parsian news

NFL championship round predictions: Saints slay Rams, Patriots stumble

The four best teams in the NFL play each other on Sunday. And both games are likely to be decided by the finest of marginsLos Angeles Rams (No2 seed) @ New Orleans Saints (No1 seed). Sunday, 3.05pm EST/8.05pm GMT Continue reading…

The four best teams in the NFL play each other on Sunday. And both games are likely to be decided by the finest of margins

Los Angeles Rams (No2 seed) @ New Orleans Saints (No1 seed). Sunday, 3.05pm EST/8.05pm GMT

Hey Duggee at the Cinema! review – CBeebies earns its movie badge

An hour-long compilation of favourite preschool TV episodes brings simple pleasures for toddlers and in-jokes for the grownupsAs regular viewers of the BBC’s preschoolers channel CBeebies will know, Hey Duggee is an animated series about a friendly dog…

An hour-long compilation of favourite preschool TV episodes brings simple pleasures for toddlers and in-jokes for the grownups

As regular viewers of the BBC’s preschoolers channel CBeebies will know, Hey Duggee is an animated series about a friendly dog who runs Squirrel Club, an activity group for assorted youngsters of all species: mouse, crocodile, hippo. (Everybody’s welcome in this inclusive, anthropomorphic utopia.) Alexander Armstrong narrates in plummy, jolly tones, animator andassistant director Sander Jones does Duggee’s droll “woofs”, while young actors voice the rest of the cast.

This package, assembled for theatrical release, collates several of the show’s best episodes and it’s not hard to see why the series is so treasured by fans of all ages. Much like Peppa Pig, which it resembles a little too closely, the character design, supersaturated colour palette and highly stylised animation have an easily decipherable, eminently replicable simplicity, all the better to appeal to young minds and spawn a million items of merchandise. Every plot revolves around an effort by the troop to win badges, like Cubs or Brownies. Troop leader Duggee awards them to those who have completed tasks such as running an obstacle course.

Best supportive wife: how female characters fare at the Oscars

This year, Amy Adams is set to face off against Claire Foy for their roles as wives of important men from history, a long-running Academy traditionIt is often said, only semi-jokingly, in Hollywood that the best supporting actress Oscar has the incorre…

This year, Amy Adams is set to face off against Claire Foy for their roles as wives of important men from history, a long-running Academy tradition

It is often said, only semi-jokingly, in Hollywood that the best supporting actress Oscar has the incorrect moniker. Best supportive actress is closer to the mark for an award frequently handed to women playing the stoic, loyal wives or partners of great and/or troubled men – often in that most Oscar-favoured of genres, the biopic.

‘Back in 2019, Britain was much larger’: what the history books will say | Jack Bernhardt

Using the latest technology, I’ve got my hands on a textbook from the year 2070. And it isn’t very complimentaryIt’s always odd when politicians make an appeal to “the history books” – it’s like an actor making an appeal to reviewers midway through the…

Using the latest technology, I’ve got my hands on a textbook from the year 2070. And it isn’t very complimentary

It’s always odd when politicians make an appeal to “the history books” – it’s like an actor making an appeal to reviewers midway through the film. But it took on a new surreal meaning on Monday, when Theresa May asked us to consider what the history books would say about the vote on her deal.

It takes truly great commitment to your own mediocrity to sort through a catalogue of your own mistakes, find the largest and most avoidable, and then tell the gods of history that yep, this national humiliation is the way you want future generations to remember you. It’s like calling up the Oxford English Dictionary and requesting that “to cock something up irrevocably, to the point that people feel a pang of despair when they hear your name” be for ever known as “doing a Theresa”.

Britain experiences coldest night of winter so far

Yellow warnings for snow and ice in place after temperature plunges as low as -10.7CThursday night was the coldest of the winter so far as temperatures plunged to as low as -10.7C (12.7F).The low was recorded by the Met Office at Aboyne in Aberdeenshir…

Yellow warnings for snow and ice in place after temperature plunges as low as -10.7C

Thursday night was the coldest of the winter so far as temperatures plunged to as low as -10.7C (12.7F).

The low was recorded by the Met Office at Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, beating the previous mark of -10.5C (13.1F) recorded on 3 January in Braemar.

North Korean envoy may meet Trump to discuss second summit

Kim Yong-chol visit could clear way for further denuclearisation talksNorth Korea’s lead negotiator in nuclear diplomacy with the US is expected to hold talks with the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and could also meet President Donald Trump on Frida…

Kim Yong-chol visit could clear way for further denuclearisation talks

North Korea’s lead negotiator in nuclear diplomacy with the US is expected to hold talks with the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and could also meet President Donald Trump on Friday during a visit aimed at clearing the way for a second US-North Korea summit.

Kim Yong-chol arrived in Washington on Thursday evening. It is his first visit since last June when he arrived before a landmark meeting between Trump and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, in Singapore. Efforts made since then to get Pyongyang to denuclearise appear to have stalled.

Ryanair issues profit warning as winter fares fall

Lower-fare environment will shake out more loss-making rivals, says Michael O’LearyRyanair has issued its second profit warning in four months, blaming intense competition over the winter that prompted the Irish budget airline to cut fares.Profits for …

Lower-fare environment will shake out more loss-making rivals, says Michael O’Leary

Ryanair has issued its second profit warning in four months, blaming intense competition over the winter that prompted the Irish budget airline to cut fares.

Profits for the year ending 31 March will be €100m (£88m) lower than previous expectations, at between €1bn to €1.1bn, the company said in a statement to the stock market. That was down from the €1.1bn to €1.2bn range previously expected.

IO review – post-cataclysmic Netflix adventure aims high, lands in middle

Margaret Qualley and Anthony Mackie add gravity to a sci-fi drama about a dying Earth that marries admirable ambition with inconsistent plottingIn promotional blurbs, Netflix describes its newest original film, IO, as set on “post-cataclysmic” Earth. I…

Margaret Qualley and Anthony Mackie add gravity to a sci-fi drama about a dying Earth that marries admirable ambition with inconsistent plotting

In promotional blurbs, Netflix describes its newest original film, IO, as set on “post-cataclysmic” Earth. It’s a fitting description – somewhere between calamity and full apocalypse – for a film that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. Too measured and sedate for a post-apocalyptic thriller, yet too barren for a Christopher Nolan-style space and time travel epic, IO appears most akin to The Martian in that it focuses primarily on one person’s grit and resourcefulness to endure and grow plants in an unforgiving place.

What’s the difference between news and opinion? Gary Younge tells us about his role – video

The Guardian’s editor-at-large on being a columnist and how analysing stories can help others think more about the news, plus advice to future journalists Continue reading…

The Guardian’s editor-at-large on being a columnist and how analysing stories can help others think more about the news, plus advice to future journalists

Prince Philip involved in car crash near Sandringham estate

Duke of Edinburgh, 97, was not injured in collision on road near royal estate in NorfolkThe Duke of Edinburgh has escaped unhurt after the car he was driving was involved in a crash close to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.Police were called to the s…

Duke of Edinburgh, 97, was not injured in collision on road near royal estate in Norfolk

The Duke of Edinburgh has escaped unhurt after the car he was driving was involved in a crash close to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Police were called to the scene of a collision involving 97-year-old Prince Philip on Thursday. Witnesses told the BBC the Land Rover being driven by Philip had overturned after pulling out from a driveway on the A149. He was helped out of the car by witnesses and was reportedly conscious but very shocked and shaken.