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Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius album review – Spence soars in otherwise passion-light period instrument recording

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McCreesh/Stéphany/Spence/Foster-Williams (Signum, two CDs) Paul McCreesh’s historically informed performance of the composer’s greatest choral work has many gains but ultimately never really catches fire

‘It taught me about brainwashing’: how reality show stars fell for a fake Prince Harry

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A show in which women competed to date a royal lookalike was panned at the time as ‘fodder for the braindead’. But the contestants had been duped, as a new podcast reveals …

Rishi Sunak vows to end what he calls ‘sicknote culture’ – UK politics live

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Prime minister to say in speech there is risk of ‘over-medicalising everyday challenges and worries of life’ while Labour calls announcement ‘cheap headline’

Retail sales in Great Britain flatline as households continue to feel squeeze

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Shoppers cut back in March, with data likely to increase pressure on Bank of England over interest rates

Finland says Russia ‘using illegal immigrants against us’ and calls for EU help – Europe live

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Prime minister Petteri Orpo says eastern Finland ‘suffering because of Russian behaviour’

Australia ‘extremely concerned’ after Israeli airstrikes on Iran confirmed by US

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Acting foreign minister Katy Gallagher says government is worried about potential for ‘further escalation of conflict in the region’

Australia urges Israel and Iran to avoid ‘spiral of violence’; Dfat issues Middle East travel advice – as it happened

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The NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, is speaking to the media after a 16-year-old was charged with a “terrorist act” for allegedly stabbing a bishop on Monday and is expected to appear at a bedside hearing today.

Those signed off feeling depressed classed as incapable of work, says Stride

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Work and pensions secretary attacks system of dealing with minor mental health problems as PM takes aim at ‘sicknote culture’

A Certain Ratio: It All Comes Down to This review – punk-funk stalwarts on a euphoric high

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(Mute) The 13th album from the Manchester pioneers blends familiarity with no shortage of new ideas, spanning introspection to jubilance

Kenya’s ‘blood desert’: can walking donor banks and drones help more patients survive?

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The national blood deficit is most pressing in places like Turkana, where malaria, anaemia and violence make heavy demands on transfusion services – and doctors are pinning their hopes on innovation

NBA playoffs 2024 predictions:

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Our writers pick the winner, key players and dark horses as the NBA postseason gets into full swing

Funny Pages to Phil Spector: the seven best films to watch on TV this week

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Owen Kline’s coming-of-age tale is very funny and endlessly excruciating, and Al Pacino plays the music producer on trial for murder with relish

10

Iran and Israel playing with fire as old rules of confrontation are torn up

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Reported Israeli drone strike on Isfahan may signal that this widening conflict has become more dynamic

Queensland police charge man with drug offences over alleged commercial-scale magic mushroom operation

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Large quantity of illicit psilocybin allegedly discovered at Marsden home as investigations continue into separate and unrelated deaths suspected to be mushroom-related

Middle East crisis live: No plan for immediate retaliation against Israel, senior Iranian official says after blasts reported near Isfahan

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Discussion ‘leans more towards infiltration than attack’ says anonymous Iranian official as US says Israel has carried out military operation

Lord Spikeheart: The Adept review – Duma star’s relentless metal isn’t for the fainthearted

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(Haekalu) With doom-laden growls and falsetto screams, the Kenyan metaller’s indefatigable vocals cut through a thunderous onslaught of headbanging sound

Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver review – Zack Snyder’s bombastically fun sequel

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The divisive director’s sci-fi follow-up is both original and derivative and will be unlikely to convert anyone, but there’s something charming about its sincerity

Of course a society that demonises poverty will try to prosecute vulnerable, unpaid carers | Zoe Williams

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The scandal, revealed by the Guardian, didn’t occur in a vacuum. The right’s casting of the poor as parasitic benefits cheats underpins it all

FA Cup replays fall victim to scramble for cash and chaotic decision-making | Paul MacInnes

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FA’s latest move reflects a further weakening of the game’s heritage and will only boost the argument for independent regulation

Chess: Four in close contention as Candidates reaches weekend climax

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With just the final two rounds to come, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura and Gukesh Domaraju share the lead while the world No 2 , Fabiano Caruana, is half a point behind

‘We have a superior product’: Dukes maker invites Rob Key for talks over ball

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The maker of Dukes balls has entered the debate on the trial use of the Kookaburra ball in county cricket and invited Rob Key, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s managing director of men’s cricket, to talk to him about the type of ball…

Trump’s hush-money trial enters fourth day after difficult jury-selection process

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Prospective jurors were grilled on myriad facets of their life, with one raising concerns her identity had been discovered

Week in wildlife – in pictures: a hungry jackal, a cat with webbed feet and a cheeky badger

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The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

Sports quiz of the week: London Marathon, FA Cup and Olympic teams

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Have you been paying attention to the big stories in football, athletics, cricket, basketball, snooker and golf?

You be the judge: should my sister help me challenge our brother’s sexist views?

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Mina confronts Tom, but little sister Layla would rather keep the peace. You decide who’s right in this sister act?

09

The Devil comet! Will it crash into the Earth and destroy civilisation? Sadly, no | First Dog on the Moon

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Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published; Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints

Taylor Swift: fans and critics react to new surprise double album The Tortured Poets Department

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Swifties take to social media to dissect lyrics and celebrate Swift’s 11th album on Friday as the musician releases 15 more songs

Apple removes WhatsApp and Threads from Chinese App Store

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Apple says Chinese government ordered it to remove two Meta-owned apps for ‘national security’ reasons

Bald by Stuart Heritage review – hair today, gone tomorrow

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An unexpected twist on the grief memoir sees the Guardian writer chart the five stages of male-pattern baldness