Ståle Solbakken’s side have surpassed previous golden generation as they prepare to meet team they beat in 1998
For a country of 5.6 million people, Norway’s list of competitive achievements is remarkable. Our Winter Olympians gobble up medals at a freakish rate, our women’s handball team is all-conquering, we’ve had standout successes in athletics such as the Ingebrigtsen brothers, we’ve had two tournament winners on this season’s PGA tour and, improbably, Norway has also produced the greatest chess player of all time. And while these successes are cherished and celebrated, nothing unites the country quite like football – and no match has stopped the country in its tracks quite like the 2-1 win against Brazil in the final group game of the 1998 World Cup.
The sound of commentator Arne Scheie announcing “Vi har scoret i Marseille!” (“We have scored in Marseille!”) is as firmly etched into our brains as much as anything said by Norwegian poets and politicians in the last 50 years. Scheie was already something of a national treasure, a commentator known for his level-headedness and factual rigour, but when Norway won a late penalty with the score 1-1 he lost the run of himself entirely. He referred to the penalty taker, the Hertha Berlin midfielder Kjetil Rekdal as “Kjetil Reknett, of Werder Bremen” (Reknett is not a surname in Norwegian or, as far as I am aware, any other language).
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Cafés by Holly Pester; The Acrobat by Wisława Szymborska; Volvelle by Rachael Boast; Tree of Knowledge by Victoria Chang; Talk a Blue Streak by Lila Matsumoto
Cafés by Holly Pester (Fitzcarraldo, £12.99)
Beginning with a sequence of prose poems in which the speaker embarks on an anti-epic quest to open her own cafe, Pester’s second collection builds into a meditation on the nature of desire and disappointment. Comic timing remains a strength, as does her linguistic flexibility, wielding language as a weapon in the face of exploitative working conditions, endless monthly direct debits (“Even my egg subscription is a disaster”) and an intensifying cost-of-living crisis. Juggling the demands of caring for an ageing parent, the excited desperation of a love affair, the “fudgy ordeal” of work and the possibility of parenthood, Pester’s speaker discovers solace in the third space of the cafe, both a meeting point and melting pot. “Here begins inspiration, here begins drama,” she suggests. “I order another coffee in honour of circumstantial life.” Ambitious and inviting, this confident collection confirms Fitzcarraldo’s entry in the arena of contemporary poetry.
The Acrobat by Wisława Szymborska, translated by Stanisław Barańczak and Clare Cavanagh (Faber, £12.99)
A slimline selection of Szymborska’s work, showcasing intimate and immediate poems that explore themes of endurance and astonishment. Reflecting the turbulent history of Poland in the 20th century, Szymborska describes life both during and after conflict, documenting the violence of war alongside moments of resilience and poignant domesticity. “After every war / somebody has to tidy up,” she reminds us. “Someone has to shove / the rubble to the roadsides / so the carts loaded with corpses / can get by.” With plainspoken wisdom and deadpan humour, these poems celebrate the ordinary in extraordinary times. Rooted in the pains and joys of everyday human experience, Szymborska’s poetry proves “The commonplace miracle: / that so many common miracles take place.” The book ends with her 1996 Nobel acceptance speech, in which she praises the inexhaustible wonder of the world: “It looks as though poets will always have their work cut out for them.”
The Irish fiddler brings pop exuberance to traditional songs that range from disco to haunting a cappella with a fearless sense of genre fluidity
From Carlow, Ireland
Recommended if you like The Mary Wallopers, Chappell Roan, Anohni
Up next SlutTrad EP out now, UK and Ireland tour starts in October
At a recent London show, SexyTadhg – real name Tadhg Griffin – appeared in a glittering pink corset, channelling high-camp cabaret. And then, they started playing the fiddle.
Continue reading...People across the country are pushing for moratoriums, and electeds who approve projects are being punished
Lenoxdatacenter.com went live in May, promoting what it called a “proposed advanced technology and data center campus” in Michigan. The site did not state who wanted to build the center. Lenox Township officials denied anyone had applied to build one.
Emails obtained by residents through an open records request showed, however, that developers had contacted the township supervisor and deputy supervisor asking for their support to build a datacenter.
Continue reading...Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka through on busy day in SW19
It seems the injury problem for Kalinskaya is to do with her left hamstring, but the treatment seems to have done the trick, because the Russian races to 15-40 on Bencic’s serve, the first break points of the second set. Bencic blocks them both, securing four straight points to hold for 6-4, 4-4.
Safiullin strolls to 0-15, 0-30, 0-40 on Fonseca’s serve; it looks as if the Russian qualifier won’t even have to serve this second set out. Safiullin doesn’t win the first set point but does the second, when he drills deep to Fonseca’s backhand side … and the Brazilian can only net! Safiullin leads 6-3, 6-3. But … Fonseca did come from two sets down to defeat Djokovic a month ago, as the 19-year-old came of age at the French Open, and he’ll be hoping to draw on the spirit of that victory now.
Continue reading...New reporting from the Guardian has shed further light on the ‘ethnicity pain gap’. This is what has to be done to close it
I always know someone is going to say something racist when they start a sentence with, “I’m not racist, but …” Nobody likes to think they would ever discriminate against someone based on the colour of their skin – and some people seem increasingly uncomfortable about acknowledging that such discrimination exists at all in the world. Yet we are now seeing a backlash from certain political groups against diversity initiatives, including from Kemi Badenoch who wants to do away with “DEI bureaucracy”, and Nigel Farage who promises to get rid of “woke” council roles such as those involved in increasing diversity, equity and inclusion.
Whatever your political views, no one wants debates to be lost in emotion rather than based on the evidence. So it is helpful to come back to facts about race and how it affects people’s lives. And as new Guardian reporting on racial inequalities in pain relief reveals, when it comes to healthcare, the evidence is overwhelming: race and ethnicity are associated with differences in the quality of care people receive and, ultimately, in their health outcomes. Regardless of whether anyone is being racist, it is clear that some people receive worse healthcare because of their racial or ethnic background.
Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Move inspired by customer service provided by online retailers such as John Lewis and Amazon
People waiting for hospital treatment will get three weeks’ notice of their next appointment under NHS plans inspired by the customer service provided by online shopping operators.
Hospitals are being ordered to start telling everyone on their treatment waiting list at least three weeks before their operation, diagnostic test or meeting with a consultant.
Continue reading...The London-based fintech says restructuring is necessary to reduce ‘duplicate’ roles
Starling Bank has said it will cut more than 100 jobs as it invests more heavily in artificial intelligence to push down costs.
The digital-only bank told staff that 3% of its workforce, or 130 jobs, would be made redundant, as part of a restructuring of its banking and tech operations.
Continue reading...I am having the world’s most basic midlife crisis. I have not found God. I have found a fitness supplement that was once the preserve of male bodybuilders
I like to think that I’m not an easily influenced person who chases every trend. But what can I say? It can be hard to resist the power of the almighty algorithm. So let me confess that I find myself in the throes of the world’s most basic midlife crisis. I have not found God (religion is back in fashion, apparently), but I have found creatine.
It’s possible that you too have discovered creatine: the supplement is all the rage right now. For those who haven’t started mainlining it every morning, a quick primer. Creatine is a fitness supplement that used to be the preserve of male bodybuilders looking to build big muscles. Now, however, it’s being touted as a wonder product that can do everything from improving your memory to boosting your mood to controlling your blood sugar.
Continue reading...Thousands of volunteers are joined by overseas teams in the hope of finding more survivors in the rubble, reports Tom Phillips in Caraballeda.
Photography and video by Manu Quintero
When twin earthquakes tore through Venezuela’s northern coast last week, Israel Rivas was at home hundreds of miles away in the industrial city of San Félix. As the scale of the catastrophe became clear, the 24-year-old knew he had to react. A mechanic and budding photographer, Rivas gathered the money he had been saving to buy a new camera lens and jumped on a bus to make the 12-hour journey to La Guaira, the coastal state that has suffered the most damage.
“I couldn’t eat well. I couldn’t sleep well, knowing that my brothers and sisters from this country are dying, so I … came here and I’m doing the best I can,” he said on Wednesday, exactly a week after the disaster, as he stood outside Residencia La Gabarra, a 12-storey block of beachside apartments that had collapsed into a jumble of reinforced concrete and bricks with at least three children inside.
Continue reading...Thousands of volunteers are joined by overseas teams in the hope of finding more survivors in the rubble, reports Tom Phillips in Caraballeda.
Photography and video by Manu Quintero
When twin earthquakes tore through Venezuela’s northern coast last week, Israel Rivas was at home hundreds of miles away in the industrial city of San Félix. As the scale of the catastrophe became clear, the 24-year-old knew he had to react. A mechanic and budding photographer, Rivas gathered the money he had been saving to buy a new camera lens and jumped on a bus to make the 12-hour journey to La Guaira, the coastal state that has suffered the most damage.
“I couldn’t eat well. I couldn’t sleep well, knowing that my brothers and sisters from this country are dying, so I … came here and I’m doing the best I can,” he said on Wednesday, exactly a week after the disaster, as he stood outside Residencia La Gabarra, a 12-storey block of beachside apartments that had collapsed into a jumble of reinforced concrete and bricks with at least three children inside.
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Jonathan Wilson as Cristiano Ronaldo breaks his World Cup knockout duck in a dramatic win over Croatia
Continue reading...The 18-year-old is leading a nation’s effort to win a second title – to the delight of his three-year-old brother
No one celebrated Spain’s last-32 win quite like Keyne. As the third goal against Austria went in, cameras caught Lamine Yamal’s younger brother, still only three, raising his arms and shouting: “Come on!” And so a million memes were launched in Los Angeles.
Not long after, 30 metres below ground – Los Angeles Stadium had to be built from beneath the surface because of its proximity to LAX airport – Lamine Yamal stood on a platform before a scrum of cameras, microphones and mobile phones. Someone in there showed him the footage, asked what he thought about this small boy enjoying the childhood he never could, and there was a pause. “I don’t know …” Lamine Yamal said eventually. “It makes me emotional to see my brother happy, and my mum. He is everything to me. It’s like he is my son and I’m in love with him.”
Continue reading...Singer and fiance Travis Kelce have been coy but festivities are getting under way at Madison Square Garden
The streets of New York City and the first-class lounges of Heathrow and JFK airports were crawling on Friday with celebrities on their way to attend the wedding of the year.
Taylor Swift had kept fans guessing about whether it was her nuptials that had caused the closure of 11 streets in midtown Manhattan and the endless deliveries of flowers, food and decorations to the huge Madison Square Garden arena.
Continue reading...Singer and fiance Travis Kelce have been coy but festivities are getting under way at Madison Square Garden
The streets of New York City and the first-class lounges of Heathrow and JFK airports were crawling on Friday with celebrities on their way to attend the wedding of the year.
Taylor Swift had kept fans guessing about whether it was her nuptials that had caused the closure of 11 streets in midtown Manhattan and the endless deliveries of flowers, food and decorations to the huge Madison Square Garden arena.
Continue reading...Ceremony for Ali Khamenei intended to be epic display of national power. Plus, the expected wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce pays dividend to good causes
Good morning. Final preparations are under way for Ali Khamenei’s six-day funeral. The farewell to the former supreme leader is expected to draw millions in Iran. Khamenei was killed in the opening salvo of the US-Israeli attack on the country in February, and the funeral is intended to be an epic display of personal mourning, national power, resilience and social cohesion.
Iran’s first vice-president, Mohammad Reza Aref, who is the lead funeral organiser, described the ceremony, which begins on Saturday in Tehran and will end with Khamenei’s burial on Thursday in Mashhad, as “the most important event of this century” and the most attended event since the 1979 revolution. The scale of the funeral has been conceived to relay political and religious messages of resistance to the rest of the world. At the request of Iraqi politicians, Khamenei’s body will also be carried through the Iraqi Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf.
Will Ali Khamenei’s successor take part? Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, is not expected to make an appearance at his father’s funeral. He was severely injured in the same US-Israeli strike that killed his father and also killed Mojtaba’s wife and his 14-month-old daughter. The extent of Mojtaba’s injuries is unknown and he has so far issued only written statements, including one that distanced himself from the ceasefire negotiations but sanctioned their continuance. Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, threatened to kill him this week, saying he was marked for death.
Why is Trump so unhappy with Nato? Aside from the failure of countries such as the UK and France to join in with the US-Israeli war on Iran, Trump has long complained that Europe does not spend enough on defence. Under pressure from the US, Nato leaders agreed at a gathering last year to boost defence-related spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
Continue reading...‘The balls have a chip in them – it is clear why VAR intervened’
Croatia manager Dalic says ‘emotions have been literally killed’
Roberto Martínez commended the numerous video assistant referee interventions that helped Portugal past Croatia, and said there was no “lucky call”, after his team narrowly edged an incident-packed match to progress to the last 16 of the World Cup.
For the first time in the history of the tournament four goals were disallowed in the same game, with Croatia seeing three separate efforts chalked off, while Ronaldo also had a goal overturned. The final incident came in the very last seconds when Josko Gvardiol thought he had equalised in the 103rd minute of the match, only to be called offside. A snick-o-meter had detected the slightest of contacts between the ball and a teammate’s head as it crossed the box.
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