Author: The Guardian

A Few of us spoke to Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter the other day about rugby’s toughest challenge. We all probably have a personal take on the subject: say, trying to stop a massive forward charge two meters from your own line, or having to kick a last-minute winning penalty into Gore from 50 meters out Wei’s strong wind.Baxter spoke more generally, however, and answered the question from the perspective of an experienced coach. In his view, the most difficult obstacles to overcome are often mental. Especially the art of preparing to face an opponent you defeated the…

Donald Trump’s Bible costs $59.99, which puts it at the more expensive end of the King James editions, but it does have extra content: it’s called the God Bless the USA Bible, and includes a copy of the US constitution, the Bill of Rights and handwritten lyrics to the chorus of God Bless the USA, by Lee Greenwood. If you thought that chorus was “God bless the USA”, you’re getting it mixed up with “Born in the USA”, idiot; Greenwood’s lyrics have a load of other stuff about freedom, death and defence, which obviously makes them the ideal anthem to…

England striker Vickii Cornborough has announced her retirement from international rugby, saying she is “not ready” to balance motherhood and playing for her country.Combrough made 75 appearances for the Red Roses and reached two World Cup finals, but her lasting legacy will be her pioneering work in shaping the RFU’s maternity policy as vice-president of the Rugby Players’ Association (RPA).The 34-year-old has been on maternity leave with England after giving birth to twins last summer.”I’m probably the strongest I’ve ever been, but I’m just not there yet mentally because having twins is really hard,” Combler told BBC Sport. She added,…

The prospects of Donald Trump going to trial in July on charges of retaining national security documents, as suggested by special counsel prosecutors, are rapidly diminishing, with the judge overseeing the case yet to issue a schedule weeks after she was presented with the potential options.The US district judge Aileen Cannon received proposed trial start dates from Trump and the special counsel Jack Smith more than a month ago in advance of a hearing ostensibly to settle the matter in Fort Pierce, Florida, but she has still not decided when the proceeding will begin.As a result, Trump has been able…

England’s chances of defending their men’s T20 World Cup title in the Caribbean this summer have suffered a huge blow with Ben Stokes’ decision to withdraw from international duty as he focuses on maintaining his batting and performance during a busy Test summer. Bowling health.After bowling in the final in India last month, Stokes looked set to be selected for the T20 World Cup as an all-rounder, something England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott had hoped and planned. But as captain of the Test team, and with two three-Test series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka over the summer, Stokes…

David Bonney realised his employer, the Royal Air Force, was investigating his sexuality within minutes of entering the guard room at RAF Mount Batten, a military base near Plymouth. It was 1991 and Bonney, then a 21-year-old medical assistant, had just been escorted from his post at the medical centre by military police. He sat down in the guard room, opposite the duty staff, and the interrogation began.“Questions about my sex life,” says Bonney, now 55. “Questions about witnessing me with other gay people. Questions about things I said on the phone to my mother.” He says there was shouting,…

My husband and I have a very happy relationship but lately he has been suggesting that we go on Tinder to speak to other men “just for fun”. He doesn’t mind if I go on alone or we go as a couple (though I’m sure he would like that), but he says it would be fun to flirt online with other gay men. I can see how it would be fun and I’m open to the idea, but worried that it will open a can of worms. My main concern is that a friend would see me on there and…

Japanese citizens will all have the same family name in 500 years’ time unless married couples are permitted to use separate surnames, a new study has suggested as part of a campaign to update a civil code dating back to the late 1800s.The study, led by Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of economy at Tohoku University, projected that if Japan continues to insist that couples select a single surname, every single Japanese person will be known as “Sato-san” by 2531.Yoshida conceded that his projections were based on several assumptions, but said the idea was to use numbers to explain the present…

Patient One was 24 years old and pregnant with her third child when she was taken off life support. It was 2014. A couple of years earlier, she had been diagnosed with a disorder that caused an irregular heartbeat, and during her two previous pregnancies she had suffered seizures and faintings. Four weeks into her third pregnancy, she collapsed on the floor of her home. Her mother, who was with her, called 911. By the time an ambulance arrived, Patient One had been unconscious for more than 10 minutes. Paramedics found that her heart had stopped.After being driven to a…

Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureIn late March, Zomi Frankcom, the Australian aid worker killed in the strike in Gaza, appeared in a video filmed at Deir al-Balah talking about the meals being prepared for Palestinians by World Central Kitchen.A week later, Frankcom, along with her international and Palestinian colleagues, would die in that same besieged neighbourhood of central Gaza.WCK’s Zomi & Chef Oli are in our new Deir al-Balah kitchen where our team is cooking thousands of portions of rice with beef & vegetable stew today. We’re expanding this space so we can…