Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Russian offensive may target Kharkiv or Zaporizhzhia, says Kyiv

Ukraine national security chief Oleksiy Danilov says Kremlin is likely to target one of the cities in new thrust expected later this monthAt a glance: what we know on day 350 of Russia’s invasion‘We’re going to stand with you, as long as it takes’: Joe BidenPresident Joe Biden promised Tuesday that the United States will support Ukraine for as long...

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Donatello review – the Robert Mapplethorpe of the Renaissance

V&A, LondonEverywhere you look, Donatello breaks the rules at this showcase of some of his most sublime sculpturesA god with his trousers down dances maniacally. This bronze statue, known as Attis-Amorino, is blinded by ecstasy, his willy hanging out, waving his hands in the air as he raves. He’s got a poppy flower in his hair and poppy seedpods...

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UK households to suffer £4k blow to finances this year, says report

Country likely to sidestep a protracted recession, but lasting effect of cost-of-living crisis ‘will feel like a recession’ Households in Britain will suffer a hit to their finances of up to £4,000 this year, according to a report warning that the economy could avoid recession but that, for millions, it will not feel like it has.Adding to pressure...

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‘New York was a big, bad city’: the hazy, radical photography of Ming Smith

The artist reflects on her storied career amid the launch of a retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art Ever since she arrived in New York from Detroit in the early 1970s, Ming Smith says, she’s led an aesthetically rich, if not always financially secure, life. “There was no way to support yourself as an artist back then,” recalls the photographer....

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Birdwatch: listening to the lapwing’s ‘peewit’ ring out over Somerset Levels

The lapwing’s English and scientific names both refer to its distinctive flight: how its wings flash as they pass overheadAt the age of nine, a friend took me to a meadow on the outskirts of my suburban village, and showed me a lapwing’s nest. More than 50 years later, I can still visualise the clutch of four buffish-olive eggs, heavily blotched with...

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Anti-ageing scientists extend lifespan of oldest living lab rat

Research teases hopes that ‘rejuvenation of the body may become commonplace within our lifetimes’Scientists working on an experimental anti-ageing therapy claim to have broken a record by extending the lifespan of a lab rat called Sima.Named after the Hindi word for “limit” or “boundary”, Sima is the last remaining survivor from a group of rodents that...

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UK MPs and peers find HSBC complicit in Hong Kong human rights abuses

Bank sided with China in denying pension payouts to people who fled crackdown, says all-party groupHSBC is complicit in human rights abuses against Hong Kong residents by siding with Chinese authorities and denying pension payouts to those who fled the authoritarian crackdown, an inquiry by peers and MPs has concluded.The report by the all-party parliamentary...

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After Brexit, Britain’s competitors are running rings around us. Sunak’s not even at the races | Rafael Behr

This reshuffle will make little difference: the country is going nowhere as the PM leads us further down an economic dead endBritain’s future will be shaped by a summit of European leaders this week, but Rishi Sunak, as prime minister of a very sovereign nation, will be absent.It is one of the more subtle degradations of life outside the European Union....

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Toxic masculinity fuels dangerous driving like drink, French advert says

‘Speed, alcohol, drugs, fatigue … what if we need to add masculinity?’ asks road safety bodyA road safety awareness campaign in France is tackling the role of gendered behaviour behind the wheel, warning for the first time that toxic masculinity could be as important a contributing factor to road deaths as speed, alcohol, drugs and fatigue.The campaign’s...

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In the pink! What I learned from my big day as Mr Blobby

The spotted outfits have been popping up all over eBay this year, priced at thousands of pounds. But what can a winning bidder expect to gain from their purchase? I took to the streets to find outThree Mr Blobby costumes have been listed on eBay over the past few weeks, each claiming to be an original prop from Noel’s House Party, the hugely popular...

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