Tour de France returns to storied climb of Le Puy de Dme after 35 years

The ObserverTour de France 2023There are longer ascents but few that match the gruelling drama or history of the extinct volcano in the Massif Central In the pantheon of the Tour de France’s most storied climbs, Sunday’s stage finish at Le Puy de Dôme stands apart for one reason: for 35 years it looked set to remain lost permanently in the mists of Tour history, the climb that would never be repeated. [Read More]

Web porn rules could be tightened in UK as government launches review | Pornography

Pornography This article is more than 6 months oldWeb porn rules could be tightened in UK as government launches reviewThis article is more than 6 months oldStudy will investigate regulatory gaps and could treat online content in same way as films on DVD Web pornography could be subject to tighter rules in the UK, putting it on a par with films on DVD under government plans to review regulation of the online adult content industry. [Read More]

#nomakeupselfie - why it worked | Voluntary Sector Network

Voluntary Sector Network#nomakeupselfie - why it workedWhile Cancer Research UK has enjoyed a £8m windfall from the social media campaign, it wasn't the charity's idea – but that, and the fact it worked on mobile, helped it to succeed so brilliantlyOn the surface, #nomakeupselfie looks like a textbook example of how to make a campaign go viral on social media. It has raised more than £8m for Cancer Research UK. Right now, in meeting rooms everywhere, digital marketing executives and charities will be plotting how to replicate its success. [Read More]

Gone in two transfers: the email scam that cost Australian homebuyers their life savings

Banking NSW residents Simon Elvins and his wife lost nearly $250,000 to a payment redirection scam – and they are not alone Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Simon Elvins and his wife were excited – they had spent 10 years saving for their first home and they had finally got there. The New South Wales man had just been sent an invoice from his conveyancer, asking him to pay the first lot of his home deposit for a property in the Blue Mountains. [Read More]

Mike Johnson helped Trump on January 6 - now hes a threat to democracy | House of Representatives

House of RepresentativesAnalysisMike Johnson helped Trump on January 6 - now he’s a threat to democracyRachel LeingangLouisiana congressman known as ‘Maga Mike’, elected House speaker Wednesday, is staunch Trump supporter and election denier The Louisiana congressman Mike Johnson, whom Republicans in Congress elected as their speaker after more than three weeks of leaderless chaos, played a key role in Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 election. [Read More]

Pauline is unique: patron of Emin and Hirst sells off vast Hydra art collection | Art and desi

Art and design This article is more than 4 months old‘Pauline is unique’: patron of Emin and Hirst sells off vast Hydra art collectionThis article is more than 4 months oldPauline Karpidas, who hosted Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst on her Greek island home, to sell hundreds of works at Sotheby’s The contemporary artists and gallery owners invited to collector Pauline Karpidas’s summer “workshops” on the Greek island of Hydra were given a brief but simple itinerary. [Read More]

Tiger, Tiger: What is the point of reading this memoir of abuse? | Rachel Cooke, Oliver James, Anon

The ObserverRelationships This article is more than 12 years oldTiger, Tiger: What is the point of reading this memoir of abuse?This article is more than 12 years oldRachel Cooke, Oliver James, AnonTiger, Tiger, the graphic account of an abused child's relationship with a 51-year-old paedophile, is already being hyped as the most controversial book of the year. A writer, a psychologist and a survivor give their verdictThe critic - Rachel CookePicture a seven-year-old girl. [Read More]

Tracey Connelly: the story of a woman defined by abuse | Baby P

Baby P This article is more than 14 years oldTracey Connelly: the story of a woman defined by abuseThis article is more than 14 years oldBaby P's mother faces years of contempt after making the worst of an abject start in life by allowing her son to die in a home permeated by deception and depravityIn the life and times of Tracey Connelly there are few redeeming facts. An absent father who was a sex offender, a neglectful mother , and another relative who was lured into a paedophile ring in one of the biggest children's home scandals of the late 20th century. [Read More]

While the world has abandoned Gaza, its doctors have done the opposite. They are our heroes | Ghada

OpinionIsrael-Gaza war This article is more than 1 month oldWhile the world has abandoned Gaza, its doctors have done the opposite. They are our heroesThis article is more than 1 month oldGhada AgeelThe destruction of Palestinian hospitals adds to the trauma for the medics – whose life’s purpose is to heal In the movie Any Given Sunday, Al Pacino plays a highly strung football coach. In a key scene, he gives a speech about how “life is a game of inches” and how when “you add up all those inches that’s gonna make the difference between livin’ and dyin’”. [Read More]

Why we need to see fat actors as objects of romantic desire in mainstream films | Film

FilmLettersWhy we need to see fat actors as objects of romantic desire in mainstream filmsIt’s hard to stomach the feeling that the world sees my husband as some pervert for finding me attractive, says one reader Regarding Phoebe-Jane Boyd’s excellent piece on The Whale, I don’t intend to watch the film myself (We’re meant to find Brendan Fraser in a fat suit tragic, not funny. Is that really progress?, 25 January). [Read More]