Panic and emotional pain as alleged deep-cover Russian spies vanish

 Posted on April 9, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1397 words  |  Barrett Giampaolo

Espionage This article is more than 9 months oldThis article is more than 9 months oldPair of suspected ‘illegals’ are thought to have been a married couple living separate lives in Brazil and Greece Halfway through a trip to Malaysia in January, Gerhard Daniel Campos Wittich stopped messaging his girlfriend back home in Rio de Janeiro and she promptly launched a frantic search for her missing partner. A Brazilian of Austrian heritage, Campos Wittich ran a series of 3D printing companies in Rio that made, among other things, novelty resin sculptures for the Brazilian military and sausage dog key chains. [Read More]

Underdog contender for Democratic nomination says Biden cannot win against Trump

 Posted on April 9, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1283 words  |  Merlyn Hunt

US elections 2024Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips says he’s running ‘to ensure that we do not torpedo the entire country’ by re-electing Trump The Democratic congressman Dean Phillips, who is challenging the incumbent president, Joe Biden, will keep running his long-shot bid for the White House through the summer after he’s had more time to introduce himself to voters across the US. Scranton stands by native son Biden but even here enthusiasm is elusiveRead morePhillips initially planned to run in a few states for his party’s presidential nomination, focusing especially on the crucial early-voting state of New Hampshire, which was seen as a trial balloon for his candidacy. [Read More]

What Im really thinking: the mother who smokes

 Posted on April 9, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  363 words  |  Christie Applegate

Illustration: Lo Cole for the Guardian Illustration: Lo Cole for the GuardianWhat I'm really thinkingSmokingI’m not a monster. I never smoke in front of or around my children. But they notice I know it makes me a bad parent, but I can’t stop. I started smoking when I was 19 and working nights in a bar. The only way you could get a break was to have a cigarette, so I bought a pack. [Read More]

Why are people hanged but pictures hung? | Notes and Queries

 Posted on April 9, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  192 words  |  Brenda Moya

SEMANTIC ENIGMASWhy are people hanged but pictures hung? THERE are two verbs 'to hang:' (1) intransitive, with the irregular past participle 'hung,' derived from the Anglo Saxon hangian, corresponding to the intransitive German hangen, which also has the irregular past participle gehangen. So we say 'I hang on the gibbet' (present) and 'I hung on the gibbet' (past); and (2) transitive, with the regular past participle 'hanged,' derived from the Old Norse hanga, corresponding to the transitive German hangen, which has the regular past participle gehangt. [Read More]

Australia v Pakistan: third Test, day four as it happened | Australia cricket team

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  19 minutes  |  3846 words  |  Delta Gatti

6 Jan 202403.24 GMTHere’s the match report, if you’re catching up. David Warner hits half-century in farewell Test as Australia seal series sweep over PakistanRead more6 Jan 202403.23 GMTI think that’s enough from us, on a gorgeous Sydney afternoon. We’ll be back with the OBO when West Indies arrive in Adelaide for the next Test assignment. Cheers to Angus Fontaine and Jonathan Howcroft for taking the controls with me, and thanks to you for your messages and feedback. [Read More]

Copenhagen: an outdoor swimming tour the best pools and sea baths

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  9 minutes  |  1748 words  |  Christie Applegate

Coming out of its shell … Kastrup Søbad (aka The Snail) in Copenhagen. Photograph: Ole HauptComing out of its shell … Kastrup Søbad (aka The Snail) in Copenhagen. Photograph: Ole HauptSwimming holidaysMiles of great beaches a short bus ride from the centre of Copenhagen plus the clear waters of the city’s inner harbour, mean you are spoilt for choice when swimming in the Danish capital. And many offer free admission, too [Read More]

Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts review

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  1018 words  |  Delta Gatti

A history of vandalism: decorative borders to the medieval Book of Kells, that ‘iconic symbol of Irish culture’, were heedlessly trimmed by a bookbinder in 1825 Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesA history of vandalism: decorative borders to the medieval Book of Kells, that ‘iconic symbol of Irish culture’, were heedlessly trimmed by a bookbinder in 1825 Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesThe ObserverManuscripts and lettersReviewChristopher de Hamel sheds light on the world’s most famous illuminated manuscripts in this sumptuous and readable bookA remote town in southern Italy, Rossano, is home to a sixth-century Greek manuscript illustrating the life of Christ. [Read More]

Murray Bartlett: Filming The White Lotus in lockdown felt like a TV summer camp | Television

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1394 words  |  Brenda Moya

The Observer's faces of 2021TelevisionInterviewMurray Bartlett: ‘Filming The White Lotus in lockdown felt like a TV summer camp’Michael HoganThe Australian actor on creating his character Armond, the magic of Tales of the City and that meme-inspiring suitcase scene Bake-Off contestant Jürgen Krauss: ‘I had to call three families with crying kids to comfort them’ See the Observer’s faces of 2021 in full Sydney-born actor Murray Bartlett, 50, made his screen debut aged 16 in medical soap The Flying Doctors. [Read More]

The Aryan Couple | Movies

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  221 words  |  Delta Gatti

MoviesThe Aryan Couple(120 mins, 12A) Directed by John Daly; starring Kenny Doughty, Caroline Carver, Martin Landau, Judy Parfitt, Danny Webb, Steven Mackintosh Based in part on fact, but not particularly credible, The Aryan Couple is about the fate of a rich Jewish Hungarian industrialist Joseph Krauzenberg (Martin Landau) who bargains with Himmler (an impressive Danny Webb) to save his wife (Judy Parfitt) and extended family from being sent to Auschwitz in 1944. [Read More]

US attorney asks court to deny Nxivm leader Keith Ranieres bid for new trial | New York

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  387 words  |  Merlyn Hunt

New York This article is more than 5 months oldUS attorney asks court to deny Nxivm leader Keith Raniere’s bid for new trialThis article is more than 5 months oldFiling comes weeks after Allison Mack, a high-ranking member of the group, was released from prison A US prosecutor has asked a court to close down a third motion by former Nxivm sex cult leader Keith Raniere for a new trial, arguing that Raniere’s claims that the government manipulated evidence against him were “untimely and meritless”. [Read More]