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Hafthor Bjornsson, Game of Thrones' 'Mountain', breaks world deadlift record

  • Icelandic strongman lifts 1,104 lb at Thor’s Power Gym
  • 31-year-old starred as Ser Gregor Clegane in HBO series

Icelandic actor and strongman Hafthor Bjornsson set a world record for the deadlift on Saturday when he lifted 1,104 lb (501 kg) at Thor’s Power Gym in Iceland.

Related: Sport documentaries: readers recommend their favourite films

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Game of Thrones 'Mountain' Hafthor Bjornsson breaks world deadlift record – video

Icelandic actor and strongman Hafthor Bjornsson set a world record for the deadlift on Saturday when he lifted 1,104 lb (501 kg), over half a metric tonne, at Thor’s Power Gym in Iceland.

Bjornsson, best known for his portrayal of Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane on Game of Thrones, broke the record previously held by Briton Eddie Hall who in 2016 became the first man to lift 500kg

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Michael Jordan insists 'Republicans buy sneakers too' quote was a joke

  • Comment has followed superstar throughout his life
  • Jordan addresses issue during ESPN’s The Last Dance

Michael Jordan has discussed the quote that has come to define what many see as his willingness to put profit over principles.

During a 1990 Senate race in his home state of North Carolina, Jordan refused to endorse Democrat Harvey Gantt, an African American who was running against the incumbent Republican Jesse Helms, a notorious racist. Jordan, who at the time had already won the first of his five NBA MVP awards, explained away his refusal to take a stance by saying “Republicans buy sneakers, too”.

Related: Michael Jordan's furious desire to conquer all still burns decades later

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McIlroy and Johnson to team up in $3m golf event for coronavirus charities

  • Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff the opposition at Seminole
  • Broadcast to be screened live in UK and United States

Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff are to take part in an event to raise money for coronavirus charities. The foursome will play in the TaylorMade Driving Relief – a two-team skins challenge over 18 holes – at Seminole in Florida on 17 May.

McIlroy, the world No 1, will team up with Johnson against Fowler and Wolff, with up to $3m (£2.38m) going to the American Nurses Foundation and CDC Foundation. All four will follow strict physical-distancing measures and comprehensive testing will be used to protect players, TV staff and others at the course.

Related: Golf must be force for good when it makes long-awaited return | Ewan Murray

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All together now: five of the best kids' films that adults can enjoy

From a kidult superhero movie to a spooky period melodrama, these films will provide entertainment for all the family

Kidult superhero movies are nothing new, but this 2018 animated splinter off the Sony-Spidey combine does something really smart with the money-spinning multiverse concept. In Rodney Rothman, Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey’s version, Spider-Man is reborn across the dimensions – as Gwen, as a private eye, as a pig – and the result is a fruitfully mind-bending recalibration of the entire mythos.

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'I wanted something 100% pornographic and 100% high art': the joy of writing about sex

As authors from Chaucer to Hollinghurst have shown, sex reveals our emotions, instincts and morals. The question is not why write about sex, claims author Garth Greenwell, it’s why write about anything else?

There is a widely held belief, among English-language writers, that sex is impossible to write about well – or at least much harder to write about well than anything else. I once heard a wonderful writer, addressing students at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, say that her ideal of a sex scene would be the sentence: “They sat down on the sofa …” followed by white space. This is a prejudice I can’t understand. One of the glories of being a writer in English is that two of our earliest geniuses, Chaucer and Shakespeare, wrote of the sexual body so exuberantly, claiming it for literature and bringing its vocabulary – including all those wonderful four-letter words – into the texture of our literary language. This is a gift not all languages have received; a translator once complained to me that in her language there was only the diction of the doctor’s office or of pornography, neither of which felt native to poetry.

More than this, surely it is absurd to claim that a central activity of human life, a territory of feeling and drama, is off-limits to art. Sex is a uniquely useful tool for a writer, a powerful means not just of revealing character or exploring relationships, but of asking the largest questions about human beings.

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Tom Gleeson's Joy – cheer yourself with a short fix of standup

With comedy festivals cancelled around the world due to the coronavirus crisis, Amazon Prime is releasing 10 original Australian standup specials to tide you over. The biweekly series was filmed at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre and has featured Celia PacquolaZoë Coombs Marr and Dilruk Jayasinha. A few minutes of each is being published exclusively by Guardian Australia and this week we have eventual Gold Logie winner Tom Gleeson's show Joy. Come to hear about the disgusting wonders of parenting; stay for the killer punchline 

• The full version of Tom Gleeson's Joy is out now. Amazon Prime is offering a 30-day free trial here


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Australian government stops listing major threats to species under environment laws

Exclusive: Documents show department has stopped recommending assessment of ‘key threatening processes’ affecting native wildlife

The federal government has stopped listing major threats to species under national environment laws, and plans to address listed threats are often years out of date or have not been done at all.

Environment department documents released under freedom of information laws show the government has stopped assessing what are known as “key threatening processes”, which are major threats to the survival of native wildlife.

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Joe Wicks wins Guinness World Record for YouTube views as 'nation's PE teacher'




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Gareth Malone shares anger after son is knocked over by a jogger

The choir leader told Twitter followers how a runner failed to maintain a two metre distance and "fell" on his young son




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Joe Lycett shares final statement as Hugo Boss before reverting back to old name

The comedian had one last act of defiance before renouncing his new moniker




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Johnny Depp joins Instagram and thanks fans for 'unwavering support'

The actor amassed more than a million followers in one hour




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Alesha Dixon joins Gary Barlow for live Crooner Sessions duet on Instagram

The pair brought back Dixon's first ever solo single for the special performance




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Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson welcome baby girl

The baby is the couple's first child




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'This job puts things into perspective': Love Island's Malin Andersson explains why she's returned to work as a carer

Andersson said it has been "humbling" to return to her old profession during the coronavirus crisis




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Joe Wicks' daughter Indie gives him a makeover - with hilarious results

The two-year-old got very creative with her mum's make-up...




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Gogglebox's Jonathan Tapper says weight loss helped him beat coronavirus

Jonathan Tapper says he "couldn't move at one point" and was "really struggling for breath"




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Johnny Depp's libel battle against The Sun postponed due to coronavirus

Hollywood star Johnny Depp's libel battle against The Sun newspaper has been postponed thanks to coronavirus as the actor is stuck in France and unable to fly to London.




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Rylan Clark-Neal reveals Hillary Clinton offered him a job

Rylan Clark-Neal has revealed his career could have taken an entirely different turn if he'd accepted an unexpected offer made by the former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.




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Who is Daisy Edgar-Jones? Meet the Normal People actress starring as Marianne

The long-awaited television adaptation of Sally Rooney's millennial love story has arrived




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Craig Revel Horwood and boyfriend Jonathan Myring announce engagement

The couple met while the judge was on the Strictly tour




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Kim Kardashian-West offers fan chance to have lunch with her as she joins All-In Challenge

Kim Kardashian-West has revealed she is offering a lucky fan the chance to have lunch with her and her famous sisters as part of the All-In Challenge.




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John Partridge: MasterChef helped him kick my cocaine habit

The EastEnders actor has discussed his struggle with addiction




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Amanda Holden's TikTok is a joy to behold

The actor is living her very best lockdown life




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Linda Lusardi to join Mr Motivator in week-long workout fundraiser

The former glamour model recently recovered from coronavirus




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Joe Wicks raises £200,000 for the NHS with YouTube PE lessons

The Body Coach said he feels "eternally grateful" for the health service




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Joe Wicks dresses up as Spiderman for fancy dress PE class

The YouTube sensation has already raised £80,000 from his PE videos, which he is donating to the NHS




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Joe Wicks' wife Rosie steps in for PE lesson as Body Coach recovers from hand surgery

The YouTube star spent the weekend in hospital after having wires removed from his hand




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Nicole Scherzinger joins Gary Barlow for show-stopping Grease singalong on Instagram

The pair got into character as Sandy and Danny for Barlow's latest Crooner Sessions video




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Jason Manford says he was turned down for a job at Tesco

The supermarket has responded after the comedian revealed he missed out on a delivery driver job




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John Lewis launches free virtual personal styling service

One-to-one video chats to help you streamline your wardrobe




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The Tiger King Joe Exotic's pink sequin shirt has been put on eBay

Get it while you can, before Carole Baskin does!




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Airbnb launches virtual experiences you can enjoy from home

Hosts from all over the world will teach you how to bake, dance and draw




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Sustainable luxury fashion label Mother of Pearl creates first high street collection with John Lewis

Hardworking wardrobe staples from one of luxury fashion's coolest sustainability stars




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#DesignYourSuperBear: John Lewis and Waitrose launch soft toy design competition for UK kids

100% of the proceeds will go towards the NHS




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Join the community: how Nextdoor app is helping to connect neighbours during Covid-19

People are flocking to the hyper-local app to stay connected during the lockdown




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The Carrie Symonds style file: a sartorial evolution of the new mother and future Mrs. Johnson

As the fiancée of the Prime Minister gives birth to a baby boy, we chart her fashion hits




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Marianne's style: How to dress like Daisy Edgar-Jones' character from Normal People

Hers is a style so good that it's far from normal




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Connell's chain: Normal People's protagonist has kicked off a major men's jewellery trend

Don't pretend you didn't notice it: that whisper-thin necklace glinting against Connell's chest




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How to ace a virtual job interview, according to a career coach

Networking and expanding job opportunities during lockdown is easier than you think. Laura Hampson speaks to career coach and consultant, Hannah Salton to see how it's done




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Dom Joly: how we made Trigger Happy TV

‘The big mobile has been seen as a satirical take on phone culture, but it was just a good way of interrupting things that irritated me – like classical concerts and poncy restaurants’

I never planned to be a comedian. Some would say I never was. I wanted to be a foreign correspondent, a diplomat, or a spy. After a degree in politics I worked for ITN doing interviews on College Green outside parliament. To spice them up, I got some mates to have a clown fight behind Paddy Ashdown, and to kick a football at David Mellor, which accidentally smacked him right in the face. ITN realised I’d set it up and I got fired.

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Kojo Anim review – BGT star on fame, faith and fatherhood

Fairfield Halls, London
In his show Taxi Tour, the comic from last year’s Britain’s Got Talent offers only standard-issue middle-aged standup

Kojo Anim was a star of the black standup circuit for years, but “Britain’s Got Talent changed my life,” he tells his Croydon crowd. The Londoner has booked his Taxi Tour off the back of an appearance in last year’s final, and recounts how that brush with fame – and his Christian faith, and new fatherhood – picked him back up after a grim period in his life. The emotional honesty is refreshing, but plays only a cameo role in an otherwise unadventurous show. Anim certainly does have talent, but – on this evidence – it’s for performing, not for writing distinctive material.

The show opens with a justification for appearing on BGT, and an account of his experience of overnight celebrity. But it soon devolves into standard issue middle-aged standup comparing his unglamorous childhood with that of today’s pampered youth. His parents play their expected role, giving their son broad accents to mimic when not walloping him for the slightest impertinence. “Only an African parent,” reports our host ruefully, “will beat their own child when they see another child doing something.”

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Boris Johnson's lockdown speech: When is it, what will he say, and how can I watch it?




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Boris Johnson's lockdown speech: When is it, what will he say, and how can I watch it?




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Kim Jong-un's retreat was over coronavirus concerns and not heart surgery, report says




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Thursday morning news briefing: Boris Johnson's route out of lockdown




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Boris Johnson's lockdown speech: When is it, what will he say, and how can I watch it?




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From Boris Johnson to Sir Kenny Dalglish, coronavirus hits celebrities, royals and politicians



  • topics:people/matt-hancock
  • topics:things/celebrity-news
  • topics:things/self-isolation
  • topics:people/prince-charles
  • topics:people/boris-johnson
  • topics:in-the-news/coronavirus
  • storytype:standard

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Boris Johnson's lockdown speech: When is it, what will he say, and how can I watch it?