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Herbert Blomstedt obituary

Veteran Swedish-American conductor with a tautly rhythmic approach to the symphonic classics

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M&S takes on John Lewis in Christmas ad battle with topless ‘shredded Santa’

James Norton and Lucy Punch star as a youthful Mr and Mrs Claus in lively ad about shared moments as well as shopping For years the “Christmas advert moment” has belonged to one brand. John Lewis’s syrupy commercials featuring piano ballads and tearjerker storylines have given the 160-year-old department store a cultural head start in the dash for festive profits. This year, however, there’s one high-street rival with a sackful of tricks to make up the ground. Marks & Spencer has brought out the big guns – in the form of a topless Santa, played by the small-screen heart-throb James Norton. Con

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Finance

M&S takes on John Lewis in Christmas ad battle with topless ‘shredded Santa’

James Norton and Lucy Punch star as a youthful Mr and Mrs Claus in lively ad about shared moments as well as shopping For years the “Christmas advert moment” has belonged to one brand. John Lewis’s syrupy commercials featuring piano ballads and tearjerker storylines have given the 160-year-old department store a cultural head start in the dash for festive profits. This year, however, there’s one high-street rival with a sackful of tricks to make up the ground. Marks & Spencer has brought out the big guns – in the form of a topless Santa, played by the small-screen heart-throb James Norton. Con

The Guardian
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Veto or deals: Can Trump find a way to work with Democrats?

Trump has three options to affect legislation, say analysts: veto legislation, enforce executive orders or make deals.

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Judge halts construction of Trump's arch. And, Labor Department to release jobs report

A judge has blocked construction of Trump's arch moments after it won federal approval to proceed. And, the Labor Department is set to release the latest jobs report today, a day after stocks plunged.

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Rocky review – 50 years on, Stallone’s boxer remains an exhilaratingly gritty contender

The actor’s triumphant breakthrough has clear ancestors in grimy tales of working-class struggle, but finds a fresh, rousing idealism Peter Farrelly’s new film I Play Rocky is about the underdog-with-heart story of how a great boxing movie got made against the odds with its plucky young untried screenwriter allowed to star. So here is a reissue of that 1976 film for its 50th anniversary. It’s a forthright, rousingly idealistic film, wholesome in its essential patriotism, and which unselfconsciously shrugs off the boxing-movie’s gloomy generic inheritance, throwing away its grim traditional bag

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Entertainment

Rocky review – 50 years on, Stallone’s boxer remains an exhilaratingly gritty contender

The actor’s triumphant breakthrough has clear ancestors in grimy tales of working-class struggle, but finds a fresh, rousing idealism Peter Farrelly’s new film I Play Rocky is about the underdog-with-heart story of how a great boxing movie got made against the odds with its plucky young untried screenwriter allowed to star. So here is a reissue of that 1976 film for its 50th anniversary. It’s a forthright, rousingly idealistic film, wholesome in its essential patriotism, and which unselfconsciously shrugs off the boxing-movie’s gloomy generic inheritance, throwing away its grim traditional bag

The Guardian
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‘Mom encouraged me to get breast implants’: Disney child star Christy Carlson Romano on fame, family and freedom

She started acting at six and by 16 was starring in Even Stevens with Shia LaBeouf. Then her career fell apart. Here, she explains how she survived growing up in the spotlight In a class at college, Christy Carlson Romano was encouraged to think about her “community”. Who were their people, the tutor asked the class, and where did they belong? The answer that popped into Carlson Romano’s head was child actors, but not the ones that went on to have successful grown-up careers. “The ones who were once the shining stars,” she writes in her memoir, “and who are now just trying to find out their pl

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Entertainment

‘Mom encouraged me to get breast implants’: Disney child star Christy Carlson Romano on fame, family and freedom

She started acting at six and by 16 was starring in Even Stevens with Shia LaBeouf. Then her career fell apart. Here, she explains how she survived growing up in the spotlight In a class at college, Christy Carlson Romano was encouraged to think about her “community”. Who were their people, the tutor asked the class, and where did they belong? The answer that popped into Carlson Romano’s head was child actors, but not the ones that went on to have successful grown-up careers. “The ones who were once the shining stars,” she writes in her memoir, “and who are now just trying to find out their pl

The Guardian
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Court grants ex-Malaysian PM Najib house arrest after $12m royal pardon

Court had approved his transfer after the former prime minister's party paid $12m fine via crowdfunding.

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This extraordinary new Hamlet turns Shakespeare inside out with infinite jest – and cuddly toys

Sadler’s Wells East, London Ben Duke’s clever, witty and wholly unpredictable new show, The Last Hamlet, takes big liberties with the story that pay off Hamlet is trying to get a hire car. He has missed his dad’s funeral because he was at a silent retreat, dealing with his abandonment issues and the disturbing memory of a year 7 disco when his uncle and mum danced together to Yazoo’s Only You. There have been many takes on the troubled Prince of Denmark, but performer/director Ben Duke, co-founder of Lost Dog, has a talent for fresh readings. If Duke has a shtick – which after similar reworkin

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Entertainment

This extraordinary new Hamlet turns Shakespeare inside out with infinite jest – and cuddly toys

Sadler’s Wells East, London Ben Duke’s clever, witty and wholly unpredictable new show, The Last Hamlet, takes big liberties with the story that pay off Hamlet is trying to get a hire car. He has missed his dad’s funeral because he was at a silent retreat, dealing with his abandonment issues and the disturbing memory of a year 7 disco when his uncle and mum danced together to Yazoo’s Only You. There have been many takes on the troubled Prince of Denmark, but performer/director Ben Duke, co-founder of Lost Dog, has a talent for fresh readings. If Duke has a shtick – which after similar reworkin

The Guardian
Read more
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South Africa's ANC party on track to face 'nightmare' losses in municipal elections

South Africa's African National Congress party could face its worst-ever election result on Friday, with early counting suggesting it received only 32% ‌of the vote in the country’s municipal elections.…

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Why is Iran exempting India, China, Qatar, Iraq from Hormuz restrictions?

Tehran says ships from four countries can cross Hormuz freely, but analysts say the deals carry political risks.

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