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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Kate Rice

Good News: A summer for the Swifties while Bruce brings it to British Summer Time

The sun has (finally) returned this weekend, and we’ve got the perfect list of good news for you to peruse while you soak up the rays. Let’s get started!

It’s summer time (Taylor’s Version)

Taylor Swift has come back with her trusty tri-annual release (joking, sort of) at the peak of summer and we’re all eating it up. We’ve got the classics - Better Than Revenge, Speak Now, Mean - as well as six previously unheard tracks “from the vault”. You can’t say she doesn’t deliver the goods.

Taylor Swift continues her bid to regain control of her master recordings (PA) (PA Archive)

The pop icon tweeted “It’s here. It’s yours, it’s mine, it’s ours. It’s an album I wrote alone about the whims, fantasies, heartaches, dramas and tragedies I lived out as a young woman between 18 and 20.”

Taylor’s re-recordings of her first six albums came after the master recordings were acquired by talent manager Scooter Braun when he bought her former label, which she has spoken out against on many occasions.

Now fans can enjoy some old-school Swift guilt free!

Read more about the release here

Chester Zoo’s cutest new addition

When it comes to good news, you really can’t go wrong with cute animals. And this is no exception — meet Arabi, a baby okapi.

(PA)

Abari was born at Chester Zoo, and conservationists have noted that she is as rare and exciting as it is adorable.

Hannah Owens said: “Okapis are one of the least known and understood species on the planet, so every birth is incredibly special indeed.”

Chester Zoo is offering visitors an ‘okapi experience’ with the chance to spend 45 minutes in the enclosure and 20 minutes feeding the animals.

Read more about Arabi here

Brucey at BST

The one and only Bruce Springsteen was this year’s headliner at British Summer Time at Hyde Park and, boy, did he put on a show — even if he got cut off at the end.

Known for his lengthy shows, the rock and roll legend made reference to when he was previously cut off for breaking the festival’s 10:30pm curfew while performing with Paul McCartney in 2012.

Despite starting early, he joked with the crowd after a set lasting longer than three hours, saying: “It’s time to go home. I’m telling you they are going to pull the f***ing plug again!”

Read our review of Springsteen’s BST performance here

Wimbledon axes the all-white uniform

For the first time, Wimbledon have relaxed their once-strict rules on all-white clothing for players. Now, female players can wear dark-colored undershorts if they wish after multiple players opened up about feeling uncomfortable while menstruating.

The rule change came after organizers of Wimbledon reportedly held discussions with the Women’s Tennis Association.

(PA)

In an interview with the Standard, British tennis star Harriet Dart said she welcomes the change, but admits “it’s going to be weird now because if you are wearing coloured underwear people are just going to assume you’re on your period.”

Read our full interview with Dart here

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