French Revolution of 1789 – was seen by French politicians as a way to dangle a carrot for Trump to stay the full length of the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains and not leave early as he did last year in Canada. “I’m the boss,” said Trump to fellow G7 leaders, including Macron, as the final day of the summit began.

Before dinner on Wednesday, Trump will be shown around the palace’s temporary exhibition on the history of French-US relations. He will also tour the Hall of Mirrors, the famed 17th-century gallery built under Louis XIV to project the power and majesty of the French monarchy.

Trump has made several negative comments about Macron over the past year, including: “Emmanuel, nice guy but he doesn’t get it right too often.” Before the G7 summit began, Trump said the US would “have no ​choice” but to apply 100% tariffs on French wine unless Paris scrapped a digital services tax on technology firms. Macron responded that he would stay firm on the issue.

Earlier this year, Trump put on an accent and mocked the French president and his wife during a private lunch in Washington. Trump said Macron’s wife “treats him extremely badly”, an apparent reference to a May 2025 video that appeared to show Brigitte Macron pushing her husband’s face as they prepared to disembark from a plane on an official visit to Vietnam. Macron said the comments were “neither elegant nor up to standard”.

Fabien Roussel, the head of the French Communist party, said Macron was being “very naive” and “obsequious” in inviting Trump to Versailles after the US president’s hostility towards him and France. “He’s rolling out the red carpet while we’re being fleeced,” Roussel said.

Mathilde Panot, the head of the parliamentary group of the leftwing party La France Insoumise, said: “The flattery is not working.” Panot added that Trump had “insulted France and Europe multiple times”. Éric Coquerel, an MP for LFI, said there was too much “grovelling” to a US that was increasingly “aggressive and very imperialist”.

Nathalie Loiseau, a centre-right European parliament member who served as Europe minister during Macron’s first term, told France Inter radio that the “flattery” approach to Trump didn’t necessarily work. “He’s not someone who is easy, it’s true. But I’m not sure the more you bow to him, the more he respects you.”

But Alice Rufo, a junior defence minister, said this moment of “courtesy” towards Trump at Versailles did not prevent France speaking “frankly and clearly”.

Macron has often used the Palace of Versailles as a backdrop for international diplomacy, including hosting Vladimir Putin there in 2017 , and staging a state dinner for King Charles in 2023.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Everton Women, Football, Sport, Women’s football, Women’s Super League
Title – ‘The night before I dreamt about my ACL’: Everton’s Aurora Galli on the long way back from injury | Everton Women | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sophie-downey
Link – ‘The night before I dreamt about my ACL’: Everton’s Aurora Galli on the long way back from injury | Everton Women | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T10:40:59.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/17/the-night-before-i-dreamt-about-my-acl-evertons-aurora-galli-on-the-long-way-back-from-injury

“I t was accepting that I couldn’t play football because it was my life. It was everything that I knew.” For Everton’s Aurora Galli, the past 20 months have been anything but straightforward. Her return from a serious knee injury has been difficult, one beset with obstacles before, ultimately, a long-awaited comeback.

It was September 2024, 83 minutes and three seconds into the first game of the Women’s Super League season to be exact, when Galli went down in agony. Everton were losing 4-0 to Brighton and, in her eagerness to salvage something for her team, the midfielder attempted to challenge for the ball when her standing leg buckled. As expected, it was confirmed that she had ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament.

Sitting at Finch Farm, Everton’s training ground, almost two years on, the rawness of that day clearly lingers. “The night before, I couldn’t sleep very well but I dreamt about my ACL,” she remembers. “I discovered that my sister also had a feeling that something would happen. During the game, I was not thinking about it. But the feeling of the knee that went down, it was like I broke my leg completely. I remember screaming and the doctor was like: ‘Do you want oxygen?’ I said: ‘No. I’m going to walk out of the pitch alone. I don’t want anything,’ because I’m very stubborn … I remember every single thing from that day. I don’t know why.”

The reality soon hit. Galli is a vivacious character but even with her natural exuberance the severity of her injury was difficult to process. “The first day, I was not myself,” she says ruefully. “I’m not a crying person but I was crying so much when everyone couldn’t see me. Football was why I wake up in the morning. All the frustration that you have, I couldn’t just put it away because I didn’t have football. Then you feel your body and your head are not working. It’s really hard.”

The 29-year-old continues: “It’s very mental. Every single step that you do on the pitch, it’s like: ‘Is there any problem?’ Or even if someone just goes down, I feel so worried. You don’t want to think about it but it’s just something that will never go away.”

For Galli, the motivation to return was immediate, with far more than a lost domestic campaign at stake. Italy had cruised through qualifying to book their place at the 2025 European Championship and the idea of missing out was not one she could countenance.

“I had a Euros to go to,” she states. “I was like: ‘In six months, I need to be back playing.’ I think it was actually like seven and a half. I pushed it. I had so many meetings with the physio and doctors to explain my point of view … if I have a goal, I will arrive there no matter what.”

Under the guidance of medical staff, she pushed her recovery and, despite one small setback, made her return on the final day of the 2024-25 season. It was just a four-minute cameo against Tottenham but it was enough to bring her back into the national team conversation. Ultimately, she was not named in Andrea Soncin’s final squad but was there with the group as they reached a historic semi-final.

“I was not in the team but I was part of it, so it was half of the goal,” she says. “I’m very proud of them because they did amazing things. It was nice to be back after such a long time, to see my friends and just enjoy football again.”

In hindsight, however, she had “pushed [her recovery] maybe a little bit too much”. When she returned to Liverpool for pre-season, the cartilage in her knee swelled to the point where she was unable to complete sessions and she was forced to sit things out until January, eventually making a comeback against Manchester City.

“It was a balance I couldn’t handle and the staff had to stop me,” she points to her knee with a smile. “That is what I learned for the second time [needing to take care of her body] because maybe the first was not enough. It gave me more awareness of my body; how I feel it and how it answers me.”

Her return coincided with Everton’s upturn in form after an inauspicious start. After the dismissal of Brian Sørensen in February, the team secured an eighth-place finish under their interim manager, Scott Phelan, with Galli making five starts as she built up her minutes.

For the Italian, Everton have become a family, a home away from home for the past five years. She joined the club at 24, becoming the first Italian to play in the WSL, and quickly became a mainstay of the group. A hard-working, technical and versatile central midfielder, her intense drive to succeed is partnered with her infectious nature, helping her to lead by example.

“I know how to help people to just push them to be the best version of themselves,” she says. “If that means being a leader, yeah. If it’s not, I’m not. I’m just really focusing on what I’m doing because I love it. And if the people that are around me love it like I do, we can work together; otherwise, we can fight with each other and see who wins.”

A timely summer break awaits, one that involves Swedish mid-summer, attending a friend’s wedding and a much-needed holiday with her partner, Chelsea’s Nathalie Björn. With a World Cup on the horizon, the goals are clear and it is a further opportunity to rediscover her best within the new parameters that her body will allow.

“I would say that I still don’t feel myself and I don’t think that I will feel it again like before,” she admits. “I think that an injury, especially the ACL, changes your body. It changes the way you are thinking so it’s more [about] growing and accepting the change.”

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email moving.goalposts@theguardian.com .

This is an extract from our free email about women’s football, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions . Moving the Goalposts will be sent out once a week, on Wednesdays, in the close season but will be back on Tuesdays and Thursdays from September.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, England, Football, World Cup, Sport, Fifa, Football politics
Title – England flags could be confiscated from supporters attending World Cup opener | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/matthughes
Link – England flags could be confiscated from supporters attending World Cup opener | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-16T19:47:46.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/16/england-flags-could-be-confiscated-from-supporters-attending-world-cup-opener

England fans face having flags confiscated when they attend their opening game of the World Cup against Croatia at Dallas Stadium on Wednesday.

The England Supporters Club (ESC) is understood to have been advised by stadium officials that fans will not be allowed to hang flags over the LED advertising boards that surround the pitch, with only small flags to be allowed into the ground, which must be hung on rails behind the goals.

The ESC has arranged for several large banners and flags to be displayed behind the goals, but casual supporters attempting to bring a flag into the ground are likely to have them confiscated.

Fifa sources said the ban on hanging flags over LED signage was due to “safety and security reasons”.

A number of Dutch and Japanese fans had flags confiscated at Dallas Stadium when attending the 2-2 draw on Sunday , but there have been no issues bringing them in at other grounds.

Fifa’s tournament guide for fans states: “Small flags, banners and posters made of a fire-resistant material are allowed in the stadium. Larger flags, banners, posters or instruments must be approved in advance.”

Fifa also prohibits flags “that are of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature” and on Monday won a court hearing in Los Angeles to prevent Iran supporters from taking the pre-revolutionary flag into their matches, classifying it as a political symbol.

Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, who was at the first game in Dallas, complained of a lack of consistency in enforcing Fifa’s guidelines. “You were not really allowed to bring a flag in, or at least to show it, which is inconsistent with most Fifa rules and regulations, but also what was allowed at previous tournaments,” Evain said. “Most of the flags were removed by the staff.

“At a lot of the stadiums it hasn’t been a problem, so it’s hard to understand what is the actual policy and what is improvisation by the staff locally with the rules that they now have. The broader problem – and I think it’s a demonstration of how much Fifa has little control over this tournament – is that there’s no consistent rule, and when you look at what Fifa has published, there’s a code of conduct that is very broad.

“But it never clarified a lot of things, like what sort of symbols are allowed and not allowed? Are you able to bring a flag of your region or city or club? A lot of this is still up in the air, and I think there’s a bit of learning by the venues, but also, again, inconsistency.”

Keyword – Music
Trefwoorden – Punk, Indie, Japan, Pop and rock, Music, Culture, Metal, Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl, Feminism
Title – ‘We weren’t allowed to meet Oasis!’: Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver on fun, feminism and famous fans | Punk | The Guardian
Author – Daniel Robson
Link – ‘We weren’t allowed to meet Oasis!’: Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver on fun, feminism and famous fans | Punk | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-16T11:37:26.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jun/16/japanese-punk-band-otoboke-beaver-dave-grohl-foo-fighters

T hey say brevity is the soul of wit and few bands have as much of both as Otoboke Beaver. Playing short, sharp songs packed with equal parts ferocity and black humour, next week the Japanese quartet will play easily their biggest UK gig yet, at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium supporting Foo Fighters .

“We met Foo Fighters at an overseas festival, and again in Japan,” says vocalist Accorinrin as we chat in a music bar in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, a couple of hours before Otoboke Beaver go on stage and eviscerate an audience at the nearby O-Nest. “Dave Grohl told so many people about us, which helped us a lot. He didn’t have to introduce a nobody band like us, but Dave is always looking for newcomers and he wanted to hook us up within the music industry.”

Due in part to Grohl’s evangelism, Otoboke Beaver’s popularity has spread: along with putting out around a dozen records in various formats since they formed 17 years ago, they have opened for the likes of Green Day, Idles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack White, Eddie Vedder and Oasis. “I learned from those shows that amazing bands have amazing support staff,” says wild-eyed guitarist Yoyoyoshie (all Otoboke Beaver members go by mononymous nicknames like this). “Those staff are so professional, and they have such compassion for the artists they work with. It seems like a small thing, but that really left an impression on me.”

I ask what the Gallaghers were like. “We weren’t allowed to meet them. There were lots of restricted areas and black curtains were hung up when the Oasis members passed by.” How about Idles ? “So cool and friendly. They were just like a bunch of cool punk guys, and they invited us to go drinking together.”

Otoboke Beaver’s music is most easily described as punk, but that’s not really the half of it. Their songs are short but incredibly dense, packed with changes in tempo and tone, aggressive but hilariously funny. Each song is an ornate puzzle box: pretty on the surface but with intricate hidden depths to unravel.

Accorinrin sings about love and food, but also about being harassed by old perverts (Dirty Old Fart is Waiting for My Reaction), the pains of dealing with Japan’s music royalties agency Jasrac (I Put My Love to You in a Song, Jasrac), and her lack of desire to have children (I Am Not Maternal). Despite these song titles, “I never thought our songs were feminist until people said they were,” she says. “Japan has always been a male-oriented society, so it never occurred to me to be bothered by it.” Any latent frustration, she says, “naturally comes through in my lyrics”.

The band formed in Kyoto in 2009 and were fans of bands from nearby Osaka including the wildly chaotic Oshiripenpenz, whose gonzo performances are filled with unhinged surprises. “I couldn’t believe music could be like that,” says Yoyoyoshie.

As the home to Japan’s biggest comedy talent agencies, the Kansai region, where Kyoto and Osaka are located, is the humour factory of Japan; and as such, Otoboke Beaver take influence from comedy as much as music. “It’s in our DNA,” says Accorinrin. “If the songs aren’t funny, it’s no fun.” Sure enough, that night at O-Nest, Accorinrin berates an audience member for using the flash on his phone camera – “Old men who don’t know how to turn off their flash should bin their smartphones!” – and raises her middle finger to each audience member in turn: it brings to mind the jovially antagonistic routines of Stewart Lee. Not least because the audience are in on the joke: a sadomasochistic relationship that is endlessly fun to experience. Accorinrin says the band can work on a melody or lyric idea “hundreds of times, trying new things, thinking about the emotion we want to convey, and how to make it funnier or sillier”.

Otoboke Beaver’s longtime drummer Kahokiss recently left the band, leading them to rush out a three-song single and mini-tour to see her off. Their last show with her was a joyous celebration rather than a maudlin farewell, according to Accorinrin and Yoyoyoshie, and she was replaced by Emi “Leo” Morimoto, formerly of veteran Osaka band and fellow humorists Shonen Knife. Ludicrously complex basslines are handled by Hirochan.

At O-Nest they play four new unreleased songs written with Leo including Don’t Dance in Front of My Grave, which is poppy and mid-tempo by their standards, and actually very danceable. Fans are begging for more new material like this: the band’s most recent album – the 18-song, 21-minute Super Champon – came out four years ago. Poking fun at the constant nagging, one of the songs on their new single is titled Is the New Album Out Yet?

“We’re working on it bit by bit,” says Accorinrin soothingly. “Our songs take a long time to write, and we like to play live a lot, plus we’ve had a lineup change.” She laughs as she rebukes the fans once more: “We need everyone to shut up and wait.”

Otoboke Beaver play Electric Ballroom, London, 21 June; and support Foo Fighters across Europe, including at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, 25 June

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

Keyword – Food
Trefwoorden – Food, Nutrition, Health & wellbeing, Life and style
Title – The cold, hard truth: what you should actually store in the fridge – from red wine to nuts | Food | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/eminesaner
Link – The cold, hard truth: what you should actually store in the fridge – from red wine to nuts | Food | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T04:00:22.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/jun/17/tomatoes-spuds-eggs-experts-on-what-food-to-store-in-fridge

I f every summer has a trending drink, then 2026 promises to be the season of the chilled red. In news that our European neighbours, who have long been doing this, will roll their eyes at, Britons have discovered the delights of a cold glass of red wine. No more serving at room temperature, or warming it by the fire (or radiator) as if you’re the host of a country house gathering: this year if your pinot noir isn’t in an ice bucket, consider it social death. The Times reports that gen Z drinkers are driving the trend, with Ocado finding that 56% had drunk chilled red wine, or wine served over ice, in summer compared with 35% of the wider population.

“We tend to serve wine way too warm in this country, and red wine particularly,” says the wine expert Tom Gilbey. “It accentuates the alcohol and makes it taste like soup. Actually almost every wine is better served slightly cooler than we normally drink it, and some red wines are beautiful when they’re really quite cool.” The optimum temperature is around 10C (50F). “So 20 minutes in the fridge, or 10 to 15 minutes in an ice bucket. You don’t want to serve any wine too, too cold, but it’s really refreshing.

Chilling accentuates the fruit, “and makes the acidity slightly brighter”, so it works best with lighter reds. “That would include beaujolais, a lot of pinot noir, some of the southern Italian wines. Some might argue with me, but I think primitivo is really good served slightly cool.”

All this is a lot to take in, especially after the claim that some of us are enjoying chocolate at the wrong temperature too. “We like foods when they make some noise,” Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford, recently declared . “You get a better snap when you break a fridge-cold bar.”

What’s more, he said: “Lower temperatures can also dull extreme flavours such as bitterness and sweetness, helping to create a more refreshing, balanced bite where the creamy mouthfeel takes centre stage.”

This means, of course, that two more items have been dragged into the fridge-or-cupboard conflict. Yours may already be a household where domestic disputes have been caused by the presence – or not – of a ketchup bottle in the fridge; where wondering what to do with your eggs is a cause of constant mild anxiety. Here, food experts deliver some cold truths.

Butter

You would think, says Kate Hall, a home food waste expert and author of The Full Freezer Method, that since butter is a dairy product, it always needs to be in the fridge. “It’s different, because it’s so high in fat and so low in water,” she says. “If you are wanting butter to spread, and it’s not too warm outside, it’s fine to keep it in a butter dish on the counter.” It can be a good idea to keep only what you’re likely to use within the next few days out and refrigerate or freeze the rest. In warm weather, it goes back into the fridge. Spreadable is good; pourable not so.

Bread

Hall often hears of people keeping their bread in the fridge. It’s a bad idea, she says. It will take longer to get mouldy – but less time to become stale. “You might get away with it if you’re having it for toast, but for sandwiches, it’s better to keep bread on the counter or the cupboard. Or freeze it while it’s still fresh, and then defrost slices as they’re needed.”

Eggs

Opinions remain divided. In the UK, it’s not essential to refrigerate eggs “because of how we handle eggs at the farm level”, says Gabriel Bray, a development manager of the consultancy Good Food Studio. In the US, for instance, eggs are refrigerated because they’re washed, taking away the outer protective layer. More than 90% of British eggs come under the Red Lion food safety scheme, which covers the whole production chain. “Without that stamp, I think it’s best to refrigerate,” says Bray.

A lot also depends on the temperature, especially in your kitchen. The official advice from the British Egg Industry Council is to keep eggs below 20C (68F), and so the fridge is usually the best place. In our kitchens, particularly small ones, the temperature can fluctuate, in hot weather or with radiators on full blast, or even just with an oven or tumble dryer in use. “Because the shell is porous, bacteria can travel into the egg,” says Hall. “It’s not a massive risk, but if you keep them in the fridge, they will last longer.” Keep them in the egg box, though, she adds, not in those little egg holders some fridges come with – the porosity of the shells mean they absorb odours.

Olive oil

Some people keep their olive oil in the fridge, thinking it keeps it fresher for longer – but Yacine Amor, the founder of the Artisan Olive Oil Company, says this isn’t the case. “Placing it in the fridge really doesn’t give any benefits in terms of preserving it, and if it’s done repeatedly, it may actually reduce the flavour.” Below 10C, olive oil tends to solidify. “What is key to preserving olive oil in the best condition is to avoid light, heat and oxygen. Choose a bottle of olive oil that matches your consumption, so ideally once you open a bottle, the best use would be within three months. Light has a significant impact on the quality, and that’s why, in general, high-quality olive oils are sold in dark glass. We recommend storing them in a cupboard away from any source of heat and light.”

Tomatoes

Do what people do in the Mediterranean, says Bray, and keep tomatoes out of the fridge for as long a possible. “They’re quite sensitive, so the fridge can affect the texture and the flavour. Once they’re ripe, best to chill them, and then you can extend the shelf life. You’re preventing that spoilage at their best, instead of ruining them when you’ve just bought them from the shop.”

Bananas

“Bananas, like most tropical fruits, are affected by the cold,” says Bray. Putting them in the fridge will affect the peel, turning it grey, but this is “a visual look more than anything” – they should still be nice enough inside. If you need another day or two out of them, refrigerate, says Hall, and ignore the look. “But if they are on the counter and they’re very ripe, and I’m not going to get through them all, I freeze them, and then use them in smoothies or porridge, or to make ice-cream.”

Citrus fruits

Dominique Ludwig, a nutritionist and author of No-Nonsense Nutrition , keeps lemons and limes in the fridge. It’s the same with leafy greens, and most fruit and vegetables. “Except onions and garlic – it’s too moist in the fridge, and that can make them go mouldy.” The degradation of nutrients will slow in cooler conditions, she says, “because it slows down the enzyme activity. Cold temperatures should help to retain more of [nutrients such as] vitamin C and folate.” Cold also helps preserve the beneficial compounds known as polyphenols.

Condiments and sauces

“People find this really controversial, and are very passionate about it,” says Hall. The advice on the back of bottles of ketchup or jars of sauces will usually instruct you to refrigerate after opening (homemade sauces should obviously be kept in the fridge). “Because they are usually either full of sugar or vinegar, they’re usually pretty shelf-stable, so will probably be fine if you prefer to keep them in the cupboard if you don’t like your sauces cold,” says Hall. But if you’re not using them up regularly, “then I would definitely keep them in the fridge”.

Apples

As with most fruit and vegetables, the fridge will make them last longer, but it’s personal preference, says Hall. “Some people find the flavour better if they’re kept in a fruit bowl, or they’re concerned about sensitive teeth.”

Avocados

If you store them in the fridge, they won’t ripen properly, says Hall. “It’s best to keep them out until they’re ripe. Then, if you don’t want to eat them just yet, I would put them in the fridge.” Freezing them at that point – or just an unused half – is another option. “I would generally then use it to make guacamole or in baking, such as putting into brownies.”

Jams, honey and marmalade

Keep honey in a cupboard to stop it crystallising, but everything else should probably be kept cold. Although the sugar in jam helps preserve it, you’re probably going to introduce crumbs and butter, says Hall, “and cause mould to come sooner. But also keeping it in the fridge will just make it last longer, and I don’t think it’s particularly detrimental to the flavour.” Lower-sugar jams are particularly susceptible to mould.

Peanut butter

“The thing with nut butters is that the oils can start to go rancid when they’re exposed to light and heat,” says Ludwig. The more natural butters, where the oils separate, should be kept in the fridge.

Coffee

Storing coffee in the fridge, says Hannah Whitton, the head of coffee at Craft House Coffee, is “a unanimous no from us. Coffee beans are highly porous, meaning they absorb food odours. The constant temperature shifts from taking coffee in and out of the fridge create condensation that rapidly destroys delicate flavours as the coffee absorbs moisture.” Keep beans in an airtight container in a dark place – for extra care, try a vacuum-sealed container. However, adds Whitton, “seemingly contradictorily, use the freezer for long-term storage. Sub-zero temperatures halt the ageing process almost entirely.” She recommends vacuum-sealing beans in single portions – “you can get vacuum sealers online cheaply” – and grinding them from frozen. “The cold makes the beans brittle, resulting in a more uniform grind.”

Seeds, particularly ground or milled seeds

Ludwig keeps nuts in the freezer, because she tends to buy big packs, but for smaller packs you’ll use up sooner, “it’s not essential”, she says. But for open packets of milled flaxseeds, for instance, “you do need to seal them and keep them in the fridge, because they’re more prone to oxidation”. It’s the same for more sensitive seed oils, such as hemp or flaxseed. “Once they’re open, they tend to be better in the fridge.”

Chocolate

There are a couple of issues with storing chocolate in the fridge, says the master chocolatier Paul A Young. “Chocolate picks up flavour incredibly easily, so anything in your fridge that has an odour, the chocolate will pick that up, and it will taste very odd. The second thing is it’s too cold, wet and humid. The chocolate will get very cold, it will come out of the fridge, condensation will form, which then dissolves the sugar, creating a sugar bloom – a really rough texture on the surface of the chocolate – and it takes away the appearance, and feels unpleasant on your tongue.” There is one exception: a fresh cream truffle should be kept refrigerated, then brought to room temperature before eating.

In hot weather, an emergency resetting of a melted bar of chocolate might be necessary, but the cocoa butter may separate. “It looks like a white swirly pattern in and on the chocolate,” says Young. “It’s still edible, but it’s going to be a bit crumbly, it’s not going to be as smooth and silky, but refrigerating will form it back together. That’s just what happens when the chocolate has become melted, and then you chill it quite quickly.”

If, like Spence, you like your chocolate with a snap – or it’s a type with a shell you want to crisp up – particularly in warmer weather, it’s acceptable to put it in the fridge for 10 to 20 minutes, in its original packaging. “That will bring the snap back and take away the bendiness – but no longer than that,” says Young. “Don’t store it in the fridge.”

Potatoes

The advice used to be to keep them in a cupboard, but now we’re told to keep them in the fridge to prolong their life and prevent sprouting (potatoes are the most-wasted food in UK kitchens). This may also give them a sweeter flavour. But they do take up space, Hall admits: “Keeping them in a cool, dark cupboard is fine. It’s recommended that you keep them away from onions.” The ethylene gas given off by onions – as well as other produce such as bananas, tomatoes and peppers – can speed up sprouting.