Vance says U.S. isn’t giving Iran ‘a cent’ as he defends Trump peace deal

"The only way the Iranians get any of these resources ... is if they comply fully" with the terms of the deal, Vice President JD Vance said.

You're probably using too many skin care products. Here are the 3 essentials

We asked half a dozen skin care experts: Which products do you really need to keep your skin healthy and attractive? Here's what they said.

England v New Zealand: second men’s Test, day two – live

Updates from the second day’s play at the Oval
Day one report | Sign up for the Spin | Mail James

80th over: New Zealand 318-7 (Jamieson 16, Phillips 59) Jamieson slaps Baker through the off-side, then makes room for a mighty smack … he edges away over Rew for four more. The big man is here to have fun as he launches to deep midwicket … and Ben Duckett, backpedalling, drops it! That should have been snaffled; Baker was already celebrating. To make matters worse for the debutant, Phillips pulls away for another boundary, the third of the over. A very tidy start to the day for New Zealand.

79th over: New Zealand 305-7 (Jamieson 7, Phillips 55) It’s Josh Tongue to bound in from the Pavilion End – he goes short and Phillips offers no shot, the ball smashing into his belly button. Ouch. England are going full bumper mode, with three men on the leg-side boundary, and midwicket just a few yards in front of the rope. And is Jamieson gone, gloving the ball high, with Rew collecting? Nah, off the helmet. And a no ball, too. Jamieson will get checked out by the doc.

Middle East crisis live: Lebanon says three killed in Israeli strikes as US warns military action will restart if Iran does not uphold deal

State media report strikes in souther Lebanon; Hegseth says the US is prepared to reimpose a blockade against Iran if it fail to fulfil its commitments

• Reaction: Donald Trump’s Iran deal met with anger, relief and incredulity

• Analysis: Trump’s Iran deal is result of unrealistic ambitions for an untenable war

Donald Trump had urged Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “stop blowing up buildings” during a phone call about Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper cited sources who overheard the phone conversation between the two leaders, whose relationship has grown increasingly hostile as the war raged on.

Czechia v South Africa: World Cup – live

⚽ Kick-off time: 12pm local/2am AEST/5pm BST/12pm EDT
⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail Daniel

Email! “This is a bittersweet game for me,” confesses John Brennan. “When the draw was made in December, this was the most likely game that I could get to see Ireland play. I probably couldn’t have pulled off going to Mexico but getting from NY to Atlanta would have been reasonable. The stadium would have been packed with Irish fans between Irish living here on the East Coast and people travelling. Just thinking about it makes me wistful. What if Ryan Manning didn’t give away that stupid penalty, what if Parrott had scored that chance in the second half, what if Sammy Smzodics hadn’t been taken out of it and had been able to take a penalty instead of Alan Browne. And yeah if all those things had happened and Ireland beat Czechia, it would probably be Denmark playing today.

Anyway, I have a strange feeling South Africa might show up today and make it difficult for the Czechs or maybe that is just a coping mechanism for me.”

Supreme court sides with Texas marijuana user who wants to own a firearm in latest case expanding gun rights – live

In a rare unanimous ruling, the court backed a challenge to Texas gun laws by siding with Ali Danial Hemani

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He calls the situation a “win-win” for the US.

Vance is here, and he starts by claiming that Trump’s peace deal with Iran “is already bearing real fruits for the American people”, with 12.5m barrels going through the strait of Hormuz last night and gas prices dropping below $4 today for the first time since the conflict began.

Live Updates: Knicks celebrate championship win with parade in NYC

The New York Knicks are being honored with a ticker-tape parade Thursday through the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan.

US Open 2026: golf under way after two-hour fog delay on day one – live

️ Updates from the opening round at Shinnecock Hills
️ Preview | Follow us on Instagram | Mail Matt

Good news! “Round 1 of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills will resume at 9:05 a.m. ET.” So says the official tweet. That’s just over 15 minutes away.

Weather delay in the golf but they’re playing at the Oval. Should be the other way round surely?

Royal Ascot 2026, day three: Scandinavia wins Gold Cup as O’Brien reaches Ascot century – live

All the latest from the royal meeting
Thursday’s previews and tips | Mail Tony

Oddschecker market movers

Trawlerman - 9/4 from 3/1

Cannes - 4/1 from 7/1

Gilded Prize - 7/2 from 9/2

Iran peace deal makes clear how far US has been forced to retreat since 2025

Plan is admission US could not achieve what it sought through war as red line after red line has been erased

Only a man with an unparalleled ignorance of history such as Donald Trump would have signed America’s peace treaty with Iran at Versailles, the byword for national humiliation. And only a man with an impish sense of humour such as Emmanuel Macron would have suggested it.

It is easy to cast Trump in the role of the humiliated and hurt German Count Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau. The treaty of Versailles after all was based on 14 points, just as the memorandum of understanding has 14 clauses.

Marcus Rashford hits the high notes after playing second fiddle to Anthony Gordon

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It must be difficult being the second choice at a major tournament, confronting the idea your head coach thinks you are an inferior player. Maintaining confidence when others are favoured takes a lot of mental fortitude because agreeing with the decision is never an option. Some waltz in, do as they please, having been afforded the opportunity you want because of one person’s decision, while others watch on from the sidelines, desperately waiting for a chance to prove everyone wrong.

Trump bid to fire Fed's Lisa Cook cost her more than $1M in legal, security costs: Filing

A financial disclosure from Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook details large legal and security expenses

What did Ukraine target in Moscow and how significant was the drone attack?

Mass drone strike on capital brought the war to Russians, but Ukrainians will be braced for Kremlin’s response

• Europe live – latest updates

Ukraine hit Moscow with nearly 200 drones in its largest-ever attack on the capital on Thursday, striking a Russian oil refinery and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing over the city’s south.

The towering plumes of smoke rising above Moscow offered a stark demonstration of Ukraine’s growing ability to strike deep inside Russia with its increasingly sophisticated, largely domestically produced long-range drones.

Intel gains 8% after Trump says company will partner with Apple on U.S. chip design

The boost continues Intel's recent rally as the chipmaker bounces back from years of headwinds.

Not so empty nesters: record-high number of US adults under 35 live at home, new data says

Data shows that the increase in at-home living stems from high housing costs rather than labor market conditions

A record number of the US’s young adults were living with their parents last year, according to new data from Realtor.com, as high housing costs pushed the milestone of independent living out of reach.

A third of young adults between the ages of 25 and 35 – 25.2 million people – were living with their parents in 2025. Of those, 70% had jobs, and many held college degrees, highlighting that the increase in at-home living stems from high housing costs rather than labor market conditions.

SpaceX stock sinks 8%, continuing to cool after three-day rally

Investor bullishness showed signs of waning on Wednesday, as shares sank 5%.

U.S. plans expansion of denaturalization push, aiming for 250 cases by fall

The Trump administration expects to try to revoke the U.S. citizenship of more than 250 foreign-born citizens by October, a Justice Department official said.

Waymo recalls robotaxis after some vehicles entered construction zone

The recall follows multiple incidents in which Waymo robotaxis drove past ramp-closure signs and into freeway construction zones.

Border Force officer and Hong Kong trade official jailed for spying for China

Peter Wai and Bill Yuen sentenced to 10 and eight years at Old Bailey in first convictions under National Security Act

A UK Border Force officer and a Hong Kong trade official based in London have been jailed for spying for China in the first such conviction in British criminal history.

Peter Wai, who conducted “shadow policing” operations on Chinese dissidents in the UK, was sentenced to 10 years, while his handler, Bill Yuen, received an eight-year term.

Supreme Court sides with man who challenged law barring drug users from having guns

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a Texas man who challenged a federal law that bars certain drug users from having firearms.

Jimmy Kimmel on Trump giving Iran $300bn: ‘Melania’s wondering, ‘How can I get that deal?’’

Late-night hosts discussed the president’s Iran peace deal ‘blunder’ and his poor grasp of geography

Late-night hosts discussed Donald Trump’s “childish” behavior at the G7 summit, his reportedly catastrophic peace deal with Iran and a blunder over Middle East geography.

Bonkers SpaceX stats that show how staggering the money movement has been

SpaceX's first few days of trading have been filled with superlatives, from trading volume to the size of the company's first acquisition.

Inside the Obama Presidential Center ahead of its star-studded opening

The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago strives to serve the public while honoring the legacy of America's 44th president. The center's star-studded grand opening on Juneteenth will feature musical guests such as John Legend, Bruce Springsteen and Christina Aguilera. CBS News' Caitlin Huey-Burns takes a look inside.

Godfather of AI blasts Musk's xAI as 'failure,' says labs are risking a 'big bubble explosion'

Yann LeCun's comments renew a long-running spat with Musk and cast doubt over valuations of some of the world's biggest AI companies.

I’m engaged. My sister is single and feels ‘behind’. What can I say to that? | Leading questions

How you respond will depend on who expects you to manage your sister’s emotions, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Is it her, or something you’ve put on yourself?

• Read more Leading questions

I’m engaged and my sister is single and feels “behind”. Lately she mentioned how the people in her life (me included) going through milestone moments triggers her. She even got upset and admitted she was worried she’d never have kids. What can I say to that? How do you comfort someone who wants the things you have or might have soon?

She has felt behind for a long time, and I’ve had many a conversation with her when she’s got upset about still living at home, still not having the career she wants, etc. But she is still in the same situation, and my empathy is running low. Especially now I know my engagement is triggering for her! I deserve to feel happy during my wedding planning era but after she told me how she felt, I feel guilty for being happy.

I guess my question is: do I tiptoe around her and avoid wedding talk or should she just put a smile on her face and talk to her friend about her triggers? I hate to say it but my mental load is preferring the latter.

Eleanor says: Why are the options that you tiptoe around or she puts a smile on her face?

David Squires on … the Socceroos’ World Cup so far and a tasty clash with the USA to come

Our cartoonist looks at Australia’s involvement at the tournament with a place in the knockout phase tantalisingly close

‘Mega-consumers’ of food and energy cost environment $5.7tn a year, study finds

Top 10% generate climate and biodiversity damage bill that exceeds economies of most countries, say researchers

The environmental damage bill racked up by the highest-consuming 10% of the world’s population has reached up to $5.7tn a year – larger than the economy of every country except the US and China, a study has found.

Mega-consumers in this group are concentrated in the global north, accounting for more than half the population of the US and 40-45% of people in the EU.

Wiltshire village exhibits Martin Parr’s final photos of scarecrows and prize veg

Pictures from photographer’s return to Lacock after 40 years were taken months before his death last December

The images are colourful, characterful and thought-provoking. They capture a flower show, a Women’s Institute meeting, a scarecrow festival. A local vicar features, resplendent in a union jack bowler hat, as does a band of bellringers and a bulldog called Billy.

Four decades after chronicling life in the picture-postcard English village of Lacock in Wiltshire, the photographer Martin Parr returned to document what had changed – and what had not.

Dancing to artefacts: London Museum will be ‘democratic’ space for all, says director

A decade in the making, the museum will reopen in November in two restored market halls with displays and late-night DJ sets

The new London Museum will be “a social space for the city”, its director has said, hosting afternoon tea events, monthly dinner clubs and late-night DJ sets where visitors can mingle among the artefacts while dancing.

Sharon Ament said that when it reopened later this year the museum would be a “democratic” space that engaged with all Londoners rather than merely a repository for its collections, which stretch from the city’s neolithic prehistory to modern acquisitions.

The head of the family is 17. Money is tight. The roof leaks. How did this happen?

Three brothers say their mother and father died after losing access to their HIV medications. Now the boys are figuring out how to navigate life.

Cuban economy needs ‘urgent changes’ as US blockade deepens crisis, says president

Miguel Díaz-Canel cites China and Vietnam as possible models for opening up the country’s economy

Cuba’s economy needs urgent changes to overcome a crisis intensified by a US oil blockade, the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has said in a speech to Communist party leaders.

“The situation calls for urgent and necessary changes,” Díaz-Canel told the party’s politburo in his frankest admission yet of the need to overhaul the country’s communist model.

Anger at ‘send them back’ chants by rightwing MEPs after EU migration law vote

Other lawmakers respond with ‘shame on you’ in heated confrontation over passing of plan to increase deportations

Rightwing MEPs have come under fire after they celebrated a vote aimed at increasing deportations across the EU with chants of “send them back”, leading other lawmakers to respond with cries of “shame on you”.

The heated confrontation in the European parliament came on Wednesday after lawmakers voted 418 to 218 to approve controversial measures aimed at increasing deportations of undocumented people.

Numbers game: stats that tell stories from the first 24 World Cup matches

All 48 teams have played their first matches. From xG to assists to transfer value, here’s some of the more revealing bits of data

The first round of fixtures at the World Cup is in the bank so we’ve finally seen all 48 teams. But what have we learned? Who was good, bad, lucky or fired after just one game? A dig into the Opta data has revealed some facts that may not have been immediately apparent from the scorelines.

‘Ordinary people are being erased’: one director’s audacious fightback against AI – featuring Frinton

Marc Isaacs’ film Synthetic Sincerity may look like a documentary, but its fictional premise – a lab that scrapes movies to harvest human emotions – shines a hard light on just how far AI can go

In Marc Isaacs’ latest film, the subversive documentary maker reveals that an AI research laboratory recently licensed his entire body of work. That’s a quarter-century of droll, deadpan studies of ordinary life in Britain – from the poetic Lift, about the comings and goings in a London tower block, and The Curious World of Frinton-on-Sea, set in the sleepy retirement town dubbed “God’s waiting room”, to Philip and His Seven Wives, in which a secondhand furniture dealer declares himself to be a Hebrew king. Isaacs agreed to let data analysts at the University of Southern England feed these and other documentaries into their system to harvest authentic human emotions from which AI characters could then be created. His film about the experience takes its name from the university’s lab: Synthetic Sincerity.

But how synthetic is the film itself? “Well, we made up the University of Southern England,” admits Isaacs, 59, over lunch at Etles, a Uyghur restaurant near his home in London. The choice of venue is no accident: its chef and owner, Ablikim Rahman, who flutters around us today bearing bowls of thick, glossy leghmen noodles, appears in Synthetic Sincerity being photographed by the AI boffins and turned into an avatar. This is Rahman’s first film, though he hasn’t seen it yet: “Soon,” he says with a sheepish smile.

Tornadoes tear through multiple states across Midwest, Southeast

Tornadoes were reported in Illinois, Iowa and several other states Wednesday as severe weather slammed a large swath of the Midwest​ and Southeast.

GOP Rep. Steil pushes bill curbing members of Congress from prediction market betting

The new proposal on limits on members of Congress making such bets come as scrutiny increases on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.

Intel shares leap after Trump announces chip deal with Apple

In a social media post, President Trump touted the U.S. government's 10% stake in Intel, noting that it is now worth $60 billion.

Supreme Court sides with marijuana user who was barred from owning guns

The court ruled that the law used to prosecute a marijuana user violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms and is unconstitutionally vague.

Trump hits back at critics as Iran peace deal fuels debate over U.S. concessions

The deal sees both sides commit to further talks to reach a final agreement over the next 60 days and includes a $300 billion plan for Iran's reconstruction.

Trump upends Senate GOP's plans once again with nomination demands

A number of poorly timed announcements have forced Senate Republicans to squander carefully laid plans, exposing a widening rift within the party.

Analysis: Chairman Kevin Warsh’s task forces are the key to understanding the new Fed

The new leader of the Fed left interest rates alone but made clear how he plans to rewire the central bank.

Eton figures to join populist politicians and wealthy backers at ‘anti-woke Davos’

Exclusive: Event co-founded by Jordan Peterson will bring together rightwing figures, US state officials and anti-abortionists in London

Nigel Farage and fellow Reform UK MPs Sarah Pochin and Andrew Rosindell will be there. As will a plethora of Reform advisers, backroom staff and figures, such as Ben Delo, a British crypto billionaire who has given £4m to Nigel Farage’s party.

Yet as populist-right politicians from across the globe and their multimillionaire backers prepare for this year’s Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (Arc) – a rightwing London summit labelled an “anti-woke Davos” – others whose expected attendance has not been publicised potentially raises more questions.

Moscow oil refinery struck in Ukraine’s biggest air raid on city since start of war

Kyiv says attack, which also forced evacuation at Russia’s biggest airport, was in response to strike on historic monastery

• Explainer: how significant was attack on Moscow?

Ukrainian drones have hit several locations across Moscow in Kyiv’s biggest air raid on the city since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, setting a major ⁠oil refinery on fire and forcing evacuations at the country’s largest airport.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as a response to Russia’s strike on a historic Kyiv monastery complex earlier this week. “We do not want this war and never did,” the Ukrainian president said in a voice message to journalists. “But if Ukraine is going to burn, your Moscow will burn too … It is time to end the aggression, time to end this war.”

Gas prices fall below $4 a gallon for the first time in nearly 3 months

The national average for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. drops to $3.99, the lowest since March 30.

Drummer rediscovers passion for music after life-changing accident

In the "CBS Mornings" series "Pushing the Limits," Mark Strassmann shows how a Georgia man's passion for music was almost taken away from him forever after a terrible accident. But thanks to his resilience and technology, the man is now a record-breaking drummer.

Soul classics and stepmother celebrations: Alicia Keys’ 20 best songs – ranked!

Twenty-five years after she released her debut album, we pick the best of an artist pairing Chopin-inspired piano with pop, soul and powerful emotion

Two different takes on the same album – one traditional, the other more beat-heavy – packaged together, Keys was an experiment that didn’t quite work, but Skydive, co-written with Raphael Saadiq, is a fine song: both versions are great but Mike WiLL Made-It’s bumping rework wins by a fraction.

Powerful tornadoes leave behind devastation in Illinois

Violent tornadoes ripped through central Illinois on Wednesday, leaving behind swaths of destruction. One man described how he shielded himself and his family from the storms. Rob Marciano reports.

Reading in Rome and a palace tour: photos of the day – Thursday

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

Embedded: "We Keep Us Safe" from NPR, KUOW and The Seattle Times

In the summer of 2020, sixteen-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to join the racial justice movement of his generation. He arrived in Seattle during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, known as CHOP. Less than a week later, he was shot and killed there. The case remains unsolved.

Report: Russia's nuclear-powered 'Skyfall' missile is dirty and dangerous

MIT researchers think they've worked out exactly how Russia's Burevestnik nuclear-powered missile flies. "It's almost certainly a terrible idea," one analyst said. "But it's not an impossible idea."

Arthur, 2026's first tropical storm, weakens but still poses flooding threat

Arthur, the first named tropical storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, weakened to a post-tropical cyclone after making landfall.

Whole-life order given to UK teacher who sexually abused and murdered adopted baby

Jamie Varley jailed for life and partner John McGowan-Fazakerley jailed for 25 years over death of Preston Davey

A secondary school teacher has been jailed for life for sexually abusing and murdering the baby boy he was adopting with his partner.

Jamie Varley, 37, was sentenced to a whole-life order on Thursday for abusing and killing 13-month-old Preston Davey. It means he will stay in prison for the rest of his life and will never be eligible for parole, the judge Mr Justice Turner said.

Post your questions for Minions supremo Pierre Coffin

As the cute, yellow, gibberish-spouting creatures return in Minions & Monsters, the animator who voices them and has directed five of the films in the franchise will be taking your questions

Bello! Next month sees the return of everyone’s favourite small, cute, bright yellow blob assistants who spout international gibberish, as Minions & Monsters is released in time to clean up over the US Independence Day box office weekend.

It’s the seventh instalment in the Despicable Me franchise and the third standalone outing for Kevin, Stuart, Bob et al. The series has so far earned £12.3bn globally, of which box office accounts for about half (with merchandise sales slightly outstripping it, and DVD sales coming in at a mere $725m).

Every time I work on a scene or I work on the overall movie, I had my kids unconsciously in mind. Is that going to please them? Is it going to be funny for them? And if it is funny for them, is it going to be funny for their friends and their friends’ friends? I show them pretty much everything before it gets anywhere near the final cut so they also get to see all the sucky stuff I miserably fail on and the stuff I have doubts on.

“If it’s meant to be provoking some kind of a comedic reaction and if it fails then you say: ‘OK, back to the drawing board.’

Breaking down Luigi Mangione's new defense strategy for NY state trial

CBS News legal contributor Caroline Polisi discusses the new defense strategy for Luigi Mangione's New York state murder trial and what it could mean for the case. Mangione's lawyers told a judge he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance when he allegedly killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Victims' families speak at Gilgo Beach killer sentencing: "Felt like this day would never come"

Rex Heuermann, the man known as the Gilgo Beach serial killer, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole. Families of the victims spoke out at his sentencing. Tom Hanson reports.

Trump and Iran's President Pezeshkian sign memorandum aimed to end war

President Trump earlier said at the G7 summit that the memorandum of understanding with Iran "might not be the kind of document that I should be signing."

Will Penn Station’s much-needed makeover boost commuters – or Trump?

A proposed $8bn renovation of the hub has critics wondering if it’s another example of the US president bolstering his legacy at taxpayers’ expense

A proposed $8bn renovation of Penn Station in New York City has sparked questions from local leaders who want improvements to the western hemisphere’s busiest transit hub but wonder what it will look like, who will pay for it and what role Donald Trump will play.

The station, which was once considered one of New York City’s most beautiful landmarks, is now seen by many as an ugly infrastructure that is hard to navigate, dark and claustrophobic.

Why corner shop wines are not to be sniffed at

Whether making a last-minute panic buy or you simply can’t be bothered to stray far from home, the dusty shelves of your local store often boast their share of trusted, dependable bottles

There was a time in my life when Campo Viejo Tempranillo was as essential as milk or bread; my flatmates and I designated it our “house wine”’. The year was 2011, we wore a lot of elasticated statement belts and lived opposite a corner shop by Brixton prison. Like us, the wine was young, fruity and there for a good time.

Campo Viejo remains one of the more obvious choices for a last-minute bottle of red. Even better is Muriel Tempranillo Rioja at the Co-op, which has all the dark red fruit and vanilla you might expect from young rioja. These days, I’d freshen up either of them with a blast in the fridge, or mix with lemonade for that emblematic Spanish summer cocktail, tinto de verano.

Côte d’Ivoire’s Wahi denied Canada visa for World Cup match amid fixing investigation

• Striker will miss Saturday’s Germany game in Toronto

• Arrest was over alleged ‘organised fraud’ in Ligue 1

The Côte d’Ivoire striker Elye Wahi, who is being investigated for alleged fixing, has not been authorised to travel to Canada for his team’s World Cup match against Germany, the Côte d’Ivoire football federation (FIF) said on Thursday.

The FIF said Wahi would not be able to travel with the squad for Saturday’s game in Toronto because “the necessary administrative authorisations for his entry into Canadian territory could not be obtained at this stage”.

Choppy waters ahead as Iceland gets ready for its own EU referendum

In this week’s newsletter: After Trump’s interventions over Greenland, there are many in Iceland who believe they would be stronger in the EU. But will its recent history of independence win out?

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As the UK marks the tenth anniversary of its fateful Brexit referendum next Tuesday, Iceland is fast approaching its moment of truth about the EU – albeit from the opposite direction.

On 29 August, Icelanders will be asked whether or not to they want to come back to the table with Brussels for negotiations about joining the EU. Iceland originally applied in 2009 after the financial crash, but pulled out of talks in 2013 saying it couldn’t go any further without a referendum.

Teenager dies after being thrown from horse-drawn carriage in Central Park

New York police department say teenager thrown to the ground when horse bolted away from its driver

A teenager thrown to the ground on Wednesday when a Central Park carriage horse bolted away from its driver has died, according to police.

The 18-year-old was riding in the horse-drawn carriage with three other passengers when the accident happened just before 3pm, according to the New York police department. At least two passengers were sent flying out of the careening cab.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales review – a playable love letter to Zelda

PlayStation 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch 2, PC; Team Asano/Square Enix
Upbeat, charmingly retro RPG full of treasure-hunting, temple-roaming, monster-slaying and princess-saving is an absolute blast to play

You can’t help but wonder if developer Team Asano is in a private competition with itself to come up with the most ridiculous name for a video game. Following Project Triangle Strategy and Bravely Default: Flying Fairy we have this mouthful: The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. It’s a playable love letter to the Zelda adventures of yesteryear rendered in the studio’s trademark glorious 2D-HD art style, melding evocative pixel sprites with modern visual effects.

From west Philabieldia, born and raised, our hero is adventurer Elliot. The antagonist making trouble in the neighbourhood is a king’s dastardly aide intent on summoning an ancient evil. The story is pure after-school-TV schlock, fully voice-acted but still unafraid to make you sit through reams and reams of text, and the action comprises treasure-hunting, temple-roaming and dispatching monsters. It’s part Chrono Trigger, part Oracle of Seasons as our almost obnoxiously upbeat hero journeys through the ages in order to solve puzzles, tip his fedora and of course, save a princess.

Women’s World Cup playoffs: England land Greece, Scotland get Czechia in first round

• England to play Ukraine or Slovakia if they beat Greece

• Scotland probably face Sweden if they win first game

England will need to overcome Greece and either Slovakia or Ukraine to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Scotland were handed a significantly tougher draw and will probably need to beat Sweden, if they first beat Czechia, to head to Brazil.

Thursday’s playoff draw brought Wales a potential reunion with their former manager Gemma Grainger in a tricky tie against Norway. Northern Ireland’s path to a first World Cup could bring them a game against League A’s Iceland.

Trump signs agreement with Iran. And, the president's approval hits record lows

Trump signed a preliminary agreement with Iran yesterday to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. And, the president's approval rating has hit a record low, according to a new NPR poll.

Irish parliament votes to remove three-day abortion wait

Waiting period before receiving medication was included in draft law to gain support for abortion ban in 2018 referendum

Ireland’s parliament has voted to remove a mandatory three-day wait for abortion during early pregnancy after campaigners said the rule was an unnecessary restriction.

The Dáil passed the bill on Wednesday night, clearing a path for the legislation to go to a parliamentary committee and become law later this, or next, year.

Olivia Miles: the goggled wonder woman pulverizing WNBA opponents in her rookie season

The Minnesota Lynx point guard’s creativity has made an impact in her first pro season and has fans racing to watch her highlight reels

• Sign up to get WNBA 30 in your inbox every Tuesday

For dedicated WNBA fans, every morning begins with the same question: what did Olivia Miles do this time? A no-look pass through three defenders? A crossover that sends another grown woman staggering out of frame? Statue of Liberty layups launched from angles that flout Euclidean geometry? You just never know with this wonder woman. The rush she gives fans makes a double espresso feel like a nightcap.

No player in the WNBA has brought more joy to the season’s opening month than Miles, who has quickly emerged as one of the league’s most compelling talents. Fifteen games into her professional career, the 23-year-old North Jersey native has already established herself as the engine of the Minnesota Lynx offense, pacing the team in average scoring (19.0) and assists (5.7) while sinking more than half her shot attempts. In a 99-83 road win against a short-handed Los Angeles Sparks team on Wednesday night, Miles poured in a season-best 31 points on a blistering 80% percent shooting in just 26 minutes.

‘It’s so camp!’ The queer Doctor Who cabaret with dancing drag daleks

Latex aliens, screaming fans and an ‘LGBTQ+ARDIS’ … the big sellout crowds of Gallifrey Cabaret are keeping the fantasy TV show alive – even if its future on the BBC is in the balance

The atmosphere backstage at the Doctor Who-themed queer, adults-only cabaret night is every bit as chaotic as you might imagine. Hairspray clouds air already thick with overlapping conversations between drag kings and queens, singers and burlesque artists. In its midst, Reece Connolly adjusts his ruffled shirt and rhinestoned bow tie, and turns to his fellow performers. “This is a genuine question: do you think these are too tight?” he asks, gesturing to his black trousers. “No, they’re hot,” replies cabaret all-rounder Mariana Trench. The other acts agree, encouraging Connolly to “give [the audience] what they want”. He nods, and looks to me with mock sincerity: “This is community. This is what community looks like.”

Being a fly-on-the-dressing-room-wall backstage at the Wales Millennium Centre is a heady, exhilarating and slightly overwhelming experience. But for the stars of Gallifrey Cabaret, this scene of “gorgeous chaos” (as red-headed, red-moustached drag queen Carrot describes it) is business as usual. The show, which tours the UK with a mixed bill of drag, burlesque, live music, comedy, aerial performance and dance, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month with an extra-special extravaganza at the Clapham Grand in London, and keeps getting bigger and better. Even fire acts and a dog have been given the Time Lord twist – albeit not at the same time.

Girls Like Girls review – Sapphic teen romance is a precious and predictable yawn-a-thon

Singer Hayley Kiyoko misses the mark in a meandering directorial debut packed with groan-inducing dialogue

On 26 June 2015, the US supreme court finally declared gay marriage legal nationwide. Two days later, singer-songwriter and former Disney Channel alum Hayley Kiyoko effectively came out to the world with her debut single, Girls Like Girls. “Girls like girls like boys do, nothing new,” she sang with triumphant bluntness. Its accompanying music video, featuring a Sapphic teen romance, spread fast and wild across Tumblr, a website defined by its intensely nostalgic aesthetics, where style and identity formation merged for many queer teens. Today, the music video has 163m views on YouTube.

Kiyoko, now engaged to former The Bachelor contestant Becca Tilley, has since been hailed the “lesbian Jesus” by fans. Queer expressions in pop music, from King Princess to Chappell Roan to Reneé Rapp, have become far more common in the decade since the music video was released, but Kiyoko still seems to inspire one of the most dedicated, and specifically Sapphic, audience in queer pop music today.

We must be alive to the dangers of a UK social media ban – and the way to really help young people | Rosie Parkyn

A ban alone will have limited impact and could make things worse. A good strategy needs more educational content – and more money

As a parent, I understand the appeal of the announcement on Monday by the prime minister that would prevent children under 16 from using social media. Right now, you are in constant battle with the infinite scroll for your child’s attention, while their impetus to explore the real world is subdued by endless entertainment always within reach. At best, their rapidly developing brains are rotted by a diet of the synthetic, sensationalist and shallow – humanity’s least impressive creative output catering to its lousiest instincts. At worst, they are being preyed upon by forces intent on manipulating, exploiting or recruiting them. You look around and wonder where they are, even as they are right under your nose. You worry they will never experience the boredom that leads to creativity and propels us forward.

The desire to protect children from an often hostile environment makes sense, and the ban sends a signal of what we deem acceptable, and maybe even opens up the possibility of a behavioural shift in how we use social media. But evidence from Australia, where similar legislation was enacted last December, is not encouraging. According to one study, two-thirds of young people retained their accounts, while 51% of those most affected by the ban now see less news. The fact is that this demographic get most of its news from social media feeds, consumed incidentally amid footage of fights, diet tips and dance crazes and conveyed by influencers whose shtick is authenticity not accuracy. But it is encountered nonetheless. If we remove access, we need to create alternative routes to news and information.

OL Lyonnes and Scotland’s Caroline Weir: ‘I would love to be competing for the Champions League’

Midfielder is chasing a trophy-laden spell in France and hopes a dream can be fulfilled by playing in the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil

June 2026 is a month Caroline Weir is unlikely to forget. She scored seven goals in two Scotland games as they clinched top spot in their World Cup qualifying group, watched on with joy at 2am as Scotland’s men secured their first World Cup finals win for 36 years and then her move to OL Lyonnes was confirmed by the eight-time European champions.

The Scotland captain says the lure of playing for Europe’s most decorated women’s club made the transfer an easy decision after four happy years playing for Real Madrid.

There is a path to peace for Starmer and Burnham – even as their backers prepare for battle | Tom Baldwin

If Burnham wins the Makerfield byelection, many are predicting an immediate and stormy showdown. But that could be bad for both men

One of the many problems with our politics now is that only the loudest or most discordant voices seem to get heard. And there’s certainly no shortage of people from rival Labour camps mouthing off about what happens next if Andy Burnham wins the Makerfield byelection today. An apparently well-placed source in his team says they are preparing to launch an “immediate leadership challenge” against Keir Starmer on Friday morning, while another briefs that Burnham will hold off – but only for 72 hours because they dare not risk losing momentum. At the very least, there will be a steady escalation of threats and ultimatums.

Meanwhile, the prime minister is said to be barricading himself into Downing Street, where he remains determined to contest a challenge and, according to some reports, will insist any member of the cabinet backing his rival must quit. For instance, some of his aides have been operating on the assumption that Ed Miliband, who has done little to conceal his desire for Starmer to go, will resign over the next week. Although this is vigorously denied by the energy secretary, along with claims that he is “ghosting” the prime minister’s calls, it has not stopped some hardline loyalists expressing unnecessary relish at the prospect of a more enforced cabinet departure for Miliband.

Tom Baldwin is a former adviser to Ed Miliband and the author of Keir Starmer: The Biography

Office workers of the world unite: it’s time to revive the three-martini lunch | Andrea Javor

The three-martini lunch allowed us to mix business and pleasure, a phenomenon that is missing during the AI boom

As a 46-year-old executive who now has both people and AI agents reporting to me on the org chart, I think corporate America needs to revive a much-mocked relic of mid-century American business life: the three-martini lunch.

In 1978, Gerald Ford called the ritual “the epitome of American efficiency”, asking: “Where else can you get an earful, a bellyful and a snootful at the same time?” He meant it as a joke, but in 2026, I think it should be our strategic plan.

Nearly 80% of data center capacity is at elevated risk to climate hazards like flooding and fire, study says

The vast majority of data centers globally face either acute risk from climate change events or chronic risk from ongoing climate issues like extreme heat.

‘It’s where the poetry is written in cinema language’: the female editors behind cinema’s masterpieces

In an industry dominated by men, many women dedicate themselves to the craft of editing – as well as managing directors’ egos – to create some of the most celebrated and memorable big-screen classics

Behind every great director, to coin a phrase, is a great editor – and as the tributes paid earlier this month to the late Marcia Lucas, Oscar-winning editor of Star Wars: Episodes IV to VI, and former wife of creator George Lucas, reminded us, that editor is often a woman. In a historically male-dominated industry, this familiar Hollywood dynamic is a phenomenon that is worth investigating.

It goes back decades. During the supermacho Hollywood new wave era, Dede Allen worked with Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde) and Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon), and Thelma Schoonmaker edited Raging Bull, The King of Comedy and GoodFellas for Martin Scorsese (and much else besides). David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia may have contained no female speaking characters, but it won Anne V Coates an editing Oscar. Anne Bauchens was nominated for Cleopatra in 1934, when the Oscars’ editing category was created, and became its first female winner in 1940 for Cecil B DeMille’s North West Mounted Police.

Liverpool beat Newcastle to £34.5m Víctor Muñoz in first signing of Iraola era

• Club triggered £34.5m release clause for Osasuna forward

• Head coach keen on player’s versatility and pace

The Osasuna winger Víctor Muñoz will become the first signing of Andoni Iraola’s reign at Liverpool after the club triggered a £34.5m release clause, beating Newcastle to his signature. Muñoz will sign a six-year contract after undergoing a medical on Wednesday in Atlanta, where he is part of the Spain squad at the World Cup.

Liverpool have been following Muñoz’s progress for an extensive period and sped up the deal after Iraola’s appointment because the head coach was eager to add his compatriot. Iraola spent most of his playing career at Athletic Bilbao, continues to closely monitor La Liga and Muñoz has impressed him.

UK mosques advised to run lockdown drills amid fears of anti-Muslim attacks

Exclusive: Muslim Council of Britain national guidance also urges mosques to strengthen police ties and improve CCTV

Mosques are being advised to carry out lockdown drills, strengthen ties with police and improve CCTV coverage under national guidance published amid growing concerns about anti-Muslim attacks.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) released a new security and preparedness framework for mosques, trustees and volunteers, warning that places of worship and community centres faced an increasing threat from vandalism, intimidation, threats and targeted hostility.

The Obama Presidential Center will be dedicated Thursday. Here's what to expect

The Obama Presidential Center's grand opening ceremony will be a star-studded event. The center's museum highlights the legacy of the former president, but it is not a traditional presidential library.

The price of jet fuel is falling, but don't expect airfares to follow any time soon

The average price of jet fuel has fallen to its lowest level since the beginning of the war with Iran. But aviation experts say the cost of airfare is likely to stay high, at least for now.

Bongeziwe Mabandla faced addiction, illness and ‘backstabbers’. How has the South African singer stayed so upbeat?

An indie star in his homeland, Mabandla’s fame is growing abroad – and his uplifting new album is full of existential insight after some of the toughest years of his life

As the camera pulls back from Bongeziwe Mabandla in the video for his recent single Yalwa, the true stars of the show reveal themselves: two women, dressed in a mix of crisp white and black traditional isiXhosa umbhaco garments and chic designer wear. Sure, Mabandla himself strikes a compelling figure in the centre of the frame in his own traditional apparel; the herd of cattle grazing around them are resplendent; and the forested ridges of South Africa’s Eastern Cape remain rapturous. But those stoic, confident, badass women! “Yeah, that’s my mom and aunt,” Mabandla says with a chuckle. The song, he says, is “all about heritage, going back and celebrating women in my lineage and in my family”.

Keeping that connection alive has become especially important to Mabandla now that the singer-songwriter – an indie icon in Johannesburg – has been living far away from them for the first time. After years of finding particular acclaim in France (including a nomination for the prestigious Radio France Internationale award early in his career), Mabandla has been settled in Paris for six months amid bouts of touring and travelling through Europe. “I’m everywhere these days, living between two countries,” he says, laughing again. “I wanted to see what doors would open for me living in a different culture, especially in a big place like Paris. It’s been life-changing, but I’ve been very careful I don’t abandon my South African side.”

Gig workers are endlessly exploited. AI could make more of us share their fate

As companies integrate AI and hire fewer employees, a shift toward a ‘gig economy’ will commence

In 2024, the buy-now-pay-later company Klarna announced that it would cut hundreds of customer service roles and begin using an artificial intelligence chatbot instead. The move was expected to save the company millions. But a year later, after customers complained about the degraded quality of customer service, Klarna began to quietly recruit human customer service agents back.

At first glance, the reversal appeared to be a victory for human workers in the age of AI. The reality was more complex. Instead of bringing on full-time customer service agents, who Klarna contracts through an outside agency, it instead brought on workers in what Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has described as “an Uber type of set-up”. Now, an AI chatbot continues to handle most of customers’ basic queries, while a growing number of gig workers handle the more advanced ones. “Just like somebody can go and drive an Uber for a while, they can actually jump on and work for Klarna’s customer service,” Siemiatkowski said on a podcast in February.

Cambridge experts recreate 336-year-old garden to commemorate ‘father of natural history’

John Ray, 17th-century botanist who coined words petal and pollen, was a tutor at Cambridge when he created his first garden

He coined the terms petal and pollen, helped to lay the foundations of modern biology and is widely regarded as the greatest English naturalist of the 17th century.

But it was while he was a young college tutor at Cambridge in the 1650s that the botanist John Ray – also known as “the father of natural history” – created his first known garden and began to systematically study plants for the first time.

Tell us your favourite film of 2026 so far

We would like to hear about the best film you have seen this year so far and why

The Guardian’s film writers have compiled their favourite films of the year so far – and we’d like to hear about yours, too.

Which films have captured your imagination this year? Are there any new releases from so far in 2025 that you would recommend watching?

Tell us your favourite new podcasts of 2026 so far

We would like to hear about the best new podcasts you have listened to this year so far and why

Guardian writers have compiled the best podcasts of the year so far – and we’d like to hear about yours too.

Is there a podcast from this year that has you rapt? Are there any new releases that you would recommend?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule and how to watch

With 104 World Cup games being played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, it's like "a Super Bowl every single day for five weeks," U.S. team captain Tim Ream told CBS News.

‘You learn how to be idiotic artists’: Gilbert & George on fame, rebellion and their mystery new collaborator

The Britart mavericks have now teamed up with an unlikely artist. Is their odd throuple an elaborate prank – or are the duo passing down their legacy?

‘Hello girls,” greets 82-year-old Gilbert Prousch, one half of art duo Gilbert & George, as he shakes my hand when I arrive at his house with a very important guest in tow. He kisses his other guest on the cheek. Gilbert is Italian after all.

“This way,” he says, ushering us into the four-storey, 18th-century Georgian townhouse in Fournier Street, Spitalfields, east London, where he and the other half of his duo, George Passmore, 84, have lived since the late 1960s. Back then, they rented the ground floor for £16 a month. Now, they own the whole house. I bet it costs a bit more now.

The World Cup viewed from afar is more like ambient noise – a far cry from working at it | Jonathan Liew

Covering a tournament, my smartwatch showed my heart rate was 10-20 beats above normal. How luxurious to half-watch

I fell asleep at some point during the Netherlands v Japan game. It had been a hot and drowsy day by the shores of Lake Annecy, a square and heavy heat, where the sun and the driving and the food and the boxed wine gently squeeze all the life from your body, like air being pressed out of a juice carton.

I remember Virgil van Dijk angling a header into the far corner, and when I came to it was 2-1, and everyone was heading to bed, drunk on tiredness, drunk on life, drunk on drink.

A bonanza for fans of the natural world: the digital library sharing 64m pages of scientific knowledge with everyone

The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt

Some go there to read about the wood that Victorian manufacturers used to make walking sticks. Others want to see an illustration of a Tasmanian tiger or marvel at the field diary of one of the first known botanists to explore the Antarctic.

Over the past 20 years, more than 64m pages have been made freely available through the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) – a digital treasure trove for fans of the natural world. More than 680 museums, universities, libraries and scientific institutions from China, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand to Europe, Africa, Mexico, Canada and the US, have contributed to the library.

Manuscript on parchment from the Circa instans. Dating from about 1190, it is the oldest book in the digital library. Photograph: LuEsther T Mertz Library/New York Botanical Garden/Biodiversity Heritage Library

La Cabina/El Televisor review – horror and anxiety on the air and down the line in Franco’s Spain

José Luis López Vázquez’s phone box nightmare is short and sharp but Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s TV fever dream overplays its hand

Two macabre Spanish TV plays from the 1970s are being released as a double bill: Antonio Mercero’s La Cabina (★★★★★) is a cult 1972 surreal short film lasting just 35 minutes but encompassing an entire dreamworld of anxiety. It was conceived for television in the spirit of Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, but I can imagine it shown in cinemas as a curtain-raiser before Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel.

La Cabina is a black comic nightmare in which a fussy middle-aged man, played by veteran Spanish comedy actor José Luis López Vázquez, steps into a phone booth that has just appeared in a suburban sidestreet. But the phone doesn’t work and then he can’t get out; the door is jammed. What to do? There’s no mobile phone to reach for; in 1972, the phone booth was the mobile phone. He gesticulates and waves in panic through the glass, though seems mysteriously robbed of the power of speech and is clearly inhibited by how ridiculous he must look. Crowds cluster round and try ineffectually to help. A callous, carnivalesque atmosphere develops. The man sees himself reflected in a mirror that one onlooker is carrying: trapped, absurd, bourgeois homo sapiens as zoo animal.

A Little Bit Bad by Cassandra Neyenesch review – a sparkling, subversive debut

With its echoes of Miranda July’s All Fours, this tragicomic tale of an American woman’s illicit romance is also a gripping murder mystery

The plot of A Little Bit Bad sounds like the setup for a joke: “Like, this white lady lusting after her hot Chicano roofer?” Perdita Jungfrau, the narrator, is describing her own situation. “Yuck.”

It’s 2009 and Perdita is 39 when she meets 25-year-old Nando, who is working on next door’s roof. “Burned out” after a decade as a hospital social worker, she’s a stay-at-home mother to a toddler, and pregnant again (though she doesn’t know it yet). She isn’t happy. Her husband is critical of her for quitting her job, and won’t look after the children: “Babies scare me!” Perdita is out in her San Diego backyard on the day that Nando falls from a ladder propped up against the neighbour’s house. She sees it happen, calls an ambulance and sits beside him on the grass to wait.

Pink flamingos and shimmering lemon groves: exploring Sicily’s Vendicari nature reserve

This wetland south of Syracuse was saved from developers and preserved as an unspoilt haven for migratory birds

We rented Il Nido because we thought other people wouldn’t like it. Small and basic, without internet, the property was supposedly beside a beautiful national park famous for its coastline and migratory birds. The online picture suggested it was pressed up against one of those concrete pillars (common around Sicily) supporting a deserted and rotting motorway flyover. I was writing a thriller with mafia connections. My partner wanted to scrape off six months of fumes from her new job in London. Our daughter needed fun.

“This is a bomb,” said the hostess, opening a cupboard under the sink. “You turn it anticlockwise to go off.”

Should my husband stop letting our kids climb over our neighbour’s fence to get their ball back?

Penelope worries this will teach her children it’s OK to trespass; Spencer sees no harm in them hopping over. No sitting on the fence – you decide who’s in the wrong

• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror

It doesn’t matter that it only takes five seconds. It’s a flagrant disregard for property rights

No harm was done to their garden. It’s just a lawn with a few shrubs. I don’t see the problem

Thursday news quiz: Channel skirmishes, stolen mopeds and drum disasters

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?

Sparks have announced a new live album, which they claim was recorded on the moon. That somewhat ups the ante for other acts. Maybe Harry Styles will have to go to Mars for his next residency? Or Taylor Swift tour the asteroid belt? Regardless of all that, a lot of people have expressed the opinion that the Thursday news quiz reminds them of Uranus. Fifteen questions await you on topical news, general knowledge and pub culture. There are no prizes, but let us know how you get on in the comments. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 252

Labour campaigners fear hordes of MPs may annoy public as Makerfield votes

Up to 3,000 activists – including cabinet ministers and other MPs – descending on constituency to back Andy Burnham

Up to 3,000 Labour campaigners are expected to descend on Makerfield for Andy Burnham, prompting fears among organisers that the hordes of activists may end up overwhelming voters during Thursday’s byelection.

Local hotels are fully booked and party members are expected to be dispatched to polling stations, and to leaflet people waiting at bus stops and school gates to avoid swamping residents on their doorsteps.

Norway’s monarchy once seemed like a fairytale – recent crises have exposed its dark underbelly | Magnus Nome

The royals were always popular, but Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s Epstein connections and her son’s rape convictions have profoundly shaken public trust

The Norwegian monarchy is in crisis. Not because its future queen is gravely ill, nor even because her son has this week been convicted of serious crimes, but because the institution’s greatest asset – public trust – has been eroded by a series of self-inflicted mistakes.

Yesterday, it was announced that Norway’s crown princess, Mette-Marit, underwent a successful lung transplant after reports of a dramatic deterioration of her pulmonary fibrosis. That initial news prompted an outpouring of sympathy and even a surge in organ donor registrations. Without jumping the queue, she was matched with a compatible set of lungs less than two weeks after being placed on the list.

Rejoining customs union would not fix damage caused by Brexit, research finds

Exclusive: Economists find Brexit caused 12% depression in UK exports, most of which is due to leaving single market

Brexit has depressed UK exports to the EU by 12%, and rejoining the customs union would undo only a fraction of the damage, research shared with the Guardian shows.

With the UK’s future relationship with the bloc likely to feature prominently in a potential Labour leadership contest, the economists John Springford and Anton Spisak, of the Centre for European Reform, provide fresh evidence of the damage caused by exiting.

‘The beauty of the useless’: Spain’s super-thin restaurant napkins are throwaway art treasures

Forever flimsy and ineffective at cleaning greasy fingers, the servilletas of the Iberian peninsula resist the relentless ‘optimisation’ of our age. A new photo book recognises them as cultural treasures in miniature

If you have ever eaten a meal in a bar, cafe or restaurant in Spain and grabbed a napkin from the ubiquitous small metal dispensers, you will be familiar with the most intriguing feature of the wafer-thin servilletas: how utterly functionally useless they are.

Don’t bother using them to mop up spilled liquid, as they are less likely to soak up the spillage than protect it with an impermeable barrier. Never make the mistake of blowing your nose in them when you have a cold or a hay fever attack: they’ll just spread the mess to your hands. Their papery texture – originally meant to keep your hands clean while picking up oily snacks – has somehow endured despite their most common purpose being to clean your fingers and lips. For this, they are far from effective, and you end up flying through half a dozen for every croqueta.

Can ecosystems ‘malfunction’?

We are told the natural world is ‘breaking down’. But forests don’t work like aeroplanes or human hearts

• A version of this piece was originally published on Aeon as Why we need to think again about ecosystem failure

The Amazon rainforest, according to a 2021 study, is losing its capacity as a carbon sink and now emits more than it absorbs. In the tropics, marine scientists are reporting that coral reefs are in decline, threatening fish stocks. Equally concerning is research into the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Amoc), a vast system of ocean currents that helps regulate the climate and is at risk of collapsing this century. The entire global ecosystem appears to be losing its ability to function.

We find this view in newspapers, magazines, technical reports and the journals of learned societies. But thinking about the environment in terms of its functions is also how many of us tend to understand the world. We may think that forests exist to produce oxygen, wetlands to filter water and bees to pollinate our crops.

Of special interest to humanity is the relationship of biodiversity to the variety of services provided by ecosystems and, in particular, to the stability of the flow of those services, such as the maintenance of the gaseous composition of the atmosphere, preservation of soils, recycling of nutrients and provision of food from the sea.

The malignant rise of OnlyFans managers: ‘It’s exploiting. It’s grooming. It’s predatory’

As the pornography platform has exploded in popularity, a side industry has emerged: middlemen who encourage young women into the industry, then take a large cut of their earnings

Markuss Hussle wants his online students to understand one thing: he knows how to make money. There is no subtlety involved. He gives an hour-long presentation in one video, sitting next to his silver Lamborghini. In another, he splices his money-making tips with footage of a ski weekend with his friends in Courchevel, in the French Alps, including shots of private jets, helicopters and a girlfriend in a fur coat. He claims the trip cost $100,000 (£75,000). He shows off his watches and his swimming pool and talks about how his mother worked three jobs as a cleaner until he “retired her” and bought her a home by the sea.

If you were not paying close attention to the spreadsheets and presentations interspersed with the motivational lifestyle content, you might guess he was offering guidance on how to trade shares or invest in cryptocurrency. There are a lot of performance graphs and much discussion of account management, optimisation, scaling, working smart and tripling profits.

‘I didn’t expect it to be so controversial’: the Japanese mayor who took maternity leave

Shoko Kawata’s decision to take time off to have a baby – an unprecedented step for a mayor – has sparked weeks of debate inside Japan

In many other nations, no one would blink an eye. But when Japanese mayor Shoko Kawata announced she was taking maternity leave, her decision made headline news, spawned opinion polls and sparked a national debate.

And that debate is still unfolding in Japan, ever since she revealed her decision in May. On Monday, she told the assembly in the western city of Yawata she was confident her deputy could run things smoothly while she was away.

This law firm has deep ties to Trump. Now a partner is his pick for a top job.

Jamie McDonald, a partner at the firm Sullivan & Cromwell, is President Trump's choice to helm one of the nation's most prestigious federal prosecutors' offices.