The Guardian

Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

Beast review – down-and-out MMA fighter film is predictable but still lands punches

Directed by Tyler Atkins and co-written by Russell Crowe, this Australian feature follows a familiar playbook – but you’ll find yourself surprisingly invested

Ah, yes: the promising fighter who could’ve been a contender, could’ve been a champion. But then life intervened: bad decisions were made, promises broken, the wrong paths taken. But what if the past came knocking on his door? What if our long-in-the-tooth hero could have another crack, set things right, get in the ring one more time?

To say that Tyler Atkins’ Australian martial arts drama Beast plucks moves from a well-worn playbook is putting it lightly. This is one of those genre films in which nothing surprises in broad terms; it’s the small pivots and deviations that matter. Given the ring of familiarity surrounding everything, I was surprised to find myself as invested in the film as I was, particularly because so many chest-thumping sports movies are already out there, many of which I find about as intellectually engaging as the back of a bag of protein powder.

Continue reading...

‘In a crowd, it feels good when we do bad to our enemies’: how anger becomes contagious

Usually, individuals don’t want to be angry. In a group, however, negative emotions can rile the tribe. On the streets of London, Ed Coper felt it first hand

Back before 9/11 and the wars it precipitated, the big global focus for protest was globalisation itself. Things came to a head in Seattle in November 1999 when 50,000 protesters crashed the World Trade Organization’s party. The ensuing “Battle of Seattle”, as it came to be known, brought unprecedented attention to the growing disquiet over the inequalities of unregulated free market excesses. That’s how, a few months later, I found myself smack bang in the middle of the next big anti-neoliberal flashpoint, the “MayDay 2K” protests in London.

My experience of protest throughout high school had been pretty tame, more likely to take the form of defiance than demonstration. Socks down, shirt untucked – take that, sir! But then again times were good, even for a ratbag. I didn’t have many grievances. At least, none that could be solved by collective protest against powerful institutions that weren’t my parents.

Continue reading...

Envy used to prickle me constantly. But Buddhism teaches us that if someone feels joy, we too can feel it | Jackie Bailey

If I wish myself happiness, then I might gradually become more positively disposed to the happiness of others

It can be hard to be nice. When I was a kid, envy would prickle me as I walked past big houses, wondering what it would be like to have my own bedroom. Nowadays I feel a similar torsion in my conscience when I hear that an author friend has secured a multi-book contract. I’m happy for them but there is a part of me that wants what they have.

The Buddha taught that there are “four immeasurables”. They are known as such because, when attained, they are limitless. They are the qualities of compassion, loving kindness, equanimity and empathetic joy: mudita.

Jackie Bailey is an award-winning author whose nonfiction book about spirituality, The Outrageous Good Fortune of Living (HarperCollins), will be released in 2026. Jackie works as a funeral celebrant and pastoral care practitioner, supporting people to navigate death and dying.

Continue reading...

Turkey World Cup 2026 team guide

Vincenzo Montella has created harmony in the squad to mould one of the country’s strongest teams ever around a generational talent in Arda Guler

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.

Continue reading...

VK: Voorpagina

Volkskrant.nl biedt het laatste nieuws, opinie en achtergronden

Kijk bij parlementaire enquête corona ook naar de bureaucratie

Maar WAAROM moet Gerrit Hiemstra gewoon lekker z'n mond houden?

klimaatactivist Gerrit Hiemstra

Gerrit Hiemstra over het klimaat. Dan gaat Gerrit ergens zitten. Dit keer weer bij Buitenhof. Dan roept-ie het volgende: "Huuuu klimaat." Iedereen meteen weer boos. Maar waarom bent ú eigenlijk boos op Gerrit Hiemstra?

Wel.nl

Minder lezen, Meer weten.

Aanpak drugsgeweld centraal bij presidentsverkiezingen Colombia

BOGOTÁ (ANP/AFP) - De stembussen voor de verkiezingen in Colombia zijn geopend. De kandidaten voor het presidentschap verschillen vooral in hun voorgestelde aanpak van het drugsgeweld in het land.

Volgens peilingen van voor de verkiezingen maakt de linkse senator Iván Cepeda de grootste kans om te winnen. Hij zou profiteren van de populariteit van de vertrekkende president Gustavo Petro, die probeerde een vredesdeal te sluiten met de drugsbendes. Cepeda zegt die aanpak te willen voortzetten.

Tegelijkertijd zijn ook de rechtse advocaat Abelardo de la Espriella en de conservatieve senator Paloma Valencia populair. Zij zeggen juist hard te willen optreden tegen het drugsgerelateerde geweld.

Naar verwachting komt er zondag nog geen duidelijke winnaar uit de bus. Als dat het geval is, volgt er op 21 juni een nieuwe ronde tussen de twee succesvolste kandidaten.


Duitse bedrijven naar Russisch forum, na vier jaar afwezigheid

BERLIJN (ANP) - Vertegenwoordigers uit het Duitse bedrijfsleven bezoeken binnenkort een economisch forum in de Russische stad Sint-Petersburg, na vier jaar afwezigheid door de oorlog in Oekraïne. Dat meldt het Duitse persbureau dpa.

Het SPIEF-forum is begin juni en wordt zoals voorgaande jaren georganiseerd door president Vladimir Poetin. Tot de Duitse deelnemers behoren Stefan Dürr, een zuivelproducent die in Rusland actief is met EkoNiva, en Thomas Bruch, topman van winkelconcern Globus.

Volgens Matthias Schepp, voorzitter van de Duits-Russische Kamer van Koophandel, willen ze "de economische brug naar Rusland behouden en de meer dan 100 miljard euro aan Duitse bezittingen in Rusland beschermen".

Afgevaardigden

Politici van de radicaal-rechtse Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) gaan ook. AfD-politicus Markus Frohnmaier benadrukt dat zijn deelname "geen goedkeuring van de oorlog in Oekraïne inhoudt".

Ondanks de aanhoudende westerse sancties tegen Rusland keerden vorig jaar ook Amerikaanse en Franse vertegenwoordigers al terug naar het evenement.


The Stars Like Dust

Greg Adams Photography posted a photo:

The Stars Like Dust

Nighttime Chicago Cityscape reflected in the decorations in a window in the Tribune Building

MetaFilter

The past 24 hours of MetaFilter

Costume design is not a sewing contest

Anastazia Pearce comments on the Canadian Screen Awards controversy and provides some insight into contemporary realism in costume design and why it is never just clothes.

For context, cultural juggernaut Heated Rivalry beat beloved Indigenous comedy North of North for the costume design award despite the costumes on North of North being a visible representation of modern Inuit culture and people, or at least social media accounts, are annoyed.