Rachel Reeves’s distress may help destigmatise an emotional response to pressure or professional frustration
Rachel Reeves’s tears this week triggered a fall in the pound and attracted widespread derision from political columnists, mostly male. “What is wrong with Rachel Reeves?” the Telegraph asked. In an article headlined “The meaning of the chancellor’s tears”, a New Statesman columnist told readers that Reeves’s authority was “beginning to melt away”. The Daily Mail spoke disdainfully of her “waterworks”.
But in the longer term the chancellor’s display of distress may prove to have an unexpectedly positive legacy, helpfully normalising a still hugely stigmatised phenomenon: women’s tears in the workplace.
Continue reading...Devendra Banhart finds mysticism in Acquiesce, Snail Mail gets chills from Stand By Me and Johnny Marr chooses an absolute curveball as 17 musicians analyse the reunited band’s genius
• Simon Armitage on why Oasis still enthrall us
There are a lot of similarities between us and Oasis: two brothers in the band, Creation Records, working-class kids, guitar band, etc. In the mid-90s, we couldn’t get arrested and had to watch their meteoric rise, but I couldn’t dislike the great music. Rock ’n’ Roll Star was on a compilation tape on the ill-fated US tour when we broke up. We’d had a punch-up on stage at the House of Blues in Los Angeles and back in my hotel room we were hanging around with a bunch of druggies. I was thinking “Where did it all go wrong?” when this song came on. I knew I’d remember that moment for the rest of my life. To me, Rock ’n’ Roll Star is like Johnny Rotten singing with Slade. It’s punk rock, but in 1994. I love the self-belief: Noel [Gallagher] wrote it before he was a rock’n’roll star but knew it was gonna happen. The difference between the Mary Chain and Oasis is that when we reformed we’d buried the hatchet a good few years before we got back together. I’m not sure if they have, but it used to amaze people how William [Reid] and I could be screaming with hatred at each other in the studio, then 10 minutes later it would be: “Do you want a cup of tea?”
Continue reading...Aggressive, dangerous or unsporting behaviour will be subject to review, as will ‘anything that arouses suspicion’
The 2025 Tour de France could see yellow cards issued for bad behaviour by riders thanks to cycling’s answer to football’s VAR. Every touch of shoulders, switch of wheels, dramatic acceleration and multilingual insult in the peloton will be scrutinised by a growing number of in-race cameras and UCI commissaires.
As part of the UCI’s bid to expand its repertoire of disciplinary and investigative tools, cards can be awarded for everything from celebrating a teammate’s win to riding on the pavement. The card system was trialled last year and is now being integrated into World Tour racing.
Continue reading...From scoring so badly at Eurovision it made Terry Wogan resign to having Paul Hollywood call your cake ‘tough as old boots’, here are the contestants who lost big on the nation’s favourite shows
We often hear about the people who win TV contests. As well as the glory of victory, they might earn an enviable cash prize, a lucrative record deal or a life-changing career boost. But what about those who finish last? Are they philosophical in defeat or throwing tantrums behind the scenes? We tracked down five TV losers to relive their failure in front of millions, reveal how they recovered from humiliation and share what they learned.
Continue reading...In the third and final episode of Along the Green Line, reporter Matthew Cassel heads to the south of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Amid the deadliest chapter in the history of this conflict, we visit the kibbutz of Kfar Aza to witness the evolving legacy of the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas militants, and get as close to Gaza as is possible for foreign journalists.
In this three-part series, we're traveling along the 1949 armistice line or ‘green line’ – once seen as the best hope for a resolution – and meeting Palestinians and Israelis living just miles apart
Continue reading...Fishing villages, lighthouses, seabirds and beachside cafes star in our tipsters’ favourite spots from Derry to Cornwall
• Tell us about a favourite family back-to-nature trip – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucher
Between Aberystwyth and Cardigan the quiet coastline is sublime, with incredible sunsets, dizzying and spectacular coastal paths, gorgeous quiet beaches and dolphins. Start in Dylan Thomas’s old stomping ground, New Quay, and follow the coastal path south along cliffs and past Cwmtydu beach before finishing at gorgeous Llangrannog, where you get two beaches for one (perfect Cliborth beach requires a lower tide to access). Kayaking and surfing are great, and the Pentre Arms provides refreshments with a view.
Matt Lunt
Corbyn says ‘discussions are ongoing’ after MP’s surprise announcement but he is understood to be reluctant to take title of party leader
Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he is in discussions about creating a new leftwing political party, hours after the MP Zarah Sultana announced she was quitting Labour to co-lead the project.
Sultana, the MP for Coventry South who had the Labour whip suspended last year for voting against the government over the two-child limit on benefits, said on Thursday night she was quitting Labour and would “co-lead the founding of a new party” with Corbyn.
Continue reading...Group said to want stronger guarantees of permanent end to war as Netanyahu prepares to meet Trump in US
Hamas leaders are close to accepting a proposed deal for a ceasefire in Gaza but want stronger guarantees that any pause in hostilities would lead to a permanent end to the 20-month war, sources close to the group have said.
Hamas officials issued a statement on Friday confirming that, before formally responding, they were talking to other “Palestinian factions” about new ceasefire proposals already accepted by Israel.
Continue reading...Group will become first direct action protest group to be banned under Terrorism Act after unsuccessful action
Being a member of, or showing support for, Palestine Action will be a criminal offence from Saturday after a last-minute legal challenge to suspend the group’s proscription under anti-terrorism laws failed.
A ban on Palestine Action, which uses direct action to mainly target Israeli weapons factories in the UK and their supply chain, was voted through by parliament this week but lawyers acting for its co-founder Huda Ammori had sought to prevent it taking effect.
Continue reading...It’s the most anticipated tour date in recent memory, bringing Noel and Liam Gallagher back together on stage for the first time since 2009. See it unfold here – from setlist to stadium singalongs
While the Oasis subreddit is overspilling with speculation and excitement about the first gigs of the reunion tour, the Cardiff subreddit has been driven up the wall by banal questions from non-locals about travel logistics. It’s inspired increasingly deranged spoof posts about the so-called Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, that green Oasis® foam used for floral arrangements, the fruity soft drink Oasis and where you can weigh your sister in the city … geddit … oh-weigh-sis.
Fans have been soaking up the atmosphere – though I’m not sure that cardboard Liam is too happy about it.
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