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1 week ago | 
theguardian.com | Helen Pidd |Jenny Stevens |Kate McCusker |Ivor Manley |Elizabeth Cassin
“There’s lots of chat at the moment about #SkinnyTok,” Jenny Stevens, the Guardian’s deputy features editor, tells Helen Pidd. “The TikTok influencers, TikTok users, who are documenting their extreme weight-loss journeys. “I’ve looked through that hashtag and I think, wow, some of these people are really, really unwell.
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3 weeks ago | 
theguardian.com | Lucy Hough |Eleanor Biggs |Kate McCusker |Ivor Manley |Homa Khaleeli |Elizabeth Cassin
“I worry a lot about a kind of world war one-type scenario,” former White House Russia adviser Fiona Hill tells Lucy Hough, “in which the prevailing system is broken down, and you get a whole outbreak of conflicts that meld together.”“People are always asking: ‘What should we be worried about in the future?’ We should be worried about the here and now.”Fiona reflects on what another term of Trump and Putin in power means for Europe and the rest of the world.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Ben Quinn |Kate McCusker
Britain’s elite universities are continuing to benefit from multi-million pound funding from Facebook’s owner, Meta, amid criticism over its approach to harmful content, ditching of independent fact checkers and political influence. Members of the Russell Group benefited from a total of £2.8m worth of funding from Meta last year, and £7.7m over the past four years.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Kate McCusker
When Laura Young got Cooper the cavapoo in 2020, she knew that single-use plastic poo bags weren’t going to cut it. “Having a dog is a lifestyle extra,” says the 28-year-old environmental scientist. “I was aware that I wanted to try not having a negative environmental impact.” But where to start? The shelves seemed to be divided into two camps: bog-standard, single-use plastic wisps, and shiny, expensive bags brandishing eco buzzwords.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Kate McCusker
The unfailing politeness of Canadians is a national character trait recognised the world over, but ex-pats living in the UK, readying their postal ballots for next week’s momentous elections, are in no mood for niceties. “If you mess with Canadians, we’ll hit back,” says Sarah Helppi, a 44-year-old Toronto native turned Londoner who has just posted her ballot for what she calls the most important Canadian vote in her lifetime.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Kate McCusker
David Tennant has criticised the “demonisation” of the trans community, saying that while he wishes JK Rowling “no ill will”, he hopes that “we can all as a society just let people be”. The Scottish actor, who appeared in the 2005 film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, likened the treatment of transgender people to the Thatcher government’s introduction of section 28 – a 1988 law that prohibited local authorities from “promoting” homosexuality.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Kate McCusker
Liam and Noel Gallagher have performed together for the first time in 16 years in a closed pub in north London, according to reports. The brothers were pictured arriving at the Mildmay club in Newington Green, north London, on Thursday where they are believed to have filmed a promotional video for this summer’s sold-out Oasis reunion tour. According to The Sun, they arrived at the venue separately, stayed for just over an hour, and made enough noise to provoke the ire of local people.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Kate McCusker
Given that he was about to start playing the same piano piece 840 times, for no less than 16 unbroken hours, you could have forgiven Igor Levit for appearing panicked as he walked on stage at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on Thursday morning.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Kate McCusker
The former England cricketer Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff has promised to share “what actually happened” in the horrific Top Gear crash in December 2022 that left him with life-altering injuries. In the trailer for a Disney+ documentary about his life and career, which will air next Friday, he says of the accident: “I remember everything about it … it’s so vivid.”Flintoff was airlifted to hospital after a crash at Dunsfold Park in Surrey while filming an episode of Top Gear for the BBC.
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1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Kate McCusker
Tommi has been a living statue for 20 years, endeavouring to stay rooted to the spot amid hailstones, loose dogs and teasing teenagers. But even he was moved by the news that Leicester Square would no longer host street performers, calling time on one of London’s most renowned tourist-friendly quirks.
