Japanese chihuahua sniffs her way into police's search-and-rescue division | Japan

 Posted on April 10, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  336 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Japan This article is more than 13 years oldJapanese chihuahua sniffs her way into police's search-and-rescue divisionThis article is more than 13 years oldJapanese police force's equal opportunities canine employment policy sees Momo the chihuahua promoted to bodyhunterHer high-pitched yapping is never likely to intimidate Japan's criminal fraternity, and few believe she would be able to lick them into submission or flash her dewy brown eyes to elicit a confession. [Read More]

Mind the crack

 Posted on April 10, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  337 words  |  Aldo Pusey

The ObserverBooksReviewPete Doherty's The Books of Albion is strangely affecting, says Caspar Llewellyn SmithThe Books of Albion: The Collected Writings of Peter Doherty Orion £20, pp336 Pete Doherty has never shirked the claims of modern-day celebrity. While his sometime girlfriend long since decided to take the Greta Garbo approach, the Babyshambles singer has acted more like a contestant on Big Brother. From his guerrilla gigs with the Libertines through to his TV appearances, our wayward rake has stumbled through every barrier that separates the private and public spheres. [Read More]

Nike and Salazar settle $20m lawsuit alleging abuse of US track prodigy | Alberto Salazar

 Posted on April 10, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  615 words  |  Valentine Belue

Alberto Salazar This article is more than 1 month oldNike and Salazar settle $20m lawsuit alleging abuse of US track prodigyThis article is more than 1 month oldMary Cain said alleged abuse forced her from sportNike scrapped elite athlete program in 2019Nike and disgraced coach Alberto Salazar have settled a $20m lawsuit with a former athlete over allegations she suffered “emotional and physical abuse” at his hands. Mary Cain, who qualified for the world championships as a 17-year-old and was considered a once-in-a-generation star, was coached by Salazar as part of the sportswear giant’s Nike Oregon Project for elite athletes from 2013 to 2016. [Read More]

Sheen sinks his teeth into Frost role | Television industry

 Posted on April 10, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  79 words  |  Kary Bruening

Media MonkeyTelevision industrySheen sinks his teeth into Frost roleAs if getting the voice right wasn't enough. Playing the legendary TV interviewer David Frost for more than two years on stage and screen has left actor Michael Sheen needing dental work after jutting out his jaw for so long to impersonate the "piranha"-like interviewer. "I messed up the thing that attaches you gum to your lip and eventually needed dental work done on my jaw," [Read More]

Slaves of Isis: the long walk of the Yazidi women | Iraq

 Posted on April 10, 2024  |  25 minutes  |  5120 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar, Iraq Photograph: Rodi Said/ReutersWhen Isis rounded up Yazidi women and girls in Iraq to use as slaves, the captives drew on their collective memory of past oppressions – and a powerful will to survive by Cathy OttenThe day before Isis came was a holiday in Sinjar district, northern Iraq. Yazidis gathered to celebrate the end of a fasting period. [Read More]

Youve got male: clandestine photos of mens bodies in pictures | Art and design

 Posted on April 10, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  945 words  |  Kary Bruening

You’ve got male: clandestine photos of men’s bodies – in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email These images of bodybuilders and men in skimpy briefs were taken at a time when making and distributing homoerotic images was a criminal offence in Britain Main image: Man up … John S Barrington Catalogue sheet 2 1970s Photograph: Rupert Smith Collection Wed 15 Mar 2023 07. [Read More]

'I was just besotted'

 Posted on April 9, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1281 words  |  Kary Bruening

MusicTwenty five years ago Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division, killed himself. His wife Deborah talks to Laura Barton about getting over him, obsessive fans and why she no longer listens to his music'If somebody kills themself they've had the last word. And what they're saying is 'There's nothing you can say, nothing you can do'. And there's nothing more frustrating than that." Deborah Curtis's voice buckles a little and her head dips, almost imperceptibly. [Read More]

Country diary: a national treasure rooted in the urban landscape

 Posted on April 9, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  442 words  |  Aldo Pusey

The rare Plymouth pear fenced off at the edge of Derriford hospital’s grounds in Plymouth, Devon. Photograph: Charlie ElderThe rare Plymouth pear fenced off at the edge of Derriford hospital’s grounds in Plymouth, Devon. Photograph: Charlie ElderCountry diaryTrees and forestsPlymouth, Devon Few would give it a second look but this scruffy-looking pear is one of Britain’s rarest trees There’s a wooden picnic bench on the grass, though it is not the most inviting of locations to stop for lunch, next to an ambulance vehicle depot and overshadowed by a multi-storey car park. [Read More]

English ivy: berry good for birds | Wildlife

 Posted on April 9, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  642 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Gardening blogWildlifeEnglish ivy: berry good for birdsShelter, foodstuff, pollen source ... ivy is so valuable to wildlife, even though it is maligned by many a gardener The Guardian’s product and service reviews are independent and are in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. We will earn a commission from the retailer if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. On Sunday I watched a blackbird almost strip an ivy of its berries, gobbling each one whole in a few, satisfying gulps. [Read More]

From grey to green: the plan to turn Pariss zinc rooftops into gardens | Cities

 Posted on April 9, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  1055 words  |  Aldo Pusey

An illustration showing how a Roofscapes wooden platform could be constructed above a sloping zinc roof. Illustration: Roofscapes StudioArchitecture trio says adding roof terraces to French capital’s buildings could boost biodiversity and tackle summer heat by Kim Willsher in ParisFrom the roof of the eight-floor residential building in Paris’s 16th arrondissement, you can see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. It’s the space between these icons, however, that the Roofscapes team have marched me up the stairs to see; the zigzagging roofs that make up a vast area of unused, ignored and mostly unseen space. [Read More]