‘Unpredictable and extreme’: Asia braces for El Niño

Weather models project a potentially strong El Niño this year, which could spell disaster for heatwave-hit India, drench China and hurt agriculture across south-east Asia

The UN has warned that the world must prepare for the imminent return of El Niño and the raised global temperatures and weather extremes it brings.

The powerful natural weather pattern has an 80% chance of forming before September and a 90% chance before November, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.

Zelenskyy calls for face-to-face Ukraine war negotiations in letter to Putin

Ukrainian president proposes meeting in neutral third country as Trump says both sides have to ‘make compromises’

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has called for face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

The letter, the first Zelenskyy has publicly written directly to Putin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, was a sweeping criticism of the Russian leader’s 26 years in power.

Trump plans to attend NBA Finals in New York City

President Trump, a native New Yorker and self-described Knicks fan, said he was invited to attend a Knicks playoff game by the team's owner James Dolan, who has donated to his political campaigns.

Girl, Interrupted review – mental health memoir reborn as patchy Aimee Mann-soundtracked musical

The Public Theater, New York

Susanna Kaysen’s retelling of her time in a psychiatric hospital in the 60s became an Oscar-winning movie in the 90s and now it’s an elegant, if limited, play

In 2021, the singer-songwriter Aimee Mann (perhaps best known, as a solo artist, for her contributions to the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia) released an album called Queens of the Summer Hotel, a collection of somewhat narrative tunes inspired by Susanna Kaysen’s bestselling memoir of mental health struggle, Girl, Interrupted. Mann had been commissioned to write the songs for a stage adaptation that took years (and the duration of a pandemic) to materialize. Now finally at the Public Theater in Manhattan, Girl, Interrupted is a sturdy showcase for Mann’s gorgeous, shimmering-sad compositions, but perhaps a less successful conduit for Kaysen’s arguments.

The press materials for Girl, Interrupted are careful to stress one point of distinction: this is a “play with music”, not, strictly, a musical. The former term has been around for a long time, but eludes exact definition. It’s a “know it when you see it” (or hear it) kind of a thing. Girl, Interrupted, though, fits rather comfortably under the rubric of the traditional musical. The songs may not advance the plot, exactly, but they do offer crucial insight into the inner lives of the troubled young women encountered by a fictionalized Susanna at McLean, a storied psychiatric hospital in suburban Boston.

Office Romance review – Jennifer Lopez’s romcom return is too much like hard work

Star makes for reliably charming lead in Netflix’s basic throwback, but co-star Brett Goldstein, and his co-written script, lack in fizz

Netflix has become something of a safe space for Jennifer Lopez, a one-time box office heavyweight who has now secured a more reliable at-home following on the platform. Middling action films The Mother and Atlas might have turned critics off but both drew blockbuster streaming numbers, while more recent theatrical efforts such as Marry Me and Kiss of the Spider-Woman struggled to reach earlier highs. The arrival of her latest Netflix vehicle, to-the-point romcom Office Romance, is likely to be another smartly packaged win for the star, harking back to a genre she once dominated in the 2000s with hits like Maid in Manhattan and The Wedding Planner. It’s similarly by-the-numbers, but what gives it something of an alleged unique selling point is its unusual R rating and the promise of more “raunch” than usual.

But the film is far tamer than those involved seem to think, an inconsistent mix of sugar and spice, the right tone never quite clicking into place. Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein, acting as both leading man and co-writer, tries to introduce British humour (awkward bumbling, football jokes, calling people cunt affectionately) into an American setting but it never blends together as smoothly as we want or expect from such high-gloss material. Lopez looks and acts the part, movie star charisma dialled up to 11, but the film around her is too unsure and ungainly to match.

Sheriff nominee who killed daughter's alleged abuser won't face murder charge

A judge has dismissed a murder charge against Aaron Spencer, an Arkansas sheriff nominee who was accused of killing his teenage daughter's alleged abuser in 2024.

US imposes new sanctions on Cuban president and Castro family members

US secretary of state Marco Rubio says anyone providing services to listed entities ‘is at risk of sanctions themselves’

The United States has announced fresh economic sanctions on Cuba’s president and some of his immediate family, alongside members of the Castro family, in Washington’s latest ramping up of pressure on its communist-led neighbour.

Among those targeted were the son and a grandson of former president Raúl Castro, who no longer holds an official position but remains a key figure on decisions about the future of the island.

6/4: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Trump expected to nominate Todd Blanche as permanent attorney general; Senate holds "vote-a-rama."

Bondi attack hero Ahmed al-Ahmed says he’s ‘shocked’ after being charged with assaulting his father

Police allege the 44-year-old lauded for disarming one of the gunmen in December’s attack put his father in a headlock

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The Sydney man who disarmed one of the Bondi terror attackers has been charged with assaulting his father.

Ahmed al-Ahmed, 44, is accused of allegedly putting his father in a headlock on 9 March at a house in Bankstown, in the city’s west.

More than 100,000 cockroaches worth $200,000 seized from NSW breeder in record-breaking bust

The invertebrates were likely destined for the pet trade, including as reptile food

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More than 100,000 live exotic cockroaches have been seized from a commercial breeder in New South Wales in a record-breaking bust linked to the pet trade.

Biosecurity officials seized the animals, which have a commercial value of up to $200,000, from a breeder in Bathurst in the state’s central west this week.

Australia’s best apartment designs for 2026 – in pictures

The 2026 Houses awards shortlist celebrates the country’s most ‘intelligent, dynamic and visually compelling homes’. For the apartment category, jury chair Alexa Kempton says judges looked for ‘density done well’.

‘Building is high-cost and comes with environmental consequences, and the jury observed architects rising to the challenge,’ she says, adding that designing something that will ‘last well into the future and adapt to the changing needs of the occupants is essential’

• Inside the homes of six prominent Australian architects – in pictures

Search continues for Auburn University student missing in Japan

James "Weston" Higginbotham, an Auburn University student, went missing last week in Japan after his family says he went to an area near Kyoto known for its hiking trails.

Flesh-eating New World screwworm found in Texas calf, USDA says

The USDA said the only animal affected was a 3-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas, after larvae were identified in its umbilical area.

D-Day veteran says the U.S. is the "savior of the world" ahead of its 82-year mark

This weekend will mark 82 years since D-Day, the largest seaborne assault in history. Tony Dokoupil spoke with 107-year-old veteran Arthur Rose, who was a Navy lieutenant on that day.

Flesh-eating screwworm could drive up cost of beef if not contained

A flesh-eating parasite has returned to the U.S. for the first time in over 50 years, popping up in southwest Texas. The screwworm burrows in the flesh of cattle, in this case, a calf, and the Department of Agriculture said it is "taking immediate action" to contain it. Jason Allen has more.

I wrote about George Santos. Then he made a violent threat and lied about it

NPR reported on new federal investigations examining the former Congressman's bets on the prediction market site Kalshi. Then he threatened the NPR reporter who broke the story.

Coast Guard seizes dinghy Lynette Hooker allegedly "bounced off" in Bahamas

The eight-foot dinghy that Brian Hooker says he and his wife, Lynette Hooker,​ were aboard when she disappeared in early April was seized by U.S. Coast Guard investigators.

Coast Guard seizes small boat in Lynette Hooker search

On Thursday, the Coast Guard took custody of the dinghy Brian and Lynette Hooker were on the night of her disappearance. Cristian Benavides got an exclusive look at the ongoing investigation into the Michigan woman's Bahamas disappearance.

Family of Auburn University student missing in Japan staying in country amid search

Rescue teams searched on Thursday for a 20-year-old Auburn University student who vanished during a family vacation in Japan. Anna Coren reports from Hong Kong.

American journalist pleads for help from Iranian prison

As Iran partially lifted its nationwide internet blackout, Margaret Brennan was able to hear an American journalist's plea for help. Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh, who the U.S. says is wrongfully detained inside a notorious prison, is one of six Americans being held by Iran.

New look at United Airlines incident involving truck on New Jersey highway

Last month, a United Airlines jet hit a light pole and damaged a bakery truck as it was coming in for landing at Newark Liberty International Airport. The NTSB has been investigating and released its first preliminary report on Thursday. Tom Hanson has more.

Trump claims Bill Pulte will investigate ‘rigged elections’ in temporary intelligence role

Pulte, who is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is a staunch loyalist of the president

Donald Trump has suggested his controversial ally Bill Pulte will investigate “rigged elections” while serving as the country’s top intelligence official, as the US president continues to make unfounded allegations about voting.

But Pulte, whom Trump appointed as acting director of national intelligence earlier this week, will only serve in the role temporarily, the president claimed on Thursday.

Concerns over Trump's nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general

President Trump wants his former criminal defense lawyer to be the next U.S. attorney general, overseeing the Justice Department and serving as America's chief law enforcement officer. Todd Blanche is already the acting attorney general. Nancy Cordes has more details.

Correction officer testifies she was not the orange shape seen near Epstein's cell

A former officer at the correctional facility where Jeffrey Epstein died testified before the House Oversight Committee that she was not the orange shape seen moving up the stairs of Epstein's cell tier the night he died.

Republicans' sweeping election overhaul fails in the Senate

The SAVE America Act, a far-reaching Republican election overhaul that President Trump said should be his congressional allies' top priority, has failed in the Senate.

Alleged $30M fraud ring involving children's health services busted, officials say

Federal authorities have busted what they say is a $30 million fraud conspiracy involving billing for children's behavioral health services that were never provided, officials announced.

Girl, 5, traumatised after GP assistant wrongly prescribed vaginal pessary, report finds

Mother, who thought daughter was being examined by GP, says girl began to bleed and scream in pain after device was inserted

A five-year-old was left traumatised, bleeding and in severe pain after a physician associate wrongly prescribed her a vaginal pessary, according to a damning report by the health ombudsman.

The parliamentary and health service ombudsman said there were “multiple failures” in the care of the girl, who saw a physician associate (PA) at a GP practice in the East Midlands after complaining of itching and vaginal discharge.

New Zealand World Cup 2026 team guide

Despite being the lowest-ranked team at the tournament, All Whites are hoping Chris Wood can help fire them to a first appearance in the knockout rounds

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.

Senate holds "vote-a-rama" on ICE funding, rejects move to ban DOJ fund

The Senate is holding a marathon vote series as Republicans seek to fund immigration agencies under the Department of Homeland Security without help from Democrats.

6/4: CBS Evening News

Trump says he will nominate Todd Blanche to be "top cop;" NTSB releases new images from a Newark airport near-disaster.

Pentagon hires man who pleaded guilty in Jan. 6 riot for sensitive civilian job

A man who pleaded guilty to participating in the Jan. 6 riot as a 19-year-old — and later described the events of that day as a "disgrace" — now works for the Defense Department.

Pam Bondi claims Todd Blanche was ‘in charge’ of ‘entire release’ of Epstein files

Blanche, whom Trump plans to nominate to replace ex-attorney general, served as Bondi’s deputy at DoJ

Former attorney general Pam Bondi told lawmakers that Todd Blanche, the man Donald Trump has lined up to replace her, was “in charge” of the US Department of Justice’s controversial handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Appearing before the House oversight and reform committee, which is investigating the late financier and convicted sex offender, Bondi also said she was “not certain of the extent” that Trump knew about the crimes of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking crimes, before they became public.

The May jobs report will be released Friday. Here's what to expect

The stronger-than-expected start this year for job creation could be in for a reality check.

Trump's name must come off the Kennedy Center by June 12

There's been no word yet on if the Kennedy Center plans to remain open after July 5. It was to be closed for two years for extensive repairs beginning this summer.

Sen. Wyden wants to know why Leon Black paid Epstein $170 million for tax planning

Jeffrey Epstein was paid extraordinary sums by billionaire Leon Black, and Sen. Ron Wyden wants to know why.

Doski stunner earns Iraq draw against understrength Spain in World Cup warm-up

Spain will depart from Santiago de Compostela at 10am on Friday morning bound for Chattanooga, via Nashville, but seven of the eight men who made their debuts in the final preparation game before the World Cup will not be on board with them. Nor will the seleccion be flying west with a victory after they bid adios with a 1-1 draw against Iraq at Estadio Riazor. Which may not sound very good – and it really was not very good either, a 22-minute cameo from Mikel Merino about the best thing about it – but is no cause for alarm.

Luis de la Fuente’s side will still be among the favourites in the US, Canada and Mexico and rightly so; this was not really his side, at least not recognisably so.

House Republicans seek DOJ probe of allegations raised by Epstein's assistant

Republican lawmakers asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations raised by Jeffrey Epstein's longtime assistant that she was abused by two men.

Trump says Pulte won't be permanent national intelligence director

Trump's comment came two days after he tapped Bill Pulte, who leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting DNI to replace Tulsi Gabbard.

‘I wouldn’t flinch’: Burnham on social care, markets, Brexit – and the prospect of a general election

Exclusive: Greater Manchester mayor sets out his priorities before Makerfield byelection – and what might happen after the vote

Andy Burnham has signalled he would begin transforming England’s broken social care system this year if he became prime minister, accusing Westminster of “flinching away” from tackling difficult policy problems.

The Greater Manchester mayor said politicians must be willing to take on “the weight of the system” that stood in the way of radical change, as he began to set out his prospectus for government if he won the Makerfield byelection.

Said Labour should be a broad church with more government ministers from the left of the party, but Jeremy Corbyn should not be allowed back in.

Signalled there would be no snap election if he replaced Keir Starmer, but defended himself from criticism over a shadow leadership campaign.

Defended his comments that politicians should not be “in hock” to the bond markets, and denied he was boxing himself in by sticking to Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules.

Argued it would be a mistake to rerun the Brexit referendum but that he wanted the UK to rejoin the EU in his lifetime.

Praised Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, for “facing up” to the big issues on immigration.

Microsoft to tighten human rights measures after inquiry into Israel’s use of its tech

Announcement seeks to close a difficult chapter for the company after the Guardian revealed its platform was used in mass surveillance of Palestinians

Microsoft has said it will tighten human-rights controls when working with national security agencies after an inquiry into how the Israeli military used its cloud technology for the mass surveillance of Palestinians.

On Thursday, Microsoft announced the completion of the inquiry and a series of new measures that include changes to how the company oversees employees with security clearances issued by foreign governments.

Dow soars nearly 900 points as Wall Street bets on Iran peace deal

Despite flare-ups in Middle East violence, investors remain optimistic that the U.S. and Iran will soon end the war.

Trump says Bill Pulte won't be director of national intelligence permanently

Asked if Bill Pulte has the national security experience for the job, President Trump said he does because he's "smart."

Weakened public health powers raise outbreak risks

Some jurisdictions have weakened their public health authorities in response to criticism of lockdowns, school closures, mask mandates, vaccine requirements and other COVID-era restrictions.

Quantinuum closes flat in Nasdaq debut, after upsized offering

Honeywell will retain a majority stake in Quantinuum and will continue to be a strategic customer and partner following the listing.

Trump uses wartime powers to dole out $700m to ‘clean, beautiful’ coal

US president announces plans for two new coal plants, in Alaska and West Virginia, using Defense Production Act

Donald Trump is using wartime presidential authority to hand $700m to coal-fired power plants in the US, the latest move by the president to bolster what he called “clean, beautiful coal”, despite it being the dirtiest of fossil fuels.

“Today, we’re taking historic action to bring down the price of energy and the cost of living for all Americans with the power of clean, beautiful coal,” he said at xa press conference on Thursday.

Senate Republicans narrowly block bid to bar Trump’s $1.8bn fund to pay allies

Three GOP senators join Democrats as dispute over proposed payouts exposes party divisions

• US politics live – latest updates

Senate Republicans on Thursday narrowly scuttled an attempt by Democrats to stop Donald Trump from creating a $1.8bn fund to pay his allies, even as signs emerged that dissent over the proposal was spreading inside the US president’s own party.

Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer had proposed inserting language barring the payouts into Republican-backed legislation to fund Trump’s mass deportation campaign through the duration of his term.

NTSB says United jet was too slow and too low in Newark landing accident

Federal investigators say the captain flying the United 767 from Italy was too slow and too low before landing last month at Newark, N.J. The jet struck a light pole, damaging a truck on the turnpike.

Ollie Robinson feared he ‘was never playing for England again’ before stunning comeback

• Bowler takes four wickets for 10 runs in six overs

• ‘I was just on cloud nine. My legs were numb’

Ollie Robinson admitted that just a few months ago he “thought I was never playing for England again” after he produced an extraordinary comeback performance on the first day of the Test summer, a return that started with a three-wicket maiden and saw him finish with figures of four wickets for 10 runs in six overs.

The 32-year-old was dropped in 2024 amid doubts over his fitness and commitment, and while England were collapsing to defeat in the Ashes – a failure that precipitated his return – he was also in Australia, rediscovering his appetite for the game playing grade cricket for Sydney University.

The Ruiners by Ellena Savage review – a playful and subversive take on Great Expectations

In her sharp and intellectual first novel, the author finds tragic comedy in socialism, inequality and the flawed ways we connect as the world burns

In her fiction debut, The Ruiners, Ellena Savage probes the awkward realities of white privilege, social mobility and a lack of ancestral connection. At first it seems that Savage has turned away from the experimental ambition of her successful memoir, Blueberries, but the novel gradually reveals itself to be craftier and more subversive than it appears. This anti-inheritance novel is in direct, playful conversation with one of its inspirations – Great Expectations by Charles Dickens – and, while knowledge of the coming-of-age novel isn’t essential, it’s delightful to see Savage tease the themes of the original in her surreal contemporary take.

Having failed to fulfil or even define her own ambition, 29-year-old Pip drifts aimlessly through her life. She is smart, funny and vaguely unhappy. In quick succession, her estranged father dies and leaves her an inheritance of $50,000 and she falls quickly, recklessly in love with Sasha, a brooding young writer who narrates the third part of the novel. With the inheritance Pip sees the opportunity to change her situation. She quits her job – “I’ve developed a rare blood disorder, I wrote. As such, I must cut my hospitality management career short. I hereby tender my resignation, effective immediately” – and marries Sasha, and together they spend the entirety of her small fortune on a rotting house on the remote (fictional) Greek island of Fokos. In the background, a trash volcano burns relentlessly and waste pirates fight to offload their illegal garbage on to the shores. But the move does little to improve their circumstances or resolve their unhappiness.

The Ruiners by Ellena Savage is out now (Summit Books, $34.99)

Bipartisan Senate duo urges court to maintain block on DOJ fund

Sens. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, and Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, said the anti-weaponization fund violates multiple constitutional provisions.

Trump announces $700 million investment in coal industry

The money will fund new and existing coal plants, as well as an export terminal in Oakland, California.

Fans given life bans for Wembanyama selfie as NBA looks at Brunson incident

• Fan ran on to court during NBA finals opener

• Knicks guard appeared upset with fans

• Howard Bryant: Brunson the difference in Game 1

The NBA has banned two fans for life after an incident in which a man ran on to the court to take a selfie with Victor Wembanyama during Game 1 of the finals.

In a separate case, ESPN reports that the league is investigating an incident during Wednesday night’s game when New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson became upset after an interaction with fans during the fourth quarter of his team’s 105-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Behind the history of "This Land is Your Land" and how it has inspired Americans

In the series "USA to Z," which celebrates 250 years of American history and culture, "CBS Mornings" shares the backstory and meaning behind the popular song "This Land is Your Land."

Meta is selling $3.99 monthly subscriptions for Instagram Plus

The new paid tier adds features like longer stories and deeper metrics as Meta looks to diversify revenue beyond advertising.

The U.S. is minting more millionaires than ever. Here's why.

A stock market boom is elevating more Americans into the ranks of the nation's millionaires, a new study finds.

New York City reshapes mass transit system to handle World Cup, NBA finals crowds

New York transit officials are preparing to handle up to 100,000 extra travelers a day as fans arrive in New York and New Jersey for FIFA World Cup matches.

Wildfire smoke has reversed US progress toward ozone air quality, study finds

Since 2015, fires have undone years of effort to reduce ozone levels, underscoring a growing public health crisis

The highly destructive wildfires that have battered the US and North America in recent years have significantly increased emissions and been linked to tens of thousands of premature deaths, but their impact on air quality is greater than previously known, according to new research.

A study published in Science on Thursday found that, since 2015, wildfires have reversed US progress toward ozone air quality standards, as the worsening pollution caused by wildfire smoke has undone years of efforts to reduce emissions. Ground-level ozone (O3) is created when pollutants from cars, refineries and industrial sources react with sunlight, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

What are Freedom 250 and America250? Behind the 2 groups planning celebrations

A musical concert series has become a point of political contention, with performers dropping out of the series.

Sen. Bill Cassidy signs onto brief calling 'anti-weaponization' fund a 'dire threat'

Sen. Bill Cassidy joined an amicus brief calling the Justice Department "anti-weaponization" fund a "dire threat."

Sellers are pulling homes off the market at the fastest pace since 2020

Frustrated sellers are pulling their homes off the market at an increasingly high pace, as demand weakens and bidding wars wane.

Liverpool confirm appointment of Andoni Iraola as new head coach

• Spaniard replaces Arne Slot and signs two-year deal

• Iraola worked with Richard Hughes at Bournemouth

Andoni Iraola has been appointed the new head coach of Liverpool on a two-year contract. The 43-year-old’s arrival was confirmed just six days after the sacking of Arne Slot.

Liverpool moved quickly to replace Slot with the former Bournemouth head coach after identifying him as the ideal candidate for their preferred playing style and with Milan, Bayer Leverkusen and Crystal Palace all vying for the Basque’s services. Other coaches were considered, including Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness and Pierre Sage of Lens, but Iraola was always Liverpool’s favoured option and the only one spoken to about the vacancy.

Why is Hasan Piker ‘not conducive to the public good’? Because on Gaza, we punish the witness, not the crime | Arwa Mahdawi

The UK has banned Piker and Cenk Uygur from entry – but the objectionable things they’ve said are not more dangerous than Israel itself

This week, the British government banned Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur, two leftwing US commentators with millions of followers, from entering the country on the grounds that their presence would not be “conducive to the public good”. It did not spell out what it meant by this very broad phrase, but Piker and Uygur have accused the government of denying them entry because of their prolific criticism of Israel. Some critics have accused the pair of antisemitism, which they deny.

A lot has been written about the Piker-Uygur ban, and I don’t think I need to litigate everything they have ever uttered here. They have undeniably said some objectionable things (Piker, for example, said some Orthodox Jews are “inbred”, which he later apologized for). What sort of speech crosses a line that makes you detrimental to the public good, is not clear, however. Conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro, for example, has said that “Arabs like to bomb crap and live in open sewage”. While he later apologized for this, he has repeatedly characterized Arabs as barbarians who “value murder”. The British government has never banned him from speaking in the UK.

‘We’d like him to stay’: Manchester United’s Berrada hints at Bruno Fernandes doubts

• CEO praises ‘great leader’ who knows club’s values

• Captain’s mixed messages have raised doubts on future

Omar Berrada has not ruled out Bruno Fernandes leaving Manchester United in the summer, though the chief executive is adamant the club wants the captain to stay.

The 31-year-old Fernandes was voted the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year after making a record-breaking 21 assists in the Premier League but has offered mixed messages about his future.

Ex-Trump advisor John Bolton agrees to plead guilty to retaining classified information: MS NOW

When he was indicted, John Bolton said he was innocent and that he was being targeted because of his public opposition to President Trump.

Starmer accuses Musk of trying to ‘whip up division’ in UK over Henry Nowak murder

PM says Britons are ‘reasonable, tolerant people’ and backs MP’s legal action against Grok firm over fake sexualised images

• UK politics live – latest updates

Elon Musk is “interfering in our politics” and attempting to create division, Keir Starmer has said, in a significant toughening of government language about the X owner.

The prime minister’s comments come after weeks of posts by Musk on his social media platform about the murder of Henry Nowak, many of which have used far-right themes and talking points.

‘They surprise me every time’: bees can use tools to solve problems, study finds

Insects join list of species capable of solving simple ‘box-and-banana’ problem that demonstrates basic intelligence

Bumblebees can use tools to solve a problem, according to experiments that demonstrate their remarkably advanced cognitive abilities.

The bees were given an adapted version of an experiment that, 100 years ago, first demonstrated chimpanzees could work out how to retrieve an out-of-reach banana by stacking boxes. Since then, various other primates, elephants and crows have joined an elite cohort of species known to be capable of this level of insight and spontaneous problem solving.

The Guardian view on Trump’s omnipresence: commanding attention like a king | Editorial

The president’s image and name are proliferating in Washington and beyond, overturning well-advised democratic taboos on glorifying sitting leaders

One of the surest signs of an authoritarian regime is the ubiquity of its leader. Mussolini’s face was plastered across fascist Italy. In North Korea, pictures of Kim Jong-un have appeared alongside those of his father and grandfather, which are present in every home and public building. The golden statue of Turkmenistan’s leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, perching on a marble cliff in the capital is one of a multitude of portrayals.

Thriving democracies spurn such displays, rightly judging it safer to laud leaders once they are out of power. The first US president, George Washington, refused to appear on currency, believing that redolent of European monarchs. The 47th has no such concerns. The administration wants a $250 bill depicting Donald Trump to commemorate the 250th anniversary of independence, though federal law does not currently allow banknotes to depict living people. His signature will soon appear on $100 bills: a first for a US president.

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.

Mexico’s ex-president accuses US of plotting to weaken governing party

Andrés Manuel López Obrador says Washington is using investigations into governors and propaganda to boost rivals

Mexico’s former president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has accused US officials of trying to weaken the governing party to strengthen the opposition, amid rising tensions between the two countries over Washington’s investigations into several Mexican governors.

“Some US officials are plotting to weaken Morena and strengthen the rightwing opposition in Mexico with the aim of restoring a subservient, corrupt, mafia-like, and cruel government,” López Obrador wrote in a lengthy letter posted on X on Wednesday.

Canada endorses embattled marine park’s plan to relocate 30 beluga whales

Beluga whales, which Marineland threatened to euthanize in 2025, will be moved to sanctuaries in Spain or across US

Canada and an embattled marine park have reached a tentative deal on the future of 30 beluga whales, ending a saga that has captivated the public and angered animal rights groups.

The federal fisheries ministry announced this week that all of Marineland’s belugas would be shipped to either Spain or one of four locations in the US, ending whale captivity in Canada.

Ben Jennings on Elon Musk’s pervasive presence – cartoon

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Dina Nayeri : Marjane Satrapi brought Iranian women like me out of hiding

The Persepolis author understood us and translated us for the world. We have lost our most eloquent spokesperson

Marjane Satrapi has died and every Iranian woman I know is in shock and mourning, while none seems confused by reports of the cause. She died “of sadness”, according to those close to her. Of course she did. Iranians often do. And Satrapi felt everything so intensely.

For my cohort (girls who began their adolescence in 1980s Iran and ended it in the west) Marjane Satrapi was a spokesperson for our trauma, our upbringing and our particular flavour of shame, repression and outspokenness. She made us legible to our western peers in our 20s and 30s, and I was sure she would do it again in middle age.

Is the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire over before it began? - The Latest

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities as the US attempts to overcome one of the largest barriers to reaching a broader deal to end the war with Iran. But the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is dependent on a complete halt of fire from Hezbollah, and the evacuation of all its fighters in southern Lebanon. Lucy Hough speaks to Beirut-based reporter William Christou

North Korea unveils a new plant to produce fuel for nuclear weapons

State media photos on the place showed it is likely a plant to produce weapons-grade uranium.

John Bolton plans to plead guilty in classified documents case, sources say

A federal grand jury indicted John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Trump, on 18 counts last year.

Hezbollah rejects Israel-Lebanon truce as Trump scrambles to end Iran war

Group calls ceasefire a ‘roadmap to annihilate part of the Lebanese people’, throwing regional peace talks into doubt

Hezbollah has rejected a US-brokered ceasefire plan agreed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments, throwing the future of a truce in Lebanon and regional peace negotiations into question.

The group’s leader, Naim Qassem, called the plan a “roadmap to annihilate part of the Lebanese people” in a statement on Thursday.

Banning leftwing activists from entering Britain: an illiberal move with a long history in this country | DK Renton

The cancellation of Cenk Uygur’s and Hasan Piker’s visas tells us that the home secretary’s powers to police speech are too broad

In August 1967, the activist Stokely Carmichael was banned from entering Britain. An ally of Martin Luther King Jr and head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Carmichael was banned because that July he had visited London and given a rousing, militant speech about racism and black power at a leftwing festival in Camden alongside counterculture figures including the poet Allen Ginsberg and the philosopher Herbert Marcuse.

In the Commons, the Tory MP Patrick Wall – a member of the Monday Club, a pressure group that called for the “voluntary” repatriation of black people from Britain – claimed that Carmichael (later known as Kwame Ture) had been in Britain advocating racial violence. Wall asked Labour home secretary Roy Jenkins to rescind Carmichael’s visa. Jenkins agreed to do so. In retrospect, that decision – by a home secretary usually remembered as a liberal reformer – comes across as an act of petty authoritarianism, a more conservative generation trying to stop the circulation of subversive ideas associated with the 1960s left that it feared.

DK Renton is a barrister and the author of No Free Speech for Fascists: Exploring ‘No Platform’ in History, Law and Politics

‘It’s Kimi’s to lose’: Russell refuses to feel the pressure amid F1 championship battle

• British driver ‘didn’t lose sleep’ over Canada setback

• Russell says he will not change approach in Monaco

George Russell remains confident in his world championship ambitions despite taking a serious blow with a mechanical failure at the last round in Canada. In Monaco the British driver insisted that he felt no pressure, with the Formula One title his rival and teammate Kimi Antonelli’s to lose.

Russell encountered a battery failure while leading in Montreal after taking pole position and having enjoyed a hard-fought contest for the race lead that ebbed and flowed with his teammate. With Antonelli going on to win he extended his lead in the world championship to 43 points. The 19-year-old Italian has now won four races in a row to establish a strong advantage, although 17 rounds remain including the meeting in Monaco this weekend.

California and New York weaken climate rules as red states ramp up green energy

Republican-led states growing renewable capabilities at faster rate as Texas emerges as clean-energy leader

Democratic-led states are eroding their climate policies, as red states are scaling up their clean energy deployment.

California on Friday scaled back its cap-and-invest program, offering more than $3bn in free pollution allowances to polluting companies. Earlier the same week, New York weakened its groundbreaking climate law, delaying a plan to regulate carbon from 2024 until 2028 and reducing emissions-slashing targets. Rhode Island’s governor, meanwhile, is attempting to roll back aggressive clean-energy programs.

‘It shatters my heart’: the fosters taking care of stressed former lab beagles

Hundreds of people applied to adopt beagles from a breeding facility – but ‘these are not ordinary dogs’, says one rescue worker

In May, 1,500 beagles were released from Ridglan Farms, a breeding and bioresearch facility near Madison, Wisconsin.

The event made headlines. Soon, a deluge of tear-jerking videos followed, showing the lab beagles experiencing the outside world for the first time. Millions of people watched the dogs touching grass and instinctively paddling their paws at the sight of water.

Missing Sherpa guide found alive on Everest after funeral rites had begun

Climbing support team rescue Hillary Dawa Sherpa almost a week on from when he was last seen

A Nepali guide who was believed to have died on Mount Everest has been found crawling to base camp a week after going missing – and after his funeral rites had begun.

Dawa Sherpa, also known as Hillary Dawa Sherpa after the famous climber Edmund Hillary, was last seen on 29 May but did not reach base camp with other climbing groups.

Embedded: "We Keep Us Safe" from NPR, KUOW and The Seattle Times

In the summer of 2020, sixteen-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to join the racial justice movement of his generation. He arrived in Seattle during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, known as CHOP. Less than a week later, he was shot and killed there. The case remains unsolved.

As the largest World Cup ever kicks off, health officials are focused on more than Ebola

Officials are more concerned about highly contagious diseases like measles and respiratory viruses, which can spread quickly through large, fast-moving crowds.

Lionesses seek to tame Spain again and show they are ready to conquer the world

England are upbeat going into the toughest fixture in international football but the hosts’ threat will be amplified by the returning Bonmatí

The equation sounds simple: avoid defeat on Friday and England will qualify automatically for the Women’s World Cup. The reality of the task ahead is far more complicated. Facing the world champions, Spain, like the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range that towers into the sky behind the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, is an imposing barrier between the Lionesses and Brazil 2027.

A positive result in Mallorca would do more than guarantee England a shot at glory next summer. It would send a powerful statement that England remain a force to be reckoned with if they can tame the game’s greatest technical midfield, again.

Andreeva dismantles nervous Kostyuk amid tense backdrop of Russia-Ukraine war

• Russian teen reaches French Open final in 6-1, 6-3 win

• Kostyuk swerves pose with Andreeva in pre-match photo

Marta Kostyuk believes her breakthrough run at the French Open and her determination to speak out about Russia’s war in Ukraine ­successfully served as a reminder, to ­people who may have forgotten, about the ­horrors unfolding in her home ­country as she suffered a heavy loss to highest ranked Russian player, Mirra Andreeva, in the semi-finals.

“Yeah, for sure,” Kostyuk said. “I will never forget the ovations I received after my match [against fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina] in the quarter-finals. This is something I will carry with me forever. I will never believe anyone who is at the world stage of this sport saying they have zero influence or anything, because I experienced this myself.”

I want sex more often than my husband does – what can we do? | Leading questions

It sounds like you both see sex the same way, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith – and perhaps that’s part of the problem

• Read more Leading questions

My husband and I have been married for five years and are having trouble with our sex life. From the beginning of our marriage (we only started having sex after marriage) I wanted sex more frequently than him. In the first year or so of marriage we’d have sex two to three times a week which I enjoyed, although sometimes hoped for more.

A few years into our marriage my husband had a very stressful time at work. Sex dropped to roughly once a week, typically on the weekends. He picked up running to help deal with the stress and really enjoyed it.

Iran World Cup 2026 team guide

All eyes will be on Team Melli amid the ongoing conflict with the US and Israel, making their campaign one of the most unusual and unpredictable of recent times

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.

Football Daily | World Cup Omitted XI: the star players watching from the sofa this summer

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With every squad for the Geopolitics World Cup now finalised – Turkey, Jordan, Ghana and Uzbekistan were the last teams to confirm their 26-man rosters on Tuesday – we now know exactly who is making the trip to the tournament. But as a leading expert in rejection, constantly trying and failing to convince your inbox to let us out of the spam folder, Football Daily is just as interested in those who have been snubbed than those that will be subbed. The reactions to the omissions was also fascinating: sure, being selected to represent your country at the GWC is cool, but have you ever had to trawl through the Social Media Disgraces of Harry Maguire’s mum as she reacts to her son’s omission from the England squad with all the rage and injustice of Germany reacting to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles? And with that image seared into our collective brains, we humbly present our Omitted XI (4-3-3), the best non-knacked players (of qualified nations) that didn’t or won’t make it on to planes bound for the USA USA USA, Canada and Mexico.

What will it take to get a vaccine for the Ebola strain driving the current outbreak?

There is an effective vaccine for Ebola — but not for the variety spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Trials are going on for several candidates. How long will it take?

Scary Movie review – spoof comedy returns but maybe it should have stayed in the 2000s

Successful jokes are thin on the ground in the musty sixth installment of the once-popular parody franchise, taking aim at everything from Scream to Sinners

The Scary Movie series has always depended on timing. Not necessarily in its gagcraft, which has oscillated between occasional sharp jabs and many beyond-broad blows, but in its position on the release schedule. This was especially true of the first installment, which arrived in theaters just a few months after the 2000 release of Scream 3, capitalizing on the new wave of slashers while holding a spoofy Viking funeral for that just-concluded trilogy. A quarter of a century later, horror endures and there’s no reason to think spoofs can’t endure in parallel along with it as Backrooms and Obsession have ruled the early summer box office.

The sixth Scary Movie, repeating the first movie’s unnumbered title as a simultaneous nod to and act of reboot branding, is releasing too soon after those surprise smashes to incorporate them into its litany of gags (not even some last-minute ADR references, guys?). It’s stuck far further back, doing a composite of the fifth and sixth Scream movies from 2022 and 2023, respectively. On the other hand, with the recent Scream 7 largely abdicating its self-referentiality entirely, Scary Movie arrives as the last horror-comedy holding the torch for in-jokes that its self-serious cousin couldn’t bother with.

Mark Williams: ‘I browsed tractor magazines with Robbie Coltrane on the set of Harry Potter’

The star of The Fast Show and Father Brown – as well as the original Arthur Weasley – on friendly death eaters, famous Brummies and Chinese trains

What were the best and worst moments shooting the Harry Potter films? bumble1
The worst part was being away from home and the long hours. The best bit was the work and talking to the other actors. I look back with great fondness on that. I remember saying to Alan Rickman that the collective noun for actors is an anecdote.

Michael Gambon was the king of stories. He’d start a joke and you never knew where he was going. But he’d hone them; they were finely crafted – some of his best work was backstage. Richard Griffiths was also a great raconteur. His stories were brilliant, and completely unpublishable.

Iran and the US both think they are winning the war. The truth is they are both losing | Sanam Vakil

The ceasefire has held just enough to prevent a return to all-out war, but neither side is close to achieving peace

The US-Iran ceasefire is entering yet another round of escalation since it came into effect on 8 April. This week, there have been further strikes on Iran by the US, and Iranian retaliation on Kuwait and Bahrain, alongside Israeli escalation in Lebanon. Earlier flare-ups over the past two months were quickly contained. Both sides have tried to keep the balance between no war and no peace. But as this ceasefire drags on it risks becoming yet another Middle East stalemate, albeit one with international economic and political consequences.

Four obstacles are preventing progress. The first is trust. Iran does not believe Donald Trump can deliver a deal, much less stick to one. The fear is not only that Washington will walk away again but that the goalposts will keep moving, where first nuclear limits are imposed, followed by missiles, then regional policy and finally further political concessions dressed up as security guarantees.

Sanam Vakil is the director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House

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‘A real health risk’: Fifa ban on reusable water bottles sparks anger among fans

• Supporters groups condemn ‘immoral’ U-turn

• Fifa says policy a safety measure to prevent injury

Fifa has been accused of putting revenue ahead of fans’ health after banning reusable water bottles from being taken into World Cup stadiums.

In a late U-turn, the governing body rowed back on its advice that empty, transparent, reusable plastic bottles would be permitted inside venues, instead prohibiting them “to prevent risk and injury to players and attendees”.

Gun control group sues ATF over records release

Brady, a nonprofit gun control advocacy group, is suing the ATF and the DOJ over their refusals to release documents and other information about who the largest sellers of crime guns in the U.S. are.

Elon Musk's net worth poised to sail past $1 trillion in SpaceX IPO

Based on SpaceX's updated IPO prospectus, Elon Musk owns shares in the company worth more than $866 billion.

‘Embarrassing’: pressure on Merz after Germany’s failure to win UN security council seat

Criticism comes from across political spectrum after blow to Friedrich Merz’s government

Germany’s unprecedented failure to win one of the rotating seats on the UN security council has prompted an intense round of soul searching in Berlin, and raised questions about its claims to international leadership under Friedrich Merz.

The council vote on Wednesday, which elected Austria and Portugal to a two-year term along with Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe, was a blow to Merz’s struggling government, which has sought to position itself as a leading European voice on the world stage.

Hezbollah rejects ceasefire deal agreed on by Israel and Lebanon

The U.N. peacekeeping mission for Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said one peacekeeper was killed and others were wounded when they came under mortar fire in southeastern Lebanon.

‘This is not a hippy thing’: the startup recycling urine to make natural fertiliser

As recent conflicts expose vulnerability of fertiliser markets and its effect on food security, VunaNexus offers an alternative

When staff answer the call of nature at the European Space Agency’s headquarters in Paris, their urine is not simply flushed away – it is turned into something much more useful. While urine-diverting toilets are often associated with smelly festival loos, there is nothing bohemian about recycling nutrients from human pee, said David de Chambrier, the chief executive of VunaNexus.

The process isn’t so different from recovering minerals in used electronics.

Sing when you’re winning: the 20 greatest songs about football – ranked!

​As World Cup fever begins, we go beyond terrace chants and team anthems to look at footy-mad songwriting, from Cardiff rap to Zimbabwean rumbira ... and Rod Stewart

Ah, fathers and sons and football. Here, Rod gets teary-eyed remembering how his dad used to cheer him from the touchline: an inessential but sweet and heartfelt song. Though Rod once told me that he tended to shout at his own son from the touchline, because he never tracked back.

Experts criticise plan for American-only Ebola quarantine centre in Kenya

Plan departs from policy of bringing CDC staff back to US for treatment and offering support to all health workers

Former top US officials and other experts are urging the Trump administration to abandon plans for an Ebola quarantine and treatment centre in Kenya, as the union for workers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls for Americans exposed to Ebola to be brought home for treatment.

Soon after the US revealed it was setting up a field hospital in Kenya for the Ebola quarantine and treatment of Americans, the Kenyan high court blocked the order – but the Kenyan and US governments moved forward anyway, with the first American responders reportedly landing at the Laikipia airbase on Saturday.

Broadcom stock plunges on weak software sales, unchanged AI chip forecast for the year

Broadcom reported fiscal second-quarter results on Wednesday and missed estimates for revenue.