Middle East crisis live: Iran warns it will attack US forces if they enter strait of Hormuz after Trump says US will help ‘guide’ stranded ships

Iranian military says it will ‘respond harshly’ to any threat after Trump warns that interference with US operation in Hormuz will be ‘dealt with forcefully’

• Trump says US navy will ‘guide’ trapped ships from strait of Hormuz amid ‘very positive’ talks with Iran

We have a bit more of the statement from Maj Gen Ali Abdollahi, the commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, who said earlier that the US or any other foreign armed forces would be attacked if they entered the strait of Hormuz (see post at 07.39 for more details). Abdollahi also said:

We will maintain and vigorously manage the security of the strait of Hormuz with all our might, and we inform all commercial ships and tankers to refrain from any attempt to transit without the coordination of the armed forces stationed in the strait of Hormuz, so as not to jeopardise their security.

Teenage French prodigy Paul Seixas to become youngest Tour de France cyclist for 89 years

• Home hope will be on the start line in Barcelona

• Could be first male French winner since Hinault in 1985

The cycling prodigy Paul Seixas will make his Tour de France debut this year, raising hopes of France’s first male homegrown winner since 1985.

The 19-year-old Decathlon-CMA CGM rider has prompted intense debate in France after a dazzling start to 2026 with his team weighing the benefits of early exposure to the Tour against the risk of overburdening a rider still in his first season as a professional.

Trump administration falls behind on wildfire prevention with risky fire season ahead

Many of the nation's overgrown forests are at high risk of burning. Under the Trump administration, work to reduce flammable vegetation fell by more than a million acres compared to previous years.

Shooting at lake near Oklahoma City leaves at least 12 injured

At least 12 people were at hospitals following a shooting at party at Arcadia Lake, near Oklahoma City, police say.

‘As reassuring as a warm hug’: why Donnie Darko is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers paying tribute to their most rewatched comfort films is an unusual journey back to the 1980s through the lens of the early 2000s

If the stereotypical feelgood movie is a cashmere comfort blanket – the kind of film that leaves viewers blissed out on the sofa as the credits roll and Bridget Jones finally gets to snog Mark Darcy – I should probably notify a qualified team of specialists that my own is a tale of teenage alienation, suburban hypocrisy, apocalyptic dread and a man in a monstrous rabbit suit issuing stern instructions about death. Then again, it does have a considerably better soundtrack.

Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko explored alternate realities decades before the Marvel films and Everything Everywhere All at Once made the multiverse a pop-cultural touchstone. Its tree-lined streets, Halloween skies and teenagers pedalling through suburbia were like a weirder, sadder blueprint for Stranger Things long before Hawkins existed. It’s a suburban fever dream about fate, madness and collapsing timelines, a nightmarish physics puzzle steeped in existential dread. But beneath all the cult-film weirdness, it is also the oddly uplifting story of a lonely, damaged kid who finally understands his place in the world – and sacrifices himself to save it against the backdrop of some of the most luminous 80s alt-pop atmospherics ever recorded.

‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level, study finds

Louisiana’s cultural hotspot could be surrounded by Gulf of Mexico before end of this century, authors say

The process of relocating people from New Orleans should start immediately as the city has reached a “point of no return” that will see it surrounded by the ocean within decades due to the climate crisis, a stark new study has concluded.

Ongoing sea level rise and the rampant erosion of wetlands in southern Louisiana will swallow up the New Orleans area within a few generations, with the new paper estimating the city “may well be surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico before the end of this century”.

Put those weights down! How ‘eccentric’ exercise opens up a whole new world of fitness

For years we have been told the best way to get fitter and stronger is to lift something heavy, whether that’s a barbell or our own bodyweight. What if how we put it down was just as important?

We all love a power move, such as running, jumping, throwing balls, swinging kettlebells or scaling walls. In comparison, deliberate, controlled movement can seem a bit boring. But this slower side of exercise is frequently safer and less physically demanding than its more showy rival. And according to the latest research, one form of it is more effective than it has traditionally been given credit for.

“Eccentric exercise training provides numerous benefits for physical fitness and overall health, making it suitable for a wide range of individuals,” Prof Kazunori Nosaka writes in a new paper published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science. It “offers unique advantages over concentric or isometric exercise, particularly in promoting neuromuscular adaptations”.

After Republicans blocked Indiana redistricting, millions poured in to defeat them

President Trump has thrown his support behind challengers to Republican state senators who opposed his redistricting push.

The oldest millennials are 45! This tool helps plan for longevity

The oldest millennials are turning 45 this year. The oldest Gen Xers are now 60. So how prepared will they be to thrive in the decades ahead? A new tool helps people assess beyond just savings.

Fixing methane mega-leaks could boost energy stock amid crisis, report says

International Energy Agency analysis shows methane leaks remained at near-record highs in 2025

Methane emissions from the energy sector remained at near record levels in 2025, the International Energy Agency has concluded.

Tackling the emissions could make billions of cubic metres of gas available to international markets, a top priority as the war in the Middle East squeezes energy supplies, the IEA said in a report.

London schools trialling VR to relieve pupils’ stress

Phase Space pilot programme with NHS mental health trust used to calm anxiety around exams, ADHD and home troubles

Schools have begun deploying virtual reality to help pupils cope with stress caused by impending exams, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or difficult home lives.

All 15 secondary schools in the London borough of Sutton are using VR headsets made by tech firm Phase Space in a pilot in conjunction with the local NHS mental health trust.

Breakwater review – troubled souls cross class and age barriers in nicely judged debut feature

An Oxford theology student and a middle-aged fisher are drawn together despite their many differences in an ambitious first film from Max Morgan

This evocative debut feature from Max Morgan is a film of many contrasts. One is the May-December attraction between Otto (Daniel McNamee), a theology student and aspiring violinist, and John (Shaun Paul McGrath), a middle-aged fisher with a shadowy past. The worlds that they inhabit seem poles apart. Compared with the storm-ravaged Suffolk coast that curves around John’s rugged village, the imposing halls of Otto’s college at Oxford are at once grand and isolating. Despite their differences in age, the two men are bound by shared trauma and turmoil: both struggle with their sexuality and the loss of a loved one.

The highly textured cinematography renders these inner conflicts strikingly tactile. The camera at times stays uncomfortably close to the main characters, highlighting the gnawing anxiety of not belonging. From the demands of a frustrated girlfriend to the prying gaze of close-minded townsfolk, the film stacks these moments of unease to breaking point. Much emphasis is placed on minute gestures – a panicked gaze, a gentle touch of the hands – to communicate the gradual bonding of two unmoored souls.

Rudy Giuliani hospitalized in critical condition, spokesperson says

There was no immediate reason given for the 81-year-old's hospitalization.

Lasers, hawks and even guns haven’t solved the UK’s pigeon problem. There is a better way | Sydney Lobe

Councils spend heavily on grisly yet ineffective methods. Why won’t they consider a proven, low-cost and humane strategy?

By some estimates there are almost 3 million pigeons residing in London, which has the highest pigeon population in the country. Known as “rats with wings”, “flying ashtrays” and “gutter birds”, pigeons do not have popular sentiment on their side. And cities in the UK have an extensive history of attempted pigeon pest control – having tried everything short of an exorcism to remove them – to no avail.

London’s best-known victory in the war against pigeons was self-declared, after an operation in Trafalgar Square in the early 2000s. Ken Livingstone’s city government flew two Harris hawks around the area to “deter” pigeons – although the hawks went further than that, killing 121 pigeons in what ended up being a years-long bloodbath. The blitz cost the city £226,000. Wildlife activists deemed it an act of unimaginable cruelty. And it did little to permanently cut down pigeon populations. Last year in Manchester at least 81 pigeons were shot and killed by pest control services – employed by Northern Trains – in early morning offensives at Manchester Victoria station. The event is known to some as the Manchester Victoria pigeon massacre.

Sydney Lobe is a freelance writer based between Vancouver and London

‘My generation have deluded themselves’: ex-Vampire Weekender Rostam on pop, protest and life as an Iranian-American

Inspired in part by Zohran Mamdani’s NY mayorship, Rostam Batmanglij’s gorgeous new album fuses Americana with sounds of the Middle East. So why isn’t his mum happy?

The first song Rostam Batmanglij ever learned to play on guitar was Chuck Berry’s Johnny B Goode, the quintessentially American rock’n’roll hit about being an American rock’n’roll star. “It doesn’t get more American than that,” he says, with a smile.

The 42-year-old superproducer (Frank Ocean, Charli xcx, Carly Rae Jepsen) and former Vampire Weekend member is sitting across from me in a coworking cafe in London, trying to explain the fixation he’s always had with US culture. “My brother was born in France, my parents were born in Iran,” he says. “But I was in my mum’s womb when I first came to America. My position is different. So what is my relationship to the American flag? What is my relationship to American citizenship?”

‘A missing generation’: why are there are no female head coaches in Women’s Six Nations?

A new scheme will attempt to address the glaring lack of diversity among top coaches in elite women’s rugby union

A 10-point plan will be introduced by Premiership Women’s Rugby next season that aims to increase the number of female coaches at international level, with only one top-10 nation currently being led by a woman.

The scheme aims to create a springboard for more women at the elite tier of the sport, where there is a glaring lack of diversity among top coaches. Whitney Hansen is in charge of New Zealand, but, Jo Yapp and Gaëlle Mignot stood down from their positions after last year’s Rugby World Cup, with the Wallaroos and France respectively.

Wikipedia founder brands Australia’s social media ban an ‘unmitigated disaster’ and ‘embarrassment’

Jimmy Wales remembers a toxic internet even before social media and says AI is ‘not a disaster’ for the free – and freely edited - online encyclopaedia

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Wikipedia’s founder, Jimmy Wales, has branded the Australian social media ban an “unmitigated disaster” and an “embarrassment” that is teaching kids to accept surveillance from tech companies when they go online.

The online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit was born in a world before social media, in 2001. But Wales told Guardian Australia that many of the ills of social media existed even in the earlier stages of the internet.

North Korean women’s football club headed to Seoul in rare trip across the border

Visit will be the first time a North Korean women’s football team has competed on southern soil since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games

A North Korean women’s football club will travel to South Korea this month, marking the first visit by a northern sports delegation in nearly eight years, at a time of near-total estrangement between the two Koreas.

Naegohyang Women’s FC, based in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang, will face South Korea’s Suwon FC Women at Suwon sports complex, on 20 May for the semi-finals of the AFC Women’s Champions League.

2 US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco

Two U.S. service members are missing in southwestern Morocco after taking part in annual multinational military exercises in the North African country, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) said.

Flaws in Kenya’s AI-driven health reforms driving up costs for the poorest

Exclusive: amid unrest, President William Ruto promised to give all Kenyans access to healthcare. But the algorithm favours the rich, an investigation has found

An AI system used to predict how much Kenyans can afford to pay for access to healthcare, has systemically driven up costs for the poor, an investigation has found.

The healthcare system being rolled out across the country, a key electoral promise of President William Ruto, was launched in October 2024 and intended to replace Kenya’s decades-old national insurance system.

Rise of the Conqueror review – Gladiator meets throat singing as Mongol hordes ride out

Christian Mortensen takes up arms as the 14th-century kingmaker Timur but could do with a stronger force behind him and a better beard in front

The western-produced Greco-Judeo-Roman epic has been with us since early cinema, while the Chinese film industry kept the eastern end up with a string of recent historical pictures. But what about the lands in between? Apart from a smattering of pictures about Genghis Khan, including John Wayne’s regrettable appearance in 1956’s The Conqueror, the Mongol hordes have not exactly ravaged the box office. So it’s refreshing to see Rise of the Conqueror sally forth, with Christian Mortensen in the saddle as the 14th-century Turkic-Mongol chieftain Timur.

This is basically Gladiator with added throat-singing. Man-at-arms Timur is a kingmaker caught between his native Barlas tribe, which includes his testy brother-in-law Hussayn (Mahesh Jadu) who’s eager to reclaim his family’s rule in Samarkand; on the other side is occupying Mongol warmonger Tugluk (Maruf Otajonov), who appreciates him for his khan-do attitude. Tugluk pegs Timur to advise his son, Ilias (Joshua Jo), to whom he has entrusted the city. But this feckless scion doesn’t appreciate the babysitter; after he poisons Timur, the latter is forced into exile with the Zoroastrian raiders he once hunted.

Hugh Bonneville takes on Sherlock Holmes: best podcasts of the week

The Paddington star narrates an eerie adaptation of an Arthur Conan Doyle classic. Plus a worrying series about the US tech company at the heart of the NHS

Japan sees largest protest in support of pacifist constitution as PM Takaichi pushes revisions

Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi has called for discussions to revise the constitution, saying it should ‘reflect the demands of the times’

Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called for “advanced discussions” on revising the pacifist constitution, as large demonstrations were held nationwide to oppose any changes to the country’s supreme law.

Speaking during an official visit to Vietnam, Takaichi said the constitution, which was written by US occupation forces after the second world war, “should periodically be updated to reflect the demands of the times”.

Could Iran’s escalating economic crisis weaken negotiating position with US?

War has combined with battered economy to leave Tehran wondering how hardline it can afford to be

Iran may not be choking like a stuffed pig as Donald Trump predicted, but its economy is in serious difficulty as a combination of a massive war-damages bill, inflation, currency devaluation, unemployment and a contraction in oil revenues combine to leave the political elite worrying how hardline they can afford to be with their US negotiators. One estimate circulating in Iran’s media suggests the damage to the economy from the US-Israeli attacks is nine times the value of the Iranian budget last year.

The UN Development Programme has estimated that 4.1 million more Iranians could fall into poverty.

Mummy, is this a video game? The dangers of showing kids art on a screen

The rise of multisensory installations like Frameless are an inspiring way for children to interact with art – but do they risk making the real thing seem less exciting?

You know Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights? That psychedelic triptych chock-a-block with creatures real and imagined and the monstrosities of hell? Well, my toddler and I are in it. To be precise, we’re slap-bang in the middle of the cosmic central panel, which is projected on to the wide walls around us, as well as the ceiling and the floor. There are naked men and women riding bareback on ducks and deer and horses. Camels and cattle. Butterflies and birds. Pale legs lolling from a shell.

This is our first trip to Frameless, an immersive art experience near Marble Arch in London that bills itself as a place “where art breaks free”. Call me a traditionalist, but digital art isn’t usually my thing. I enjoyed David Hockney at the Lightroom, where I also took my son to see the dinosaurs – the day we went, the audience was almost exclusively made up of tots and their adults. But I prefer paintings to be still rather than animated. I like to concentrate on a canvas rather than watch it deconstruct and dissolve. I want art to be meaningful and long-lasting. Tangible. Real.

Yes, the king's US visit will go down in history: it marked the death throes of an old era | Nesrine Malik

Both nations are tarred by irreconcilable crises that could unravel democracy itself – sanity and stability have never felt further from reach

A feature of living at the end of an era is that some events in the present already feel like future artefacts – things you expect to see in a school history book, or a documentary many years from now. Here is King Charles’s 2026 state visit to the United States, right between the chapters on the war on Iran and the global energy crisis. Here is an image of the entire constellation of Trumpland, dining on spring-herbed ravioli and dover sole. Look at this interesting antiquity of the time: the gold plates, the universal sign of a regime at the peak of excess. And there you see the foreign dignitary, making a speech that at the time felt like bold truth-telling, but as we all now know was little more than naive theatre while the whole world teetered on the precipice.

The cast of characters behind the era-ending crisis were present, helpfully concentrated in one place to illustrate to those in the future how it came to this, and by whose hands. The money men, the Lord Haw-Haws, the nepo babies, the quislings. Seven guests from Fox News, seven members of the Trump family, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and – a little treat for golf-loving Trump – the Masters champion, Rory McIlroy, who the president made stand up to show off, breaking away from his state address to say: “Congratulations! Very proud of you.” If you wanted a snapshot of the forces that underpin the Trump administration, indifferent to its colossal violations, here it was – billionaire-funded corporate media, big tech, private equity and stars just happy to be so close to so much power.

Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist

Spring soup and bean and cheese quesadillas: Thomasina Miers’ Mexican-inspired seasonal recipes

Mexican spring soup followed by black bean and three-cheese quesadilla

I have always loved the evident (though not proven) link between how foodie a country is and its love of soups. In Mexico, where nose-to-tail eating is a given, broths maintain a steadying presence in any self-respecting cantina, and soups are commonplace on most menus. We don’t eat a crazy amount of meat at home, but having homemade stock in the freezer is an ingenious fast track to flavour and goodness. Here, whether your stock is chicken or vegetable, homemade or shop-bought, the joy is in the gentle spicing, a scattering of herbs, zingy tomatillos and some lovely spring leaves.

Denmark faces data center reckoning as power grid overwhelmed by surging demand

The data center industry is facing a reckoning as governments around the world consider imposing limits on the growth of the power-hungry facilities.

Security or justice? Syria faces post-Assad reckoning after string of arrests

New government accused of ‘performative justice’ and making deals with suspects in 2013 Tadamon massacres

Ahmad al-Homsi is a deep sleeper, but when he was woken last month and told that Amjad Youssef, a Syrian intelligence officer who killed civilians in the 2013 Tadamon massacres, had been arrested, he bolted out of bed. He ran into the street to find other people already celebrating the news.

“We stayed out for almost three or four days celebrating. People from neighbouring areas sent camels, sheep, livestock for us to slaughter and distribute them to people. The tears of joy didn’t stop,” said al-Homsi, a 33-year-old activist with the Tadamon Coordination Committee, which documented the atrocities in the Damascus neighbourhood.

‘Living library’: inside the marine biobanks racing to protect ocean species from extinction

Australia’s biobanks store everything from seeds of native plants to the cells and tissue of threatened animal species

In the mudflats of Swan Bay, Victoria, royal spoonbills sweep their paddle-shaped bills through shallow water. Nearby, under the grass-covered roof of the Queenscliff marine research centre, a team of scientists from Deakin University are trying to bring the ecosystems those birds and many others rely on back from the brink.

Some of that involves associate professor Prue Francis’s beakers – filled with bubbling brown gunk – that are bathed in red light inside a fridge equipped with sensors, alarms and a backup generator.

EU forging closer ties with Armenia as it sends experts to help counter Russian interference

Bloc’s leaders to hold first summit with Armenia on Tuesday at it ramps up efforts to combat Kremlin’s influence

The EU is sending a team of experts specialised in combating Russian propaganda and interference to Armenia, as it increases its support to the former Soviet republic in a tense political period.

In a highly symbolic sequence of events, EU leaders will hold their first summit with Armenia on Tuesday, after a pan-European gathering of about 45 leaders at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan.

The centre left is not dead. A progressive new counter-Trumpian movement is on the way

Social democrats are at last facing up to the failures of globalisation to create equality or deliver for workers

If Donald Trump represents the backlash against the liberal rules-based order, then we may now be seeing the backlash to the backlash. In a recent speech, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, spoke of just that. “They scream and shout not because they are winning, but because they know their time is running out,” he said, of those seeking to undermine international law and normalise the use of force. While the Trump administration and its allies seek to remake the world in their view, alternative visions of the international order are finally beginning to take shape.

The Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, in his now famous Davos speech in January, laid bare the vulnerabilities of what he described as a world in “rupture”. Middle powers must act together, he argued, because “if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu”. The way forward is not to abandon globalisation altogether but to remake it: preserving openness while upholding a rules-based order and avoiding over-reliance on a single country.

Florian Ranft is a member of the management board at Das Progressive Zentrum, a thinktank based in Berlin

49 ways to have fun right now! Skydive in a wind tunnel, count dogs and run like a three-year-old

The world often feels dominated by sadness and doomscrolling. But fun is still possible – and necessary. Here are tried and tested ways to enjoy yourself

Cartwheel. On the day we scattered my father’s ashes, we lightened the mood with some competitive gymnastics. I don’t know how it started, but in attempting a cartwheel, I was shocked at my own creeping decrepitude. Over the last year, I’ve been watching online tutorials and practising – and I can do a passable cartwheel now. For that joyful split-second, upside down and wheeling, I’m reconnected with my eight-year-old self. Emine Saner

Have a kitchen disco. Never underestimate the fun ready to burst out of your kitchen. The crucial ingredient? Good music, played loudly. Parcels are my new favourite – the whole family have become superfans since last summer’s awesome Glastonbury set. Tieduprightnow, Gamesofluck, IknowhowIfeel, Hideout, Safeandsound – so many danceable, joyful tracks. Patrick Barkham

Next stop – infinity! My transcendental experience on Japan’s ‘art island’ guided by its master Lee Ufan

Is this the ultimate location for contemplative art? Our writer travels to the legendary island of Naoshima – and meets the great creator of its most spellbinding works. Will he step through the arch and find nirvana?

The island of Naoshima used to be heavily polluted and dominated by a Mitsubishi plant. Now, after being redeveloped by the billionaire Sōichirō Fukutake in 1989, it’s known as Japan’s “art island”. Boasting 3,000 inhabitants and rising up out of Seto Inland Sea, the island is studded with dim, concrete-walled galleries sunk into the hillsides. Designed by architect Tadao Andō, these have a contemplative, almost worshipful ambience and are filled with extraordinary paintings, sculptures and installations by artists ranging from Claude Monet to land artist Walter De Maria, although the real Instagram bait is the giant yellow-and-black spotted pumpkin deposited on a pier by Yayoi Kusama in 1994.

As all the retired American couples treating themselves to a trip of a lifetime would attest, Naoshima has become the ultimate destination for those seeking a transcendental visual experience. For many, this comes as they walk downhill to the coast and see a huge steel arch, 11m tall and 13m wide, pinned between two sand-coloured boulders. Underneath it is a long steel plate acting as a kind of runway, enticing visitors to walk through the arch towards the sea.

‘It’s a world heritage site, but it’s my home’: the last resident of Casa Milà on life in Gaudí’s masterwork

Ana Viladomiu has been a ‘privileged’ resident of the once derided, now revered Barcelona apartment building for almost 40 years

Imagine that you live in an enormous, beautiful apartment designed by one of the world’s most admired architects in the most expensive street in Spain and for which you pay a derisory rent, with the right to live there until you die.

Meet the writer Ana Viladomiu, 70, the last tenant of Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Milà on the elegant Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona. Viladomiu is in fact the last tenant in any of Gaudí’s buildings, unless you include the peregrine falcons that nest in the Sagrada Família.

Trump says the U.S will 'guide' stranded ships from the Strait of Hormuz

The United States will launch an effort on Monday to "guide" stranded ships from the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said, as two ships around the strait reported attacks.

Rare comet to flash through New Zealand skies – before it disappears for 170,000 years

Over the next two weeks stargazers have a chance to spot the blue-green orb and smudgy tail of comet known as C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS

A comet formed on the edges of the solar system will grace southern skies over the next fortnight, giving viewers a rare chance to glimpse it before it disappears from view for another 170,000 years.

The comet – known as C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS – had been travelling through the northern hemisphere but has “swung around the sun” and is now visible in the south, said Josh Aoraki, an astronomer at Te Whatu Stardome in Auckland, New Zealand.

Video shows United flight strike truck on N.J. Turnpike before landing at Newark

An investigation is underway after a United Airlines plane struck a light pole and truck on the New Jersey Turnpike as it was coming in for a landing at Newark Liberty Airport on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

5/3/2026: Disaster Tourists; Birds Of War; Perfume Capital Of The World

First, when the volunteer helping after a hurricane is a white nationalist. Then, birders flock here since guerrillas disarmed. And, Grasse: The perfume capital of the world.

‘Y’all are pissin’ me off’: The Pitt star Isa Briones tells ‘disrespectful’ fans to stop shouting at her during Broadway show

Actor who plays Dr Trinity Santos in popular TV series is starring in musical Just in Time in New York

The Pitt star Isa Briones has issued a strong message to fans who have taken to shouting references to the medical drama at her while she is on stage in a Broadway musical.

Briones, who is performing in the musical Just in Time, has rapidly risen to fame for her role in the hit HBO show, as resident doctor Trinity Santos. In the second season of the show, which premiered in January, Santos repeatedly struggles with finishing her charting during her shift.

Bitter aftertaste: Taiwan’s leading baristas forced to compete at global coffee championship as ‘Chinese Taipei’

Decision by the World Coffee Championships has enraged members of Taiwan’s coffee community, including previous winners of the competition

Berg Wu remembers the pride he felt when he was crowned world barista champion. The stands that June day in Dublin were packed with cheering friends as he bested competitors from more than 50 countries to take first place at the 2016 World Coffee Championships (WCC).

The first Taiwanese person to win the competition, he draped the red, blue and white nationalist flag of the Republic of China – Taiwan’s official name – over his shoulders as he posed for pictures with his award.

5/3: CBS Weekend News

Passengers deal with Spirit shutdown fallout; Trump's poll numbers tank as Iran war continues to jack up gas prices.

Trump says U.S. will 'free' ships trapped in Persian Gulf by Strait of Hormuz closure

Vessels have been largely unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for months, disrupting key supply chains.

Golden Tempo wins 152nd Kentucky Derby, making history for its trainer

Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train the winner of the opening leg of the Triple Crown.

Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor and Trump lawyer, hospitalized in critical condition

President Donald Trump called Rudy Giuliani a "True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR," in a Truth Social post.

A day later, Cherie DeVaux reflects on being first woman trainer to win Kentucky Derby

Trainer Cherie DeVaux says she's still coming to grips with her horse Golden Tempo's longshot win in Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Jericka Duncan reports.

What does Spirit Airlines' shutdown mean for travelers?

Have tickets to fly on Spirit? Here's what to know about refunds and alternative flights now that the budget airline is ceasing operations this.

Replacing America's Minuteman III nuclear missiles

The United States is in the process of replacing the 60-year-old Minuteman III nuclear missile with the new Sentinel missile. Ian Lee reports, with an exclusive look at one of our nation's most secure and destructive weapons.

2 U.S. service members missing amid training exercise in Morocco

The service members were participating in African Lion, the largest joint military exercise on the continent.

Fuel prices making wildfire battles more expensive

Aircraft used to fight wildfires are getting more expensive as fuel prices rise. Carter Evans reports.

2 missing U.S. soldiers in Morocco fell off cliff in hiking accident, official says

A U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Sunday that two U.S. service members missing in Morocco fell off a cliff into the ocean in what's being described as a hiking accident. They were in the North African country for training exercises. Chris Livesay has more.

Spirit Airlines shutting down after failed effort at government rescue deal

The budget carrier Spirit Airlines is ceasing operations after failing to land a $500 million bailout from the Trump administration.

Trump's poll numbers tank as Iran war continues to jack up gas prices

Prolonged uncertainty about the war in Iran coupled with rising energy and grocery prices are pummeling pocketbooks and President Trump's polling numbers. Olivia Gazis reports.

Passengers dealing with fallout from Spirit shutdown; fuel prices plaguing other airlines

Spirit Airlines' abrupt closure on Saturday has left passengers scrambling. And the skyrocketing fuel prices that helped bring about Spirit's end are wreaking havoc on the rest of the industry. Shanelle Kaul reports.

United flight clips light pole on Jersey Turnpike while landing at Newark

A United Boeing 767 arriving from Venice, Italy, struck a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike while landing at Newark on Sunday, the FAA says. Jericka Duncan hs more.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 struts to stunning $233m opening weekend at box office

Sequel a rare example of female-skewing movie leading the North American summer offerings – and highest opening weekend yet for a Meryl Streep film

Gird your loins: The Devil Wears Prada 2 has had a huge opening weekend at the box office, making $233m (£171m, A$323m) worldwide from an overwhelmingly female audience.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 earned $77m at the North American box office, and $156.6m internationally. In the US and Canada, the sequel bumped Michael to second place, though the musical biopic held on in its second weekend to earn $54m, falling only 44%.

Pirro reveals new Trump attack evidence; Cole Allen removed from 'suicide precautions'

Until U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's comments, prosecutors had not disclosed whose bullet hit the agent.

Press gala shooting suspect moved off suicide watch, records show

In a motion requesting Allen's removal from suicide watch, his lawyers said that the restrictions amount to "violations of his rights under the Due Process Clause."

Rudy Giuliani hospitalised in ‘critical but stable’ condition

Spokesperson calls former New York City mayor ‘a fighter’ but does not say cause of his hospitalization

Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, has been hospitalised and is in a “critical but stable condition”, his spokesperson said on Sunday evening.

Ted Goodman, the spokesperson, posted on social media: “Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak. We do ask that you join us in prayer for America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani.”

Man arrested at Trump Miami golf club for disturbance, Secret Service says

The incident occurred one week after shots were fired during the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C., and Mr. Trump was rushed off the dais.

Hantavirus outbreak kills 3 on cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, WHO says

Hantaviruses are usually spread by exposure to urine, saliva or feces from infected rodents, such as rats or mice. Hantavirus infections are rare but can cause deadly respiratory infections.

Three passengers dead after suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship

Dutch husband and wife and third unidentified person reported to have died, with three further people taken ill

• What is hantavirus, the infection that has killed three people on a cruise ship?

A suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean killed three people – including an elderly married couple – and sickened at least three others, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and South Africa’s health department said on Sunday.

The WHO said an investigation was under way but that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One of the patients was in intensive care in a South African hospital, the UN’s health agency said in a statement to the Associated Press, and the WHO was working with authorities to evacuate two others with symptoms from the ship.

Gas prices went up more than 30 cents a gallon last week. How high could they go?

U.S. gas prices were nearly $3 an average prior to the start of the war in Iran.

Leading tennis players including Djokovic and Sabalenka unhappy with French Open prize money

• Group release joint statement over pay concerns

• Players also call for greater say in tennis schedule

A group of the world’s top 20 male and female players, including Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, have released a joint statement expressing their disappointment at the level of prize money on offer at the French Open later this month.

The top players have been in dispute with all four grand slams for more than a year, as they feel they are given an insufficient share of each tournament’s increasing revenues, while they are also calling for enhanced welfare and pension provisions and a greater say in determining the schedule.

You Are Here review: Danny Boyle’s postwar pop-culture tribute lets it all hang out

The director’s immersive Southbank Centre takeover has vim and ardour in spades, if not complete coherence

You Are Here is an undertaking on an impressive scale: a self-styled “epic, one-off pop-cultural spectacular” involving immersive theatre, dance, music and a “cast of hundreds”, all directed by Danny Boyle. It takes up a hefty chunk of the Southbank Centre and sets itself a similarly hefty task: “reimagining some of the most vivid and influential youth and social movements that have driven culture forward since 1951”, the year of the Festival of Britain, when the Royal Festival Hall opened for business.

“Some of” turns out to be the operative phrase: there’s an awful lot going on, but even so, the sheer enormousness of its subject means a degree of selectivity is necessary.

Pellet found in Secret Service agent's vest links suspect to WHCD attack, Pirro says

The pellet "definitively" links the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, to the attack, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told CNN on Sunday.

Wu Yize in driving seat but Shaun Murphy stays in touch in Crucible final

• Chinese player leads 10-7 after opening two sessions

• Murphy seeking second title 21 years after first win

With celebrities aplenty in attendance and a protester bursting on to the hallowed Crucible floor, at one stage on Sunday there threatened to be more headlines off the baize than on it during the opening half of snooker’s two-day extravaganza to crown its world champion.

But by Sunday evening and as the halfway point of the final between Shaun Murphy and Wu Yize approached, both competitors ensured all the talk will be about what is to follow on Monday afternoon and evening inside one of sport’s most famous buildings.

Inter cruise to Serie A title triumph after Thuram sparks victory over Parma

• Inter 2-0 Parma seals scudetto with three games to spare

• Marcus Thuram and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on target

Inter secured the Serie A title with a 2-0 victory over Parma at home, establishing an unassailable lead at the top of the table. Marcus Thuram opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time before Henrikh Mkhitaryan sealed the win 10 minutes from time. Inter moved up to 82 points and clinched their 21st scudetto with three matches remaining.

Inter entered the match knowing a point would be enough after second-placed Napoli were held to a 0-0 draw at Como on Saturday. Sunday’s victory handed them an unbeatable 12-point lead over last season’s champions.

Merz ‘not giving up on working with Trump’ despite Iran war spat

German chancellor downplays US military drawbacks and president’s barbs in TV interview

The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has said he will not give up on working with the US president, Donald Trump, despite a spat between the leaders over the war in Iran.

“I am not giving up on working on the transatlantic relationship,” Merz told the public broadcaster ARD in an interview due to air on Sunday night. “Nor am I giving up on working with Donald Trump.”

Richarlison heads Tottenham past weakened Aston Villa and out of drop zone

Roberto De Zerbi had told his Tottenham players to silence the voices competing for their attention but his internal monologue would have been extremely good value at Villa Park. When Richarlison headed in on 25 minutes to double Spurs’ lead, De Zerbi, in pristine white high tops, motored on to the pitch as if at the wheel on Mario Kart, with Marcello Quinto, one of the coaches who the Italian brought with him upon his appointment last month, not far behind him.

After recording their first victory this year at Wolves last weekend, Spurs returned to the West Midlands to chalk up successive Premier League wins for the first time since August. Significantly, this was a win that hoists Spurs out of the relegation zone, trading places with West Ham, who were defeated at Brentford on Saturday. It may be May but Spurs finally appear up and running.

Sen. Raphael Warnock: Supreme Court "poured fuel on this redistricting arms race"

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia called the Supreme Court's decision last week to strike down Louisiana's congressional map and weaken the Voting Rights Act "a massive and devastating blow."

Teens storm Scientology church in New York in latest ‘speed running’ incident

Group broke through locked door in Manhattan, damaging property and injuring a staff member, church says

A group of youths forced their way into a Scientology church in New York on Saturday in the latest in a string of nationwide “speed running” incidents that have gone viral on social media in recent weeks.

The group broke through a locked door to gain entry to the Church of Scientology on West 36th Street in Manhattan, throwing objects, damaging the property and injuring a staff member as worshippers and visitors attended a seminar, the church said in a statement to the Guardian.

Watch a Spirit pilot's impromptu retirement celebration after airline shutters

A Spirit pilot received an impromptu retirement party from a different airline after what would have been his final flight was canceled.

Kimi Antonelli produces gutsy drive to hold off Norris and win F1 Miami GP

• Antonelli claims third win of the season with Piastri third

• Mercedes driver extends championship lead to 20 points

The margins were fine but ultimately it was a champion’s composure that won the day for Kimi Antonelli at the Miami Grand Prix. The teenager cannot legally buy a drink in the US yet but by the end of what was a gripping run to the flag the Italian had most assuredly earned a stiffener.

Still 19 years old and in only his second season in Formula One, Antonelli’s calmness to see off immense pressure from McLaren’s Lando Norris, who hounded him to the finish, was his best performance in a run that has seen him take three consecutive pole positions and three consecutive wins in these opening four rounds.

5/3: Sunday Morning

Hosted by Jane Pauley. Featured: The effects of overtourism; horse therapy; a tool to help keep dementia in check; Sting on "The Last Ship"; a golf journalist takes over a failing golf course; a Mozart exhibition; and collecting PEZ dispensers.

Pirro appears to drop plans to appeal criminal investigation of Fed Chair Powell

The U.S. attorney shifted legal strategies in her investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell just ahead of a deadline.

Ella Baron on showing solidarity with Jewish communities – cartoon

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Rep. Jason Crow says U.S. is "not good at having off ramps" in Middle East

Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado said on Sunday that the U.S should be considering a broader question of strategy in the war with Iran.

‘Live and let live’: Northern Ireland historian uncovers surprising era of tolerance of gay men

Public records and private papers reveal compassion and tacit acceptance before ‘moral panic’ took hold in the 1950s and 1960s

Northern Ireland carved a grim reputation for homophobia for over half a century, a record of intolerance and bigotry so baroque it was turned into an opera.

In the 1970s, Ian Paisley, the leader of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and Free Presbyterian church, led a “save Ulster from sodomy” crusade to resist the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

The Guardian view on China’s carrots and sticks: Trump should not soften on Taiwan when he visits Beijing | Editorial

Xi Jinping hopes that the president may water down US support for a vibrant democracy. Defending the status quo would be better for America too

China senses opportunity when Donald Trump visits later this month. A nakedly transactional US president in need of a trade deal, and hoping that Beijing could lean on Iran, might shift on Taiwan in return. China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, linked the issue explicitly to broader bilateral cooperation in his call with Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, on Thursday. Beijing would be delighted to see Mr Trump soften the US position, and perhaps pull back on arms sales after a mammoth $11bn package was announced late last year.

Taiwan has been self-governed since the end of China’s civil war in 1949, so never ruled by China’s Communist party. Xi Jinping has made unification central to his legacy. Three years ago, US intelligence assessed that he had told the People’s Liberation Army to be ready for an invasion by 2027. But Beijing would surely prefer to achieve its goal without force.

The Guardian view on unhealthy Britain: from housing to junk food, there are solutions | Editorial

People are living with sickness or disability younger than a decade ago. That should shock the country and prompt action

The two-year decline in healthy life expectancy in Britain, set out in new analysis from the Health Foundation thinktank, is devastating. In a wealthy country like the UK, at a time of rapid advances in the treatment of illnesses including obesity and cancer, people should not be living with sickness or disability earlier than they were a decade ago.

The report draws on a survey that relies on self-reporting, so is less objective than statistics based on births and deaths. Worsening mental health among younger adults is the area of sharpest deterioration and in some age groups, physical health was reported as having improved. But healthy life expectancy is a useful measure of quality of life and the findings have serious implications for public services. When, in 2028, the retirement age rises to 67, the average person will be in poor health more than six years before they are due to stop work. The researchers state that the decline cannot be put down to the pandemic. Northern Ireland was excluded due to a lack of data.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (May 3)

A look at the features for this week's broadcast of the Emmy-winning program, hosted by Jane Pauley.

Video shows man's rescue after falling under bridge in Washington state

Dramatic video shows a man's rescue from beneath the High Steel Bridge in Washington state.

5/3: Face The Nation

This week on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," as gas prices skyrocket and Spirit Airlines shuts down, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and Minneapolis Fed president and CEO Neel Kashkari join. Plus, Sen. Raphael Warnock.

Fiona Pardington’s portraits of the lost birds of Aotearoa New Zealand – in pictures

For more than two decades, Pardington has been photographing taonga (Māori cultural treasures) and natural history specimens in museums around the world. In the South Canterbury museum, she was struck by a collection of stuffed native birds which had been subject to taxidermy – many of them now extinct or endangered. They inspired a new human-scale portrait series of these manu (birds), revered within Māori culture as intermediaries between human and divine worlds. The resulting works will be exhibited at the 2026 Venice Biennale.

Pardington invites viewers to reconsider how they think of birds, and how we might better protect them

• Fiona Pardington: Taharaki Skyside will be exhibited at the Aotearoa New Zealand pavilion at the Venice Biennale from 9 May – 22 November 2026

Kindness of strangers: I was sobbing with pain, then a cashier gave me hot chocolate

He didn’t just shout me a drink, he made me feel understood and seen. I’ve never forgotten his gesture

I had picked up a box of books at work when my back just went – I have never experienced pain like that in my life. I was off work for weeks, consumed by the agony of it and barely able to move. In desperation, I tried every treatment I could – massage, physiotherapy, herbal compresses. You name it, I’d given it a go.

On one such Hail Mary mission I went to a back pain clinic, where my lower back was injected with anaesthetic. The treatment was so painful, I left in tears. I remember walking out in such a state and thinking, “How am I even going to get myself home?” As I stumbled along, it occurred to me that I needed something to calm myself down. Spotting a chocolate shop, I stepped inside.

Nothing prepared me for losing my mother. But in Islam, to mourn someone means keeping them alive in our actions | Shadi Khan Saif

Mum taught us to stay kind and honest, even when things were hard. Now I feel her presence in choices that don’t feel easy but feel right

• Making sense of it is a column about spirituality and how it can be used to navigate everyday life

Mum was kind and gentle in a way that felt so natural. She raised all five of us pretty much on her own after Dad passed away. Those were not easy years, and there were many moments when life could have pushed us in the wrong direction, but she never let that happen. She taught us to stay kind and honest, even when things were hard.

Her father named her Ţalā, which means gold in Farsi. But she was even more precious than that.

'Godspeed my friend': Inside the final hours of Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines ceased operations overnight after a failed government bailout.

Canada to be first non-European nation at EPC summit as Carney seeks allies

Attendance at European Political Community meeting in Yerevan seen as part of effort to build ties after US rupture

Canada is to become the first non-European country to attend a meeting of the European Political Community when the prime minister, Mark Carney, joins Monday’s summit of the 48-plus nation grouping in Yerevan, Armenia.

Carney has said he is determined to build a new network of trade and diplomatic alliances after the loss of US markets under Donald Trump. His presence will also represent a show of western support for Armenia in its efforts to distance itself from Russia at a time when Washington’s approach to Moscow’s opponents, such as Ukraine, is at best ambiguous. Canadian diplomats have rejected suggestions Ottawa might seek EU membership.

Fashion’s Faustian pact: the high cost of Jeff Bezos’s Met Gala patronage

Billionaire’s role as honorary chair and main source of funding has led to boycotts and criticism event has lost its cachet

The Met Gala in New York is the grandest and ritziest event in the fashion calendar, and an indicator of the growing ties between designers, celebrity and power. But with tech billionaires now joining the cohort, this year’s party may be its most controversial yet.

All eyes are on the guest list – and their outfits – to launch the fashion exhibition Costume Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Beyoncé, Venus Williams and Nicole Kidman are chairing the event with Vogue’s Anna Wintour, and tickets cost about $100,000 (£73,500). But in a plot twist worthy of the new Devil Wears Prada film, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, the Met Gala’s new honorary chairs, will be joining the 450 guests on the museum steps on Monday.

‘Christofascism’ is here: inside the slow demolition of US public health | Adrienne Matei

From prescribing spiritual warfare to demonizing health experts, RFK Jr’s health empire has become a dangerous vehicle for a Christian nationalist worldview

In February 2025, Robert F Kennedy Jr began his tenure as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with an unusual message for the federal department responsible for protecting public health.

America’s greatest challenge, he said, was not just chronic disease but a “spiritual malaise”, a kind of soul-sickness derived from America’s moral decline.

Young Americans have soured on Trump | Steven Greenhouse

The president’s approval rating with those under 30 has plummeted as he has failed to deliver on promise after promise

Republicans rejoiced when far more young voters than expected backed Donald Trump in 2024, with many of them moved by Trump’s grandiose promises, such as his vow to “build the greatest economy in the history of the world”. But Republicans should be alarmed that so many 18- to 29-year-olds have soured on Trump – his approval rating with that group has sunk from 48% in January 2025 to between just 25% and 33% in recent months, according to polls by YouGov/the Economist.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that millions of young Americans have turned against Trump, considering that he has failed to deliver on so many promises, most notably his vow to reduce prices on day one. For young people, inflation is the No 1 economic issue, far outpacing other issues, and they very much wanted Trump to focus on affordability, but Trump has focused on everything but affordability. He’s focused instead on his glitzy, $400m ballroom, his war against Iran (which has increased gas prices), and his tariff wars (which have increased overall inflation). In bad news for Republicans, 78% of Americans under age 30 disapprove of how Trump is handling inflation.

Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labor and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues

Readers reply: The Missouri tofu spill was ‘unforgettable’ – but what are history’s greatest bad smells?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

This week’s question: The inside of my cardigans never become bobbled. Can’t the pieces be sewn together inside out?

I must admit to cracking a smile when I read the story about the revolting result of a tofu spill last month in Missouri. About 18,000kg (40,000lb) of extra-firm tofu was left to rot for three weeks after a road accident – no one was hurt – turned into an insurance dispute. Local officials described the smell as “unforgettable” and “like a dead animal, but worse”. So, what are history’s greatest bad smells? Liz Prior, Southampton

Send new questions to [email protected].

Jewish Londoners deserve to live without fear – we are taking action to ensure their safety | Sadiq Khan

During dark times, we must stand by our Jewish neighbours as generations of Londoners have done before us

• Sadiq Khan is the mayor of London

Jewish people are living in fear – a fear that has been building for years but has become acute in recent weeks. It now seeps into every part of daily life: the school run, a walk down the high street, a meal in a restaurant, attending synagogue on Shabbat.

Jewish friends and colleagues have spoken to me about how they now find themselves looking over their shoulder in public and worrying about their children wearing religious symbols. This is heartbreaking. It is utterly unacceptable that Jewish people are having to live like this.

Sadiq Khan is the mayor of London

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.

Hobby horsing and a giant wicker man: photos of the weekend

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

How to make the perfect Spanish broad bean stew – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …

This simple Spanish classic will convince even staunch fava-phobics to give beans a chance

I always feel sorry for broad beans, the lumpy cousin perpetually overshadowed by the charms of slender, elegant asparagus and sweet, bouncy, little peas. They’re in season at roughly the same time, but asparagus in particular gets all the glory, perhaps because so many of us are scarred by childhood experiences of large, grey wrinkly beans served in a floury white sauce (my own parents are so averse to the things that I vividly remember the first time I came across them on a Sunday roast as a teenager and had to ask a friend what they were).

Unsurprising though it is, given our general scepticism with regard to pulses, the British lack of enthusiasm for the broad bean is a particular shame, because it’s been an important part of the European diet since ancient times. As the Oxford Companion to Food explains, however, they are also linked to a “superstitious dread” possibly associated with “a general belief that the souls of the dead might migrate into beans”. Having eaten a lot of the things in the process of writing this piece, I can reassure nervous readers that no haunting has yet taken place, and that this Spanish way with them is all but guaranteed to convince even the staunchest of fava phobics. Go on: give them a try.

Polanski says he would discourage ‘globalise the intifada’ chant but warns against march bans

Green party leader says specifically outlawing controversial phrase would restrict freedom of speech

Zack Polanski has said he would discourage pro-Palestine protesters from using the chant “globalise the intifada”, but the Green party leader warned against specifically outlawing the phrase or banning a protest planned in London later this month.

Speaking earlier in the weekend, Keir Starmer called for “tougher action” against marchers using the chant after last week’s attack on Jewish people in Golders Green, saying pro-Gaza marches risked having a cumulative effect of being intimidating.

Will human minds still be special in an age of AI?

We tend to think of intelligence like height – and imagine ourselves being overtaken. That misses the point

Until recently, we humans have been able to be smug about our abilities. No other animals play boardgames, write essays or prove mathematical theorems. But lately, progress in AI seems as though it might challenge our self-image as the smartest entities around. AI systems not only beat us at the most complicated games, but can also write polished prose and win medals in maths. Tech CEOs promise us that superhuman AI is just round the corner. So, in an age of AI, are human minds still special, or merely also-rans?

Talking about superhuman AI assumes that intelligence is a single scale. My parents used to mark the heights of my younger brother and me on the doorframe of our laundry. Each year he would get a little closer to me, until one year the unthinkable happened and he outgrew me (he’s now 6ft 3in). The current moment feels a bit like that, as we look at these new younger siblings with concern that they might overtake us.

‘I wanted it to feel both Shakespearean and like Jay-Z’: debut author Sufiyaan Salam on masculinity, rap and meeting Stormzy

Bringing Manchester’s Curry Mile to vibrant life, the #Merky prize-winning author’s cross-genre work focuses on the lives and language of young British men. He discusses identity and inspiration

On a stretch of Manchester road known for kebabs, shisha smoke and restless energy, three young men drive towards a night that already feels like it’s slipping out of control. The premise of Wimmy Road Boyz, the debut novel by #Merky books new writers’ prize winner Sufiyaan Salam, is deceptively simple: “three boyz drive and dream of an impossible night on an endless street”. What follows is anything but.

Salam’s novel unfolds over a single evening on the Curry Mile, that dense artery of Rusholme nightlife, where a white BMW carries Immy, Khan and Haris through a series of skirmishes, side quests and emotional unravellings. It’s a book about masculinity, violence and love, but also about language – how young British men speak, perform and fail to articulate what’s really going on inside their heads.

This is how we do it: ‘An intimacy menu reignited my sex drive after early menopause’

Linda lost her sexual appetite after a hysterectomy, but making a list of sex cues with partner Elias helped her regain her desire
• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

Since everything on the list is something we both like, when he sends me a suggestion it turns me on