Hundreds of U.S. cities now have starter homes that cost $1 million

The number of metropolitan areas around the country with basic homes worth at least $1 million has tripled since 2020.

As the U.S. turns 250, this historian has blunt advice: 'America has to grow up'

In America, U.S.A., Princeton historian Eddie Glaude Jr. looks at the country through the lens of its previous anniversaries and centennials. "The divided soul of the nation is in full view," he says.

Fox to acquire Roku in $22 billion deal

Fox said it will buy Roku for $160 per share in a cash-and-stock deal that it expects to complete in the first half of 2027.

Spain v Cape Verde: World Cup 2026 – live

⚽️ Kick-off time: 3pm local/5pm BST/12pm EDT/2am AEST
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Wallchart | And mail Daniel

Email! “Don’t forget the story of Pico Lopes,” chides Tikthra, “a lad from Crumlin in inner-city Dublin who was first called up to the Cape Verde team in 2019 and became only the second ever League of Ireland player to qualify for a World Cup. Declan Rice and Pico are the only two former Ireland internationals still left with a chance of winning the World Cup.”

I was getting to him! First of all, I’m glad Crumlin has someone other than Conor McGregor repping for them; secondly, UK telly just showed a lovely interview with him in which he explained he was on LinkedIn for employment purposes and the manager of Cape Verde contacted him. Problem was, the message was in Portuguese so he ignored it, but got another, in English nine months later, and here he is, at the World Cup. His relief remains palpable.

Fighter at Donald Trump’s White House UFC event smears Michelle Obama during interview – US politics live

Josh Hokit gave rambling post-fight interview veering from praising the president to religion and repeating false conspiracy claim about former first lady

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JD Vance also dodged the question when he was asked by CNBC who would be at the signing of the agreement on Friday.

Without addressing who would be present for the US side, he said they “expect the negotiating team from the Iranian side is going to be the Speaker of the House [Mohammad Bagher] Ghalibaf, and also the foreign minister [Abbas] Araghchi, along with a number of security officials and people who represent the different constituencies within their country.”

I think it’s a great day for the American people … our expectation is that the strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long term.

That’s the sort of thing that we’re going to figure out in these technical negotiations. There are a lot of very important details to figure out that we’re actually going to sit at the table and discuss together and figure out a path forward on these details.

And what we’ve said is, OK, let’s talk about how exactly we’re going to do that.

They want access to an unsanctioned economy. We’ve talked about, ‘OK, we’re open to that,’ but that would require a long-term commitment to the inspection and verification regime.

Oil prices sink, stocks soar after Trump announces deal with Iran

Markets rally on expectations that the agreement will ease global energy supply concerns, though analysts warn gas prices may remain elevated for some time.

Middle East crisis live: Trump claims ships carrying oil are moving out of strait of Hormuz after US and Iran agree deal

Initial deal expected to be signed on Friday but Israel has ruled out withdrawing from Lebanon

• Peace deal between US and Iran announced, with strait of Hormuz expected to reopen

• Explainer: what do we know about the US-Iran peace deal?

The agreement between the United ⁠States and Iran should allow for the “immediate reopening” ⁠of the ⁠Strait ​of Hormuz, EU Commission President Ursula von ⁠der Leyen said on Monday.

“The priority now is ⁠its swift and full implementation ​by all parties,” ‌von der ‌Leyen said about the ‌announced deal.

‘She’d consumed a kilo of sand’: 11 Guardian readers on the weirdest things their dogs have ever eaten

Never mind leftovers – some dogs will eat anything, from electrics to wasps’ nests. We asked you to tell us about your pets’ most radical experiments in off-menu dining

I adopted my brother’s middle-aged westie, Maggie. She did tend to eat anything unattended, but usually leaned towards actual food. One memorable day, I came home to a living room carpet covered in what appeared to be termite mounds. Maggie had consumed about a kilo of chinchilla bathing sand and a second course of sanitary towels (the ones with wings). The latter contained some kind of absorbent gel, which made the vomit sculptures impressively solid – the vet who checked her afterwards (Maggie was remarkably unaffected, and certainly did not learn any lesson) remarked that it was something of a miracle that she threw it up. If not for my carpet. Fiona, 56, works for a non-profit research institute, Fulford, North Yorkshire

I have a partially sighted two-year-old red fox labrador and a more matronly five-year-old black lab. I have a long daily commute and my dogs come with me. There wasn’t space for a cage that was big enough for both labs in the boot of my small hatchback, meaning they had free access to the whole boot during our two hours on the road. Last year, the younger one, with possible assistance, ate up all the electrics she could get to, pulling them out from under the back seat. She also ate the floor of the boot, the polystyrene around the spare tyre and the backing of the back seats. All done in relative silence during our drive until the car suddenly stopped in the middle of the road as I was driving out of a car park one morning, with all the warning lights flashing. The entire car had to be rewired, costing around £8,000. Thank goodness for comprehensive car insurance. She is no longer allowed to travel in the boot unless she’s in her cage and, thankfully, nothing she ate needed advanced veterinary attention. Rebecca, 51, veterinary surgeon and researcher, Norway

If the UK wants to rejoin the European Union, it first needs to understand it | Timothy Garton Ash

A full return will require a marathon of democratic persuasion, on the continent as much as in Britain. For one side holds most of the cards

As Britain approaches the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the EU, the British are beginning to debate rejoining what they call Europe. But, as in most previous British debates about “Europe”, this is Europe with the Europe left out. The discussion is all about what would be best for Britain economically and the British politics of getting there. Little or no account is taken of what the rest of Europe thinks or cares about. The other day, the Treasury minister Lord Livermore became the first member of the government to publicly endorse rejoining the EU. “Of course,” he told the House of Lords, “the UK will re-enter the European Union because it’s absolutely in our national economic interest.” As if we had only to knock on the EU’s door and – abracadabra! – we would immediately be welcomed back in.

If you asked all sitting British MPs to say when the European Council is next meeting in Brussels, I doubt that more than a handful could give you the right answer. In fact, I wonder how many could immediately tell you what the European Council is. It’s instructive to look at the agenda for that top table gathering of the national leaders of the 27 EU member states, together with the union’s key institutional leaders. Between 6pm this Thursday and lunchtime on Friday, they hope to discuss Ukraine, the Middle East, the EU’s next seven-year budget, global economic challenges, European defence and security, migration and illicit drugs. So they have, to put it mildly, a lot on their plate.

Timothy Garton Ash is a historian, political writer and Guardian columnist. His new book, Europe in 7½ Chapters, will be published this autumn

EU trade deficit with China reaches record €1bn a day, data shows

Import and export figures come as European leaders prepare to meet this week to address growing imbalance

The EU’s trade deficit with China has reached a record €1bn (£0.8bn) a day, according to official trade data, fuelling concerns over the future of Europe’s “industrial backbone”.

The gap between the EU’s imports from China and exports to China amounted to €31.9bn in April, according to the latest import and export data from the EU statistics body Eurostat.

Could Asian teams be catching up to Europe at this World Cup? | Jonathan Wilson

If there were a shift in world football power, it may look something like the impressive results from South Korea, Japan, Qatar and Australia

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Daichi Kamada’s late equaliser for Japan against the Netherlands on Sunday did not merely mean that the scoreline more accurately reflected the game. It also extended to four the unbeaten run of teams from the Asian confederation against Europe at this tournament. There is a degree of contingency to that record, and nobody should draw definitive conclusions from the first week of a World Cup, but equally if there were a shift in the power dynamics of world football, it might look a bit like this.

The tone was set on day one with South Korea’s victory over Czech Republic. It perhaps shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anybody who saw their qualifying playoff semi-final against Ireland that the Czechs would be so ponderous and lumbering, a side that understood the value of dead balls and long throws and little else. But still, the ease with which South Korea passed their way around them was striking. If Son Heung-min had been the player he was three or four years ago, the Korean victory would have been far more emphatic.

This is an extract from Soccer Desk: World Cup edition, a newsletter from the Guardian US that will run regularly during the tournament. Subscribe for free here.

Supreme Court rejects case over school club's "Defund Planned Parenthood" signs

The dispute rejected by the Supreme Court involved the scope of students' free speech rights and schools' ability to restrict expression that could be viewed as reflecting their endorsement.

Spielberg’s Disclosure Day opens strongly at box office as Obsession, Backrooms – and Michael – smash records

UFO thriller is on track to become director’s best performing original title in the US, taking just shy of $100m in global revenue after opening weekend

Disclosure Day, Steven Spielberg’s thriller in which it is revealed the US has been experimenting on UFOs for almost 80 years, is on track to become his best performing original title in the US.

The film, which opened in 77 territories, took $44m (£32.7m) domestically over the three-day weekend for a global total of about $92.9m (£69.4m) with $7.6m (£5.6m) of that from the UK and Ireland.

Supreme Court won't take up 98-year-old judge's bid to hear cases again

Judge Pauline Newman, who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has been suspended from hearing cases because of concerns about her fitness to serve.

Two men found guilty over arson attacks linked to Keir Starmer

Roman Lavrynovych and Stanislav Carpiuc convicted at Old Bailey over attacks on property and car connected to PM

Two men have been found guilty of conspiring to carry out arson attacks on property and a car connected to Keir Starmer.

Roman Lavrynovych, 22, from Ukraine, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, from Romania, were found guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday. Another Ukrainian man, Petro Pochynok, 35, was cleared of the same charge.

Vance denies that Iran will receive "billions of dollars of assets" in deal

Vice President JD Vance denied that Iran will receive "billions of dollars of assets" as part of a the U.S.-Iran deal that was announced Sunday and is set to be signed later this week.

Argentinian activist who spent 50 years looking for disappeared son dies

Outpouring of public grief for Lidia ‘Taty’ Almeida, leader of group of mothers that has marched every week since 1977

The human rights activist Lidia “Taty” Almeida – who spent more than half a century searching for her son after he was forcibly disappeared by Argentina’s military junta – has died aged 95, prompting a public outpouring of grief.

Almeida, 95, was the president of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, made up of women who have marched around the square outside Argentina’s presidential palace every Thursday since 1977, demanding the return of children who were disappeared during the country’s 1976-1983 dictatorship.

Supreme Court rejects Carter Page's effort to revive suit over FBI surveillance

The Trump administration and Carter Page reached a $1.25 million settlement only of his claims against the federal government in April.

A cathedral on fire and a ‘Frankenwrap’: photos of the day – Monday

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

No Crocs or baby onesies - the draconian Delaney Hall dress code ICE uses to deem toddlers ‘too provocative’

Visitors say arbitrary and changing rules prevent visitation and cause stress to families and their detained loved ones

In January, Gabriela Soto’s husband was detained in Delaney Hall, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Newark, New Jersey. She has been “very stressed” in the months since, comforting her heartbroken children and spending thousands of dollars on asylum-related legal cases. She has regularly visited her husband on weekends at the facility. She is one of hundreds of visitors lining up every week to see loved ones.

But Delaney Hall has rejected her visits time and time again over supposed dress code violations. More than 10 times, Soto said, she has been told that either she or her children could not visit because of what they were wearing.

Right now, we could be living through a hantavirus disaster. The world avoided that, and this is why | Devi Sridhar

As the isolation period comes to an end for those caught up in the outbreak on a cruise ship, let’s celebrate a good news story

passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship where the hantavirus outbreak first occurred finished their isolation periods this past Sunday. This is a public health success story worth celebrating, because so many worse results were possible. We heard so much about what went wrong during Covid and the various systems that failed, so it’s good to recognise when things go right – even if you won’t hear about it in the evening news.

There were 147 passengers and crew, and on 4 May seven cases of respiratory illness on board were identified as the Andes strain of hantavirus, which has been known to spread from human to human. This was already an extremely unlucky outcome – hantavirus is deadly, with death rates approaching 30% based on recent research, but most strains only spread from animals to humans.

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

Woman, 21, dies after being thrown from Brazil rope jump bridge without harness

Instructors hurled Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas into 40-metre abyss without attaching safety equipment

A 21-year-old woman who died when two rope jumping instructors threw her from a bridge without first harnessing her to security equipment, has been buried in Brazil’s São Paulo state.

Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was rope jumping on Saturday at Ponte do Esqueleto, an abandoned bridge in the municipality of Limeira where tourists practice extreme sports. The young woman, who aspired to become a physical education teacher, had asked to be launched from the bridge airplane style, with two instructors hoisting her above their shoulders as she spread out her arms.

A year after Meta tapped Alexandr Wang to build a new AI model, Zuckerberg has to sell it

Mark Zuckerberg's mega spending spree began a year ago, when he lured Alexandr Wang to oversee a new AI strategy. The results so far are underwhelming.

3,600 stock trades in 3 months: Breaking down Trump's flurry of investments

President Trump's investment accounts traded between $212 million and $695 million in stocks and other securities in the first three months of the year — an unprecedented sum for a sitting president.

Micro-staycations: why are people holidaying an hour away from home?

Mindful of steep airfares and global uncertainty, more and more UK holiday-makers are staying close – very close – to home. Does this mean Milton Keynes is the new Malaga?

Name: Micro-staycations.

Age: New.

Court of appeal to review sentence for man who murdered Henry Nowak

Solicitor general asks for Vickrum Digwa’s 21-year minimum jail term to be reviewed under ‘unduly lenient sentence’ scheme

The 21-year minimum jail term handed to a Sikh man who murdered Henry Nowak is to be reviewed by the court of appeal after a referral by the solicitor general.

In a statement on Monday, the solicitor general, Ellie Reeves, said the case had “horrified me”.

Tallying the global cost of the US-Israel war against Iran

From thousands of lives lost to an economic shock likely to plunge millions into poverty, the world is paying dearly

It would be hard to find a human on Earth unaffected by the US-Israel war against Iran. Several thousand have been killed. Millions more pay are paying each day in steeper food prices or at the petrol pump, and as inflation eats away at the value of their earnings.

For many, the final bill has not yet come, but it will eventually. They will pay for the long-term damage caused by the biggest threat of all to the global economy: uncertainty.

11 skydivers and pilot killed in plane crash near Kansas City

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the fatal crash occurred near the Butler Memorial Airport, about 60 miles south of Kansas City.

U.S. peace deal with Iran in question as Israel strikes Lebanon, Trump warns not to 'blow it'

An initial deal to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz was expected to be signed this week.

Is Lewis Hamilton genuinely a contender to win the F1 world title with Ferrari? | Luke McLaughlin

Stunning Barcelona triumph has kickstarted veteran’s push to win record eighth drivers’ championship but Kimi Antonelli still stands in way

When the soaring emotions began to settle one question remained. After his life-affirming maiden win for Ferrari in Barcelona, is Lewis Hamilton in contention for the Formula One drivers’ championship?

Typically, in a sport where there are innumerable competing voices, it depends who you ask. But with the 41-year-old’s consummate display at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya capturing his first victory for the Scuderia, there is no doubt Hamilton remains among the elite drivers on the grid.

KFC leans into boneless chicken, new drinks as chain tries to regain market share

KFC is facing more competition from legacy giants and upstarts alike, thanks to the growing global popularity of chicken.

Son of Norway’s crown princess convicted of rape and sentenced to four years in prison

Marius Borg Høiby found guilty of ⁠two ​counts of rape, one count of domestic violence and other ⁠crimes

Marius Borg Høiby, the son of Norway’s crown princess, has been sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of several offences including two counts of rape.

The verdict was handed down by the Oslo district court on Monday morning in a courthouse packed with journalists, nearly three months after Høiby’s closely watched six-week trial.

Severe storms bring heavy rain and high winds, toppling trees and power lines in parts of U.S.

Severe weather brought torrential rain and gusty winds to Ohio and Pennsylvania over the weekend while dangerous flash flooding hit central Texas. Rob Marciano has the latest.

Football Daily | From rock-bottom to World Cup force: Sweden provide life-affirming message

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A broken leg, surgery, working for David Sullivan, being sacked by David Sullivan, to say things had looked bleak for Sweden’s main men during the Premier League season is an understatement. Alexander Isak and Graham Potter were at a low ebb; the former failed to live up to his record-breaking £125m move to Liverpool, unable to find fitness nor form, ending the campaign with a pitiful four goals in 22 games having never got going at Anfield. Potter was churned out by West Ham in September, deemed unfit to lead the team forward, a low moment for anyone at the London Stadium. In fairness, the team was doomed regardless and while he is leading a team to a 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia at the Geopolitics World Cup, the Hammers are planning for life in the Championship and Sullivan is no longer co-chair.

Poor Haiti tried everything to change their destiny against Scotland over the weekend, even swapping Providence for Fortuné in the 86th minute” – Sholem Lenkiewicz.

Margaritha coming on for a Curaçao led by D1ck Advocaat is definitely the most alcoholic GWC moment so far. Meanwhile, following on from the idea that Football Daily does not do weekends (yesterday’s Football Daily letters), yesterday’s edition ended in my junk folder” – Nigel Sanders [and balance is restored – Football Daily Ed].

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

Man arrested over 2017 ‘Putney pusher’ incident on south-west London bridge

Police say 44-year-old arrested on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm, after woman pushed into path of bus

A man suspected of being the “Putney pusher” who appeared to shove a woman into the path of a bus while jogging on Putney Bridge in south-west London has been arrested nine years after the incident.

On Monday, the Metropolitan police force – which had closed the case in 2018 – announced the arrest of a 44-year-old man on suspicion of causing attempted grievous bodily harm.

Settler products from occupied Palestine sold to Europe as Israeli, investigation finds

Shipments deliberately mislabelled to bolster settler economy, says non-profit Global Echo

Israeli exporters to Europe regularly hide the origin of produce grown in occupied Palestine to qualify for unlawful tax breaks that bolster the settler economy, a rights group investigation has found.

The legal non-profit Global Echo analysed more than 30,000 export documents for thousands of Israeli shipments to the UK and EU over eight years.

Brendon McCullum concerned for Ben Stokes after England captain dropped

• Stokes and Atkinson left out for Test over curfew breach

• McCullum speaking to Stokes, not pushing him to return

Brendon McCullum has spoken of his concern for Ben Stokes’s wellbeing as the England captain sits out this week’s second Test against New Zealand as a result of his breaking the team curfew after the first Test at Lord’s.

The fallout from Stokes and his teammate Gus Atkinson deciding to spend the early hours of last Monday morning at a Chelsea nightclub rather than the team hotel has dominated the week between the two matches. While McCullum, the England head coach, admitted he initially had a strong negative reaction to learning about the curfew breach, he said this quickly changed. He has spoken to Stokes every day since the story broke, and said those conversations had left him feeling worried.

Shergar’s sad demise has racefans hoping famous colours sparkle at Royal Ascot

The all-time great’s Stud is represented by Daryz at the premier Flat meeting of the year on Wednesday

There are high hopes for a royal winner at Ascot this week, when the king and queen are expected to have a runner on the first four days of the meeting. Many fans, though, will also hope to see the green and red of the Aga Khan Studs in the winner’s enclosure after the weekend brought final closure in the ill-starred story of Shergar, whose 10-length winning margin in the 1981 Derby remains the all-time record.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, the daughter of Shergar’s owner and breeder, Aga Khan IV, confirmed what had been the general wisdom in racing for many years – that the five-year-old stallion was shot not long after being kidnapped from Ballymany Stud in County Kildare by an armed IRA gang in February 1983.

Anish Kapoor review – this gutsy, gore-splattered show is a divine bloodbath

Hayward Gallery, London
Butcher bags, human sacrifice and cavernous black holes … in a world of dry art this stunning exhibition forces us to confront religion and mortality

It’s the clinging, transparent PVC that does it, a horribly surgical-looking, synthetic skin covering each of Anish Kapoor’s three paintings – can we call them that? – entitled Plastic Sacrifice I, II, III. They resemble a serial killer’s trophy art. Through the wrapping you gawp at three-dimensional purple and crimson entrails that slop off the wall, forming valleys and protuberances that, it seems, would collapse all over the floor if the carnage wasn’t contained by these butcher bags.

Sensationalist and macabre? Rembrandt’s painting Slaughtered Ox is just as visceral as it contemplates the flayed, hollowed body of a huge ox hanging upside down, its yellow fat and blood-dark meat a mirror of our own doomed flesh, not to mention the crucifixion. In the age of smartphones and minuscule attention spans, Kapoor gives artistic depth a go, addressing God and mortality, those themes of the old masters, in a metaphysical rollercoaster ride of a show, a divine bloodbath.

Critics say Trump’s opening of public lands to off-road vehicles is ‘reckless and nonsensical’

Move is part of broad effort to open public lands to industry and other uses, threatening wildlife and ecosystems

The Trump administration is executing a controversial plan to allow dirt bikes, ATVs, trucks, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles to drive through tens of millions of acres of public lands and national parks, which environmental groups warn threatens endangered species and the environment.

The plan’s opponents say the impacts will be wide-ranging and that the vehicles will likely destroy sensitive habitats, harm waterways, drive large predators like grizzly bears into contact with humans, and otherwise damage pristine public lands and parks.

‘It’s more exciting than ketchup!’ How chilli crisp became the hottest condiment – and how to make your own

This crunchy, spicy wonder has made a fortune for its Chinese creator – and inspired hundreds of British-Asian versions. Time to get tasting …

Walk down the specialist aisle in most British supermarkets and you will find a red jar with the kindly face of a middle-aged Chinese woman staring back at you. Branded Lao Gan Ma, meaning “old godmother”, these jars contain chilli crisp – a spicy, crunchy and moreish umami condiment that has made made hundreds of millions for Tao Huabi, the woman on the label. Doused over steaming dumplings, fried eggs, noodles and even ice-cream, Lao Gan Ma’s chilli crisp has become a social media sensation in recent years and has spawned a thriving cottage industry of independent chilli crisp producers in the UK.

“It’s such a convenient shortcut to flavour when you use it as a condiment,” says Fuchsia Dunlop, an expert in Chinese cuisine. “Every Asian cuisine has a form of chilli oil, but China and Lao Gan Ma invented chilli crisp and now the western world is more interested in authentic flavours, thanks partly to social media.” People, she says, want to have their own taste of that authenticity. “It’s far more exciting than a bottle of ketchup!”

Prediction market trader created AI-powered program to help him win big

Prediction market platforms give fans the chance to make money on anything from predicting where Taylor Swift will get married to major sports. But a recent study found the top 1% of traders on Polymarket capture more than three-quarters of all gains. Jo Ling Kent spoke with a prediction market trader who wrote an AI-powered computer program to help him win big.

Former American businessman detained in Myanmar after alleged financial misconduct

Adam Castillo, founder of AGS Myanmar, was detained Thursday at Yangon International Airport. The U.S. State Department is aware of a reported detention but hasn't commented further.

US and UK central banks expected to keep interest rates on hold amid Iran peace deal

Federal Reserve to make first decision under Kevin Warsh as Middle East hopes ease inflation pressures

• Business live – latest updates

Central banks in the US and UK are expected to leave interest rates on hold this week as the peace deal in the Middle East is expected to ease inflationary pressures.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate at a range of 3.5% to 3.75% on Thursday, in what will be the first policy decision under new Fed chair – and Donald Trump’s pick – Kevin Warsh.

Witness describes deadly skydiving plane crash: "No way anyone could have ... survived that"

Eleven skydivers and their pilot were killed after their plane crashed just after takeoff in Butler, Missouri. Lana Zak spoke to a witness who saw how it unfolded.

‘I call this dish Frida Kahlo Against the World. It’s hot and horny!’ My thrilling week of Fridamania in Mexico City

The bar she drank at, the bed she recuperated in, the canals she daytripped to, the studio she stormed out of, the easel she painted her final masterpiece at … ahead of a major Tate show, our writer finds Kahlo’s spirit alive in her home town

‘Today you’re going to eat art,” says Federico Valdez, a chef at the School of Mexican Cuisine and a man so passionate about food he has the word Queso (Cheese) tattooed on his forearm. “Today,” continues Valdez, “you’re going to eat history.” What unfolds, in a sun-filled dining room lined with Mexican flowers, books and artefacts, is a three-course feast inspired by Frida Kahlo, her life, her art and her loves, including her first lesbian affair.

The starter, inspired by her childhood fascination with revolution, is a lightly spiced Mexican take on pirozhki, the Russian favourite. The main dish – served with pulque, an agave-derived drink Kahlo loved – taps into her rebellious spirit. “It’s called Frida Against the World,” says Valdez, as we are presented with a giant stuffed chilli that sits amid a nutty, beany sauce similar to the one eaten at Kahlo’s wedding to Diego Rivera, then the most famous artist in the world, now much more in her shadow.

UK’s oldest Indian restaurant takes crown estate to court over theatened eviction

Michelin-starred Veeraswamy faces closure as King Charles’s property developer refuses to renew its lease

The UK’s oldest Indian restaurant will be taking the crown estate to court this month as it faces eviction.

Veeraswamy has been serving up curries on Regent Street in London for a century, but now faces closure as the property portfolio owned by King Charles has refused to renew its lease.

Amorim agrees to become Milan head coach in boost to Manchester United finances

• Portuguese will replace Massimiliano Allegri at San Siro

• United will not need to pay full £16.7m compensation

Ruben Amorim is poised to return to management after agreeing to become Milan’s head coach. The move will make Manchester United a significant saving on his compensation package, the club having dismissed him in January.

Amorim will replace Massimiliano Allegri at Milan after accepting a two-year contract, with the option of a third, and will be tasked with turning things around after the club finished fifth in Serie A.

U.S. and Iran reach deal to end the Mideast war, with agreement set to be signed Friday

The deal follows weeks of mixed messaging from both Washington and Tehran on the trajectory of the conflict.

‘The next pandemic will not wait’: Lula and WHO director in urgent plea for leaders to finalise agreement

As Ebola spreads in the DRC, the Brazilian president and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ask leaders to agree pandemic treaty created after Covid

World leaders have been urged to keep a promise to the millions of people who died during Covid by finalising an agreement on how to deal with future pandemics.

As a G7 summit begins in France, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, and Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have issued a joint letter saying a treaty needs urgent political backing at the highest level because “the next pandemic will not wait for us”.

O Romeow … cat steals the show during final scene at Romeo and Juliet ballet - video

A cat decided it was the main character during the final scene of a Romeo and Juliet performance by the Imperial Russian Ballet Company in Izmir, Turkey. The cat had a lie down, licked itself and played with Romeo's hair as the performers kept going with their performance undeterred while onlookers chuckled in the background.

The Toymaker’s Key review – steampunk sci-fi animation is eclectic if overwrought

Produced by a very small team, this fantasy adventure story, though chaotic and derivative, hints at what future tech-savvy creators could produce beyond studio constraints

This independently made British fantasy-sci-fi animated feature is described by its makers as a “motion comic film” and seems to be, judging by its end credits, the work of little more than a dozen people, six of whom worked on the song that plays over the aforementioned credits. The script is painfully derivative, an unholy alchemical amalgam that features chiselled-cheeked heroes, duplicitous helpers with parti-coloured hair, purple-skinned butterfly people whose females have perfect nipple-less breasts, a sprinkling of Metropolis-like robot workers, and a generous dash of steampunk futurism strained through the sieve of Japanese anime.

The animation itself is decidedly odd, a no-less eclectic mix of animatics, limited movement and occasional close-ups featuring hyper-realistic facial movements as if executed via a CGI version of rotoscoping. It’s also almost entirely humourless, and yet given a choice between it and, say, some Hollywood comics franchise release with a squillion-dollar budget I think I’d rather watch this. At least it feels more like the future of film-making instead of the IP-obsessed past the mainstream industry keeps foisting on us.

Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for gochujang crispy rice and avocado salad | Quick and easy

A crunchy, tangy antithesis to traditional soggy rice salads

There are not many foods I will pass on, but a traditional rice salad is something I have never been able to get on board with – soggy dressed grains just don’t do it for me texturally. However, the current trend of roasting or pan-frying the grains is a whole other story. I love the added flavour it brings, the crunchy texture, and the way the rice soaks up everything with which it is enrobed. This gochujang dressing is my new obsession, adding enough spice to elevate things, and finishing with chunks of creamy avocado and a punchy hit of tangy lime. Serve straight away, or leave the roast rice to cool before dressing, it’s up to you. Either way, I guarantee it won’t last long.

Explore Trump's 3,600 stock trades from the first 3 months of 2026

View the companies and sectors the president's investment accounts bought and sold.

Spain’s prime minister faces difficult week as wife and ex-PM summoned before judges

Pedro Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, charged and predecessor José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero investigated over offences including influence peddling

• Europe live – latest updates

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is facing one of the longest and most difficult weeks of his premiership as his wife and his fellow socialist predecessor prepare to appear before judges investigating them for alleged influence peddling and other offences.

Sánchez, who came to power in 2018 by promising to end the corruption that had mired the ruling conservative People’s party (PP), has found his family, his party and his administration engulfed by a series of scandals.

As Luigi Mangione's lawyers head to court, support grows for the accused 'vigilante'

Luigi Mangione's legal team is back in court in New York City this week for a key pretrial hearing. He's accused of stalking and killing an insurance CEO. Donors have given $1.5 million to support his defense.

White House hosts "UFC Freedom 250" fight on Trump's 80th birthday

The UFC hosted a fight series on the White House South Lawn Sunday night.

Referee denied entry into U.S. was talking to "very bad people," official says

Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House's World Cup task force and the son of former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said he stood by the U.S.'s decision to reject Omar Artan.

World Cup kicks off with 3 opening ceremonies, 48 teams, billions of fans

With matches being played in 11 cities across the U.S., Mexico and Canada​, fans are getting three World Cup opening ceremonies.

Trump says France must scrap tech 'sales tax' or face 100% wine tariffs: NY Post

President Donald Trump issued the threat ahead of this week's G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France.

Social media firms hit back as Starmer announces ban for under-16s in UK

Meta, YouTube and Snapchat say ban, which would stop children using their platforms, will drive them to ‘less safe services’

• UK politics live – latest updates

• How will the ban work?

• UK parents: how do you feel about the ban?

Britain’s plans to ban social media for under-16s will push teenagers towards more harmful platforms, the world’s biggest technology companies have said as ministers push to enact the new restrictions by next spring.

Meta, YouTube and Snapchat have all criticised the ban, which was announced by Keir Starmer on Monday and would stop younger teenagers from using their services.

Fifa plans symbolic Israel v Palestine fixture as opening game of new under-15s tournament

• Tournament open to all Fifa members, including Russia

• Infantino wants to use football to promote peace

Fifa wants to schedule a symbolic match between Israel and Palestine as the opening game of a new under-15s tournament in the United States in September.

Although not an official Under-15 World Cup, the competition will be open to all 211 Fifa members, including Russia, who remain banned at senior level.

Mr Monopoly vs Mr Burns: The Simpsons take over Monopoly Go

Bart and co’s latest video game venture involved the show’s writers, animators and voice talent – plus a showdown between the two infamous tycoons. ‘It’s a true little Simpsons episode,’ say creators

Every generation gets its own Simpsons game. Them’s the rule-diddly-ules. For some, it was the arcade cabinets that swallowed pocket money throughout the 1990s. For others, it was The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio. For millennials like myself, it was The Simpsons: Hit & Run. Joe Zanetti, vice-president of operations at Monopoly Go! developer Scopely, traces his Simpsons gaming nostalgia back to Konami’s 1991 brawler, The Simpsons Arcade Game. “That’s the one that made such an impression on me,” he says.

It certainly did, because Springfield has just crash-landed in Monopoly Go! itself through a collaboration involving Simpsons writers, animators and voice talent alongside a new animated short starring Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer and Will Ferrell. While most licensed TV games have faded into obscurity, The Simpsons keeps finding new digital lives.

Trump announces deal to end war in Iran. And, how to stay safe in deadly heat

Trump says a deal has been reached to end the war between the U.S. and Iran. Plus, this is what extreme temperatures do to the human body — and how you can keep yourself safe.

Trump presides over spectacles of violence like a dysfunctional Roman emperor | Moira Donegan

The sordid UFC event represents his own efforts to symbolically fuse the federal government with his person, to insist that he is America and is the state

Hitler dreamed of a 1,000-year Reich; Putin is said to have baroque dreams of territorial conquest meant to restore a dubiously historical empire he calls “Greater Russia”. Sure, there are people around Donald Trump who imagine using his rise to power to establish some sort of grand, civilizational project: there are the white nationalists who dream of a country purged of those they deem racially impure; there are the Christian nationalists who imagine a future theocracy in which women wear long braids and skirts, and don’t vote; there are the techno-reactionaries who imagine a future of interplanetary colonies, techno-assisted eugenics, and polygamous harems.

But Trump himself is conspicuously small in his dreams: his are comparatively little ambitions, not extending far beyond the reach of his ego and his senses.

Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist

Britain will ban under-16s from social media apps, including TikTok and YouTube

The ban will apply to platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. The move makes the U.K. part of a growing global movement to tighten online safety for children.

The man who bought Diane Keaton’s nail clippers also owns Whoopi Goldberg’s teapot: ‘It will have her fingerprints on it’

Exclusive: The recent auction of the star’s belongings included designer outfits and her iconic bowler hats, but a box of assorted pins proved more tempting for one collector

Gustavo Egusquiza knew as soon as he opened the auction catalogue. “I saw them, and I knew I wanted them,” he says of Diane Keaton’s nail clippers. “It was something that she would have used every day, so it was a tiny piece of Diane’s life. It is objects like this that reveal the intimate parts of a person’s real life.”

Egusquiza, a travel journalist and consultant from Bilbao, Spain, admits to being a little celebrity obsessed and is building up a collection of memorabilia that includes Whoopi Goldberg’s teapot and statuette from Larry King’s office.

Racism monitor urges Fifa to remove World Cup official over ‘white supremacy’ gesture

• VAR official Shaun Evans made ‘OK’ sign with right hand

• Resembles white power symbol used in far-right circles

Fifa’s discrimination monitor at the World Cup called for a video assistant referee (VAR) to be removed for appearing to make a hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign.

When the official broadcast of Germany’s opening game against Curaçao on Sunday cut pre-game to show the team of VAR officials, Shaun Evans from Australia made an “OK” symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg. Though the game was played in Houston, VAR officials work in Dallas at the World Cup broadcast centre. In 2019, the gesture – with thumb and forefinger touched in a circle and other fingers outstretched – was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.

Hunter Biden’s funny, honest X posts win fans – even Republicans

Self-deprecating jokes and mental health advocacy have gone viral, and his political commentary is proving popular

It’s been quite the journey for Hunter Biden. In the space of a few weeks, the former first son has gone from a man seen as a political liability to an unlikely galvanizing force within the Democratic party, through his emergence on social media as a mental health advocate, razzer of Republicans, and working-class whisperer.

In the process Biden has switched from the GOP’s bete noire to, actually, someone that a fair number of Republican voters seem to like.

Disclosure Day: alien conspiracies, car chases and a jaw-dropping climax – discuss with spoilers

Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi blockbuster is a non-stop thrill ride, but did it convince you that we are not alone?

• This article contains spoilers for Disclosure Day

Six months after a cryptic billboard reading “All Will Be Disclosed” popped up unannounced in Times Square, Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day was finally released at global cinemas last week. The film sees the director returning to the sci-fi themes that have fascinated him throughout his career, braiding together multiple character storylines in an adrenaline-fueled – and occasionally dizzying – adventure. Read on for a spoiler-packed breakdown of the film’s themes, layers and Easter eggs, and let us know what you think in the comments.

The pet I’ll never forget: Joey, the sickly calf who helped me through a fog of grief

I had just lost my brother when Joey arrived – also struggling and in need of TLC. Caring for him gave me a routine, and taught me that life is worth the fight

As a farmer’s daughter my life has been full of animals. Joey arrived soon after my brother’s sudden death when I was just 18. We were all reeling with grief. Then this tiny twin calf arrived, born to one of my brother’s favourite cows. His twin died almost immediately, but I rebelled against the pragmatic advice of the farm manager to let this one slip away too.

I hand-milked his mother and fed him myself, and took him home to my little cottage where I could watch him whenever I wasn’t at work on the farm, learning the trade. He took up residence there alongside my lurcher puppy, Gail, who accepted him without fuss. It was an unlikely trio – a grieving girl, a dog and a calf – finding our way through the fog of loss together.

America’s authoritarians operate with impunity. It’s time to take action | Jan-Werner Müller

If Democrats won’t ensure accountability, Americans should look to the example of Argentina’s escraches

Recently Greg Bovino, infamous former Border Patrol commander, served as a star attraction at a “remigration summit” in Portugal; there he took selfies with Austrian activist Martin Sellner, one of Europe’s most notorious rightwing extremists, and told him: “We’ve never talked before – face to face, that is – until yesterday, and we were on the same sheet of music almost immediately.”

Meanwhile, Tina Peters, the disgraced former elections clerk whose sentence was commuted by Colorado governor Jared Polis, pontificates on Steve Bannon’s show about how Democrats will cheat in the midterms. It is rare that those out of government service show contrition, but it is also rare that they immediately monetize past cruelty and present-day conspiracy theories. Presumably it is only a matter of time before the men who killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti get to cash in with podcasts for Maga world.

Jan-Werner Müller is a Guardian US columnist and a professor of politics at Princeton University

U.S. and Iran announce a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz

The deal is a major breakthrough in the conflict that set the Middle East aflame and shook the global economy. However, it did not resolve critical issues set aside for further negotiations.

Death in Venice: Willem Dafoe thrills theatre biennale with adventurous shows about ghosts and rebirth

From a Noh Othello that puts Desdemona centre stage to a requiem for a family killed in the Rwandan genocide, the theatre at this year’s festival gives voice to the marginalised

When Willem Dafoe took over at the creative helm of the Venice theatre biennale last year, he shaped the programme around his own passions. Dafoe selected experimental theatre companies that had influenced him as a young actor and took to the stage for an arcane and rather mannered two-hander by Richard Foreman which involved the declaiming of non-sequitur notes from a series of index cards. It all seemed less avant garde, more nostalgic.

This year, the 54th edition, is thankfully very different. Dafoe’s programme is broad and outward looking, with genuine cultural range and an interesting fusion of theatrical traditions. The lineup stretches from Europe to Indonesia (Yusril Katil’s Under the Volcano, among other productions) and India (Sharmila Biswas’s Mischief Dance). There is a flamboyant hybridity to shows such as Satoshi Miyagi’s Mugen Noh Othello, which melds Noh with Shakespeare, and Christos Stergioglou and Alex Drakos Ktistakis’ Cries, which combines physical theatre with musical storytelling, and contemporary themes with ancient Greek drama.

‘He understands soft power’: why Andy Burnham put music at the heart of his political identity

Oasis and Elbow have soundtracked Burnham’s byelection campaign and he got Liam Gallagher doing Manchester’s tram announcements. Will he keep banging the drum for music if he reaches Westminster?

First came Andy Burnham’s Makerfield byelection campaign launch video, with the Greater Manchester mayor stomping down red-brick streets soundtracked by homegrown stars Oasis, Elbow and James. Then came the eye-catching, northern soul-influenced campaign logo: Change Labour, Keep the Faith. And this week, it is not just pubs and clubs but music venues that would be part of Burnham’s proposed business rates cut.

As he looks to return to Westminster then make a bid for party leadership, music is part of Brand Burnham in a way that is unusual for a mainstream politician, in a campaign where he has pitched “Manchesterism” as the solution to Britain’s woes. But it is a policy platform that can be as vague and vibes-based as a Noel Gallagher verse. How does the Mayor’s love affair with Manchester’s music industry shine a light not just on “Manchesterism”, but the man behind it?

When I chose the New York Knicks, I was also choosing to live. This title moment is what it was all for

I became a fan of this team to connect with my father. Their NBA championship does not erase the heartbreaks and hurt of the past – it completes the journey

Do you know what you want your last thought to be? I have waited my whole life for mine.

Most people, I imagine, don’t choose theirs. They arrive at the end and find loved ones’ faces gathered around their bed. Their subconscious gifts them the sound of their child’s laugh, or the memory of their wedding day rises from the dark like a lantern, unbidden. The mind, in its final kindness, selects for them. But I decided long ago that I would not leave that to chance. I decided, the way you decide anything important, deliberately and a little defiantly, the way I have decided most things in my life.

‘It gets me every time’: why Jerry Maguire is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers calling attention to their go-to mood-lifting films is a celebration of Cameron Crowe’s unconventional romantic comedy

The first time I encountered Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, I was home from film school for the summer, trying to refine my taste and figure out what I was “into”. One afternoon, I pressed play on Jerry Maguire, thinking I’d while away some lazy hours with a silly Hollywood picture. But the movie was a jolt to my numbed senses. It was obvious: Jerry Maguire was what I was into. It was a thrilling epiphany, if also a little disappointing. I wanted to be sophisticated, and yet the truth was that I liked … schmaltzy romcoms.

Even as my taste matured and expanded, I kept returning to Jerry Maguire. Its feelgood nature is baked into the premise: Jerry (an electrifying Tom Cruise) is an indefatigable sports agent who overcomes both personal and professional challenges in the path to fulfillment. But the real reason why it makes you feel good is that Jerry’s arduous path transforms him. He doesn’t fall in love with Renee Zellweger’s Dorothy Boyd until they’ve already married and separated; there is no honeymoon-phase montage. The film’s romcom reputation can probably be attributed to its emotional climax: Jerry’s tear-jerking, glorious win-her-back speech, which introduced the phrases “you complete me” and “you had me at hello” to the cultural lexicon. In a traditional romcom, in which marriage is often the coveted conclusion, this moment would precede the wedding.

‘It’s about the power of music and art’: Glyndebourne stages its first ever L’Orfeo – photo essay

We go behind the scenes at rehearsals for William Kentridge’s new staging of Monteverdi’s 1607 opera l’Orfeo

‘L’Orfeo is an opera about opera. It’s an opera about the power of music. It’s about the power of art to construct the world,” says director and artist William Kentridge. Claudio Monteverdi’s 1607 work is, if not quite the first ever opera, the earliest opera still performed today, written when the form was in its very infancy.

Monteverdi called his work – composed for performance at the ducal court of Mantua, a “favola in musica – legend in music”. “Monteverdi was a genius,” says conductor Jonathan Cohen. “The piece is about the world’s most famous musician. He begins with a prologue where he has the allegorical character of La Musica [Music, here sung by Francesca Aspromonte, who also sings Eurydice in this production], who says ‘I am music, and I have the power to stop the birds singing, the power over nature.’ And of course Orfeo, the musician, has the power to control even the rocks, the trees, the animals and effect human emotions.”

William Kentridge (centre) during rehearsals, above, and, below, Kentridge talks with Francesca Aspromonte (La Musica/Euridice) and Roseline Wilkens (Euridice). Photograph by David Levene

They're uninsured after Obamacare became too costly. They're far from alone.

After congressional Republicans let expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans expire at the end of last year, some families have decided the price is too great of a financial burden and canceled their coverage.

Campaigns are embracing influencers, but internet stardom doesn't always win votes

It's becoming common for campaigns to seek out viral moments and the support of internet stars to reach new voters. But the strategy, albeit flashy, has yielded mixed results in key races this year.

It's been a thrilling start to the World Cup. Here are the highlights and what's next

Now that the FIFA World Cup is underway in Mexico, Canada and the U.S., the drama has shifted to the fields, where there have been several surprising results heading into the first full week.

Kyiv monastery set on fire in night of Russian attacks across Ukraine

Dormition Cathedral at Unesco world heritage site struck along with residential buildings across capital

• Europe live – latest updates

A massive Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv has badly damaged the Dormition Cathedral in the Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, a Unesco world heritage site and one of Ukraine’s most significant religious and cultural sites.

Five people were killed in Kyiv, where waves of drones and missiles drove residents to underground shelters and heavy explosions echoed throughout the capital. Kyiv’s Oleksandr Dovzhenko national film studio, which houses Ukraine’s largest and oldest costume collection, was also hit.

Weather tracker: Saharan heat to send temperatures soaring across Europe

Heatwave conditions build over much of continent, while mild start to winter continues in parts of Australia

Hot weather is expected across Europe this week as heatwave conditions build over large swathes of the continent.

A mass of hot air from the Sahara has settled over the Iberian peninsula and spread into southern and western France, pushing temperatures widely into the low- and mid-30s celsius.

Wash by Erica Wagner review – vivid portrait of a monumental American

The life of the Brooklyn Bridge’s chief engineer inspires this multifaceted novel

Washington Augustus Roebling, or “Wash”, was the chief engineer on the Brooklyn Bridge, which, when opened to the public on 24 May 1883, was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It was quite an achievement, but he didn’t do it alone. On the one hand there was his father, the austere and tyrannical John Roebling, who had designed and begun the bridge before his untimely death in 1869. On the other there was his wife, the accomplished and capable Emily, who, as well as providing moral and secretarial support, took on ever more responsibility for the project after Washington’s own health began to fail mysteriously.

Wash is something of a companion piece to Chief Engineer, Erica Wagner’s 2017 biography of Roebling. Spurning what she calls in her afterword “the clock’s time”, she has instead structured the narrative in accordance with “the soul’s time”; that is, by jumping backwards and forwards in time and place in a series of short chapters emphasising those individual moments, choices and encounters that together made this remarkable man who he was. It is a bold and engaging, if somewhat disorienting approach, giving this slender novel a vividness and intensity that might be smoothed over in a more traditional narrative arc.

Angel’s Egg review – Mamoru Oshii’s dazzling 1985 anime is an eerie philosophical adventure

Christian theology becomes an unsettling and visually ravishing mystery in early film from the Ghost in the Shell director

This 1985 anime is a true curio: a furtive, portentous odyssey into a hollowed-out landscape told largely in symbolist images. A million miles away from director Mamoru Oshii’s often-logorrheic films (such as his best-known work, Ghost in the Shell from 1995), it still swills around plenty of philosophical concepts linked to his fascination with Christian theology. But like the egg being lugged around by the film’s nameless female protagonist, or the giant fish shadows swimming across the town facades, this is Christian theology as if half-remembered millennia later, or in the aftermath of a bad dream.

The waif (voiced by Mako Hyōdō) carries this ovum under her petticoats, like some pre-pubescent immaculate conception, while scavenging a dark, mittel-European-style city for flasks of water. One day, she’s startled to see a skinny princeling (Jinpachi Nezu) step out from a giant mechanised war machine trundling down the street. She scarpers, but later runs into him and his weird cruciform gun sitting on a set of steps. Showing him the egg, she accepts him, at least temporarily, as a protector in this shadowy burgh, where bands of fishers run after fish silhouettes. But it’s far from clear if he’s benevolent. “If an egg is not cracked open, there is no way of telling what it contains,” he says.

Is it true that … you have five seconds’ grace after dropping food on the floor?

Many of us have reassured ourselves with the ‘five second rule’, but bacteria can transfer almost immediately – and sticks around for hours

You drop a piece of cucumber on the floor. Do you immediately throw it in the bin or reassure yourself of the age-old “five-second rule” and reckon it’s fine to pop it in your mouth after a quick rinse?

If you fall into the latter camp, John Tregoning, professor of vaccine immunology at Imperial College London, has some bad news. He refers to three studies into bacteria transfer that all point towards the rule being false.

The problem with ‘loneliness influencers’ isn’t their friendlessness – it’s the air of cosy defeatism | Rachel Connolly

Most of us will experience periods of solitude at some point. But beige furnishings and self-care rituals are not the answer

I have met quite a few influencers over the years and, to be frank, they’ve mostly been a strange bunch. I remember meeting one at a party a while ago, she was running around (literally) with a phone and a bunch of cables. “I don’t have data!” she screamed. “Oh hello?” I said, confused. “And I need a plug!” she declared. And then she screamed again, and promptly attached her phone to the nearest plug socket, which was stationed by her ankle. There she sat, hunched on the floor, gripping the phone and tapping it furiously.

I am only talking about my experiences here, and my sample may be wildly unrepresentative, but I have noticed patterns: they come across as twitchy and manic; they don’t make eye contact; and they seem to struggle to maintain the kind of extended volley of question-and-answer responses, shared anecdotes, or jokes, that a normal conversation requires. They basically radiate social anxiety.

Rachel Connolly is a writer and the author of the novel Lazy City

Trump’s White House UFC fights marred by ugly Michelle Obama smear

• Trump brings UFC to White House – as it happened

• Gaethje stuns unbeaten Topuria for lightweight title

• Josh Hokit targets former First Lady after TKO win

For most of its 250-year history, the White House South Lawn has been reserved for state dinners, diplomatic ceremonies, Easter egg rolls, turkey pardons and carefully choreographed displays of presidential power.

On Sunday night it hosted cage fights.

The passionate, fun pop culture show you don’t want to stop listening to: best podcasts of the week

Unpack the latest viral moments and the week’s celebrity whispers with Clara & Munroe. Plus, the grim story of a man cashing in on the rise in young suicides.

If the first episode is anything to go by, Clara Amfo (let loose from BBC broadcasting) and activist Munroe Bergdorf could well be your fun commute companions. The pair are passionate, incisive and just the right amount of gossipy as they unpack the latest pop culture moments – such as what the loud conversation around Olivia Rodrigo’s baby-doll dress says about women in music. Our one complaint? Half an hour isn’t long enough! Hollie Richardson
Widely available, episodes weekly

Togetherness by Rowan Hooper review – a stunning portrait of cooperation in nature

This corrective to our habitual emphasis on competition had me writing ‘wow’ in the margins again and again

When Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, the Industrial Revolution and British colonialism were in the ascendant. Charles Dickens had published Hard Times five years earlier; Queen Victoria nominally ruled a fifth of the world’s population. Darwin, writes science writer Rowan Hooper, crafted his evolutionary theory to deliver what he figured his audience wanted to hear: “an account of nature as a competitive struggle”. Natural selection was launched into a world that was “colonial, capitalist, patriarchal and ruled by the upper class” – and Darwin’s central message, crudely paraphrased by the philosopher Herbert Spencer as “survival of the fittest”, chimed with the times.

Hooper adores Darwin – his account of visiting Darwin’s Kent residence Down House radiates reverence (“it’s a pseudo-religious experience”). But he feels that Darwinism and its union with genetics in the so-called “modern synthesis” has placed undue emphasis on competition in the natural world and underplayed the roles of cooperation and collaboration. In redressing that imbalance, Togetherness is not an attempt to make evolution cuddlier and more palatable; rather, it is a corrective deeply informed by what we have learned since Darwin about how nature works. Written with immense charm and passion, and packed with eye-popping facts, it is also a paean to the wonders of nature and the value and urgency of preserving them.

‘The Antarctic is the last frontier’: the quest to save Shackleton’s Endurance

Amid fears the wreck will be more accessible to explorers – and new species – as the climate warms, conservationists want to create the region’s first underwater protected area

The harsh temperatures, treacherous currents and shifting pack ice of the Antarctic’s Weddell Sea, which crushed and sank his ship, Endurance, in 1915, led Ernest Shackleton to describe it as the “worst portion of the worst sea in the world”.

For more than a century, the inhospitable conditions, which present a challenge even for modern icebreaker ships, helped to protect the lost wreck, which was discovered in 2022, its structure still largely intact.

A new start after 60: I fell out of love with my job when it went online. So I’m beginning again – in nursing

Nick Dowling spent decades in manufacturing and consultancy. The Covid pandemic opened his eyes to other possibilities, though he knew he’d be starting from scratch

Nick Dowling was the only person in the doctor’s waiting room when the practice nurse came out, glanced around and said to the receptionist with a confused look: “I was expecting to meet a student here.” Dowling raised his hand. At 60, he has undertaken an apprenticeship and hopes to qualify as a registered nursing associate this autumn.

Dowling had worked for decades in engineering and manufacturing, but his latest placements have taken him from a general practice to a psychiatric unit, from ward nursing to urgent treatment centres. Sometimes the shifts are 12 hours long, and, at £14 an hour, pay less than he has earned in decades. So why is he doing it?

Tell us: has your life taken a new direction after the age of 60?

‘More relevant now than ever’: how Virginia Woolf recaptured the cultural zeitgeist

With an adaptation of Night and Day hitting cinemas, the pioneering author’s work continues to inspire audiences

She’s long been admired by students of English literature, but 85 years after her death, Virginia Woolf has broken out of the seminar room to become an unexpected cultural phenomenon.

The author of Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, whose innovative prose helped redefine the modern novel, is finding a new audience through a string of high-profile adaptations.

Chicken tikka, crab curry and podi cauliflower rice: Chetna Makan’s easy Indian recipes

An Indian feast that doesn’t require an overwhelming list of spices, from snackable chicken bites to a punchy crab curry and a fragrant way to use up leftover rice

These are my absolute favourite little chicken bites to eat with some coriander chutney: they make a perfect snack, enjoyed hot on their own, but they’re also great with some paratha, plain roti or even a simple pulao. The crab curry, meanwhile, is something I make especially for me, because my family are not big on crab yet (maybe one day?): the spices work perfectly with the intense flavour of the crab meat, and the spinach adds bite and colour – this goes beautifully with plain white rice. And, finally, a must-try rice dish: being a fan of cauliflower, this recipe is really special to me, not least because the combination of the cauliflower, podi masala and peanuts is just so delicious; it’s also a great way to jazz up leftover rice.

Britain ‘faces deindustrialisation’ without relief from high energy prices, survey warns

Make UK says manufacturers’ feedback shows sector at risk of collapse as it calls on Treasury to take action

• Nils Pratley: High electricity prices are killing industry

Britain’s industrial sector is at risk of collapse as thousands of companies warn that they could face bankruptcy within the next year because of high energy prices, according to an industry survey.

The manufacturers’ body Make UK said the latest feedback from its members found that many would not be able to cope for much longer with energy costs that were twice the average in continental Europe and four times higher than in the US.

Country diary: Our island’s wandering wallabies come at a cost | Tim Earl

Ballaugh, Isle of Man: As I discover, spotting one of these marsupials isn’t hard. The problem is how to manage them

Walking through Ballaugh Curraghs, a marshland in the north of the island, I’m taking part in a favourite island pastime: spotting red-necked wallabies. Creeping through the stands of willows, I soon see a grey shape with beady eyes and pricked up ears watching me, unafraid. Another appears and I check for the ultimate sighting … a joey poking out from a pouch, but without success. It’s a rare sight even here.

These marsupials have changed this area beyond recognition. They arrived in the 1960s after a few escaped from a nearby wildlife park, and even by 2006 their footprint was light enough that the “curraghs” were declared a wetland site of international importance. Today, though, it would struggle to qualify, as so many key species have been eaten or disturbed by the 800 or so wallabies that now dominate.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule and how to watch

With 104 World Cup games being played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, it's like "a Super Bowl every single day for five weeks," U.S. team captain Tim Ream told CBS News.

Carolina Hurricanes win second Stanley Cup, beating Vegas in 6 games

The Golden Knights had taken a two-games-to-one lead in the Stanley Cup Finals, but Carolina came roaring back, winning three straight to take home their first championship since the 2005-2006 season.

Toyota reclaim crown to reignite Le Mans 24 Hours love affair with race in rude health

Conway, Kobayashi and De Vries added to team’s success, in front of more than 350,000 fans, to go alongside five victories between 2018 and 2022

As the fans walked away understandably a little wearily from the 94th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, they had surely earned a sit down in a shady spot and a cold drink or two. Tired but happy, then, after a vingt-quatre that demonstrated the event and the series of which it is part are in rude health.

After the twice-round-the-clock challenge in baking sunshine and through the night with nary a spot of rain, it was the No 7 Toyota TR010 of Britain’s Mike Conway, Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi and the Dutch driver Nyck de Vries who took the flag after 381 laps, just 11 seconds up the road from the chasing BMW. It was a first victory for De Vries and a second for Conway and Kobayashi. There were tears from the Japanese driver in the cockpit as he brought the Toyota home. “I need a beer,” he told the team. He had earned it.

Europe is starting to break up with US big tech. But it’s still abiding by the Silicon Valley rulebook | Max von Thun

The European Commission has unveiled its plans for digital sovereignty. Its proposals betray a disappointing lack of vision

Beti Hohler is a Slovenian national who lives in the Netherlands. Like tens of millions of other Europeans, she uses Apple’s app store and has an Amazon account. When she travels for work or leisure, she may want to book a place on Airbnb or Booking, using a credit card issued by Visa or Mastercard, perhaps through PayPal.

But when the Trump administration sanctioned her last year for her work as a judge at the international criminal court (ICC), her ability to use any of these services vanished overnight. Her credit cards, her accounts with US companies – all gone. The sanctions against Hohler and some of her colleagues mean they live in “constant uncertainty”, she said.

Max von Thun is the director of Open Markets Institute Europe, an anti-monopoly thinktank