Sacked Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins to face MPs’ questions over Mandelson vetting – UK politics live

Robbins was forced out as Foreign Office permanent secretary over the Mandelson vetting revelations in the Guardian

Sarah Champion, the Labour MP who chairs the international development committee, was on the Today programme this morning talking about the mood in the Labour party following the Peter Mandelson crisis. She said that Keir Starmer was unpopular with voters, but not because of this. She said:

I’ll be honest with you, people don’t like Keir on the door but it’s not over this Mandelson thing. They don’t like him personally.

There’s been a fantastic campaign by opposition parties to undermine him …

Middle East crisis live: Iran claims it has ‘new cards for battlefield’, and weighs talks in Pakistan

Iranian official stresses no decision made on taking part, as US vice-president JD Vance is set to travel to Islamabad for negotiations

• JD Vance to lead US delegation in Pakistan if Iran agrees to talks

Iran’s armed forces are ready to deliver an “immediate and decisive response” to any renewed hostile action by its adversaries, Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as having said.

He said Tehran had the upper hand militarily, including in the management of the strait of Hormuz, and would not allow Donald Trump to “create false narratives over the situation on the ground.”

EU foreign ministers meet to discuss Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East – Europe live

Representatives from EU countries are meeting in Luxembourg today

EU foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg this morning to discuss the latest on Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East.

The ministers are awaiting an update on the Druzbha pipeline carrying Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, which is understood to be close to being operational against after months of bitter disputes between Ukraine and the two countries.

“Now this country [has recently] had the elections and will [soon] have a new government. I will not speak for the new government, but definitely I think we can look into all these policies and see whether they have a new approach.”

Music executive behind K-pop group BTS faces arrest in South Korea

Police seek warrant for Bang Si-Hyuk over allegations he illegally gained millions in investor fraud scheme

South Korean police are seeking to arrest Bang Si-Hyuk, the chair of the agency behind the K-pop band BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained more than $100m (£74m) in an investor fraud scheme.

The Seoul metropolitan police agency confirmed it had asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for the arrest of Bang, the founder and chair of HYBE.

Unchosen review – Asa Butterfield’s creepy cult show is a total waste of all this talent

It’s got amazing names attached, from Christopher Eccleston to Siobhan Finneran – but the new Netflix drama starts off workmanlike then goes downhill. Why would these stars ever sign up?

Unchosen is set in the world of a Christian splinter sect. Everyone lives simply in grace and harmony, following Christ’s teaching of peace and love for all humankind, with men and women sharing equally in domestic and other labour. They exist as shining lights for what is possible when you set aside the patriarchal nonsense and other accretions that gather around religions. Every episode is a delight and nothing much happens because everyone is living such a good and godly life.

I jest! Unchosen is not here to break new ground. It is here to deliver by-numbers drama that has inexplicably attracted the talented likes of Siobhan Finneran and Christopher Eccleston to its cast and you should proceed with your expectations lowered.

Premier League clubs unhappy at rising costs of Independent Football Regulator

• IFR budget has risen from £10m previously projected

• Levy imposed on clubs will be tiny fraction of revenues

Premier League clubs are increasingly unhappy at the Independent Football Regulator’s (IFR’s) rising costs and uncertainty about how much each club will be made to pay.

Premier League and EFL clubs have repeatedly asked the IFR for an update on its operating budget, which is believed to have risen significantly from the annual £10m projected by the previous government, and been frustrated by the limited response.

Vibrating crotches, anal beads and suspicious minds: the long, strange history of chess cheats | Sean Ingle

The journey from the Von Neumann to the Niemann affair has much to teach us about the changed landscape of the sport

There really is, it turns out, a true story involving cheating in chess and a vibrating crotch. Only this one is a whodunnit that dates back more than 30 years and was only solved last week.

Imagine the scene at the World Open in Philadelphia in 1993 when a mysterious unrated player with fake dreadlocks and headphones, and with a bulge that vibrates in his trousers, shows up. Now multiply it 100-fold when this unknown amateur, who calls himself John von Neumann after the founder of game theory, draws with a grandmaster, Helgi Ólafsson, in round two.

Ghost Stories by Siri Hustvedt review – life after Paul Auster

What’s it like to lose your partner of more than 40 years? The novelist and essayist reflects on going from ‘we’ to ‘I’

It wasn’t quite Beatlemania, but, at the height of Paul Auster’s fame in the 1980s and 90s, screaming fans clambered on to the hood of a car after a reading in Buenos Aires. Admirers mobbed him at bookshop events in Paris, the city where he had once eked out a living translating French literature. He was offered big money to make ads promoting American beef to Japan. He was hailed as a rock god, a literary superstar, a postmodernist with leading-man looks.

Little of this is of much consequence or consolation to novelist and essayist Siri Hustvedt who, before he died of cancer in 2024, had been married to Auster for more than 40 years. As she tells it in Ghost Stories, her memoir of their life together, she was a tall blond PhD student in a jumpsuit when she met him – “a beautiful man in a black leather jacket” – at a poetry reading. He was separated from the mother of his child, living alone in a gloomy Brooklyn apartment, yet to publish anything of substance. Literature bound them: he was just 15 when he decided his future was in writing; she had come to the same insight at an even younger age.

Scarborn (Kos) review – rumbustuous period epic stirs up trouble in 18th-century Poland

When a veteran of the American war of independence returns to his native country with popular rule on his mind dangerous passions ignite

This Polish historical drama is an odd duck of a feature but there’s definitely a cinematic flair to proceedings. For a start, a lot of it unfolds over one evening in a candlelit setting, so you may have to screw up your eyes in order to make out what’s going on. My advice is to then surrender to its strange tonality and weird flat stretches, because the ending pulls most of the strands together satisfyingly and goes out with bangs, whizzes and a fair few sword thrusts.

The year is 1794, and it’s not long since the American war of independence has finished, in which Polish hero Tadeusz “Kos” Kościuszko (a real historical figure, played here by Chris Pine lookalike Jacek Braciak) fought valiantly on the side of the American rebels. Now he’s back in what’s left of Poland, a nation with particularly elastic borders at that time as various neighbours invade and pull back, especially the Russians. Kos is accompanied by his friend Domingo (Jason Mitchell), a freed slave and top marksman, and together the two of them are hoping to start something in Poland and get the peasants revolting against the oppressive nobility. That sort of social order shake-up would definitely be a boon for folks such as Ignac Sikora (Bartosz Bielenia), the bastard son of a local landowner who has promised with his dying breath to leave Ignac some kind of inheritance in his will.

How to holiday as a single-parent family? A back-to-nature retreat in west Wales worked for us

Tucked away in a remote valley, these cosy off-grid cabins come with a wild-swimming pond, loads of wildlife and a farm where kids can run free

Holidaying as a single parent is a tricky balance. You want to ringfence the kind of extended one-on-one time that can be difficult to find during term time; but too much of that and you know you’ll drive each other a little crazy. Kids need other kids, and you could do with some adult company too. You also need a break. It’s a nice idea to pack the car with camping gear and head out into the wilderness, but it can be a lot of work – and you end up in a field, attempting to put up a tent, alone.

Friends of mine have suggested holiday parks, some of them with bars and restaurants and a daily schedule of kids’ activities. That all sounds a bit overstimulating. I’d been dreaming about sinking into a quiet landscape. But would there be enough to do?

Gunman shoots several tourists at historic pyramids in Mexico

A man standing atop one of the historic Teotihuacan pyramids opened fire on tourists Monday, killing one Canadian and leaving at least 13 people, authorities said.

Cuba confirms meeting with US officials on island, wants energy blockade lifted

Cuba's government confirmed that it had recently met with U.S. officials on the island as tensions between the two sides remain high over the U.S. energy blockade of the Caribbean country.

‘I’m not the boss’: Lando Norris is articulate, open and intelligent – when he’s allowed to be

F1’s latest world champion speaks with deep candour about overcoming his insecurities but questions about Max Verstappen and regulations? Off limits

There are always complications and difficulties in Formula One, as there are in life and even in this interview. On a beautiful evening at a lavish golf club in Surrey, Lando Norris and I are tucked away in an anonymous yet brightly-lit room crammed with a television crew and representatives from his management team and Laureus, the global organisation driven by a belief that “sport has the power to change the world”.

At first Norris talks thoughtfully and honestly about his struggles with profound insecurity before becoming world champion last year. But we reach a low point when a young man from his management company feels sufficiently empowered to answer questions on the 26-year-old’s behalf, as a way of controlling our interview.

Labour’s great green energy plan could be a legacy as vital as the NHS | Polly Toynbee

Ed Miliband has a rare chance to do for the climate what Nye Bevan did for health: create something future generations will be proud of

It looks unlikely that Labour will emerge as the largest party at the next general election (though it’s by no means impossible). If just one term is Labour’s destiny, what legacy will it leave behind? There is already in the making one great success that can’t be reversed, the transition to homegrown clean energy. This is a true “taking back control” escape from the clutches of febrile oil and gas markets. Indeed it might become such a political success that it could rescue Labour’s electoral fortunes.

Historically it may come to be recognised as equivalent to the 1948 creation of the NHS, with Ed Miliband the Nye Bevan of our day. He has fought his cause in much the same ruthless way Bevan did. He faces the same ferocious (and politically deranged) opposition from the right, who will have to eat their hats over rejecting renewables. Just as the NHS is a prime reason for pride in Britain, we can expect the same national pride in homegrown energy independence, freeing us from rollercoaster markets and mercurial foreign oil and gas dictators: Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump or ayatollahs.

Guardian Newsroom: Can Labour come back from the brink?
On Thursday 30 April, join Gaby Hinsliff, Zoe Williams, Polly Toynbee and Rafael Behr as they discuss how much of a threat Labour faces from the Green party and Reform UK – and whether Keir Starmer can survive as leader. Book tickets here or at guardian.live

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

Will Olly Robbins’ testimony jeopardise Keir Starmer’s defence?

What questions will sacked head of the Foreign Office be asked, and what might they mean for the PM’s future?

On Monday, Keir Starmer testified in front of the Commons about what he knew about the vetting process behind Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to Washington.

On Tuesday, Olly Robbins – whom Starmer sacked as head of the Foreign Office last week – will give his side of the story under questioning by MPs on the foreign affairs select committee.

Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank, report says

Experts say attacks, also carried out by settlers, are leading girls to quit school and enter early marriages

Israeli soldiers and settlers are using gendered violence and sexual assault and harassment to force Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank, human rights and legal experts say.

Palestinian women, men and children have reported attacks, forced nudity, invasive and painful body cavity searches, Israelis exposing their genitals, including to minors, and threats of sexual violence.

Country diary: The most magical of frost-coated mornings | Mark Cocker

Knotbury, Staffordshire: A truly special dawn, when last night’s ice lingered on everything, and I was joined by no fewer than six ring ouzels

As I drove to this tiny moorland hamlet, the dawn sky looked so grey that I imagined it must have 100% cloud cover. Actually, there was none, and as the blue slowly crept in overhead, I could see that frost was everywhere.

I also realised that there was no breeze and every sound seemed distilled, so I stopped by the first farm to record my blackbird. He has mastered the sweetest imitations of displaying golden plovers, but this was my first chance to capture them. And there he was, doing his plover notes, but throwing in snippets of curlew as extras, and when he stood in profile at the roof apex, singing, bill wide, throat feathers spiked against the heavens, I knew the morning would be magical.

House GOP touts record fundraising haul in first three months of 2026

The National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans' campaign arm, is touting a record-breaking fundraising haul to start the 2026 midterm cycle, the committee chairman told CBS News.

Japan approves scrapping a ban on lethal weapons exports

The approval clears a final set of hurdles for Japan's postwar arms sales and facilitate its future sale of weapons such as a next-generation fighter jet and combat drones.

Here are the results for Virginia's 2026 redistricting ballot measure

Live election results: Get the latest on Virginia's special election on redistricting.

Almost half of EU’s busiest flight routes are ‘hard or impossible’ to book on trains – report

‘Stone age’ system of booking cross-border rail tickets holding back climate action by consumers, says thinktank

Europe’s “stone age” system of booking train tickets makes it needlessly difficult for travellers to avoid polluting flights, a report has found.

Booking equivalent train tickets is “difficult or impossible” on almost half of the EU’s busiest international air routes, analysis from the Transport & Environment (T&E) thinktank shows.

AI job scams are booming – and I was fooled by one. Here is how to avoid them

Fraudsters are using the promise of fake roles to trick job-seekers out of money, personal information or both, and with the help of AI they are more convincing than ever. But there are ways to spot them

There were clues from the start that it was too good to be true. A headhunter emailed me with a job prospect – a journalist role with “a leading US technology and markets editorial team”. The opportunity, she said, was part of a confidential expansion and hadn’t been publicly posted.

My spidey-sense was tingling, but the timing was auspicious. I was on the lookout for new work as my maternity leave was coming to an end. Initially, the email seemed legitimate. When I Googled the sender, I found a headhunter with the same name and profile picture on LinkedIn, and the message was clearly tailored to me: It referenced several roles I’d previously held and identified my specific areas of expertise. “Your focus on the real-world impacts of AI, digital culture and the gig economy aligns perfectly with an internal, high-priority mandate I’m managing,” the headhunter wrote.

On the trail with the hunters who believe shooting big game can save Africa’s wildlife

One way to pay for wildlife conservation is to allow the rich to bag a few animals for high prices. But critics see this approach as an exercise in neocolonialism

You can kill almost anything if you’re willing to pay. Big or small. Land, water or air. Ten a penny or one of the last of its kind. There’s nearly always a way, though it might not make you popular. The Niassa special reserve, a vast reservation larger than Switzerland, stretches for 190 miles along the northern rim of Mozambique, taking in 4.2m hectares of woodland and rivers. The reserve, one of the world’s largest protected areas, is home to elephants, leopards, hyenas, zebras and about 1,000 wild lions.

That word, however: protected. It applies to some, but not all, of its animal inhabitants. Each year, a specific number are set aside for sacrifice, for the greater good. Not long ago, I joined an expedition in Niassa, with one of Africa’s top game-hunting companies.

Man swept away in Wellington flood waters as New Zealand capital hammered by record heavy rain

Wellington residents have shared stories of surviving landslides and rising flood waters caused by severe storm

A man is missing after severe flooding struck New Zealand’s capital, with other Wellington residents sharing their survival stories after record rain hit on Sunday night.

Philip Sutton was looking after a property for his sister in Karori, in Wellington’s west, when a torrent of flood water smashed through it early on Monday, according to local reports. Sutton has not been seen since.

Canadian woman killed after gunman opens fire at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids

At least four more injured at world heritage site in latest violent incident as country prepares to co-host World Cup

One Canadian tourist has been killed and six other people were wounded by gunfire after an armed man opened fire at one of Mexico’s most famous tourist destinations, the Teotihuacán pyramids near Mexico City.

The shooting – the latest violent incident to affect Mexico as it prepares to co-host the football World Cup in June – took place on Monday lunchtime and was captured in mobile phone videos.

YouTuber investigated for trespassing after footage of Dezi Freeman’s hideout posted online

Several videos of Thologolong property where Freeman was killed by police, including vision from inside the shipping container where he was living, were shared online

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Police are investigating a YouTuber for potential trespass offences after footage of the property where fugitive Dezi Freeman was shot dead last month was posted online.

The YouTuber posted several videos of the Thologolong property in Victoria’s north-east, including vision from inside the shipping container where Freeman was living shortly before he was shot dead by police.

Embattled New Zealand prime minister survives leadership vote and blames media for ‘soap opera’

Christopher Luxon says caucus meeting ‘clearly’ proves he has party support ahead of November national election

The New Zealand prime minister, Christopher Luxon, has survived a tense leadership vote six months out from the election as he battles an ongoing slump in opinion polls.

Luxon, who has served as prime minister since November 2023, said he had called for the vote at a caucus meeting on Tuesday morning.

4/20: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Future of Iran ceasefire unclear as deadline approaches; Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigns.

Fifteen years after Steve Jobs, Tim Cook leaves a dramatically different Apple

Cook exported the smartphone revolution from the US to the world and turned Apple into one of the most powerful and profitable companies on Earth

After 15 years, Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple’s top executive. At age 65, he leaves behind a hardware juggernaut that, under his leadership, brought about a global smartphone revolution and transformed Apple into one of the most profitable publicly traded companies in history.

With a reputation for logistical management, Cook first joined Apple in 1998, overseeing its worldwide sales and operations. In 2009, he temporarily began running day-to-day operations when the company’s legendary co-founder, Steve Jobs, took medical leave due to complications from pancreatic cancer. In 2011, just a few months before Jobs’ death, Cook took over as CEO.

The beauty of Las Vegas' fakeness

Tony Dokoupil shares his thoughts on the charms of Las Vegas hidden in its inauthenticity.

Singer D4vd charged with murder in death of 14-year-old found in his car

Singer D4vd appeared in court Monday, hours after prosecutors announced he would be charged with first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Matt Gutman reports.

Tariff refund portal off to bumpy start as some businesses report glitches

Some U.S. importers reported problems filing tariff refund claims after Customs and Border Patrol launched its dedicated portal on Monday.

‘I hope it doesn’t get him down’: Usain Bolt tells Gout Gout to get ready to lose

• ‘It’s all about just learning right now,’ says Jamaican great

• Young Australian due to face world’s best in busy 2026

Like running fast, growing pains are something sprint lord Usain Bolt knows something about. So when he tells teenage phenomenon Gout Gout that his first steps into the world of senior athletics will not be easy, the Australian ought to take heed.

“I know it’s going to be an eye-opener,” Bolt told CNN of Gout’s first year as an adult, and an impending succession of showdowns against the world’s best sprinters. “And I hope it doesn’t get him down, but motivate him to work even harder.”

Businesses start requests for Trump tariff refunds, but glitches reported in new portal

Beginning on Monday, businesses were able to apply for refunds for President Trump's tariffs that were later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Jo Ling Kent reports on some of the issues they're running into.

U.S. soldier's wife detained by ICE in Texas after immigration appointment

The wife of a sergeant first class was detained by ICE at an immigration appointment in Texas. He says he doesn't understand why, and "ICE is out of control right now."

2 Southwest planes came within 500 feet in close call near Nashville airport

Air traffic control told the pilots of a flight aborting a landing to turn right, which put them on a potential collision course with another 737 that had been cleared for takeoff from a parallel runway.

200 stranded on Amtrak train for nearly 24 hours due to Florida wildfire

A wildfire in Florida has brought train traffic to a standstill, stranding more than 200 people aboard an Amtrak train for nearly 24 hours. Cristian Benavides spoke with some of the passengers.

Southwest pilots take evasive maneuvers to avoid midair collision over Nashville

The pilots of two Southwest Airlines jets had to scramble to avoid a mid-air collision over the weekend. Kris Van Cleave reports.

What to know as U.S. seizes Iranian tanker, questions linger about peace talks

Ed O'Keefe and Charlie D'Agata report ont the questions swirling about potential U.S.-Iran talks and the American seizure of an Iranian tanker.

How Trump's messaging on Iran has shifted since saying they "agreed to everything"

Less than 48 hours after President Trump said Iran has "agreed to everything," he threatened the whole country would get "blown up" without a deal soon.

Mixed signals from Trump on state of talks with Iran

On Friday, President Trump was saying Iran had "agreed to everything," including giving up its nuclear program "forever." But by Monday, he had accused Iran of violating the ceasefire and warned that if a deal isn't reached, "then lots of bombs start going off." Ed O'Keefe reports.

Fitness influencer drowns during swimming portion of Ironman Texas

• Mara Flavia Souza Araujo drowns early on Saturday

• Rescue crews locate body after athlete vanished

A Brazilian fitness influencer has died after getting into difficulty during the swimming portion of an ironman event in Texas.

Mara Flavia Souza Araujo was reported as a “lost swimmer” around 7.30am at the Ironman Texas in Lake Woodlands near Houston on Saturday. According to KPRC 2 News, safety crews could not immediately locate Araujo. The 38-year-old’s body was discovered around 90 minutes later in 10ft of water by divers. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

Madonna offers reward after vintage Coachella costume goes missing

The Like A Virgin singer has appealed for the return of the pieces she wore on Friday, including a jacket, corset and dress

Madonna has said the vintage costume she wore at Coachella has gone missing and has appealed for its “safe return”.

The Like A Virgin singer joined popstar Sabrina Carpenter on stage on Friday for her second weekend headline slot at the music festival in California, where she wore a vintage purple corset bodysuit with purple stockings and lavender gloves. On stage she said it was “the same corset, the same boots, and the same Gucci jacket” that she wore at her first Coachella appearance in 2006.

Clean energy generation exceeded rise in global electricity demand in 2025

Output from solar farms rose by a third while electricity from fossil fuels fell, research from thinktank reveals

• UK shifts older wind and solar farms to fixed-price deals to reduce price shocks

All of last year’s growth in global electricity demand was met from renewable sources, while fossil fuel power generation remained flat, research has found, marking what many hope could become a turning point in the drive to phase out planet-heating fossil fuels.

Solar power generation rose by nearly a third in 2025, marking a new record and faster growth. In the decade from 2015, solar output grew tenfold, roughly doubling every three years, according to the thinktank Ember.

Electricity generators threatened with higher windfall taxes in bid to ensure stable prices

Move marks government’s most radical attempt to weaken impact of soaring wholesale gas prices on electricity costs

• Clean energy generation exceeded rise in global electricity demand in 2025

Electricity generators will face higher windfall taxes unless they sign up to long-term fixed price contracts under government plans to protect bill payers from future gas market price shocks, as the Iran war pushes up energy prices.

The Treasury will increase an existing windfall tax on excess profits made by electricity generators in Great Britain when gas prices spike by raising the rate from 45% to 55%. The funds raised will help the government to support households during an energy crisis.

Amazon 'strong-armed' Levi's, Hanes to hike prices on rival sites, California DA says

Amazon allegedly coerced major vendors into convincing rival retailers like Walmart, Target and Home Depot to raise prices

4/20: CBS Evening News

Mixed signals from President Trump on state of talks with Iran; Southwest planes nearly collide over Nashville.

Tim Cook to step down as Apple chief as John Ternus named replacement

Cook, who will stay on as executive chair, praises head of hardware engineering, who will take over on 1 September

Apple announced on Monday that it had named a replacement for Tim Cook as CEO after nearly 15 years, with head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding him on 1 September. Cook will stay at the company in the role of executive chair.

“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company. I love Apple with all of my being,” Cook said in a press release.

2 U.S. Embassy officials killed in car crash after Mexico drug lab raid

Authorities initially said the accident happened while the officers were returning from the drug raids, but the Chihuahua state prosecutor later said the Americans weren't involved in those operations.

The Onion has agreed to a new deal to take over Infowars

The Onion says it has a new deal to take over conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's Infowars media company. If approved, the satirical news website could turn Infowars into a parody of itself.

Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO. In letter, describes 15 years of emails

The 65-year-old Cook will turn over CEO duties to Apple's head of hardware products, John Ternus, in September. Cook will remain with the company as executive chairman.

Singer D4vd pleads not guilty to murder of 14-year-old girl found in his car

Musician charged after the dismembered and decomposing body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez found in abandoned Tesla

The singer D4vd pleaded not guilty to the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teenage girl whose dismembered and decomposed body was found in the artist’s apparently abandoned Tesla in September.

The 21-year-old, whose legal name is David Burke, was arraigned on Monday afternoon hours after Los Angeles county district attorney’s office announced the charges against him.

Trump's labor secretary resigns amid investigation into misconduct

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who was under internal investigation, is leaving her position. She becomes the third cabinet departure of President Trump's second term.

Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO, with John Ternus tapped as successor

Apple CEO Tim Cook will step down in August and become executive chairman of Apple's board.

Trump labor secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigns amid misconduct investigation

Chavez-DeRemer, entangled in string of controversies, leaving for private sector, president’s spokesperson says

Donald Trump’s labor secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is stepping down, the administration announced on Monday, after a series of misconduct allegations including having an affair with a subordinate and drinking on the job.

“Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector,” Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesperson, wrote on social media. “She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives.”

Stan Moody ‘gutted’ as Wilson reels in teenage star with seven-frame surge

• Youngster beaten 10-7 at Crucible after leading 7-3

• Higgins beats Carter to set up possible O’Sullivan clash

Stan Moody came up just short in his bid to become the first teenager to win a match at the World Snooker Championship since 2005 as he fell to a 10-7 defeat to the 2024 champion, Kyren Wilson.

The 19-year-old from Halifax began his Crucible debut in blistering fashion with two centuries and two further breaks over 80 to establish an improbable 6-3 lead at the end of a memorable morning session. Moody duly extended his lead by taking the first frame upon the evening’s resumption, only for Wilson to reel off seven frames in succession to shatter the qualifier’s hopes of emulating Ronnie O’Sullivan, the last teenager to win a Crucible match 21 years ago.

Kevin Warsh set to face lawmakers in Fed chair confirmation hearing

Senators are likely to press Warsh, President Trump's nominee to succeed Jerome Powell as Fed chair, on his views about inflation and interest rates.

West Ham earn point at Crystal Palace to relegate Wolves and widen gap to Spurs

Slowly but surely, West Ham are edging their way to safety. While this battling draw against a Crystal Palace side with their minds elsewhere proved terminal to his former club Wolves as it confirmed their relegation, Nuno Espírito Santo had to be satisfied with a point that may be crucial in the long run after Brennan Johnson missed the chance to help out his old employers Tottenham.

Palace, who have now been involved in eight goalless draws this season, were indebted to Dean Henderson for producing the save of the night to deny Konstantinos Mavropanos just before half-time, even if the visitors struggled to create much else. West Ham will be disappointed not to have stretched their advantage over Tottenham to four points after a strangely subdued performance, although at least their fate remains in their hands. Former manager David Moyes and his in-form Everton side are next up on Saturday.

Federal agents detain wife of another US army member: ‘ICE is out of control’

Jose Serrano, a sergeant, said Deisy Rivera Ortega, his wife, was arrested at an immigration appointment

A US army sergeant with 27 years of military service – including deployment to Afghanistan – has said that federal immigration agents recently arrested his wife during an appointment at an immigration office in El Paso, Texas.

In an interview with CBS News published Monday, Sgt First Class Jose Serrano said that Deisy Rivera Ortega, a Salvadoran and his wife, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers under the command of the Trump administration despite receiving legal protection in 2019 that bars her from being deported to El Salvador. Rivera Ortega, who wed Serrano in 2022, has been in the US since 2016, he said.

The Onion plans to lease Alex Jones’s Infowars after judge blocks purchase

The satirical website’s parent company will have to pay $81,000 a month to the misinformation platform

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Satirical website the Onion plans to turn rightwing commentator Alex Jones’s misinformation site Infowars into a parody of itself under a leasing agreement provisionally approved by a Texas court.

Under a proposed deal with court administrators, Infowars would be leased by Global Tetrahedron, a Chicago-based company that owns the Onion, for $81,000 a month for six months, with an option to renew for another six months.

‘Full of agonising near-misses’ – the University Challenge final, reviewed by last year’s winner

Amol Rajan was harsh, Miriam Margolyes was thoroughly charming – and the teens watching will have been screaming at the screen. Last year’s Christ’s College captain lets rip on this year’s tense set-to

A new chapter in the history of Anglo-Scottish rivalry has been written with the broadcast of this year’s University Challenge final. After 36 episodes featuring 28 institutions, only Edinburgh and Manchester were left standing (giving the northernmost average location of any final pair since Bamber Gascoigne hosted the show in the 1980s!). Given their equal average score across their previous matches, the final was set to be a tense and thrilling affair.

It began cagily, as both teams waited until Amol Rajan had read the entirety of the first question before guessing, incorrectly, the dedicatee of Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman (in fact it was the French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord). That dead question was a rare exception, though. Rajan had barely begun the next starter – on the largest time zone difference in a single land border – before Manchester captain Kai Madgwick buzzed in with the correct answer (China and Afghanistan). Edinburgh responded immediately; Rayhana Amjad named Indian theoretical physicist SN Bose as the author of a 1924 paper on light quanta, while the ever-dapper Johnny Richards identified a donkey as the animal star of 2022 film EO. An entertaining picture round – on flags criticised by the Good Flag, Bad Flag guide – yielded a starter but no bonuses for the Mancunians, who trailed by 30 points to 45.

Supreme Court turns away parental rights case over child's gender transition

The Supreme Court turned away a legal battle testing whether a public school violates parents' rights when it encourages their child's social gender transition without their knowledge or consent.

Sen. Mark Warner's daughter dies at 36 after long diabetes battle

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia announced on Monday that his daughter Madison has died following a lengthy battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues.

Police investigate whether London arson attacks were planned for weeks

Criminals paid on behalf of Iran are believed to be behind attacks against Jewish targets, say detectives

Detectives are investigating whether the series of arson attacks in London was planned for weeks with suspects carrying out reconnaissance on the Jewish targets to be firebombed.

The series of attacks against synagogues and other Jewish targets, as well as one premises linked to Iranian dissidents, are believed to be carried out by criminals paid on behalf of Iran, police said.

Climate groups sue US government over approval of new BP project in Gulf of Mexico

Advocates expressed alarm as new project drills deeper into ocean bed, pointing to company’s failures at Deepwater Horizon spill

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Environmental groups have sued the Trump administration over its approval of BP’s huge new ultra-deep oil drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico, 16 years to the day since the company’s Deepwater Horizon disaster caused the worst oil spill in US history.

Supreme Court takes up religious liberty case over Colorado's preschool program

The legal fight is the latest to land before the Supreme Court in recent years that involve religious entities' participation in state-funded programs.

6 missing after U.S.-flagged ship found overturned following typhoon

An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew confirmed the identity of the vessel as the Mariana, a 145-foot U.S.-registered dry cargo vessel, officials said.

Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for $250 million over story on alleged drinking

FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic, saying a recent story about his alleged frequent drinking and absences included "false and obviously fabricated" claims.

Eric Swalwell resignation over sexual misconduct prompts rare House Ethics panel comments

Ethics issues have roiled Congress in recent months, as allegations against Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales led to both members resigning last week.

Trump threatens Iran again as ceasefire deadline looms, U.S. gears up for peace talks

Trump reportedly said Sunday that if Iran doesn't sign a deal, "the whole country is going to get blown up," with its bridges and power plants being targeted.

Hormuz disruptions hit China’s Christmas capital — and holiday spending

Manufacturers told CNBC that shoppers will likely have to pay higher prices to match rising costs of plastic and other materials.

FIA confirms F1 rule changes in reaction to driver unhappiness and safety fears

• Tweaks to rules address energy management issues

• ‘Safety and fairness remain the FIA’s highest priorities’

The FIA has confirmed rule changes for the ongoing Formula One season as the sport reacts to driver dissatisfaction and safety concerns with the new regulations. The adapted rules address the energy management issues that have proved controversial across the opening three meetings this year.

Technical and sporting considerations had been discussed twice since the last round in Japan and on Monday senior representatives, including the FIA, team principals and their chief executives, the power unit manufacturers and F1’s chief executive, Stefano Domenicali, formally agreed the changes. They remain subject to ratification by the world motorsport council, a formality expected to be concluded before the next round in Miami on 3 May.

British Jews feel ‘under siege’ and worry about children wearing religious symbols in public

Antisemitism has been rising in years since 7 October attacks, including recent arson attacks at Jewish sites

British Jews feel under siege and worry about their children displaying religious symbols in public, community leaders have said.

There have been a series of attempted arson attacks at Jewish sites over the past week, including incidents at two synagogues in London and one at a building used by the charity Jewish Futures. Four Jewish community ambulances were also set on fire in north London in the early hours of 23 March.

Rivian's factory damaged by tornado amid crucial R2 EV launch

The Guardian view on the EU and Israel: moving beyond mere exhortation | Editorial

Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed aside European concerns over Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. A tougher approach from Brussels is overdue

In recent months, European expressions of concern over the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have regularly hardened into outright condemnation. Last September, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed horror and outrage at aid restrictions that she said created a “man-made famine” in Gaza. Brussels has inveighed against settler violence and land grabs in the West Bank, which undermine the possibility of a viable Palestinian state. Responding to the bombing of Lebanon following the US-Israeli ceasefire with Iran, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said: “Israel’s right to self-defence does not justify this destruction.”

The angry words and exhortations have achieved nothing. Mr Netanyahu and his ministers have generally treated European critics with barely concealed contempt, presumably reassured by the fact that their chief allies in the White House tend to behave in exactly the same fashion. The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner, and the academic benefits it confers through Israeli participation in the Horizon research programme are considerable. But internal disunity, and an overoptimistic faith in the power of persuasion, have led to a reluctance by the bloc to use those relationships as leverage.

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.

The 11 most challenged books of 2025, according to the American Library Association

The ALA says 4,235 titles were challenged at U.S. libraries — the second-highest year on record. Forty percent of the challenged works involved LGBTQ+ subjects or the experiences of people of color.

8 children killed in shooting in Louisiana as father targets his family

The gunman, who is also dead, shot 10 people in total, according to police. All eight who died were children from 3 to 11 years old, police said.

Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for $250 million over alcohol abuse claims

The Atlantic article said FBI Director Kash Patel "has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences."

John Keats’s love letters returned to owner after being stolen in the 1980s

Romantic poet’s letters to Fanny Brawne, dated between 1819 and 1820, had been stolen from a Long Island estate

Eight original handwritten letters from the Romantic poet John Keats to his muse and “one passion”, Fanny Brawne, were returned to the family of John Hay “Jock” Whitney, the former US ambassador to the UK, on Monday after being stolen from Whitney’s home in the 1980s.

Keats’s letters, including the first letter he ever wrote to Brawne, are dated between 1819 and 1820. Valued at approximately $2m, the 37 letters are held in a gilt morocco-bound portfolio. Brawne was Keats’s neighbor in Hampstead, with whom he became infatuated and elevated to muse and goddess.

London to host historic first team time trial for Tour de France Femmes in 2027

• Circuit of approximately 18km to finish on the Mall

• GB’s Cat Ferguson among favourites for yellow jersey

London will provide the backdrop for a landmark moment in cycling history as it hosts the first team time trial in the women’s Tour de France next year.

The best riders in the women’s peloton will race against the clock as teams, on a central London circuit of approximately 18km, pass the Houses of Parliament, London Eye and Tower Bridge, culminating in a finish on the Mall.

My family tried to eat fewer ultra-processed foods for five years. Here’s what we learned

Cutting UPFs from our grocery list was expensive, laborious and time-consuming

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Grocery shopping looks different these days. On Saturday mornings, instead of the local supermarket, I’m at our local San Diego farmers’ market, loading up on fish, meat, apples, cheese and berries – enough for a family of four.

But it’s not a cheap excursion; our weekly grocery spend is now higher than it was when we decided to try to cut ultra-processed foods (UPFs) from our diet five years ago.

In 2021, we spent $158.63 on cereal; in 2025, the total was $34.34.

Our yoghurt costs went from $260.29 in 2021 to $24.27 in 2025.

We no longer buy protein bars, which cost us $261.04 in 2021.

Our peak expenditure on frozen chicken tenders was in 2020, when we spent $159.76. For the past two years we haven’t bought any.

Butter more than quadrupled between 2021 and 2025, to $234.22.

The total in the sugar column went from $9.47 in 2021 to $83.10 in 2025 (I did a lot more baking last year).

The biggest leap was for fruit and vegetables: $2,578.32 in 2021 became $5,706.36 last year.

In 2021, we started buying meat that was humanely raised by farmers and ranchers using regenerative agriculture practices. We spent a lot in this category, almost $2,500 on raw beef and chicken (the previous year, we spent about $1,500). The following year, 2022, we dropped our meat expenditure down to about $1,000 by eating a lot less of it, and more dried beans.

United merger with American Airlines would hurt consumers, senators say

Airlines could hike ticket prices and fees if United and American were to join forces, lawmakers warn.

Kevin Warsh would be the first tech bro Fed chair. How Silicon Valley shaped him

The nominee to lead the Fed is an AI optimist who counts tech titans Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen among his friends.

Sandwich chain Jersey Mike's confidentially files for IPO

Blackstone bought a majority stake in the sandwich chain in 2024 in a deal that valued the company at roughly $8 billion.

Neighbors recall "full-blown shootout" as father targeted kids in shooting

Neighbors who witnessed the deadly mass shooting of eight children in Shreveport, Louisiana, recalled what whey heard and saw as the massacre took place early Sunday.

Cocaine pollution in rivers and lakes may disrupt behaviour of salmon, study finds

Fish swam further and dispersed more widely after exposure to environmental levels of drug and main metabolite

Traces of cocaine that pollute rivers and lakes may accumulate in the brains of salmon and disrupt their behaviour, according to researchers who warn of unknown consequences for fish populations.

Juvenile Atlantic salmon that were artificially exposed to the drug and its main breakdown product swam further and dispersed more widely across a lake, suggesting the substances can affect where the fish go, what they eat and how vulnerable they are to predators.

Long waits make for sicker patients. Sicker patients need more time in hospital. Our health system needs urgent care | Ranjana Srivastava

When experienced staff leave, the inexperienced people who replace them need years to gain confidence

Visiting the magnificent Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, my elderly dad resolutely navigated the steep stairs as I held my breath. My mother, less mobile and more wary, stayed at ground level but the 12th-century ground wasn’t exactly smooth. All I could think was “falls risk”, which casually led me to ask our guide what the local hospital system was like. This invited a lament about the long waits, the cost of care and poor outcomes.

Someone else explained that in South Korea, her wealthy country with universal healthcare, paramedics must call dozens of hospitals to seek permission to offload patients. A woman hit by a truck died after the ambulance could not find any of 30 hospitals to accept her.

Eli Lilly agrees to acquire cancer drug maker Kelonia in deal worth up to $7 billion

Kelonia is developing technology to reprogram patients' T-cells inside the body so those cells can attack cancer, called in vivo CAR-T.

A watermelon market and the pope’s visit to Angola: photos of the day – Monday

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

Trump admin launches tariff refund portal. Here's what to know.

A federal agency on April 20 opened a portal that lets businesses apply for a refund for Trump tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court.

American Airlines falls after company dismisses talk of United megamerger

American Airlines stock fell after the company dismissed talk of a potential merger with United, citing antitrust concerns and potential harm to competition.

‘We did a seance for Beethoven, to see what he thought’: the playful, pioneering life of field-recording maestro Annea Lockwood

The New Zealand composer burned pianos, sampled earthquakes and recorded Belfast’s peace walls. And at 86 is still invested in her life’s work: to appreciate the music in everyday sound

A broken upright piano, tilted like the sinking Titanic, stands part-buried in a garden at Glasgow’s Counterflows festival. Experimental composer Annea Lockwood swipes a hand across its exposed strings and beams at the metallic clang. “Great piano!” she says, inviting other musicians and the audience to make their own strange noises by scratching and tapping it with garden debris.

It’s one of many pianos Lockwood, 86, has buried, burned or drowned since the 1960s, exploring their changing sounds as they are destroyed – though she says “transformed”. A pioneer of field recordings, her work has ranged from “sound maps” of entire rivers to music made with the peace walls demarcating areas of mid-Troubles Belfast. As she revisits two significant works at Counterflows and prepares a new release of 1975’s World Rhythms, she takes me through her radical career from the very start.

Is Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike’s new gender swap comedy inspired by The Two Ronnies?

Long-running 80s sketch The Worm That Turned imagined a dystopian world run by women, inspired by the election of Margaret Thatcher. It has not aged well – yet it bears similarities to a brand-new movie

At the end of last week, a trailer dropped for a new Netflix movie entitled Ladies First. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, the film is billed as a “playful satire” about a man who bumps his head and discovers that women have taken over the world.

And what a nightmare it is. There is a female pope. King’s Cross is now called Queen’s Cross. Baron Cohen discovers, to his horror, that he now owns a cat. Judging by the trailer he spends most of the movie getting waxed, wearing impractical underwear and being leered at by female cab drivers. At one point, after Baron Cohen starts a sentence with “If the board had any balls,” Pike speed-shouts: “The delicate sacks that dangle from your body, with the slightest tap sends you weeping to the ground?” by way of reply. If they gave out Oscars for doing your best with unscannable dialogue, she would be a shoo-in.

Martin Parr: Global Warning review – the great photographer in all his gluttonous, giddy glory

Jeu de Paume, Paris
The peerless chronicler of everyday absurdity did not live to see this exhibition, but it is a dazzling final chapter, showing his irresistible good humour growing darker

I didn’t know Martin Parr very well, but the last time I spoke with him, two months before he died in December last year, he told me about his forthcoming exhibition at Jeu de Paume. He wasn’t subtle in adding that the Guardian never reviewed his exhibitions. I wonder now if he knew that the exhibition, titled Global Warning, would be his swansong. I wonder whether he knew he’d never get to see it.

Parr was always popular in France. It might be because the French loved his ability to mock the English, but in the end Parr mocked everyone, including himself. When his work was criticised in the UK as classist or sneering, Parr could cross the channel and seek refuge in a nation where no one seemed to read his work that way. The show at Jeu de Paume is set to be the museum’s most visited on record.

Charlize Theron joins chorus of disapproval over Timothée Chalamet’s ballet comments

The former ballet dancer said Chalamet’s comments were ‘reckless’ in an interview with the New York Times in which she also discussed her violent childhood

Actor and former ballet dancer Charlize Theron has joined the chorus of disapproval aimed at Timothée Chalamet over his remarks that appeared to disrespect performers of ballet and opera.

In an interview with the New York Times, Theron said: “Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day,” adding: “That was a very reckless comment on two art forms that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time. But in 10 years, AI is going to be able to do Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live.”

USA Rare Earth to buy Brazil's Serra Verde for $2.8 billion to build supply outside Asia

USA Rare Earth on Monday announced plans to buy Brazilian rare earths miner Serra Verde in a deal worth $2.8 billion in cash and shares.

Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for smoky prawn, new potato and spinach stew | Quick and easy

This Spanish-style stew is a superb midweek dinner – it’s effortless but looks special

This Spanish-inspired stew is a great weeknight dinner, particularly if you are having a few friends over, because it feels a bit special while actually being effortless and easy. If you want to take that effortlessness to the next level, make the potato base in advance, then finish off with the spinach and prawns just before serving (I like to do as little cooking as possible in front of guests, leaving me free to chat and pour drinks). Serve with a peppery, lemon-dressed salad on the side and hunks of crusty bread to mop up the juices.

FBI Director Kash Patel vows to sue The Atlantic over alcohol abuse claims

Kash Patel recently made headlines for chugging a beer after Team USA won the gold medal in ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

I have seen how afraid Jews in Britain have become. We need our allies now more than ever | David Davidi-Brown

In the wake of recent attacks, I call on anti-racists to extend the same solidarity to Jews they would to other minorities subject to prejudice and violence

Finchley Reform Synagogue in north London was my community for several years. This was a place where I found belonging, singing at Friday night services. I taught weekend classes with children ahead of their bar- and batmitzvahs. The synagogue’s former rabbi, Miriam Berger, officiated our wedding when I married my husband.

Last week, along with a synagogue in nearby Kenton and a building that previously housed Jewish charities in Hendon, this community was subject to an arson attack that mercifully did not cause substantial harm. Yet the emotional and psychological impact has been felt far beyond the physical damage. These attacks feel close to home, grounded in the very real dangers Jews face globally.

David Davidi-Brown is chief executive of the New Israel Fund

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.

Peace talks are in doubt as the U.S. seizes an Iranian ship

President Trump said a U.S. delegation will head to Pakistan to resume talks to end the war with Iran, but Tehran expressed reluctance after the U.S. seized one of its cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz.