Maltese tycoon found not guilty of involvement in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder

Yorgen Fenech cleared on both charges he faced over 2017 killing of journalist that prompted global outrage

One of Malta’s richest men has been found not guilty of involvement in the murder of the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The verdict, which is expected to be appealed against by the prosecution, will come as a blow not only to the victim’s family, but to the politicians and campaigners who regard the case as a landmark action in the fight to protect press freedom in Europe.

US Open tennis 2026: Shelton v Hurkacz, Etcheverry v Fearnley, and more on day four – live

• Tennis updates from Flushing Meadows, New York

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And Nakashima breaks too – he’s hitting it hard off both wings and I wonder if he’s in the process of finding a new level. The first few times I watched him, I thought he had a bit of something and, real talk, I thought he’d be better by now than he is. But I really like what I’m seeing from him and, as we know, progress isn’t always linear.

It’s a good start for Medvedev, Gorzy – who saved five match points in round one – tamely ceding serve to 15.

Gun found in French lake is analysed by 2012 Alps killings investigators

British tourists reportedly discovered Luger pistol that is latest in long line of potential leads in mystery of al-Hilli deaths

Experts are examining a gun found by tourists to determine whether it might have been used to kill a British family in the French Alps 14 years ago.

In what remains an unsolved murder case, Saad al-Hilli, 50, his wife, Ikbal, 47, and her mother Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were shot dead on a road near Annecy, a remote Alpine village in eastern France in September 2012.

Bayeux tapestry loan symbolises ‘entente amicale’ between France and UK, says King Charles

Monarch tells Emmanuel Macron at the British Museum in London that the two nations will share a future ‘woven together’ by history and shared values

The loan of the Bayeux tapestry was the “the best possible symbol” of the “entente amicale” between France and the UK, King Charles said as he visited the famous embroidered masterpiece at the British Museum in London.

Though the tapestry recounts a conflict, “here it is today, nearly 1,000 years later, as a precious symbol of trust, at a time when trust seems sadly to be in short supply between nations,” he said.

Trump floats renaming Strait of Hormuz the 'Trump Strait'

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC that more than 17 million barrels of oil transited the strait on Monday, a wartime record.

Google defeats US justice department bid to force ad tech sale

Judge declines to make Google sell AdX in win for firm against US antitrust enforcers’ attempts to break up big tech

Alphabet’s Google escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business on Wednesday, when a judge in Virginia ⁠rejected US antitrust enforcers’ bid to force a sale of Google’s online advertising exchange.

While the ad exchange is a small part of Google’s business, the ruling is the second powerful ⁠symbolic victory against the US Department ⁠of Justice in ​its efforts to force Google to sell assets to address illegal monopolies.

Lindsay Clancy jurors say they’re deadlocked for a second time

Jury sent back for more deliberations in case of mother accused of murdering her three children

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The jury in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial on Wednesday told the judge for a second time that it can’t agree on a verdict in the controversial case of the mother accused of murdering her three children.

The jury were then sent back for more deliberations but if they remain deadlocked for a third time a mistrial is set to be called in the high-profile case.

States now must report undocumented immigrants to DHS or risk federal funding, DOJ says

The new DOJ opinion relates to funding states get for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Security Income programs.

Ink review – Danny Boyle turns the birth of the Sun into a lurid tabloid frenzy

Venice film festival
Jack O’Connell is terrific as editor Larry Lamb in James Graham’s tale of Rupert Murdoch, Page 3 and the newspaper that transformed Fleet Street

Danny Boyle presents us with a lurid, violent and thumpingly unsubtle movie full of Dutch angles, cartoony shocks and gargoyle closeups. It’s a chapter in the prehistory of modern media, adapted by James Graham from his 2017 stage play, filled with shame and fear and self-hate. It is in fact the story of the Sun newspaper, and how Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce) bought the ailing minor title in the late 60s and hired a tough Yorkshire newspaperman, Larry Lamb, to turn it into a raucous and gleefully vulgar circulation powerhouse.

Ink summons up the energy and frenzy of tabloid papers of the era, but also – and not entirely intentionally – how strangely depressing they were. Audiences used to the super-rich anomie of the Roy family from TV’s Succession might find all this very unsexy. This is a world of officer-class Fleet Street execs having expense-account meals at Rules and the Savoy Grill in pinstripe suits, smoking and drinking and impassively writing salary offers on paper napkins and silently passing them across to each other. Meanwhile, the other ranks of journalists and print unions are covered in sweat and ink.

Israel ‘seeking Trump’s support for plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza’

Defence minister says he believes US backing could tip regional balance in favour of forced resettlement

Israel’s defence minister has said his country is seeking Donald Trump’s support to approve plans to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in what has widely been condemned as a potential war crime.

Israel Katz said there was “no real solution for Gaza in the end without this
migration” during a conference hosted by the Israeli news site Ynet and the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. He said the Israeli government was “organised and prepared to get them out by sea, by air, by every way possible”.

US prosecutors refuse to say if they secretly obtained Don Lemon’s phone records

Experts have expressed deep concerns that the practice runs afoul of the fourth amendment’s right to privacy

Federal prosecutors have declined to say whether they secretly obtained phone records for the journalist Don Lemon using an unusual administrative summons, his lawyers said in a Monday court filing, highlighting concern about a controversial legal authority the government has claimed to gather information as it charged Lemon and dozens of others with civil rights crimes in connection to a January protest at a church in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

In January, officials served Verizon with an administrative summons for a log of Lemon’s phone records between 19 December and 20 January. The subpoena did not come from a grand jury, as is typical in criminal investigation, and also was not a court-approved search warrant. Instead, it was a unilateral request from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which said it was requesting the information under 19 USC 1509 – an obscure law that gives the department power to investigate records related to customs issues. Experts say the government is abusing that authority to gather records on journalists, activists, unions, non-profits and online critics, and have expressed deep concerns that the practice runs afoul of the fourth amendment’s right to privacy.

New Jersey asks Supreme Court to resolve fight over Kalshi's future

If the high court accepts the petition, it would tee up a case with sweeping implications for prediction markets, an industry that has unleashed billions of dollars of betting across nearly every aspect of modern life.

Lando Norris launches LN4 Fusion team to develop young drivers in F1 and motorsport

• F1 champion first to back junior team in single-seater era

• Norris also creates legacy programme to support talent

Lando Norris has co-founded a new junior, single-seater racing team. Named LN4 Fusion it will compete in multiple championships including the feeder series for Formula One, F3 and F2, as the current F1 world champion commits to helping young drivers make it to the top level in motorsport.

Norris’s involvement, including a personal financial undertaking alongside an investment group, represents the first time an F1 world champion has directly backed a team in the modern junior single-seater era. As part of the project he has also established the LN4 Legacy programme, a driver development initiative designed to identify and support talent coming through the ranks from karting upwards and then provide assistance financially as well as in coaching, performance and career support.

England drop fast bowler Brydon Carse for third Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston

• Carse also missed second Test after incident in Derby bar

• Matthew Fisher absence is only change from Lord’s squad

Brydon Carse has been left out of England’s squad for the final Test of the summer, against Pakistan at Edgbaston next week, with police still investigating allegations of an assault connected with the late-night incident at a Derby bar last month that led to the Durham seamer being briefly arrested and placed in handcuffs. The Cricket Regulator is also investigating the incident.

As a result of the allegations, and with investigations ongoing, Carse was dropped from the squad for last week’s second Test. The 31-year-old had been in the squad for the first game, but not named in the XI. Sonny Baker, who replaced him for the second Test but also did not play, remains in a squad that has changed only by the absence of Matthew Fisher. Alongside Baker, the other squad members who were not in the team at Lord’s are Shoaib Bashir, Sam Cook and Ollie Pope.

US cyclist Ezra Caudell hospitalized with ‘multi-system trauma’ after Philadelphia crash

• 19-year-old remains hospitalized after Sunday crash

• Caudell receiving care for ‘multi-system trauma’

• Lotto-Intermarché yet to update on Milan Menten

American cyclist Ezra Caudell remains hospitalized with “multi-system trauma” after being seriously injured in a crash during Sunday’s Philadelphia Cycling Classic, his team said on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old Modern Adventure Pro Cycling rider was involved in a collision with Belgium’s Milan Menten of Lotto-Intermarché early in the men’s race. Caudell was knocked unconscious in the crash and both riders were taken to local hospitals for treatment, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Balogun pulled out of Everton move over handling of his medical, claim Monaco

• Thiago Scuro suggests Merseyside club responsible

• Monaco chief executive defends keeping Camara

Folarin Balogun pulled out of a £40m move to Everton because of how he was treated over his medical, according to Monaco’s chief executive, Thiago Scuro, who also defended the late decision not to sell Lamine Camara to Chelsea.

Balogun signed a deal sheet shortly before 11pm on deadline day to allow Everton to complete his transfer only to reject the move shortly after. Everton had renegotiated the structure of the fee with Monaco after discovering an issue with the US international’s medical and failing in attempts to sign Joshua Zirkzee or Tammy Abraham on loan.

Vuelta a España: Britain’s Brennan seals hat-trick of stage wins as Mas retains lead

• Stage 11 won by 21-year-old as dazzling debut continues

• Lewis Askey claims opening stage in Tour of Britain

Matthew Brennan triumphed again in the Vuelta a España on Wednesday, becoming the first cyclist to win three stages in his first Grand Tour since Tadej Pogacar seven years ago. The British rider secured his third victory on the 11th stage, a mostly flat route of 153.8km from Cartagena to Lorca.

“We took the initiative today again,” Brennan said. “The boys pulled as hard as they could even after a tough day in the legs yesterday. We still went full gas. Coming into the final, we really held our own place and knew that we were all strong enough to kind of get to where we want to be.”

The Guardian view on Israeli settlements: Britain can no longer look away | Editorial

International law, European action and UK public opinion point the same way. Britain should stop helping to sustain Israeli settlements economically

In the Commons this week, the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, appeared to have accepted the principle of a trade ban between the UK and Israeli settlements, which Britain says are illegal under international law. This is long overdue. The test now is whether his promised “comprehensive reset” deserves the name. Stopping settlement-produced goods at the border is not enough. Britain should prohibit its companies from sustaining settlement activity – by financing, constructing, insuring, advertising – in territory whose occupation it regards as unlawful. The ban must have teeth.

The UK can no longer ignore the violence and pressure exerted on Palestinians in the West Bank by Israel’s government, military and settlers. There have been more than 1,400 settler attacks so far this year, according to the UN, against a record 1,800 registered in 2025. An election campaign has only made matters worse. Last month, Israel issued tenders for 1,234 homes in the 3,401-unit E1 development east of Jerusalem. The country’s ministers gave the green light for the controversial settlement – long condemned for effectively bisecting the West Bank – expressly to “erase” the idea of a Palestinian state, the creation of which the UK officially supports.

New York Fed's Williams says yield surge due to strong economic prospects

New York Fed President John Williams said higher Treasury yields reflect a strong economy as he weighs whether another interest rate hike is needed.

Southwest to debut airport lounges in four cities, with more to come

The airline is partnering with Chase on the effort, saying it wants to build on that company's Sapphire Reserve Lounge Network.

Leipzig airport attack fallout exposes Germany’s deepening divide over Russia

The government’s tougher stance towards the Kremlin is drawing attacks from both the far right and far left

Even before the German government laid the blame this week on Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport, the topic of German ties to Moscow was high on the political agenda.

But the timing of the unsurprising yet explosive Leipzig announcement – days before a key regional vote – has exposed the extent to which German politics is polarised on the issue.

Reform UK bans three journalists from its conference after critical reporting

Guardian City editor Anna Isaac among those who had credentials to cover event declined

Reform UK has banned at least three journalists from its annual conference who have reported critically on the party and Nigel Farage.

The Guardian’s City editor, Anna Isaac, the investigative reporter Peter Geoghegan and the broadcaster and biographer Michael Crick were told this week that their credentials to cover the event, which begins on Thursday, had been declined.

Uber to cut 10% of workforce in bid to move 'simpler and faster'

Uber is cutting small teams by nearly half and allowing about 1% of its workforce to continue working remotely.

Uber to cut 3,300 corporate jobs in management overhaul

Company says it is slashing 10% of its workforce to make operations ‘simpler and faster’

• Uber drivers launch European class action over ‘soulless’ and ‘scary’ AI algorithm

Uber plans to cut its global workforce by about 10% as part of a major restructuring, resulting in around 3,300 corporate job losses.

The boss of the US-based ride-hailing app, Dara Khosrowshahi, told staff that the changes would create a “simpler and faster” business by cutting layers of management and merging teams. It also plans to ask more employees to work in the office.

New immigration court tactic leads to huge lines and chaos in Miami

Chaos unfolds at the Miami immigration court after judges are assigned mega master calendars, hearings where judges see more than 100 immigrants at once.

After the flood: human suffering on an unfathomable scale in Nepal’s worst-hit districts

Thousands remain missing and aid is hampered by treacherous conditions in communities almost wiped out of existence

Searching for the body of his wife in the mud, Dil Bahadur Shrestha lamented that he did not even have a shovel left. For now, he has been using his hands to try to find her as he picks through the ruins of his house.

On Wednesday morning last week, Jamuna Shrestha, his wife of 50 years, had been at home in Betrawati on the banks of Nepal’s Trishuli River, feeding her beloved chickens and goats.

Dil Bahadur Shrestha, who is searching for his wife of 50 years, Jamuna.

Ford's production of highly profitable Super Duty trucks hits 20-year high as it recovers from supplier fires

Ford reported its eighth consecutive month of year-over-year U.S. new vehicle sales declines in August.

Quidditch, Muggles, magic: new Harry Potter trailer gives full look at TV show

HBO’s extended trailer reveals more details of JK Rowling’s wizarding world coming to screens this Christmas

The second official trailer has been released for HBO’s forthcoming TV adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Starring newcomer Dominic McLaughlin in the lead role, the new trailer gives an extended look at life at Hogwarts and the challenges that Potter and the gang face in their first year at the school.

Iran retaliates after US strikes reportedly kill wedding guests - The Latest

Iran has accused the US of a ‘war crime’ after a missile blast killed at least four people, including a young child, and injured 68 at a wedding at a private house in southern Iran. A month-long uneasy truce between the US and Iran appears to have collapsed again, after US strikes on Saturday on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has responded by launching drones and missiles on US bases across the Middle East, including the Gulf States. Lucy Hough speaks to Middle East correspondent Will Christou – watch on YouTube

Burnham’s first PMQs showed a leader who wants to please – but knows how to push back

Despite a long absence from parliament, Burnham showed he could hold his own and, despite some nerves, even enjoy himself

The coming months will show whether Andy Burnham fits Kemi Badenoch’s charge of a leader too obsessed with being liked to make hard choices. One thing, however, does seem clear from his first outing at prime minister’s questions: he likes saying yes.

The very first question came from a political opponent – Ann Davies of Plaid Cymru – but Burnham replied as if she was a valued constituent, saying he understood her worries about the prison early release scheme and hoped she could be reassured.

Meta says AI glasses fix stops users from secretly recording others

Meta upgrades its AI glasses' privacy features to block device users from filming people without their consent.

Understanding the tech giants' oversized influence in American schools

Big tech companies like Apple and Microsoft use devices, training and conferences for teachers and students to embed in schools. The New York Times' Natasha Singer discusses the impact in Coding Kids.

Rupert Murdoch ‘very happy’ that Guy Pearce plays him in Fleet Street biopic Ink

Actor says the press baron’s daughter Elisabeth told him her father was pleased, ‘but he hadn’t seen the film at that point’

Rupert Murdoch is “very happy” that he’s being portrayed by Guy Pearce in a new film about the origins of British tabloid the Sun, the Australian actor has said.

Speaking at the Venice film festival ahead of the premiere of 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle’s Ink, Pearce said he had been messaging with the media tycoon’s daughter Elisabeth “and she did say ‘Dad’s very happy that you’re playing him’.”

Maro Itoje ready to ‘come back better’ for England after taking mini sabbatical

• Itoje rested for Nations Championship games in July

• Captain has had a rare full pre-season with Saracens

Maro Itoje says it felt “very weird” watching England play from afar this summer but he believes more top players should consider taking a break to prolong their careers. The British & Irish Lions captain was rested for his country’s three Nations Championship games in July and is now feeling the benefits of “taking a breath” after an intense year on and off the field.

In addition to the burden of leadership for club and country, Itoje also lost his mother last year and, with the 2027 World Cup looming, the national coach, Steve Borthwick, offered his captain the chance of a mini-sabbatical. He has emerged fit, healthy and mentally rested for the season ahead having enjoyed his first full club pre-season at Saracens since 2014.

I thought I was too broken for sex. Here’s how I found pleasure again

I was forced to examine the idea of sexual pleasure after a tumor was removed from my spinal cord

Ten years ago, my right elbow started to hurt. The internet suggested I had tennis elbow, so I stopped playing tennis. Once the outer elbow pain moved inward, I changed my self-diagnosis to golfer’s elbow. I stopped lifting weights, competitive dragon-boating and bouldering.

For good measure, I consulted an occupational therapist about my nightly bullet-vibrator routine after reading that golfer’s elbow is common among construction workers who operate heavy-duty vibrating machinery. He listened closely and said he’d note VRI on my patient chart. I asked what VRI meant, eager to end my diagnostic journey. “Vibrator-related injury,” he responded. We busted out laughing.

Russian airspace becoming unsafe for commercial airlines, Zelenskyy says

Ukraine president says aviation industry needs to take account of growing number of Ukrainian drones in Russia

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared that Russia’s airspace is becoming unsafe for commercial airlines, as Vladimir Putin promised to increase strikes against Ukraine’s energy facilities in the run-up to winter.

The Ukrainian president said there was no intention to directly threaten civilian flights, but the growing number of attack drones being flown into Russia by Ukraine would have to be “taken into account” by the aviation industry.

What did I learn in the kitchen this week? The longer it takes to cook, the less you want to eat it | Adrian Chiles

After grilling, skinning, chopping and stirring, stirring, stirring, my feelings towards my favourite Balkan relish, ajvar, changed. Those Macedonian nans must be made of girders

If you ever meet someone from North Macedonia and find yourself short of conversation, then one word will get things going nicely. That word is ajvar. Pronounce it “Ivor”, as in The Engine – not quite right but it’ll do. Depending on who you ask, ajvar is a condiment, spread, sauce or relish. It’s made – also depending on who you ask – with red peppers and aubergine. You can eat it with meat, cheese, fish, vegetables, on toast or, using a large spoon, straight from the jar.

I was accompanying a 13-year-old called Ilijana as she played the British chess grandmaster Nigel Short. This was on the waterfront in Split, Croatia. Long story. All you need to know is that my contribution to the contest was zero. All I could do was try to bond with her somehow, by finding some area of common ground. So I said the magic word: ajvar! This was the conversational equivalent of a chess move – something with a knight perhaps? – which she didn’t see coming. It worked a treat. Suddenly she was all smiles, telling me how her grandma’s ajvar was the best in the world.

Premier League transfer talking points: three things we learned from the data

After record spending in the transfer market, England’s top clubs have widened the gap to their European counterparts

Premier League clubs have invested more than £3.4bn in players this summer, an increase of 11.9% on last year. There are three aspects of this enormous spending worthy of closer scrutiny.

Farage compares standards inquiry to investigations faced by fellow ‘outsider’ Trump

Reform UK leader dismisses criticism of his failure to register £5m gift as a sign of a ‘complainants’ society’

Nigel Farage has compared his situation to that of Donald Trump being pursued by investigators for years, saying both of them are “outsiders” up against “the system”, as he admitted having become tetchy and aggrieved this summer.

The Reform UK leader has been under huge scrutiny over his finances after failing to declare a £5m gift from the Thailand-based donor Christopher Harborne and further financial support from a friend, the convicted fraudster George Cottrell, before the last election.

Iran accuses US of ‘war crime’ after missile blast kills four people at wedding

Blast also injures 68 guests at the wedding in southern Iran, prompting fears of escalation in hostilities

• Middle East crisis live – latest updates

Iran has accused the US of a war crime after a missile blast killed at least four people and injured 68 who were attending a wedding at a private home in a coastal city of southern Iran, as the fresh exchange of strikes prompted fears of a wider renewal of hostilities.

Iranian media said that the wedding ceremony was being held in a home in the city of Kuhestak, Hormozgan province, late on Tuesday when a US missile struck, with shrapnel and debris from the strike killing and injuring people.

Iran fires on its Gulf neighbors, retaliating for U.S. strikes after a monthlong lull

The six-month war has led to a spike in oil prices, roiled the global economy and posed increasing political problems for President Trump's Republican Party ahead of November midterm elections.

‘He’s a good man’: George Clooney defends Mark Ruffalo in Paramount-Warner Bros merger row

‘I worry whenever big companies are consolidating,’ Clooney said at Venice film festival, supporting Ruffalo’s right to criticise the deal amid antisemitism accusations

George Clooney has defended Mark Ruffalo’s right to criticise the proposed $111bn Paramount takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, saying he is concerned about the consequences of further consolidation in Hollywood.

Speaking in Venice ahead of receiving the festival’s Golden Lion for lifetime achievement, Clooney said he supported Ruffalo’s “ability to speak freely” about the proposed merger, while expressing his own doubts about the deal.

Puppies Gayle, Nate and Tony show off their guide dog training on CBS Mornings

"CBS Mornings" co-hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson get a special visit from Gayle, Nate and Tony, the guide dogs in training named after them and Tony Dokoupil, and get an update on their progress from their puppy raisers.

I was once ashamed to admit I’d been strangled nonconsensually during sex. Now I’m speaking up to save women’s lives | Hannah Ferguson

Young men are being taught that acts with the potential to kill are erotic. The Albanese government must urgently regulate big tech and criminalise pornography depicting strangulation

Last week, a 16-year-old girl was found unresponsive in a home on Sydney’s northern beaches. She was airlifted to hospital and died two days later. New South Wales police are investigating her death as the result of a sexual strangulation act. Sources told the ABC the deceased may have experienced a seizure following asphyxiation, and that officers were told the sex was consensual.

While that investigation has yet to run its course, speaking generally, strangulation during sex is not a new phenomenon or conversation. Just a few years ago it was relatively taboo to criticise this normalisation of violence in sex – it was often framed as “anti-kink” to raise concern about this dangerous act that is increasingly depicted in mainstream pornography.

Celebrity impersonators fill the frame in DEEPFAKE: what does it mean to be seen? – in pictures

Cybele Malinowski has spent 20 years photographing the icons of contemporary culture. Shot over two years in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, DEEPFAKE is what happens when she turns that camera on the people who have chosen to become someone else entirely. The exhibit is on until 6 September at Carriageworks as part of Sydney Contemporary

• ‘I can sense Sinatra enter my body and exit my lungs’: aboard the celebrity impersonators’ cruise

The Eyes Wide Shut conspiracy theory: did someone cut a crucial 20 minutes from Kubrick’s final movie?

For years some have claimed a key part of the thriller was excised after the director’s sudden death – and that it provided clues to the real-life behaviour of rich predators. Now, his daughter has spoken out

Name: The Eyes Wide Shut conspiracy

Age: The erotic psychological thriller Eyes Wide Shut starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman (married at the time, though that isn’t so important now) was released in 1999.

What it takes to become a guide dog puppy raiser

Rebekah Cross, director of donor relations at Guiding Eyes for the Blind, gives an update on puppies Gayle, Tony and Nate, who are in training to become guide dogs, discusses who is eligible to become a puppy raiser and what it takes to become a guide dog.

Pete Hegseth criticized for body-shaming Canadian cadets: ‘Literally they’re kids’

US defense secretary faces backlash for attempting to mock Canada’s armed forces amid trade war

A social media post by Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense, body-shaming female members of a Canadian youth development program remained online on Wednesday despite a furious backlash on both sides of the border.

On Monday night, Hegseth posted on X a photograph of two people in uniform with a Canadian flag and the caption “this is real”, an apparent attempt at mocking the country’s armed forces amid the Trump administration’s trade spat with its northern neighbor.

Exclusive discounts from CBS Mornings Deals

On this edition of CBS Deals, we show you items that will help improve your everyday lifestyle. Visit cbsdeals.com to take advantage of these exclusive deals today. CBS earns commissions on purchases made through cbsdeals.com.

Was Paul Mescal being ‘not masculine enough’ the reason Gladiator II flopped?

Mescal’s nuanced performance in Ridley Scott’s belated sequel has been blamed by some for the film’s box office underperformance. May I suggest Jason Statham for Gladiator III?

As you may be aware, The Dog Stars has not been particularly well received. Reviews have been lukewarm to poor and in its opening weekend, Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic thriller came in fifth, after Spider-Man and The Odyssey (both of which have been out for ever), the sixth Insidious movie and a Looney Tunes film that originally wasn’t even going to be released.

Perhaps unexpectedly, people are now casting around looking to assign blame for the failure. In the lead up to the film, Josh Brolin said that he almost left the project due to Scott’s lack of rehearsal time. Perhaps there’s also a prosaic explanation, in that The Dog Stars is such a vague title for a film that audiences didn’t know if they were going to watch a survival thriller, a military movie or a cartoon about some singing puppies. But the most exciting theory concerns the film’s casting. Jacob Elordi plays the lead, but this came about late in the day. When the project was first announced, the role was to be played by Paul Mescal, who at the time was fresh from starring in Scott’s Gladiator II.

Trump $1 coins go on sale today, priced at $1.55 to more than $2 each

The U.S. Mint said the President Donald J. Trump $1 coin can be bought in packages of 25 for $61 or 100 coins for $154.50.

Greetings from the Royal Pavilion, a stunning reminder of India in southern England

Looking up at this 18th century building, it became clear the British didn't only bring their architectural style to India. They also took some of India's style home.

Private payrolls rose by 38,000 in August, less than expected, ADP reports

Though job creation held positive, August was the smallest gain since January and reflective of a broader slowdown in the labor market.

Mass breeding of game birds without welfare checks may be curtailed in England

Campaigners say pheasants and partridges reared ‘on industrial scale’ do not have same protections as chickens

The government is considering a crackdown on pheasant shooting in England as part of a consultation on strict new animal welfare laws that would affect shoot organisers.

Ministers are already considering plans for the issuing of licences for those who run game bird shoots. The proposals mean anybody associated with wildlife crime, such as the poisoning or shooting of birds of prey, would be banned from hosting shooting events.

‘Intoxicating mix of humour, high camp and danger’: Tim Curry remembered

Guardian readers share memories of actor best known for roles in The Rocky Horror Show and Stephen King’s It

I first saw him in the 1978 series Will Shakespeare, where he played Shakespeare alongside Nicholas Clay. Two very classy actors who, whatever the value of the programme, made me want to know more about the man and his work. Tim Curry always had a glorious glint in his eye which drew you in as if you were the only person who understood. Margaret Carradus, Lancaster

Trump admin spends billions to deport Black and brown people while doubling dollars for white ‘refugees’ | Heba Gowayed

‘Where the wealthiest country in the world allocates money has always been a question of political will over political way’

The United States once led most other nations on resettling refugees from all over the world. But in the fiscal year 2025- 2026, except for three people from Afghanistan, all of the 10,258 people admitted through resettlement were white South Africans.

But admitting en masse the beneficiaries of South African apartheid, while simultaneously cancelling temporary protected status (TPS) for 350,000 Haitians, and making a spectacle of detaining and shackling them, is just the tip of the racist iceberg: the Trump administration is reportedly using this moment to double the initial resettlement support that refugees receive to $4,500 per person.

Maggie Gyllenhaal says film industry has a ‘systemic problem’ with sexism

Speaking at the opening of the Venice film festival, the actor-director addressed why the jury of which she is chair will only be shown two films made by female film-makers

Maggie Gyllenhaal said there is a “systemic problem” that explains why only two female directors are in the running for the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival this year.

“It’s harder for women to get films financed,” said the actor-director, who is heading up the jury of the world’s oldest cinema showcase this year.

Tiger Woods pleads no contest to reckless driving charge in Florida DUI case

Tiger Woods has pled no contest to a charge of reckless driving months after pleading not guilty to two misdemeanor charges.

Messy, clever and can barely conceal its rage: is Furious the most outstanding TV show of the year?

The story of a serial killer taking revenge on the rich predatory men who abused her just earned a fantastic finale. With career-defining acting, daring Epstein parallels and super dark comedy, it’s a total must-watch

You could easily watch the first few minutes of Furious without knowing that it would turn out to be so special. It opens with a scene of pure horror: it’s Halloween night and a real monster is hiding among the pretend ones. A woman we come to know as Catherine Grace (an astonishingly good Lola Petticrew) is inside a man’s house, wearing a creepy kitten mask. The man is in bad shape, crawling on the floor, gasping for air and begging for his life. Catherine is alternately chirpy and tender with him, but eventually, she loses her patience with his pleading. She takes a syringe filled with fentanyl out of a pencil case decorated with sparkly stickers and jewels and finishes the job.

So far, so creepy crime drama, but Furious is already hiding in plain sight, because the monster is not who we think it is. What looks as if it will be a cat-and-mouse story, in which a tenacious FBI agent hunts a twisted serial killer, quickly rips up any expectations. We learn that Catherine was trafficked into sex work as a teenager, and is now making her way through a kill list of predatory and powerful men. Her life has been shaped by a conspiracy of abuse, violence, neglect and indifference. She has decided to take matters into her own broken hands.

MapQuest hits No. 1 on App Store after refusing to rename Lake Ontario

MapQuest topped ChatGPT as Apple's most-downloaded free app after the digital mapping company said it would keep "historical, familiar" lake names.

Chevron to expand in Venezuela, days after the U.S. and Venezuela strike oil deal

Chevron is the largest foreign oil operator in Venezuela. The deal will expand its footprint at a time of political and economic uncertainty for Venezuela.

Farewell Keir Starmer, a terrible politician whom we desperately wanted to be something more | Zoe Williams

‘U-turn’ doesn’t do justice to the myriad ways he found to break a pledge. Now the former PM is resigning as an MP, why did I have such high hopes?

Keir Starmer exits the British political stage as he entered it: doing the exact opposite of the thing he said he was going to do. It’s only 10 weeks since he pledged to remain as MP for Holborn and St Pancras until the next election, despite stepping down as prime minister. That’s plainly the decent course of action: a dedicated Labour man wouldn’t want to force a byelection. Even if it’s a slam dunk for the party, it inevitably draws focus and resources from more important matters. Someone who takes the business of representing constituents even a 10th as seriously as all MPs say they do would feel that the honour of those votes should be repaid.

It’s a pretty boring life for an ex-PM turned backbencher. You have to keep your counsel as a large amount of blame is tacitly shovelled your way, while keeping your opinions to yourself. But that second requirement was the one thing Starmer was really good at. Once it transpired that the opinions he said out loud were open to endless revision and denial, I was never able to figure out what the real ones were.

Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist

Medical groups offer vaccine guidance to fill federal vacuum

In the unprecedented absence of federal guidance, leading medical groups are issuing their own recommendations for who should get the COVID-19, flu and RSV immunizations.

Grand Theft Auto VI is a phenomenon – but there is much more to the gaming world

As Rockstar’s blockbuster prepares to dominate the headlines, it’s time for the mainstream media to stop treating video games as a novelty that needs explaining

Predictably, the Grand Theft Auto VI “extended look” which premiered on Netflix last week was a success for all involved. The 30-minute preview scorched to No 1 on the viewing chart and even brought the site down for a few minutes as millions of gamers tried to watch what was, effectively, a very long teaser trailer. According to data collated by Eurogamer, more than 9,000 Twitch streamers covered the show leading to 5,227,798 hours of viewing there alone. And this was just the beginning of what will surely be two months of escalating hype – and unprecedented media attention.

Call me cynical, but I suspect the coverage of GTA VI in the media over the next few weeks will follow a familiar pattern. Mostly, it will be five-minute slots wedged in near the end of news bulletins in which games journalists, industry analysts and other pundits will be asked why the game is such a big deal, how much it cost to make and how much revenue it will generate. Perhaps a few will try to reignite the hoary old “violence in video games” debate, there will be presenters laughingly admitting they’ve not touched a game since Pac-Man, rolling their eyes and wallowing in their ignorance, in a way they never would while discussing any other art form. Somebody will venture the subversive view that “games are no longer just for kids”; somebody else will say “games make more money than films and music put together”. And that will be that, job done for another decade … or until there’s a funny story about Pokémon.

From petrol pump attendant to Dylan-feted rocker and Judd Apatow muse: the delightfully unlikely life of Graham Parker

Fifty years ago Parker was hailed as rock’s next big thing, but he picked a different path: cult records, a Hollywood diversion, an aversion to stardom. Ahead of a UK tour, he looks back at his strange trajectory

To say Graham Parker enjoyed a swift rise to fame is an understatement. He played his first live show with his most famous backing band, the Rumour, in October 1975, at the Newlands Tavern, a pub in Nunhead, south-east London. By the start of the following year, he had a record deal and was in the studio recording his debut album, Howlin’ Wind. The buzz around him was such that the sessions were interrupted by the arrival of a succession of stars – Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott among them – intrigued to hear what the fuss was about: a petrol pump attendant from Surrey who sang like Van Morrison and had written a set of smart, sharp, literate songs in between filling up cars.

The record arrived in April 1976 to vast critical excitement, a lot of it occasioned by the album’s closing track, the reggae-influenced, attitude-laden Don’t Ask Me Questions. After Howlin’ Wind came out, followed in October by Heat Treatment, things ratcheted up another notch. Parker turned up in Australia to discover the media waiting for him and a press conference arranged in the airport: they had taken the amount of music press coverage Parker was receiving to mean he was “as big as Bruce Springsteen, which was insane”. Low down on a festival bill topped by Bob Dylan, he found himself backstage collared by the headline act, eager to tell Parker how much he loved his work. There also exists a photo of Parker in Los Angeles, with, of all people, Michael Jackson, but their meeting was apparently less successful. “I said to him: ‘Michael, great to meet you, I did a version of [Jackson 5 hit] I Want You Back recently.’ And he just sort of said: ‘Ooh.’ So that,” he laughs, “was the full extent of my conversation with Michael Jackson.”

Lindsay Clancy trial jury deadlocked, leaves for day without verdict

The jury in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial told the judge Tuesday morning they are deadlocked, and left a Massachusetts courtroom hours later without reaching a verdict.

Joey Ramone smiling! And having fun! At the beach! Roberta Bayley’s best photograph

‘Joey didn’t surf. And he didn’t like this photo. He said, “You made my legs look thin.” Like it was my fault he had skinny legs’

The first band I ever saw were the Beatles, on 19 August 1964 at the Cow Palace Arena near San Francisco. I was 13. I remember every 29 minutes of it: 17,000 screaming girls making a deafening din and thousands of flashbulbs going off at once, lighting up the entire stadium. I’d been a Beatlemaniac since seeing a clip of them at the London Palladium on the Jack Paar show, then live on the Ed Sullivan show. I bought magazines with them in and wondered what kind of person took the photographs. So my first forays into photography were taking photographs of photographs of the Beatles with the primitive family Kodak.

When I was 15 I took a very basic photography class, but later, after three years of college, I dropped out, sold my Nikon and went to England. I started dating Ian Dury, then after we broke up, a friend gave me a one-way ticket to New York where I started going out with Richard Hell, whose band Television played CBGBs every Sunday night. Richard and I split up on good terms, and he asked me to take pictures of him. My first was the famous fake blood photo of the Heartbreakers, the band he formed with Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan from the New York Dolls. Richard suggested captioning the poster “Catch them while they’re still alive” because they had a nefarious reputation.

UK government does not know what datacentres are being used for, FoI request shows

Lack of information raises fears over environmental impact of the AI boom

The UK government does not know what the country’s datacentres are being used for despite fears over the growing environmental impact of the AI boom.

When asked in a freedom of information (FoI) request who was using the largest sites and what for, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said it did “not hold the requested information”. The ministry has since been dissolved.

Chasing Freedom: a poignant reflection on empire, education and parental expectations

Simukai Chigudu’s filmic memoir details the confines and conflicts of growing up in Zimbabwe during political turmoil.

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Last week, I finally managed to snatch one read out of the jaws of a hectic summer. On a series of very long-haul flights (highly recommended as a way to break reading droughts), I fell into the world of Simukai Chigudu’s Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire. I finished the book just as I was landing in Nairobi, Kenya. In a daze, I stepped on to the tarmac in the chill of equatorial winter.

The book was about growing up in post-colonial Zimbabwe and navigating life between the ex-colonised and the ex-colonial power. But the account of Chigudu’s life also captured, in ways that sometimes left me breathless with the shock of recognition, what felt like a broader shared experience for those of us born to parents whose traumas we never understood. This week, I reflected on how Chigudu’s experience connects to that of a wider post-colonial African generation.

Tiger Woods handed five-year driving ban after no-contest plea over crash

• Woods pleads no contest to reduced charge

• Charges stemmed from March rollover crash

Tiger Woods pleaded no contest to reckless driving on Wednesday morning as part of an agreement with Florida prosecutors that reduced a DUI charge stemming from his rollover crash in March.

The 50-year-old was adjudicated guilty of willful and wanton reckless driving, a second offense, during a hearing in Martin County court. Under the agreement, Woods was fined $1,000 and had his driver’s license suspended for five years. Prosecutors had originally charged him with driving under the influence with property damage.

Tumbler Ridge mass shooting victims file 30 new lawsuits against OpenAI

The company says it prioritizes safety, but suits allege its ChatGPT bot induced shooter to carry out attack in Canada

OpenAI faces 30 new lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting.

The suits, filed on Wednesday, allege the company’s ChatGPT chatbot induced the shooter to carry out the attack in rural Canada in February, in which eight people were killed and dozens more wounded – most of them children.

Charlie Kirk's alleged killer could face death penalty after judge rules he'll stand trial

A judge ruled Tuesday that Tyler Robinson will stand trial in Charlie Kirk's murder, meaning he could face the death penalty. Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Kirk in front of a crowd last September at Utah Valley University. Carter Evans reports.

Back to school in Cuba and a volcanic eruption: photos of the day – Wednesday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

How long could the Lindsay Clancy jury remain deadlocked?

Karen Read's first trial ended with a hung jury. Here's a look at how those deliberations played out as the Lindsay Clancy jury says it is deadlocked.

Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: swot up with these lessons in back-to-school dressing

September is the most fun time of year to shop, but it can also be dangerously seductive. Keep your wits about you with these tips

I used to love back-to-school shopping when my children were little. The miniature highlighter pens, the name labels, those pop-out pencil cases from Smiggle, even the intergenerational wrangling over when the price of a water bottle becomes unreasonable. I love the ceremony of new beginnings. The curtain-raising drama of it all.

Luckily for me, you don’t have to grow out of back-to-school shopping even though your children do, because in fashion September is considered the start of the new year. This is eminently sensible, because this time of year is a much better moment for a restart than January. The actual new year is dark and bleak and makes resolutions and projects feel intimidating rather than exciting. But right now, the evenings are still light, and while I’ve still got a bit of a tan pretty much anything feels possible.

Swedish minister defends strict post-Brexit removals of Britons

Minister says Sweden has ‘fulfilled its commitments’ amid criticism of ‘unjust’ decisions such as case of Joyce Thomas

The Swedish government has doubled down on its position on removing and deporting British citizens on the grounds they were late to apply for permission to stay after Brexit.

The migration minister, Johan Forssell, issued a robust defence of the Swedish migration agency’s implementation of the Brexit withdrawal agreement on Wednesday in response to a question from an MP about the case of Joyce Thomas, a 78-year-old British widow who has been ordered to leave the country after 21 years.

Lindsay Clancy case might be close to ending in mistrial

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial told the judge Tuesday they were deadlocked after 18 hours of deliberations. The judge sent them back to continue deliberating, but a mistrial could be close. Shanelle Kaul and Caroline Polisi have more.

U.S.-Iran war escalates as Iran claims a wedding party was hit in strike

The U.S.-Iran war ramped back up as the two traded strikes and President Trump downplayed the idea of a peace deal. Charlie D'Agata reports.

Edouard weakens to depression as heavy rain hits southeastern Texas

Edouard weakened to a tropical depression Tuesday night, but wind and heavy rainfall continued to sweep across Texas, the National Hurricane Center said.

Edouard weakens to tropical depression as Louisiana and Texas pounded with heavy rains

Tropical Storm Edouard weakened Tuesday night to a tropical depression after coming ashore with heavy rain and gusty winds. Jason Allen reports.

New lawsuits claim OpenAI execs put image ahead of safety in Canadian mass shooting

The suits say that recommendations to alert police about the alleged shooter were nixed by OpenAI's global affairs team, led by veteran political strategist Chris Lehane. OpenAI denies the claims.

Chevron plans $7 billion Venezuela investment to double oil production

Chevron, the only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, said it has received additional land in the Orinoco Belt region and plans to double its oil production.

Demand for riskier mortgages rises along with interest rates

Mortgage rates continue to rise, pushing some buyers to riskier, adjustable-rate loans in order to find savings. Rates are at the highest level since June 2025.

‘Everything countercultural is doomed, isn’t it?’​ Sofie Royer, the bracingly brilliant pop star pondering life’s big questions

Referencing Tarkovsky and French theory, the Austrian-Iranian singer is writing some of today’s wittiest music – though she’s ‘too pop for the art world, too indie-darling for the mainstream’

You wait ages for a brilliant pop song about film-making and then two come along at once. Following on from Charli xcx’s Camera comes Actress by Sofie Royer, with lyrics referencing rotoscoping, call sheets, screenplays, establishing shots, cinéma verité and more. “When the dust settles on your heart / I’d like to audition for the leading part,” she purrs over pumping disco, screwball-funny as she stacks up the metaphors to woo some Letterboxd-brained beau. “My mise-en-scène is flawless, don’t you know I’m quite adored / I’ll win you over in 35mm 4K-restored.”

It’s a typically smart and witty number from a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and, as it happens, aspiring actor, whose erudition and taste light up one of the best albums of the year, the forthcoming Before/After. Its lead single Cowboy Mouth is a recreation of a Sam Shepard play in song; another song makes a catchy funk-pop chorus from the word “sesquicentennial”. Her music is cosmopolitan enough to sit Italo disco next to new wave and garage rock, and across her discography there’s a big cast of cultural figures from Andrei Tarkovsky to Kenneth Anger, Luigi Mangione to Ivy Wolk, knowingness offset by her keen sense of humour.

Trump’s ridiculous bullying of Canada is backfiring | Robert Reich

The US president’s need to assert dominance is igniting patriotism abroad and a backlash at home

What do bullies do when someone stands up to their bullying and punches them in the face? They look for someone weaker to bully who won’t punch back.

Presumably that’s why Donald Trump has now taken on Canada, after Iran punched back so hard in the cage match the US president began more than six months ago as to leave him humiliated and baffled.

Freelancers are getting buried with ‘soulless’ AI slop cleanup: ‘It’s a shame we need to do it’

As more companies turn to AI, they’re hiring freelancers to clean up its mistakes rather than create original work

Lisa, a freelance graphic designer based in Spain, noticed a shift in her work after the release of ChatGPT in 2022. She went from receiving slow one-off jobs creating logos and packaging to an onslaught of requests asking her to fix versions that were generated by artificial intelligence – from sharpening fuzzy images for printing to turning flawed designs into usable files.

By 2025, Lisa, who asked not to be fully named to avoid solicitations, said 90% of her incoming logo and packaging design requests required cleaning up AI-generated content, work that accounted for 60% to 70% of her annual income. But the grind was exhausting. Clients lowballed her;' some AI-generated designs were so flawed that she had to recreate them from scratch and she worried about being complicit in AI-driven copyright infringement. By the end of the year, she began turning those jobs down.

Transforming toxic: a new vision for urban waterways takes shape in Brooklyn – in photos

Designers are rethinking one of New York City’s most polluted sites with climate adaptation and community benefits

The Guardian receives support for visual climate coverage from the Outrider Foundation. The Guardian’s coverage is editorially independent

‘It always comes around’: fans react to conviction in Tupac Shakur’s murder 30 years later

Rapper’s supporters reflect on ‘astonishing’ events leading to Duane Davis being found guilty over 1996 fatal shooting

A criminal conviction this week in the murder of Tupac Shakur, the first since the rapper was gunned down in 1996, sent shock waves through his sea of fans who have waited three decades for answers.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a former California gang leader, was found guilty of murder on Monday for the role he played in orchestrating the fatal shooting of Shakur.

Whatever happened to ... children infected with HIV due to failures in healthcare?

For years, Pakistan has seen cases of children infected with HIV due to unsafe treatment in clinics and hospitals. A current outbreak numbers hundreds of cases. Why does this problem keep occurring?

USS Abraham Lincoln’s crew of 5,000 arrive at notorious Thai resort after 270 days at sea

Shore leave in Pattaya, known for its red light district, comes after reports of deteriorating living conditions onboard the vessel during record stint

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At Pattaya’s Hard Rock Cafe and hotel, the city’s mayor and police officials, along with women in traditional Thai dress, waited to greet the sailors who were arriving in civilian clothes, bags slung over their shoulders, off the buses.

The USS Abraham Lincoln’s crew of 5,000 had not been on shore for nearly nine months, a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea.

India's prime minister is wooing the Gen Z while cracking down on them

Over two months, protesters, most who appeared to be digitally-savvy GenZ, used social media to organize. Government's efforts to respond spotlight how the ruling party appears to be playing catch-up.

What's true and false about infertility? We asked a fertility specialist.

Dr. Temeka Zore, a double board-certified OB-GYN and fertility specialist, joined "Healthful" for a deep dive on all things fertility, from endometriosis to PMOS (formerly known as PCOS) to egg freezing.

The deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos signals a rupture within Maga | Moira Donegan

The far-right provocateur helped galvanize a movement that no longer needs him. Now his imitators are claiming victory

It’s been a long, slow decline for Milo Yiannopoulos. From the vantage point of 2026, it’s easy to forget that he was once a big deal.

The British-born far-right provocateur, who was arrested by ICE in Louisiana and deported from the US this week, was among the first media figures to ride the “gamergate” controversy and ensuing rightwing populist wave that brought Donald Trump to office in 2016. An editor of the then ascendant Breitbart News from 2014 to 2017, Yiannopoulous was an early adopter of the media strategy of algorithm-optimized outrage bait, trawling the internet and consulting a large network of well-placed sources in search of stories he could use to fan the flames of online culture war discourses. He would write a story mocking a feminist, or fire off a tweet saying something racist about Muslims, and the ensuing firestorm of controversy would result in online arguments, media coverage, and his own promptly and decisively rising star. Rinse, repeat.

Zelenskyy says airlines should avoid Russian airspace as Ukraine expands drone operations

Zelenskyy urged airlines to avoid Russian airspace, warning that expanding Ukrainian drone operations are making the skies increasingly unsafe.

New constitution in Guinea-Bissau will undermine democracy, opponents say

Referendum result means fewer seats in parliament and new rules on candidates, ahead of December elections

Guinea-Bissau voters have approved a new constitution, which critics say will undermine democracy, that significantly expands presidential powers ahead of elections due in December.

According to provisional results, 70% of voters approved sweeping changes in the tiny west African state’s first constitutional amendment since revisions that ended the one-party socialist state more than three decades ago.

Meta settlement could clear the way for new AI product launches, Morgan Stanley says

"There are certainly signals, in our view, that Meta's product pipeline could start flowing following this legal clearing event," analysts said.

The opposite of ‘damsels in distress’: how TV fell in love with female gangsters

The ruthless female characters of The Gentlemen, Beef and Peaky Blinders bring new depth to the evil matriarch stereotype

Television loves a gangster story – and apparently so does the Duchess of Sussex. This week, Netflix’s The Gentlemen – Guy Ritchie’s latest addition to the gangster canon, which stars Theo James as a distractingly handsome aristocrat who becomes embroiled in the world of organized crime – returns for its second season. And in August, the show hit the headlines after rumors that Meghan was reportedly in early talks to join its third season when she and Prince Harry made their highly unexpected return to the UK.

At first, Meghan’s potential role seemed like a random pivot for the former Suits star, who now seems far more at home holding a jar of her Montecito-made jam than brandishing a gun. But really, these casting rumours are indicative of a wider shift in the traditionally machismo-fueled gangster genre, where it’s now more common to see women stealing the spotlight – and calling the shots.

‘If he can make money in a tyranny, that’s fine by him’: Francis Fukuyama on Trump, democracy - and changing his mind

The political thinker became famous for declaring the triumph of liberal democracy. Thirty-seven years on, he explains what he really meant and why he made the rare journey from right to left

There are not many public intellectuals who can say they’ve been cited by Capt James T Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, but Francis Fukuyama is one of them. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, William Shatner’s character is in a reflective mood, and speaks to the Klingon chancellor. “Some people think the future means the end of history,” Kirk muses. “Well, we haven’t run out of history quite yet.”

When the film came out in 1991 and in the years that followed, you’d often hear comments like that. They were nods to a thesis so famous it hardly needed spelling out. It debuted in a 15-page essay written by Fukuyama, then a 36-year-old thinktanker, which was published in the National Interest, a right-leaning journal of US foreign policy, in the summer of 1989. There was a question mark in the title: it was called The End of History?. In book form three years later, it became The End of History and the Last Man. But these were subtleties that, as we shall see, got lost.

Star Wars Zero Company review – joyfully absurd heroics with a tight-knit team of misfits

PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, PC; Bit Reactor
Split priorities between scripted and emergent story moments hamper an otherwise brilliant Star Wars-themed successor to XCOM

Even if you’re unfamiliar with the term “emergent storytelling”, you’ve likely experienced some of the unscripted tales that can bubble up out of a game’s systems. Perhaps you’ve led a scheming dynasty in Crusader Kings, or watched a favourite hero succumb to madness in Darkest Dungeon. Maybe you’ve surrendered yourself to the infinite yarn-spinner that is Dwarf Fortress – or read about it from the mid-00s forums where users helped popularise the term “Let’s Play” by chronicling their games in descriptive posts. Or perhaps you’ve played Firaxis’ XCOM, the alien invasion tactics hit that several key members of Zero Company studio Bit Reactor had a hand in.

Zero Company hinges on a concept as simple as it is perfect: take the complementary class abilities, tough dice rolls, and permanent character deaths of XCOM, and house them in a sci-fi setting known for spaghetti western blaster duels, last stands and heroic sacrifices. As creative director Greg Foertsch puts it, “Star Wars is about loss.” Which losses you end up mourning in Zero Company depends on you.

No eggs, no potatoes but ‘a lot of imagination’: how Spain cooked in war’s hunger years

Book recreates recipes from period following end of Spanish civil war when people faced food shortages

Few dishes are simpler to prepare than Spain’s signature dish of tortilla de patatas, which – aside from disputes about onions – requires nothing more than two basic ingredients and a pinch of salt. But where to begin if you have neither eggs nor potatoes?

That is the question the chef and food writer Berta Álvarez Acal sets out to answer in Recetas de Guerra (Wartime Recipes), a compilation of recipes covering the years of hunger after the end of the Spanish civil war in 1939.