Oracle cutting thousands in latest layoff round as company continues to ramp AI spending

Oracle has ratcheted up its capital expenditures as it builds data center infrastructure that can handle AI workloads.

Tusk and Irish PM call Hungarian foreign minister’s alleged links to Russia ‘repulsive’ and ‘sinister’ – Europe live

Donald Tusk and Micheál Martin say reported phone call with Moscow on sanctions confirms Hungary ‘doing the bidding for Russia’ within EU

Back to Iran and the perceived lack of support from European Nato allies, US president Donald Trump has now turned to criticising France in his latest outburst on social media.

In a post on Truth Social, he said:

“The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory. France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the “Butcher of Iran,” who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!! President DJT”

Middle East crisis live: ‘Go get your own oil,’ Trump tells allies in angry outburst

The US president made the remarks on social media and said other countries, ‘like the UK’, need to learn how to fight for themselves

Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry has said it has intercepted and destroyed ten drones over the past hours, and eight missiles launched towards the Riyadh area and the country’s eastern region.

Early this morning Kuwait said its air defences were responding to hostile missile and drone attacks. Neither Saudi Arabia nor Kuwait said where the drones or missiles came from.

Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai. Local authorities later said response teams contained the incident with no oil leakage and that no injuries had been reported

Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it did not open the strait of Hormuz.

The Israeli military said four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Two giant Chinese container ships have sailed through the strait of Hormuz on their second attempt to leave the Gulf after turning back on Friday, ship-tracking data shows. The transit signals a diplomatic breakthrough between Beijing and Tehran as Iran widens its list of approved nations for transiting the vital route, Lloyd’s List reported.

Indonesia’s foreign minister called for an emergency UN security council meeting and a thorough investigation” into a “heinous attack” after three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in southern Lebanon.

Blasts were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some areas of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Israel earlier carried out missile strikes on what it called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Hezbollah in Beirut.

Japan and Indonesia agreed to step up coordination on energy security, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday.

Two Iranian missile launches targeted central Israel, Israeli media reported, with the emergency service saying it had not received reports of any injuries.

Turkey reported a ballistic missile launched from Iran had entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by Nato air and missile defences.

An earlier summary of key developments is here.

Hegseth slated for House testimony amid Iran war pressure, sources say

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth​ is tentatively expected to testify publicly before the House Armed Services Committee on April 29, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

One of the first people known to change their gender was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh

NPR art director and illustrator Jackie Lay tells the story of Hatshepsut, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest pharaohs in Egypt's history — but whose legacy was erased for over 3,000 years.

Nicholas Brendon obituary

Actor best known for his charismatic portrayal of Xander Harris, the heroine’s insecure sidekick, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

As the lovable high school student Xander Harris, who just happens to be best friends with a superhuman vampire killer and a powerful witch in the cult American TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Nicholas Brendon portrayed a flawed everyman that fans could relate to. “I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide until it goes away,” Xander told his friends in a characteristic wisecrack, early in the first season of the show.

Brendon, who has died aged 54, appeared in all but one of the 144 episodes of the seven-series show, which aired from 1997 to 2003. He saw his charismatic portrayal of Xander’s ordinariness in comparison with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s titular character as one of his biggest achievements. “His power was not having power,” he said in a 2017 interview.

Why $4 a gallon gas prices won’t trigger Fed interest rate hikes — and could lead to cuts

While there's still plenty of uncertainty about where rates are headed, Wall Street commentary shifted back to expectations for cuts.

Supreme court rules against Colorado ban on ‘conversion therapy’ in decision rebuked by one justice – US politics live

In lone dissent, Ketanji Brown Jackson says majority ‘has failed to appreciate crucial context’ of constitutional claims in the case

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Donald Trump confirmed that King Charles and Queen Camilla, will travel to the US for a state visit from 27 to 30 April.

The president said that the trip will include a banquet dinner at the White House on 28 April. “I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Tiger Woods had opioids in pants after DUI rollover crash in Florida, police say

President Donald Trump, whose former daughter-in-law Vanessa Trump is dating Woods, told The New York Post that Woods "lives a life of pain."

US marine detained after TSA finds live explosive round in checked bag

Marine told investigators he found the round ‘in the field’ about a year ago and kept it, thinking it wasn’t live

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A US marine was detained at a California airport after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel found a live 25mm explosive round in his checked baggage, police said.

The round was found during the screening process of checked luggage at the Palm Springs international airport on Monday, the Palm Springs police department said in a news release.

Dan Hurley’s ‘head-butt’ showed Black coaches aren’t given the same grace as white coaches

An incident at the end of the Duke-UConn game reminded Black people of something we already know: we’re treated differently in America

The UConn-Duke game on Sunday night was one for the ages. A last-second game winner from freshman Braylon Mullins took down the top-seeded Blue Devils, who at one point had led by 19 points. It is a moment that will be replayed over and over for years to come.

However, something strange happened after Mullins’s shot. UConn’s head coach Dan Hurley approached referee Roger Ayers and touched foreheads with the official while glaring into his eyes. It wasn’t quite the “head-butt” some called it on social media but it was an eye-catching scene. For his part, Ayers told ESPN the incident was “absolutely nothing” but it wouldn’t have been unusual for Hurley to be given a technical foul, which would have given Duke free throws and a chance to win the game with 0.4 seconds left.

Supreme Court rules against Colorado ban on conversion therapy

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado counselor who challenged a law banning conversion therapy for minors, ruling that lower courts failed to apply "sufficiently rigorous First Amendment scrutiny."

Human remains found on California beach in 2022 identified as missing man

DNA testing confirmed bones found on Salmon Creek beach belonged to Walter Karl Kinney, a man last seen in 1999

Human remains discovered in the summer of 2022 on a beach in California recently were identified as those of a former banker who disappeared in 1999.

The DNA Doe Project (DDP) on Thursday announced that bones found on Salmon Creek state beach in northern California in June 2022 – by a family searching for seashells – belonged to 59-year-old Walter Karl Kinney, a former banker who lived in nearby Santa Rosa.

The jobs AI can’t do – and the young adults doing them

For many young people entering the workforce, the stigma of hands-on jobs is fading. There a competitive appeal – and they all require human expertise

Gib and Michelle Mouser are proud of their son’s career – just not in the way they once imagined.

Only 23 years old, Cale Mouser already earns well over six figures, and he’ll end up making substantially more. He is an acknowledged expert in a highly specialized field who spends hours in deep thought solving hard problems. He uses a computer, but he’s not stuck behind it.

Surging U.S. gas prices could erase bigger tax refunds, analysis finds

Stanford economists estimate that the typical U.S. household will spend an additional $740 on gas this year because of the jump in global oil prices.

Israel vows to occupy large parts of southern Lebanon to expand buffer zone

Plans would prevent the return of hundreds of thousands of residents

• Middle East crisis live – latest updates

Israel said on Tuesday that it will occupy wide swathes of south Lebanon and destroy the homes along the border to prevent the return of some 600,000 residents, prompting concerns of long-term forced displacement.

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said that it will occupy the area under the Litani River, some 19 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border, as part of its so-called buffer zone inside southern Lebanon when fighting with Hezbollah ends.

Does anyone think Matt Goodwin’s book on Britain’s demise is a publishing sensation? I mean, other than him | Marina Hyde

Who needs critics when the Reform man is so adept at patting his own back – and that’s easy to do in publishing: there’s a sales list for everyone

‘She’s produced a bestseller!” panted the Spectator. “Liz Truss’s new book has been out for less than 72 hours and it’s already sold out on Amazon.” Thus began the fairly widespread British media hallucination that the 45-day PM was once more igniting the nation with her 2024 book Ten Years to Save the West. In the end, Truss’s book sold 2,228 copies in the UK in its first week, which placed it at No 70 in the “bestseller” charts . The next week it had fallen back to 223, comfortably obliterated by any number of cookbooks, novels, self-help titles and sticker books, none of which had enjoyed anything like its level of publicity. You hear a lot about AI hallucinations, but rather less about the hallucinations suffered by journalists all on their own.

So, then, to the furore over the academic/recent Reform candidate Matt Goodwin’s new book, which I find at least as high-stakes for our culture as that courtroom battle between Gwyneth Paltrow and the – I think? – retired optometrist who accidentally skied into her.

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

‘Discriminatory’ Israeli death penalty law sparks international criticism

EU, Spain and Germany, as well as rights groups, condemn law to execute Palestinian convicted terrorists

A vote in the Israeli Knesset approving a bill sanctioning the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks, but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes, has been greeted with widespread international condemnation.

“The death penalty bill in Israel is very concerning to us in the EU,” the EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said in Brussels. “This is a clear step backwards – the introduction of the death penalty, together with the discriminatory nature of the law.

Supreme Court strikes Colorado ban on conversion therapy

The Supreme Court has ruled that Colorado's law banning conversion therapy "regulates speech based on viewpoint."

Tottenham confirm Roberto De Zerbi as head coach on five-year contract

• Italian aiming to ‘excite and inspire’ supporters

• No break clause in the event that Spurs are relegated

Tottenham have confirmed the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach. The London club have given him a five-year contract but all eyes are on the remainder of this season when he has been charged with keeping them in the Premier League. Spurs are one point and one place above the relegation zone with seven matches to play – the next of which is at Sunderland on Sunday week. There is no break clause in De Zerbi’s deal in the event that Spurs go down.

“I am delighted to be joining this fantastic football club, which is one of the biggest and most prestigious in the world,” De Zerbi said. “In all my discussions with the club’s leadership, their ambition for the future has been clear – to build a team capable of reaching great achievements and to do that playing a style of football that excites and inspires our supporters. I am here because I believe in that ambition.”

Plans for gaudy Trump presidential library in Miami spark ridicule

Video posted on social media depicts a rendering of the proposed 50-storey gargantuan structure decked in gold

In a city of respected art deco buildings, ridicule is being heaped on the latest structure proposed for Miami’s skyline: the Donald J Trump presidential library, unveiled in ambitious plans posted to social media on Monday night.

A 1 minute 40 second video tour of the proposed gargantuan structure revealed it will be decked, almost inevitably, in Trump’s trademark gold, including a giant statue of him, and will feature Air Force One, the $400m Boeing “flying palace” gifted to him by Qatar, in its cavernous lobby.

Gas in U.S. hits $4 a gallon for first time since August 2022

The average price of gas across the U.S. last reached $4 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine​ sent crude oil prices surging.

Jon Stewart on Trump: less war leader, more ‘grandpa who’s lost his filter’

Late-night hosts discuss Trump’s refusal to focus on the war while the country suffers, and the No Kings protests

Late-night hosts checked in on Donald Trump’s costly “improv” war in Iran, which he cannot seem to focus on for more than one minute.

Tiger Woods was "sweating profusely" after car crash, arrest report says

Tiger Woods was arrested last week in Florida and charged with driving under the influence after a vehicle crash.

Pakistan and China propose five-part peace plan for Middle East

Foreign ministers Ishaq Dar and Wang Yi met in Beijing as Pakistan pushes for peacemaker role

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Pakistan and China have released a joint five-part proposal for peace in the Middle East, after Pakistan’s foreign minister flew to Beijing on Tuesday to seek Chinese support for the country’s faltering efforts to negotiate an end to end the war.

The one-day meeting between Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, came as Pakistan continues to push for the role of peacemaker between the United States and Iran, even as the war shows little sign of relenting.

Domino, the warty frogfish, is the first of its kind to be raised in captivity

Scientists say the little fish may hold broader lessons for raising other marine species in captivity.

‘God squad’ waives endangered species law to allow US drilling in Gulf of Mexico

Critics say exemption for fossil fuels exploits White House’s ‘self-made gas crisis’, and could doom the rare Rice’s whale

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A US government panel on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a move which critics say could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life.

The Endangered Species Committee – which had not convened in more than three decades – voted to approve the request for the ESA exemption at the request of the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.

Pete Hegseth says "upcoming days will be decisive" in war against Iran

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine held a news conference at the Pentagon as gas prices in the U.S. continued to climb amid the ongoing war with Iran.

McCormick buys Unilever's food business in deal that values it at nearly $45 billion

McCormick will pay a combination of cash and equity to expand further into condiments and spreads.

‘Money! Glamour! Yachts! But not for me!’ Adrian Searle relives 30 glorious years as our chief art critic

He has faced off a fighter jet, ridden a motorised bed and even been a Beano character. As he steps down, the mighty Guardian critic delivers his insights, confesses his crimes and relives his highs

After writing about art at the Guardian for 30 years, I have been asked by my editor to reflect on what I have learned. I am not sure I’m capable of doing that. What I can do is write about what I have seen. Even when you are an eyewitness, things get murky very quickly, and critics are among the most unreliable of narrators.

An unknown woman at a table writes a letter we can’t see, while her maid reacts to something beyond the painted window. We can’t see what she’s smiling at either. How is it that Vermeer’s 1670-71 Woman Writing a Letter, With Her Maid, makes me feel somehow privy to its intimacies when almost everything that matters is withheld? You have to make it up. The stories come barging in, something you can’t quite imagine happening in such an ordered world.

Football Daily | From Vindaloo to AI hellscapes: the unofficial World Cup songs are coming

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According to Keith Allen, lead singer of Fat Les, legendary bassist Guy Pratt made more money from just being the producer of ‘Vindaloo’, the unofficial England World Cup song for the 1998 tournament, than from playing with Pink Floyd.

How cruel life is. When any one of four superb letters yesterday could have potentially won letter o’ the day it goes to a usual suspect … and it’s prizeless. A bit like Macclesfield nearly capturing all the headlines in this year’s FA Cup, only to be outdone by Port Vale … but Manchester City triumphing in the end. Keep up the good/bad work” – Andy Morrison.

Arsenal are indeed, despite what is reported elsewhere, still in the running for the quadruple. This would consist of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in addition to the most prestigious Spurs relegation. Fingers crossed!” – Mike Kovacs.

Many thanks for the picture of Charlton and Best at Crystal Palace in 1969 (yesterday’s Memory Lane, full email edition). First game I attended as a young United fan. My dad, a City fan, took me” – Simon Webber.

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

Infantino says Iran ‘will be at the World Cup’ despite war with United States

• Fifa president made comments at Iran-Costa Rica game

• Infantino says Iran will play games in the US as scheduled

• Iran scheduled to open World Cup in LA on 15 June

The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, told AFP on Tuesday that Iran “will be at the World Cup” and will play their group matches in the United States as scheduled, despite the Middle East war.

“Iran will be at the World Cup,” Infantino said at half-time of Iran’s friendly against Costa Rica in Turkey. “That’s why we’re here. We’re delighted because they’re a very, very strong team, I’m very happy.”

Chatting dating, jazz and the Harlem Renaissance: the exclusive supper clubs where Black women nourish community

From DC to Florida, dinner clubs are helping Black women slow down, connect and build lasting sisterhood

Dimmed lights and the honey-like vocals of R&B singers greeted guests at Sost, a restaurant in Washington DC, in late December. Though they entered as strangers, the 11 Black women attendees hugged each other before taking their seats. The ambiance was intimate and soulful, with a sparse table setting in a private room that boasted deep red walls. Crystle Johnson, the founder of Kinory, a dining community for Black women, led the group in a moment of silent meditation.

As an icebreaker, everyone shared who they were without talking about their profession. They laughed at each other’s responses over bowls of jollof rice and chicken, a black eyed peas salad and sweet potato fritters. Johnson posed questions that she pulled from a deck of cards during the three courses. One of the cards read: “What’s something you’ve had to unlearn – a belief, habit, or fear – to live more freely?”

UK’s smallest bird of prey among 200 species at risk of extinction, study finds

Merlin could disappear in worst-case scenario, with British isles facing ecological ‘point of no return’

The merlin, Britain’s smallest bird of prey, is one of more than 200 species that will become extinct in the UK if action is not taken to curb emissions and unsustainable land use, a study has claimed.

According to the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), there is a 20-year window in which decisions on climate and land use will determine the fate of dozens of Britain’s native species.

‘Should never have been prescribed’: private UK cannabis clinics face call for tighter regulation

Family pushing for greater controls after inquest finds Oliver Robinson’s prescription was ‘obstacle’ to proper care

Oliver Robinson felt he had exhausted conventional therapies when he left the Priory, a private mental health facility where he was treated for depression and addiction between 2019 and 2022. Initially he found relief from a new kind of prescription elsewhere. But by the time he took his own life in November 2023, aged 34, his family believe his medicine was making him worse.

In January, an inquest concluded that Robinson’s prescription for medicinal cannabis had “probably contributed to his death”. Catherine McKenna, the coroner for Manchester North, also ruled that his continued use of the prescription, first issued to him in May 2022 by Curaleaf Clinic, a private cannabis provider, “acted as an obstacle” to him receiving appropriate psychiatric and addiction care. His family understand this to be the first ruling of its kind.

Tiger Woods says looking at his phone led to Florida rollover crash

• Deputies cite signs of impairment in affidavit

• Hydrocodone pills found in pocket after arrest

Tiger Woods told authorities he was looking down at his phone and changing the radio station before his rollover crash last week in Florida, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The 50-year-old golf star was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence on Friday afternoon after his Land Rover clipped a truck and rolled on to its side near his home on Jupiter Island.

Including online games in social media bans is unworkable, unnecessary and would harm young people

As calls for restrictions on under-16s’ online activities gather pace, some are urging curbs on online gaming. The idea is a mess from top to bottom

Last week, Meta and YouTube were found liable for creating intentionally addictive products that affected the wellbeing of young social media users. The ruling has supercharged an already growing movement from governments and regulators to restrict or ban social media use for under-16s, as has been done in Australia, to protect children from potential harm.

But there is another way that about 85% of kids and teens congregate online – and that is through video games. It has been suggested that curbs on online gaming should be considered alongside social media restrictions in future legislation. There is some precedent: in 2021, China restricted young people’s online gaming time to one hour a day on weekends and holidays. But I have a lot of questions about how such curbs would work, and whether they should be attempted.

Jewish Leadership Council condemn Wireless festival for booking Kanye West to headline

Ye, who has called himself a Nazi, released a song called Heil Hitler and sold T-shirts bearing swastikas, is confirmed to play three nights at the London festival

The Jewish Leadership Council has condemned Wireless festival for booking Kanye West, also known as Ye, to headline all three nights of the forthcoming north London event in the wake of heightened attacks on the UK Jewish community, calling the organisers “deeply irresponsible”.

The rapper has a history of antisemitic behaviour, including releasing a song called Heil Hitler, calling himself a Nazi, associating with the white supremacist commentator Nick Fuentes (including at a 2022 dinner with Donald Trump), making numerous other anti-Jewish racist statements and selling T-shirts bearing swastikas.

Ex-FBI agents who worked on Trump 2020 probe sue Patel, Bondi over their firing

The three former agents were seasoned investigators who primarily handled public corruption investigations and were assigned to special counsel Jack Smith's team.

The New York Times drops freelance journalist who used AI to write book review

Writer and author Alex Preston said he “made a serious mistake” after a reader spotted similarities between his review and one that appeared in the Guardian

The New York Times has cut ties with a freelance journalist after discovering he used artificial intelligence to help write a book review that echoed elements of a review of the same book in the Guardian.

It came after a New York Times reader flagged similarities between the paper’s January review of Watching Over Her by Jean-Baptiste Andrea, written by author and journalist Alex Preston, and an August review of the same book written by Christobel Kent in the Guardian.

UK aviation regulator rejects Heathrow’s plans to significantly raise landing fees

Heathrow wanted changes to fund upgrade, but airlines warned cost increases would be passed on to passengers

The UK aviation regulator has partly rejected plans by Heathrow to significantly raise its landing fees to fund a multibillion-pound upgrade, arguing the airport can still invest without steep rises to ticket prices.

The Civil Aviation Authority said the average charge for each passenger should rise from £28.40 to £28.80 between 2027 and 2031.

US supreme court rules against Colorado ban on ‘conversion therapy’

Court in 8-1 decision sides with Christian counselor who argues law banning the practice violates first amendment

The US supreme court on Tuesday ruled against a law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ kids in Colorado, one of about two dozen states that ban the discredited practice.

An 8-1 high court majority sided with a Christian counselor who argued the law banning “conversion therapy” violates the first amendment. The justices agreed that the law raises free speech concerns and sent it back to a lower court to decide if it meets a legal standard that few laws pass.

Epstein files: Buffett says he hasn't talked to Bill Gates 'since the whole thing was unveiled'

Microsoft founder Bill Gates is one of many high-profile people who have suffered reputational fallout from their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Former Alex Jones employee says: 'It was nonsense, it was lies'

Josh Owens spent four years as a video editor and field producer for Jones' Infowars media company. "It was all about making things look cinematic," he says. Owens' memoir is The Madness of Believing.

Injectable peptides are touted online as a ‘glow up potion’. Here’s why experts warn against unapproved use | Antiviral

Claims of benefits have been amplified by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr. How does the evidence actually stack up?

• Read more in the Antiviral series

Influencers are telling their audiences that injectable peptides are the “glow up potion” they need for everything from clearing up hormonal acne, thickening hair, relieving back pain and even treating chronic UTIs.

These peptides, intended for research purposes (as some influencers do point out) and not approved for human use, are being increasingly sold through unregulated online channels.

Smiley Face: finally, a stoner comedy for the girls who get overstimulated at the supermarket

Gregg Araki’s comedy-of-errors film stars Anna Faris trying to complete everyday tasks in an astronomical state of high. It’s downright terrifying

It’s hard not to feel a strange sense of kinship with each of the hapless heroines played by Anna Faris. Though she’s generally underrated, her signature blend of anything-for-a-laugh slapstick and absurdism makes her an adorkable standout in every project. While she has been praised for some of her work (The House Bunny, Scary Movie), her portrayal of an empty-headed LA stoner in Gregg Araki’s 2007 comedy Smiley Face remains an unsung triumph.

Landing three years after Araki’s dark, critically acclaimed drama Mysterious Skin, Smiley Face was a left turn: a stoner comedy following the mishaps of perpetually buzzed, often unemployed economics student-turned-actor, Jane.

Texas student shoots teacher at high school before killing himself

No other injuries were reported after the attack at a small Bulverde campus, where classes were cancelled

A 15-year-old student shot a teacher at a Texas high school and then fatally shot himself on Monday, according to authorities, who were still investigating what led to the early morning attack.

No other injuries were reported at Hill Country college preparatory high school in Bulverde, a small but growing city near San Antonio.

King Charles set for state visit to U.S. in late April

The visit "will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States," Buckingham Palace says.

King Charles’s state visit to US will be ‘humiliation’ amid Iran war

Visit with Camilla to go ahead in late April despite calls for delay over conflict and Trump-Starmer tensions

• UK politics live – latest updates

King Charles will go ahead with a state visit to the US in April, Buckingham Palace has confirmed, despite some politicians saying the trip will be a “humiliation” while Donald Trump’s war with Iran is ongoing.

MPs have privately expressed concerns there is potential to embarrass the king if the US president continues his criticisms of the UK’s armed forces before or during the trip.

A Holy Week procession, white pelicans and apricot blossoms: photos of the day – Tuesday

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

Gas crosses $4 a gallon in the U.S. for the first time in 3 years

The war with Iran has driven up gas prices at a time when affordability is high on people's minds.

CBS News gas and oil price tracker shows how much energy costs are rising

As the war with Iran continues, CBS News is tracking gas and oil prices. Find out how much more it costs to fill up your tank or heat your house.

Army investigates Apache helicopter flyby at Kid Rock's home

The U.S. Army is investigating why two Apache helicopters flew near Kid Rock's home in Nashville. The singer and rapper shared videos of the flyby on social media over the weekend. Matt Gutman reports.

Deepwater discoveries: scientists find more than 110 new fish and invertebrate species in the Coral Sea

Brittlestars, sea anemones and a catshark among new-to-science species collected during expedition off the Queensland coast

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Marine scientists have discovered more than 110 new fish and invertebrate species in the Coral Sea – a figure they believe could exceed 200 as more are identified.

The species were found in waters between 200 metres and 3km deep in the Coral Sea marine park, Australia’s largest marine protected area, which spans nearly 1m sq km to the east of the Great Barrier Reef.

‘It was an exorcism’: how heartbreak, queer rebirth and finding love over Only Connect shaped Wendy Eisenberg’s stunning new album

The guitarist made their name on dazzlingly knotty musicianship and collaboration with the likes of Bill Orcutt. So their new album is their most surprising: a startlingly beautiful reflection of love and self-acceptance

It’s 30 December 2023. Wendy Eisenberg is walking and cannot stop. At an all-night rave in Bushwick featuring Detroit house legend Theo Parrish the previous night, they became paralysed by anxiety, returned home, “threw up a lot” and then set off with no destination in mind. “I walked for that entire day,” Eisenberg says by video call from their Brooklyn home. “I couldn’t stop moving my legs. I felt like I needed to reauthor myself, and this was how I was going to do it.”

While out on their fevered walk, Eisenberg ran into an old friend. “She told me: ‘You seem like you’re having a kind of exorcism.’ Then she added: ‘Maybe just play some guitar?’” Thus diagnosed, Eisenberg went home immediately and began writing the music that became their sublime new self-titled album. “I remember reading how Cat Power wrote Moon Pix in 10 hours, in a dream state,” says Eisenberg. Many of these songs were written in a similar state, across three or four months after that “strange, mystical moment”.

Washington state’s ‘historic’ millionaire tax takes aim at super-rich – will it succeed?

As living costs rise, the state where Gates and Bezos made billions is targeting top earners – could other states follow?

Noel Frame knows exactly how difficult it is to raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy, because she has been trying to do just that – first as an activist, then as a state legislator – for the past 15 years. And until recently almost all of her efforts ended in failure.

She lives in Washington, a solid blue state that should, in theory, be hospitable to the idea of more progressive taxation and has plenty of multimillionaires to target, since it is the home of Microsoft, Amazon and an array of other tech-driven corporations. While the wealth of these tech giants has grown exponentially in recent decades, the state – which levies no income taxes – has struggled to bring in enough revenue to pay for basic services like public schooling and long-term healthcare.

‘Hope, insight and burning humanity’: 2026 International Booker prize shortlist announced

The six finalists include Marie NDiaye and Yáng Shuāng-zǐ alongside Daniel Kehlmann’s second nomination for the £50,000 prize

Daniel Kehlmann, Marie NDiaye and Yáng Shuāng-zǐ are among the six authors shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker prize, as the award marks its 10th anniversary.

The annual prize celebrates the best works of fiction translated into English, and awards £50,000 to one author-translator pair, to be split equally.

6 books named finalists for the 2026 International Booker Prize

The shortlisted titles include novels and novellas from authors and translators spanning four continents, with stories that range from Japanese-controlled 1930s Taiwan to the streets of Tehran in 1979.

FAA studying battery fires on planes to address growing concern

The FAA is studying the issue of exploding lithium batteries amid a growing concern over battery fires on planes. Kris Van Cleave shows how they're trying to improve safety.

Iranian says regime is "ready at any cost" to stay in power as Trump renews threats

A Tehran resident told CBS News many people have given up hope that the war will help topple the regime, adding that it is "ready at any cost" to stay in power. Meanwhile, President Trump has renewed threats to strike Iran's power plants. Holly Williams reports.

What a slip-up! The shop in Orkney that accidentally ordered 38,000 bananas

The Kirkwall branch of Tesco meant to buy 380kg of fruit. Instead, it placed an order for 380 boxes – each containing 100 pieces

Name: Banana bonanza.

Age: A few days old – and getting riper by the minute.

Charlie Kirk bullet analysis finds no conclusive link to rifle found near scene

Tyler Robinson’s defense team may try to use analysis to clear him of blame, as prosecutors aim to show there’s enough evidence to proceed with trial

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An analysis from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (ATF) could not conclusively connect a bullet fragment recovered during Charlie Kirk’s autopsy to the rifle found near the scene of the rightwing political activist’s killing – and the FBI is running additional tests, lawyers for Kirk’s accused murderer said in recent court filings.

In the court filings, Tyler Robinson’s defense team also asked for a delay to a preliminary hearing scheduled in May, saying they need time to review the bullet analysis as well as an enormous amount of other material that could contribute to the suspect’s defense.

Lawyers for man accused in Charlie Kirk's killing question evidence and ask to delay hearing

A new court filing reveals defense attorneys for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, claim an ATF analysis could not conclusively connect the bullet that killed Kirk to the gun Robinson allegedly used. Now the lawyers are asking to delay Robinson's preliminary hearing to review the evidence. Carter Evans reports.

‘A place where music fills the air’: Bangkok to host Eurovision’s first Asia song contest

Spin-off launched with 10 nations, as original event remains mired in protests and boycotts over Israel’s involvement

Eurovision is seeking to expand into the Asian market by hosting a version of its song contest in Bangkok this year, just as the original annual event is being buffeted by discord and boycotts on the eve of its 70th anniversary edition.

The grand final of the inaugural Eurovision song contest Asia will take place in Thailand’s capital on Saturday 14 November, the Switzerland-based organisation announced on Tuesday. Broadcasters from 10 countries have confirmed their participation.

Novo Nordisk launches multi-month subscriptions for Wegovy obesity drugs as it tries to catch up with Eli Lilly

Longer subscriptions offer lower monthly pricing, with people expected to save up to $1,200 a year on the injection and as much as $600 a year on the pill.

From the phone to the plex: why TV shows are turning into movies

A successful cinema release for the new Peaky Blinders movie provided marketing opportunities that could lead to a reverse in the stream-first model

In its first three days on Netflix, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man movie racked up more than 25m views – miles ahead of the competition that week. No matter that it had also had a cinema run in the UK, after a grand red carpet premiere at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on 2 March.

Banijay Entertainment, one of the production companies behind the film, has also launched the official Peaky Blinders shop, an online store selling branded merchandise. Such hoopla highlights how streaming platforms, led by Netflix, are increasingly reversing the traditional content pipeline from the cinema to streaming.

National average price of gas in U.S. hits $4 per gallon

For the first time since August 2022, the average price of gas in the U.S. has hit $4 per gallon as the Iran war grinds on. CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger breaks down how consumers are feeling the economic pinch with the war now in its fifth week.

Founder of ‘orgasmic meditation’ company gets nine years in prison in forced labor conspiracy

Nicole Daedone, co-founder of OneTaste Inc, also ordered to forfeit $12m, and seven victims were awarded restitution

The leader of a sex-focused women’s wellness company that promoted “orgasmic meditation” was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for a scheme that a judge said exploited vulnerable women and coerced them into performing sex acts with the company’s clients and investors.

Nicole Daedone, co-founder of OneTaste Inc, was also ordered to forfeit $12m, and seven victims were awarded roughly $890,000 in restitution, federal prosecutors said.

Some medicines could run out in weeks or even days, NHS England head warns

Jim Mackey tells LBC phone-in he is ‘really worried’ about supply issues amid US-Iran war

• Middle East crisis – live updates

The head of the NHS in England has said he is “really worried” about medicine supply issues.

A number of experts have raised concerns about cost implications and supply disruption linked to the war in Iran.

‘Death hunted him since he was a kid’: how Lamar Odom survived to become a villain in his own tale

A new documentary charts the tragic events that led to the former NBA star overdosing in a Nevada brothel – and what came next

There’s a version of the Lamar Odom story that ends in a Nevada brothel. It’s not hard to imagine the grand finale – the TMZ bulletin relating his fatal drug overdose, followed by emotional tributes to what was lost: a radical basketball prodigy of the New York tradition, a two-time NBA champion with the Kobe Bryant Lakers, a glittering career that spanned coasts and eras before caving under the weight of addiction. A cautionary tale of incandescent fame, with Odom’s celebrity wife Khloé Kardashian cast as a man-eater to eclipse her more notorious older sister, would have been the epilogue cemented in a thousand think pieces.

But by living to tell the tale, Odom has instead become the latest fallen star to prove a core truism of Western mythmaking: heroes who don’t die young are doomed to live long enough to become the villain in their own tale

Ways to use mint sauce without having to roast a lamb

Our specialists weigh in on the sauce’s best uses, suggesting dressings, dips and more

My wife adores roast lamb with mint sauce. However, after an online purchasing blunder, my larder now contains six jars. How can I make use of them apart from serving roast lamb every Sunday from now until the crack of doom?
John, by email
As is so often the case, it all starts with a shift in mindset. “When you see a jar of sauce, there’s a real tendency to think, ‘I must use this as a sauce,’” says Kate Young, author of Dinner at Mine? Start treating that surplus mint sauce as an ingredient instead, however, and your life will be a whole lot easier. “If John is planning on using chopped fresh mint with, say, meat, cheese or veg, then consider how you might use mint sauce in its place,” Young adds. Case in point: pea and mint soup, says Sally Abé of the recently opened Teal by Sally Abé in east London. “Stir in the mint sauce at the end of the cooking, then blitz with the peas.”

Obvious, maybe, but it’s also worth pointing out that mint sauce has a decent shelf life, so John can be nice and relaxed in how he chooses to use the fruits of his shopping blunder. That said, sausage rolls are always a good idea, especially if you’re feeding a gang over Easter. Young says: “Put some finely chopped onion through lamb mince, then add big spoonfuls of the sauce.” Fry a bit of the mix before nestling it in pastry, mind: “You want to be sure the mint is really coming through.” (Likewise, any lamb meatball will be greatly improved by the addition of the green stuff.)

Got a culinary dilemma? Email [email protected]

Trump’s Iran war and energy policies outline ‘dangerous volatility’ of fossil fuel push

Critics say president is locking into 20th century energy systems even as his ‘bet’ on oil and gas ‘isn’t going so well’

By attacking Iran and threatening to seize its oil while taking extraordinary measures to block clean energy back in the US, Donald Trump has inadvertently highlighted the dangerous volatility of the fossil fuel era, critics say.

The US and Israel’s bombardment of Iran and southern Lebanon has caused a humanitarian and environmental toll, with threats of further escalation set to add to these casualties as well as add more planet-heating emissions and destroy drinking water supplies.

Opendoor acquires Doma's closing and escrow business in bid to lower mortgage refinance costs

Doma's technology has been used in a Fannie Mae pilot program designed to reduce title insurance costs on eligible refinance transactions.

Microsoft hit with UK competition regulator probe over software business

The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority had "concerns around Microsoft's licensing practices in cloud", Chief Executive Sarah Cardell, said.

DHS resumes asylum decisions. And, Iran's strike injures over 12 U.S. personnel

The Department of Homeland Security has lifted its ban on reviewing asylum applications. And, NPR has confirmed that an Iranian strike injured over a dozen U.S. personnel.

Tiger Woods arrested for DUI after rollover car crash, Florida sheriff says

Golf legend Tiger Woods was arrested for a DUI after a rollover car crash in Florida on Friday, the Martin County sheriff said.

Everything to know about NASA's moon mission launching this week

NASA is poised to launch four astronauts April 1 on a historic nine-day trip around the moon and back. Here's everything to know about the Artemis II mission.

Women’s Final Four on repeat as UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina fight for title

• Champions UConn face South Carolina on Friday

• Bruins will take on Longhorns in other semi-final

The women’s Final Four is on repeat. No 1 seeds UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina are in the Final Four for the second straight season, just the second time the same teams have reached the sport’s final weekend in consecutive years.

Only the matchups and location will be different this time. Reigning national champion UConn will face South Carolina on Friday in Phoenix after playing UCLA last season. The Bruins will take on the Longhorns.

“I don’t think people understand how hard it is to do it,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “I think it bodes well for all of us, but there’s four or five more teams right there nipping at your heels.”

Just not this season – or last. The only other time the same four teams reached consecutive Final Fours was when UConn, Tennessee, Stanford and Georgia did so from 1995-96.

Everyone will be trying to stop the Huskies in this one. UConn have been the standard in women’s college basketball under coach Geno Auriemma. The Huskies have won 12 national championships, played in 25 Final Fours – a record 14 straight from 2008-22 – and have won 1,288 games in 41 seasons under Auriemma.

Unilever enforces global hiring pause due to 'significant challenges' amid Middle East conflict

The Middle East conflict is impacting several sectors as supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures are expected to push costs higher.

Trump is flailing in Iran. Every word he says adds to the muddle | Ted Widmer

A wartime leader’s words are critically important. But Trump, contradicting himself and denying reality, is no Churchill

During a White House ceremony on 9 April 1963, then president John F Kennedy bestowed honorary citizenship on former prime minister Winston Churchill, remembering how effectively Churchill inspired millions with his words during the second world war. As Kennedy put it, Churchill “mobilized the English language and sent it into battle”.

The same cannot be said of Kennedy’s successor Donald Trump. Their names may be awkwardly conjoined atop the shuttered Kennedy Center, but the comparison ends there. Kennedy, like Churchill, spoke effectively, with great attention to the facts, particularly during the Cuban missile crisis, when the world’s leaders hung on every phrase and participle spoken by the leader of the free world.

Fainting in front of Michael Jackson and feuding with Monica: inside Brandy’s jaw-dropping memoir

The R&B singer’s must-read autobiography candidly describes a life of heady highs and horrific lows

Despite a 30-year-plus discography and a slew of undeniable classics (Sittin’ Up in My Room, The Boy Is Mine, modern R&B blueprint What About Us?) and deep cuts feted by the likes of Solange, Kehlani and Normani, there’s a sense that Brandy, the fan-anointed Vocal Bible, is still underrated. Her vividly told and occasionally harrowing memoir, Phases, co-written alongside Gerrick Kennedy and out on Tuesday, goes some way to explaining why that might be.

As well as detailing her formative years in Mississippi and later California, where she learned her trade singing in church choirs and at youth groups, and later her meteoric rise as a teenage superstar, Phases paints a picture of a young woman whose insecurities were often exposed and abused by others. It also spotlights issues around duty of care in the music industry; in 1999, while nursing an addiction to diet pills, and juggling her role on the hit teen sitcom Moesha with a relentless recording and touring schedule, Brandy suffered a nervous breakdown at the age of just 20.

Delta Air Lines taps Amazon Leo for in-flight Wi-Fi as streaming wars heat up

Delta says the Amazon Leo in-flight Wi-Fi will be available starting in 2028 on 500 initial aircraft.

David Squires on … Roy Hodgson staying down with the kids on his return to Bristol City

Our cartoonist on the 78-year-old’s shock move to Bristol and his attempts to connect with the young ‘uns

• Buy a cartoon | David’s favourite works of 2025

• And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now

‘This feels fragile’: how a satellite-smashing chain reaction could spiral out of control

Today, the space around Earth can no longer be considered empty. More than 30,000 objects are in orbit, and that figure is rising exponentially

Some reports suggest that by the end of this decade there could more than 60,000 active satellites in space. Launch by launch, what began with a handful of scientific and military spacecraft has accelerated into a constant flow of objects, publicly and privately owned, placed into different orbital lanes, each serving a variety of purposes.

There is now a diverse collection of satellites spinning around the globe, ​including communication​ and weather ​satellites​, navigation satellites and Earth observation technology that takes images of the surface.

Trump tells Europe 'Go get your own oil,' Iran hits oil tanker off Dubai

Iran attacked and set on fire a massive Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai overnight, as Gulf states increasingly suffer the fallout from the war.

Love on the Spectrum proves that we still crave wholesome reality TV

A new season of Netflix’s dating show about neurodivergent singletons is a welcome antidote to grim reality TV headlines

Logan is a big fan of Hannah Montana and Spongebob Squarepants. He loves model trains and watches videos of them crashing, because that way he knows that no one was hurt. His favourite dessert is cheesecake. These are touchingly pure interests from a 25-year-old man who lives in the hedonistic capital of Las Vegas. “I describe myself as trying to be well-groomed, very patient, not lazy and always punctual,” he says. “Classy, fancy, romantic – wait, romantic? Is that the word?”

Logan is one of the new participants on Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum: a series that follows a group of neurodivergent young people as they search for a romantic connection, which returns this week for its fourth season. Unlike other dating shows, such as Love is Blind and Love Island, the stars of this show don’t seem to be motivated by fame and the promise of a Boohoo discount code in their name. In fact, Love on the Spectrum is the antidote to the reality TV of today, which often revolves around controversy and conflict. Watching these young people and their families navigate their search for love isn’t merely wholesome, it makes for life-affirming TV.

The Drama review – Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s controversial wedding film delivers on its promise

A woman’s confession on the eve of her nuptials causes uproar in this insouciantly offensive provocation from the director of Dream Scenario

• This review contains spoilers

How much of your past should you reveal to your adorable fiance before the big day? Very tricky issues are probably best avoided in the run-up to the ceremony, but can still be recklessly raised by attractively naive young people who assume the worms surely can’t be that big or plentiful – or difficult to get back into the can.

Such a situation is the centre of this contrived but amusing high-concept, high-anxiety movie from Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli; a Euro-satire of American bourgeois aspiration that sets out to discomfit and excruciate in the spirit of Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure or Thomas Vinterberg’s Festen.

‘Something out of the ordinary’: why are Japan’s oysters dying en masse?

A death rate of up to 90%, attributed to warming seas, is threatening the trade in Hiroshima prefecture, which produces most of the country’s farmed oysters

The Kure oyster festival is doing a brisk trade in beer and grilled meat on sticks. But the longest queues are in front of the oyster stalls, where chefs shuffle piles of mottled shellfish across griddles, waiting for their hinges to ease and reveal their fleshy interiors.

Nobuyuki Miyaoka, who is attending the festival with his son, daughter-in-law and their young children, likes his oysters steamed with sake and served with a few drops of tangy ponzu sauce. “The local oysters were fine until this year,” he says. “They used to be a lot bigger … look how small they are.”

Chefs prepare oysters at the Kure oyster festival. This year, local businesses and consumers say the shellfish have been scarce and smaller than usual

Supreme Court to weigh Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship

The Supreme Court will consider the legality of President Trump's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship.

The Breakdown | Parling’s TV spat with Doyle symbolises the tug of war for rugby’s modern soul

Pre-game incident has gone viral online and plays directly into broader debate of how the sport wants to be perceived

No prizes for guessing the most viewed rugby clip at the weekend. The number of views on X has long since passed three million and – spoiler alert – people were not studying the finer detail of Gloucester’s defensive effort at Villa Park on Saturday. Leicester’s Geoff Parling used to be just another stern-faced Prem coach; suddenly he is an unlikely global social media star.

For those who missed it – and here’s hoping you enjoyed your mini-break on Jupiter – here is a potted summary. The TNT Sports presenter Craig Doyle and a new colleague, Liam MacDevitt, were on the pitch before the game, with MacDevitt being urged to take a kick at goal as part of his on-screen Prem initiation. All seemed OK right until the moment an angry Parling loomed into shot.

In a town close to the farmworker movement, some struggle to process Chavez allegations

March 31 is Cesar Chavez's birthday, and a longtime holiday. In the wake of sexual assault allegations against him, residents in the farming town of Delano are conflicted about how to remember him.

Houseplant hacks: is putting a penny in the soil a copper boost or an old wives’ tale?

Even old pennies corrode too slowly to be useful. You’d be better off saving them up and buying proper plant feed

The problem
If a plant looks a bit yellow or drooping, someone might suggest putting a penny in the pot. The idea is that the copper will leach into the soil, liven up the plant and maybe even ward off fungi. It is one of those tips that refuses to die, passed on like family folklore.

The hack
The promise is simple: pop a coin in the compost and let chemistry do the work. Supposedly, the copper acts as a mini-fertiliser and a mild fungicide.

Is calling a woman ‘auntie’ ageist harassment – or a mark of respect? It’s a trickier question than you think | Lola Okolosie

A tribunal verdict on the term is revealing about the complexities of having multiple cultural identities – and western attitudes to ageing

It should be uncontroversial to state that what we want to be called – or do not want to be called – should be respected. This simple enough principle is what defined the grievance between NHS co-workers Ilda Esteves and her colleague Charles Oppong.

Last week, an employment tribunal ruled in Esteves’ favour, agreeing she was subjected to harassment from Oppong for his repeated references to her as “auntie”. The healthcare assistant was awarded £1,425 in compensation.

The final batch of World Cup tickets is about to go on sale. Here are 5 things to know

FIFA is kicking off its last sales for World Cup tickets on Wednesday. From prices to why FOMO is working against you, here's what you need to know.

Ghost Killer review – fantastic karate chopping and gunslinging in in supernatural action-comedy

Top notch choreography features heavily in tale of a student who is inhabited by an assassin’s spirit determined to wreak revenge

On her way home from a bad day at work and a disappointing drinks date with a sleazy social media influencer (Hidenobu Abera), college student and part-time waitress Fumika (Akari Takaishi) finds a bullet casing on a stairway. She unthinkingly picks it up, not realising that her own suppressed rage and need for vengeance will instantly connect her through this object to the ghost of Kudo (Masanori Mimoto), a recently murdered hired assassin with his own load of unresolved emotional issues. Luckily, supernatural happenstance in this action-comedy charmer from Japan will help both of them to grow as people, or in Kudo’s case an ex-person. It turns out that Kudo can inhabit Fumika’s body at will and effectively use her as a karate-chopping, gun-slinging martial arts meat puppet in order to right wrongs, fight bad guys and eventually help him avenge his own murder. Fun!

Star Takaishi and director Kensuke Sonomura have collaborated before on the successful franchise Baby Assassins (wherein Takaishi plays a professional contract killer who poses as a normie, basically the inverse of her character here). Sonomura was the action director for three Baby Assassins features, which might explain that this, his third gig as a main director, feels more weighted towards scenes that showcase fisticuffs and fancy fight choreography rather than character development and emotional nuance. But that’s fine because Takaishi has charisma to burn and an impressive range; she’s equally convincing as a hapless student screaming in shock at the destruction being wrought around her as she is as a dead-eyed killer when Kudo inhabits her body. Meanwhile, Mimoto, a Japanese action film stalwart, is compellingly soulful as a murderer experiencing flickers of conscience rather late in life who hopes he might be a good influence not just on Fumika but also his former protege Kagehara (Mario Kuroba).

A Rebel and a Traitor by Rory Carroll review – the extraordinary story of Roger Casement

A journalist tells the improbable tale of a British diplomat who worked to free Ireland – and paid the ultimate price

Roger Casement had a life that defies categorisation: an imperial administrator who exposed imperial atrocities; a one-time diplomat for the United Kingdom who enlisted German help in Ireland’s fight for freedom; a closeted gay man who left detailed records of his sexual adventures; a knight of the realm convicted of conspiring against the crown.

TE Lawrence (“of Arabia”), himself no stranger to the hypocrisy of British imperialism and the difficulties of illegal sexuality, called Casement a “broken archangel”. Rory Carroll, the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent, retains some of that poetry in this deeply researched and fascinating account of Casement’s role in the creation of the Irish state.

Meta, Tiktok and Google under investigation for allegedly disobeying Australia’s social media ban

Nearly 70% of under-16s with accounts on Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok had maintained access, survey finds

The Australian government has accused big tech firms like Meta, TikTok and Google of disobeying the landmark ban on under-16s using social media, after the country’s online safety office warned many children had accounts.

A survey of 900 Australian parents found around a third (31%) said their children still had one or more social media accounts after the ban, compared to 49% before the laws.

Can Europe’s public service media survive attacks by the far right?

From Italy to France, Germany to Hungary, far-right governments and politicians are targeting media with the same playbook

• Revealed: Five EU governments found to ‘consistently’ dismantle rule of law

Barely six months after Giorgia Meloni’s government was sworn in, the chief executive of Italy’s public broadcaster Rai resigned. Carlo Fuortes cited “a political conflict” as the reason for his departure in May 2023, a year before the end of his term.

The top posts quickly went to nominees with ties to Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, a party with neofascist roots. Rai’s CEO is now Giampaolo Rossi, a former Rai board member who has in the past voiced support for Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán and Donald Trump.

Transcription by Ben Lerner review – a stunning exploration of technology and storytelling

Ranging from quantum mechanics to eating disorders to the nature of fiction, this is a breathtaking interrogation of family, connection and memory

Transcription ends with an epilogue. It’s a letter, or at least an extract from a letter, written by Leopold Blaschka, a 19th-century Bohemia-born artist who, with his son Rudolf, crafted intricate and breathtakingly realistic models of flowers, plants and sea creatures made out of glass. So astounding was their technique, so uncanny, that sceptics assumed they must be using secret devices. “It is not so,” he insisted. “We have the touch. My son Rudolf has more than I have because he is my son and the touch increases in every generation.” Until this point, Blaschka hasn’t been referenced by name even once. But here, in coda form, is the essence of Transcription, a novel about touch, devices and familial inheritances that is itself intricate, uncanny, sometimes breathtakingly realistic.

It begins with a middle-aged American narrator travelling to Providence, Rhode Island, home to Brown University, where Ben Lerner studied poetry and political theory as an undergraduate. He is there to conduct a magazine interview with a polymathic German intellectual named Thomas. No ordinary assignment: Thomas was his mentor at college, the father of his friend Max, and now, at the age of 90, this conversation is expected to be his last will and testament. At the hotel, bathos strikes – the narrator drops his smartphone in a sink; it’s unusable and he’s too embarrassed to confess. Thomas soon gets into his conversational stride, but his rich sentences go unrecorded.

Spheres of influence: the Bauhaus’s radical female photographers – in pictures

The images are famous, but the women who took them are often forgotten. An inspiring exhibition focuses on the pioneering ‘new vision’ of Marianne Brandt, Lucia Moholy and more