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Let’s start with Brentford’s drubbing of neighbours Chelsea, who were soundly beaten 3-0. Quite a funny result for the neutral, but Brentford are no joke these days. Thiago is a starting striker for Brazil, Vitaly Janelt has just been called up by Jürgen Klopp to the Germany squad, Mikkel Damsgaard remains criminally underrated, Jannik Schuster – signed for around £14m in the summer from RB Salzburg – has inherited the spirit of Franco Baresi, apparently.

This is what Jonathan Wilson, at the at the Gtech Community Stadium on Friday, had to say about Brentford’s victory:

Those early-season thoughts that Chelsea might be the team best-placed to challenge Arsenal are beginning to look extremely over-optimistic. The two chaotic wins with which they began were always difficult to read: they might have been useful points picked up on the way to a more solid structure, or they might have represented evidence of significant problems. After three games without a win, and 12 goals conceded in five games this season, it’s beginning to look like the latter.

At the final whistle, Keith Andrews tipped his head back and roared at the sky, celebrating Brentford’s first home win over Chelsea since 1938. They remain unbeaten, coherent and disciplined, and moved up to third in the table. The comparison is impossible not to draw: as one side flail in an orgy of structured spending, their far less wealthy neighbours thrive with a clear plan and sense of direction. “It was a performance I felt was bubbling,” said Andrews. “I could see it in the players’ eyes over the last two days. They were very focused, very determined.”

Heat is on Carrick but Wilcox must share blame for Manchester United’s woes

Recruitment is under scrutiny after £155m was spent on three midfielders while other positions were neglected

There was a mix of boos and apathy as Manchester United slumped out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday in their latest depressing act in domestic cup competitions. A solemn Michael Carrick and his players were the target for the jeers. The director of football, Jason Wilcox, looked unamused on his way out of the directors’ box but he and the hierarchy need to accept responsibility for their actions.

This is the natural course of football, where supporters know what is good or bad and give a rapid opinion to those whose wages they deem they pay. Carrick and his charges are the face of the club, the ones put up to speak with journalists and sent to promote the wares of sponsors.

After 20 years of my school dinners campaign, I’m a happy man. At last, we’re going to feed kids properly | Jamie Oliver

This week’s government announcement on school food standards is huge. It’s based on common sense and science. Beautiful!

More than 20 years ago, when I started the campaign and TV series School Dinners, I couldn’t believe that we had standards for dog food but no standards for the food we fed our children at school. I have never, and will never, stop banging that drum – even after this week’s momentous announcement on school food standards in England. Because it is so important we remember where we started from.

Children in the state sector are at school for 190 days a year. And if they’re eating breakfast and lunch there, the majority of what they consume each day is in the hands of their school. When we know that children are consuming less than half the recommended fruit and vegetables, but twice the recommended sugar, school food is a massive opportunity to directly improve diets at scale.

Pact with Saudi Arabia threatens to draw Pakistan into Middle East conflict

Activation of mutual defence agreement by Riyadh as fighting with Houthis escalates would have wide-reaching repercussions for Islamabad

As he stood in Riyadh last September, the world looked like a very different place for Pakistan’s most powerful man, Gen Asim Munir.

The country’s army chief was there to witness the signing of a historic defence pact with Saudi Arabia, which he had personally orchestrated with the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

Record fuel prices across EU prompt calls for bloc-wide windfall tax on firms

German minister says companies are ‘exploiting situation’ in Middle East, as sky-high prices become major domestic issue for leaders

European governments have discussed imposing a bloc-wide windfall tax on energy companies, as near-record fuel and gas prices pile pressure on leaders desperate to contain mounting public discontent and the challenge of the far right.

With elections due next year in eight EU countries including France, Italy, Spain and Poland, leaders are scrambling to head off the potential fallout from what analysts have warned could be one of the continent’s biggest energy shocks in decades.

Russia holds parliamentary vote in areas it seized from Ukraine in the war

Russia's parliamentary election for the first time is being held in Ukraine's regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the start of its full-scale invasion more than 4 1/2 years ago.

‘He’s simply astonishing’: will Andrew Scott become the first out gay man to win the best actor Oscar?

The Irishman seems a dead cert for his performance as Ian Charleson in Elsinore. And his ability to avoid being pigeonholed while embracing queer stories, from Pride to All of Us Strangers, is a remarkable achievement

This Sunday, the curtain falls on the Toronto film festival, the last of the three big autumn showcases – alongside Venice and Telluride – that are launchpads for award campaigns. And as the dust settles on the red carpets, one name rises above the others as destined for sure-fire glory: Andrew Scott.

The Irish actor, 50 next month, is now not only considered a lock for a leading actor Oscar nomination but almost certain to take the prize next spring. Should he win, he will become the first out gay actor to do so in the Academy’s almost 100-year history.

Harrods seeks to recover abuse compensation costs from Mohamed Al Fayed’s estate

Exclusive: Survivors say luxury store’s attempt to recoup money is at odds with its public acceptance of responsibility

Harrods is seeking to recover the cost of the compensation paid to hundreds of women allegedly sexually abused by Mohamed Al Fayed from his estate, the Guardian understands.

The luxury department store is seeking full indemnity from the late billionaire’s estate for any settlements it is required to pay, according to evidence seen by the Guardian.

The Guide #261: There is so much good telly this autumn you may never go outside again

In this week’s newsletter: From HBO’s incredible divorce drama War to the hilarious return of The Paper, there’s too much TV to choose from even for a confirmed addict like me

For those of us who like to stay indoors, it has been a bad summer. The World Cup ate up all traditional television scheduling, and the streamers apparently declined to counterprogramme. The Bear came and went before anybody noticed, and House of the Dragon conclusively disappeared up its own bottom.

If you’re anything like me then you clung to the good stuff (basically Disney’s Furious and nothing else) like a life raft, eking out new episodes like someone in a desert sucking condensation off the underside of a tarpaulin. But forget summer. It is now autumn, and television is back. In fact, I can’t remember a time when television has come roaring back with quite the same ferocity as it has this month.

Meditating by the Dnipro: I’m an artist in Ukraine, searching for peace and a life between the missiles | Anna Ivanenko

Sometimes, you can remember what ordinary life was like before Russia’s invasion. Then reality comes screaming back

Sometimes, where I live in Kyiv, I hear people say: “This feels pre-war.” It refers to situations that remind us of what life was like before. You could call it a “sense of normalcy”.

For example, it refers to being able to walk around at night, travel abroad or plan your life at least six months in advance. Simple, everyday things have become a lost luxury.

Nine women in South Africa have been murdered since July. We are being told to be vigilant – but where are the warnings to men? | Nolethu Ndude

The country has one of the highest femicide rates in the world, and women are yet again being asked to remove themselves from public life to counter it

When I heard the authorities advising women in and around Kempton Park, the site of a recent spate of femicides, not to walk or run alone, to avoid isolated places and to “remain vigilant”, my immediate response was anger. Remain vigilant. How groundbreaking.

Women are already vigilant. We photograph number plates before entering vehicles. We share Uber details with friends. We phone one another while walking. We watch the driver’s route and notice every unexpected turn. We avoid certain roads, certain times and certain conversations. We scan parking areas before getting out of our cars. We check the back seat. We listen for footsteps. We carry pepper spray where we can. We hold our keys in a way that makes us feel slightly less defenceless.

Deep cuts: how one Londoner’s fake vinyl empire sheds light on ‘industrial scale’ fraud

Thousands of knock-off records worth a fortune are being seized in the UK by anti-counterfeit police stings

From 2017 onwards, Rehan Ahmed styled himself as a savvy business owner. But behind the facade of a successful entrepreneur lurked one stark fact: his empire was built on fakery.

On Friday, the man behind the biggest-ever UK case of producing fraudulent vinyl, who sold counterfeit copies of records by some of the world’s biggest artists including Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Kendrick Lamar, was jailed.

Alex de Minaur roars back to life as Australia and Poland share spoils in Davis Cup

• World No 9 beats Maks Kasnikowski 6-3, 6-0 in World Group I tie

• James Duckworth loses to Kamil Majchrzak 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in Brisbane

Alex de Minaur has taken his frustrations out in a Davis Cup thumping to put Australia up 1-0 in their must-win Brisbane tie against Poland.

The world No 9, keen to rediscover his mojo after a disappointing second-round US Open loss, lit up Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday afternoon with a dominant 6-3 6-0 defeat of world No 231 Maks Kasnikowski.

As Europe warms, Italy sees West Nile virus spread

Italian health authorities see evidence that rising temperatures and longer warm seasons are helping mosquitoes spread West Nile virus across a wider area, during more months of the year.

‘We’ve been on a good run lately. We’ve not had a row for weeks!’: Coleen and Wayne Rooney on marriage, mistakes and making reality TV

His on-pitch triumphs (and off-pitch scandals), her turn as Wagatha Christie … for years, the football power couple have made headlines, despite efforts to keep their lives private. So why are they now about to reveal all on screen?

“If you’d said to me 10 years ago, ‘You’re going to be doing a TV show about the family’, I would have said, ‘No chance’,” Wayne Rooney says. Few would have disagreed. After all, he and his wife Coleen had spent their adult lifetime running away from the public gaze. And not very successfully, at that.

Wayne, a wonderful footballer with the strength of a bull and agility of an acrobat, was often back-page news. He scored 253 goals for Manchester United (overtaking Bobby Charlton’s record), 53 for England (the record until Harry Kane surpassed him in 2023), is still England’s youngest goal scorer (17 years and 317 days), won five Premier League titles, was twice young player of the year and was voted player of the year by both his peers and football journalists in 2009/10.

From Beabadoobee to 70 Up: the week in rave reviews

The singer-songwriter’s new album sprinkles her 90s alt-fuzz with sweet melodies, while Asif Kapadia wraps up the seminal series. Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviews

Henry Harris’ recipe for tomatoes, creme fraiche and herbs

Sumptuous, late-summer tomatoes cooked with cream and served on toast? Supper is served in 10 … OK, maybe 15 minutes

Forty years ago, an antiquarian bookseller recommended to me Edouard de Pomiane’s La cuisine en dix minutes, a selection of recipes that could be cooked at home in less than 10 minutes. A scientist and food lover, de Pomiane stripped back what was then viewed as a very complicated craft, and also gave the time-poor an opportunity to cook and enjoy a good meal made from good ingredients. This was the first recipe I cooked from that book, and it is still a great favourite that has punctuated my menus ever since.

Henry Harris is chef/co-owner of Bouchon Racine, London EC1. His book, The Racine Effect, is published by Quadrille at £40. To order a copy for £36, go to guardianbookshop.com

Blind date: ‘We talked about how I don’t like Clapham gays – guess where he lives?’

David (left), 34, a children’s doctor, meets Dec, 31, a culture and sex writer

What were you hoping for?
A sweet-hearted madman who would make me belly laugh.

‘A maelstrom of his own making’: how Ed Sheeran’s tour turned into a full-blown culture war

Moment of reckoning for ‘Mr Nice Guy’ of music, who embraced Macklemore’s political cred only for pro-Palestine rapper to be dropped under pressure from billionaire

Ed Sheeran has long been known as the “Mr Nice Guy” of music. His is an unthreatening kind of pop stardom; he looks and talks like the bloke who might be standing behind you in a pub, rather than someone selling out stadiums. He champions other artists, he celebrates different cultures. His songs are about love, heartbreak and friendship. People get engaged at his concerts.

But this week, one of the most successful musicians in the world faced the biggest controversy of his career, and found himself dragged into exactly the kind of political row he has spent his career avoiding.

From ovations in Venice to death threats in Israel: the extreme responses to NAZA documentary

As Gaza documentary wins cinematic acclaim, its directors face vitriol in Israel amid a febrile election campaign

First there was a moment of stunned silence. Then, in the Sala Grande, the main screening hall of the Venice film festival within the Palazzo del Cinema, the audience stood almost as one and turned to applaud the film-makers for 25 minutes.

The film the audience had watched for 80 harrowing minutes was the Gaza documentary NAZA, which has been produced by the Guardian.

US and Denmark reach deal to build US military presence in Greenland

President Donald Trump says he has a deal with Denmark to bolster the U.S. military presence in Greenland. The announcement comes after months of threatening to take the island by force from the NATO ally.

Jay-Z in 8 review – the rapper’s interminable interview show should have been a podcast

Rick Rubin’s eight-part interview series with the MC is irritatingly unstructured, has portions that feel like filler and would hugely benefit from a different medium – which encourages use of the pause button

Jay-Z in 8 does what it says on the can: the docuseries, released by Mubi, finds influential, mercurial superproducer Rick Rubin interviewing rap titan Jay-Z over the course of eight meandering, freeform episodes. Directed by Rubin himself and shot in black and white, the series is ostensibly designed to give viewers a look inside the brain of a godlike musical figure as he celebrates 30 years in music.

As it makes eminently clear, this is a deeply reflective time for Jay-Z: in any given episode, he is liable to make reference to old collaborators such as Biggie and Jaz-O, reminisce on his upbringing in the Marcy Projects (the public housing units in Brooklyn where he grew up), and speak with astonishment about his rapid rise from crack dealer to generational rapper, often swinging between anecdotes with free-associative ease.

‘My fear was too great’: the Pussy Riot member recruited by Russian spies to inform on fellow activists

Exclusive: In her first media interview since fleeing Russia, Rita Flores describes her three years of being run by the FSB

First came the blackmail and death threats to secure cooperation, then came a series of tasks, each more sinister than the last: to inform on fellow activists, to elicit personal information from protest-minded artists and – eventually – to help with a plot to kidnap and murder a Kremlin enemy.

That is how Rita Flores, a 29-year-old Russian artist, activist and former member of the Pussy Riot collective, described her recruitment and three-year handling by officers from Russia’s FSB security service, a cooperation she only broke when she fled the country last month.

I live in the ‘coolest neighbourhood’ in the world. It’s not as great as you’d think

A wave of tourists and visitors has changed the character of the Seoul neighbourhood I live in and helped create a place that no longer feels like home

In 2021, I was asked by Time Out to nominate a Seoul neighbourhood for its annual list of the world’s coolest. I didn’t think much of it and put forward the one I live in, Jongno 3-ga, in the old centre of the city. Somehow, it got ranked third.

This week, the same area was named the coolest neighbourhood in the world. I should be pleased, but instead, I’m devastated.

Google's Gemini becomes latest AI model to break out and hack computer systems

The disclosure comes as scrutiny over misbehaving artificial intelligence intensifies in Washington and Silicon Valley.

US and Denmark reach security deal after Trump’s threats to take over Greenland

The agreement would allow the US to expand its military presence, while Denmark and Greenland say it preserves their sovereignty and right to self-determination

Donald Trump announced on Friday that the US had struck an Arctic security pact with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland, after threatening for much of his second term to annex the semi-autonomous Danish territory by force.

The full scope of the deal Trump described as “very important, historic, and special” was not immediately clear. But soon after his announcement in a post on Truth Social, the leaders of Denmark and Greenland issued statements indicating the deal would be signed by the three governments on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly in New York City next week.

Google says its Gemini AI model hacked three other companies

Disclosure comes after OpenAI and Anthropic hacks amid fears that tech firms unable to control powerful AI models

In a first for Google, the company confirmed that its AI model, Gemini, breached the security of three other companies in May. The hacks occurred during a cybersecurity evaluation by AI-security firm Irregular.

Irregular, an Israel-based startup that scrutinizes the security of advanced AI systems, was also at the center of some of the recent OpenAI and Anthropic hacks of third-party entities, including OpenAI’s breach of AI software company, Hugging Face.

AI security experts say they used Claude to hack ChatGPT

Cybersecurity researchers said they were able to use Anthropic's Claude AI platfom to penetrate ChatGPT in "less than 72 hours."

Trump says he's banning CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House

President Trump said Friday that he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, the latest move to target media outlets over their reporting.

Nvidia CEO calls for AI to be developed "as fast as we can"

The CEO of the world's largest chipmaker told CBS News that tech companies should proceed with artificial intelligence development despite recent warnings from worried industry leaders that there may be a need to pull back.

Patrick Clancy: "I think I did the best I could"

Asked whether he feels like he failed in some way, Patrick Clancy told 60 Minutes he believes he did the best he could with the information he had at the time.

Holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial says he "didn't have any doubts"

Michael Desronvil, the lone holdout juror in the high-profile Lindsay Clancy murder trial, said he "didn't have any doubts" during deliberations.

Steve Hartman reflects on parenting journey as his son leaves for college

Steve Hartman stays home this time around to let us into his parenting journey as his son George leaves the nest for college.

Mountain lion runs wild on streets of San Francisco

A chase for a wild mountain lion terrorizing locals on the streets of San Francisco ended with the feline being caught and carried to safety. Carter Evans has the story.

Trump says U.S. to build a 'large Military presence' in Greenland as part of a security deal with it and Denmark

Greenland has maintained it is not for sale, and the European Union earlier this year united to rebuke Trump over his push to acquire the island.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (Sept. 20)

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

Trump bans CNN, MS Now and Politico from White House

President has overseen an unprecedented restriction of access for major news media since start of second term

• US politics live – latest updates

In his latest attack on the US constitution’s first amendment and the press, Donald Trump abruptly announced that he is banning outlets CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House over their coverage.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, the US president said he was expelling the news outlets “effective immediately” over what he called their “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” and threatened that bans for others outlets could follow.

Five Great Reads: End times fascists, battling patriarchy in the climate crisis, and why Kylie still lives in our heads

The Guardian’s weekend wrap of essential reads from the past seven days, selected by Jacqui Housden and Miles Herbert

• Get this in your inbox every weekend. Sign up for Five Great Reads here

Hello and welcome to the weekend.

At the moment, it’s easy to feel as if things have taken a turn towards the apocalyptic.

9/18: CBS Evening News

Trump bans 3 media outlets from White House; Details of power bank fire on plane.

Pentagon releases UFO files with documents on secretive military program

The Pentagon on Friday released a new group of files about unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP or UFOs, including a batch of documents regarding a mysterious military program studying aerospace threats.

Harry Kane smashes record for fastest to 100 Bundesliga goals in 98th game

• Kane double helps Bayern Munich beat Union Berlin 7-0

• Dieter Müller’s record of 129 games had stood since 1977

Harry Kane smashed the 49-year-old record for the fastest player to score 100 Bundesliga goals in Bayern Munich’s 7-0 victory over Union Berlin, his 98th league game for the club.

Cologne’s Dieter Müller set the previous mark in 1977, but it took him 129 matches and, with the England captain scoring at better than a goal a game, a new record had been inevitable for some time. Since his arrival in 2023 Kane had been averaging a Bundesliga goal every 78.5 minutes and has now scored 152 in 154 appearances in all competitions, including 61 in 51 games last term.

Trump signs Russia sanctions bill championed by Graham

The new law lets the president impose tariffs on the largest purchases of Russian oil and natural gas.

Keely Hodgkinson shows off Catwoman style to steal Athlos London event

• Briton destroys 800m field in hooded black bodysuit

• Mill Hill event more like a rave than an athletics meeting

Athlos arrived in London promising that its all-female spin on athletics would provide a radical departure from the status quo. Long before Keely Hodgkinson stepped on to the track dressed in a hooded black bodysuit – part ninja assassin, part Catwoman – it had emphatically made its point.

Throughout the two-hour event, the bassline from the aptly named DJ Trauma carried enough force to make eardrums bleed. The stadium PA’s dial appeared to be permanently stuck on Spinal Tap’s 11. And those who successfully scanned a barcode were then shown dancing and waving on a giant screen.

Alaska's salmon-feasting bears face off in biggest Fat Bear Week ever

This year's single-elimination tournament will see 16 competitors face off, compared to 12 in past years. Officials report more cubs in Katmai National Park than they've seen in recent memory.

Brentford blitz Chelsea as Fábio Carvalho caps stunning second-half display

Those early-season thoughts that Chelsea might be the team best-placed to challenge Arsenal are beginning to look extremely over-optimistic. The two chaotic wins with which they began were always difficult to read: they might have been useful points picked up on the way to a more solid structure, or they might have represented evidence of significant problems. After three games without a win, and 12 goals conceded in five games this season, it’s beginning to look like the latter.

At the final whistle, Keith Andrews tipped his head back and roared at the sky, celebrating Brentford’s first home win over Chelsea since 1938. They remain unbeaten, coherent and disciplined, and moved up to third in the table. The comparison is impossible not to draw: as one side flail in an orgy of structured spending, their far less wealthy neighbours thrive with a clear plan and sense of direction. “It was a performance I felt was bubbling,” said Andrews. “I could see it in the players’ eyes over the last two days. They were very focused, very determined.”

AI cloud provider Nscale files to go public

Nscale is the latest artificial intelligence neocloud to turn to public markets.

9/18: The Takeout with Major Garrett

President Trump says he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argues against artificial intelligence slowdown.

Mortgage rates are nearing 7%. One house hunter says he's "despondent."

"It seems like we're trying to climb out of a hole somebody else is digging," said one frustrated house hunter as homeownership costs rise.

Trump says he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House

The president chalked the ban up to what he called unfavorable coverage, and he threatened that bans on other media companies could be coming.

Feds plan to transfer hundreds of pre-trial detainees in private prison dispute

The U.S. Marshals Service is preparing to transfer some Georgia detainees to another private facility 200 miles away.

Elon Musk talks up AI safety while fighting regulation in wild week of strange alliances

In the past week, Musk has agreed with the CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI, while getting contradicted by President Trump and Nvidia's Jensen Huang.

When Trump and Xi meet they will discuss AI. 'Track Two' talks are already buzzing

An informal network of dialogues at think tanks and universities is bringing together experts from the U.S. and China to talk about the shared perils of AI — and possible paths forward.

Syrian regime planned American journalist's kidnapping for weeks

New reporting finds the abduction of journalist Austin Tice was planned by the Syrian government for weeks.

Increased ICE enforcement in 2025 hurt local employment, analysis finds

Employment fell last year in U.S. cities where ICE arrests surged, according to the Brookings Institution.

California Gov. Newsom issues executive order to rein in AI 'before it's too late'

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other 2028 Democratic presidential hopefuls have called for a more aggressive approach to addressing AI fears.

Fed staff should have known Silicon Valley Bank was vulnerable, new report finds

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said a new report indicates the central bank's staff missed signs ahead of Silicon Valley Bank's 2023 failure.

Three words from Kevin Warsh have Wall Street wondering how far the Fed will go with rate hikes

The chairman both explained this week's decision to raise interest rates, and raised vexing questions about what comes next

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Russian strikes in Kyiv, a female militia march in Tehran, protests in Pristina and Alfie Hewett at the US Open – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

‘Embrace the chaos’: Tuchel aims to harness England’s football culture

• Head coach says he must accept lack of control in games

• ‘Deep down, English players … they go for it’

Thomas Tuchel has admitted there are times when he craves greater control in matches. But the England head coach feels the more chaotic, adrenaline-fuelled nature of the Premier League will remain his template as he targets glory at Euro 2028.

Tuchel described his team as “maybe not the most economical to play football” in terms of their habit of constantly playing at full throttle. They lost to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final in July when they had nothing left in the tank and watched the game slip away after going 1-0 up in the 55th minute. England barely touched the ball thereafter, had no control and were reeled in, Argentina winning with two late goals.

SpaceX scores another $950 million from NASA for 3 more crewed flights to ISS

SpaceX is getting an extension to an existing contract that will allow three additional crewed Dragon flights to the International Space Station.

FAA says Trump arch will not interfere with D.C. airport flight path

The Federal Aviation Administration approved President Trump's plans for a triumphal arch across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

Earl Spencer doubles down on claims about ‘monstrous’ call with Charles after Diana’s death

Buckingham Palace has rebutted claim by Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother, that then prince told him ‘we’ll forget her soon enough’

Earl Spencer has doubled down on his bombshell claim that King Charles said of Diana, Princess of Wales, “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough” days after her death, saying he is telling the truth.

The alleged comments, revealed in Charles Spencer’s memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, prompted Buckingham Palace to issue an extraordinary statement suggesting Diana’s brother had misremembered events, saying “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise”.

JPMorgan, Citigroup CEOs attending Trump's state dinner for China's Xi: Sources

Dimon and Fraser join OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and others who are reportedly planning to attend the Trump-Xi state dinner.

Survivors recount panic and struggle to breathe in Nigerian prison cell where 37 died

Police fire teargas as protests break out in city of Minna after deaths of suspected illegal goldminers, many of whom were children

Survivors from a prison cell in Nigeria where 37 suspected illegal goldminers died while in the custody of a paramilitary group this week have recounted their panic and struggle for breath, as police on Friday fired teargas at people protesting against the deaths and imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Minna.

The victims – many of whom were children – were found dead on Thursday in the cells of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), which had raided suspected illegal goldmines and ⁠locked up dozens of miners in the city, the state capital of the mineral-rich state of Niger.

This Israeli election could be the country’s last – this week I saw that for myself | Jonathan Freedland

Spend time on the ground and you see how high the stakes are for next month’s contest – for Israelis and Palestinians alike

Candidates always say it, but this time it’s true. When Israel goes to the polls on 27 October, it really will be the most important election in the country’s history – and not just for Israelis. I saw that for myself this last week, in a visit that served as a sharp reminder of both what is at stake – and the role of those watching from afar.

More than one voter I spoke to voiced the fear that, if the coalition headed by Benjamin Netanyahu is returned to power next month, 27 October will not merely be Israel’s most important election: it will be its last. They were not referring to the absence of democracy in the occupied territory of the West Bank – which we’ll come to – but rather to Israel’s internationally recognised, pre-1967 borders: what you might call Israel-proper. There, the last four years have seen a sustained assault on the machinery of liberal democracy by the most rightwing government since Israel’s establishment in 1948 – a committed, focused attempt to remove the checks and restraints on its own power, installing instead a kind of elective dictatorship.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

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

The best books to read in September: new paperbacks from Margaret Atwood, Kiran Desai and Richard Holmes

Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some great new paperbacks, from an epic multigenerational saga by a Booker winner to a biography of an iconic Victorian poet

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Auto industry urges Trump to bar Chinese automakers in U.S. ahead of Xi visit

Leaders of six major auto trade groups joined to sign a letter to the president.

Brazil’s Lula announces higher welfare payments and free weight-loss jabs ahead of election

Critics say moves from leftwing incumbent president are electorally motivated two weeks before Brazil’s elections

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has announced a 15% increase in the country’s main cash-transfer programme for poor families, as well as free weight-loss jabs, prompting criticism from opponents who say the moves are electorally motivated just two weeks before the presidential election.

On 4 October, the leftwing incumbent will face the far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, who has been gaining ground in recent weeks.

Use of AI backfires on an expert witness in court

The use of artificial intelligence in the courtroom is drawing fresh attention after an expert witness in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit used ChatGPT to help create his report.

Martin Rowson on King Charles, Earl Spencer and a row over Diana’s memory – cartoon

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Anthropic and OpenAI need truly independent safety evaluators, experts say in public letter

A coalition of over 100 AI experts are urging independence and transparency from Anthropic, OpenAI and other foundation model labs to conduct evaluations.

Sensitive UK police data vulnerable to ‘compromise’ by US government and foreign actors

Exclusive: Official UK security assessment found Microsoft cloud platform storing files was at potential risk from hostile hackers

Vast troves of highly sensitive police data are lying on Microsoft cloud platforms which an official UK security assessment deemed to be vulnerable to “compromise” by foreign actors and the US government, a Guardian investigation can reveal.

The files include criminal records, victim statements, internal emails and sensitive information held by more than 40 police forces across the UK.

We wanted to let Max Dowman bloom in the shadows but he has become hard to ignore | Barney Ronay

This most modern and well-honed of footballers will not be able to escape the spotlight in an age of constant scrutiny but looks equipped to handle it

The poet Jorge Luis Borges wrote a famous short story about a society that had become so good at making maps, so obsessed with capturing every detail, that its rulers decided the only way to do the job right was to make a lifesize map of its entire empire, which could then be laid out across the actual land from coast to coast. Imagine a map of Britain the exact same size as Britain, showing every branch of Greggs, every nail bar, every vape shop in perfect detail. Only then can we really see what Britain looks like, by standing on a fake Britain laid over the top of actual Britain.

Borges was writing in the 1940s, at a time when people were fascinated by the mechanised future, with its new forms of measuring out the world: the wireless, the 30mph motorcar, the rise of Big Tape Measure. And to be fair, the mega-map is a pretty accurate vision of our own fully networked present, a place where you can snoop around a village in Mozambique from your laptop in Egham, where no one ever stops committing acts of minute self-surveillance, even if they think they’re just searching “What is beetroot?” on the internet.

Anthony Page obituary

Stage and screen director behind landmark productions of Samuel Beckett, John Osborne and Edward Albee

Anthony Page, who has died aged 90, was one of a group of talented and individual – sometimes wilful – directors who helped establish the English Stage Company at the Royal Court in London at the end of the 1950s and the early 60s.

The company, led by George Devine and Tony Richardson, became the seedbed of modern playwriting, notably John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (1956) in a repertoire that embraced Beckett, Brecht, Ionesco, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams, as well as the native voices of Arnold Wesker, Ann Jellicoe, John Arden and NF Simpson.

The Guardian view on NAZA’s persecuted directors: journalism is not treason | Editorial

Politicians who threaten filmmakers rather than investigate alleged military crimes expose not strength but a leadership frightened of the evidence

Across Israel, politicians, military leaders and much of the media are trying to discredit a documentary that almost none of them have seen. Produced by the Guardian, NAZA examines the AI-powered targeting systems used by the Israel Defense Forces to bombard Gaza after Hamas’s brutal 7 October 2023 attacks. Named after the Israeli military acronym euphemistically used for “collateral damage”, NAZA features interviews with 24 anonymous insiders who reflect on their role in the death-dealing. Israeli leaders have branded the film a “blood libel” and “fiction”. Its Oscar-winning directors, Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham, face being stripped of their citizenship for treason.

This is absurd. NAZA shows how bureaucratic distance and routine can turn extreme violence into ordinary work. More than 73,000 Palestinians, including more than 20,000 children, have been killed in the campaign by Israel’s military. A democracy that values life would at least investigate the film’s claims. Instead Israel’s government, which says it is committed to democratic accountability, is attacking journalists.

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What expensive sulfur means for your dinner table

Oil supplies are falling, sulfur prices are threatening food costs, and we measure Lego against Hollywood

Twins conjoined at the head are separated in 25-hour surgery

The twins were born in Ethiopia with a rare condition that left them joined at the head. Doctors spent a year planning a separation surgery.

AI safety debate meets reality at Dreamforce as business leaders say last year's models are enough

At Salesforce's annual mega-conference in San Francisco, attendees said they get enough value from older AI models.

Polanski request to postpone Greens’ conference to focus on byelection refused by party

Exclusive: Leader understood to have wanted to concentrate on Holborn and St Pancras campaign in London but executive committee voted against plan

Zack Polanski requested that the Greens’ ruling executive committee postpone the party’s imminent annual conference so they could focus on the Holborn and St Pancras byelection but was refused.

While party officials say the formal request came from staffers worried about diluting resources by staging a conference a week before Polanski tries to win Keir Starmer’s former Commons seat, the Guardian understands the party leader wanted this to happen.

Duncan Sheik, singer and composer of Spring Awakening, dies at 56

The musician, who went from 90s alt-pop hits to Tony-winning Broadway success, died from cardiac arrest

Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter behind the 90s alt-pop touchstone Barely Breathing and the composer of the Tony-winning musical Spring Awakening, died on Thursday at a Manhattan hospital. He was 56.

His death, from heart failure that led to cardiac arrest, was confirmed to the New York Times by his mother Suzanne Sheik.

Wendy's franchisee files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as burger chain struggles

One of Wendy's biggest U.S. franchisees, Meritage Hospitality Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Will even one of the U.N.'s 17 'sustainable development goals' be met by 2030?

The 17 goals agreed upon by world leaders are incredibly ambitious. Are we even close to achieving any of them? If we don't, is the project a failure?

Kylian Mbappé leaves Nike after 20 years to sign boot deal with Swiss brand On

• France captain also becomes a shareholder in company

• ‘We have a shared dream, and this is only the beginning’

Kylian Mbappé has ended a 20-year association with Nike to sign a boot deal with the Swiss challenger company On.

The sports and leisure brand, which has previously focused on running and tennis, is planning a major move into football next year and has also appointed Thierry Henry as its football director.

Lone holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy murder trial speaks out

Michael P Desronvil was sole juror to vote guilty, resulting in deadlocked jury and judge declaring a mistrial

• Ron DeSantis offers ‘asylum’ to holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial

The lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial is speaking out, saying that he “didn’t have any doubts” during the jury’s deliberations of the case which ended in a mistrial.

“I didn’t have any doubts. As I tried to explain different possible theories during deliberation, I kept getting cut off as if I had doubts based on the evidence present,” the 48-year-old male juror, Michael P Desronvil, said in a statement to NewsNation on Thursday.

Flight chaos for hundreds of thousands was caused in ‘millisecond’ by software error

Error first occurred at 10am but major incident was not declared until 12.30pm, says report

A software defect in part of the UK’s air traffic control system corrupted flight data “in the space of a millisecond”, leading to a six-hour outage and mass airline cancellations and delays across the UK last week, National Air Traffic Services has said.

But ministers said the Nats report into the incident still left questions unanswered, saying they needed “to urgently understand why this issue was not discovered and fixed before it caused chaos”.

Senator urges Trump to press Xi on Chinese info Iran may be using to target troops

Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin urged President Trump to make this issue a "centerpiece of your talks with President Xi."

Singapore is paying people to read books – can it fix the reading crisis?

A government scheme is giving citizens cash for spending time with a good book. We ask behavioural scientists, along with The Anxious Generation author and psychologist Jonathan Haidt, whether it’ll help make the habit stick

Could the solution to the reading crisis lie in paying people to put down their phones and pick up a book? That’s what one government, at least, is resorting to: this month, Singapore launched a scheme promising actual cash to citizens as a reward for logging reading time on a government website.

It’s unlikely to make you megabucks – you have to rack up 50 reading sessions of at least 15 minutes to earn one Singapore dollar (£0.59), with only one logged session allowed per day. But behavioural scientists and psychologists told the Guardian such a scheme could still help boost a habit in precipitous decline.

Reform donor Ben Delo loaned £350k to academic later found to have engaged in online bullying

Judge said Nina Power and her friend’s social media posts had ‘the whiff of threat and antisemitism’

Reform UK’s new mega-donor Ben Delo gave a £350,000 loan to a conservative writer fighting a legal case in which a judge later found she had engaged in online bullying and regrettable conduct with a “whiff of threat and antisemitism”.

Nina Power and her friend, the writer Daniel DC Miller, brought the legal action for defamation against the performance artist Luke Turner, who they had accused of falsely calling them antisemitic. At the same time, Turner brought a counter-claim against the pair accusing them of harassment.

Facing 10 years in prison, ex-budget official flees U.S. by boat and plane

Kosta Diamantis is now a fugitive in Greece after fleeing the U.S. by boat and plane ahead of his sentencing for corruption, his lawyer and prosecutors said.

Michigan synagogue reopens 6 months after terror attack

Temple Israel, a Detroit-area synagogue, has spent the last six months rebuilding after a terror attack destroyed parts of the building.

Phaedra Ensemble: The Music of Meredith Monk review – fleeting rough edges amid polished beauty

Kings Place, London
Works by the not-quite-minimalist composer’s included her Realm Variations and quartet Stringsongs in a compelling concert

There’s no one quite like Meredith Monk. So often grouped with her lionised contemporaries Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley and La Monte Young, she is 83 to their 90-odd years and sports long plaited hair as reliably as Reich wears a baseball cap. Yet she refuses the label “minimalism” for her music, and composition is just one element of a creative life that also takes in singing, choreography, film-making and drawing.

Monk was not present at this performance marking the launch of Phaedra Ensemble’s new album of her music, though she did loom briefly over the audience on video, professing “it’s a dream of mine for this music to be recorded and played”. (Compare that to the fortunes of Glass’s works.) But she had been closely involved, having invited the group to record some of her music after hearing them play.

Trump’s authoritarian mindset can’t handle dissent from his appointees

Defiance from the supreme court and the Federal Reserve chair in one week ... how ever will the US president cope?

“It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business,” Michael Corleone tells his brother, Sonny, in The Godfather. But for Donald Trump, it’s always personal. And he leaves this week feeling betrayed.

First, the US supreme court rejected his effort to restrict mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections. “These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform. “They are merely a shell of their original selves.”

Swedish teenager jailed for attempted murder, rape and assault committed online, with victims in Germany and Australia

Eighteen-year-old known as Chai was active in networks notorious for their sadistic exploitation of young people

A Swedish teenager known as Chai has been sentenced to more than 10 years in jail for attempted murder, rape and aggravated assault – crimes committed via the internet, including against a teenage girl in Australia.

The district court found that Chai, 18, was active in online networks notorious for their sadistic extortion of young and vulnerable people, coercing them to create sexually explicit material or engage in acts of violence – and for the youth of those involved.

In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Warren Buffett steps down as chair of Berkshire Hathaway after over 50 years

‘Father Time always wins,’ Buffett, 96, says as his son, Howard, steps in as the $1tn conglomerate’s new chair

Warren Buffett is stepping down as chair of Berkshire Hathaway, the company that he took from a faltering textile manufacturer into a $1tn conglomerate over the course of 60 years.

Buffett’s son, Howard, 71, will take over as chair. Buffett, 96, cited his age as the main reason behind the transition, noting that he has a one-year-old great-grandchild who is “moving a bit faster than I am these days”.

Quentin Bell and Olivia Sterling review – two artists with a magic touch

Charleston, Lewes
Bell’s strange and charming ceramics celebrate a life dedicated to creativity, while next door Sterling’s bawdier, weirder paintings form a critique of race and power

Quentin Bell was not a great artist, but that didn’t stop him. He saw the world as a magical place. The ceramicist (son of the Bloomsbury group’s Vanessa Bell; biographer of his aunt Virginia Woolf) spent his life lost in a world of magic, myth, newts in ponds, levitating women and knights on horseback. He died in 1996, leaving behind decades of pots, plates, figurines and drawings filled with wonder and amazement.

It all started when Bell was nine years old. Taken to a magic show by some relatives, he saw a jaw-dropping spectacle: a beautiful woman seeming to float in the air. It stayed with him throughout his life.

BBC cash reserves hit lowest level in a decade after big single-year spend

Exclusive: Reserves at public service arm drop 66% as broadcaster undertakes large cuts in effort to save £500m

The BBC has spent hundreds of millions of pounds of its cash reserves in a single year, increasing concerns at the corporation over the perilous state of its finances.

Cash reserves at the BBC’s public service arm slumped by 66% in the last financial year, from £369m in 2025 to just £125m, according to analysis by the Guardian. This is the lowest figure in the last decade of accounts.

Rep. Chip Roy doesn't want to regulate AI, but says Congress should have an oversight role

In an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said he supports congressional hearings on AI, but wasn't keen on additional regulations.

Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces launch inquest into sudden military collapse

Rout raises questions about coordination and morale as some politicians claim billions of dollars were offered to persuade forces to abandon position

A bitter inquest is under way among Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces as to how what was being billed as a decisive assault on Sana’a, the Houthi-controlled capital, suddenly collapsed into a military rout.

More than 15 brigades were defeated as the country’s entire west coast fell into Houthi hands. Efforts are now being made to reorganise the anti-Houthi forces representing the UN-recognised Yemeni government in order to capture the Kahbob mountains, a strategic point from which to restrict Houthi forces moving closer to the crucial Bab al-Mandab strait.

Talk less, listen more and six other top tips on giving good advice

Are you someone who thinks they have all the answers? Is your experience relevant here? Experts on the questions to ask yourself before giving advice

“Often, when people approach you for advice, they just want to talk about how they feel,” says Annalisa Barbieri, advice columnist for the Guardian for almost 20 years. For example, you might vent to a friend about your awful boss, and if they’re shocked it could confirm you’re being treated badly. “I also think people can have a lot of shame when things aren’t working out, and we like to share shame because it’s a hot potato of a feeling.” In other words, not every situation warrants advice. Sometimes, the person just wants to gauge a reaction or to share.

The U.S. says China's AI progress is down to 'distillation.' But is it that clear cut?

The U.S. administration and Anthropic have accused China's AI companies of 'distillation', but a growing cohort of voices are questioning the impact.