Author: The Guardian

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched their first attack in six days on the Red Sea, opening fire on a grain cargo ship bound for Iran, the U.S. military said, raising questions about the group’s targeting.There has been a lull in attacks on ships claimed by the Houthis to be linked to Israel, amid claims that US and UK strikes against the group have succeeded in neutralizing its capabilities or that potential targets have been prevented from entering the Red Sea.The Houthis said they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, but this was questioned by British Defense Secretary Grant…

The shooter who opened fire in a Texas megachurch on Sunday had legally purchased the firearm despite having a past criminal record and a history of mental illness.The Lakewood church is run by the prominent evangelical Christian pastor Joel Osteen.Police identified the shooter as Genesse Ivonne Moreno, the Associated Press reported. The Houston police chief, Troy Finner, said Moreno had a “mental health history that is documented”, the New York Times reported. Moreno had previously been placed under an emergency detention for a mental health emergency in 2016, according to the AP.Moreno’s mother-in-law said Moreno had been taking medication for…

Today’s episode of the podcast: The lower league teams don’t have any FA Cup magic, as the WSL side triumph in the fifth round. Manchester City made Arsenal’s poor week even worse – reaching the quarter-finals after a controversial game at Meadow Park. Meanwhile, Leicester City and Everton are locked in a row… but in a good way! We’ll be back next week to round up the highlights from the WSL weekend, including Chelsea v Manchester City, Arsenal v Manchester United and Leicester City v Bristol City. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters Support the Guardian The Guardian is editorially independent. We…

Credit where credit is due: when I asked two relationship experts how to keep the spark alive when you have children, they didn’t respond by laughing in my face. It would have been understandable if they had, because having children is the greatest thing in the world but trying to do anything else – working, keeping fit or maintaining a normal relationship with your partner – is the hardest thing in the world. As such, many parents find their relationship suffers during the early years. “When you’ve got small kids, you invest a lot into them,” says Jo Hemmings, a…

wattWhen England depart for India, I think Jack Leach will be their most important bowler. After two games – he only played the first Test – he was ruled out of the series and I’m not sure how much of an impact that will have. That’s down to the performance of England’s young spinners, Jasprit Bumrah’s reverse swing and the realization that seam bowling may be more important than anyone expected.With his experience, I think Leach is the only bowler in England who can control his bowling in the heat of battle, in times of pressure, so he seems confident…

Moscow has put the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, and other Baltic states officials on a wanted list, as Tallinn warns of an imminent Russian military buildup along its border.The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said the Estonian state secretary, Taimar Peterkop; the Lithuanian culture minister, Simonas Kairys, and Kallas were accused of “destroying monuments to Soviet soldiers”, a reference to the removal of Soviet-era second world war memorials“This is only the start,” Zakharova wrote on her telegram channel. “Crimes against the memory of the world’s liberators from nazism and fascism must be prosecuted.” The exact charges against the…

AAfter the U.S. invaded Panama in 1989, it took their troops 10 days to convince dictator Manuel Noriega to come out of his hiding place in the papal embassy. Their soldiers surrounded the building with loudspeakers, playing songs such as AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” Van Halen’s “Panama” and Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” day and night. Until Noriega lost the will to resist. Five minutes into half-time at Twickenham last Saturday, it occurred to one that perhaps they could get the job done quicker if they hired pitch DJ Tony Perry, as the RFU did.This…

I meet Konstanze Winter in Delft, a canal-encircled city in the Netherlands best known for its distinctive blue-and-white pottery. We are in the Tanthof quarter, one of the Netherlands’ so-called “cauliflower neighbourhoods” beloved of 1970s town planners. These were conceived as an antidote to the rigid grid layouts and tower blocks of the era, featuring low-rise architecture and maze-like streets that are said to resemble the cruciferous vegetable when viewed from above.Centraal Wonen Delft, one of the longest-established and most experimental Dutch living projects, blends right in here. A cluster of low-rise blocks decked with strips of bright colour, it…

HHydrogen is a fascinating substance: the lightest element. When it reacts with oxygen, only water is produced and a large amount of energy is released. This invisible gas looks like the clean fuel of the future. Some of the world’s top auto executives hope it will replace batteries as the technology of choice for zero-emission driving.Our EV MythBusters series explores everything from car fires to battery mining and range anxiety to cost concerns and carbon footprints. Many critics of electric vehicles argue that we should not abandon gasoline and diesel engines. This article asks the question: Can hydrogen provide a…

It’s rare for intense sexual chemistry to last. “We don’t talk about it enough,” says the relationship therapist Cate Campbell, “but it’s very normal for attraction to wane in a long-term relationship, especially as people get older and bodies change. Even if you love and care for your partner, you may fantasise about other people or wish they were younger or fitter. Mother nature tricks our brains into only seeing the positives when we start dating, but that wears off over time.”Some people find that loss of sexual connection is a dealbreaker, especially when it’s accompanied by other problems in…