Lyse Doucet: Where is Israel's operation heading?
As the military confrontation between Iran and Israel intensifies, what is Israel’s real endgame?
As the military confrontation between Iran and Israel intensifies, what is Israel’s real endgame?
The pact between the US and UK means tariffs will be reduced on certain goods such as cars entering the US.
The actor - best known for playing Chandler Bing on Friends – was found dead in his hot tub in October 2023.
The company will forge more than 337,000 tonnes of track in a deal safeguarding its future for the next five years.
"We as a society owe these women a debt," the report also says.
A family is calling for urgent action to support mourners still waiting for their loved ones' bodies.
Three sisters say they were abused in night-time rituals at a church by their father and others.
The Society of Radiographers says more patients are filming for social media without permission.
No 10 says G7 allies back the measures - but Donald Trump indicates the US will not impose more sanctions now.
A report also finds right-leaning audiences on X have almost doubled in the UK since Elon Musk's takeover.
Two Labour MPs have tabled rival amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill on abortion.
The US president said he would end wars and now a vocal part of his support is urging him to stay out of this conflict.
Israel's air power may set back Iran's nuclear programme, but it won't destroy it.
Iranians say they are caught between their country's regime and Israeli destruction as the conflict intensifies.
Israeli strikes have damaged buildings at two missile sites as well as an airport runway, satellite images have revealed.
Israel's military says it struck a "communications centre of the Iranian regime", but Iran calls the attack a "war crime".
The intrigue has less to do with the failure itself and more with how Kim Jong Un reacted.
For survivors of sexual abuse, practical on the ground change will be vital, writes social affairs editor Alison Holt.
Will the sunny, hot weather last for long enough for the start of the world-famous festival?
Tuesday's front pages are dominated by the reaction to Baroness Louise Casey's report on grooming gangs.
Despite the war, Ukraine has developed of the most advanced systems for digital government services.
The war is in strategic stalemate, but Sudan is no-one's priority - an orphan in a region that is ablaze.
A young Indian side led by debutant captain Shubman Gill is set to begin a tough five-Test series in England.
The UN human rights chief said Israel's "means and methods of warfare" were inflicting "horrifying, unconscionable suffering".
A survey carried out by YouGov indicates 4% of children aged 11-17 have also tried them.
People who link their WhatsApp account to Facebook or Instagram will see personalised ads.
The juror gave conflicting information about where he lived and has now been replaced.
Roksana Lecka, 22, admitted seven counts of child cruelty and is found guilty of another 14.
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“Collective failure” to address questions about grooming gang’s ethnicity says report.
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Chelsea kick off their Fifa Club World Cup campaign against Los Angeles FC to tens of thousands of empty seats in Atlanta.
The Women's Super League will expand from 12 to 14 teams from the 2026-27 season as clubs agree vote on a new proposal.
Win or lose Rory McIlroy continues to be the biggest story in golf because despite super-human achievement, he is only human, writes Iain Carter.
Great Britain's Dan Evans claims one of the biggest wins of his career as he upsets world number 13 Frances Tiafoe to progress to the last 16 at Queen's but compatriot Cameron Norrie is knocked out.
Gareth Bale is part of a US-based consortium's attempt to take over League One club Plymouth Argyle with talks in the early stages.
An historic T20 sees the Netherlands beat Nepal after an incredible three super overs in Glasgow.
From the gothic noir of Dept. Q to the continued cool of Andor and a miraculous show about a fungus that can heal all illnesses, here are Guardian readers’ favourite shows of the year to date(Disney+) Andor is a cool, intelligent look at how fascism grows and the cost of resistance. It may be set in a galaxy far far away, but it is in an entirely different universe to any other Star Wars production. No lightsabers; no magic space wizards; barely a stormtrooper in sight – until the grim and horrifying mid-season climax. Who knew committee meetings and wedding parties could be so gripping? It’s as though George Lucas placed the keys to his kingdom in the hands of John le Carré instead of Disney. Remember that fizz of excitement you got as an eight-year-old heading in to see A New Hope? Andor makes this 55-year-old feel the same way. Russell Jones, Cheshire Continue reading...
The PM feels he has to say something about the Middle East but knows his words will have absolutely no impactIt was late into the night. The phone rang in the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu stretched out an arm to take the call.“Yes.” Continue reading...
Her rhyming tales have enchanted children and parents the world over – but which is the best? From a busker’s cat to a greedy rat, it’s time to rate the hits• Parents: what is your child’s favourite Julia Donaldson book?Although Julia Donaldson is best known for her work with Axel Scheffler, her books made with other illustrators yield their own delights. Illustrated by Rebecca Cobb, 2012’s The Paper Dolls has an irresistible sense of childlike wonder, following a string of cut-out dolls as they explore a house while trying to avoid scissors. Continue reading...
From politics to business, the determination to exclude women is purely emotional – a fact that remains as unspoken as it is obviousMI6 has never had a female head in its 116-year history – until now. How fitting that the first woman should be called Blaise Metreweli. That forename has it all: derring-do (courtesy of Modesty Blaise), onomatopoeia, modernity.Metreweli will take over in the autumn as C, the real-life version of M from James Bond. She currently runs Q branch, MI6’s technology division, which apparently is named after the Bond quartermaster. No fictional Q has ever been female, but in real life at least two women, including Metreweli, are thought to have held the role. M can be male or female, except now they succeed or fail by how much they resemble Judi Dench, so all of them, including the incumbent, Ralph Fiennes, are de facto female. Continue reading...
Bitcoin, internet, EVs, private dinners for hire – the list of pay-for-play and quid quo pro goes on, and on … and onThe South Lawn of the White House had never seen anything like it. The president of the United States was posing for the world’s media against a backdrop of five different models of Tesla, peddling the electric vehicles with the alacrity of a salesman on commission.“I love the product, it’s beautiful,” Donald Trump said as he sank into the driver’s seat of a scarlet Model Y. With the Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, beside him, he went on to enlighten the American people that some Tesla models retail for as little as $299 a month, “which is pretty low”. Continue reading...
In Pushers, the comedian and actor plays a disabled woman from Yorkshire who turns to crime after her benefits are cut. She talks about beating trolls, ‘inhumane’ Labour – and her love of gravy‘No,” says Rosie Jones with a laugh. “I have never done any drug-related illegal activity, believe it or not. But I respect your attempt to try to get me to reveal I am an underground drug dealer. Sorry – not the world I live in!”We’re having this conversation because Pushers, the comedian and actor’s new series about a disabled woman who turns to drug dealing when her benefits are stopped, kicks off this week on Channel 4. Jones wrote the script and stars as the main character, Emily. How much of it is influenced by her own life? There are, undoubtedly, similarities. “From the very beginning,” Jones says, referring to when she originally came up with the idea, back in 2018, “we knew my character would be northern, working class and disabled.” That was important for two reasons: firstly, Jones’s favourite sitcoms growing up all featured “gritty” northern characters; and secondly, those sitcoms lacked any representation of disability. Continue reading...
Order similar to those issued in Gaza a further sign Israeli campaign is evolving towards war of attritionIsrael-Iran conflict live updatesIsraeli forces issued an evacuation order to residents of a large part of Tehran on Monday, warning them of the imminent bombing of “military infrastructure” in the area in a social media post very similar to those regularly directed at Palestinians in Gaza over the past 20 months.The post on X was from the account of the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic spokesperson, Col Avichay Adraee, and is a further sign of the evolving nature of the Israeli campaign against Iran, which began with attacks on air defences, nuclear sites and the military chain of command, but appears to have drifted towards a war of attrition focused on Iran’s oil and gas industry and on the capital. Continue reading...
US president will leave G7 summit in Canada early due to situation in the Middle East, White House says; French president says ‘an offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions’Israel issues Tehran evacuation order as Iran threatens to leave nuclear weapons treatyDonald Trump has encouraged vice president JD Vance and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to offer to meet the Iranians this week, the New York Times has reported, citing a US official.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier indicated that Tehran was open to negotiations, also suggesting Trump could stop the war with “one phone call” to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. In a post on X he wrote:If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential. Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue.It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions … We have to see now whether the sides will follow.Right now I believe negotiations need to restart and that civilians need to be protected.All who have thought that by bombing from the outside you can save a country in spite of itself have always been mistaken. Continue reading...
David Lammy says British nationals asked to register presence as country closes airspace amid escalating conflictBritish people in Israel are being told to register with the Foreign Office so the UK government can assist them if they wish to leave the country.David Lammy, the foreign secretary, told MPs on Monday his department was asking all British nationals to notify the government and receive instructions on how best to leave, after the country closed down its airspace. Continue reading...
Exhausted medical workers say facilities are overwhelmed and death toll is higher than 224 reportedThe stream of wounded in Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran had been steady since Friday. On Sunday evening it became a flood. A renewed wave of Israeli strikes on Iran’s capital overwhelmed the hospital’s emergency unit, turning it into what one doctor described as a “bloodbath”.“It was a bloodbath. We were overwhelmed by chaos and the screams of grieving family members. Dozens upon dozens of people with life-threatening injuries, minor wounds and even bodies were brought in,” a doctor at the emergency unit of the hospital told the Guardian on Monday under condition of anonymity. Continue reading...
Death toll is highest yet reported in near-daily shootings since US-backed group began distributing food in territoryAt least 37 Palestinians were killed on Monday in new shootings in Gaza near food distribution centres run by private US contractors guarded by Israeli troops, local authorities said.Witnesses blamed the shootings on Israeli troops who opened fire early in the morning as crowds of hungry Palestinians converged on two hubs managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private organisation that recently began operating in Gaza with Israeli and US support. Continue reading...
Public inquiry will examine repeated failures that prevented abuse against children being properly investigatedCasey report forces Starmer’s hand on issue that has haunted Labour for decadesA culture of “blindness, ignorance and prejudice” led to repeated failures over decades to properly investigate cases in which children were abused by grooming gangs, a report has said.As the government announced a public inquiry into the scandal, Louise Casey said for too long the authorities had shied away from the ethnicity of the people involved, adding it was “not racist to examine the ethnicity of the offenders”.Five existing local inquiries into grooming gangs to be coordinated by an independent commission with full statutory inquiry powers.The collection of ethnicity and nationality data for all suspects in child sexual abuse and criminal exploitation cases to be made mandatory.The law to be tightened to ensure there is no exception to those who sexually penetrate a child under 16 being charged with rape. Casey said she believed the public would be horrified to realise this was not the case already.Research into the drivers for group-based child sexual exploitation, including the role of social media, cultural factors and group dynamics.Every local police force in England and Wales to review records to identify cases of child sexual exploitation that have not been acted upon, including a review of cases that have been reported but have not resulted in prosecutions over the last 10 years. Convictions of the young victims, many of whom say they still face appalling discrimination, should be quashed. Continue reading...
Radiographers voice concerns about being filmed without consent and say trend could violate other patients’ privacyNHS staff have voiced concern about the growing numbers of patients who are filming themselves undergoing medical treatment and uploading it to TikTok and Instagram.Radiographers, who take X-rays and scans, fear the trend could compromise the privacy of other patients being treated nearby and lead to staff having their work discussed online. Continue reading...
Parliament set to vote on decriminalising abortion, with rival amendments submitted by two Labour MPsParliament is set to vote on whether to decriminalise abortion on Tuesday, in what would be the biggest shake-up to reproductive rights in England and Wales in almost 60 years.Fierce battles have been fought behind the scenes, with Labour backbenchers Tonia Antoniazzi and Stella Creasy lobbying in an effort to have their rival amendments taken forward for a vote. Continue reading...
UK aerospace sector will face no tariffs from the US while auto industry lowered to 10% from 25%Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have signed off a UK-US trade deal at the G7 summit in Canada, with the US president saying Britain would have protection against future tariffs “because I like them”.The two leaders presented the deal, which covers aerospace and the auto sector, at the G7 venue in Kananaskis, Alberta. Continue reading...
Victorian woman, 50, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder following a fatal beef wellington lunch in Leongatha in 2023. Follow liveRogers says what Patterson “outwardly” portrayed did not always align with her “true feelings”.She says Simon gave evidence that when he told her his parents were in hospital the day after the lunch Patterson never asked about them. Continue reading...
Roksana Lecka, from Hounslow, admitted seven counts of cruelty and was convicted of another 14 offences A 22-year-old nursery worker has been convicted of abusing 21 babies, including kicking one little boy in the face and stepping on his shoulder during a harrowing campaign of abuse.Roksana Lecka, from Hounslow, admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted of another 14 counts by a jury at Kingston crown court. Continue reading...
Patrick Spencer has exercised right to be tried by jury in crown court over allegationsAn MP faces trial over allegations he groped two women in one night while drunk at the Groucho Club in London.Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault at Westminster magistrates court on Monday morning. Continue reading...
Palazzo Maffei in Verona contacts police after visitors cause Van Gogh’s Chair to buckle while posing for photosAn Italian museum has contacted the police after two clumsy tourists almost wrecked a work of art while posing for photos.Video footage released by Palazzo Maffei in Verona showed the hapless pair photographing each other pretending to sit on a crystal-covered chair made by the artist Nicola Bolla – described by the museum as an “extremely fragile” work. Continue reading...
Salvador Plasencia, who gave Friends star the drug in month leading to overdose, to plead guilty to four countsA doctor charged with giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the month leading up to the Friends star’s overdose death has agreed to plead guilty, authorities said Monday.Dr Salvador Plasencia has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, federal prosecutors said in a statement. They said the plea carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and Plasencia is expected to enter the plea in the coming weeks. Continue reading...
Despite the losses of lives and homes, many citizens back Netanyahu’s decision to attack IranThe Iranian missile blew the door off the White City museum celebrating Bauhaus Tel Aviv, and shattered the windows of the Quick coffee shop down the road, where cinnamon buns and salads sat in the display case ready for a relaxed summer day that would never come.In the ultra-orthodox neighbourhood of Bnei Bark another missile collapsed a school, killing an 80-year-old man. A third hit partway up a high-rise tower in manicured, suburban Petah Tikva, destroying a reinforced safe room and killing the family inside. Continue reading...
Stay off Russian gas even after peace, says EU energy chief, as ban is drafted; 6,000 casualties out of 10,000 North Koreans fighting against Ukraine. What we know on day 1,210 Continue reading...
Officers arrest people at swap meet in Santa Fe and detain people in Montebello as curfew in LA remains in placeUS immigration raids continued to target southern California communities in recent days, including at a popular flea market and in a Los Angeles suburb where US citizens were detained.On Saturday, as mass protests swept the nation, including tens of thousands demonstrating in LA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents descended on a swap meet in Santa Fe Springs in southeast LA county. Video showed dozens of heavily armed, masked officers carrying out the raid before a scheduled concert at the long-running event that features vendors, food and entertainment every weekend Continue reading...
It began as a simple act of remembrance, dedicated to those who lost their lives to Aids. Now this ever-growing patchwork of gravestone-sized panels has taken on new meaning as one of the most significant artworks of the past 40 yearsA young man is standing face to the wall. He is sobbing, being consoled by friends. An older gay couple walk slowly, hands gripped together, supporting each other. Groups of young queer friends are arm-in-arm, united in grief. In front of them is the UK Aids Memorial Quilt, its panels sewn with images and messages: “Malcolm”, reads one, “I wish that I had known you longer.” Another panel is dedicated to “those rejected, denied, alone”. Another reads simply, “Dear Scott, I miss you so much!”Over the past few days, more than 20,000 people have visited Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall to see the quilt. Many of those visitors have wept openly in its presence, spending hours in the space. The atmosphere has been hushed, reverential. Some said on social media later that it was the best thing they’d ever seen at the Tate. Continue reading...
As the male social circle continues to shrink, their partners have to take on much more emotional labour – and many are opting to spend their lives alone insteadName: Mankeeping.Age: Semantically, about a year old. Continue reading...
Stylish attenders of the RA’s summer soiree talk us through their outfits and what they are hoping to get out of the exhibition Continue reading...
‘There was tension with the National Front and swastikas on walls. So I’m proud the album is an outsider classic – but feel depressed these songs are still relevant’I grew up in a really boring village in Kent, so moving to Leeds as a student was thrilling. It was an A-list place to see gigs. On the other hand, the buildings were as black as soot, the Yorkshire Ripper was around and you could feel the tension between the National Front and the south Asian community. I saw swastikas on walls and on an anti-NF march I was hit with a truncheon by a mounted police officer. So I gradually came up with the modest ambition to change the world. Continue reading...
This week: hay fever cures that actually work; festival essentials; and the best SPFs, tested• Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe best things in life are a … a … wait, it’s coming … a … Achoo! Ew, sorry. Where was I? The best things in life are itchy and explosively sneezy. Picnics in freshly cut grass, walks in the woods, burying your face in the cat. Full of the joys of summer, and guaranteed to send your body’s allergy responses wild.If you’re in the 49% of British folk who suffer from seasonal hay fever, you probably envy me for being asked to test hay fever remedies for the Filter. Here was my chance to have all my symptoms blitzed by the best cures medical science and TikTok had to offer. Sadly, it didn’t quite work like that. Continue reading...
Our obligations to each other are ill served if laws focus unduly on those who want assisted dying. The priority should be the best palliative careAs MPs prepare for the final decisive votes this Friday on one of the most consequential laws of our generation, an act that could determine a person’s right to live or die, they should take time to consider the fundamental flaws in the bill that have been exposed during the debates of recent months.For it has become clear that whatever views people hold on the principle, passing the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill into law would privilege the legal right to assisted dying without guaranteeing anything approaching an equivalent right to high-quality palliative care for those close to death.Gordon Brown was UK prime minister from 2007 to 2010Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
As a gay woman I’d never really fantasised about my wedding, but I made a sartorial odyssey from Savile Row to Shanghai. Just don’t call it menswearIt’s a month until my wedding, and my suit has arrived in the post, unceremoniously crammed into a plastic postage bag. I wasn’t expecting it to come from China, but China is of course where things come from. Unbagging the crinkled jacket and trousers for my supposed Big Day felt a little deflating.Although I’m not sure what I did have in mind. I’ve never fantasised about getting married. As a gay woman, this wasn’t even an option for me until 2013. In fact, the closest I ever came to daydreaming about this occasion was when I was around four and I’d inferred from Disney movies that “getting married” was the act of a prince ballroom dancing with a princess. The dancing was neither here nor there, but I knew I wanted to be the prince.Eleanor Margolis is a columnist for the i newspaper and DivaDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
The administration lied to obscure a genocide. Now a former spokesperson is revealing the disconnect between words and realityPoliticians lie, and the people around them do too. When it’s convenient – when the whole world is pulsing with revulsion, for example – they begin to reveal flavors of the truth.The Biden administration lied more than most, its public-facing members particularly. Its policy in Palestine was to embrace the Israelis in a “bear hug” – to smother them with love. And there’s thin cover for a genocide beyond lies.Ahmed Moor is a writer and fellow at the Foundation for Middle East PeaceThis article was amended on 16 June 2025. An earlier version included a quote from Matthew Miller on the role of political spokespeople that had been given in a more general context, rather than directly in response to being asked about alleged war crimes. In the latter response, now quoted from the same interview, he went on to say that “the United States government had not concluded that [Israel] committed war crimes [and] still have not concluded [that].” Continue reading...
The Club World Cup is being staged across the US as citizens from 12 countries are banned and masked agents demand people’s papers based on the color of their skinInternational sporting events, spectacles of recreation designed to distract people from their day-to-day lives, are cultural and political branding opportunities for their hosts. For authoritarians, they have long been used as a tool to distract from or launder stains of human rights violations and corruption – a practice called “sportswashing”. Russia, which has a track record of violent repression and Qatar, notorious for labor rights violations, each paid millions in bribes to be able to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 respectively. “This is a new image of Russia that we now have,” Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, said after the tournament there.This summer, the Fifa Club World Cup has come to the United States – the event includes 32 of the most prominent soccer clubs in the world, and is a much-anticipated precursor to next year’s World Cup, hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada. The Trump administration, however, is not using the opportunity to manufacture a positive image of the country, but instead is using the events as a platform to amplify its emerging authoritarianism. Continue reading...
Losing credibility Netanyahu has acted to diminish Iran while he still can, and in doing so regain support from his alliesThere are two ways of looking at events in the Middle East over the past year and a half. One is that the response to 7 October 2023 was a break from the past. The attack by Hamas triggered an Israeli response so vengeful that it has been impossible to fit within the boundaries set by international laws or contain geographically – the genocide in Gaza, the invasion of southern Lebanon, the occupation of the buffer zone in southwestern Syria and airstrikes across that country, and now its attacks against Iran.Then there is the explanation that these events are part of a historical continuum. Regional peace was the result of a volatile status quo that was always vulnerable to disruption. It only looked tenable because it relied on a variety of factors that, working together, looked like a settlement. This fine balance has been tipped by an Israeli government that is now fixated on pursuing its own agenda, singlehandedly rewriting the future of the region in ways that it is unable to explain and unwilling to control.Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist. Continue reading...
The uniformed soldiers marched irregularly, slightly off beat; the turnout was small and the crowd seemed defeatedIn one version of the story, you can blame the French. Evidently it was in France, watching the 2017 Bastille Day military parade alongside Emmanuel Macron at the outset of his first term, that Donald Trump initially got the idea to stage an armed spectacle in Washington DC in honor of himself. Back then, the military said no. In a now-famous anecdote, Gen Paul Selva, who grew up in Portugal under its integralist regime, told Trump that such parades are “what dictators do”. James Mattis, his then-secretary of defense, reportedly revolted against the idea, saying he would “rather swallow acid”. Trump never got his parade.Until now. Restored to power after an interregnum in which all American institutions failed to hold him accountable for his crimes and abuses, Trump has now set about a second term in which he is pursuing vengeance against his perceived enemies, using his office to enrich himself, and indulging all the impulses that were checked by his staffers and advisers back when anyone serious still worked for him. Continue reading...
It is right to confront child sexual exploitation, but this week’s announcement comes against a backdrop of failureThe government’s renewed focus on child sexual exploitation (CSE) gangs is overdue, and the new national inquiry recommended by Louise Casey must deliver justice, not just headlines. All child sexual abuse is horrifying. But the extreme sexual violence and financial incentives involved in gang-based offending demand special scrutiny. So do the institutional failures by police and councils, particularly in northern England, where numerous gangs operated.Past inquiries have exposed these institutional breakdowns. They have also shown that a reluctance to inflame racial tensions played a role in the way that some complaints were mishandled. That doesn’t excuse the inaction – nor justify turning a public safety issue into a culture war.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Israel’s strikes against Tehran risk spiralling conflict, flout legal norms and may permanently bury the last chance for nuclear diplomacyIn late 2020, Gen Mark Milley – then chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff – urged Donald Trump not to attack Iran and to ignore pressure from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was pushing hard for military action. Mr Trump backed down after the general warned that attacking Iran would start a war, with the risk of US officials being “tried as war criminals in The Hague”.Five years on, Israel’s prime minister has the fight with Tehran that he has spent decades preparing for, bolstered by Mr Trump’s claims that international law no longer applies. After all, why worry about red lines when The Hague’s already got a warrant out for you and your allies pretend not to notice? It helps when the US treats the international criminal court like a rogue actor. Mr Trump has even gone after the court’s judges and prosecutor for daring to scrutinise “our close ally” Israel over Gaza. Legal norms? Apparently, those are for enemies, not friends.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Group D: Chelsea 2-0 LAFC (Neto 34, Fernández 79)Attendance of 22,137 for game at 75,000-capacity venueThe good news for the marketing gurus at Fifa is that the 22,137 fans who turned up to watch Chelsea cruise past Los Angeles FC in their Club World Cup opener at least witnessed the surge of excitement provided by Liam Delap coming off the bench to spark an otherwise forgettable contest into life on his debut.In reality this will not go down as one of the great sporting occasions. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium can hold crowds of 75,000 but staging this match at 3pm on a Monday afternoon was probably not the wisest scheduling move. Continue reading...
A court cleared Gjert Ingebrigtsen of many of the abuse charges made against him but the father and coach’s hope of reconciliation seems remoteThe moment that ripped apart track and field’s most successful and eccentric family came in January 2022, after the 15‑year‑old sister of the Tokyo Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen was grounded by her father after school.At that point, Jakob and his brothers Filip and Henrik, were all European, world or Olympic champions, having trained like professionals since before they were teenagers. They were also major TV stars in Norway thanks to the docuseries Team Ingebrigtsen, where they appeared alongside their coach and father, Gjert. Continue reading...
Russell included in 2021 Lions squad as Sexton omittedLions assistant coach says issue ‘blown out of proportion’Johnny Sexton has insisted he is “here to help” Finn Russell in his capacity as British & Irish Lions assistant coach, after the pair shook hands and cleared the air last month following the former Ireland captain’s previous criticism of the Scotland fly-half.Sexton toured with the Lions in 2013 and 2017 but was a surprise omission from Warren Gatland’s squad in 2021. In his autobiography, the former Ireland captain revealed how the snub “kills me to this day” and described Russell as a “media darling” before suggesting in a subsequent interview that he was “flashy”. Continue reading...
Bournemouth sign France left-back Adrien TruffertLeeds fear Newcastle or Milan may hijack Bijol transferManchester United are monitoring Eintracht Frankfurt’s striker, Hugo Ekitike, as a potential recruit.The French forward is of interest to Ruben Amorim after United’s hopes of signing one of his prime targets, Viktor Gyökeres, receded due to the Swede expressing a preference to move to Arsenal. The 22-year-old Ekitike has scored 19 goals in 47 Bundesliga appearances for Frankfurt, having initially been loaned to the German club in February 2024. The Frenchman subsequently signed a five-year deal for around £14m last April. The France Under-21 international has a total of 50 strikes in 151 career games. Continue reading...
A sober report launched in parliament on the eve of the royal meeting paints a worrying picture for the sport Hundreds of staff were putting the finishing touches to Ascot racecourse on Monday ahead of the five-day Royal meeting. The champagne is on ice, a variety of crustaceans have been plucked from the seabed and transported to Berkshire and the famous grey horses that lead the royal procession are ready to be harnessed. The most valuable, historic and glamorous show on turf is good to go.So it was a little jarring, to say the least, to spend an hour on Monday lunchtime in the company of assorted heavy-hitters from the racing industry and a pair of racing-friendly MPs from either side of the House, hearing warnings of a “triple whammy of challenges” that, according to a report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Racing and Bloodstock which was published on Monday, “present no less than an existential threat to the sport”. Continue reading...
Group C: Boca Juniors 2-2 BenficaBoth sides see red before Nicolás Otamendi heads home equaliserWell, that was different. On a violently hot Monday night in Miami Gardens, day three of Fifa’s sport-style entertainment event, something unexpected happened. A football match broke out.And not just the styling, the outlines, the aesthetic sense of a football match. As Boca Juniors tore into a 2-0 first half lead against Benfica, as the stadium interior was transformed into a sustained static field by the Boca fans, as the coaching staff on both benches leapt up in random rotation, like the world’s angriest improv night, this already felt like the real thing, blood, vim, borrowed life. Continue reading...
Wing of the club responsible for developing girls’ pathway programme is celebrating its 40th anniversaryIt is 40 years since the establishment of Arsenal in the Community, the wing of the club responsible for founding the women’s team, and the announcement that all the side’s Women’s Super League games will be played at the Emirates Stadium next season returns the team to the N5 community that birthed it.With the players ending an 18-year wait for a second European title by beating Barcelona in the Champions League final in May, it has been a year of full-circle moments for Arsenal. Continue reading...
With thick rough around bunkers and pin positions on slopes, Adam Scott called Oakmont ‘borderline unplayable’There should be no sense of demeaning JJ Spaun’s US Open glory if observers question the circumstances. Spaun, not so long ago a journeyman professional, played out his dream by holing out from 65ft on the final green at Oakmont.Spaun is a prime example of how the penny can drop for golfers at different stages. Now 34, he is in the form of his life and bound for the Ryder Cup. When he talked later of being awake at three o’clock on Sunday morning because his young daughter was vomiting, his relatability only grew. Everybody loves an underdog. Continue reading...
Veteran Englishman has fallen to No 199 in rankingsJacob Fearnley through but Cameron Norrie knocked outDan Evans opened up the men’s tournament at Queen’s Club with his biggest win for more than two years, toppling Frances Tiafoe – the seventh seed and world No 13 – 7-5, 6-2 to reach the second round.The win was Evans’s first against a top-20 opponent since he defeated Alex de Minaur in the Davis Cup finals in 2023 and a positive step forward after an extremely difficult period in the final stretch of his career. Continue reading...
Family members waiting for repatriation of remains say government response has been ‘painfully slow’Grieving family members of three British citizens who were killed in the Air India plane crash have accused the UK government of a “disjointed, inadequate and painfully slow” response on the ground in India.The family of Akeel Nanabawa and Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sara Nanabawa are calling on the UK government to improve how it is communicating with the family members who rushed to Ahmedabad in Gujarat after the crash. Continue reading...
Global study shows 54% of Americans receive news from social media, while the UK has highest proportion of news avoiders at 46%Social media has overtaken television as a source of news in the US for the first time, according to a comprehensive analysis of media consumption confirming the rapid rise of “news influencers”.In a watershed moment for the US media, 54% of Americans said they received news from social media, according to the research carried out after President Trump’s second inauguration. Half said they sourced news from the once all-powerful TV networks. Continue reading...
Sadiq Khan says regeneration plans for central London shopping street have received ‘overwhelming support’Sadiq Khan has said he will pedestrianise Oxford Street “as quickly as possible”, after two in three respondents to a public consultation backed plans to ban traffic from London’s central shopping area.The mayor’s office said there was “overwhelming public and business support” for the proposals to regenerate the street, whose lustre is slowly returning as department stores muscle back among the sweet and souvenir shops of dubious repute. Continue reading...
US agency had pledged almost $30m over five years to Hope Through Action initiative, which was launched in 2023The US government funding cuts will hit a chimpanzee conservation project nurtured by the primatologist Jane Goodall.USAID has been subjected to swingeing cuts under Donald Trump, with global effects that are still unfolding. Now it has emerged that the agency will withdraw from the Hope Through Action project managed by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). USAID had pledged $29.5m (£22m) over five years to the project, which was designed to protect endangered chimpanzees and their habitats in western Tanzania. Continue reading...
Bassam Hassan, a top general under Assad, reportedly gave news regarding American who went missing in 2012A high-ranking Syrian general under former president Bashar al-Assad who is now in Lebanon has reportedly told US investigators that the American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in 2012, is dead.Bassam Hassan was a top security adviser once accused of facilitating chemical attacks on civilians. In a recent meeting with the FBI and CIA, he claimed that Assad – who was ousted in December and has since fled to Moscow – ordered Tice’s execution, according to the New York Times and the BBC, which first reported the allegation. Each media organization cited sources familiar with the matter. Hassan’s claims remain unverified. Continue reading...
Nature and farmers’ groups cautiously welcome spending review as there were fears Treasury wanted bigger cutsLabour is cutting the farming budget in England by £100m a year, spending review figures show.Despite the decrease, the budget has been cautiously welcomed by nature and farming groups, as there were fears the Treasury had wanted to reduce the funding further. Continue reading...
IADB’s proposals involve lenders using public money to buy up renewable energy loans in poor countriesAn innovative plan to use public money to back renewable energy loans in the developing world could liberate cash from the private sector for urgently needed climate finance.Avinash Persaud, a special adviser on climate change to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), who developed the proposals, believes the plan could drive tens of billions of new investment in the fledgling green economy in poorer countries within a few years, and could provide the bulk of the $1.3tn in annual climate finance promised to the developing world by 2035. Continue reading...
Cold drop, upper-air trough and heat dome combine to create severe weather and 85mm hailstoneSevere thunderstorms swept across France last Friday, killing one person and injuring another. Two systems were involved, prompting orange weather warnings: the first came from the west via Brittany and hit the north of the country, and the second arrived via Spain and affected south-west France.More than 30,000 lightning strikes were recorded between midnight on Friday and early Saturday. Eure, north of Paris, was worst hit with 4,326 strikes. Strong winds lashed Normandy – Rouen recorded a 76mph (123km)/h) gust that broke the 64mph record set in 2019. Hail affected several areas, leading to infrastructure and crop damage. Continue reading...
Nearly 13 years after Hurricane Sandy flooded lower Manhattan, the first section of East River Park, designed to withstand storm surges, opens Continue reading...
Ryland Headley linked to murder of Louisa Dunne, 75, in Bristol after semen found on her skirt was tested in 2024Detectives caught a 92-year-old man who it is alleged murdered and raped a woman in her home almost six decades ago after advances in DNA techniques led them to the suspect, a jury has been told.An extensive police operation was launched in Bristol in the summer of 1967 after the death of mother of two Louisa Dunne, 75, but her killer could not be found, a jury at the city’s crown court heard. Continue reading...
Building society criticised for proposal that will be voted on next month but says it is prioritising member valueNationwide’s chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, could land a maximum pay package of nearly £7m as part of a new bonus plan that has been criticised as “borderline hypocritical” for a UK building society.The pay policy, which will be put to its customers next month, would raise Crosbie’s maximum payout by 43% to £6.9m. Continue reading...
Police Scotland say inquiry under way after officers called to Prestwick beach Police are investigating after a human leg was found on a beach in South Ayrshire in Scotland.Officers were called to the scene on Prestwick beach, a popular attraction with views of the Isle of Arran from the shoreline, on the morning of 10 June. Continue reading...
Temperatures forecast to reach 32C in London on Saturday as authorities issue reminder to check on vulnerable peopleEmergency services have issued warnings over the increased risks of wildfires before an expected heatwave this weekend, with temperatures forecast to reach 32C in some parts of the UK.Authorities reminded the public to check in with older people and those with health conditions as forecasters predicted a burst of heat expected to peak this weekend before easing early next week. Continue reading...
The 39-year-old senator was shot at a campaign rally in Bogota on 7 June and has now undergone three surgeriesColombian senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who has been hospitalised since he was shot in the head during a campaign event, is out of an emergency surgery performed but is in “extremely critical” condition, the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said.Uribe, 39, a potential presidential candidate from the right-wing opposition, was shot in Bogotá on 7 June during a rally. Continue reading...
Information Commissioner’s Office takes action as people report feeling powerless over data gathering at homeMakers of air fryers, smart speakers, fertility trackers and smart TVs have been told to respect people’s rights to privacy by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).People have reported feeling powerless to control how data is gathered, used and shared in their own homes and on their bodies. Continue reading...
Gjert Ingebrigtsen acquitted of Jakob charges due to ‘reasonable doubt’Handed suspended 15-day sentence and fined for abuse of IngridThe father of Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been given a 15-day suspended sentence after being found guilty of hitting the double Olympic champion’s younger sister, Ingrid, in the face with a wet towel.But Gjert Ingebrigtsen, who coached his Jakob to 1500m gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 before their acrimonious split a year later, was acquitted of charges relating to physical and verbal abuse against Jakob. Continue reading...
The actor, who is in Italy for a film about the Maserati car moguls, had an official audience with the pope alongside the film’s producerAl Pacino has become the first major celebrity to have an official audience with the newly elected pope. The actor, 85, met the pontiff at the Vatican on Monday. He is currently in Italy shooting a film about car moguls the Maserati brothers.After the pair’s introduction, the film’s producer, Andrea Iervolino, wrote: “We are honoured to announce that this morning His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received in a private audience at the Holy See a delegation from the film Maserati: The Brothers, including Oscar winner actor Al Pacino and the film’s producer Andrea Iervolino. Continue reading...
They just headlined Download festival and their latest album went to No 1 in the US and UK – so why is Britain’s biggest metal band in a generation so hated by some?On Saturday, Sleep Token headlined Download festival in Leicestershire. Topping the bill at the festival is something of a rite of passage for artists of a certain musical bent, proof that you are now among the biggest bands in metal and hard rock: Metallica, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Guns N’ Roses are all former headliners. Last month, Sleep Token’s fourth album, Even in Arcadia, debuted at the top of both the British and American charts. Their most recent UK tour took in the biggest venues in the country: the same is true of their forthcoming US tour. In 2025, Sleep Token could reasonably claim to be the biggest British rock band in the world.But they wouldn’t, because Sleep Token operate behind a veil of anonymity. They have given virtually no interviews over the course of their career. The band’s frontman and chief songwriter is known only as Vessel; the other members are referred to as II, III and IV. They perform live wearing masks, hoods and body paint to conceal their identities and promote a fictional mythology: it’s too sprawling and complex to explain here – one fan has apparently produced a 35,000-word thesis on the subject – but it involves the band being a mouthpiece for a deity called Sleep. Their gigs are referred to as Rituals, their albums as Offerings, their social media posts frequently open with the word “Behold” and end with the word “Worship”. Like Hogwarts pupils, their fans are divided into “houses”: one is called Feathered Host, the other House Viridian. Continue reading...
Rather than retiring to Greece, 71-year-old Ruth Miller created ‘a sanctuary of hope and healing’ in a refugee campWhere do you see yourself in your 70s? Perhaps on a Greek island, a long way from home with a good book or two.That’s where Ruth Miller is right now, although there’s a twist to the usual tale. Continue reading...
The investigation into the callous murder of DPD driver Aurman Singh is compelling telly. But the horrific details are totally prioritised over the motives and the victim. Why are we still gawking at true-crime horrors?In August 2023, delivery driver Aurman Singh was viciously attacked and killed by a group of eight men in Shrewsbury, suffering a traumatic head injury that led to his death. He had been struck with weapons including a golf club and an axe, before his mask-wearing assailants fled in two cars. One eyewitness – whose doorbell camera footage is analysed by police – says Singh’s eyes were “fixed open … it was like someone just pressed stop”.Singh’s killing – dubbed “The DPD Murder” by the programme-makers – was unusually callous and brutal, making for what lead investigator DCI Mark Bellamy describes as a “beast of a job”. It also makes for compelling television, although you may well wonder whether you should be watching it all, in such harsh detail. As its title suggests, Murder 24/7 is wall-to-wall, hour-by-hour death, its six episodes a sobering experience, during which – in spite of the care it affords its cases – you can’t help but feel voyeuristic. Continue reading...
West Mercia police attempt to find the killers who beat a delivery driver to death. Plus: a gripping Tudor mystery. Here’s what to watch this evening9pm, BBC TwoAfter DPD driver Aurman Singh was beaten to death while on a delivery in Shrewsbury, the police assessed the shocking level of violence involved and surmised that robbery wasn’t the motive. Stretched across the week, this gripping true-crime series follows the West Mercia police as they track the suspects, make arrests, then realise the roots of the crime run much deeper than they thought. Phil Harrison Continue reading...
Based on the true story of the brutal murder of a teenage shepherd, Lotfi Achour’s sombre film honestly attempts to encompass the unbearable grief suffered by the familyA low cloud of misery and horror settles on this sombre movie from Tunisian writer-director Lotfi Achour, inspired by a brutal event in his country from 2015. A teenage shepherd called Mabrouk Soltani was murdered and beheaded on Mount Mghila in central Tunisia by members of Jund al-Khilafah (“soldiers of the caliphate”), the Tunisian branch of Islamic State, which habitually hides out in that remote, rugged region. They videoed their grotesque homicide, claiming the boy was an army spy and ordered his terrified 14-year-old cousin, who was with him, to carry the severed head back to his village as a brutal “message” – and this boy obeyed, in a stricken state of trauma that can only be guessed at. This horrifying event was to assume the status of national scandal in Tunisia two years later when the victim’s elder brother was also murdered by IS in the same place and on the same pretext. (Four jihadis were convicted in 2019 and another 45 in absentia.)Achour’s film centres on the first event, while anticipating the second. Achraf (Ali Helali) goes up the mountain with his older cousin Nizar (Yassine Samouni), who brings his goats there because it is the only place with water for the herd to drink – and because it is beautiful. The nightmarish attack ensues and the village goes into deep shock; the head is kept in a refrigerator and despite the obvious danger of another attack, Nizar’s brother grimly resolves to lead a party of volunteers, including Achraf, back up into the mountain to recover the rest of the body so Nizar can be given a proper burial. All the while the heartless and prurient press gather at his home. Continue reading...
The latest in our series of writers drawing attention to their mood-lifting favourites is a robustly made Oscar winner from 2015Halfway through Spotlight, Tom McCarthy’s understated retelling of the Boston Globe’s investigation into child abuse in the Catholic church in Boston, is a moment that, even 30-plus rewatches later, still chills me. Spotlight editor Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton) travels to Providence to interview a fellow Boston College high school alumnus, where he and the victim, Kevin (Anthony Paolucci), make pleasant small talk about bygone school days. When the subject turns to the school’s hockey coach, Father James Talbot, however, the tone abruptly shifts. Kevin’s face hollows, his eyes deaden, and we see his soul drain from his body. “How’d you find out?” he says in a level, diminished tone that rings with years of trauma.It is a measure of how polished every aspect Spotlight is that, in a cast boasting Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, world’s second-best Shrek Brian d’Arcy James, and criminally underappreciated performances from Liev Schreiber and Stanley Tucci, it’s a few moments from Paolucci (who has 12 credits on IMDb, all for small parts like this) that shows Spotlight at its most harrowing. Continue reading...
Band’s ‘on the edge of kitsch’ aesthetic is still relevant three decades later as young people focus on vintage clothing Thirty years ago this month Pulp played the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury and took their reputation to another level. If part of this was due to a storming set taking in their new hit Common People, debuts for their future hits Mis-Shapes and Disco 2000, and the star power of singer Jarvis Cocker, it was also down to their look.There was Steve Mackay, bass guitarist, in a fitted shirt and kipper tie, Russell Senior on violin in a blue safari shirt, keyboardist Candida Doyle in sequins and – of course – Cocker, in his now signature secondhand 70s tailoring. Continue reading...
The Love Again singer expands her media empire with this new podcast. Plus, an astonishing cast of ex-MPs line up to see what might happen if Russia declared war against the UKNot content with her Service95 newsletter and At Your Service podcast, the star expands her media empire. But don’t expect a vanity project: Lipa’s first guest is Jennifer Clement, author of the haunting Widow Basquiat, on the love affair between artist Jean-Michel and his muse Suzanne Mallouk. Hannah J Davies Widely available, episodes weekly Continue reading...
The hunt for the anthrax letter killer, the comedy genius of PG Wodehouse and real talk with Katherine Ryan – it’s the finest listens of the last six months!• See more of the best culture of 2025 so farTell us your favourite new podcasts of 2025 so farJeremiah Crowell’s CBC series transports listeners back to 2001, and the anthrax letter attacks that had much of the US gripped with panic in the wake of 9/11. If it all seems like a distant memory, Crowell’s meticulous narration of the events bring the frenzy and confusion of it all right back. From the underreported fatalities to the police’s painstaking investigation and the question of whether a government scientist could have been behind it, Crowell doesn’t skip over any of the details in a heavily researched series notable for its lack of sensationalism. Continue reading...
After a ‘quiet little break’ of 20 years, the band is back to celebrate their 2000 debut Reflector – then the fastest-selling Australian album in history• Get our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIn 2022, Ella and Jesse Hooper, siblings and bandmates in Australian rock band Killing Heidi, lost both of their parents in the space of two weeks. Their father, Jeremy, died first after a shock cancer diagnosis and a quick decline; a fortnight later, their mother, Helen, passed away after a long struggle with breast cancer.The grieving siblings took the weekend off, then went straight back out on to the road. Continue reading...
From Picasso to Joyce, we’re hopelessly in thrall to the fallacy of the all-conquering intellect. Or are we?What makes a genius? Pushed to define it, we might say it’s a combination of extraordinary talent and drive, often accompanied by a dash of eccentricity or madness. Ultimately, the designation is conferred by hype; it’s essentially an offshoot of celebrity, which is why, as journalist Helen Lewis notes in her new book. “A genius needs a story as well as achievements”. Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso all made pioneering breakthroughs in their respective fields while living unconventional lives that later became the stuff of legend.Lewis wants us to look at these figures in a more clear-eyed way, and see them as the selfish characters they often were. The lustre of genius, she observes, can provide cover for a multitude of sins: “alcoholism, family abandonment, unfaithfulness, abuse, weirdness, failure to take responsibility”. Since others invariably have to pick up the slack, this amounts to a form of exploitation. Reflecting on Leo Tolstoy’s treatment of his wife, Sophia Tolstaya, over the course of their 48-year marriage, Lewis concludes that the Russian novelist “was a genius, and a parasite”. Continue reading...
Gifts sent from a loved one abroad at first bring warmth and joy, then grave alarmThis Year Her Presentwasn’t a book — my shelves sag under the weight of volumes she’s given me over the last two decades since I moved from Ukraine to Ireland; Continue reading...
From blackmail to burglary, the events of Spark’s life often uncannily echoed those of her novels – no wonder the author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie believed she could predict the future“There is a supernatural process going on under the surface and within the substance of all things,” says a priest in Muriel Spark’s 1965 novel The Mandelbaum Gate. Spark believed herself wired into this process. The novelist was aware from the start of “a definite ‘something beyond myself’”, an “access to knowledge that I couldn’t possibly have gained through normal channels”.“Somehow things happened, odd things, when Muriel was around,” recalled her friend Shirley Hazzard. “Everything that happened to Muriel,” according to her American editor Barbara Epler, “had been foreseen”, usually in her books themselves. If Spark wrote about blackmail, she too would be blackmailed; if she wrote about a burglary, she would then be burgled. Thirty years after toying with an idea for The Hothouse by the East River (1973), in which electrocution by lightning takes place down a telephone line, lightning struck Spark’s house in Italy, sending a current of electricity through the external wires and burning her upper lip. Continue reading...
Small, huge, camp, Star Trek-themed … weddings have changed beyond recognition, but we’re still reading out the same old Shakespeare sonnets. What to read at a modern ceremony? Plus, leading poets pick their favourites• Tell us: what poem would you choose to read at a wedding? I married my wife in October 2022 and, in the lead-up, it was obviously my job to source the wedding poems. I have published seven poetry collections, I read poetry every day, I own more than a thousand poetry books. I should have read through my favourites till I found the perfect fit. But that’s not what I did.Instead, for some bizarre reason, I sat down at my laptop and furtively Googled the words “wedding poem”. Why do we all do this, poets included? Well, I think, even though we want to express something deeply personal, the word “wedding” makes us all panic and reach for stock texts. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s How Do I Love Thee? or The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe (“Come live with me and be my love”) or Ecclesiastes 4 (“Two are better than one”). Continue reading...
PC (version tested), PlayStation 5, Xbox; Build a Rocket Boy/IOI PartnersA lot of work and ambition have gone into this strange, sometimes likable cover-shooter throwbackThere’s a Sphere-alike in Redrock, MindsEye’s open-world version of Las Vegas. It’s pretty much a straight copy of the original: a huge soap bubble, half sunk into the desert floor, with its surface turned into a gigantic TV. Occasionally you’ll pull up near the Sphere while driving an electric vehicle made by Silva, the megacorp that controls this world. You’ll sometimes come to a stop just as an advert for an identical Silva EV plays out on the huge curved screen overhead. The doubling effect can be slightly vertigo-inducing.At these moments, I truly get what MindsEye is trying to do. You’re stuck in the ultimate company town, where oligarchs and other crooks run everything, and there’s no hope of escaping the ecosystem they’ve built. MindsEye gets this all across through a chance encounter, and in a way that’s both light of touch and clever. The rest of the game tends towards the heavy-handed and silly, but it’s nice to glimpse a few instances where everything clicks. Continue reading...
From the return of Mario Kart to smash-hit architectural puzzles, an emotional football game and monster-hunting, we look back at the best offerings from the past six months• See more of the best culture of 2025 so farTell us your favourite video game of 2025 so farThis unexpected smash-hit puzzle game has you exploring a mysterious mansion with rooms that are different every time. Faced with a closed door, you get to choose what lies beyond it from a small selection of blueprints, drafting as you go. Crammed with devilish logic problems, memory tests and other conundrums, it’s got thousands of players drawing their own maps on graph paper, just like the ZX Spectrum days. Read the full review. Keith Stuart Continue reading...
A gruesome monster munching through a luckless body was just one of the horrors I shuddered at in a brief snippet of the forthcoming Resident Evil 9. Be afraid – and excitedA surprise announcement at the end of the 6 June Summer Game Fest presentation revealed the ninth entry in the iconic Capcom survival horror series: Resident Evil Requiem, coming early next year.Diehard fans of the series (which has spawned films, television shows and more) immediately began picking apart the trailer, which highlights protagonist Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, featured in 2003’s Resident Evil Outbreak. Requiem appears to be set in Racoon City, the fictional location in the franchise that was famously nuked to try and stop the spread of the zombifying T-Virus.Resident Evil Requiem is out on 27 February 2026 on Xbox, PlayStation 5, and PC. Continue reading...
This year’s event showcased gaming’s evolving landscape, from blockbuster titles to standout indie projects• Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereAs protests exploded in Los Angeles last weekend, elsewhere in the city, a coterie of games journalists and developers were gathered together to play new games at the industry’s annual summer showcase. This week’s issue is a dispatch from our correspondent Alyssa Mercante.Summer Game Fest (SGF), the annual Los Angeles-based gaming festival/marketing marathon, was set up to compete with the once-massive E3. It’s taken a few years, but now it has replaced it. 2025’s event felt like a cogent reminder that the games industry has dramatically changed since the pandemic. Whereas E3 used to commandeer the city’s convention centre smack in the middle of downtown LA, SGF is off the beaten path, nestled among the reams of fabric in the Fashion District, adjacent to Skid Row. There are fewer game companies present, it’s not open to the public and there’s no cosplay, unless it’s for marketing purposes. Continue reading...
She has created bronzes of herself with toned legs, tiny horns, a dissolving head and a monstrous tail. The Parisian artist and DJ, who is the inaugural artist of Tate’s Infinities Commission, explains why‘When I was a girl at high school,” says Christelle Oyiri, “we didn’t talk about plastic surgery. Now it’s normal for 18-year-olds to talk about what kind of lip-fillers they’re going to have. Something extraordinary has happened over the past 10 years.”What has changed? It’s not simply about keeping up with the Kardashians, though Oyiri recognises that the reality TV sisters have revolutionised the desires of some. “Kim Kardashian,” she says, “made it fashionable for women to want to look like how I and other black women look naturally because of genetics.” Continue reading...
Duke of York’s theatre, LondonThis stunningly rendered tale of a band on the brink of creative genius or total meltdown is a triumph, with a standout cast and scoreIf you’ve ever wanted to step into a 1970s recording studio, get to the Duke of York’s pronto. Stereophonic’s set designer David Zinn has rendered one meticulously, from the complex console and shabby furnishings of the mixing suite to the fully functioning recording booth it gazes upstage into. As the play’s fictional band gathers behind the glass, the dramatic possibilities of their pressurised containment are immediate.David Adjmi’s music-infused drama – songs by Will Butler of Arcade Fire – arrives from Broadway trailing a record number of Tony nominations for a play, and a now-settled lawsuit. Fleetwood Mac’s erstwhile engineer felt the story too closely resembled the making of their best-known album. Rumours? Echoes, certainly. If you know the names Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, chances are you’re going to read them in Peter, the band’s controlling genius, and Diana, whose need for independence grows with her rising star. Continue reading...
Grange Park Opera, SurreyDavid Pountney’s striking staging of this timely tale of a Ukrainian warlord battling Russian power unsettles the stomach as much as it titillates the earDavid Alden’s blood-spattered production of Mazeppa made headlines for English National Opera back in 1984 with its graphic depiction of execution by chainsaw. And, as David Pountney’s striking production for Grange Park Opera proves, Tchaikovsky’s rarely staged melodic sleeping beauty has lost none of its power to unsettle the stomach while titillating the ear.The work is timely. The Pushkin poem at the opera’s heart concerns an 18th-century Ukrainian war hero whose grab for independence wouldn’t be realised until 1991. That the grizzled Hetman (a term for an administrative ruler) is also a relentless torturer who murders his latest girlfriend’s father is, to a curious extent, neither here nor there. Throughout the opera, we are rooting for him, if not all, then certainly most of the way. Continue reading...
Abbey theatre, DublinTommy Tiernan and Aaron Monaghan are given comedic free rein as a pair of hapless, homeless siblings in Kevin Barry’s Beckettian take on rural dysfunctionThe hapless McRae brothers, Archie (Tommy Tiernan) and Bopper (Aaron Monaghan), are the kind of comically shifty characters who might have made a four-line appearance in one of Kevin Barry’s novels. In the acclaimed author’s new play they have central roles, in a remote Sligo setting where they are sleeping rough in eerie caves on the outskirts of a town. Homeless and unwelcome in the area, these two have hit middle age and are lost, in ways they can’t acknowledge.Frustrated with each other, yet unable to separate or to leave, even when threatened with arrest, the brothers’ mutually dependent predicament has echoes of Beckett and Enda Walsh. Martin McDonagh’s The Lonesome West hovers in the background too – although Barry’s take on rural dysfunction contains less violence and a lot more depression. Continue reading...
A ringside seat at Roy Williams’ Sucker Punch inspired a teenager to switch career plans from law to theatreMy mother has always been my champion and has pumped culture into me for a very long time. Theatre and the arts were part of our bonding. She used to say, if you see a show that you like the look of, I’ll get tickets. So I’d go on the Royal Court website and if there were many black people in the cast, I’d want to go because I could see myself.I would have been around 16 when I saw Sucker Punch by Roy Williams. It’s about two young men who know that their bodies can be a kind of tool to better themselves so they fall into boxing. An aspiring white promoter zeroes in on their talent. It is about rivalry, but also about how community works together, and is a really good investigation of masculinity and the ownership of black bodies. Continue reading...
He is the rapper’s rapper, adored by Jay-Z, and once called ‘the most beautiful thing to happen to hip-hop’. So why has he taken so long to release his new album? And can we please see his diamond-crusted Virgin Mary medallion?Slick Rick is tucking into a late room-service breakfast in his Park Lane hotel room. He is back in London, the city his family emigrated from when he was a boy, because he’s launching a new album, Victory, his first since 1999’s The Art of Storytelling, which featured an array of guest artists – including Outkast, Nas and Snoop Dogg – paying homage to one of hip-hop’s legendary figures.Even today, he remains the rapper’s rapper, the most-sampled hip-hop artist in history. Ghostface Killah has called him the greatest of all time. Eminem described himself as “a product of Slick Rick”, Jay-Z likened him to Matisse and Mark Ronson once gave a Ted talk dissecting his work. Questlove called his voice “the most beautiful thing to happen to hip-hop culture”. Continue reading...
From Jeff Goldblum’s unbuttoned shirt to the dilophosaurus wobbling her wattles, the film is an enduring queer staple‘That’s camp,” proclaimed my drag queen friend Vanity as we watched the T rex rip a tyre off a Jeep in the first Jurassic Park movie. It’s 2012, 2am and we’re in her bedroom playing our favourite Jurassic Park drinking game, where you swig every time you see a dinosaur.“Is it, though?” I said, doubtfully, dipping a Walkers Sensation in some coleslaw. Continue reading...
The comedy legend is touring the UK in September, but before he arrives here’s a chance to ask him anything about Python, hosting SNL, Trump and looking on the bright sideWhat’s your enduring image of Eric Idle? Is it him cheerily singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from a crucifix? Nudge-nudge, wink-winking Terry Jones down the pub? Or struggling with his habit alongside Robbie Coltrane in Nuns on the Run?Now 82, Idle is one of the most beloved comedians Britain has produced, an alumni of Cambridge Footlights, Monty Python and the Rutles, who became perhaps the most Americanised of the troupe after moving there permanently in the 1970s. Continue reading...
In my teenage years I had an eating disorder and a voice in my head criticised everything I did. But then I took controlI wish I could say that if my teenage self had a window to the future, she would be proud of the person I’ve become. But, in truth, I think she would dislike me just as much as she disliked herself. Back then, I could have spoken for hours about all of the reasons I hated the person I was. And that wasn’t something I believed would change. I used to be all-consumed by my inner critic: the critical voice in my head was much louder than any rational thoughts or words of affirmation others offered me.I had an eating disorder. Each day was a monotonous cycle of exercising as much as possible and eating as little as I could get away with. I was miserable, and it was all because of the cage I’d built within my own mind. This is not something unique to people with eating disorders. I’ve realised, after sharing my story online, that so many people have this unkind voice in their heads, critiquing their every move. And that when you start to talk back, your life improves in ways you wouldn’t expect. Continue reading...
Watching mild-mannered schoolgirls overcome serial killers such as Freddy Krueger and emerge as survivors spoke to my younger self in a way no other films couldI have always been morbidly obsessed with the horror film genre. As a small child, I’d gaze up at the posters of Freddy Krueger or Pinhead in our local video rental shop with a curious mix of fear and desire. I wanted to be scared, and I also did not. I was 11 when Channel 4 screened A Nightmare on Elm Street. My poor mum, assuming it couldn’t be that bad if it was on TV, let me record it. I watched through my fingers, drunk on anxiety, the anticipation of the kills almost unbearable. There is, I would argue, something quite queer about this complicated urge. Horror is titillating.The golden age of the slasher movie was the 1970s and 80s. I’m sure film-makers were inspired by the cultural austerity of the Reagan era, the Moral Majority and the unfolding Aids crisis. But, as a child, I was blissfully unaware of those things or my burgeoning queerness. I just knew I wanted to watch these films. Continue reading...
Are boxers the new beach dress? Are bermudas really back? And is wearing shorts to the office ever OK? Here’s how to prepare yourself for the great unveilingHappy shorts season. Not happy for everyone, though, is it? It’s probably not a stretch to say that for many of us, wearing shorts is up there with getting into a swimsuit or showing your feet for the first time that year. A watershed moment of dread that, unlike most scary things – eating out alone, caring what other people think – only gets worse as you get older.But it’s also summer, and sometimes only shorts will do. Plus, this year, there really is something for every leg. Culottes are back, except they’re structured and called bermuda shorts – and you can even wear them to work. So are 1970s sports shorts, if your summer reference is more Ridgemont High. It’s not unseemly to wear boxer shorts, especially if you’re on the beach, just try them in seersucker – or if you prefer the freedom of a skirt, how about a skort? Hate all shorts? Try jean-shorts or “jorts” – they’re better than they sound. Here is a foolproof guide to getting over shorts fear. Continue reading...
How do the wildly variable supermarket sourdoughs stand up to the scrutiny of someone who’s been baking their own for years?• Everything you need to make great sourdough – and the kit you can do withoutI make sourdough every week at home, so I feel that I’m a good judge of the flavour and texture of this style of baking. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of a handful of these loaves, which had good texture, good flavour and a nice crumb. It was, however, interesting to discover that none had to declare the salt content in their loaves, because this has a surprisingly large impact on overall flavour.None of the packaging for any of these breads, save for Wildfarmed, talked about pesticides and herbicide sprays, which is one of the things I ask about whenever I do buy bread these days – surely part of the point of spending more money is to know that the loaves are made from flour without that toxic load to it? It was great to see the supermarkets becoming more engaged in making better bread, too, and that Jason’s and Wildfarmed have made it on to so many high-street shelves. Continue reading...
From kid-friendly creams and Pritt-Stick-style solids to the best for oily and dry skin, these are the sunscreens our beauty columnist rates the most• Anti-ageing products that actually work: Sali Hughes on the 30 best serums, creams and treatmentsWe are bad at engaging with sun protection unless there’s a heatwave, or we’re venturing on holiday – and the gunky, greasy, spot-causing sunscreens of yore, which stained clothes and couldn’t be shifted, are partly to blame. TikTok misinformation and scaremongering (unsupported by significant clinical data) around rising cancer diagnoses on protected skin don’t help either. The dermatology community is united: high protection, broad spectrum SPF is the most important product you’ll use and the key defence against skin cancers and premature ageing of the skin.The most important aspect of sun care is that people use it. The elegance of a modern sunscreen formula, the texture on fingertips and the comfort on skin, the smell, the packaging, the price, the finish and its ability to play nicely with other skincare and makeup products – these are, in my view, often the difference between someone’s decision to protect themselves or not. What follows are 57 user-friendly sunscreens I’ve enjoyed trying in recent years, all of which have proved popular with those to whom I’ve recommended them and none of which make sun protection a bind. I would gladly use any of them on my own family. Continue reading...
Our tired mum-to-be put 11 maternity pillows, from wedges to U-shapes, to the test in search of a better night’s sleep• Parents on the baby gear they wouldn’t go withoutIt’s a cruel twist that, just when you’re trying to bank some rest before the arrival of a baby, your body and brain conspire to make falling – and staying – asleep more difficult. Hormonal changes, pelvic or back pain, stress and extra bathroom trips are among the delights that can make sleep elusive for pregnant women. As your baby bump grows, general discomfort is a given.Pregnancy pillows aim to help relieve some of this discomfort by supporting key parts of the body, such as your growing baby bump, back and hips. Many are designed to encourage an optimal pregnancy sleeping position: the NHS recommends sleeping on your side after 28 weeks. That’s due to research suggesting a link between falling asleep on your back and an increased risk of stillbirth – although note that the overall risk is still very low, and there’s no need to worry if you wake up on your back. Just roll over and go back to sleep.Best pregnancy pillow overall:Bbhugme pregnancy pillow£159 at BbhugmeBest budget pregnancy pillow:Dreamgenii pregnancy, support and feeding pillow£48.99 at EbebekBest pregnancy pillow for leg support:Snüz SnuzCurve pregnancy support pillow£84.95 at SnüzBest for temperature control:Simba extra support body pillow£109 at Simba Sleep Continue reading...
Bigger, more consequential life decisions are made without a road test. Be brave. Take a risk. Live, laugh, lickRead more petty gripesThe customer asks for a sample, the patient server hands over a dollop of frozen dairy on the end of a stick, and the customer smacks their lips once, twice, three times then emits a vague sound of approval from Bananarama-stained lips. The ice-cream server doesn’t know where to look, or what expression to wear, as the customer gums at the glob of gelato. The customer asks for a taste of the vanilla. Then the chocolate.This excruciating exchange happens daily in ice-cream shops and gelaterias across the world. Why many ice-cream customers – or as I call them, ice-cream cowards – feel entitled to samples before committing to a flavour, I do not know. Continue reading...
Once you’ve left them to marinate, you could be enjoying these luscious, spicy chicken skewers in just 10 or so minutesI’ve been on a quest for the perfect tandoori marinade (without the E numbers or red food colouring) for years, and tweak my recipe on every repeat. This one is easily my favourite so far: the cloves lend a wonderful smokiness, and if you can pop the chicken in the marinade in the morning, it will have taken on an amazing depth of flavour by the evening. This would work just as well on a barbecue – just scale up the amount of chicken and the marinade ingredients as needed. Continue reading...
There’s not much can beat a homemade savoury pastry, including these onion and anchovy turnovers and a very herby chicken pieWarmer weather always has me dreaming of elaborate picnics, just like the ones my mum used to take us on as kids. She made superlative chicken pies, and I always think of them at this time of year. Mum would use shop-bought pastry, but here I’ve made a herby rough puff to up the summery feeling. The onion and anchovy turnovers, meanwhile, are the perfect pocket savouries to keep you going on a long walk or day out. You could always make one batch of pastry and halve the amount of both fillings, so you can have some of each. Continue reading...
Some of the most skilful cooking happening anywhere in Britain right nowRagù is a cool, minimal, romantic ode to Italian cooking that’s housed in a repurposed shipping container on Wapping Wharf in waterside Bristol. No, come back, please – don’t be scared. There are tables, chairs, napkins, reservations and all the other accoutrements of a bricks-and-mortar restaurant, even if this metal box may at some point in its existence once have been used to ship things to China and back. To my mind, Wapping Wharf has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and no longer feels at all like one of those novelty “box parks” that have about them a heavy whiff of the edgy temporary fixture. Today’s Wapping Wharf is a true independent food destination in its own right, and with a bird’s-eye view from one of Ragù’s window seats, while eating venison rump with gorgonzola dolce and sipping a booze-free vermouth, you can watch the crowds head for the likes of the modern French Lapin, Tokyo diner Seven Lucky Gods, modern British Box-E, Gurt Wings and many more; by day, there’s also a bakery, a butcher, a fromagerie and so on. Of course, anyone who calls their sophisticated modern Italian restaurant Ragù clearly didn’t live in the UK through the 1980s. For me, as for many others, ragu will always be sold in a glass jar and advertised via caterwauling operatic ditties during the breaks on ITV’s London’s Burning: “Ragu, it brings out the Italian in you,” etc. This was back in a time when Britain’s attitude to Italian cuisine stretched, broadly speaking, as far as spag bol, though many of us were at a loss to tackle the “bol” part of that equation without Unilever’s industrially squished sieved tomatoes at 79p a jar.Those days are long gone, however, and the evidence is clear to see at Ragù, with its crisp, lightly battered artichoke fritters with a punchy aïoli, its Hereford onglet with cipollotti onion, and its cannoli with rhubarb curd and pistachio. Ragù caters to a young-ish, knowing audience who are well aware that Britain’s current Italian dining culture was shaped by the River Cafe, Angela Hartnett and Giorgio Locatelli. Owners Mark and Karen Chapman opened Cor on North Street, Bedminster, in 2022, where they serve clever, fancy yet erring-on-the-hearty Mediterranean plates – think Catalan sausage with clams and fino butter sauce followed by tonka bean creme caramel. At Ragù, meanwhile, their focus is wholly Italian and, to my mind, this could be some of the most skilful cooking anywhere in Britain right now. I recommend the place wholly, effusively and slightly enviously of anyone who gets to taste the heavenly tiramisu made with sumptuously soggy slices of panettone before I get the chance to return. Continue reading...
Laila finds the 27-year age gap between her and Jeremy a turn-on. He says being in polyamorous relationships allows him to love different people in different waysI respect Jeremy’s opinion and life experience and he makes me feel cared forI also don’t experience jealousy. But I can feel insecure. I worry about being left for a monogamous relationship Continue reading...
From the first offer of breakfast mimosas, Jens Radda knew Lachie was a kindred spirit – but he was cautious. Then a mutual friend confirmed his feelingsFind more stories from The moment I knew seriesDuring Melbourne’s sixth lockdown in 2021, I was bored out of my mind in my suburban sharehouse and craving connection. I’d been following an Instagram account for a drag performer called Iva Rosebud at the behest of a mutual friend who felt our work was similar.I’d been watching them from a distance for some time when one Friday night a message arrived suggesting a collaboration. Obviously it piqued my interest; it’s not like I had anything else to do – who knew how long the lockdown would go on for? Continue reading...
Matthew, 48, an international English teacher, meets Emma, 40, a lecturerWhat were you hoping for? A serious-minded woman with a great backstory and fine taste in food who could share thoughts and opinions. All of those things happened. Continue reading...
No they don’t cook from scratch, sometimes forget the sunscreen and often miss work deadlines, but at least their kids are wearing secondhand clothes … Meet the new gen of radically normal mumsMost mornings, I’m woken at 6am by my alarm (the baby crawling on to my head). I stretch, go downstairs, fill a bowl with iced water and, the theme of Transformers playing in the background, write my journal (a list of emails-I-forgot-to-reply-to). I drink hot water with cider vinegar to regulate my blood sugar levels, followed by tea using the baby’s leftover milk. Dragging a chilled jade gua sha spoon across my face in an attempt to reverse the ageing process, I then make my young sons’ porridge. While they eat, I plunge my face into the iced water until I can’t breathe, and begin my three-step routine (two La Roche-Posay serums followed by SPF). Some mornings, I run. Others, I cry into a coffee, albeit one made with organic milk, before taking a mushroom gummy to take the edge off the day. My partner and I divide childcare dropoffs – we’re late for both and broadly OK with that – and each have one day a week with the youngest.This is my routine. You might think it’s elaborate and weirdly specific, and you’d be right. Yet we live in an age of routines shared online, often in pursuit of some sort of personal optimisation – I’m aiming for somewhere between writing 2,500 words before breakfast (Anthony Trollope) and 5am cold plunge (fitness guru Ashton Hall). And however elaborate my morning seems to you, to me, it is nothing compared with the pernicious routine of the tradwife. Continue reading...
The NHS Business Services Authority contacted me even though I had paid the fee that was dueLast Christmas I was prescribed antibiotics for a post-operative infection. The pharmacy assistant insisted, despite my questioning, that I was exempt from prescription charges.Two weeks later I returned with another prescription, and was told that they had made a mistake and I was liable for charges after all. I paid the outstanding fee on the spot. Continue reading...
Fraudsters offer great pay for liking and sharing TikTok content – but then demand a fee to unlock higher earningsOut of the blue you receive a call or a text offering you a job. It sounds great – it’s remote working and you could earn up to £800 a day. If you’re interested, you just need to contact the sender via the WhatsApp number provided.The job is pretty easy: you are asked to like and share content – usually on TikTok. Continue reading...
We asked a chatbot some common finance questions – and then ran its responses past human expertsArtificial intelligence seems to have touched every part of our lives. But can it help us manage our money? We put some common personal finance questions to the free version of ChatGPT, one of the most well-known AI chatbots, and asked for its help.Then we gave the answers to some – human – experts and asked them what they thought. Continue reading...
MP, who is employing a locum and taking extended leave, says he hopes other Commons dads will follow suitWhen the Labour MP Luke Charters announced he was planning on taking at least four weeks paternity leave when his second son was born, he received dozens of messages of support and encouragement from constituents. But among the congratulations, one grumpy social media user had posted: “I hope you have a good rest.”“I snapped back and said that view is part of the problem,” he says, speaking from the House of Commons. “Paternity leave – any parental leave – is not rest, it’s essential caregiving at the start of a child’s life.” Continue reading...
Feeling the burn is your body’s way of signalling effort, but you don’t always have to suffer to make progressThe words may have been printed on gym vests for decades, but is “no pain, no gain” actually true when it comes to the benefits of exercise, such as improved cardiovascular health or increased muscle mass?“Not strictly,” says Dr Oly Perkin from the University of Bath’s Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism (CNEM). “A better way of putting it is that you may make more gains if you experience a bit of pain.” Continue reading...
I asked doctors and fashion experts, and they all said I should wear sneakers. Now I’m having a style crisisI’ve had a torn meniscus in my right knee for eight years. My knee was OK for 47 years, and then I went on the easiest hike in recorded history and stepped up on a not-very-high ledge. That was it.It’s not ideal. I can walk, but I can’t run or sit cross legged. But whenever I’m about to bite the bullet on surgery, it seems like the wrong time to be sitting around for six weeks or longer. Or someone says: “That surgery didn’t work for me.” Continue reading...
Millions of people are taking weight-loss drugs like Mounjaro and off-label Ozempic. But with so many unanswered questions, are we in the middle of a giant human experiment? In this episode, journalist Neelam Tailor asks two doctors what these drugs are really doing to our bodies, our minds, and our society – from muscle loss and mental health to beauty standards and the blurred line between medicine and aesthetics. Continue reading...
By the time I got a diagnosis, I had seen four different doctors over the span of six yearsMy baby nephew grabbed my arm, eager to show me his toy trucks.“Don’t ever touch me there again!” I snapped. Continue reading...
The sloppy sartorial style of political insiders, from Musk to Dominic Cummings, reveals who has the privilege to be scruffy – but it may also signal their undoingIn case you missed it, Elon Musk and Donald Trump have fallen out.For some – and in particular anyone looking at the tech billionaire’s White House wardrobe – this will come as little surprise. Long before anyone hit send on those inflammatory tweets, or tensions spilled out over Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), Musk’s political downfall was written in the stitching. Continue reading...
This weekend sees Gottwood in Wales, Moovin in Manchester and Existance in Oxford. And with Glastonbury a couple of weeks away, there’s no harm in doing a trial run Continue reading...
How to streamline your retail experience and go home with something you’ll actually wearWe all make mistakes. Mistakes are fine. The trick when shopping for clothes is to avoid making the same ones over and over again, because that can get dispiriting, and when it comes to purchases, mistakes can be expensive. Awful to spend the money and not feel the benefit. Not to mention the state of the planet. So, in the interests of not feeling like a broke, evil carbon-guzzler with nothing to wear, here are my golden rules of changing-room decision-making.1. Wear clothes without buttons – and slip on shoes Buying the right clothes starts with wearing the right clothes when you go shopping. You need to streamline your changing room manoeuvres. Wear shoes that you can slip off and on. If you are only looking at dresses, then wear a dress for speed; otherwise wear loose separates. You will have a better sense of whether that boho blouse works if you are trying it on with your favourite jeans, than standing there in your knickers. Also, pack a tote bag so that you aren’t buying bags and can comfortably carry any purchases on your shoulder. Continue reading...
The scents of the season are less Bounty ice-cream, more vanilla, spiced rum and driftwood with a glow of sunloungerSuntan fragrances hark back to more innocent times, when factor 8, 6 – or even 2! – oil seemed like a perfectly responsible course of action for a Brit on a fortnight’s Teletext holiday to Crete. Modern tributes draw on common olfactory themes in retro tanning oils, from warm vanilla and coconut to salt, citrus fruits, sexy amber and tropical flowers such as tiaré and frangipani. My favourites of the genre are either affordable or at least relatively inexpensive, because while I’m disgruntled by many fragrance prices these days, there’s something particularly offensive about a three-figure scent got up to smell like Ambre Solaire.In case I haven’t already raved enough about French pharmacy perfumers Roger & Gallet, here’s more. Vanille Soleil (£20 for 30ml), is the latest in the lineup and continues their tradition for considered, high-quality and very wearable scents at an excellent price point. What we have here is a comforting, only delicately sweet vanilla, warm, mellow amber and a gentle blend of jasmine and ylang-ylang. A crunch of sea salt enlivens the whole thing. This is a sunny, cheerful and charming scent that can be spritzed on lavishly without guilt or fear of offending. Continue reading...
Breckland is a little-known part of England that sings with peace and rare wildlife. It would undoubtedly be a national park if so much of it hadn’t been commandeered by the military. But there is a place to stay on its bordersThe small white signs with red lettering are dotted through the landscape: “Military training area – keep out”. It adds to the eerie feel of unusually quiet roads and twisted Scots pines, which gather the long summer dusk around them.But when we arrive at our accommodation on an old farm bordering a forbidden area where the British army conduct secretive manoeuvres, the whole place sings with peace. A red kite cavorts in the breeze over handsome parkland, a cuckoo calls and, down by the Wissey, a gin-clear chalk stream, reed warblers chunter from deep within the rushes. Continue reading...
With cooler air, fewer crowds and lower prices, the mountains make a great alternative to the coastAll Italians race to la spiaggia in summer, leaving the hinterland marvellously empty. Tuscany gets a lot of love, but travel one region over to Umbria and Monti Sibillini national park bewitches with views of the Apennines and eyrie-like, honey-coloured hill towns such as Castelluccio, soaring above a plateau of brightly coloured poppies, cornflowers and daisies. It’s a gorgeous spot for hiking, biking and tracking down a trattoria to dig into specialities such as wild boar with locally grown lentils. You’ll find some of Italy’s finest salami in butcher shops in Norcia, as well as black truffles on the menus of restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Vespasia, which is in a 16th-century palazzo. Alternatively, you could join a tartufaio and their dog to head into the woods on a truffle-hunting tour.How to do it Organic farm Agriturismo Casale nel Parco dei Monti Sibillini (doubles from £84 B&B) has truffles and wild herbs in its grounds, and a terrific restaurant serving up local and homegrown produce. Continue reading...
Our writer recalls his favourite mountain experiences, from hard-won views to splendid isolation and the comforts of simple refugesAfter a tough scramble to the summit of Rhinog Fach, we look down into the deep valley holding the chilly waters of Llyn Hywel, then west across several miles of heather, bilberry and bare rock to the Welsh coast. Turning my gaze north, there is the entire Llyn peninsula leading east to the peak of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), no doubt weighed down by thousands of visitors. Up here there are just two of us in an utterly peaceful landscape. No clouds on the horizon. No surprises.I lie down for a few minutes and feel myself drift off. There are no human voices to be heard, only birds. Summer has come early to these mountains and I wouldn’t be anywhere else, drinking in that particular kind of tranquillity to be found on a peak under a blue sky. Continue reading...
Cyclists of varying abilities can tackle the 133km track, which hugs glacial rivers, pebbly beaches and mossy forestsNew Zealand’s remote West Coast Wilderness Trail is something of an oxymoron: accessibly wild. It sounds nonsensical, but that’s exactly the experience.The gently undulating gravel trail in the country’s most sparsely populated region is not only a beginner-friendly cycle, it’s also enjoyed by people with a wide range of physical abilities. Continue reading...
We go to all sorts of lengths, often unconsciously, to hide from what has hurt us. But only by attuning to pain can we hope to healWe can try as hard as we like to build a better life for ourselves and our loved ones, but the truth is that sometimes things happen that are very difficult to recover from. Terrible, traumatising, crushingly painful things. If you are someone who has experienced abuse; lost a loved one too young; lost a baby or a child; wanted a child and not been able to have one for whatever reason; suffered irreparable injury to your body and your mind; or survived any tragedy that has left you drowning in despair, a better life may feel absolutely and irredeemably out of your grasp.I understand this. I have seen it many times in my consulting room, and although I have been very fortunate in my life, I have also known that feeling of certainty that there are some traumas that you just cannot recover from. When you’re in the middle of it, or stuck in its aftermath, that is all there is. Continue reading...
Desperate dads meet in car parks to exchange packets; exhausted parents slip it into their kids’ drinks; families waiting months for prescriptions buy it ‘off label’. But is it worth the risk?The first time I gave him a gummy, I thought, ‘Oh my God, have I killed him?’ He just passed out in front of the TV. That never happens.” Jen is remembering giving her son, David, six, melatonin to help him sleep. She got them from a friend, a paediatrician who gave them to her own child. “It was sort of hilarious. She had half a tub of gummies, and her husband met my husband in a car park near a roundabout to hand them over, like some underhand black-market deal.” Her tone is light, but in fact she and her husband were becoming increasingly desperate for sleep. “They were like gold dust.”By meeting in the car park to exchange the gummies, the husbands weren’t breaking the law, exactly, but they were stepping into a legal grey area. Melatonin is a synthetic version of the sleep hormone that occurs naturally in our bodies, rising at night in response to darkness and helping us get to sleep. It isn’t strictly illegal in the UK, but it is a prescription-only medication, and it can only be prescribed to children by a paediatrician under a specific set of circumstances, usually for children with a diagnosis of autism or ADHD. The rationale for this pathway is so that the paediatric specialist can rule out any potentially physical causes or underlying disease relating to the sleep disorder. Side-effects can include drowsiness the next day, nausea and feeling dizzy. Continue reading...
Pets have long been a source of comfort and companionship for humans. But are they really trying to console us when we’re distressed or do they just want their dinner?I am lost in Morris’s eyes. They are brown, almond-shaped and fringed by impossibly long lashes. He looks back at me, softly blinking occasionally, and then reaches out his tongue and licks my cheek, just once.I’ve been depressed lately, and while I’ve received compassion and support from many dear people, Morris, my 10-year-old terrier, has been one of the greatest sources of comfort. With that reassuring lick, that steady gaze, he’s conveying a message: “It’s OK. Everything will be all right.” Continue reading...
With oppositional views on net zero and Jeremy Corbyn, could a Greenpeace campaigner and a Tory physicist find any mutual ground?Becky, 47, BrightonOccupation Data product owner at a utilities company Continue reading...
Peace activist Takamatsu Gushiken, 71, searches for the remains of people who were killed during the Battle of Okinawa, one of the bloodiest chapters in the second world war. As the US seeks to bolster its military presence on the island, due to its close proximity to China, Taiwan and North Korea, we explore the multi-layered tensions that have haunted the people of Okinawa for 80 years Continue reading...
Ex-BBC radio host is planning comeback tour of self-promotion, leaving those affected questioning his remorseAlex Belfield was condemned as “the Jimmy Savile of trolling” when he was jailed for a stalking campaign against broadcasters including Jeremy Vine.His victims have now spoken of their fears as the 45-year-old is released from prison, from where he has been plotting a comeback and a summer tour of self-promotion. Continue reading...
Staging of Boris Godunov explores the effects that Putin’s regime and war in Ukraine is having on the Russian publicOn the stage of the Amsterdam opera house, a Soviet-era block of flats is sliced open in a cross-section. In almost every apartment, a television set shows images of crowds at a rally, cheering a vast Russian flag emblazoned with the Z pro-war symbol.Meanwhile, police bang on the doors looking for dissidents, while another big screen on the stage shows very different images, evocative and melancholic photographs of provincial Russia. As the lights go down at the end of the performance, the final image is of a van in a lonely parking lot, a coffin loaded into the back. Continue reading...
The maker of Netflix documentary about the fire reflects on a very avoidable tragedy and the injustices attested to by former PM, Theresa MayOver the course of 100 minutes, a new documentary on the Grenfell Tower disaster splices footage from the night and the subsequent public inquiry with testimony from survivors and the bereaved.And at its heart is a universal story: classism, the prioritisation of individual profit over public safety, and a lack of accountability for the decision-makers behind it. Continue reading...
We would like to hear from people living in Israel and those who are part of the diaspora on the situation in the regionIsrael’s attack on targets across Iran on Friday, has been followed by three days of escalating strikes, as both sides threatened more devastation in the biggest ever confrontation between the longstanding enemies.We would like to hear from those living in Israel and who are part of the diaspora on how they have been affected. Continue reading...
We would like to hear from people living in Iran and those who are part of the diaspora on the situation in the regionIsrael’s attack on targets across Iran on Friday, has been followed by three days of escalating strikes, as both sides threatened more devastation in the biggest ever confrontation between the longstanding enemies.We would like to hear from those living in Iran and who are part of the diaspora on how they have been affected. Continue reading...
Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or just someone curious about the long-term effects, we’d like to hear your questionsA quarter of three- and four-year-olds in the UK now own a smartphone, but the impact of that is still being understood. From endless scrolling to constant notifications, smartphones expose children not just to their friends and classmates, but to a world of advertising, influencers, and algorithms. But how is all of this shaping how children see themselves, relate to others, and develop emotionally?In a video series on our It’s Complicated Youtube channel, we’re speaking to experts to explore how smartphones might be affecting children’s mental health, attention, self-esteem and relationships. Are social apps making kids more anxious? What happens when children are targeted by ads that shape their sense of identity from a young age? What do we know, and what don’t we yet understand, about growing up in a world where you’re always online? Continue reading...
We would like to hear what poem you would read - or have read – at a wedding and whyWeddings are constantly being reinvented, from small to huge, camp to Star Trek-themed. But many of us are still reading out the same old Shakespeare sonnets.Have you come up with an alternative? What do you think are the best poems for modern marriages? We would like to hear what poem you would read – or have read – at a wedding and why. Continue reading...
Readers respond to Sally Weale’s article about whether the exams taken in year 11 are still fit for purposeSally Weale cogently questions why we need to continue with the outdated GCSE examination, being the only country in Europe to have such an assessment (‘They are making young people ill’: is it time to scrap GCSEs?, 11 June). There are two additional reasons that support the case for abolition.First, the cost. GCSEs are a billion-pound-plus industry. Few people realise that, per student, we spend more on the exam entry than on providing resources to study the subject. Continue reading...
Eluned Morgan, Andy Burnham, Emily Thornberry and Andy Slaughter say Labour should not equivocate on a two-state solution that would ensure a peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis alikeOur government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside Israel now, and without further delay or equivocation. Recognition does not punish Israel. It offers hope to those in Palestine and Israel working for peaceful coexistence, mutual security and equal rights.The international court of justice has advised that Israel’s military occupation of East Jerusalem, the rest of the West Bank and Gaza is unlawful, and must be ended. Yet ministers in the Netanyahu government seem determined to Balkanise the West Bank with more and more illegal settlements, along with destroying viable life for Palestinians in Gaza. Both designed, it seems, to make impossible the very two-state solution to which the world has long been committed: a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israeli one. Yet how else can there be a peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis alike? Continue reading...
Jo Johnson and Michael Meadowcroft respond to an article about the effects of funding pressures on the foreign aid budgetSoft power takes decades to build and no time to squander. As we ramp up defence spending, it would be incoherent to try to part-pay for it by hollowing out the British Council.The British Council is at the heart of Britain’s global influence – fostering education, English-language skills, cultural exchange and mutual understanding in more than 100 countries. Continue reading...
Cherrypicking | Traybakes for all | Bigger cars | To giftRe Adrian Chiles’ article (Who could deny a hot, tired delivery driver the fruit from their cherry tree?, 12 June), as a teacher in west London in the 90s and noughties, I taught numerous recently arrived refugee children. Among these were Kosovans and Albanians, many unaccompanied. Everything was strange for them. Outside our tech block stood three tall morello cherry trees whose fruit generally lay squashed, staining the concrete with their juice. That all changed with the Kosovans. As the fruit ripened, they climbed and harvested the treasure, later coming to lesson with stained shirts and faces. It was a delight to see them happily in their element.Tatiana SokoloffLondon• I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the idea that traybakes are “a ‘queering’ of the meat-and-two-veg sit-down dinners associated with the traditional heterosexual British family unit” (My unexpected Pride icon: The Green Roasting Tin, a cookbook no lesbian vegetarian can be without, 12 June). So many assumptions to unpack there, but every sentence including the word “lesbian” could be rewritten to refer to “women”, “men” or just “people who like food”.Janet FraserTwickenham, London Continue reading...
Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they meanScroll less, understand more: sign up to receive our news email each weekday for clarity on the top stories in the UK and across the world.Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you Continue reading...
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideasEach week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email. Continue reading...
Kick off your afternoon with the Guardian’s take on the world of footballEvery weekday, we’ll deliver a roundup the football news and gossip in our own belligerent, sometimes intelligent and – very occasionally – funny way. Still not convinced? Find out what you’re missing here.Try our other sports emails: there’s weekly catch-ups for cricket in The Spin and rugby union in The Breakdown, and our seven-day round-up of the best of our sports journalism in The Recap.Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter Continue reading...
The best new music, film, TV, podcasts and more direct to your inbox, plus hidden gems and reader recommendationsFrom Billie Eilish to Billie Piper, Succession to Spiderman and everything in between, subscribe and get exclusive arts journalism direct to your inbox. Gwilym Mumford provides an irreverent look at the goings on in pop culture every Friday, pointing you in the direction of the hot new releases and the best journalism from around the world.Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you Continue reading...
Leaders gather at summit in Kananaskis in Canadian province of Alberta Continue reading...