Meta's court defeats add to Zuckerberg's recent woes, represent 'watershed event' for social media

Meta suffered stinging defeats in two separate trials involving child safety that underscore shifting public sentiment toward the social media industry.

What comes next? Three attack scenarios as U.S. sends thousands more troops to Middle East

One of Iran's top lawmakers has said that they were anticipating a potential ground invasion of one its islands.

Middle East crisis live: Israel says it has killed Iranian naval chief as Trump repeats claim Tehran ‘begging’ for deal

Israeli defence minister says Alireza Tangsiri was responsible for blocking the strait of Hormuz

• Analysis: Trump pitches peace plan but military buildups rarely veer to off-ramp

An Iranian envoy has said South Korean ships can pass through the strait of Hormuz only after coordinating with Tehran, the Yonhap News Agency has reported.

Such an agreement had to be reached in advance of the transit, said Saeed Khuzechi, the Iranian ambassador to South Korea, at a press conference in response to a question about guarantees for South Korean vessels to navigate the vital conduit for oil.

Senate searches for end to DHS shutdown after deal stalls

Lawmakers are looking for a way out of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown that has roiled air travel after a potential deal stalled. Follow live updates.

You saw me standin’ alone: songs about the moon – ranked!

As the Artemis II crew prepare for the first moon mission since 1972, we select the best songs about our lunar neighbour, from Ella Fitzgerald’s romance to Gil Scott-Heron’s social commentary

This tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman came at the height of REM’s superstardom, but it’s a typically elliptical song that defies easy analysis, the chorus seeming to compare the moon landing conspiracy theories with claims Kaufman faked his own death. Its bassline recalls another lunar classic, The Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen.

Tom Brady says he's asked NFL about potential comeback: 'They don't like that idea very much'

Tom Brady has asked the NFL about its policy of allowing minority owners to return as players, but he has no plans on returning the field, he told CNBC.

Brussels opens investigation into Snapchat amid concern over children’s safety

European Commission says social messaging app is exposing children to grooming and sexual exploitation

Brussels has opened an investigation into Snapchat over concerns that the social messaging app is exposing children to grooming, sexual exploitation and other criminality.

In a separate decision on Thursday, the European Commission also said four pornographic websites were failing to prevent minors seeing adult content.

Maduro held in a "jail inside of a jail" under special restrictions, sources say

Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife are set to appear Thursday in federal court in Manhattan.

$100,000 in Social Security benefits? New proposal would cap them.

With Social Security's trust fund sliding toward insolvency, one group wants to cap benefits for the wealthiest U.S. couples.

Nato chief says Europe increased defence spending by 20% in 2025 - Europe live

Mark Rutte praised the US president, citing him as a key reason for why global leaders bolstered commitments to defence spending

Meanwhile, the US president, Donald Trump, has once again lashed out against Nato allies saying in a social media post that they have “done absolutely nothing to help” in Iran campaign.

“The USA needs nothing from Nato, but ‘never forget’ this very important point in time,” he warned.

“NATO NATIONS HAVE DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP WITH THE LUNATIC NATION, NOW MILITARILY DECIMATED, OF IRAN. THE U.S.A. NEEDS NOTHING FROM NATO, BUT “NEVER FORGET” THIS VERY IMPORTANT POINT IN TIME! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

From basil to pistachio and peas – in praise of pesto, whichever way you make it

Whether on pasta or pizza, in soup or even in a tart, this classic Italian sauce is one of your most versatile ingredients

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It was not without satisfaction that I found my 14-year-old son making pesto the other week – for the first 13 years of his life he referred to it as either “pesto-the-bogey-man”, or “gross”. To avoid interfering and sabotaging the moment, I didn’t look too closely, so I didn’t clock the shallow bowl and immersion blender combination. I did hear the noise – a blunt churn – as the blade hit the leaves and nuts. Acting more like a leaf blower than cutter, it sent green and white oily fragments up the cupboards and over pretty much every pot, utensil and tool nearby. Impressively unfazed, he managed to scrape a good proportion of the elements into the food processor and make an extremely tasty pesto, which was mixed with linguine, green beans and potatoes. Less effective was his clearing up (mine too, for that matter), and I am still finding dried green flecks stuck to slotted spoons.

Like mash and crumble, the word pesto comes from an action, in this case pestare, which means to pound or bash repeatedly with a pestle. In much the same way, though, that mash was wedded to potato, and crumble set up home and had kids with apples, pesto came to be associated with basil, pine nuts, pecorino, garlic and olive oil. This happy combination of ingredients occurred in Genoa, in the region of Liguria, hence the name pesto alla Genovese. Such was its popularity, that the pounded sauce joined Cher, Prince and Sade in becoming a one-name celebrity. It is so beloved that some fans have suggested that other pestos are impostors.

As wealth taxes gain traction, Warren proposes levy on the ultra-rich

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's bill would raise taxes on households worth more than $50 million and on billionaires.

Italy seizes €20m of assets allegedly bought with money embezzled from Ursula Andress

‘Misappropriation of financial resources’ from actor, 90, tracked to property, vineyards and olive groves in Tuscany

Italian authorities have seized €20m (£17.3m) of assets in Tuscany, including property, vineyards and olive groves, allegedly bought with money embezzled from the actor Ursula Andress.

Andress, 90, had filed a complaint in her native Switzerland alleging a “progressive and significant depletion of her assets” by individuals charged with managing her finances, Italy’s financial crimes police said in a statement on Thursday.

Prediction market bets on sports, election, war would be verboten under new legislation

Lawmakers have introduced a flurry of measures to rein-in prediction markets in recent weeks, as the platforms have come under increased scrutiny.

Global forecasting group sees U.S. inflation at 4.2% this year, much higher than Fed estimate

The forecast is a sharp step up from the prior projection of 2.8%. Moreover, it is much higher than the 2.7% Fed officials estimated.

Sixty years of hurt: start dreaming of England’s World Cup glory | Max Rushden

Countdown to tournament begins in earnest with friendly against Uruguay so it’s time to forget other countries are good at football

Is it too early to start plotting England’s inevitable route to World Cup glory? If nothing else it’ll stop me refreshing the internet to find out if Tim Sherwood is going to manage Spurs for the next three games before Dave from Chas & Dave comes in for the final Hail Mary.

Perhaps you’re focused on Arsenal coming second in everything, Everton finishing above Liverpool or the wild York/Rochdale title race in the National League. Take a weekend off and start dreaming of Gianni and Trump handing Harry Kane the trophy as the world burns.

Rep. Seth Moulton bans staff from using prediction markets like Kalshi, Polymarket

Congressional lawmakers are ramping up efforts to rein-in prediction markets.

Video in Hawaii doctor's trial shows moments after wife alleges husband tried to kill her

Police bodycam video played in court during the trial of a Hawaii doctor accused of trying to kill his wife a year ago showed the moments officers arrived on the scene. Gerhardt Konig has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of his wife. Warning: this video is disturbing.

Census shows U.S. metro areas where growth slowed the most in 2025

Population estimates released by U.S. Census Bureau show growth rates slowed sharply in metro areas in 2025, as immigration dropped and hurricanes pushed people out of some Gulf Coast counties.

Nicolás Maduro back in New York federal court in ‘narco-terrorism’ case

Deposed Venezuelan president and his wife, who both pleaded not guilty, were captured by US military in January

The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is again scheduled to appear in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday for his “narco-terrorism” case after his capture by US military forces earlier this year.

US special forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on 3 January in a controversial pre-dawn raid during an assault on Caracas that reportedly killed 100 people.

More than 480 TSA officers have quit since the start of the partial government shutdown

Since the start of the partial government shutdown, more than 480 TSA officers have quit their jobs. Meanwhile, the acting TSA administrator said on Wednesday that the situation at airports could get worse and smaller airports may have to close "if we do not have enough officers."

‘This group of girls is writing history’: how Nantes Women are shaking up the French hierarchy

We spend a day with the surprise package of the Première Ligue to find out how they have taken the top flight by storm

There is one video that is on repeat on the Nantes players’ phones: Lucie Calba’s goal in last weekend’s 3-0 win against Strasbourg, an exceptional passage of play in which eight players touched the ball to move it up the entire pitch in just 18 seconds. “It’s very satisfying because we’re able to reproduce everything we work on in training in matches,” says Camille Robillard, the team’s No 10 and a product of the club’s academy, clearly fascinated by the goal getting so much attention. A goal “in the Nantes style,” referring to the men’s team of the 1990s, known for their attacking, fluid play and constant movement.

The goal is the result of a philosophy championed by Nicolas Chabot, head coach of the women’s team since the 2022-23 season. The 31-year-old says he has always believed in “a style of football based on combinations and teamwork, where technique and tactics come before athleticism”.

TSA forced to consolidate lanes, may have to close small airports

The TSA's top official says the situation at U.S. airports could get even worse if the partial government shutdown​ that has frozen officers' paychecks continues.

Netanyahu claims that victory over Iran would bring peace to Israel. He should look closer to home | Dahlia Scheindlin

As Israelis grow weary of sheltering from missile attacks, their prime minister is using the war to distract from the Palestinian issue

An opinion poll conducted in Israel two weeks into the war on Iran demonstrated what looked like euphoria: surveys by thinktanks such as the Israel Democracy Institute and the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) show that nearly 80% of the public supported the war. Among Israel’s Jewish population that figure rose to 91%.

The true picture is more complicated. The INSS also found that among Arab citizens, who are predominantly Palestinian and make up about 20% of the Israeli population, about two-thirds were opposed to the war. And reality is always more complex than polling figures: from Tel Aviv, I can see that the Jewish Israelis driving the sweeping support are simultaneously exhausted after what is now more than three weeks of running from missile attacks day and night, and by the economic, social and physical damage of the war.

The verdict against Meta and YouTube is a victory for children – and the US justice system | Austin Sarat

In a court of law, tech titans will be judged not for who they are, but what they do. We should take comfort in that

Jury verdicts are meant to speak the truth, and today’s verdict in a California courtroom spoke the truth about the pernicious effects of platforms such as Instagram and YouTube on young people in the United States and around the world. The jury found two social media giants, Meta and YouTube, responsible for injuries incurred by a 20-year-old woman over the course of her childhood.

The plaintiff, referred to in court as KGM, claimed that her social media use had begun when she was six years old. Her suit alleged that the sites she regularly used had features designed to hold her attention and keep her coming back.

‘Black music is not a subculture – it is the engine’: Why the Mobo awards matter more than ever, 30 years on

Three decades after launching the awards, founder Kanya King reflects on being ahead of the crowd and why Mobo has always been more than music

For the audience watching performances by twentysomethings Olivia Dean, Myles Smith and Aitch on Thursday night in the Co-op Live arena in Manchester it will seem like a lifetime away from 1996, when the Mobo awards began.

What has become known as a joyful celebration of music of Black origin came from “a very real sense of frustration”, said Kanya King, Mobo’s founder and chief executive. “I could see the impact that Black music and culture was having on British culture – I mean it was shaping everything – but it wasn’t being properly recognised or respected by the mainstream industry.”

Four knockout bakes and tips from the master: Edd Kimber’s recipes for cooking with chocolate

From a white chocolate cheesecake tart and flourless chocolate cake to double chocolate olive oil and marbled matcha cookies, explore chocolate’s endless versatility

Chocolate is a truly magical ingredient. Not only is it a powerhouse of flavour, it also pairs beautifully with other ingredients to make something incredible. Chocolate isn’t one note, mind; from the heady richness of an intense dark chocolate to the nostalgic creaminess of milk chocolate and the often maligned simplicity of white chocolate, it can be the star of the show or simply the supporting act. Chocolate can do it all.

‘Even Beyoncé is still learning’: 10 expert tips on how to become more musical

Listen to an album each morning, pick an easy instrument, don’t be afraid to write bad songs … you’ve got this!

There are many benefits to making music, whether you are one or 100. But how should you approach choosing an instrument to play? And what are the best choices for a complete novice? We asked musicians for advice on how to live a more musical life, at any age.

Southeast Asia turns to nuclear as Iran war disrupts energy supplies

Analysts say the Iran war energy crisis is also adding momentum to nuclear interest and action in the region.

Iran rejects U.S. peace plan. And, jury finds Meta, Google to blame in addiction trial

Iran rejects a U.S. proposal to end the war and counters with a different peace plan. And, a jury finds Meta and Google negligent in a trial over social media's harms.

Ticketmaster quietly raised other fees after US crackdown on hidden charges

Documents obtained by Guardian show company increased different fees to ‘offset revenue loss’ from FTC rule change

Following a wave of regulations banning the surprise fees that appear at the end of a transaction, Ticketmaster stopped charging the extra few dollars it added to each order at checkout. Typically shared with the venue, the order processing fee was a boon to a global platform that sells hundreds of millions of tickets a year.

But documents obtained by the Guardian show that while Ticketmaster eliminated this fee to comply with the rules, the company simply raised the cost of different fees in a number of its venues to ensure it didn’t lose money.

My last fight with my Palestinian father still haunts me. Neither of us could bury the past

My eternally exiled father was dying and witnessing a siege on Gaza. Afterwards I could go home – but he couldn’t

The last fight we ever had, my father and I, occurred on a night in May 2021 on the eve of his first chemo treatment. At this point in our story, I was a new mother, and he was a year and a half from his death. To treat his stage four prostate cancer, he had been given a series of experimental hormone treatments, which had put him in a sort of male menopause and which had just begun to fail. This last fight of ours also happened to fall right in the middle of that previous siege of Gaza (before the more recent one none of us will ever forget), which itself resulted in the destruction of 40 schools and four hospitals.

That night in May, we were in the rented ranch house in Arizona, the one with the broken dishwasher and the blue pool slide that had not been functional for decades, the house with its view of the sky and faint hint of the McDowell mountains. Though my father had lived in Palestine, Syria, Kuwait and Italy, he had fled to the Sonoran Desert after going bankrupt in New York in the early 1990s and loved the dramatic landscapes of the west with a fealty he had for nowhere else. Whereas I missed New York like a lover. I felt unmoored, restless. Exiled.

Travelers flock to Clear security app to bypass TSA lines amid US airport chaos

Clear Secure has seen jump in new sign-ups amid the partial government shutdown as TSA workers go unpaid

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As travelers continue to face sprawling security lines across the US, one company is thriving amid the ongoing chaos.

Clear Secure, a biometric firm that allows travelers to bypass Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lines at more than 60 airports in the US, has reportedly seen a jump in new sign-ups this month amid the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.

Keely Hodgkinson pokes fun at West Ham over world championships stadium dispute

• British world champion mocks club in tweet

• Club refusing to vacate stadium for event in 2029

Keely Hodgkinson has playfully poked fun at West Ham after it emerged they could ruin London’s chances of hosting the 2029 World Athletics Championships.

Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, has made it clear he wants those world championships to be held in September as a finale to the athletics season. However, West Ham do not want to give up the London Stadium for approximately three weeks for the event as their season will have started.

Two drone strikes on civilian targets kill 28 people in Sudan

Market in North Darfur and truck carrying civilians in North Kordofan hit as civil war approaches fourth year

At least 28 civilians have been killed in two separate drone strikes in Sudan, according to health workers, as the country’s brutal civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) approaches its fourth year.

A strike hit a market in the town of Saraf Omra, in North Darfur state, on Wednesday, killing “22 people, including an infant, and injuring 17 more”, a health worker at the local clinic told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Dodging the ‘wrinkle wagon’: why a Brazilian film about ageing is inspiring older women

The Blue Trail, about a rebellious 77-year old woman who escapes forced exile for elderly people, has struck a nerve in a country where ageism is widespread

When 80-year-old Gilda Olinto was given a prize at work recently, she felt as if she was being told “nothing more is expected of you”. It reminded her of The Blue Trail (O Último Azul in Portuguese), a film set in a near-future Brazil where an authoritarian government honours elderly people with golden laurels before stripping them of their autonomy and sending them to live out their days in a remote housing colony.

After being reluctantly bestowed with the accolade, the film’s 77-year-old protagonist Tereza realises she is going to be exiled from society – but she is determined to pursue a lifelong dream first, which takes her on a journey of discovery though the Amazon.

Marriage over, €100,000 down the drain: the AI users whose lives were wrecked by delusion

One minute, Dennis Biesma was playing with a chatbot; the next, he was convinced his sentient friend would make him a fortune. He’s just one of many people who lost control after an AI encounter

Towards the end of 2024, Dennis Biesma decided to check out ChatGPT. The Amsterdam-based IT consultant had just ended a contract early. “I had some time, so I thought: let’s have a look at this new technology everyone is talking about,” he says. “Very quickly, I became fascinated.”

Biesma has asked himself why he was vulnerable to what came next. He was nearing 50. His adult daughter had left home, his wife went out to work and, in his field, the shift since Covid to working from home had left him feeling “a little isolated”. He smoked a bit of cannabis some evenings to “chill”, but had done so for years with no ill effects. He had never experienced a mental illness. Yet within months of downloading ChatGPT, Biesma had sunk €100,000 (about £83,000) into a business startup based on a delusion, been hospitalised three times and tried to kill himself.

Sauces, spreads, sprinkles – and cocktail in a can: whose fridge is this?

There’s a distinctly sour edge to the jars and goodies that chef and author Helen Graham keeps handy

Amba sauce
“I’m very jar orientated; a lot of my cooking is about combining big flavours. I’m also a sucker for a sour ingredient, and this Iraqi pickled mango condiment is really sour – more so than tamarind. If I’m garnishing a dish with tahini, then I’ll use amba to cut through the richness, otherwise I’ll use it in lieu of citrus.”

Stem ginger in syrup
“My grandpa always gave me this when I was a kid, and I thought it was disgusting. However, now it’s essential; I often make a (chopped) stem ginger and spring onion salsa – it’s sweet and spicy. Stem ginger is such a nostalgic ingredient for me.”

House Dem accused of stealing FEMA funds set to face rare ethics "trial"

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida is accused of using part of the $5 million to bolster her campaign and on luxury goods.

Reps Ro Khanna and Tim Burchett to push fraud probe across all 50 states

Khanna, D-Calif., who is separately leading Democrats on a bill to impose a federal wealth tax, told CNBC in December he would introduce the fraud probe as soon as he found a Republican cosponsor.

Israel and Iran ramp up attacks as Trump insists Tehran wants a deal

The war in the Middle East ramped up on Thursday as Israel launched a wave of strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure, and Iran fired rounds of missiles at central Israel.

UK CO2 plant to reopen amid fears Iran war could lead to shortage

Teesside site mothballed in September given £100m by government to restart production for at least three months

A shuttered carbon dioxide plant on Teesside is to reopen with £100m of government investment in response to fears that the war in Iran could trigger shortages of the gas that multiple industries rely on.

The business secretary, Peter Kyle, approved the reopening of the Ensus plant to help bolster production of CO₂, which has uses ranging from carbonating drinks and keeping food fresh to medical procedures and the sedating of animals for slaughter.

Trump's attacks on offshore wind could hurt infrastructure spending across the economy

President Trump has tried to kill offshore wind's future in the U.S. But industry analysts say the attacks could hurt business confidence across the U.S. economy.

Meet Figure AI: The company behind the humanoid robot hosted by Melania Trump

The White House hosted its first humanoid robot guest, with first lady Melania Trump appearing alongside a robot from startup Figure AI.

‘Trust your own feeling’: Everton’s Katja Snoeijs on her endometriosis diagnosis

The Netherlands striker opens up on the condition that temporarily derailed her Everton career and the symptoms to look out for

When the sharp, stabbing pain in her abdomen became so severe that she had to be substituted at half-time during an Everton match, Katja Snoeijs knew what she was experiencing was not merely “normal period pains”. And she was right.

The 29-year-old Netherlands striker has since been diagnosed with endometriosis, which affects one in 10 women. She says she counts herself lucky, because she received her diagnosis within a year and was shocked to learn the national average wait for a diagnosis in the UK is nine years.

It's Equal Pay Day. Women have lost ground for the second year in a row

The annual observance marks how far into the new year women must work to make what men earned in the previous year. This year, it's March 26, a day later than it was in 2025.

‘It dictated the whole atmosphere’: why some landlords are banning kids from pubs

Unruly behaviour, safety concerns and lost trade are forcing some landlords to act, but others argue pubs should remain for everyone

“It was like the wild west. If you had an hour, I could talk you through so many scenarios,” says Egil Johansen, the landlord of the Kenton pub in Hackney, east London. He sounds exhausted just remembering them.

Johansen is still shaken by the three-year-old who recently toddled behind the bar and tumbled down the cellar hatch while his parents sat, oblivious, in a different part of the pub.

Country star Ty Herndon: ‘The drugs could be forgiven. Being gay definitely could not’

In an honest new memoir, the musician opens up about being closeted in country, sexual assault, and finding love in his 60s

On 14 June 1995, Nashville singer Ty Herndon was riding high with a No 1 single on the country charts and an album hurtling towards gold status when he was arrested on charges that could have killed his career in an instant. At 10am, he pulled into a gas station in Texas, right across the street from park well known for gay cruising and hookups. Amped by a hit of meth amphetamine, Herndon strolled into a glade where he soon met a guy he later described as “movie-star handsome”. The stranger began stroking his own crotch, then reached for Herndon’s. But when the singer unzipped his fly, the man, an undercover cop, said, “This ain’t your day, cowboy,” leading to the star’s arrest on charges from drug possession to indecent exposure.

While news of the incident traveled fast – aided in no small part by the police alerting the media – Herndon’s record company swung into parallel action. They cooked up a massive PR strategy that painted the singer as victim of drug use while feeding the media a series of lies to explain away the sex. “The drugs could be forgiven,” Herndon says during a Zoom interview the other day from his Nashville home. “Being gay definitely could not.”

Hoping to unseat Collins, Maine Democrats battle it out in an expensive U.S. Senate primary

As June's primary election nears, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and combat veteran Graham Platner are effectively engaged in a proxy battle between factions in their own party.

Decades ago, a Maryland sailor burned his winter socks. Now it's a spring tradition

In Annapolis, Md., people gather each year to usher in the warmer weather by burning their socks. The springtime tradition is the unofficial start of the Chesapeake Bay sailing season.

Morning news brief

Iran rejects U.S. peace proposal and lays out its own conditions, the Army's 82nd Airborne Division readies to deploy to Iran, jury finds Meta and Google liable in social media addiction trial.

Bondi terror attack took place amid global spike in foiled IS-inspired plots, researchers find

Australian counterterrorism experts observe December shooting came amid years of messaging from terror group urging followers to act ‘on their own initiative’

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The Bondi beach terror attack occurred amid an international spike of anti-western plots in December last year that appeared to be “inspired or instigated” by Islamic State, a new report has found, with many of them targeting holiday events such as Christmas markets.

In research published by the West Point Combating Terrorism Center in its publication Sentinel on Thursday, Australian counterterrorism experts Andrew Zammit and Levi West examined Islamic State’s strategic shifts and jihadi tactics in Australia prior to the alleged antisemitic terrorist attack.

Men bailed over suspected arson attack on Jewish ambulance service in London

Two UK nationals released on bail while Met continues investigation into incident in Golders Green

Two men arrested in connection with a suspected arson attack on four ambulances operated by a Jewish charity in north London have been released on bail.

The men, aged 47 and 45, who are both UK nationals, were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after the incident in Golders Green. On Thursday the Metropolitan police said the pair had been bailed until April while the investigation continues.

You be the judge: should my partner keep his ashtrays outside?

Rita wants Martin’s novelty ashtrays to stay in the garden. He likes to give them pride of place on the shelf. Whose argument is a smokescreen? You decide

• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror

Martin says his novelty ashtrays are decor and will spoil in the rain, but ash in our home is gross

I’ve already compromised and cut down on smoking – plus they’re more like collector’s items

Fears net zero is ‘next Brexit’ as oil crisis fuels political climate divide

Rising energy bills give Reform and Tories opening to attack net zero while government hesitant to make case for clean energy

Could net zero become “the next Brexit”? That is the fear stalking climate advocates as the oil crisis caused by the war on Iran starts to bite.

A powerful coalition of the well-funded Reform party, led by Nigel Farage, the Conservative party, some business interests, and the UK’s right-wing media, are engaged in an onslaught against the longstanding target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Bruno Fernandes is the true custodian of Manchester United in the age of Ratcliffe | Jonathan Liew

As well as being one of the team’s best performers, midfielder has become a talisman who is aware of the club’s spirit and traditions

The video of Bruno Fernandes kicking in the door is very good, if you haven’t already seen it. In a way, it explains a lot. His Sporting team are drawing 1‑1 at Boavista in 2019 and Fernandes has just been sent off for a fully deserved second yellow. As he stalks down the tunnel he takes furious aim at the two doors, the sheer force of the kick knocking him off his feet.

The doors make a magnificent shotgun sound, but do not yield. “Fuck you!” Fernandes shouts as Boavista security guards try to intervene. “I’ll pay for the fucking doors! Go fuck yourselves!”

White House turns down Elon Musk's offer to pay TSA workers during DHS shutdown

In a post on X Saturday, Musk offered to pay the salaries of TSA workers during the DHS shutdown.

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen review – so scary it will send you hysterical

Abandoned babies, pink Barbie shoes and throat-slitting serial killers? This wedding horror from the makers of Stranger Things is so hellish I may never sleep again

Personally, I have always broken off my engagements no more than halfway through a portent-filled night drive to meet my fiance’s parents for the first time in their sprawling, dark-corridor-laced ‘cabin’ in the woods. I might get through the true-crime podcast about a local blood-letting serial killer. I might survive finding a maggoty dead fox in the smashed toilet of a rest stop on the way. But at the first sign of a mysteriously abandoned baby in a parking lot and long before I find myself standing in front of a shrineful of taxidermied family pets in the cabin’s entrance hall, I’m outta there. I’m gone.

I commend you all to have such boundaries, but none more so than twenty-something semi-orphaned Oregonian Rachel (Camila Morrone), who finds herself doing precisely that in the eight-part horror series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.

Orwell: 2+2=5 review – documentary portrait doesn’t wholly add up

Raoul Peck’s film about the Nineteen Eighty-Four novelist makes a compelling case for its continuing relevance but could ask more searching questions about its author

Raoul Peck’s documentary about George Orwell and his enduring relevance takes as its keynote the heretical masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four and its famous scene about the state compelling people to believe whatever it says is the truth: that two and two make five. That Orwellian anti-arithmetic of tyranny has become a political meme often repeated in social media debates about gender politics, although these are not mentioned here, perhaps because they are not considered sufficiently important. This is a serious and worthwhile film, though one that tells you what you know already, and yet somehow perhaps doesn’t tell you enough.

The simple experience of hearing Orwell’s prose, both from his published work and letters and diaries, read aloud by Damian Lewis, is invigorating and refreshing. There’s an interesting emphasis on Orwell’s physical frailty, with him effectively composing his masterwork in the shadow of death. It was written, as he put it, “under the influence of tuberculosis”. That such a fierce, muscular, assertive book should be conceived under this influence is a startling thought, and Peck amusingly juxtaposes Orwell’s sickness with Winston Smith being made to do exercises and the infatuation of tyrannical regimes with public displays of physical fitness. Perhaps it is truer to say that Nineteen Eighty-Four was written under the influence of cigarettes and their unregretted consequences.

Protect ya neck! Wu-Tang Clan as they’ve never been seen before – in pictures

Eddie Otchere spent 10 years photographing the New York hip-hop stars and other musicians. Here are the highlights of his thrilling new photozine

Pepys ‘curated’ letters to conceal being offered enslaved boy as bribe – research

Cambridge University historian uncovers letter to diarist who was a naval official in 1670s

His journals would become famed for their vivid detail and candour. But now, almost exactly 360 years after diarist Samuel Pepys chronicled the Great Fire of London, new research has found that he “erased” and “curated” correspondence to conceal he had been offered an enslaved boy as a bribe.

Cambridge University historian Dr Michael Edwards consulted hundreds of records in The Pepys Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge; The National Archives; and the Bodleian Library in Oxford for the study “Samuel Pepys, the African Companies, and the Archives of Slavery, 1660–1689”.

North Korea and Belarus sign ‘friendship and cooperation’ treaty

Kim Jong-un welcomed Alexander Lukashenko with lavish ceremony, including artillery salute and goose-stepping soldiers before a large flag-waving crowd

North Korea and Belarus’s strongmen leaders signed a “friendship and cooperation” treaty on Thursday, state media reported, after Kim Jong-un “warmly” welcomed president Alexander Lukashenko to Pyongyang for a maiden visit.

Besides supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine – about 2,000 North Korean soldiers are thought to have been killed – both nations are subject to western sanctions and are accused of gross human rights violations.

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for potato, aubergine and herb tortino alla fiorentina

A substantial, velvety dish to carry you through into the summer months

The sky is the same shade as old Tupperware, our tortoise appears to have gone back into hibernation, the flat upstairs has builders in, but the kitchen smells gorgeous, thanks to this week’s recipe. It is one of the variations suggested by Anna Gosetti Della Salda for her aubergine and egg tortino alla fiorentina in the Tuscany chapter of Le Ricette Regionali Italiane, an indispensable book that I would save from a fire. The addition of potato to the aubergine makes it an even more substantial, velvet-like and better-tasting dish, I think: a layered vegetable bake crossed with a frittata that fancies itself as having a touch of baked eggs (although don’t expect any puffing up).

Instead of the aubergine, you could use artichoke hearts (trimmed and cut into slim wedges), courgettes or cardoon, and, if you fancy, you could also add a crumbled sausage or a handful of diced pancetta. Whatever you use, however, a fundamental stage in terms of both flavour and texture is the initial cooking of the vegetables: frying the potatoes, then covering the pan so they fry-steam into tenderness; the aubergine by simply frying. Important, too, is sprinkling the just-cooked slices with a little salt, so the end dish is seasoned through. (The egg and milk mixture is seasoned with cheese – use whatever you have – but check for salt, too.)

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• Middle East crisis – live updates

A total stop to hostilities in the Middle East is needed to halt a “health crisis unfolding in real time”, the World Health Organization’s chief in the region has said.

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The Italian PM has won plaudits for her tightrope-walking pragmatism. But have voters now had enough?

Giorgia Meloni has a long history of defying expectations. She holds the record as Italy’s youngest cabinet member, at 31, and is its first female prime minister, thus overcoming two of Italian politics’ most formidable obstacles, gerontocracy and machismo. After she took office in autumn 2022, she quickly put to rest concerns that her post-fascist background would make her a foreign policy radical. Staunch support for Ukraine and a pragmatic relationship with EU leaders won her international credibility.

Against this backdrop, the defeat she suffered in this week’s referendum – where Italians rejected the government’s proposed constitutional reform of the judiciary by 53.2% to 46.8% – appears all the more significant.

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3/25: CBS Evening News

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Valerie Cherish may just be the closest thing America has to its own Alan Partridge. Both narcissists clinging desperately to 1990s showbiz successes (starring in a popular sitcom and hosting a BBC chatshow respectively), they are also two rare examples of comedy characters who have returned sporadically over multiple decades: Steve Coogan’s alter ego made his television debut 32 years ago, while Lisa Kudrow first appeared as Cherish in The Comeback in 2005, returning for a second season nine years later and a third this week.

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