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Received today — 17 June 2025

Congratulations: Even Your Hobbies are Now Officially Old.

17 June 2025 at 07:18
Industry welcomes first wave of pensioner gamers "Nick Poole, chief executive of Ukie, the trade body representing the UK's gaming industry, said: "It's been the most incredible 50 years. 'We're about to see the first-ever generation of pensioner gamers.. it's amazing.' " - BBC News

Video games are now in their Ninth 'Wave' of consoles* Which Generation was your first and are you still gaming?
  1. 1972 - 1980 Magnavox, Odyssey, Pong, Coleco, Telstar
  2. 1976 - 1992 Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Mattel Intellivision
  3. 1983 - 2003 Sega Master System, Atari 7800, Nintendo Entertainment System
  4. 1987 - 2004 NEC TurboGrafx-16, Sega Genesis, SNK Neo Geo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System
  5. 1993 - 2006 Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, Nintendo 64
  6. 1998 - 2013 Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft XBOX
  7. 2005 - 2017 Microsoft XBOX 360, Sony Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii
  8. 2012 - Present Nintendo Wii U, Sony Playstation 4, Microsoft XBOX ONE, Nintendo Switch
  9. 2020 - Present Microsoft XBOX Series X/S, Sony Playstation 5, SteamDeck, Nintendo Switch 2
[ * 'Wave' dates and years taken from Wikipedia page on History of Home Consoles , yes there is some overlap between Generations / Waves ] (Apologies if any of the dates are incorrect, and yes only home consoles were listed, strictly handheld consoles could be it's own post entirely)

Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and the Rolling Thunder Review in 1976

17 June 2025 at 04:45
Bob Dylan and Joan Baez live, among others, in a performance of the Rolling Thunder Review in Fort Collins, Colorado from 1976

The song list is in Italian and let it be noted that Deportees is actually Deportee (Plane Wreck in Los Gatos) a song Woody Guthrie wrote in 1948. Talk about a timely topic. Dylan and Baez are in their mid-thirties and at the height of their powers, in my humble opinion.

Mystery of the Varna Gold

17 June 2025 at 03:55
Mystery of the Varna Gold: What Caused These Ancient Societies to Disappear? Treasure found in prehistoric graves in Bulgaria is the first evidence of social hierarchy, but no one knows what caused the civilization's decline. By weight, the gold in this room is worth about $181,000. But its artistic and scientific value is beyond calculation: The "Varna gold," as it's known among archaeologists, has upended long-held notions about prehistoric societies. According to radiocarbon dating, the artifacts from the cemetery are 6500 years old, meaning they were created only a few centuries after the first migrant farmers moved into Europe. Yet archaeologists found the riches in just a handful of graves, making them the first evidence of social hierarchies in Europe in the historical record.

Inside PayPal’s Strategy to Stop AI-Powered Bots & Reduce Fraud

17 June 2025 at 03:51

Discover how PayPal uses DataDome to stop AI-powered bots at the edge. Learn how intent-based detection helps prevent fraud, reduce costs, and protect user experience.

The post Inside PayPal’s Strategy to Stop AI-Powered Bots & Reduce Fraud appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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There's An Entirely Different Universe Beyond That Black Hole

17 June 2025 at 03:41
New data from the James Web Space Telescope breathes some new life into an old theory. It's possible our universe exists inside a black hole inside a parent universe. And so on, and so on.

There may be other explanations, though. Previously on the Blue. Note: I am not an astrophysicist.

A dangerous strategy

17 June 2025 at 03:04
Most of all, though, French literary culture seems capable of producing works of high literary merit which manage to be fun. There is an expansiveness to a lot of French writing these days — a hearty appetite for other places, other epochs, other people, and a willingness to enjoy the world's variegations in a way that is untroubled by "stay-in-your-lane" conservatism. Perhaps the best exemplar of this most overlooked of literary virtues is Laurent Binet. from The French Exception [The Metropolitan Review]

What is Cyberespionage? A Detailed Overview

17 June 2025 at 02:02

Cyberespionage, also known as cyber spying, is one of the most serious threats in today’s hyper-connected digital world. It involves the unauthorized access and theft of sensitive information through digital means. As more critical data is stored and transmitted online, the risks associated with these attacks have surged dramatically. Cyberespionage poses significant concerns for national […]

The post What is Cyberespionage? A Detailed Overview appeared first on Kratikal Blogs - Information Hub For Cyber Security Experts.

The post What is Cyberespionage? A Detailed Overview appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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OpenID Connect (OIDC) Explained

17 June 2025 at 01:30

Logging into apps has come a long way. Not too long ago, pretty much every website or app had its own login screen, and you had to remember a different password for each one. It was messy, annoying, and honestly not very safe. That’s why modern apps have shifted toward smarter, easier, and more secure...

The post OpenID Connect (OIDC) Explained appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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Key Approaches to Reduce Secrets Sprawl

16 June 2025 at 17:00

Are Your Secrets Secure? Secrets sprawl is a major hurdle when it comes to effectively handling cybersecurity. With an increasing number of non-human identities (NHIs) and secrets, it’s vital to have a robust management system in place. But what exactly are NHIs? Think of them as the machine identities used in cybersecurity, created by a […]

The post Key Approaches to Reduce Secrets Sprawl appeared first on Entro.

The post Key Approaches to Reduce Secrets Sprawl appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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Stay Reassured with Effective Secrets Security

16 June 2025 at 17:00

How Do Secrets Security Practices Reinforce Data Protection? With rapid advancements in technology, the threats posed to data security become increasingly sophisticated and diverse. Have you ever considered the importance of robust secrets security practices in reinforcing data protection? The management of Non-Human Identities (NHIs) and secrets is a significant aspect of a comprehensive data […]

The post Stay Reassured with Effective Secrets Security appeared first on Entro.

The post Stay Reassured with Effective Secrets Security appeared first on Security Boulevard.

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Louise Casey criticises ‘public irresponsibility’ of officials over grooming gang race data – UK politics live

17 June 2025 at 06:54

Casey tells MPs she was surprised to be asked to re-engage with issue 10 years after her Rotherham report but says it was right decision

Casey says in the past government has talked relentlessly about the need for better data sharing between departments.

But she says there is a need to consider making this mandatory.

I was there when the tragedy of Soham happened. We knew at that point that if we had had better data sharing there’s a possibility that we might have saved those girls’ lives. There’s certaintly an absolute clarity that intelligence would have been much faster in either avoiding it or or actually finding that dreadful human being earlier.

And we’ve known that forever onwards. And so I think there is also an issue that the Home Office can’t drag their feet on, looking at police intelligence systems, given we’ve living in the 21st century. Probably everbody in this room can connect within seconds. Yet we had Befordshire police finding a young boy that was being, in my mind trafficked to London. But the data intelligence system did not make it easy for them to find that he was in Deptford and being circled and dealt with by predators.

I feel very strongly on issues that are as searing as people’s race, when we know the prejudice and racism that people of colour experience in this country, to not get how you treat that data right is a different level of public irresponsibility.

Sorry, to put it so bluntly, I didn’t put it that bluntly yesterday, but I think it’s particularly important if you are collecting those sorts of issues to get them 100% right.

When we asked the good people of Greater Manchester Police to help us look at the data we also collected – I think it’s in the report – what was happening with child abuse more generally, and of course … if you look at the data on child sexual exploitation, suspects and offenders, it’s disproportionately Asian heritage. If you look at the data for child abuse, it is not disproportionate, and it is white men.

So again, just note to everybody, really outside here rather than in here. Let’s just keep calm here about how you interrogate data and what you draw from it.

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© Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/AP

© Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/AP

Royal Ascot 2025 day one updates: news, previews and more – live

17 June 2025 at 06:51
  • Live updates from the opening day at Royal Ascot

  • Get in touch! Email Tony with your thoughts here

Queen’s Hat Stakes 2pm

Our regular reader will be well aware we always have the first betting heat, a fashion one, before the raccing gets underway. What colour will Camilla’s hat be?

William Hill are providing betting with the current odds as follows:

Blue 5/2, Pink 4/1, Yellow 5/1, Brown 7/1, White 7/1, Green 7/1, Grey 14/1, Purple 14/1, Black 16/1, Orange 16/1 Red 16/1

5pm ASCOT STAKES HANDICAP preview

Poniros and Reaching High have accounted for one quarter of all bets across Oddschecker today

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© Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

© Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

Reddit’s new AI-powered tools scan your posts to serve you better ads

17 June 2025 at 06:43

Reddit has introduced two Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools which will use Reddit comments, posts, and conversations to help sellers make the most of the community.

Reddit is a social media platform and online forum where users can share and discuss content across a wide range of topics. The platform’s structure divides it into communities known as “subreddits,” each focused on a specific subject or interest (from cars to movies to sports to knitting).

There are also promoted posts, which look like regular Reddit posts but are marked as sponsored. They can include text, images, videos, or carousels and often appear in users’ feeds or within specific subreddits. Due to its size, Reddit has evolved into a major digital platform for both advertising and AI-powered data analysis.

Reddit introduced its “Reddit Community Intelligence” at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025. It described this new addition as the collective knowledge of billions of conversations to help businesses and organizations make “smarter marketing decisions.”

Last year, Reddit launched AI-powered advertising such as an ads inspiration library, AI copywriter, and image auto-cropper to help small businesses create more effective, platform-specific ads.

The new tools, dubbed “Reddit Insights” and “Conversation Summary Add-ons” use AI to analyze conversations, summarize sentiment, and surface relevant user-generated content for advertisers.

Last year, the FTC advised Reddit that it would conduct a non-public inquiry focused on Reddit’s sale, licensing, or sharing of user-generated content with third parties to train AI models. This was before Reddit announced a partnership with OpenAI to bring Reddit content to ChatGPT.

When the FTC launched a Request for Information (RFI) to better understand how technology platforms deny or degrade users’ access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations, and how this conduct may have violated the law, without specifically mentioning Reddit, the company saw a 9% drop in stock price.

The new tools will undoubtedly fuel the ongoing debates about the ethics of AI-driven analysis on Reddit, especially regarding user consent and the potential for privacy breaches.

In April, users of the r/ChangeMyView subreddit expressed outrage at the revelation that researchers at the University of Zurich were secretly using the site for an AI-powered experiment in persuasion, prompting the moderation team to explain that the experiment was conducted without authorization.

Careful what you share

Given the open nature of Reddit it’s important to keep in mind that anything you post can be found by anyone and everything, including AI. So, it’s important to hold yourself to the same standards you may use when posting on social media.

On June 28, 2025 a new Privacy Policy will go into effect. It stands to reason that you should be aware of the current policy and keep up with any changes.

A few general rules to help improve your privacy on the platform:

  • Anonymity: there is no reason to use your real name or any identifying information in your username or profile. Don’t share personal details like your location, workplace, or other identifiers in posts or comments unless they are relevant to the post.
  • Don’t link to other social media profiles in your profile or posts. Also don’t link your account to your Google or Apple account.
  • If you’re active in several Reddit communities, consider creating separate accounts for different interests or sensitive topics.
  • In your Reddit account settings, under Privacy you can turn off “Show up in search results” to prevent your posts and comments from being indexed by search engines or easily browsed by others.
  • You can also disable “Personalize ads on Reddit based on information and activity from our partners.”
  • Protect your account using a unique, complex password and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for your Reddit account.
  • Regularly check your account activity for unauthorized access and report anything suspicious.

We don’t just report on threats – we help protect your social media

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Protect your social media accounts by using Malwarebytes Identity Theft Protection.

Russia’s ‘unrelenting’ attacks on Ukraine show Putin not interested in peace, EU says, after at least 15 die in Kyiv strike – Europe live

17 June 2025 at 06:32

Kaja Kallas says strike in Kyiv one of ‘most devastating’ of war as Zelenskyy accuses world leaders of ‘turning a blind eye’

According to the Spanish government, we should soon get a decent idea of what caused the massive and unprecedented blackout that hit the Iberian peninsula at the end of April.

The findings of a special committee convened to investigate the episode are due to be made public at a press conference addressed by Spain’s environment minister, Sara Aagesen, at 1 pm Madrid time.

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© Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/AP

© Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/AP

Mayor of Mayhem review – a jaw-dropping look at a crack-smoking politician who opened the floodgates

17 June 2025 at 06:25

This provocative documentary about the hugely controversial Toronto politician is a chaotic watch – and features tactics that would go on to serve Trump

I am surprised at how often 2013 feels like a lifetime ago, in political terms at least. That was the year the late Rob Ford, then mayor of Toronto, was reported to have been filmed smoking crack cocaine. He denied it, twisting the allegations into what he suggested was a smear campaign by an untrustworthy, left-leaning mainstream media. A few months later, the city’s chief of police, Bill Blair, held a press conference in which he announced that the police had the video in question, and it showed Ford smoking a glass pipe. The mayor was defiant. “I have no reason to resign,” he said. He didn’t.

Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem manages to squash the chaos of Ford’s many scandals into an appropriately hectic 49 minutes of documentary. (The fact that the police reporting the existence of a crack pipe video is only one of these scandals is telling: a reporter here vividly likens the number of controversies surrounding Ford to “sweat off a runner”.) It provides a brief account of his entry into politics, and viewers with an interest in the psyche of “controversial” politicians will be amazed and astonished to learn that, like Donald Trump, Ford was probably motivated by wanting to impress his tough millionaire businessman father, who had been a bellicose politician himself.

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© Photograph: Mark Blinch/REUTERS

© Photograph: Mark Blinch/REUTERS

Reeves considers softening inheritance tax changes amid non-dom backlash

17 June 2025 at 06:18

Chancellor is keen to mollify wealthy global investors and attract foreign investment into the UK

Rachel Reeves is considering caving in to City lobbying and softening changes to inheritance tax that affect wealthy individuals who would previously have been “non-doms”, reports suggest.

In her autumn budget, the chancellor confirmed that she would scrap the non-dom tax status, which allowed wealthy individuals with connections abroad to avoid paying full UK tax on their overseas earnings.

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© Photograph: RichardBakerStreetPhotography/Alamy

© Photograph: RichardBakerStreetPhotography/Alamy

David Squires on … gimmicks and surprise guests as the Club World Cup kicks off

17 June 2025 at 06:17

Our cartoonist looks back at the opening games and empty seats as Gianni Infantino’s vanity project finally began

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© Illustration: David Squires/The Guardian

© Illustration: David Squires/The Guardian

Man arrested after woman found fatally stabbed at scene of London gas explosion

17 June 2025 at 06:17

Woman, 46, found dead at house in Stoke Newington, north-east London, where police were called after explosion

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 46-year-old woman was found fatally stabbed inside a house after a gas explosion in north-east London.

Police were called to reports of an explosion at the address in Dumont Road, Stoke Newington, shortly before 5am on Tuesday.

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© Photograph: Lily Shanagher/PA

© Photograph: Lily Shanagher/PA

Will the public side with the protesters in LA? Here are some lessons from history | Musa al-Gharbi

17 June 2025 at 06:00

Social movements have long included some form of direct conflict with authorities. The key is whom the public blames for clashes

On 6 June, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) conducted aggressive raids in Los Angeles, sweeping up gainfully employed workers with no criminal record. This led to demonstrations outside the Los Angeles federal building. During these protests, David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) of California, was arrested alongside more than 100 others – leading to even larger demonstrations the next day.

Donald Trump responded on 7 June by sending federal troops to Los Angeles to quell the protests without consulting Governor Gavin Newsom and, in fact, in defiance of Newsom’s wishes. This dramatic federal response, paired with increasingly aggressive tactics by local police, led to the protests growing larger and escalating in their intensity. They’ve begun spreading to other major cities, too.

Musa al-Gharbi is a sociologist in the School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook University. His book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, is out now with Princeton University Press. He is a Guardian US columnist

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© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

‘Our beloved Melissa’: grief over Minnesota killings – and relief at suspect’s capture

Residents call Melissa Hortman and husband Mark, gunned down in targeted killing, ‘amazing people’ with huge legacy

A memorial outside the Minnesota house chambers displays a photo of Melissa and Mark Hortman behind a table where people are dropping off flowers, notes, a hard hat, a plaid shirt. Signs in front of it read “in honor of our beloved Melissa”. On her desk, a photo and a bouquet of roses.

On Monday afternoon, the skies darkened, spilling sheets of rain across the Minneapolis suburbs Melissa Hortman represented.

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© Photograph: Tim Evans/Reuters

© Photograph: Tim Evans/Reuters

These evangelical men saved sex for marriage – they weren’t well prepared

17 June 2025 at 06:00

Scores of Christian men have been raised on ideas of abstinence and ‘purity’ – what does that mean for their sex lives later on?

Like many people, reaching the age of 40 inspired Matt to do some self-reflection. He had achieved many hallmarks of adulthood: a college degree, a career he enjoyed, and two beloved dogs. But he’d never had a relationship, or even a sexual partner.

This weighed heavy on him; he craved the experience of a deep romantic connection and wondered how it might feel to be in love.

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© Illustration: Simone Noroha/The Guardian

© Illustration: Simone Noroha/The Guardian

I Heart Willie review – public-domain slasher turns Mickey Mouse into slicer-and-dicer

17 June 2025 at 06:00

A buff, bloodthirsty mouse-man terrorises Mexican teens in the latest horror schlock made from newly expired copyright

It seems “public domain horror movies” are now a proper thing: a cinematic subgenre of gory, uber-schlocky fearmongering that revolves around a well-known intellectual property, usually from the realm of children’s entertainment, whose copyright has expired. That means the makers are free to turn a beloved character into a murderous man-beast psychopath, with the Winnie-the-Pooh derived Blood and Honey franchise a prime example.

Meanwhile, the moment black-and-white cartoon Steamboat Willie, the 1928 debut of Mickey Mouse, entered the public domain, almost half a dozen Mickey-themed slasher pics were born, like spores released from a fruiting body. In a very low-bar environment, I Heart Willie is perhaps a tick better than previous public domain horrors, or maybe we have reached the film critic’s equivalent of Stockholm syndrome, with our defences worn down by shoddy production values, originality deficits and lame performances.

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© Photograph: Publicity image

© Photograph: Publicity image

How not to be the most annoying person in a pub quiz – five things I’ve learned | Zoe Williams

17 June 2025 at 06:00

As someone who is consistently the worst person on a team, I can impart some advice. And the first is do not harangue your host or the other teams under any circumstances

I am always considered likely to be a quiz asset, because I’m old, and yet I’m a huge quiz deficit – not only usually wrong, but with such confident delivery that I make others in the team, who are right, lose their way, like a magnet on a compass. After another stunning defeat, in which we slipped from a mediocre seventh or eighth back to last place, having had 20 points deducted because I poked the quiz guy with a pencil, I’m ready to pass on some basic quizdom.

First, don’t poke the quiz guy with a pencil. Don’t harangue the marking team or try to cut a deal. In fact, keep all extra-team interactions at zero. Forget the captain, forget the person with the best handwriting, choose your most emollient member and make them do the talking for all of you.

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© Photograph: Veryan Dale/Alamy

© Photograph: Veryan Dale/Alamy

Deadly clashes over Morales candidacy deepen Bolivia crisis in election run-up

Six killed and hundreds injured in weeks of unrest, as supporters demand former president be allowed to run

Fatal clashes between police and supporters of former president Evo Morales have deepened Bolivia’s political and economic crisis, heightening tensions in the Andean country just two months before the presidential election.

Six people have been killed and more than 300 injured in weeks of unrest. The dead include four police officers, one of whom was reportedly killed by dynamite which had been strapped to his body.

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© Photograph: Claudia Morales/Reuters

© Photograph: Claudia Morales/Reuters

‘People recycle the same old racism’: Sheffield metal stars Malevolence on their big break – and how to confront online hate

17 June 2025 at 05:32

They’ve broken crowdsurfing records – 901 in a single gig – but their music confronts deep, difficult subjects from mental health to toxic family members

Malevolence insist they aren’t psychic. In late February 2020, days before Covid-19 lockdowns started being implemented around the world, the Yorkshire metalcore band released their breakthrough single, Keep Your Distance. It was a melee of growls and beatdowns that propelled them to new heights – in part thanks to a title that foresaw the next year of government messaging.

“It was completely by coincidence,” guitarist and vocalist Konan Hall tells me on a video call from his home in Sheffield. “But everyone started tagging us in signs saying ‘Keep your distance because of Covid’.” Lead singer Alex Taylor can’t help but laugh, joining the call from his place just up the road. “It was free marketing!”

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© Photograph: Ollie Buckle @obdocx

© Photograph: Ollie Buckle @obdocx

Berrada confident Manchester United can win men’s and women’s league titles by 2028

17 June 2025 at 05:24
  • CEO sticking to timetable after trophyless season

  • Men finished 15th and women were 16 points off top

Manchester United’s chief executive, Omar Berrada, remains confident the club can win the men’s and women’s league titles by their 150th anniversary in 2028. Berrada, who told staff of his “Project 150” vision last September, knows that represents a significant challenge with the men having just endured a worst top-flight season since relegation in 1973-74 and Chelsea continuing to dominate the Women’s Super League.

He believes marking a major milestone in the club’s history since it was founded as Newton Heath in 1878 with double title success is realistic. In the United We Stand fanzine to be published on Wednesday, Berrada said: “It’s establishing a series of targets within a timeframe so we can focus our efforts and energy on that goal.

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© Photograph: Scott Heppell/Reuters

© Photograph: Scott Heppell/Reuters

Nick Cave says he declined Morrissey’s request to sing ‘silly anti-woke screed’ on new song

17 June 2025 at 05:16

Responding to a fan question, the singer said he felt the words were ‘unnecessarily provocative’ but called Morrissey ‘probably the best lyricist of his generation’

Nick Cave has said that he turned down Morrissey’s request to appear on a new song in 2024, claiming that the former Smiths frontman wanted him to sing “an unnecessarily provocative and slightly silly anti-woke screed he had written”.

In response to a fan question on his Red Hand Files site about his relationship with the singer, Cave said that “although I suppose I agreed with the sentiment on some level, it just wasn’t my thing. I try to keep politics, cultural or otherwise, out of the music I am involved with. I find that it has a diminishing effect and is antithetical to whatever it is I am trying to achieve.”

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© Photograph: Christie Goodwin/Redferns

© Photograph: Christie Goodwin/Redferns

At least 51 Palestinians killed in Gaza waiting for food trucks, says health ministry

17 June 2025 at 05:01

Hundreds of others wounded as they waited for UN and commercial trucks with supplies, according to Gaza officials

At least 51 Palestinians have been killed and more than 200 wounded while waiting for UN and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza’s health ministry and a local hospital.

Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis on Tuesday morning. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

America had open borders until 1924. Racism and corporate greed changed that | Daniel Mendiola

17 June 2025 at 05:00

The primary justifications for early immigration laws were xenophobia, eugenics, and overt racism. Understanding the history of immigration is essential

The US immigration system is a scam that dehumanizes people for profit. Communities across the country have had enough.

The protests in Los Angeles have invited a long overdue conversation about the true nature of the US immigration system. While the immediate catalysts for the protests were ramped up Ice raids attempting to meet Donald Trump’s arbitrary deportation quotas, the protests spring from a deeper history.

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© Photograph: Giovanna Dell’Orto/AP

© Photograph: Giovanna Dell’Orto/AP

From Tyson to TikTok: the boxing fan generational gap is widening

17 June 2025 at 05:00

With fights hidden behind paywalls and few stars breaking through, the once-popular sport risks irrelevance among the young fans it desperately needs to survive

Boxing is popular with young people in countries like the United Kingdom and Mexico. But it doesn’t resonate with young sports fans in the United States the way it once did.

Fans of a sport – particularly, team sports - develop lifelong allegiances at an early age and often pass it on to their children. There was a time when fathers and sons in America sat down in front of a television set together and watched Gillette Friday Night Fights or boxing on weekend afternoons. Now, if they sit down together at all, they watch football.

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© Photograph: Frank Franklin II/AP

© Photograph: Frank Franklin II/AP

I would make the Green party a force at the heart of British politics. That’s why I’m running to be co-leader | Ellie Chowns

17 June 2025 at 05:00

Adrian Ramsay and I are lifelong campaigners who know how to win elections. We would build a coalition of voters against divisive populist politics

  • Ellie Chowns is the MP for North Herefordshire

I’ve been an activist since I was a teenager. I’ve marched against apartheid, was arrested for defending Extinction Rebellion’s right to peacefully protest, have campaigned for warm homes with Friends of the Earth, worked with peace-builders in war-torn northern Uganda and more. I’ve spent my life fighting for a fairer, greener world.

And today, as a member of parliament and Green party co-leadership candidate alongside Adrian Ramsay, I’m more convinced than ever that the power and hope of activism must go hand in hand with electoral nous to win the change we need at the heart of our politics.

Ellie Chowns is the MP for North Herefordshire

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© Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian

© Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian

Fired ABC News journalist stands by his post criticizing Trump and adviser

17 June 2025 at 05:00

Terry Moran was effectively dismissed from the network after calling Stephen Miller and Trump ‘world-class’ haters

A journalist who lost his job at ABC News after describing top White House aide Stephen Miller as someone “richly endowed with the capacity for hatred” has said he published that remark on social media because he felt it was “true”.

“It was something that was in my heart and mind,” the network’s former senior national correspondent Terry Moran said Monday on The Bulwark political podcast. “And I would say I used very strong language deliberately.”

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© Photograph: Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC/Getty Images

Houseplant clinic: why has my aloe vera gone floppy?

17 June 2025 at 05:00

Though famously resilient, aloes are also sensitive to overwatering

What’s the problem?
I thought it was nearly impossible to kill aloe plants, but mine looks very pale and limp.

Diagnosis
You’re right; aloe vera is famously resilient and seen as an easy plant to care for. But all plants are living entities with specific care needs. Pale, floppy leaves usually indicate overwatering, inadequate sunlight, or poor drainage, which all cause the same problem: too much moisture in the soil. Aloe plants store water in their thick leaves, so any excess easily causes root rot and weak growth.

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© Photograph: Gynelle Leon

© Photograph: Gynelle Leon

‘He just looks like a happy, cheeky boy’: Palestinian child refugees pick up the camera

17 June 2025 at 05:00

Photographer Misan Harriman gave lessons and equipment to young people who have fled Gaza – and the pictures they took are funny, revealing and often heartbreaking

A boy pulling a funny face, a sleeping pet, a grandfather in his chair – all ordinary scenes from life that many of us would take for granted. What makes these images special is they were taken by Palestinian children, refugees displaced to Egypt since Israel’s war in Gaza, making sense of their new, if hopefully temporary, home and what they have escaped from.

“It’s familial life, relationships, and although they’ve seen so much, you’re not seeing trauma, you’re not seeing the faces of people that have given up,” says the photographer Misan Harriman, an ambassador for Save the Children. “Even though none of these kids know what the future brings and there’s huge uncertainty, they are living in the moment. They’re doing their best to thrive and learn.” The camera, he adds, is “a seemingly inanimate object that can help you find answers to a world that is confusing, and even more confusing for some of these children.”

Misan Harriman, centre, with some of the children involved in the project. Photograph: Anna Sass/Save the Children

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© Photograph: Save The Children

© Photograph: Save The Children

Pragmata, the quirky science-fiction game that’s back from the dead

17 June 2025 at 05:00

Originally meant to release in 2022, Capcom’s futuristic game – featuring an astronaut and a mysterious blond-haired little girl – has just re-emerged from stasis; and it looks like it will be worth the wait

When Pragmata was first announced five years ago, it wasn’t clear exactly what Resident Evil publisher Capcom was making. The debut trailer featured eerie, futuristic imagery, an astronaut, and a blond-haired little girl, but there was nothing concrete or clear about its content. And when it missed its 2022 release window and was “paused indefinitely” in 2023, it wasn’t clear if Pragmata would ever come to be.

That all changed on 4 June, when a brand-new trailer was broadcast during a PlayStation showcase. The blond-haired little girl turns out to be a weaponised android, accompanying an astronaut called Hugh (of course) through space-station shootouts. I played about 20 minutes of the game during Summer Game Fest the following weekend. A lengthy, troubled development cycle is usually a bad omen, but my time with it was promising.

Pragmata will be out in 2026 for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.

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© Photograph: Capcom

© Photograph: Capcom

Katie Boulter reveals online abuse sent to her and other tennis players

17 June 2025 at 04:42
  • British player talks about receiving toxic messages

  • ‘I don’t think there’s anything off the cards now’

The British No 2, Katie Boulter, has revealed the level of abuse aimed at some players and said she and her family have received death threats. Boulter shared her experiences with BBC Sport to highlight players receiving toxic messages online.

The 28-year-old’s examples included a message telling her to buy “candles and a coffin for your entire family” with a reference to her “grandmother’s grave if she’s not dead by tomorrow”, one stating she should “go to hell” as she had cost the poster money and another stating “hope you get cancer”. In 2014, Boulter detailed the harassment that can accompany a higher profile in the game.

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© Photograph: Ryan Browne/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Ryan Browne/Shutterstock

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