The Guardian

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

Who claimed ‘the most beautiful thing in Florence is McDonald’s’? The Saturday quiz

From Blue Sharks and White Wolves to the Zhurong vehicle, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz

1 Where did the Zhurong vehicle take a selfie in 2021?
2 Which artist claimed “the most beautiful thing in Florence is McDonald’s”?
3 Which record company’s HQ had a sign reading Hitsville USA?
4 What carpet shark has an Australian Aboriginal name?
5 What, in 1970, was the last horse to win English racing’s triple crown?
6 Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft are stages of membership of what?
7 What term for a reused document comes from Greek for “scraped again”?
8 In Japan, ama are women who seek what?
What links:
9
Booker prize, 1974, 1992 and 2019; best actress Oscar and Eurovision, 1969; best actor Oscar, 1932?
10 Plato; Francis Bacon; Aquaman; Patrick Duffy?
11 Alentejo; Dão; Douro; Porto; Madeira; Vinho Verde?
12 Walter Plinge; Alan Smithee; George Spelvin?
13 Alternate nostril; box; diaphragmatic; 4-7-8?
14 Chinese leader, 11; big clothes, 40; engine size, 200; audio format, 400; US capital, 600?
15 Blue Sharks; Blue Wave; Chivalrous Ones; White Wolves?

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Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed: Tatiana Maslany and Murray Bartlett make this pleasurable TV indeed

Apple’s superbly twisty thriller about a beautiful camboy blackmailing a divorced mum is like the new No Country for Old Men – with added Nick from New Girl

I was drawn to this week’s show for the worst reason. That name is pure critic bait, and I like my fruit low-hanging. Other famously pre-roasted works include the films The Happening and Fantastic Four, and the Oasis album Be Here Now. (No, thanks.) In my schadenfreude-soaked soul, I wondered if Apple’s show might join them. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (Apple TV, from Wed)? Do I need the warranty?

It stars Tatiana Maslany, who also led the brilliantly titled, if widely slated, show She Hulk: Attorney at Law. No one doubts Maslany’s chops. She won an Emmy playing 17 distinct clones in the sci-fi series Orphan Black. Here she plays Paula, a divorced mother going through a custody battle. Paula’s only access to intimacy is with a young online sex worker named Trevor. Despite his name, Trevor is beautiful, like Jeff Buckley. I suppose Jeff isn’t the most exotic name either.

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I saw Liza Minnelli’s performance on the Muppet Show – and was inspired to become a drag star

A late-night viewing of the Cabaret star’s appearance with Kermit and co set me on the path to the West End. I even have a tattoo of her on my thigh!

Bronzed, with winged tips and doused in Le Male, I clamped the baby pink GHDs to my hair until they sizzled and singed it. Emerging from a cloud of cheap hairspray, I was ready for the dancefloor. I was 18 and had grown up in Blackpool, a place synonymous with hedonism and fun. I came out in high school at the age of 14 and from 16 I studied performing arts at a local college. Underage, I was smuggled into clubs and in my spare time I watched shows in our many beautiful theatres. The bright lights of the illuminations, the showgirls, the feathers, sequins and rhinestones were intoxicating. Blackpool really was – and still is – extraordinary.

When the bar closed, a new adventure would begin. One night, as the sun was coming up (and as was I), a drag queen took me back to her place. I didn’t know the significance of what I was about to experience, but I was to receive an education no university course could ever match.

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‘An hour of abuse thrown at me’: Jeremy Corbyn on being the target of a Labour coup

As Keir Starmer endures a slow ousting as PM, former Labour leader Corbyn recalls his own expulsion and looks at the runners and riders

“Yeah, I do feel [sorry for him],” said Jeremy Corbyn, with only a little hesitation. “On a personal level it must be devastating. It is a horrible feeling. You suddenly realise that this person doesn’t trust you at all and really doesn’t wish you well at all, and you suddenly realise that any trust that was there actually disappears.”

There are few in politics who have had the experience of being the subject of a Labour party-style coup, the British equivalent of being dragged from your office to be put up against a wall. Letters of resignations from so-called political friends, condemnatory statements on social media, all dripped out for maximum effect with the end goal of pushing the target, once the subject of standing ovations and gushing plaudits, out on their tail.

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Swimming pools, fabulous views and radical architecture: 30 UK holiday cottages with the wow factor

From a stylish retreat in Norfolk to a remote hideaway on a Scottish island, these boltholes will make for a truly memorable stay

Tourism experts are predicting a bumper year for “staycations” with more of us choosing to holiday in the UK due to continuing uncertainty around jet fuel prices and possible flight cancellations. Holidaymakers are spoilt for choice with more than 350,000 UK self-catering listings on booking platforms, from rustic barn conversions to seaside villas with all mod cons for large family gatherings.

We’ve done some of the leg work and whittled down a selection of cottages which all offer something special, whether it’s a stunning location, a breathtaking view or a level of comfort and style that wouldn’t be out of place in a boutique hotel.

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UK drivers struggle to get insurance for Chinese EVs such as Jaecoo

Firms do not offer cover for some models, or charge more than for equivalent petrol cars, research finds

UK insurers are more hesitant to cover some hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) from China than cars from other countries, research suggests.

While some drivers can save money by buying cars made in China, they may have more limited options to get insurance than those buying electric, hybrid and petrol cars from Europe, the US and South Korea.

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Record numbers of UK renters crowdfunding to cover bills

Rent donations on GoFundMe up 60% since 2022, with 100,000 donors helping people keep a roof over their heads

A record number of people in the UK are turning to crowdfunding to cover rent and household bills, with GoFundMe reporting more rent-related fundraisers were created in April than in any month on record.

The platform said donations towards rent support had risen by 60% since 2022, with more than 100,000 people a month contributing to help others meet their housing costs.

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Is there a mummy longlegs and how do cobras get their fangs? The kids’ quiz

Five multiple-choice questions – set by children – to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book, as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World.

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Rijnmond - Nieuws

Het laatste nieuws van vandaag over Rotterdam, Feyenoord, het verkeer en het weer in de regio Rijnmond

Beschieting in Rotterdam-Schiebroek: gat in ruit van woning

In de Krabbestraat in Rotterdam-Schiebroek is zaterdagochtend vroeg geschoten. In de ruit van een woning is een kogelgat te zien. Voor zover bekend is er niemand gewond geraakt.

Slashdot

News for nerds, stuff that matters

Wood Burning Is Reintroducing Lead Pollution Into the Air, Scientists Find

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Wood heating is reintroducing lead into the air of local communities and homes, a systematic investigation by academics has found. Overwhelming evidence of lead's neurotoxicity meant the metal was banned as an additive in petrol more than 25 years ago. The research by academics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst began by analysing samples of particle pollution from five suburban and rural towns in the north-east US. They looked for tiny particles of potassium that are given off when wood is burned and also particles containing lead. Samples from seven winters revealed associations between potassium and lead. When there were more wood burning particles in a daily sample, there was more lead in the air, with clear straight-line relationships in four of the five towns.

The project was extended to 22 other towns across the US. The relationships between lead and potassium varied from place to place, being strongest in the Rocky Mountains. By factoring in the effects of temperature, moderate to strong associations in their analysis strengthened the conclusion that the extra lead came from wood burning. The lead concentrations were less than the US legal limits, but any exposure to the metal is harmful. [...] Although less than legal limits, lead particles are routinely measured in UK cities in winter when people are also burning wood. This is normally attributed to waste wood covered with old lead paint, but the Umass Amherst study suggests the metal is coming from the wood itself. This means that any wood burning could increase exposure in neighborhoods and at home. Tricia Henegan, a PhD student at Umass Amherst and the first author on the research, said: "The most logical answer [to the question of how lead ends up in wood] is that it comes from uptake in the soil, probably riding along with the nutrients and water that trees need. Once in the tree, it deposits in the tree's tissues and remains until that tree is burned." Other research has found that it can then become part of the smoke.

"The use of wood as an energy source is a relic of the past, one that should not be relived if given a choice. Although wood fuel use can feel nostalgic, it does have negative consequences on air quality, and therefore public health."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Wel.nl

Minder lezen, Meer weten.

WHO: risico op hantavirus voor wereldbevolking blijft laag

GENÈVE (ANP) - Het risico op hantavirus voor de wereldbevolking blijft laag. Dat laat topman Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus van de Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie (WHO) vrijdagavond op X weten.

Volgens hem is de huidige prioriteit van de WHO om de status van bevestigde en vermoedelijke gevallen actief te blijven volgen. Ook schrijft de topman dat het een prioriteit is om de epidemiologie van het Andes-hantavirus beter te begrijpen, inclusief hoe deze uitbraak is ontstaan en zich heeft verspreid. Ten slotte wil de WHO wetenschappelijke samenwerking bevorderen voor optimale klinische zorg voor patiënten die met dit virus zijn besmet.

Tot nu toe zijn drie mensen - waaronder twee Nederlanders - overleden aan de gevolgen van het virus dat recent opdook op het Nederlandse cruiseschip m/v Hondius.


Weeronline: zonnig en warm weer komt eind mei en begin juni terug

HOUTEN (ANP) - De komende vier weken is het vaker warm en droger dan normaal. De kans op zomerse dagen, waarop de temperatuur minimaal 25,0 graden bedraagt, neemt volgens Weeronline toe.

De wisselvallige dagen die afgelopen week voorbijkwamen, zijn ook komende week nog aanwezig. Regenbuien trekken dagelijks over het land, maar de temperatuur gaat wel al geleidelijk omhoog. Woensdag tikt het kwik de 20 graden aan, verwacht het weerbureau. Vanaf donderdag wordt het stabieler en blijft het waarschijnlijk een tijd droog, waarbij er veel ruimte is voor de zon.

Over de laatste week van mei is volgens Weeronline nog grote onzekerheid. "De kans is nu het grootst op droger en warmer weer dan normaal. Maxima van 18 tot 21 graden zijn normaal aan het einde van mei, dus als de temperatuur daar nog boven komt is het vaak heerlijk weer." Het is daarbij waarschijnlijk ook nog vaak droog en zonnig.

Juni begint ook droger en warmer dan normaal. De temperatuur komt veelal boven de 20 graden uit en zelfs mogelijk boven de 25.


Shinjuku, May 2026.

mikeleonardvisualarts has added a photo to the pool:

Shinjuku, May 2026.

Shinjuku, May 2026.

mikeleonardvisualarts posted a photo:

Shinjuku, May 2026.

Found Photograph

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Found Photograph

handwritten on back of photograph, "Grandma and Uncle Jim"

Leading Ladies

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Leading Ladies

Record Collector

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Record Collector

Cowgirl Up

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Cowgirl Up

The Tintic Standard Reduction Mill—also known as the Tintic Mill or Harold Mill—built in 1920, and only operating from 1921 to 1925, is an abandoned refinery or concentrator located on the west slope of Warm Springs Mountain near Goshen, Utah, in the United States. Metals processed at the mill included copper, gold, silver, and lead, all of which were received from another mill near Eureka, Utah. The metal content of ore was increased through the process to make transportation less expensive. The reducing process used was an acid-brine chloridizing and leaching process which became outdated, leading to the abandonment of the site in 1925. At the mill's highest productivity it processed 200 tons of ore yearly from the Tintic Mining District.

What remains of the mill are foundations for water tanks, crushers, roasters, iron boxes, leaching tanks, and drain boxes. The site dominates the surrounding landscape with its size and unique colors and shapes.

It was designed and built by W. C. Madge. It is significant as the only American mill using the Augustin process during the early 1920s.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

It has been speculated that the mill may be the contributor of heavy metal pollution in the Goshen Warm Springs which lie below it.

I"ll Meet You in Mississippi

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

I"ll Meet You in Mississippi

Rotterdam - FediMeteo (@rotterdam@nl.fedimeteo.com)

Weer voor de stad Rotterdam Deze bot wordt beheerd door het FediMeteo-project. Voor informatie en contact kunt u de pagina https://fedimeteo.com raadplegen.

Weer voor Rotterdam ☀️ - 16-05-2026 07:15 CEST...

Weer voor Rotterdam ☀️ - 16-05-2026 07:15 CEST

In één oogopslag:
• 8.9°C · Zonnig ☀️ | Min 7.7°C / Max 13.4°C | Kans op neerslag 23%

Verwachting voor vandaag:
• Min 7.7°C, Max 13.4°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.7 mm, Kans op neerslag 23%, 🧭 1008.4 hPa ↗️ +1.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 17.6 km/u (4.9 m/s), richting: ↗ 243°

Uurlijkse voorspelling voor de komende 12 uur:

08:00: 10.1°C (Zonnig) ☀️, Kans op neerslag 27%, 🧭 1007.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 10.1 km/u (2.8 m/s), richting: → 249°
09:00: 10.8°C (Licht bewolkt) 🌤️, Kans op neerslag 29%, 🧭 1007.6 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.2 km/u (3.1 m/s), richting: ↗ 244°
10:00: 10.6°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 27%, 🧭 1007.8 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 14.4 km/u (4.0 m/s), richting: ↗ 237°
11:00: 11.2°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 29%, 🧭 1007.9 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 17.6 km/u (4.9 m/s), richting: ↗ 235°
12:00: 12.4°C (Licht bewolkt) 🌤️, Kans op neerslag 37%, 🧭 1008.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 17.6 km/u (4.9 m/s), richting: ↗ 221°
13:00: 13.4°C (Gedeeltelijk bewolkt) ⛅, Kans op neerslag 48%, 🧭 1008.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 17.6 km/u (4.9 m/s), richting: ↗ 226°
14:00: 11.0°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.4 mm, Kans op neerslag 55%, 🧭 1008.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 16.6 km/u (4.6 m/s), richting: ↗ 235°
15:00: 11.6°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 58%, 🧭 1008.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 14.8 km/u (4.1 m/s), richting: → 248°
16:00: 12.4°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 58%, 🧭 1008.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 14.4 km/u (4.0 m/s), richting: → 252°
17:00: 13.2°C (Zonnig) ☀️, Kans op neerslag 53%, 🧭 1008.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 14.8 km/u (4.1 m/s), richting: → 253°
18:00: 13.4°C (Zonnig) ☀️, Kans op neerslag 37%, 🧭 1008.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 14.8 km/u (4.1 m/s), richting: → 258°
19:00: 13.1°C (Zonnig) ☀️, Kans op neerslag 15%, 🧭 1008.6 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.7 km/u (3.8 m/s), richting: → 265°

Voorspelling voor de komende dagen:

zondag 17 mei: Min 10.4°C, Max 14.4°C (Lichte regen) 🌧️, Neerslag 4.4 mm, Kans op neerslag 50%, 🧭 1010.5 hPa ↗️ +2.1 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 18.0 km/u (5.0 m/s), richting: ↗ 203°
maandag 18 mei: Min 9.7°C, Max 14.7°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 1.6 mm, Kans op neerslag 32%, 🧭 1012.8 hPa ↗️ +2.3 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 12.7 km/u (3.5 m/s), richting: ↗ 226°
dinsdag 19 mei: Min 7.9°C, Max 15.9°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 2.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 30%, 🧭 1016.1 hPa ↗️ +3.3 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 17.6 km/u (4.9 m/s), richting: ↑ 184°
woensdag 20 mei: Min 11.5°C, Max 17.7°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.3 mm, Kans op neerslag 24%, 🧭 1021.2 hPa ↗️ +5.1 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 19.5 km/u (5.4 m/s), richting: ↗ 236°
donderdag 21 mei: Min 11.2°C, Max 20.6°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 5%, 🧭 1027.8 hPa ↗️ +6.6 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 9.6 km/u (2.7 m/s), richting: ↗ 235°
vrijdag 22 mei: Min 11.1°C, Max 21.2°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 2%, 🧭 1028.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 8.0 km/u (2.2 m/s), richting: ← 76°

Details:
• 🌡️ Huidige temperatuur (om 07:15): 8.9°C (Zonnig)
• 🤚 Gevoelstemperatuur: 6.9°C (-2.0°C)
• 💨 Windsnelheid: 8.3 km/u (2.3 m/s), richting: → 257°
• 🌬️ Windstoten: 19.8 km/h (5.5 m/s)
• 💧 Luchtvochtigheid: 58%
• 🧭 Luchtdruk: 1007.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/3h
• 👁️ Zichtbaarheid: 26.3 km
• ☀️ UV-index: 0.8
• 🌅 Zonsopgang: 05:46 · 🌇 Zonsondergang: 21:30

Luchtkwaliteit:
• AQI: 30 🟢 (Goed)
• PM2.5: 4.8 μg/m³
• PM10: 9.3 μg/m³

Gegevens geleverd door Open-Meteo