Peru's electoral board confirms June 7 presidential runoff

Authorities confirmed on Sunday the official results of the first round of the presidential elections in early April, with Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez advancing to the runoff on June 7.

Ryanair has plans for 'armageddon' scenario as CFO warns weaker European carriers may not survive jet fuel crunch

Ryanair said it has plans for an "armageddon situation," amid the jet fuel crisis.

Drone strikes UAE nuclear plant highlighting risk of renewed war

A drone strike sparked a fire on the edge of the United Arab Emirates' sole nuclear power plant on Sunday in what authorities called an "unprovoked terrorist attack."

Preppy polo players, timeless tuxedos and … fishing rods: the history of the Ralph Lauren catwalk – in pictures

Ralph Lauren the brand turns 60 next year, with the designer himself now in his ninth decade. A new book, Ralph Lauren: Catwalk, written by veteran fashion journalist Bridget Foley, explores the history of the all-American label’s influential catwalk shows from 1972 to now

Kenji Morimoto’s recipes for asparagus kimchi

Extend the short asparagus season by fermenting some into a vibrant kimchi, and then using that in an amazing springtime tart

Spring always reminds me of the diversity of kimchi. As some of my favourite produce comes into season, asparagus is easily at the top of the list, and turning it into a vibrant, tangy kimchi is a great way to extend its short season. All of the elements of the kimchi are then used in a tart: the brine is mixed into the cheesy base, which is then topped with the kimchi and finished with a final dollop of the kimchi paste to brighten the dish.

UK’s next ambassador to Japan may be called to give evidence in Mandelson inquiry

MPs will decide whether Corin Robertson will face questions over decision to award security clearance against advice

The UK’s next ambassador to Japan could be called to give evidence over the decision to award Peter Mandelson security clearance against the advice of vetting officials.

Corin Robertson was the Foreign Office’s (FCDO) chief operating officer when she was involved in the decision in late January 2025 to grant Mandelson clearance, according to evidence given to MPs.

How Elon Musk and Sam Altman went from besties to bitter rivals

In the 11 years since Elon Musk and Sam Altman helped start OpenAI, their once tight bond has unwound, leaving the two billionaires fighting it out in court.

More than 100 UK datacentres plan to burn gas to generate electricity

Requests for gas connections by operators amount to more than 15 terawatt hours per year, endangering climate targets

More than 100 new datacentres in the UK plan to burn gas to generate electricity, some potentially doing so permanently.

British officials say this is an inevitable consequence of a years-long wait to connect to the National Grid, and raises an “interesting question” about the UK’s climate targets.

How to survive the information crisis: ‘We once talked about fake news – now reality itself feels fake’ – podcast

In this age of crisis, technology is pulling us apart. At its best, journalism can bring us together again.

Written and read by the Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner

‘The end of the road’: the man on a mission to take Barcelona back from overtourism

José Antonio Donaire is not against tourists but wants to return the city to its residents – and he is starting with its most iconic market

After decades of relentlessly marketing their vibrant Mediterranean city, the Barcelona authorities have appointed a man on a mission to say “no more” – and, he says, to return its most iconic market back to local residents.

Last year, the Barcelona area last year attracted 26 million visitors, up 2.4% on 2024. The appointment of José Antonio Donaire as the city’s first commissioner for sustainable tourism represents a significant change of heart and a shift away from viewing tourism as an unalloyed good to believing it is alienating citizens and eroding the Catalan capital’s identity.

Still collapsing after all these years: Einstürzende Neubauten on their fifth decade as a Berlin legend

The band’s newest member, Josefine Lukschy, was born the year their fifth album was released. They and founding member Blixa Bargeld talk about leading the counter counter-culture

‘Everything already written, everything already said,” – the words Blixa Bargeld chose to open Rampen, the latest Einstürzende Neubauten record, released in 2024 to comparatively little fanfare, felt ominous. Would this mark the end of the band that has defined German music, at least to the outside world, for close to five decades?

“No!” Bargeld replies, his voice thundering across the small dressing room backstage at the National Theatre of the Netherlands in The Hague. “Take it for granted – we’ll make another record.” Later that night, Einstürzende Neubauten (“Collapsing New Buildings”) are the closing act of the Rewire festival’s 15th edition, an anniversary for the city’s celebration of experimental music and art. It is the third stop on a short festival run the band has embarked on this spring and summer, and true to form, they have lugged a shopping trolley all the way from Berlin, along with pipes, drills and metal sheets.

Xi Jinping prepares to welcome Vladimir Putin to China, four days after hosting Donald Trump

China’s deep relationship with Russia remains a continuing cause for concern in the west, particularly since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin exchanged “congratulatory letters” on Sunday ahead of the Russian president’s visit to Beijing this week, four days since Donald Trump left China after a high-stakes summit.

Xi, China’s leader, said bilateral cooperation between Russia and China had “continuously deepened and solidified”, with this year marking the 30th anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnership, according to Chinese state media.

Idaho air force base locked down after midair collision, officials say

Four crew members are safe after incident involving aircraft during weekend air show at military base in western Idaho

Four crew members are safe after two navy jets collided and crashed to the ground on Sunday at an air show at Mountain Home air force base in western Idaho, officials said.

The collision involved two US navy EA-18G Growlers from the Electronic Attack Squadron 129 in Whidbey Island, Washington, said Cmdr Amelia Umayam, a spokesperson for Naval Air Forces, US Pacific Fleet.

Pianist Jayson Gillham’s case against MSO mustn’t turn into ‘roving inquiry’ on Middle East conflict, judge warns

Federal court case begins for classical pianist who alleges Melbourne Symphony Orchestra unlawfully discriminated due to his views

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The judge hearing the case of a classical pianist who alleges the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra unlawfully discriminated against him because of his views on Israeli forces killing Palestianian journalists says the matter will not be a “roving inquiry” over conflict in the Middle East.

Pianist Jayson Gillham is suing the MSO over a cancelled Melbourne concert he was contracted to perform on 15 August 2024, a cancellation which he claims was an attempt to silence him over his stance on the Gaza conflict.

French star Patrick Bruel denies multiple sexual assault allegations

Singer and actor who has appeared in more than 40 films faces investigations in France and Belgium

The French singer and actor Patrick Bruel, the subject of multiple rape allegations, protested his innocence on Sunday and said he would not step away from his work.

The Paris prosecutor’s office announced earlier on Sunday that Bruel was the subject of at least four complaints of sexual assault in France, and that the cases would be investigated together.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

5/17/2026: Betting on War; The Knowledge; Christopher Nolan

First, prediction market bets on war defy odds. Then, London's cabbies skeptical about robotaxis. And, Christopher Nolan: The 60 Minutes Interview.

5/17: CBS Weekend News

Fighter jets collide in midair at Idaho air show; Trump's approval ratings on the economy continue to fall in latest CBS News poll.

Which college majors offer the best long-term return on investment?

College grads outearn people without a degree within 15 years, even after paying for tuition, study finds.

San Francisco school using AI to reimagine learning

Alpha, a new school in San Francisco, isn't just embracing AI, it's letting it take the lead. Itay Hod has more.

Passenger detained and banned from Qantas after allegedly biting attendant on flight from Australia to US

Flight from Melbourne to Dallas forced to land in Tahiti due to man’s alleged disruptive behaviour

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A passenger has been detained in Tahiti and banned from future Qantas travel after a plane travelling on a long-haul flight from Australia to the US was diverted at the weekend after the man allegedly bit a flight attendant.

The QF21 flight left Melbourne at 2.30pm on Friday en route to Dallas and was diverted to Papeete in Tahiti seven hours later when the behaviour of the disruptive passenger forced it to land.

Cate Blanchett says #MeToo ‘got killed very quickly’ in Hollywood

Australian actor says there are still ‘10 women and 75 men’ on film sets a decade after the gender equality movement dominated conversations

Cate Blanchett has lamented that the #MeToo movement “got killed very quickly” in Hollywood, while speaking at the Cannes film festival.

In a wide-ranging, staged conversation on Sunday, Blanchett lamented that the tide of #MeToo has been turned in Hollywood, where she has been outspoken about gender equality.

Associated Press contributed to this report

At least 6 Americans in Congo were exposed to Ebola virus, sources say

The World Health Organization this week declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a "public health emergency of international concern."

Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda declared global health emergency

At least 80 deaths have been reported in a new Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda, authorities said.

Shopping frenzy over special edition Swatch pocket watch

A special edition Swatch pocket watch triggered crowds reminiscent of past Black Fridays. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.

Reported U.S. plan to indict Raúl Castro could mean reform for Cuba, but questions remain

The United States is ramping up pressure on Cuba with a potential indictment of former President Raúl Castro. Cristian Benavides has more.

High gas prices pushing more Americans to public transit

Rising gas prices are causing more Americans to ditch the car keys in favor of other forms of travel like public transportation. Tim McNicholas reports.

Fighter jets crash in midair during air show at Idaho Air Force base

The Mountain Home Air Force Base said​ in a social media post that it was locked down following an incident during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show.

Trump's approval ratings on the economy continue to fall in latest CBS News poll

President Trump's approval rating is now at the lowest level of his second term and only 27% of Americans approve of how he is handling inflation, according to a new CBS News poll. Olivia Rinaldi reports.

Fighter jets collide in midair at Idaho air show

Two fighter jets collided in midair Sunday during an air show in Idaho. Officials say the crewmembers are in stable condition after they ejected.

Ukraine war briefing: The drones that bombarded Moscow region

Kyiv says electronics factory for weapon parts and oil pumping station among targets; Zelenskyy claims Ukraine outstripping Russia on battlefield. What we know on day 1,545

The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces has reeled off a list of Ukrainian aerial weaponry used to destroy targets in the Moscow region over the weekend, including the RS-1 “Bars” jet-powered UAV, the Firepoint FP-1 winged drone, and a drone previously unknown to observers and analysts, dubbed the Bars-SM Gladiator.

Ukraine’s SBU security service highlighted a strike on the Angstrom plant in Zelenograd, Moscow region, Russia, which “specialises in the production of hi-tech products and microcircuits for high-precision weapons … A fire was recorded on the territory of the facility. The enterprise is an important component of the Russian military-industrial complex and is involved in the production of microelectronics, radio electronics, optical systems, and robotics for the enemy’s military needs.”

The SBU continued: “Also in the Moscow region, the Solnechnogorskaya pumping station was hit, which is a critical part of the ring oil pipeline around Moscow and is used for pumping, storing and shipping large volumes of gasoline and diesel fuel, in particular for the Russian army. A fire was reported on the premises.”

The strikes “reduce the enemy’s ability to continue its war”, said the SBU. Russian authorities said at least four people were killed and a dozen more wounded, and reported several hits as being from “drone debris” – as they frequently do to imply that drones were shot down by Russian defences instead of striking their intended targets. Early on Monday, the Russian defence ministry sought to emphasise the role of its air defences, claiming 3,124 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the past week.

Agence France-Presse said its journalists were granted access to an undisclosed location where Ukraine launched its long-range drones in what turned out to be one of the largest pummellings of Russia during the conflict. They described how battalion members prepared plane-like drones before they took off towards Russia, leaving trails of sparks and flames from their rocket boosters behind.

Executions nearly doubled in the U.S. last year, and soared abroad

The number of people killed in state-sanctioned executions worldwide rose to a 44-year high in 2025, according to a new report from Amnesty International.

Australia’s best blind bowlers compete for glory on the green – in pictures

Visually impaired bowlers represent their states at the Australian Blind Bowlers Association’s national championships at the Tweed Heads bowling club – now known as Club Tweed – in northern New South Wales

• ‘I am who I am’: how a blind Kurdish refugee became an Australian sporting superstar

Aaron Rai wins PGA Championship for his first major title

Sunday's win at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, is only his second PGA tour victory, after winning the 2024 Wyndham Championship.

Aaron Rai becomes first English golfer to win US PGA Championship since 1919

• Rai shoots 65 including 68-foot birdie putt on 17th

• Last Englishman to triumph was Jim Barnes 107 years ago

There’s never been a PGA Championship quite like this one. Come Sunday morning there were 21 players within four shots of the lead, and eight major winners among them. Every one of those 21 and a good few more woke up thinking that they had a shot at winning the Wanamaker Trophy.

There was six-time major champion Rory McIlroy, 2022 Open champion, Cam Smith, the 2017 and 2022 PGA champion, Justin Thomas, the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters champion, Jon Rahm, and on, and on, and on, all the way down the leaderboard.

Military aircrew in 'stable condition' following midair collision at Idaho air show

Two jets appeared to collide and their crews ejected during a performance at an air show at a military base in Idaho. "The aircrew involved in the incident are in stable condition," the base reported.

Garance review – Adèle Exarchopoulos gives it her all in ripe but flimsy portrait of alcohol addiction

Performer is as good as ever but her actor character is thinly conceived in a fundamentally implausible depiction of how to grapple with alcoholism

It’s always a pleasure to see that funny, smart performer Adèle Exarchopoulos in Cannes – after all, she made Cannes history by being jointly awarded the Palme d’Or for the 2013 film Blue Is the Warmest Colour, sharing the big prize itself with the director Abdellatif Kechiche and her co-star Léa Seydoux. Exarchopoulos has her moments in this film from Jeanne Herry, in which she plays an actor struggling with a drinking problem. The scenes in which we see her up on stage, boisterously performing in a touring theatre for schoolkids, are genuinely great. But really this is a very glib and unsatisfying drama, whose essential naivety becomes apparent when the lead character is forced to confront the crisis in her life.

Exarchopoulos plays a young actor called Garance; she adores Arletty’s character of the same name in Marcel Carné’s movie classic Les Enfants du Paradis. At the moment, she has an assistant stage manager position in a prestigious Paris repertory company, believing herself to be on the verge of getting some serious speaking parts when the next season’s casting is announced. But she is instead relegated to the touring schools company, where her undoubted talents are compromised by partying extremely hard every night and waking up with a terrible hangover every morning.

Trump and administration officials address Christian gathering on National Mall

The conservative prayer event was organized by Freedom 250, a public-private group working with the White House to organize the celebration of America's 250 birthday this summer.

Crime increasingly a ‘serious barrier’ to UK growth, say business leaders

British Chambers of Commerce survey shows firms ‘are dealing with rising levels of theft, fraud and cyber-attacks’

UK business leaders have warned that crime is becoming an increasingly “serious barrier” to growing Britain’s economy amid a rise in shoplifting, fraud and cyber-attacks against companies.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which represents tens of thousands of businesses across the country, called on the government to provide “a step change in the support businesses can count on” as it said two-fifths of companies had experienced some form of crime in the past year.

Minnesota deploys national guard to help fight wildfires in northern region

Tim Walz, the state’s governor, calls blazes ‘unpredictable and fast-moving’ as dry, windy weather fuels them

Minnesota’s national guard has been activated to help battle wildfires burning in the northern part of the state after the department of natural resources requested additional support.

Governor Tim Walz authorized the deployment by issuing an executive order that declared a peacetime emergency.

Death Valley review – Timothy Spall is having a total blast, and so will you!

The second series of this cheery Welsh cosy crime is as gentle as a pillow – and if it feels dangerously close to a spoof, that’s all part of the fun

What a curious confection Death Valley is. It’s as cosy as crime drama gets and yet, thanks to its show-within-a-show concept, it manages to be oddly arch and knowing, too. Its body count challenges that of The Sopranos, but in its soothing episodic rhythms and Welsh valley quaintness, it remains as comfortable and predictable as Christmas.

As we return, everything and nothing has changed. Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth) has been promoted to detective inspector and is wondering if her seniority means she can no longer call herself “J-Dog”. She remains charming but also goofy and tactless; at one point, she complains about a teabag being left in a cuppa made for her by the wife of a recent murder victim.

Resolve of Red Roses in Six Nations glory should not be overlooked | Robert Kitson

Concern that England’s women are not being challenged fails to acknowledge what it takes for consistent excellence

There are a couple of reasons why England’s latest Six Nations grand slam is worthy of glowing appreciation. The first is that consistent excellence should always receive due recognition. And the second is that England had to do far more than simply show up and tick off the kind of routine runaway victory that leaves even their most loyal fans slightly underwhelmed.

A 15-point margin might not instantly suggest a full-blooded contest but France more than fulfilled their part of the bargain. The nagging concern within women’s rugby is that the Red Roses are not being sufficiently challenged. On this occasion no one could level that accusation at the determined hosts who had England’s golden girls pinned back for lengthy periods.

Thousands gather in Washington DC for daylong America-themed prayer rally

White House-backed event billed as ‘One Nation Under God’ criticized for blurring lines between church and state

Thousands of people streamed on to the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally on Sunday billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation Under God”.

Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage that made clear the event’s Christian focus. Arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation’s founders alongside a white cross.

UAE blames Iran or proxies for strike near nuclear plant, as Trump tells Tehran ‘clock is ticking’

Abu Dhabi denounces ‘dangerous escalation’ as Iran war ceasefire grows more precarious, and US president voices impatience at stalemate

The United Arab Emirates has blamed a fire near its nuclear power plant on a drone launched by Iran or one of its proxies in what the UAE called a “dangerous escalation”.

The fire was just outside the Barakah nuclear plant and caused no injuries or radiation alerts, with the emirate’s nuclear regulator saying there was no radioactive leak or risk to the public.

Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean review – a dashing retrospective for a cinematic titan

Cannes film festival: Barnaby Thompson’s documentary on the great British director is an exhilarating delve into the ebb and flow of Lean’s peerless career and sometimes complex personal life – with a grand cast of talking heads

Barnaby Thompson’s thoroughly exhilarating and enjoyable documentary about movie director David Lean is proof of the old maxim – fortune favours the bold. Lean’s career feels like more than ever like a dashing military adventure; like Napoleon or the young Winston Churchill in Sudan or, indeed, TE Lawrence in his greatest film, Lawrence of Arabia. It involved brilliantly improvising strategy in hostile terrain and imperiously imposing his command over troops who had to be subdued by force of will, as well as a mastery of the theatre involved in leadership, displaying an almost hammy sense of one’s own skill in oratory and the eroticism of giving orders.

Watching this documentary, you can appreciate how Peter O’Toole’s Lawrence is in many ways a comic, absurd figure – dressed up in borrowed and culturally appropriated Arab robes – but one that no one would dare mock. Perhaps Lean, in his director’s robes, could see what his subordinates wouldn’t, or couldn’t; he could see his own faults, and suffer from impostor syndrome and secret doubts. The movie repeatedly tells us that he could be impossibly bad-tempered and dictatorial on set – but there is no film or audio record of this, just Lean himself in various interviews being endlessly charming and self-deprecating. (Although I suspect that patrician accent perhaps reverted a little, at times, to something a bit rougher under duress.)

5/17: Sunday Morning "By Design"

Jane Pauley hosts our annual look at design. Featured: Tiny homes in your backyard; Louis Vuitton; Adobe house construction; Finland's Marimekko; domino art; Philadelphia food favorites; chandeliers; Longwood Gardens; rare maps; and director Jon Favreau of "The Mandalorian and Grogu."

Osula at the double as Newcastle push brittle West Ham closer to the brink

It was a decision that threatens to keep Nuno Espírito Santo awake for many nights to come. Why, oh why, West Ham’s manager will doubtless wonder, did he opt to start with a back three on Tyneside?

Instead of subduing Eddie Howe’s players it simply served to remind Nick Woltemade precisely why he is Newcastle’s record signing. By the 26th minute, when Nuno scrapped that configuration for a much more effective back four, West Ham were 2-0 down and had one foot in the Championship.

France’s top film producer says it will blacklist figures who petitioned against rightwing billionaire

Canal+ head says he will not work with hundreds of actors and directors who signed protest against Vincent Bolloré’s political sway

The head of France’s biggest film producer, Canal+, has said the group will no longer work with hundreds of cinema figures who signed a petition voicing concern over the growing influence of the rightwing billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré.

The open letter, published earlier this week to coincide with the opening of the Cannes film festival, was signed by more than 600 figures, including the actor-director Juliette Binoche, the director and photographer Raymond Depardon, the French-Iranian film-maker Sepideh Farsi and the director Arthur Harari, who co-wrote the Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall and is premiering his film The Unknown in the main competition in Cannes.

Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," May 17, 2026

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Ambassador Alexander Yui, Taiwan's Representative to the U.S., join Margaret Brennan.

Video shows rescuers treating mountain climber who fell 50 feet

Rescuers airlifted an injured hiker who fell about 50 feet from the summit of Washington state's Mount Si on Saturday.

Trump warns Iran to 'get moving' or 'there won’t be anything left'

The president has previously threatened to strike civilian infrastructure in Iran, a potential war crime.

Jannik Sinner overpowers Casper Ruud to make history with Italian Open title

• World No 1 is first Italian to win title in 50 years

• 6-4, 6-4 victory completes set of ATP Masters 1000 titles

Jannik Sinner continued his reign of terror over men’s tennis on the clay courts of Europe as he effortlessly recovered from a slow start to overpower Casper Ruud, the 23rd seed, 6-4, 6-4 and become the first Italian man in 50 years to win the Italian Open in Rome.

It is difficult to overstate the historic nature of this triumph. Sinner is only the second man in history to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles. This feat, one of the most impressive in the sport, was first achieved by Novak Djokovic in 2018 at the age of 31. Sinner has completed his set at just 24 years old, still seemingly with so much more to achieve.

London mayor criticises plans for north of England bid to host Olympics

Excluding capital would be ‘missed opportunity’, says Sadiq Khan, given existing assets and ‘world-class infrastructure’

The mayor of London has criticised plans to explore a bid for the north of England to host the Olympics, saying that excluding London would be a “missed opportunity”.

Ministers have commissioned an assessment by UK Sport which could inform a bid for the international sporting event in the 2040s. If the campaign were successful, it would be the first time the Olympic Games and Paralympics were hosted in Britain since London 2012.

Senate GOP revising White House ballroom security funds plan

The Senate's rulemaker delivered a blow to GOP plans to fund security for President Trump's overhaul of the East Wing of the White House.

‘A quiet belief everything’s going to be all right’: Bulgarians celebrate Dara’s Eurovision win with Bangaranga

Bulgaria’s first-ever win in European song contest delivers ray of hope at turbulent time after years of political instability

Bulgarians have rejoiced in their country’s first victory at the Eurovision song contest as fans welcomed home the singer whose party anthem Bangaranga proved an unexpected breakthrough hit.

“Dara is yet more proof that Bulgaria can win,” declared the new prime minister, Rumen Radev, of Darina Nikolaeva Yotova, known simply as Dara. He hailed “a young artist who, thanks to her talent and professionalism, has managed to rise above all the complexities and prejudices surrounding the [Eurovision] voting process”.

Scott Hastings, Scotland rugby union great, dies aged 61

• Centre won 65 caps, with 51 alongside his brother Gavin

• Also selected for two British and Irish Lions tours

Scotland’s 1990 grand slam-winning centre Scott Hastings has died at the age of 61, his family have announced, four years after he revealed he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Hastings won 65 caps for his country and played in two Tests on the victorious 1989 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, as well as being in the squad that toured New Zealand in 1993. He made his international debut in January 1986 against France, alongside his elder brother, Gavin, the first of 51 Scotland games the centre and full-back pair played together.

The Guardian view on Cuba: Trump says he can do ‘anything I want’ to the island. It doesn’t belong to him | Editorial

Buoyed by his removal of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, the US president is intensifying an economic stranglehold and military menace

While the world watched the pomp of Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing, the US was turning up the pressure thousands of miles away. Its oil blockade has plunged Cuba into a humanitarian crisis, sparking nationwide blackouts that have prompted rare protests, closing schools and universities and leaving hospitals battling to treat patients. Surveillance flights are circling. US media reported this weekend that federal prosecutors are preparing an indictment for Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president and brother of Fidel. Mr Trump has casually observed, while bragging about the kidnapping of Venezuela’s then leader Nicolás Maduro in January, that “Cuba is next”.

A military assault on Havana would be vastly more fraught for the US – even without the war on Iran – and disastrous for Cubans. Washington hopes that threats and privation will be sufficient. UN experts warn that the blockade is unlawful, puts human rights at risk and may amount to collective punishment. The government admitted on Wednesday that fuel oil had run out. Tourism has collapsed. The Canadian mining company Sherritt pulled out of a joint venture and countries have axed their contracts for Cuban doctors – a vital source of income for the island, and trained medical staff for others. Havana may hope that it can stagger on. But Mr Trump is not patient.

Ronda Rousey defeats Gina Carano seconds into joint comeback match

Ronda Rousey used her signature armbar to stop Gina Carano just 17 seconds into a comeback bout between the two MMA fighters.

Bus riders to Montgomery retrace old steps while fighting a new fight

Thousands of people rallied Saturday in Montgomery, Alabama, to push back against conservative states' efforts to dismantle congressional districts that helped secure Black political representation.

Moulin review – László Nemes’s resistance hero drama is chilling, stirring and surprisingly conventional

Cannes film festival: The Son of Saul director’s dramatisation of Jean Moulin’s torture by Klaus Barbie both benefits and suffers from its mainstream approach

László Nemes made his Cannes debut 11 years ago with the terrifying, Oscar-winning Holocaust drama Son of Saul, and followed that up with Sunset, his elegant, mysterious drama of pre-first world war Budapest. His next film, Orphan, released in the UK last week, was a comparably enigmatic film set in post-second world war Hungary. But his new film in the Cannes competition is a basically pretty conventionally acted, conventionally directed, conventionally conceived wartime movie shot in the sepia-subdued colours of an old photograph, all about French resistance heroism and French resistance leader Jean Moulin, who went down in history for refusing to talk under torture.

The overall effect isn’t really like Jean-Pierre Melville’s film Army of Shadows; maybe closer to the 70s BBC TV show Secret Army. Nemes’s final scene is even rather sentimentally stirring, though the director then tries to cancel this sugary moment with a final premonition of the death camps. At all events, he undoubtedly brings impeccable craftsmanship, and the performances and production design are strong.

Giro d’Italia: Vingegaard climbs away to take stage nine win while Eulálio stays in pink

• Danish rider wins for second time in three days

• Eulálio clings on after summit finish at Corno alle Scale

Jonas Vingegaard triumphed for the second time in three days to win stage nine of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, with the Dane going solo at the end of the climb to the finish, while Afonso Eulálio remains in the overall lead.

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider tracked race rival Felix Gall (Decathlon) when the Austrian attacked near the end of the 184km stage from Cervia to Corno alle Scale, but Vingegaard powered away in the closing kilometre, with his Visma teammate Davide Piganzoli coming in third.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (May 17): "By Design"

"Sunday Morning" presents its annual edition touching on all aspects of design, hosted by Jane Pauley.

Taiwan representative to U.S.: "We're not the ones creating all this trouble"

Taiwan's representative to the U.S. Alexander Yui said on Sunday that "we want peace and stability" as Taiwan became among the most closely-watched issues in last week's summit.

Letlow, Fleming advance to runoff in Louisiana GOP Senate primary, CBS News projects

Incumbent GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, who had occasionally broken with the Trump administration, lost his bid for a third term.

5/17: Face The Nation

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," as President Trump returns from his trip to China, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Ambassador Alexander Yui, Taiwan's representative to the U.S., join. Plus, Anthony Salvanto has the latest CBS News polling on the economy.

A ‘tax-the-rich’ billionaire candidate? Democrats are intrigued

Tom Steyer has built his campaign for governor of California around affordability – he’s not the only Democrat testing the party’s appetite for a populist from the 1%

Tom Steyer has built his campaign for governor of California around affordability – and taxing the uber-wealthy.

It is perhaps an unusual message for a candidate with an estimated net worth of $2.4bn. But the hedge fund founder-turned climate activist and liberal mega-donor is pitching himself as a different kind of billionaire: one who wants people like him to pay far more in taxes.

What should win this year’s International Booker?

Political oppression in Tehran, a witch’s tale from France, a film-maker in Nazi Germany … we weigh up the contenders for the International Booker prize 2026

This year’s International Booker prize shortlisted titles are a diverse bunch, both geographically – from Brazil to Taiwan – and in style, from mainstream blockbuster to experimental jeu d’esprit. As in recent years, independent presses are rewarded for their efforts in promoting translated fiction, providing four of the six titles. And the campaign for proper recognition of translators is finally paying off: for the first time in the prize’s 10-year history, all six books name the translator on the front cover. Here’s our guide to the prospects for each, ahead of the winner announcement on 19 May.

German-Iranian novelist Shida Bazyar reminds us in her novel The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran (Scribe), translated by Ruth Martin, that the people of Iran are the victims of history many times over. The story comes from four members of an Iranian family over 30 years. In 1979, young Behzad greets the Islamic revolution that deposes the Shah, but his hopes for a communist utopia (“a new Cuba”) are thwarted. Instead, he’s surrounded by people who have been waiting for the chance to become bullies all their lives. He and his wife, Nahid, flee to Germany: she takes over the story in 1989, followed by their daughter, Laleh, in 1999.

Illness narratives are broken – and they’re failing women like me | Emma Hardy

People want my life with premenstrual dysphoric disorder to be told as a neat arc. But chronic illnesses are more like messy, looping spirals – and realising that gave me hope

There was a moment, deep in the throes of my illness, when I realised I was never getting better. There was no cure for me: only ways to manage. At that time I was not managing very well.

Of course, writing about my past self in this way gives the illusion that I was once in the throes of my illness and that it did get better. This is deceptive. I live with a chronic illness called premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD. It is a severe form of premenstrual illness that leads to depression, anger and even suicidal ideation. It rears its head in the week or two before menstruation then goes away. One week I’d be lying on my bedroom floor, unable to move, starting fights with my partner. Then my period would come and I’d be back at work, seemingly fine, and completely oblivious to the person I’d been mere days before. Notably, this illness is chronic and recurring. I am always in, or just out of, or about to enter the throes of my illness. It does not get better in any static sense.

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The kindness of strangers: A driver warned me I was being followed, then made sure I got home safely

I walked faster, sure that someone was lurking somewhere. Then a taxi pulled up next to me with an older businessman in the back seat

• Read more in the kindness of strangers series

The Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst was not a safe place in the 1980s. There was this jittery vibe when the next heroin batch was coming in and people were overdosing like mad. But the area was also home to a scene of people who were into making little films or art and just going to the clubs in great clothes and dancing our butts off. I was one of them – 23, quite pretty and a hip underground darling.

One night I was walking home from Oxford Street after clubbing. I was always wary of my surroundings, because you grew up very quickly living in that area. But it was a nice night for a walk so I went for it. I remember how dark it was; a slender moon offering little in the way of light.

Saturday Night Live: Will Ferrell plays Jeffrey Epstein in a strong season finale

The former cast member returns as host for a strong episode to close out what’s become a strong season with new faces coming into their own

The season finale of Saturday Night Live’s 51st season kicks off in the oval office. President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), fresh from a three-day diplomatic visit to China, commiserates with his vice-president, JD Vance (Jeremy Culhane). Trump apologizes for not taking Vance along with him to China, explaining that “I didn’t want to.”

After giving Vance the boot, Trump takes a nap (using a gold bar gifted to him by Sweden as a pillow), during which he’s visited by the ghost of his good friend Jeffrey Epstein (tonight’s host, Will Ferrell). Epstein has been keeping busy in hell playing mahjong with Stalin and John Wayne Gacy, as well as writing for the recent Netflix Roast of Kevin Hart (this dig clearly comes from SNL head writer Michael Che, who took to social media earlier this week to criticize the roast for hiring all-white writers and giving hosting duties to Shane Gillis).

German minister defends ‘perfectly human’ decision to allow attempt to rescue whale Timmy

Humpback stranded on sandbank was unlikely to survive, experts had said, recommending it be left to die in peace

The German authorities have defended their decision to allow a risky rescue attempt of a stranded whale to go ahead, despite experts warning it was “inadvisable” because the animal was hurt and unlikely to survive.

The saga of the whale, known as Timmy, had gripped Germany since the beached humpback was spotted stranded on Timmendorfer beach, a sandbank in shallow waters near the coast, nearly two months ago.

Ukraine conducts large-scale drone strikes on Russia, killing 4 and wounding 12 others

One of Ukraine's largest drone strikes on Russia killed at least four people, including three near Moscow, and wounded a dozen others, local authorities said Sunday.

Favorite Philly foods: Cheesesteaks, pretzels and hoagies

"Sunday Morning" shares the love for three traditional foods in the City of Brotherly Love.

After I suffered a slipped disc, these seven gadgets help me move with less pain

When I slipped a disc, I discovered an array of gadgets that help take a load off your back and solve the constraints of limited mobility

• You need to sit down for this – the best seat cushions in the US to relieve your back

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Like 39% of the US population, I have back pain. It was my cat’s fault: while reaching down to pick up some cat fluff, one of the discs in my spine slipped, leaking something infernal made of fire and agony. The cure, my doc advised me, was to lie down while my body replaces the infernal fluid with the normal squishy stuff.

That’s all very well for her to say, but she doesn’t have a busy job chasing cats and testing things: how can I review products when moving is painful? Review the best gadgets for back pain, clearly. I’ll leave the medical stuff to the doctors, but these products have made my recovery more tolerable and productive, and you don’t need a slipped disc to appreciate their back-saving benefits.

Top of Labour in row over EU as Nandy challenges Streeting’s remarks

Ex-health secretary’s allies rally to defend him after culture secretary calls his comments about rejoining bloc ‘odd’

A row has broken out at the top of the Labour party over whether Britain should try to rejoin the EU after Wes Streeting said the country should eventually seek to regain membership.

Streeting, who resigned as health secretary on Thursday in protest at Keir Starmer’s leadership, kicked off a war of words after he argued on Saturday that Britain’s future lay back in the EU.

Grim denouement of stunning Scottish Premiership title race must prompt shift in attitudes

The SPFL and SFA wobble at the knees when it comes to punishing their biggest clubs but scenes at Celtic Park risk setting a dangerous precedent

The placing of a full stop on any league campaign offers cause for reflection. In Scotland, there are reasons to wonder if the grim denouement to a stunning title race will prompt a shift in attitudes on two fronts. Whether a Celtic board which has been castigated for its stewardship regards the securing of another title as vindication is an intriguing question. More immediate is how the champions and others will respond to the grim scenes that triggered an enforced conclusion to the visit of Hearts. The behaviour of a section of the Celtic support is so unruly during dominance that one wonders what on earth may happen if the team struggle badly.

On Sunday, the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) “utterly condemned” Celtic supporters who flooded on to the pitch at the time of Callum Osmand’s third goal. “Supporters entering the field of play in any circumstances is wholly unacceptable and puts those participating and working at a match at risk,” added the SPFL. Hearts players were accosted and abused during their most crushing of moments, having lost the opportunity to break the Old Firm’s four decades of title dominance.

Bruno Fernandes equals assist record as Manchester United hold off battling Forest

This is the new, serendipitous Michael Carrick Manchester United era, helped by confusing officiating to edge past Nottingham Forest, on the day Bruno Fernandes equalled the Premier League record for assists in a season. If it was not for a lack of obvious options four months ago, United and Carrick may not have been reunited, nor would they be guaranteed third in the Premier League and heading back to the Champions League.

It is, arguably, fortunate that Fernandes is still here after feeling United were keen to sell him a year ago but now he sits alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry at the top of the creative charts.

Is the answer to the housing crunch right in your own backyard?

Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, are small, fully-functional secondary homes located on the same property as a main home, usually in the backyard, filling a vital need where housing has proved scant or expensive.

The American epoch of oil is collapsing. What comes next could be ugly | Jonathan Watts

China is dominating the energy transition with astonishing result, while fossil fuel fascists in the US try to turn back the clock

“Farewell,” the flag-waving Chinese children chanted to Donald Trump as he strolled along the red carpet back to Air Force One at the end of his summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The US leader claimed he was leaving with a cluster of “fantastic” trade deals to sell US oil, jets and soya beans to China. That has not been confirmed by his smiling host, but one thing was crystal clear from the two days of meetings: the global balance of power is shifting, from the declining petrostate in the west to the rising electrostate in the east.

Did a hitman kill a New York gallerist? Art world rocked by murder-for-hire trial

Daniel Sikkema is accused of hiring someone to kill his husband, Brent Sikkema, amid a divorce and alleged fights over money

In the early morning hours of 14 January 2024, a hitman slipped into the renowned New York City gallerist Brent Sikkema’s Rio de Janeiro townhouse.

The alleged assassin, Alejandro Triana Prevez, grabbed a kitchen knife and traveled to Sikkema’s upstairs bedroom. An altercation unfolded near the bedroom door. As Sikkema, 75, struggled for his life, Prevez stabbed him, a lawsuit filed in New York state civil court alleges.

‘The real work begins now’: Roma take centre stage as Hungary brings in new government

Campaigners say symbolism of Magyar inauguration must translate into real change for Roma rights after years of Orbán discrimination

The clutch of young Roma boys in black bow ties were lined up beneath the ornate arches and royal frescoes of Hungary’s dazzling parliament. Moments after Péter Magyar was sworn in, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power, the young musicians launched into the unofficial anthem of Roma in Hungary, leaving many MPs wiping away tears.

It was an extraordinary moment – one that fused the nationwide hope for change with the longstanding aspirations of the country’s most marginalised community. Roma rights campaigners have seized the moment, calling on the new government to ensure that the symbolism of last weekendtranslates into real change.

‘Jim Crow 2.0’: South Carolina’s Republicans move to oust state’s only Black congressman since 1897

James Clyburn could now find his district dismantled after supreme court effectively gutted Voting Rights Act

South Carolina has had exactly one Black representative in Congress since 1897: James Clyburn. A proposal to redraw the state’s political map would dismantle the district he represents.

The state’s sixth congressional district starts on its southern border with Georgia, in the suburbs of Savannah, moving a hundred miles north to wind around the heart of Charleston, before cutting through Black belt farmland to the state capital of Columbia, another 115 miles away.

One clinic tracks the heavy toll Trump's immigration crackdown takes on mental health

Zocalo Health, a primary care organization, screens all its patients for depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. It documented a marked increase in those conditions since ICE enforcement actions began.

‘It was like a mosh pit’: Swatch closes stores as watch launch causes crowding and scuffles

Paris police used teargas on Saturday and UK shops stayed shut on Sunday after rush for Royal Pop timepieces

Swatch closed its stores in the UK and in some cities in Europe and the US at the weekend after the launch of a limited-edition watch caused chaos.

Shoppers waited throughout the night, and in some cases for several days, hoping to buy the Royal Pop timepieces – made in collaboration with the luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet – on Saturday.

Xabi Alonso coup shows Chelsea and BlueCo now see the value of aura

The former Real Madrid manager’s desire to sign and create mentality monsters breaks with previous club policy

The Chelsea end was mostly empty by the time the players went to collect their losers’ medals. There was no grand ovation for the beaten team. The disconnect was evident after defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup final, underlining how one of Xabi Alonso’s first challenges as Chelsea’s new manager will be to lift the mood and get players, fans and owners pulling in the same direction after a hugely disappointing season.

Many people are wondering why Alonso has agreed to take over on a four-year deal. Why, after running into player power and reluctance to build a project at Real Madrid, would you choose Chelsea? Just how big is the payoff?

WHO says Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda is ‘emergency’ of international concern

At least 80 deaths and more than 300 suspected cases in the DRC, while Uganda reports spread from travellers

• What is Ebola and why is WHO treating outbreak as global emergency?

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is a “public health emergency of international concern”, the World Health Organization has said.

The WHO made its declaration on Sunday after 88 deaths and more than 300 suspected cases linked to the outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, prompting Africa’s top health official to say he was “on panic mode”.

This is how we do it: ‘My sex life with her is completely separate to my life as a divorced father’

A casual arrangement became something more substantial for Shani and Can, who are happy living in the moment
• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

I was used to telling people that I could only offer them adventure, but with Shani that wasn’t true

‘Green card for the planet’? Fifa’s World Cup is on pace to be a climate catastrophe

The 2022 World Cup failed to deliver on its environmental promises. From air travel emissions to heat-related dangers, the 2026 edition will be even worse

Soccer fans are increasingly watching preparations for the 2026 World Cup through their fingers. The most popular sporting event on the planet is awash in controversy, whether it’s the eye-watering ticket prices, the question of Iran’s participation while the president of one of the host countries threatens war crimes against it, or the role that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement may or may not play in policing the event. And yet, lost in the political pyrotechnics is a fiasco that carries as much long-term peril as any: the tournament’s staggering contribution to runaway climate change.

The 2026 World Cup is not only the most politically combustible tournament in modern history, but it is also on track to be the “most polluting” World Cup ever, with total greenhouse gas emissions hitting nearly two times the historical average. Scientists conservatively project that the tournament will generate around 9m tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Air travel comprises approximately 7.7m tons of this carbon budget, and more than four times that of the average for tournaments held between 2010 and 2022. The researchers note that the worst-case upper estimate for air transport is about 13.7m tons of CO2. That may sound bad, but that’s just because World Cup emissions have never been worse.

The foreign fighters who helped topple Assad — and why China worries about them

Thousands of Uyghurs became key fighters against Syria's Assad regime. For the first time, they agreed to be interviewed. NPR spent weeks with some of them to understand why they fled China for Syria.

New burn bans and Trump's battle with immigration and DEI are impacting forest fires

Firefighters say setting fires on purpose is one of the best  ways to protect against massive wildfires later. But the Trump administration is banning or stalling preventative burning across the U.S.

Journalism has never been a more dangerous pursuit

Facts can be expensive in a dangerous world. I have covered some brutal wars during my three decades at the Guardian, but journalists are now actively targeted in a way I have never seen

• Support independent journalism today

It has never been so dangerous to be a journalist than now, and the threat keeps growing. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) recorded 129 deaths of reporters and other media workers in 2025, the most it has ever recorded, and five more than the previous record, which was last year.

I have worked for the Guardian for more than three decades and covered some brutal wars, but journalists are now in the crosshairs, actively targeted, in a way I have never seen before.

‘They lost a historic opportunity’: Ken Loach laments Your Party infighting

Film-maker and longtime Corbyn ally says ‘poor behaviour’ squandered chance to unite the left in fight against far right

Ken Loach has accused Your Party of squandering an opportunity to unite the left in the fight against the far right after the upstart socialist movement founded by the former Labour figures Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana became mired in infighting.

“There was great hope when Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana joined forces; 800,000 people expressed interest – that’s three times the size of a political party,” he said. “But I’m afraid some of the behaviours were very poor and they lost a historic opportunity.”

A "Survivor" finalist's mission to prove his late sister was murdered

"Survivor" 48 and 50 contestant Joe Hunter believes his sister Joanna, whose death was ruled a suicide, was murdered. He and their mother are working to be Joanna's voice and advocate for others who have experienced domestic violence.

It may not feel like it, but hope is on the horizon: Trump, Netanyahu and Putin’s powers appear to be waning | Simon Tisdall

Plummeting approval ratings for these three poisonous comrades-in-arms show voters are demoralised and tiring of forever wars – the west could soon breathe again

Feeling depressed about the state of the world? Worried about the future? You’re not alone. Pessimism about politics is the new normal among the peoples of the west. Major conflicts in Europe and the Middle East and the harms caused by right-left extremism, stagnating economies, inequality, corruption, terrorism, racism, big tech, mass extinctions and the climate crisis make for shared nightmares.

Growing numbers of people simply refuse to personally engage with current events via the news media, finding them too anxiety-inducing (so they probably won’t be reading this). In a Reuters Institute survey last year, 40% of respondents in about 50 countries said they sometimes or often avoid the news altogether, a rise of 29% on 2017.

Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator

Auguste, London E8: ‘Some fleeting moments of greatness’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

As is the peril with most small plates restaurants, this meal is more a collection of loose ideas than a coherent dinner

Auguste, a brand spanking new Italian restaurant in Hackney, east London, is named, loosely, after a clown. The Edward Hopper painting Soir Bleu hangs on the wall, depicting a tragic sort in a whiteface mask sitting forlornly in a cafe surrounded by hipsters. The clown’s light veneer of calm, it seems, masks his bare tolerance of both his life and his fellow customers. Hopper painted it in 1914, and now, more than a century later, this same sad clown feels more than a little symbolic of all those who have chosen a life in hospitality at this time. Paint on a smile! Get out there! Make the crowds happy! If only business rates could be paid with a bucketload of glitter …

Auguste’s owners, chef Mike Bagnall and general manager Dylan Walters, have taken over the 32-seater premises formerly known as Papi, which recently upped sticks and moved on to a much larger site at The Golden Tooth in Newington Green. The space has been transformed from its Papi days as an extremely hip, European-influenced, irreverent, small plates, low-intervention wine and hyper-cool spot, to its new incarnation as, well, an extremely hip, Abruzzo-influenced, irreverent, small plates, low-intervention wine and hyper-cool spot. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, you might be thinking, but pas exactement! The room now has white tablecloths and the big draw on Auguste’s menu are its skewers or, to be precise, arrosticini. Think tiny mini kebabs with the meat cut into 1cm cubes, then grilled over something called a furnacella. The live-fire craze among London hospitality’s menfolk shows no signs of abating. Man make fire. Fire good.

‘Feels like an illusion’: inside post-Maduro Venezuela’s bewildering new era

Four months after Trump’s surprise raid, a political thaw has descended – but mingled with hope is trepidation for what comes next

When Ángel Linares heard a strange buzz followed by an explosion, his first thought was that neighbours were setting off fireworks to celebrate the new year.

Then his windows shattered, the building’s walls shook and its facade was ripped off, sending him flying on to the ground of an apartment suddenly reduced to rubble. His 85-year-old mother, Jesucita, feared Venezuela’s northern coast had been devastated by an earthquake, like the one she remembers from 1967.

Federal funding for Trump’s $400m ballroom in jeopardy after Senate ruling

Proposal to fund $1bn in security additions for White House campus and president’s new ballroom fails to meet procedural rules

A US Senate official on Saturday removed security funding that could be used for Donald Trump’s planned $400m White House ballroom from a massive spending package, Democratic lawmakers said, imperiling Republican efforts to devote taxpayer money to the contentious project.

The decision by the Senate’s parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, deals a blow to Trump and his administration, which has sought the money for security purposes related to the ballroom.

What does stress really do to our bodies – and when does it become a big problem?

From an elevated heart rate to weakened immunity, experts explain the hidden physical costs of chronic stress – and why our bodies aren’t built to stay on high alert

You wake up later than planned, so it’s a rush to get everything sorted out ahead of the school run. While you’re waiting for the toaster, idiotically, you check your phone. Something has happened, and your timeline is a scalding-hot mess of the worst takes imaginable. One of your children has left their shoes somewhere unfathomable, and there’s an envelope on your doormat scolding you for driving in a bus lane.

You’re undeniably stressed, and your body’s likely to respond by ramping up the same biological systems that evolved to deal with inter-tribe disputes and mammoth attacks. But is there a downside to being stressed – and having these systems switched on – all the time? Take a calming breath, and let’s dig into the science.

What happened to the ‘little refugee girl’?: the 102-year-old Holocaust survivor whose story started outside my doorstep

For years, I polished the brass plaques in front of my apartment dedicated to a Jewish mother and daughter who were murdered by the Nazis. Then a message out of the blue connected me to a surviving child …

At the grand, biblical age of 102, Sonja Ibermann Cowan has zero interest in wasting her time. There are delicious great-grandbabies to be serenaded, uproarious meals to share with her three beloved daughters, and meaningful celebrations of the high holidays to mark with her Melbourne rabbi, who makes house calls. Five years ago, she decided to invest some of that precious time in what became a friendship with me, across the world in Berlin, her birthplace.

The boredom of the pandemic certainly played a part. Cooped up at home under much stricter Covid-19 restrictions than we had in Germany – Sonja joked about being “eingesperrt” (locked up) – she and her extended close-knit family started turning their attention to the past. Her grandson Benjamin Preiss, a journalist at the Australian newspaper The Age, embarked on an  ambitious research project to uncover the mysteries of Sonja’s life and her mother’s and sister’s murders in the Holocaust.

Exorbitant World Cup ticket prices creating sticker shock for soccer fans

FIFA President Gianni Infantino joked that if someone does pay $2 million for a ticket to the World Cup final, "I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke."

Harry Styles review – a genuinely charismatic performer who has pulled off one of the hardest tricks in pop

Johan Cruijff Arena, the Netherlands
Styles’ first stop in his Together, Together tour, which will see him perform lengthy residencies around the world, is a reminder of how talented he is

Midway through the opening night of his world tour, Harry Styles asks where the audience in the Johan Cruijff Arena have come from. To judge by their response, residents of Amsterdam are vastly outnumbered by those who have travelled vast distances to be here: further investigation on the part of the singer reveals audience members from Switzerland and Ireland.

It’s evidence of what – to use a modern term – a huge flex the Together, Together tour is. There are doubtless sound reasons for performing lengthy residencies at single venues rather than dutifully dragging yourself around the globe – Styles’ 10 shows in Amsterdam are the only gigs he’s playing in mainland Europe, followed by similarly lengthy sojourns at venues in London, São Paulo, Mexico City, New York City, Melbourne and Sydney – but it also helps underline the scale of the former One Direction star’s solo success. Twelve consecutive nights at Wembley is a feat not even Taylor Swift’s Eras tour could match. Here, it suggests, is a man who’s not only pulled off one of the hardest tricks in pop – the journey from manufactured boyband member to respected solo artist is a notoriously thorny one – but done it with an almost unparalleled degree of aplomb. You’d have to look back to George Michael’s post-Wham! career to find even a vague equivalent.