The main pillars of the founding narrative have fallen on hard times. Today, its meaning is up for grabsWriting during the carnage of the first world war, the iconoclast intellectual Randolph Bourne described the American revolutionary inheritance as a squalid marriage between the town capitalist and plantation patriarch. Glittering generalities of freedom and democracy, Bourne observed, were indelibly marked by their long captivity to the money counters and owners of human chattel.In the land lorded over by the likes of Donald Trump, leader of one of the most indecently corrupt, violently inept administrations in the country’s history, the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence would seem to affirm this judgment. Our moment, defined by the mobilization of market frenzy, machineries of war, deportation deliriums and nativist passions, echoes Bourne’s; it is a time of social fracture, moral failure and hegemonic collapse, with cynical reason ascendant. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 13:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Francis Tolu works at his family’s restaurant in Spain and also competes in pizza acrobatic contests internationallyFrancis Tolu is a freestyle pizza champion. For those who don’t know what that is, he uses pizza dough to compete in acrobatic performances. He can make pizza blindfolded; he also throws pizzas in the air and sets them on fire. Among his achievements are the 2026 masters acrobatics title at the World Pizza Games, and four wins at the Pizza world championship.Then he returns to work, serving customers at Pizzeria Venezia in Alginet, Spain, the restaurant his family has owned for 40 years. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 16:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Draft resolution seeks to shield board members and security forces from potential prosecution for work in GazaThe UN-sanctioned Board of Peace announced by Donald Trump earlier this year to rule Gaza is planning a sweeping grant of legal immunity for itself, according to a draft of the resolution obtained by the Guardian. The draft language would also let the organization obtain public property in Gaza “free of charge”.The four-page resolution, labeled “sensitive but unclassified”, extends broad protections to every member of the Board of Peace and its administrative affiliate, the office of the high representative (OHR), as well as to the Palestinian technocrats, international military forces and nonresident contractors lined up to perform work in Gaza. It defines legal processes from which they would have immunity as “any arrest, detention or legal proceedings in the courts or other entities in Gaza”. Continue reading...

27 Jun 2026 11:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

It’s tempting to treat overwhelm with clever fixes – but that might be part of the problemAccording to my Instagram feed, I am not doing enough. Not spending enough, not saying enough, not taking enough care. I feel more sure of this than anything. And it’s bringing out an irrationality I’m not proud of: one afternoon, in between screengrabs of masked men snatching civilians from their homes, videos of wellness influencers evangelising “anti-trauma” hip stretches, and carousels of political action items disguised as catchy memes, I am served a targeted ad for a “Don’t Talk to Me About AI or I’ll Kill Myself” crochet pattern; and even though I have never crocheted anything in my life, I find myself looking up the materials to get started … on Etsy to avoid supporting any big, Maga-oriented corporations.It’s overwhelming, this general pressure, palpable not only on social media but throughout the larger culture: today’s most urgent issues, from technological end times to tight hips, can only be solved by squeezing as much into the day as humanly possible. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 11:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

For anyone outside the dressing room it is hard to predict what the Mister will do but he will be prepared for Japan on MondayThe 2022 Champions League semi-final. The Santiago Bernabéu. More than 60,000 fans in the stands, and Manchester City leading 1-0. I was on the Real Madrid bench when Carlo Ancelotti called me over and told me to get on the pitch, play aggressively and decide the match.I stepped on to the field in the 68th minute. In the 90th minute, I equalised but we still trailed by a goal on aggregate. We restarted, and the next minute I scored again to force extra time. We won and the rest is history: another title for the club after beating Liverpool in the final. I bring up this moment to highlight how important coaches are to a team’s journey and how decisive they are in a player’s career, doing work that often goes unseen by the public. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 20:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

The Bayern Munich star changed the game when he came on, opening the space for Stephen Eustáquio to shoot from for the match-winnerFor 75 minutes, Canada and South Africa struggled to find a way to break through in the World Cup’s inaugural round of 32 clash. Neither team ceded an inch. Canada couldn’t be baited into intensifying its press as South Africa dawdled playing out from the back. South Africa worked to advance upfield but struggled to find dangerous avenues into the box.Then, at long last, 345 minutes into Canada’s tournament, Alphonso Davies crossed the touchline for his first involvement at World Cup 2026. The game, for Canada and neutrals alike, greatly benefitted. Continue reading...

29 Jun 2026 00:07 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Korean president Lee lashes out and apologises to nationSon Heung-min omission against South Africa backfiresHong Myung-bo resigned on Sunday as South Korea’s head coach, a day after his side’s group-stage exit from the World Cup and after condemnation from the country’s president.The 57-year-old former captain, in his second stint as coach, oversaw an early World Cup departure for the second time to go with the failure in 2014. South Korea were expected to get out of a Group A that included the co-hosts Mexico as well as South Africa and Czechia. But they lost 1-0 against South Africa and Mexico, and finished on three points, their only success a 2-1 win against Czechia. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 20:55 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN