Author: The Guardian

When Rachel Thompson was 63, she went to a dance workshop at her local activity centre in Islington, north London. The session was organised by Sadler’s Wells, and Thompson jumped at the chance to go – she knew the dance company was a big deal and she had been to see its shows. “I’m the sort of person who will do anything that looks interesting. I have an open mind about trying things,” she says.Having enjoyed the workshop, she did another one. What Thompson didn’t know was that this is how the Company of Elders, Sadler’s Wells’ dance company for…

Chinese military personnel will begin joint “anti-terrorism training” with their counterparts in Belarus, near the Polish border, on Monday. The Chinese Defense Ministry said the “Eagle Strike” exercise between Russia’s two allies in the Ukraine war will be held in the Belarusian border city of Brest for 11 days and will involve tasks such as hostage rescue and counter-terrorism operations. A few days ago, Belarus officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization led by China and Russia, deepening coordination between the two sides on military, economic and political affairs. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has been a key ally of Vladimir Putin…

The world has baked for 12 consecutive months in temperatures 1.5C (2.7F) greater than their average before the fossil fuel era, new data shows.Temperatures between July 2023 and June 2024 were the highest on record, scientists found, creating a year-long stretch in which the Earth was 1.64C hotter than in preindustrial times.The findings do not mean world leaders have already failed to honour their promises to stop the planet heating 1.5C by the end of the century – a target that is measured in decadal averages rather than single years – but that scorching heat will have exposed more people…

Lewis Hamilton admitted he feared he might never win again and suffered mental health issues as he went more than two years without a Formula One victory, ending a British Grand Prix drought.Hamilton won a gripping race at Silverstone for his first win since Saudi Arabia in 2021, two years in which his Mercedes team has struggled to challenge. Hamilton, 39, shed tears after crossing the finish line.The seven-time world champion revealed afterwards that it was a very difficult time. “As a team, we’ve gone through adversity, and I personally feel like I’ve gone through these challenges, constant challenges, like…

A visitor to Death Valley national park died Sunday from heat exposure and another person was hospitalized as the temperature reached 128F (53.3C) in eastern California, officials said.The two visitors were part of a group of six motorcyclists riding through the Badwater Basin area amid scorching weather, the park said.The person who died was not identified. The other motorcyclist was hospitalized in Las Vegas for “severe heat illness”, the statement said. The other four members of the party were treated at the scene.“High heat like this can pose real threats to your health,” said park superintendent Mike Reynolds.“Besides not being…

The Football Association’s determination to take the pressure off England at Euro 2024 has led to the secrecy surrounding their team’s penalty-taking approach, highlighted by players being banned from answering questions about their team’s penalty-taking process.It is understood there is dissatisfaction within the FA over former staff revealing the details of the psychological work undertaken to change England’s painful relationship with penalties. Officials were reluctant to let any insight leak out ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final penalty shootout against Switzerland amid pointed remarks from Southgate, who has largely pushed for the change.Countless hours have been invested in ensuring that a subject…

A nervous energy rippled through the crowd gathered at Lyon’s Place de la République. As the final polls closed in the most momentous election in recent memory, hundreds of people milled about, waiting to find out what would lie in store for France.Just after 8pm, Florent Martins came running through the plaza, mobile phone in hand. “We won,” the 23-year-old yelled out, his voice shaking with disbelief as those around him exploded into cheers and hearty applause. “The left won!”Exit polls on Sunday suggested that a broad leftwing alliance was on track to become the biggest force in the French…

Emma Raducanu says she made the right decision by withdrawing from her mixed doubles match with Andy Murray to focus on singles despite being beaten in the fourth round at Wimbledon on Sunday.The 21-year-old withdrew from the scrimmage on Saturday with wrist soreness, giving Murray at least one final game before his retirement later this summer.”It was a very difficult decision,” Raducanu said after losing 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun. “Of course, I don’t want to take away his last game. But at the end of the day, I think a lot of players in similar…

The New Popular Front (NFP), a left-green alliance dominated by the radical left Unbowed France (LFI) of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has emerged as the shock winner of France’s snap election, with an estimated 170 to 215 MPs in the 577-seat assembly.According to early estimates, President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Together coalition will have about 150-170 deputies, while Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies, who last week were eyeing a majority, are on track for 130-160.While the winner was a surprise, the result is as expected: a hung parliament of three opposing blocs with hugely different platforms and no…

“The qualifiers are dangerous,” Emma Raducanu said before the match. Well, this one proved fatal. Lulu Sun made her Wimbledon debut and became the first woman in 14 years to pass the qualifying rounds and reach the quarter-finals, knocking out the last remaining British contender in the process.It’s hard for Raducanu to begrudge the New Zealander’s 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win, as she herself won the U.S. Open title in 2021 from a similarly humble position. It is also difficult to deny that Sun Yang, ranked 123rd in the world, was the better player that day.After a tumultuous first three games,…