The Uplift: Ellie the elephant

Meet Big Ellie, the elephant mascot of the WNBA's New York Liberty. Plus more heartwarming news.

England v New Zealand: first men’s cricket Test, rain stops play on day three – live

• Over-by-over updates from 11am UK time

• Sooryavanshi to face England | Email James

Hmmm, it is bright sunshine at Lord’s now, the stumps are in position and the crease lines are being given a fresh lick. However, it’s just been announced that the players are taking an early lunch and IF no further rain we will have play at 1pm. Why couldn’t they delay lunch and get out there right now whilst there is a sunny gap in the weather I hear you ask. It is a good question.

“I expect this was known to everyone apart from me until today, but here goes: I was today years old when I found out Russell Crowe is a cousin of Martin and Jeff. What a family!” writes Suhmit Rahman

World Cup 2026 news; England and Scotland friendlies; Sullivan resigns at West Ham – matchday live

• World Cup friendly football news from 8am UK time

• Your essential guide to every player at the World Cup

• You can email us here | Sign up for Football Daily

As always, feel free to message in today with any thoughts, feelings and observations. You can also leave a comment below the line.

Today’s question is: Who will win the World Cup?

Maja Chwalinska v Mirra Andreeva: French Open 2026 women’s singles final – live

• Game-by-game final updates from 2pm UK time

• Chwalinska stuns Shnaider in historic semi-final upset

• You can email Katy | Sign up for The Hotspot

Road to the final. Both players have dropped only one set so far, though with all the destruction in the draw, neither has had to face a top-10 opponent. Andreeva did, however, impressively snap the 17-match winning streak of Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the semi-finals, with the Russian showing great composure and maturity amid the tense political backdrop to the match. Chwalinska has upset the Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, along with the seeds Elise Mertens, Anna Kalinskaya and Diana Shnaider, doing to Shnaider what Shnaider did to Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.

Tale of the tape

Formula One: Monaco Grand Prix qualifying – live

• Live qualifying updates from 3pm UK time

• Russell refuses to feel pressure amid title battle

• You can email Philip | Sign up for The Recap

Gambling is a mug’s game but betting odds can be informative. Looking at one bookies on Friday night, at 1-2, Kimi Antonelli was not yet a prohibitive favourite to win the drivers’ championship but George Russell was next best at 9-4, with Lando Norris 14-1 to retain his title, and Charles Leclerc 20-1. However, narrow the focus to this weekend’s party by the Med and it was Antonelli who was 14-1, with Leclerc 5-6 favourite. Nothing you are about to see is likely to tell you anything about what is going to happen across the rest of the season, unless Antonelli overturns those Monaco Grand Prix odds.

All F1 circuits are different, despite the off-the-shelf feel in the Middle East, but Monaco is the outlier’s outlier. The street circuits generally have more idiosyncrasies than those F1 tracks simply going about their day jobs but the twists and slopes of the principality are unlike anything else. It’s as if one of the major cricket venues did not just have one tree in the middle of it, in the manner of Canterbury and its lime (RIP), but an avenue here and a copse (from Silverstone?) there.

Drought and floods drove them from their homes. But hunger and poverty have followed them to a Mogadishu camp

More than 6.5 million Somalis have been pushed to the brink of severe hunger as the climate crisis, fighting and cuts in aid leave a trail of despair

For three years, Zeynab Ibrahim watched as her little town shrivelled up and died. The rains never came, the reservoirs were depleted and the farms gradually turned to dust. Hunger and sickness swept through the village, claiming the lives of many, including four of Ibrahim’s 10 children.

“We tried every means to survive – selling dried grass and digging up water from the barren earth. Unfortunately, there was nothing left, so we had no choice but to escape to save our children,” she says, sitting in front of her shelter in a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in the Kahda district of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

More Republicans are breaking with Trump. Is it conscience or politics?

Congressional Democrats say GOP majority is unraveling, but moves may in fact be aimed at retaining power

The wrath of Donald Trump has kept congressional Republicans in line for much of his second term thus far. But as the November midterm elections draw closer, the president’s allies in the Senate and House of Representatives appear increasingly willing to defy a president who appears to have asked lawmakers for too much in some areas and too little in others, all while the public sours on his administration.

In both chambers, small groups of Republicans have in recent weeks joined with Democrats to advance resolutions requiring that Trump receive Congress’s permission before continuing hostilities against Iran. Republican dissidents in the House helped pass another round of aid for Ukraine, as well as an effort to protect Haitians from deportation. In the Senate, a critical mass of Republican senators has given Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, a cold reception.

SpaceX IPO: how can I buy shares, and what are the risks?

Elon Musk firm plans the biggest stock market launch in history – but experts have flagged potential downsides

It’s being billed as the biggest stock market launch in history. Shares in Elon Musk’s SpaceX are poised to be released on 12 June with a valuation of $135 (£100.84). The company plans to sell 555.6m of them, which means it will raise $75bn from the sale.

On Friday, it was reported that up to a quarter of the shares could be reserved for individual investors, rather than funds and banks. This is a bigger share than is typically the case in a large initial public offering (IPO).

Colombian far-right candidate is latest Trumpian figure in Latin America to ride anti-incumbent wave

Abelardo de la Espriella, promising an iron-fist approach to crime, leads polls in Colombia’s presidential runoff election

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Abelardo de la Espriella, the far-right lawyer who is leading the polls ahead of Colombia’s presidential runoff election, has marketed his rum, wine and menswear brands – as well as his novels and albums on which he croons popular classics – under the label “De la Espriella Style”.

His shift from business suits to T-shirts, baseball caps and a meticulously trimmed beard suggest the influence of El Salvador’s populist autocrat Nayib Bukele.

Jill Biden’s book is the last thing we need right now

CNN anchor Jake Tapper joined a chorus of voices accusing the former first lady of rewriting history and dodging accountability for the 2024 loss

Forget the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight being held on the White House lawn, if you want to tune in to a far more amusing brawl, may I suggest Hunter Biden v Jake Tapper? The CNN anchor is categorically unimpressed with Jill Biden’s new memoir, View from the East Wing, and has joined a chorus of voices accusing the former first lady of rewriting history and dodging accountability for the 2024 loss. In response, Hunter has accused Tapper of having the wrong priorities.

“So let me get this straight,” Hunter wrote on Twitter/X on Wednesday. “Jake Tapper is focused on attacking my Mom. Jared and Ivanka are building a private island paradise on Albanian protected land. Don Jr married the daughter of Epstein’s banker, and a startup his fund backs just got a record $620M Pentagon loan. Eric is taking an Israeli drone company public for $1.5B in the middle of a war with Iran that nobody wanted. And I know: ‘But what about your paintings, Hunter?’ Please.”

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Planned Parenthood to offer ‘just in case’ abortion pills at some US clinics

Patients in Washington and Hawaii will be able to obtain medication before pregnancy in expansion of early access

Planned Parenthood clinics in Washington and Hawaii will now offer “just in case” abortion medication, bringing wider attention to the option of receiving the pills in advance of pregnancy amid growing challenges to access.

Leaders at the organization hope their name recognition will help community members understand their options for accessing care despite federal, state and personal challenges to getting abortion care.

New study casts doubt on reliability of mental health diagnosis interviews

Diagnostic interviews seen as ‘gold standard’ vary in reliability from condition to condition, study says

Diagnostic interviews – the most common way to diagnose substance use and mental disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar and personality disorders – vary in reliability from condition to condition, according to a new study in Jama Network Open.

Laura Duncan, a psychiatry professor at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and one of the study’s authors, said diagnostic interviews are “often treated as a ‘gold standard’ for assessing mental disorders in both clinical settings and research”, but pointed out that these interviews fall short of providing a “definitive benchmark that demonstrates excellent validity and reliability”.

Inside the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from

The U.S. and Iran have yet to reach a peace deal or address Iran's nuclear ambitions, despite signals from Trump that talks are progressing.

David Sullivan steps down at West Ham to fight claims about private life

• Joint-chair and director of relegated club to tackle ‘false allegations’

• ‘I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as’

The former pornography baron David Sullivan has announced his resignation as a joint-chair and director of West Ham with immediate effect. Sullivan and his legal representatives said in a statement on Saturday that the 77-year-old billionaire was stepping down to apply his “full energy and attention” to fighting what he described as “false allegations” concerning his personal conduct.

The Guardian understands that Sullivan has been approached by BBC’s Panorama about an episode it is considering broadcasting in the coming days.

Palestinian baby shot dead by Israeli troops in occupied West Bank

The seven-month-old, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was in his mother’s arms when soldiers fired on family in Hebron

Israeli troops killed a seven-month-old Palestinian baby in the occupied West Bank and injured one of the child’s parents after opening fire on the family’s car, despite it having complied with an order to stop.

Soldiers opened fire on Friday on a car carrying the infant and his parents in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron. The seven-month-old, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was critically injured, evacuated in critical condition to a hospital, where he later died. His parents were also injured.

Jürgen Klopp’s agent shoots down ‘annoying’ talk of Real Madrid move

• Presidential candidate Riquelme wants German as coach

• Former Liverpool manager now works for Red Bull

Jürgen Klopp’s agent has dismissed talk of the former Liverpool manager filling the vacant post at Real Madrid should Enrique Riquelme become the club’s next president.

Marc Kosicke rejected Riquelme’s statement that the German, who left Anfield for a job as Red Bull’s head of global football, would become head coach after releasing a statement confirming him as first choice if elected on Sunday.

Zohran Mamdani plays the Guardian's Bracketology to predict World Cup winner – video

The New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, briefly stepped away from City Hall to tackle the ultimate soccer challenge: predicting the entire World Cup bracket In the Guardian's exclusive interactive game. From shocking early exits to his definitive pick for the final, see how Mamdani maps out the world’s biggest tournament

• Bracketology: predict a path to World Cup victory

A park famed for rare gorillas gears up to fight Ebola and protect its primates

In Virunga National Park, rangers are on the front lines — playing a critical role to contain the surging virus while coping with an upsurge in conflict-related violence.

The Africa exception: the slavery reparations debate was once ‘unthinkable’. Now it is unavoidable

The architect of the African Union’s reparations framework for the historic UN resolution explains why demands for historical justice are inseparable from the struggle for Black sovereignty

Last month, at commemorations marking the 25th anniversary of France’s Taubira law recognising the trafficking of enslaved Africans as a crime against humanity, Emmanuel Macron did the unthinkable: he became the first French president to publicly utter the word “reparations”.

Since 1825, when France punished Haiti for daring to declare itself the western world’s first Black sovereign republic by extorting 150m francs in compensation for the loss of what it regarded as enslaved “property”, reparations to Black peoples and nations have been politically “unthinkable”.

The World Cup is being played in my hometown. Can’t say I’m excited | Dave Schilling

I love soccer. But absurd ticket prices and odious politics are keeping me away from the stadiums

Forgive me if I’m not excited for the World Cup. After a heartbreaking loss for my beloved Arsenal in the Champions League Final, I’d love a break from soccer. A respite from the drama and misery of the beautiful game would do a lot of good for my soul right now. But Fifa, the sport’s sprawling governing body, doesn’t have time for me to lick my wounds. They demand my wallet.

With the World Cup coming to North America, I have no chance of escaping the monstrous hype, even if I can’t even imagine affording the exorbitant ticket prices. Thousands of seats remain available for the US’s opening group stage match against Paraguay in Los Angeles, which was an unthinkable result when the competition was awarded to the US, Mexico and Canada.

Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist

This article was corrected on 6 June 2026 to reflect the fact that Bukayo Saka, unlike Marc Guéhi, is not an immigrant

Oi! You in the stalls! Put that phone away and surrender to the art | Nadia Khomami

As Rosamund Pike found out recently on stage, many people now experience the arts simply as content to be documented for likes and shares

Have we lost the ability to surrender to a story? Surely, if there’s any narrative that deserves our undivided attention, it’s that of a crown court judge fighting the legal system’s approach to sexual violence against women, when she discovers her own son has been accused of rape. But as Rosamund Pike discovered last weekend, even such a visceral and emotionally demanding drama wasn’t enough to keep everyone in the room absorbed.

Pike made headlines when she walked back on stage at London’s Wyndham’s theatre after the curtain call for Inter Alia – not for a solo bow, but to remonstrate with an audience member for texting during the climax of her performance. “Maybe it was very important, and maybe you’re a doctor, and you’re saving someone’s life, and I hope you are,” she said. “But we do see these, we do feel them. I feel like I’ve got to hold you all, so when I feel that and see it, it’s hard.”

Nadia Khomami is arts and culture correspondent at the Guardian

Israeli airstrikes kill 9 including Lebanese army officers after ceasefire deal

The Israeli military confirmed hitting a vehicle and said the incident is being reviewed. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun called the strike "a flagrant violation to Lebanese sovereignty and international law."

MoD reports ‘minor technical issue’ with aircraft carrier docked in Norway

HMS Prince of Wales expected to set sail in the coming days, Ministry of Defence says

A technical issue has been detected on a UK navy flagship while docked in Norway after working with Nato and the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), the government has said.

Earlier this month, HMS Prince of Wales – one of Britain’s two flagship aircraft carriers built for £6.4bn – set sail for Nordic waters from Loch Long, in Argyll and Bute, to provide security in the Atlantic and High North regions.

Filipino sailors say they were falsely accused of possessing child porn and deported

NPR has tracked deported Filipino sailors who say they were accused without evidence of possessing child sexual exploitation material. Almost none have been charged or prosecuted.

‘A soccer ball can bring great joy to two little kids’: Kuanglong Zhang’s best phone picture

The carefree scene in the ancient Chinese city of Kashgar prompted the photographer to reflect of his own sources of happiness

Kuanglong Zhang lives in Shenzhen, in the south of China, and was visiting the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar when he took this photo. Close to the borders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, it is ancient and landlocked; distinctly different from the modern port city he calls home. Zhang remembers being captivated by the unfamiliar streets and alleys. As he explored, he came across two brothers playing football after school.

“I used the telephoto lens on my phone to make the contrast between the children and the painted yellow buildings stronger, and the composition cleaner,” says Zhang, who is the 2025 Mobile Photography awards’ photographer of the year. “I set up the shot so they’d be on the left and right side of the frame to create a sense of visual balance, and, as both of them are facing left, it gave more space on that side so the image doesn’t feel cramped.”

Vaughan Tomlinson on tried-and-tested problem-solving techniques – cartoon

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UK urged not to further weaken EV rules as CO2 impact revealed

British vehicles will emit extra 17m tonnes of CO2 by 2030 due to loophole allowing sale of more PHEVs, data suggests

Campaigners have urged the government to resist calls to further water down electric car sale rules, as an analysis reveals that vehicles on UK roads will emit an extra 17m tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030 mostly because of changes last year.

Parts of the car industry have urged ministers to review for a second time the rules that force manufacturers to sell increasing numbers of electric cars each year.

ICE deported his dad. Now he’s graduating high school without him

Mark, 17, struggled to make it through senior year after his dad was deported to El Salvador. Getting his diploma was bittersweet for the Maryland teen – as his dad watched on a livestream

As Mark was getting ready for his high school graduation, he thought about how his dad would have probably insisted on adjusting his slacks – they were a bit tight – and fixed up his tie. “He would want me to look my best,” he said.

But his dad and namesake, Marco, was 2,000 miles away. He had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Maryland just before Christmas and deported to El Salvador in March.

Peru is set to elect its 10th president in a decade

Peruvians will elect their new president Sunday with polls suggesting a polarized but tight race between hard-right candidate Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sánchez.

Iran slams US ‘discriminatory treatment’ over World Cup visa refusals

• Backroom staff denied entry visas for US, claims post on X

• Team have moved training base from Arizona to Mexico

Iran has slammed World Cup co-hosts the United States over what it called “discriminatory treatment” by not granting visas for some members of the national team’s delegation to attend the tournament.

“Why do you not say that visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others who are an integral part of any national football team?” the Iranian embassy in Turkey posted on X, referring to an earlier announcement by the US envoy Tom Barrack that visas had been granted to players. “You have now escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran’s national football team to its highest level.”

Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim reported that those who had not received visas included the executive director Mehdi Kharati, the secretary general of the football federation, Hedayat Mombini, and media director Mohsen Motamedkia. Staff members without visas would travel to Mexico with the team while efforts to obtain visas continue, the agency said.

India’s 15-year-old IPL sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi called up to face England

• Teenager in squad for T20s against Ireland and England

• Set to be youngest India debutant since Tendulkar

The teenage phenomenon Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been handed his maiden India call-up for their T20 series against Ireland and England.

An array of outrageous knocks in the Indian Premier League led to the 15-year-old opener collecting the most valuable player award after amassing 776 runs at a staggering strike-rate of 237.30.

Actor Philippa Dunne: ‘Someone once saw me in a play and said that I was disgusting’

The Amandaland actor on her statue phobia, what she’d like to say to her mum, and lusting after Keanu Reeves

Born in Dublin, Philippa Dunne, 44, trained at the Gaiety School of Acting and co-founded a comedy group called Diet of Worms. Her TV work includes Derry Girls and This Is Going to Hurt. Since 2016, she has played Anne Flynn in the BBC sitcom Motherland and its spin-off, Amandaland, now in its second series; her performance won her a Bafta nomination this year. She is married with a daughter and lives in London.

When were you happiest?
Any time I’m in rehearsals.

Women accusing Andrew Tate criticise UK extradition delay as influencer appears in Russia

Lawyer for British women attacks ‘extraordinary spectacle’ of Tate’s arrival in Moscow

British women who have accused Andrew Tate of rape, assault and coercive control have questioned why the self-professed misogynistic influencer has appeared in Russia as UK authorities continue to hold off on seeking his extradition.

Tate admires Vladimir Putin and amplifies Kremlin propaganda online. He arrived in the same week that Russian authorities welcomed US rightwing figures at an annual conference described as Russia’s answer to Davos.

In Ohio, the Sikh community passes traditions to the next generation

Photographer Akash Pamarthy has documented the Sikh religious community in Ohio over several years. His photos tell a story.

The Forest Service says it's closing offices to cut costs. But the math doesn't add up

The Forest Service is trying to shut down research hubs because it says it needs to live within its means. But the agency plans to close facilities that cost less than $1 to rent while keeping open one that costs $1 million.

Fifa backtracks on plastic water bottles ban at World Cup after fury from fans

• Fans will now be allowed one sealed bottle at matches

• Keir Starmer among critics of previous U-turn on policy

Fifa has again amended its water bottle policy for the World Cup in North America, allowing fans to bring in one sealed, disposable 20-ounce (590ml) bottle into stadiums.

Ticket holders had previously been permitted an empty, transparent and reusable bottle up to one litre but an update earlier this week confirmed reusable bottles were no longer permitted.

Top 100 reader novels

After critics and authors picked their top 100 novels we asked for your favourites. From Uruguay to the Isle of Skye, more than 3,000 readers cast their votes. Here’s your list – topped by a new number 1

• Read about your choices here

***

100

Blackouts, hyperinflation, dissent: Iran considers perilous prospect of peace

Conditions that led to bloody prewar protests have been made worse, commentators say

Iran is already preparing for the perilous transition from wartime unity to a fractious peace marked by hyperinflation, a 10% contraction in the economy, power cuts and calls for a triumphalist government to end its unprecedented hunting down of dissent.

With peace not yet secured, the debates within the regime about Iran’s future are only just starting to emerge but its rulers are clearly thinking about how after surviving the war, they can survive the peace.

‘Mogging’ is suddenly everywhere. Is that a problem?

This word for outdoing or outshining others originated in the manosphere, but is now thoroughly mainstream. Why is it so popular – and should we be worried about slang that arises from toxic subcultures?

Until recently, if someone had said “mog” to me, I probably would have assumed they were talking about the children’s book cat created by the late great Judith Kerr. If asked about “mogging” or being “mogged,” I would have been completely baffled. But for many members of gen Z and gen Alpha (or anyone who is just a bit too online), the slang term, which means to outdo or outshine others, is everywhere.

Mogging’s origins are in the manosphere, where it began as a verb derived from the acronym “Amog” (alpha male of the group). In misogynistic forums in the 2010s, to “mog” came to mean to outdo someone in terms of sexual desirability. Mogging has been adopted by “looksmaxxing” influencers such as Braden Peters, known online as Clavicular, who encourage men to try to alter their looks – sometimes in extreme ways – to increase their “sexual market value”. Such an influencer might talk of “frame mogging” another person in a photo or video – a variation on mogging that specifically refers to being more muscular.

Man dies after shark attack off Western Australia coast near Albany

Government department says man was in the water around Michaelmas Island, near Albany, when he was bitten by a suspected 4.5-metre shark

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A male diver aged in his 30s has died after being bitten by a shark in Western Australia.

The state’s police force confirmed on Saturday afternoon that the 35-year-old man had died, after being treated by paramedics at the scene for more than two hours.

How the ‘Picasso of ponds’ went from shaping golf courses to making freshwater homes for wildlife

Shaun Hancox has created scores of ponds for rewilding projects across Britain – and he says there’s a lot more to it than digging a hole

He is known as “the Picasso of ponds” but the tableaux being created by Shaun Hancox in a boggy field in Somerset currently looks more like a building site. An orange and black excavator is rhythmically removing lumpy clay soil and sculpting it into brown banks.

The result looks like a scar of bare earth on what was once green pasture – but the magic happens as soon as rain fills the newly created depressions. Plants seed swiftly, invertebrates and amphibians rapidly find the water, and life explodes.

Power and glory: World Cup promises a spectacle impossible to ignore

Ten years in the making, the greatest show on earth is set for a six-week sprint through Trump’s America

This is the end, of our elaborate plans, the end. Of everything that stands, the end. It seems fitting that football’s latest stopping point on its voyage upriver into the blank parts of the map, a mission so choice that when it’s over you may never want another one, should be a World Cup overseen by a haunted-looking man with a messiah complex, out there operating beyond the pale of acceptable sporting governance, the warrior-poet Swiss lawyer football never knew it needed.

The 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada will finally kick off in earnest on 11 June at the Azteca Stadium. From there the tournament will unspool across 39 days, 16 host cities, 104 matches and a 6,000-mile span from Mexico City in the south to Vancouver in the north to Boston in the east. Ten years in the making, the end product of a century of powerplay and hyper-grift, this is by almost any metric not just the largest sporting event ever staged, but the largest event, as we say in America, period.

Romário: ‘I consider myself one of the greatest players ever. An 11 out of 10’

Brazil’s 1994 World Cup winner on being good without training, his political legacy and why he loves social media

Few people’s interview list over the past year features Neymar, Robert Lewandowski, Xavi Hernández and Iker Casillas. But then not many interviewers have the pulling power of Romário. Thirty-two years after the former Brazil striker was crowned world champion and best player at the 1994 World Cup, he is travelling far and wide to speak with football greats for his YouTube channel.

Romário began his “face to face with the man” project a year ago. “This whole Romário TV thing is a brand-new situation in my life,” he says. “I’m really happy, enjoying it. It’s so cool.

How old are the Easter Island statues and why do you burp after fizzy drinks? The kids’ quiz

Five multiple-choice questions – set by children – to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes

• ​Submit a question

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book, as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World.

What links champagne, Mozart and veal pie? The Saturday quiz

From the ‘Intransigents’ to Simple Comforts and Cookery Bible, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz

1 What began to tilt in 1178?
2 Which deep-sea fish attracts prey with a glowing lure called an esca?
3 Habitat 67 is a Brutalist housing development in which North American city?
4 Which founder member of the Football League no longer exists?
5 What was Barbara Castle’s 1969 plan to improve industrial relations?
6 Vasco Núñez de Balboa was the first European to see what?
7 Which artistic group were originally called the “Intransigents”?
8 Which 1963 fantasy film did Tom Hanks declare the “greatest movie ever made”?
What links:
9 Simple Comforts; Cookery Bible; How to Be a Domestic Goddess?
10 I’m a Believer; I Wanna Be Yours; Feel Good Inc?
11 Champagne (Chekhov); Mozart (Mahler); veal pie (Pitt the Younger); whisky (Dylan Thomas)?
12 Altes; Bode; Neues; Pergamon?
13 Estonian; Finnish; Hungarian; Sámi?
14 Dupplin Moor; Halidon Hill; Culblean; Neville’s Cross?
15 Aird; Dickinson & Sawyer; Edgar; Hunt; Mundson; Poulain?

It’s no surprise that an AI-faked presidential speech condemning foreign exploitation went viral – the world is suffering from a leadership vacuum

Attributed to the president of Namibia, the speech is still being shared as citizens across Africa and the Caribbean cry out for moral leaders willing to speak uncomfortable truths

For a moment, the speech attributed to Namibia’s president travelled across the world like a gust of hope. It was fierce. Defiant. Unapologetically sovereign. The speaker denounced corruption, condemned foreign exploitation and declared that Africa’s resources belonged not to politicians or multinational corporations but to its people. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah spoke of leaders who signed away national wealth behind closed doors and warned that those who betrayed the public trust would face accountability. It sounded like the language of decolonisation reborn.

Across social media, many listened with admiration. Finally, here was a leader speaking with moral clarity. Here was the rhetoric that generations of postcolonial citizens had been waiting to hear. But there was one problem. It was fake. Nandi-Ndaitwah rejected it as an AI-generated fabrication.

The Alien Autopsy Scandal: this fascinating tale of a bizarre DIY hoax hits Spinal Tap levels of hilarity

A fake alien made by a Doctor Who sculptor, animal organs sourced from a butcher, an actual magician behind the camera … this outrageous story makes for a great watch

If you had to be interviewed on film, how would you hope to come across? Attractive, honest, a good egg? Or pathologically shifty, to the point that audiences want to throw their shoes at the screen? I found myself unlacing my Doc Martens this week, watching a documentary about the biggest hoax of the last century.

In 1995, a grainy film was released that purported to be of an autopsy conducted on a creature recovered from a crash site on military land in Roswell, New Mexico. The incident had long been hallowed in ufology, but no moving footage had ever been uncovered. You’ve seen it. Hazmat figures loom over a bulbous-headed humanoid, spreadeagled on the table. Its dead, oval eyes are black, mouth agape, belly distended. I saw the shocking footage again last night, or thought I did. It was actually my laptop screen going dark, after I fell asleep in front of Netflix.

Knicks beat Spurs by one point for 2-0 lead in NBA Finals

The red-hot Knicks are going home, two wins away from an NBA championship that the capital of the world has been waiting to see for generations.

Blind date: ‘It felt like taking part in Blind Date was a lifelong thing she wanted to do’

Laurine, who works in forensics, meets Theo, a financial adviser. They are both 27

What were you hoping for?
Love! Or someone new, great conversation, a free dinner and feature in my favourite Guardian column.

My mother was forced to give me up for adoption. But when we finally met decades later, it was far from a fairytale ending

Thirty years after my parents were pressured into placing me with an adoption agency, I finally reconnected with them. But it was nothing like the neat stories you see on TV

One morning in late September 2023, I discovered by chance that my birth mother had been killed almost a year earlier. The revelation came while I was searching my work email for a stray message. In the bin folder, amid a slurry of irrelevant press releases, lay an unopened email, ­flagging a long-forgotten Google alert I had set up for her name, Susan Barras. We had been estranged for almost 15 years, so this in itself provoked trepidation. I had cut contact with her when our relationship had finally become too fraught and emotionally ­exhausting for me to continue. Opening the email, I realised with shock that the alert had been triggered by a probate notice about her estate.

Susan was only 69 when she died, and my first thought was that the breast cancer she was being treated for when we were in touch had returned. My second was the realisation that both my birth parents were now dead – my birth father had died of liver failure in late 2018, aged 70. But then the unfamiliar name listed on the probate notice, Suzann Doyle, captured my attention. Underneath this was confirmation that my birth mother had changed her name. Her address at the time of her death posed further questions. It was not that of the large detached house in Guildford I had visited just once, a few months after we were reunited, where she had lived with her husband. This address was for a tiny one-bed retirement flat overlooking Guildford train station.

Predator or prey? The confounding case of the missing sea eagle

The UK’s biggest bird of prey has been compared to a flying barn door. So how can one fitted with a satellite tracker disappear in prime grouse-shooting country?

The six police officers arrived at the Snilesworth estate in two pickup trucks last week, according to one account. They asked to go up on the moors, a source said, and “so off they went”.

A vast expanse of spectacularly undulating lands on the western edge of the North York Moors, Snilesworth is globally renowned for its grouse, partridge and pheasant shooting. It is known locally for attracting “rich people from London in helicopters and blacked-out SUVs”.

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for freekeh salad with fennel, apple, tofu and dill | The new vegan

This endlessly adaptable salad is the perfect addition to your summer picnic basket

When I was growing up, picnicking was a favourite Sodha family pastime, but we did it in a very Indian way. The focus was never on the place: we never had to eat in a bucolic location to have a good time. Our understanding was that homemade food was the best and therefore should be eaten always and anywhere. The food came first; a view was a bonus. As such, even now, decades after leaving the family home, I am always thinking of a good meal for us to eat outdoors. This nutty, chewy freekeh with fennel, dill and tofu has shot up to the top of my favourites: robust, easy to assemble and, above all, delicious whether you eat it on the bank of a lake or in a service station car park.

A wedding invitation makes me feel like a deer in the headlights: the Becky Barnicoat cartoon

Ebola spread in central Africa could match 2014 record outbreak, US health officials say

Modelling from US CDC shows Ebola spread could be on ‘dangerous trajectory’, but experts warn outbreaks can be very hard to predict

Central Africa’s Ebola outbreak could spread to be similar in scale to the worst outbreak in history, west Africa’s 2014-2016 outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people, according to a new analysis by US health officials.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday published a range of scenarios generated by computer models, from 10,000 cases to more than 20,000. In the west Africa outbreak, more than 28,000 cases were reported.

U.S. military says it shot down Iranian drones launched toward Gulf allies

The exchange of strikes comes as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran to make a deal to end the conflict.

US threatens to reconsider role in Bosnia and Herzegovina amid rift with Europe

US embassy in Sarajevo made threat after European states refused to back its preferred High Representative candidate

A deepening US-European rift over the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina has broken open with a dispute over a top administrative post, leading to a US threat to “reconsider” its role in international peacekeeping.

The American embassy in Sarajevo issued the threat after European states refused to back the US preferred candidate to become the new High Representative for the international community. At a meeting this week in Sarajevo of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) – a multinational group tasked with overseeing the implementation of the 1995 Dayton peace agreement – Washington supported an Italian diplomat, Antonio Zanardi Landi, while the UK, France, Germany and most European states backed France’s envoy to the Western Balkans, René Troccaz.

How campaigners beat industrial farming in Denmark’s ‘pig election’

Mette Frederiksen’s new government promises overhaul for people – and animals – in home of ultra-intensive farming

Like all new prime ministers, when Mette Frederiksen secured a third consecutive term as Denmark’s head of government this week, she promised her administration would take steps to “improve the everyday lives” of the country’s inhabitants.

Unlike most new prime ministers, however, she specified that her left-leaning coalition’s policy programme would be not just for “the people who are in Denmark and the ⁠generations to come” but also “for the animals”.

NBA finals: Knicks within two wins of elusive title after holding off Spurs in Game 2

• Brunson leads Knicks to second road finals win

• New York take 2-0 series lead back to Garden

• Spurs face uphill battle after home-court sweep

The white-hot New York Knicks moved within two wins of their first NBA championship in more than half a century on Friday night, edging the San Antonio Spurs 105-104 in a Game 2 thriller to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the NBA finals before the series shifts to Madison Square Garden.

After stealing Game 1 with a furious fourth-quarter comeback, the Knicks once again turned to Jalen Brunson when the game hung in the balance. The All-NBA guard sank the go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds remaining after a costly turnover by Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. Moments later, Wembanyama’s clean look from the elbow at the buzzer caromed off the back rim, allowing New York to become only the third team to win the first two games of an NBA finals on the road after the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets.

Graham Platner faces another controversy days ahead of Maine Senate primary

This week, the New York Times reported allegations of Platner's "unsettling" behavior toward women he dated, including one claim that he was physically abusive, which Platner denies.

Los Angeles police chase ends in fatal shooting of suspect on 405 Freeway

The freeways of Los Angeles saw two big police pursuits on Friday. The first chase ended when authorities reported that a robbery suspect was shot and killed on the busy 405 Freeway during morning rush hour. In the second incident, an alleged carjacker was taken down by a police K-9 following a meandering three-hour chase. Carter Evans has more.

Democrat Xavier Becerra wins the top spot in November's race for California governor

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has clinched the top spot on California's ballot for governor. With millions of ballots still to be counted, his November challenger is unknown.

Why a 55-mile trek is a mandatory rite of passage for freshmen at one high school

The five-day, 55-mile Appalachian Trail hike is a 53-year tradition for freshmen at St. Benedict's Preparatory School.

Space station crew briefly moves to "safe haven" amid concerns over leaks

Out of an abundance of caution, NASA briefly directed five of the seven crew members aboard the International Space Station to wait inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon "Freedom" spacecraft.

How a Starbucks marketing stunt spiralled into mass boycotts in South Korea

A botched tumbler promotion on the anniversary of a pro-democracy massacre unleashed a boycott, police investigation and political firestorm

It was a PR nightmare: customers smashing Starbucks branded tumblers and mugs as fans deleted loyalty apps and cashed out prepaid balances. Amid the uproar, government ministries cut ties with the coffee chain and apology notices were pasted on Starbucks stores across South Korea.

The initial shock may have passed, but the anger remains.

New Jersey school requires freshmen to go on 55-mile hike

For more than five decades, St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, has required its freshmen to go on a mandatory five-day, 55-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail. Steve Hartman explains why in "On the Road."

Employers added 172,000 jobs in May, surging past expectations

The labor market continues to show strength despite rising inflation and concerns about slowing economic growth.

Marine veteran held at gunpoint fights off his attackers

A Marine veteran was working on his truck in front of his home in Oxon Hill, Maryland, this week, when four teens tried to rob him at gunpoint. That is when his military training kicked in. Tom Hanson reports.

Despite positive jobs report, rising costs leave many U.S. farmers struggling

U.S. employers added 172,000 jobs in May, according to the Labor Department, a better-than-expected jobs report. But in the heart of Wisconsin's farm country, many farmers are facing a different reality as they struggle with tariffs and rising fuel and fertilizer costs amid the Iran war. Nikole Killion has more.

Controversy swirls around Graham Platner ahead of Maine Senate primary

Just days to go before the Senate primary in Maine, Democratic candidate Graham Platner insists he won't drop out of the race despite a new report from The New York Times in which three women who dated Platner detailed behavior they found "unsettling." It's the latest issue facing the fledgling political hopeful. Caitlin Huey-Burns reports.

Amazon unveils latest warehouse robot as tech giants continue AI layoffs

"Our experience of robots is that it's actually driven up employment rather than the reverse," Amazon executive John Boumphrey told CNBC.

Park ranger dies after falling into crevasse on America's tallest peak

The National Park Service said a ranger in Alaska fell into a crevasse and died on North America's tallest mountain.

6/5: CBS Evening News

New allegations raised against Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner; CBS News hears from Wisconsin voters on the economy.

Wiegman pays price for lack of defensive pragmatism as Spain expose technical gap | Tom Garry

England were outclassed in Mallorca and would have been better served by trying to contain the world champions

As the game ticked into second-half stoppage time, Spain were almost showboating, Aitana Bonmatí flicking the ball around the pitch with grace, style and a swagger that sent out an emphatic message: Spain are significantly better than England.

On a balmy evening in Palma, the world champions taught the European champions a painful lesson. The scoreline was one thing but, more alarmingly, the undeniable gulf in technical ability between the teams gave the Lionesses a brutal reality check, a year out from the Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

The job market is much stronger than economists expected. Why?

Americans say it's tough to find a job, but employers just added a surprisingly strong 172,000 new hires in May.

FBI fires analysts who worked on memo about Catholic extremist ideology

The five fired FBI analysits were involved in the creation of a withdrawn internal 2023 intelligence memo on "Radical Traditionalist Catholic" ideology, sources said.

Marvell Technology and Flex to join S&P 500 index, replacing Pool and Campbell's

The move highlights the growing importance of the technology sector to the stock market.

After deadly bus crash, investigators probe company's links to other carriers

The company that operated a bus involved in a deadly crash in Virginia last week has ties to a broader network of travel firms, including one shut down by regulators a decade ago, a CBS News investigation has found.

Trump wants Bill Pulte to fire big chunk of national intelligence office staff: WSJ

President Trump's comments are sure to roil members of Congress who criticized the appointment of Bill Pulte as acting national intelligence director.

First officer told captain of United Airlines flight that hit light pole he was "slow and a little low," NTSB says

The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on a United Airlines plane that struck a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike in May.

After D.C.'s Reflecting Pool gets repainted, visitors ask: What changed?

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is refilling after President Trump had it painted "American flag blue." Some visitors say the results of the project — which reportedly cost millions — are subtle.

Google to pay SpaceX $920 million a month for compute capacity at xAI data centers

Ahead of a planned IPO, SpaceX inked a deal to rent compute capacity to Google for $920 million per month for 32 months.

6/5: The Takeout with Major Garrett

The U.S. added 172,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.3%; Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner has mounting controversies.

Meta's stock sinks on report company could raise tens of billions of dollars to fund AI push

Meta shares dropped after the Financial Times reported the company could potentially raise tens of billions of dollars in a stock offering to help its AI push.

Ned Jarrett, NASCAR Hall of Famer and CBS announcer, dies at 93

Ned Jarrett was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011 after 50 career wins on the sport's top circuit.

Starmer suggests US ‘trying to interfere in our democracy’ over Nowak claims

Prime minister’s office responds after JD Vance blames British teenager’s death on mass migration

• How Britain was rocked by Henry Nowak’s murder – and why the US intervened

​Keir Starmer has suggested the US is trying to interfere in British democracy after JD Vance, the US vice-president, blamed the murder of the British teenager Henry Nowak on mass migration.

The prime minister’s office responded after the senior Republican politician claimed in a post on X that Nowak would be alive “if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it”.

Anthony Head brought gravitas to Buffy and everything else he touched | Jesse Hassenger

The late actor was a charming and funny father figure, and sometime singer, in the cult TV show, one of his many roles that showed just how much he could do

• Anthony Head, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso actor, dies aged 72

For years, fans eagerly anticipated the oft-floated idea of a spinoff from the cultishly beloved 1997-2003 TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As described by creator Joss Whedon, this miniseries would not follow beloved supporting characters like nerdy witch Willow, sardonic vampire Spike or laconic were-teen Oz. It would be called Ripper, and it would focus on the younger days of Rupert Giles, the school librarian and “watcher” character played by Anthony Head. Giles served as the tweedy mentor and father figure to Buffy, the woman chosen to keep vampires at bay, throughout the show’s seven seasons.

Sadly, the show never came to pass – and now, with Head’s death at the age of 72, it probably never will, at least not with its signature star. (And probably not its creator, who has since faced multiple accusations of on-set misconduct.) But both creative and fan interest was consistently high; just think about that for a moment. This 90s-originated teen drama tantalized viewers with the promise of spinning off a token grownup character into his own adventures. To picture Buffy’s contemporaries following suit is downright laughable; consider the equivalent spinoff from Dawson’s Creek, for example. Would it star Jen’s Gram? The female teacher who committed statutory rape with Pacey? Even given the expanded possibilities of a more fantastical world, Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s aunts were never exactly in talks with the BBC, either.

Hot jobs report puts Fed cuts further out of reach as Chair Warsh faces policy tests

Another big jobs report in May has swept aside the possibility of interest rate cuts anytime soon.

Judge refers DOJ lawyers for possible discipline over handling of transgender care probe

U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy had lambasted Justice Department lawyers in a decision last month and accused them of misrepresenting and withholding information.

‘It’s like family’: team Bruce McLaren built is carved in his image as they mark 1,000th GP

Driver died four years after founding McLaren but his legacy lives through his inspirational tenacity and team’s roll call of champions

As the streets of Monaco echo to the roar of engines, history too will resonate long and loud in Monte Carlo this weekend. Allegiance be damned, it would take a heart of stone not to recognise McLaren’s achievement and contribution to the sport when the team that made their debut here in 1966 contest their 1000th grand prix.

Bruce McLaren, the team’s founder, had brought his first F1 car, the M2B, to Monaco in 1966. On Thursday it was on the track once again, driven by their double world champion Mika Häkkinen to mark the team’s milestone race, having taken 203 victories, 13 drivers’ titles and 10 constructors’ championships.

U.S. payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, much more than expected; unemployment at 4.3%

Nonfarm payrolls were expected to increase by 80,000 in May while the unemployment rate held at 4.3%.

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Attacks on police in Southampton, Russian strikes in Kyiv, the Ebola outbreak and PSG win the Champions League – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

Warning: this gallery contains images some readers may find distressing

Trump says he wants Pulte to "start the process" of shrinking intel office

President Trump told the Wall Street Journal he may even want to terminate the Office of the Director of National Intelligence altogether.

Model routing is a fix for AI overspending. That's a problem for OpenAI and Anthropic

Companies are shifting from running everything on the most powerful AI model to matching each task to the right one, a practice called model routing.

Two men convicted of wounding journalist in London ‘on orders of Iran’

Pouria Zeraati of Iran International TV was stabbed three times outside his London home in attempt to ‘silence’ him

Two men have been found guilty of involvement in a targeted knife attack on an Iranian journalist in London said to have been carried out on behalf of the regime in Tehran.

Pouria Zeraati, a British journalist of Iranian origin, was working for Iran International, a Farsi-language dissident broadcaster, when he was stabbed in the leg outside his west London home in 2024.

Meet the Belmont Stakes horses running in the 2026 race

The Belmont Stakes will host a New York rematch of the top two finishing horses from the Kentucky Derby​ to wrap up horse racing's Triple Crown for 2026.

Judge blocks Trump policies that halted many legal immigration cases

A federal judge blocked a series of measures that have prevented officials from granting asylum, green cards and other legal immigration benefits to many immigrants.

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

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

The Guardian view on Henry Nowak’s murder: big tech and the far right are allied in an outrage arms race | Editorial

Anger and distress at the treatment of the stabbed teenager is widely shared. But the online amplification of myths and grievances must be tackled

To learn of the last minutes of Henry Nowak’s life would be shocking and distressing under any circumstances. The stabbed teenager begged officers for help, as they handcuffed him before realising their mistake. To watch those final moments, on the police body-cam footage released this week, is all the more immediate, and unbearable. The outrage is widely shared. But the way it has been weaponised is alarming. His family’s wish is for his legacy to be a renewed effort to reduce knife crime, not increased antagonism along racial and religious lines. Instead, the unscrupulous are using the power of the footage and the speed of social media to spread myths about “two-tier policing” and turn trauma into political mobilisation.

Rightly, Hampshire’s chief constable has apologised. Three of the officers involved are being investigated, while a fourth has left the force. Policies are being reviewed. Vickrum Digwa will serve at least 20 years for murder before being eligible for parole. Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch have met with the victim’s family.

Anthony Head, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Ted Lasso" star, dies at 72

Anthony Head played librarian and mentor Rupert Giles in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and recently appeared in "Ted Lasso."

Man gets life in prison for double murder scheme in affair with au pair

Brendan Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, claimed he shot Joseph Ryan after he came across Ryan attacking his wife.