Even the promise of stronger, healthier hair could never quite tempt me to use products as opposed to cutting it. Until now …

There are few brands one can credit with having changed the beauty game, but the launch of Olaplex just over a decade ago invalidated the assertion that the only way to fix damaged hair is to cut it.

It used a patented ingredient (the unpronounceable bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate) to strengthen and rebuild all types of hair bonds ravaged by bleach, colour and other chemical or heat treatments.

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Thomas Delaney’s addiction issues started when he was a teen and worsened through his 20s. Eventually, an argument with his mother led him to change everything

Thomas Delaney never used to believe he was “good enough to be loved”. Growing up, he internalised the hurt he saw playing out at home. “I thought I was useless, I wasn’t a nice person … I even thought that my mum and dad didn’t love each other because of me.”

When I visit him (and his extremely affectionate black-and-white cat, Figaro) at home in Glasgow, Delaney, dressed in a jumper printed with the words “nicotine is dumb”, is frank about the impact his childhood had on him. “I had suicidal ideations from a very, very young age because I assumed that, if I was dead, maybe my mum and dad wouldn’t be arguing.” Later, he became addicted to ketamine. At his most unwell, he weighed just 38kg (6st).

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In a post-apocalyptic landscape of cutthroat scavengers, surprisingly peaceful players are opting to team up and open up – a phenomenon that’s intriguing game developers and psychologists alike

The video game Arc Raiders is set in a lethal imagining of an apocalyptic future for humanity. Survivors have been forced to live deep underground in colonies while mysterious, murderous AI machines patrol the surface. Only the desolate ruins of former cities survive, and reckless human “raiders” take trips topside to conduct dangerous scavenging missions.

For all the menace of these armed robots, called Arcs, the deadly droids are not the biggest threat in this hugely popular game, which was released late last year and has sold more than 14m copies. Raiders operate with the constant anxiety that another person will shoot them on sight and steal their loot. Mercilessness is rewarded in this kind of competitive, high-stakes world.

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Luther Davis, a national champion with the Crimson Tide, is said to have worn wigs and make-up to secure fraudulent loans

A former University of Alabama football star plans to plead guilty later this month to orchestrating an alleged scheme in which he impersonated NFL players and defrauded lenders out of nearly $20m. The alleged scam is described in detail by the US attorney for the northern district of Georgia, including depictions of the former defensive lineman donning disguises during loan closings.

Luther Davis, a member of the Alabama team that won the 2010 national championship game, along with a partner, CJ Evins, “obtained at least thirteen fraudulent loans totaling more than $19,845,000”, the criminal information filing alleges. A criminal information (CI) document is filed by a US attorney when a defendant agrees to waive the constitutional right to indictment by a grand jury and instead proceed by typically entering a guilty plea; both Davis and Evins are doing so according to the court docket.

Aliya Sports and Sure Sports did not reply to a request for comment for this article.

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To rebuild relations with Europe in a dangerous world, the prime minister needs to win big arguments, not hide behind outdated red lines

In opposition, Keir Starmer pushed Brexit to the margin of debate. In government, he has learned that Europe is central to Britain’s interests whether you talk about it or not. The avoidance of painful arguments from the past turns out to be a handicap when making plans for the future.

This was predictable. Labour’s 2024 general election manifesto pretended that Brexit was a historical event. It was something Boris Johnson got “done” in 2020, in fulfilment of his winning campaign pledge from the previous year. The terms could be tweaked, but Starmer promised to preserve the substance. That was an indulgence of public fatigue with the whole issue, made electorally expedient by fear of offending former Labour supporters who had voted leave in the referendum.

Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist

Guardian Newsroom: Can Labour come back from the brink?
On Thursday 30 April, join Gaby Hinsliff, Zoe Williams, Polly Toynbee and Rafael Behr as they discuss how much of a threat Labour faces from the Green party and Reform UK – and whether Keir Starmer can survive as leader. Book tickets here

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In welke regio een kind opgroeit, heeft invloed op de onderwijsloopbaan die het doorloopt, stelt de Onderwijsinspectie. Die regionale verschillen werken door in de positie die iemand later op de arbeidsmarkt heeft. „Nog altijd maakt het uit waar je wieg staat in ons land.”

De Romeinse politicus, filosoof en literator Cicero wordt wel gezien als groot voorbeeld voor politici en als belichaming van de rechtsstaat. Maar uit zijn brieven, nu voor het eerst integraal in het Nederlands vertaald, ontstaat een heel ander beeld.

Reactie minister en staatssecretaris OCW op de Staat van het Onderwijs.

Het kabinet wil de woningbouw in Nederland versnellen en heeft daarover in het regeerakkoord afspraken gemaakt. Minister Elanor Boekholt-O'Sullivan van Volkshuisvesting en Ruimtelijke Ordening zal daarom regelmatig met provincies, gemeenten, woningcorporaties en marktpartijen in overleg gaan. In februari en maart zijn al bestuurlijke overleggen geweest. De minister geeft in haar Kamerbrief over de voortgang van de Woondeals aan dat zij aan de slag gaat met de afspraken over het wegnemen van de belemmeringen en de versnelling van de woningbouw.

LONDEN (ANP) - Het Verenigd Koninkrijk stuurt dit jaar nog eens minstens 120.000 drones naar Oekraïne om te helpen de Russische invasietroepen af te weren. De aankondiging komt voor nieuw overleg van de bondgenoten van Oekraïne over het inzamelen van militaire hulp voor het land. Ze moeten zich niet laten afleiden door de oorlog in het Midden-Oosten, onderstreepte de Britse defensieminister John Healey.

De zending drones is volgens het ministerie van Healey de grootste tot dusver. Oekraïne kan rekenen op onder meer langeafstandsdrones, verkenningsdrones, logistieke en maritieme drones. De eerste zouden al onderweg zijn. Ook krijgt Oekraïne munitie voor honderdduizenden artilleriesalvo's en duizenden luchtafweerraketten.

Healey en zijn Duitse collega Boris Pistorius leiden woensdag een nieuwe vergadering van de Defensiecontactgroep voor Oekraïne (UDCG). De Amerikaanse minister Pete Hegseth slaat opnieuw over. Onderminister Bridge Colby belt volgens The Hill en andere Amerikaanse media wel in.